That's all.

The hourglass was gently flipped over, and what little quicksand was left in the container - and the part that had already passed had dissipated like a lost life.

Duncan's figure disappeared into this wonderful "spiritual crack", and the black, white, and gray waterhole hall fell silent, and the massive body of Queen Leviathan lay silently on the shore, while the young woman in the white robe and the two warriors stood silently beside her.

It's time to return to sleep, but there is still a little time, and there is not much life leaking out of the hourglass, but it is enough for friends who have not spoken for a long time to talk a few words.

Lilian...... It's been a long time since I've seen you guys......"

A low, gentle tremor echoed through the hall, and the pale limbs swayed slightly by the pool, making a nostalgic sound.

The woman in the white robe smiled and slowly sat down on the edge of the waterhole, leaning her back against the tentacle of Queen Leviathan: "Yes, Germona, we haven't seen each other for a long time - but Lancelot and I have always been by your side. ”

“…… Do you remember those days when the waves caressed and the sun was shining? ”

"Remember, it seemed like it wasn't that long ago...... I also remember the first time I saw her, you broke into my sleep, saying that you were tired of the days in the temple and were going to run away from home for a few days...... We went to many places together, Lancelot, Owen, and Parno, who is now standing outside the temple, and the rest of the brigade, and we took you to see the desert, the volcano, and the snowfields as you wished—and finally, I sent you, the runaway 'Her Majesty', back to the temple, and we became your Guards...... It was always buzzing at that time. ”

“…… Yes, it was always a lively time, and it's been so long, and it's still good to recall, we even planned to secretly open a small shop at the beginning of the pilgrimage route, and 'Queen Leviathan herself sells souvenirs to pilgrims', which sounds like an interesting idea......"

"That's your idea," the taller of the two fighters snapped the silence, "I've never agreed to anything with Owen and Lilian. ”

“…… We should have agreed," the woman in the white dress, known as Lillian, suddenly whispered, "that sounds like an interesting idea......

The waterhole fell silent, and after a few moments, the low, gentle tremor broke the silence again: "I don't want to sleep." ”

"But it's time for you to sleep, Grimna," Lillian whispered, her head tilted back and rubbed her hair against Queen Leviathan's tentacles, "you're going to sleep here and wake up in the timeline outside the temple...... The other three 'kings' are still waiting for your news, and they must be anxious. ”

"But there are no you outside the temple...... I miss you. ”

"We'll meet again, someday in the distant future, remember what Pilot 2 said? It calculates the outcome of the shelter countless times, and although each time it comes to the conclusion that all things are gone, each time it is not completely 'one hundred percent', there is always an immeasurable offset, and at the end of countless zeros after the decimal point, there is always a ghostly difference......" Lillian whispered, her voice getting softer and softer, as if she was about to fall asleep—

"At the same time as the 'end' of the extinction of all things appears, there is something hidden at the end of time, and that may be a distant hope, where we will meet again...... When the time comes, we'll go on a trip together and open a souvenir ......."

The sound stopped, and the deceased who had been briefly "resurrected" returned to sleep, and it was not long before a soft tremor sounded again at the edge of the waterhole: "Good night, Lillian, good night......

The colors of the reality dimension returned to view, and the black, white, and gray hall returned to its original state, and Duncan's vision once again appeared in the sight of a waterhole with a pale blue shimmer and black mixed with dark green stone bricks, and Queen Leviathan's tentacles returned to their lifeless posture, silently lying on the edge of the waterhole.

And next to the tentacles, there were scattered bone fragments.

Duncan lowered his head and glanced at the hourglass in his hand—less than a fifth of the fine sand remained inside the container, emitting a subtle golden glow that glistened in the darkness.

The others all gathered in an instant, and Shirley squeezed to the front with her size advantage: "Captain, Captain!" What happened? Just now you suddenly turned into a shadow standing there, looking terrifying......"

Duncan didn't answer for a while, but first carefully placed the hourglass on the altar before raising his head: "I met Queen Leviathan and talked to her about something. ”

Hearing this, Vanna immediately stepped forward: "You talked to the goddess?" What the hell is ...... here?"

