When the world is on the verge of death, cause and effect will gradually fall into chaos, and it is not the last last awake poster who comes to Duncan, but in Duncan's vision, a final preacher who finally remains awake "appears".

But for the two parties, it doesn't seem to matter which of these two things is the cause and which is the effect.

"What's your name?" Duncan looked at the white-robed old man in front of him, and suddenly became a little curious.

Faced with such a simple question, the traveler in the shabby white robe frowned deeply, and he thought for a while before shaking his head gently: "I don't remember exactly, the last time I used the word 'name' seems to be a long time ago...... But if you want, you can call me Crete. ”

"Crete?" Duncan frowned, "This is the name of your race. ”

“…… Oh, yes, no wonder it's so familiar," the old man looked abrupt, a smile on his face, "that's fine, just call me that, I like the name." ”

Duncan was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Okay, Crete." I have some questions right now. ”

"Excuse me, I have a lot of time this time."

"First question, why did you choose to meet me at this time?" Duncan looked into the other party's eyes and said in a very serious tone, "What is the purpose of this 'window period'?" ”

“…… We're actually always looking for opportunities to engage with you directly – and in this case, the 'we' who are still sane," Crete answered the question with a slight hint of imperceptible hesitation, but was quick to give the answer, "It's just that it's very difficult to get in touch with you—in fact, we've tried it once before today, but it's just ...... We missed that window. ”

“…… Missed a window? Duncan looked puzzled, "What does this mean?" ”

"We're early, Mr. Captain." Crete said calmly.

Duncan was stunned for a moment, and after a very brief thought, he suddenly understood the meaning of the other party's words: "You mean, the three ...... who appeared on the Lost Country in the first place"

"Yes, we're early," Crete nodded slightly, repeating the words again, "and the window was over when we found out it wasn't 1900...... And that was the biggest 'linear runaway event' we've had since we started, and from that day on, many things started to get out of control, but the outcome was ...... It seems that everything has not deviated from the established trajectory. Duncan Abnomar still embarks on his last voyage – after knowing his fate in advance. ”

Because of these few words, Duncan's mind was already full of stormy thoughts!

The Last Missionary (or the Survey Team of the Last Night) knew the truth about his "Fire Usurper", that he was an alien soul who had taken over Duncan Abnomar's body—something he had already been aware of, but another part of the truth was completely beyond his expectations—

In Tiriam and Lucrecia's memories, the "uninvited guests" who suddenly appeared on the Lost Land, the last preacher who had spoken to Duncan Abnomar all night...... They were supposed to come to find themselves!?

Duncan quickly clarified the message in Crete's words, and gradually reacted: "In other words, you didn't intend to make contact with ...... 'him' in the first place? ”

"Yes, we revealed his fate to a dying man in advance," Crete nodded slowly, "I know what you're trying to say, but the truth is, the moment we appeared on this ship, he seemed to already know something...... As a great explorer, he had foreseen his fate, and our presence only surprised him for a few seconds, and after that until the end of the window, he was only asking us something about how to sail the frontier waters. ”

A slight tremor and creaking sound reached Duncan's ears, and a low, uneasy sound echoed from the depths of the Lost Land's cabin, but after a few seconds, the strange noises died down again.

Crete looked up at the dark rooftops above him, and it wasn't until silence returned to his surroundings that he turned his gaze back to Duncan.

"After missing that window, the only opportunity we have left to engage with you is today—or rather, only when the stability of the shelter drops to the limit that our 'anti-order' presence can safely enter your field of vision. And it is precisely because the stability of the shelter has dropped to the limit that we have the opportunity to ...... you Demonstrate something that will help you understand the fate of this world, the fate that has been 'established' so far. ”

"Demonstrate something?" Duncan's expression immediately became serious after hearing this, "What does this mean?" What are you going to show me? ”

“…… Before that, I want to confirm a question to you," Crete looked up at Duncan, "you've rejected our creator, haven't you?" ”

"Your Creator...... You mean Pilot One? Duncan reacted and nodded, "Yes, he wanted me to take over his authority and take over the world, but I refused. ”

“…… yes, that's nice. Hearing Duncan's reply, Crete said to himself.

