Chapter 173 Remnants of Light

Under Anthony's diligent treatment, the old man finally gradually opened his eyes.

However, he seemed a little confused about the current situation. He saw the strangers before him showing neither panic nor curiosity, just staring blankly at Hao Ren and Anthony for a while. After a long silence, he muttered in a low voice, "When will this ever end..."

Hao Ren then understood what was going on: the old man didn't realize he had been rescued yet; he was still immersed in the illusion.

"Old man, old man," Lily poked the old man's arm with her paw, the freezing air of her Frost Claws invigorating him. "Wake up, wake up, you've been saved! The poison in your body and the tainted magical energy have all been cleared away!"

The old man laboriously rolled his eyes, looking back and forth between Lily and Hao Ren several times before gradually waking from his daze. He suddenly took a deep breath, forcefully propping himself up to sit up. "You...who are you...? Where am I?!"

"Relax, don't move," Vivian immediately reached out and pressed down on his violent movements. "You're very weak from the radiation, and your cells need time to repair. This is still Vanaheim, but you're safe now. We're just passing through as investigators."

"Investigators?!" The old man seemed a little confused. "What investigators?! Are you from Twilight City? From the Steam Council...no, you don't look like it. Are you...from other kingdoms?!"

Hao Ren scratched his head. "Uh, I don't know how to explain it to you, but we're definitely not from that Twilight City you mentioned. We're from somewhere outside Yggdrasil...okay, you probably don't understand where 'outside' is, either. Okay, we're from other kingdoms."

He just said it casually, but he didn't expect the old man to become incredibly excited upon hearing these words. He almost jumped up despite his recent recovery. "Other kingdoms! Other kingdoms! A glimmer in the darkness! Just like the ancient books said...just like the ancient books said...The universe collapses with a roar, but new sparks ignite in the ashes of Yggdrasil. New worlds will eventually appear...Where are you from? Jotunheim? Niflheim? Vatt Alheim? Could it be Vanaheim? No...we've passed through those kingdoms, and all we found was scorched earth...The best situation is Jotunheim, but that's just a desert now...Asgard? Are you from Asgard?!"

Hao Ren didn't know why the old man was suddenly so agitated, but he could vaguely guess some of the reasons. He held the old man's hand, trying to calm him down. "Calm down first—we did come from Asgard, but we...uh, okay, we're from Asgard. By the way, are you the only one who survived?"

It took the old man a long time to calm down slightly. When he mentioned his dead teammates, his face showed obvious sorrow. "Yes, I'm the only one who survived. There were more than a dozen of us when we set off, but everyone else died. I was on my way to Asgard. I knew there must still be remnants of light there, even if it was just to take a look...but I couldn't hold on. How did you get here? Are you also searching for other survivors in the Nine Realms?"

"We'll talk about our business later," Nangong Sanba suddenly chimed in. "Old man, where are you from? Can you tell us your story? Are there any other human settlements in this world?"

"My name is Wendell, Wendell Fran," the old man finally remembered to introduce himself. "I'm from Twilight City, the last bastion in the long night. I'm a Light Seeker, someone who searches for remnants of light in the long night. I don't know if there are any other kingdoms outside of Twilight City...besides Asgard."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Wendell," Hao Ren nodded and introduced the people around him. "You can call me Hao Ren, and these are my friends, Vivian, Lily..."

After the two sides introduced themselves, Vivian immediately asked, "Where is Twilight City?"

"Long ago, it was called Midgard," the old man said with a wry smile. "That's what the ancient books say. But since the world collapsed and the day ended, the continent of Midgard has been shrouded in darkness. Nearly ninety percent of the continent is uninhabitable, and the remaining areas are protected by a light barrier. A great Ancient Saint is our protector. How is Asgard doing? Is there a Twilight City there, too?"

"According to your description, Asgard should be much better off than your hometown," Hao Ren sighed, and then suddenly thought of something. "You said you're a Light Seeker. Is that how all Light Seekers dress?"

"Yes," the old man looked down at his attire. "These blessed items allow Light Seekers to resist the powers of darkness."

"Then a team of people dressed like you should have arrived in Asgard a hundred years ago. They even paid tribute to Heimdall on the battlefield in front of the Rainbow Bridge," Hao Ren frowned. "Didn't they bring the news back? You look like you have no idea about the situation in Asgard."

The old man tremblingly pulled out a piece of parchment from his怀. "They couldn't bring the news back. I know about the warriors from a hundred years ago, a hundred of the bravest people. They must have found Asgard, but they were completely wiped out on the return trip."

Vivian took the parchment and looked at it, letting out a sigh. "Fate is a cruel mistress."

There was no doubt that the team of a hundred warriors the old man mentioned was the group of "battlefield scavengers" that appeared in the Valhalla surveillance footage. Izhaks's guess was wrong. Those people weren't searching for treasure on the battlefield; they were investigating the survival of other dimensions.

Only five people appeared in the footage at the time, and the fate of the other ninety-five was predictable. Even the five people who appeared in the footage ultimately failed to bring their discoveries back.

Izhaks suddenly leaned in. "Can you take us to your Twilight City?"

Wendell was startled by Izhaks's big face. He hadn't looked closely when Hao Ren introduced him earlier, but he suddenly exclaimed, "Ancestors, a descendant of the giants!!"

Izhaks: "..."

"Uh, this one isn't a giant, even though the giants were this ugly," Vivian said awkwardly, waving her hand. "Let's talk about Twilight City."

Wendell naturally nodded without thinking. In fact, after seeing this group of strangers, a strange ecstasy and sense of unreality had completely enveloped his heart. In this dizzy state, he felt he would agree to almost anything they asked—as long as it didn't disappear like a dream.

Even when he embarked on the journey back to Midgard, Wendell still hadn't recovered from this disoriented state.

"I...should go see Asgard first," Wendell said suddenly on the road. "I still can't believe it..."

"Oh, that's simple," Galahad nodded and took out her data terminal. "I can just show you the video. If you really want to see it in person, you can wait until we finish our business and then you'll have plenty of time to visit."

The data terminal suddenly projected the scenery of Asgard, with its vast plains, twisted but still verdant forests, the ruins of the golden Ysardine, and the clear, bright sky. Although Asgard was also destroyed by Ragnarok and the Ysardine were surrounded by scorched earth...

Asgard was as beautiful as paradise.

Wendell was initially startled by the incredible "data terminal," but he was soon captivated by the scenery on the holographic projection. He stared at the image as if in a trance until Galahad coughed impatiently beside him, and he finally came back to his senses.

"Ah...I'm sorry, I've never seen anything like this..." Wendell shook his head, his expression three parts excitement and seven parts confusion. "I've never seen such a sight. I've seen similar descriptions in some ancient books, but I didn't know it actually looked like this. It's...really beautiful. Unbelievable, in a corner of the world, there's a place that has recovered to this extent. We should have known sooner, the Steam Councils of Twilight City should have known sooner..."

"Tell us about Twilight City," Vivian said suddenly. "What's it like there, and how did you survive after the collapse of the Nine Realms?"

"Before that, we'd better change our mode of transportation," Anthony glanced at Wendell. "It looks like you've recovered quite a bit after walking this far. Do you get motion sickness?"

"Motion sickness?" Wendell looked puzzled.

The old mage raised his hand, and his highly magical spherical aircraft appeared out of thin air. "I'm talking about this, the aircraft."