Before she could finish speaking, Duncan waved his hand and took the initiative to say, "This 'temple' divides the timeline here into two parts. ”

As soon as this sentence came out, the others immediately looked at each other, and Morris instantly showed a thoughtful look, muttering while thinking: "The timeline is divided into two parts? ”

Duncan thought for a moment, sorted out his thoughts, and said the information he had just learned, including some conjectures, "If my understanding is correct, the timeline outside the temple belongs to the 'Deep Sea Age', and Gemona guards the 'outer barrier' outside this temple as one of the four gods of the Infinite Sea, where she is in a state of 'half-life, half-dead' to respond to the call of the believers and ensure order in the Infinite Sea—that is the 'Goddess of Storms' that Vanna is familiar with."

"Inside the temple, it's the part that has been stripped from the Deep Sea Age - the timeline in which Queen Gomona, the Leviathan Queen Segregated her 'death' and 'corruption', as well as memories of the Great Annihilation and a lot of information about the nature of the world...... She kept it all in the temple to keep it from contaminating the sanctuary. ”

At this, Duncan paused, and glanced back at the lifeless tentacles by the waterhole, and the scattered bones.

"That's why, after entering the temple, Vanna can't hear the Storm Goddess at all, and all we can see is a completely dead corpse in front of us - because Gemona 'locked' her own 'death' here, and when we step inside, she is indeed dead."

Lucrecia gradually reacted, and her gaze fell on the hourglass on the altar: "So, this hourglass is ......"

"A 'window of conversation' left for me," Duncan nodded, "it comes from Bartók, where the god of death has left a gap between life and death, flip the hourglass and I will be able to talk to the temporarily rejuvenated Gemmona - but there is not much life left within it." ”

The waterhole was silent, and the slightly large amount of information made everyone here can't help but think, and Morris looked at the hourglass and the waterhole, and after a while, he broke the silence, and his tone couldn't hide his exclamation: "...... Incredible...... So, it was the god of death and the goddess of storms who came together to create this place? ”

Duncan shook his head slightly: "More than that." ”

His mind fluctuated, and he gradually understood this "temple" and the concept of the so-called "external barrier" with this temple as a "node".

The power of the hourglass comes from Bartók, the god of death, and the method of imprisoning "information" by cutting the timeline seems to be related to the god of wisdom, and the recorded information and the "memory" of the Great Annihilation itself are the embodiment of the eternal flame, and the entire outer barrier is located at the end of the sea, outside of the world of order, where there is a calm water surface as a "carrier" of the barrier...... This is clearly the power of the Storm Goddess/Silent Sea Maiden.

The entire outer barrier is the result of the cooperation of the four gods, who anchored the true frontier of the world here - and then, the Pale Giant, the Dream King, and the Creeping King had the opportunity to "create" the world again and again in the sanctuary.

The thoughts in his mind gradually had a clear context, and Duncan's "understanding" of the world became clearer, and with the establishment of "cognition" of external barriers, he seemed to feel a little "loosening" of his "essence" ...... invisibly.

He vaguely felt that he seemed to have learned how to "interfere" with the operation of the world, and how to start from the external barrier and penetrate his power into the entire infinite sea—the "knowledge" of the world was rapidly transforming into useful "knowledge", and this "knowledge" ......

Can be used to "complete" that apocalypse.

Duncan abruptly stopped thinking and continued to deepen, the dark color slightly solemn.

Now, he knew how to "destroy" the outer barrier, and everything within it—perhaps that was the "intelligence" that Gemona really wanted to give him.

As if sensing something, Alice came to Duncan's side and grabbed the corner of the latter's coat with some concern: "Captain? The look on your face is a little scary......"

Duncan finally woke up from his contemplation, and when he saw the face of the puppet in front of him, and the beautiful purple eyes with concern in them—the slightly impetuous thoughts gradually calmed down, and he exhaled softly, and reached out to press Alice's hair.

"Don't worry," he said slowly, "just suddenly figured something out......"

As he spoke, he looked up and glanced at Gemona's "corpse" again.

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be a similar arrangement on the other side of the 'three gods' - they all imprison their 'death' and 'corruption' on the other side of the hourglass to delay the decay of the whole world."

Nina raised her head, looked at Uncle Duncan, and then at the hourglass not far away, and finally broke the silence: "So, next we are going to find the other three gods?" ”

“…… Yes, we go to Them. ”

Duncan said with a slight nod.

He already knew what to do next.

He's going to visit every major node on the outer barrier – to prepare for the end of the world.

(End of chapter)