Duncan was a little curious: "...... What does that have to do with what you're trying to show me? ”

Crete didn't answer directly, but walked forward until he came to the door that was now tightly closed to the subspace.

"Have you opened this door?"

"No," Duncan walked over, his tone immediately wary, "this door leads to subspace, and it's not a good idea to open it in reality. ”

"It's okay, you don't need to be nervous—I won't open it, and I don't have the ability to open it," Crete noticed the change in Duncan's tone, a smile on his face, "I'm just taking you to take a look." ”

Duncan cautiously spoke while paying attention to Crete's movements: "Take a look? ”

"Everything is reflected in subspace...... As long as it is the possibility of this shelter, the answer has long been imprinted in the endless sea of chaos, and we ......"

Crete muttered softly, and suddenly reached out and tapped twice on the door's frame.

“…… We've always been good at reaping the glimmers of time from that chaos. ”

The next second, under Duncan's somewhat surprised gaze, the door suddenly shattered like an illusion—light and shadow beyond the limits of human comprehension rushed into his face like a storm, and then regrouped around him in the blink of an eye.

He almost struck, but at the last moment, he controlled the urge and stood calmly in place.

For he did not feel any threat or hostility, and could even clearly feel that the door was still standing in place—the Cretan aura was also nearby, and nothing changed.

He looked around and found himself standing on a dark mountain, the sky cloudy and dark, a faint light hidden in the depths of the clouds, and beneath the mountains was a vast field, and in the boundless land, there were vaguely city-like ruins, and elevated canals that had dried up and broken.

Beyond that, there was a cracked and parched earth, and a fine "ash" covered everything that came into view, filling the ruins and canals, and then rolling up in the valleys and blowing like mist in the direction of the plains.

A biting chill filled the heavens and the earth, as if even the flying ashes were about to be frozen.

Duncan watched all this quietly, and after a long time, he whispered, "What is this?" ”

"This is the age of fire, Mr. Captain." Crete's voice came from the side—he was standing there at some point, still wearing the shabby white robe, but it seemed to be getting more and more torn.

After a moment of silence, Duncan asked, "Is this some branch of history?" ”

"This is the only historical branch of the sanctuary that survives." Crete said.

Then the "Last Preacher" paused, as if to organize the language, and then continued:

"In the beginning, you reshaped the earth, all the unfulfilled grand plans of the blueprint were brought to earth, vast lands never imagined by man rose from the sea, city-states were connected, resources were abundant—and then you calmed the sea, gave it more life, and purified it among the mountains and rivers and turned it into rain and snow to fall on the earth.

Then the earth began to prosper, and for a time the new world flourished even more than all the beautiful poems of the Deep Sea Age—great nations rising up on the land, growing day and night, new technologies being discovered, new poetry, literature, and imaginations of the future—steam trains crossing mountains and wildernesses, huge pipe installations connecting factories and cities through the steel jungles......

"There are so many stories, so many lives, heroes and heads of state, knights and philosophers, legendary adventurers, and ordinary people who are trying to live in the city.

"Believe me, Mr. Captain, if I hadn't shown you this scene directly, but those glorious days, even you would have been a little shaken - even the strongest-willed consuls and guardians in this world would be willing to trade everything for that world, even if it was only glorious...... For a short time. ”

Duncan didn't speak, he stood on the top of the mountain, quietly looking down on the dry and broken earth under his feet, and it took a long time to break the silence: "Is there still a living person at this moment?" ”

"No, the ashes have consumed everything - do you see the ruins of that city? The tallest church in the center of the city...... It was there that the last of the refugees took their last breath, and now there was only an empty soul wandering in that church, with a great sword in her hand, which could not protect anyone at this moment. ”

Duncan looked up again at the dim light in the sky, "So what?" ”

"One ...... The tiny sun, when the world began to cool, tried to reheat the land, and held it up for a long time. ”

"Where's my flame?"

"Extinguished, Mr. Captain," Crete said slowly, "after you have burned everything that can be burned in the world. ”

(End of chapter)