In the boundless and empty chaos, the misshapen and twisted sun burned silently, and the flesh and blood under the false corona piled up into chilling "stars", and it was completely impossible to see what those accumulations were supposed to be.

Black Sun, Creep Sun Wheel, True Sun God...... Behind so many names, what exactly should it be, and what was it once was?

Is it the star that was once shrouded in a Dyson sphere? Was it the civilization that built that Dyson sphere? Or is it "proof" that all those things ever existed?

The Black Sun seems to be the most special "Old God" Duncan has ever come into contact with in this world, it is a huge hybrid, the creation of a glorious civilization, a star that shelters civilization, plus that civilization itself, together with the accumulation and mutation into what it is today, and this may be one of the reasons why it "decays" faster than other ancient gods.

Its "essence" was disintegrated from the very beginning.

Duncan still didn't accede to the Old God's plea, for he still had concerns about the distorted star—he could sense that the Black Sun seemed to be hiding a lot of secrets, a seemingly "banished" Old God beyond the boundless sea...... It seems that he knows a lot of information that even the four gods don't know, which is very suspicious.

However, the other party is obviously not ready to tell these secrets now, and Duncan has no intention of asking, just like Black Sun himself said - although the end is near, they still have a little time to consider, weigh, and build the necessary understanding and trust.

"I can't promise you right now," Duncan said, telling him what he thought, "I still don't know you well enough, and more importantly...... I'm not quite sure about the plans to reshape the world, and I can't promise you anything, at least until that's confirmed. ”

"Understandable," a low tremor came from inside the Black Sun, "then go and verify your plan and find your way...... You're always coming to me, and I'm confident about that. ”

Duncan raised his eyebrows and didn't say anything else, but suddenly a little curious: "Will you keep this 'projection' here forever?" If I want to find you, this is it? ”

"It's hard for my powers to enter the inner layers of the sanctuary, and even if I force my way in, it would endanger the mortal world - but here, my movements are unrestricted and I don't have to worry about anything," Black Sun patiently explained, "I'll leave this projection behind, and call me anytime as long as you're at the 'border'...... I can hear. ”

Duncan nodded lightly: "Okay, I see." ”

In the boundless chaos, the black sun let out a slight tremor, and then fell silent, although Duncan had not yet granted its request, but now it seemed to be the result it wanted—those corona-scorched tentacles curled up silently, the huge one-eyed slightly drooping, slowly wrapped in a third of the flesh, which seemed to be a "resting" pose.

"It's so quiet...... Just when Duncan thought the exchange was over, he suddenly heard the misshapen sun whisper to himself, "I don't think I've felt this 'quiet' for a long, long time...... Even the scorching heat of the flame seems to have become something that can be endured. ”

Duncan was stunned for a moment, and quickly understood what the other party meant by "quiet", and he looked at it with a somewhat complicated expression: "...... Now you can't hear the voices of prayers and sacrifices to you. ”

"Yes, I can't hear it, it's like they never existed," Black Sun whispered, "this...... Probably the result I've been looking forward to. ”

Duncan tried to discern the emotion in the other man's tone, wondering if Black Sun was relaxed or a little sad when he said these words, but in the end he couldn't tell anything from the overly calm voice.

He just had a little more understanding and reflection on the "rot" of the gods.

“…… What happens when the 'rot' reaches its final step? He suddenly asked, "Are you going to disappear?" Or is it stuck in a ...... A state in which you exist, but you can no longer establish a 'connection' with all things? Like you said...... Forgotten by the world? ”

"I don't know, because no Old God has ever taken the final step of decay, and no one knows what will happen," Black Sun said slowly, "but it is foreseeable that the world inside the sanctuary will continue to 'slip' in the process......

"A long time ago, we used our own cognition and memories to shape the 'materials' for building shelters from the scorching ashes of annihilation, and the shelters built with these 'materials' will sooner or later disintegrate with the 'rotting' of the gods—that is, when we gradually forget everything about the old world, when we gradually fester.

"One day, the ocean will forget what the waves look like, life will forget how to die, the flames will not remember how to burn, the wind will stop flowing, and the clouds will fall from the sky to the sea...... Even if the 'sun' that was built on Pilot 1 rises into the sky again, it will not be able to stop this process of collapse from the foundation of the world......"

Duncan listened quietly to what the Black Sun had to say, but his mind remembered the palace on the island of black stone, the Queen Leviathan who died quietly in the palace.

In order to prevent her "decay" from permeating the reality dimension, she imprisoned her "death" in the flow of time in the palace...... However, even this "captivity" has now come to an end.

"It sounds like a bleak ending like the end of fire." Duncan said with a hint of emotion.

"The end of time is always bleak, just as even the most brilliant stars will always cool and die," the Black Sun whispered, "Not to mention that since the day this sanctuary world was born, the 'rotting' of the gods has been accompanying it throughout its history, and there has always been something peeling away from the dimension of reality, and who can detect it...... They're gone. ”

Duncan listened silently, and then his heart suddenly jumped, and he noticed the last words of the other party: "...... What does that mean? ”

Black Sun was silent for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "Do you remember how many intelligent races there are on the Boundless Sea?" ”

Duncan was stunned when he heard this, and for some reason he felt a trance in his mind, but he still subconsciously spoke: "I remember the four races ......"

He stopped suddenly.

"Which four?" Black Sun asked in a low and calm voice.

Duncan didn't answer, he already understood what had happened, and a great shock echoed in his heart, and he didn't know how to speak for a moment.

And after a brief silence, the voice of the black sun remained calm: "You remember that they existed, but you don't know who they are, and you don't know what they look like, and I remember that they existed, but I can't remember what they were...... For the one who should have remembered them had forgotten in a slow but irresistible 'rot', and in the end, the world 'corrected' the result...... At the expense of the operational life of the shelter.

"Usurper, this is what has been happening in our world, it has happened before, and it is still happening, and the disappearance of the 'Black Sun' from the eyes of the world is only an insignificant part of this repeated disintegration process.

"There's nothing to be sad about, death and oblivion, it's always been like that."

……

With the creaking sound of the doorway turning, the door to the exterior of Alice's Mansion gradually closed, and the false but brilliant sunlight was cut off from the door, as if it had never existed in the first place.

On both sides of the hall, the high, narrow glass windows seemed to be covered with a black smudge, and thorny shadows coiled around the windows, through which no shadow of the sun could be seen at all—as if the sunlight was just a "concept" shining on the door, and only when the door of the mansion was opened, it would appear outside the building.

Duncan returned to the dimly lit hall and stood silently in the overly silent building for a long time before exhaling softly.

Alice stood quietly beside him, Miss Doll looked at this side with some concern, and then glanced back at the direction of the gate a little nervously.

She seemed to be holding back her stomach full of questions, but she didn't know what to ask.

"I don't even understand what you're talking about with that 'Black Sun'," she said honestly, scratching her head, "but look at you...... It seems that the topic is quite serious and heavy. ”

Duncan glanced back at Miss Doll, and after a moment, his expression that had always been a little tense suddenly relaxed.

"It's okay if you don't understand," he smiled, reaching out and squeezing Alice's hair, "It's all something I should think about." ”

"Oh," Alice nodded, but then a new question came up, "and do you want to promise the black sun?" That's what it tells you...... The location of the new world, ahh ”

While she couldn't understand most of the communication between the captain and Black Sun, at least some of the things she did, and that was that Black Sun seemed to have a request for it.

Duncan fell silent, thinking earnestly under the clear gaze of Miss Doll.

"I don't know yet, but I'm interested in the evidence it has about the 'New World,'" he said slowly, "and there's something else I'm concerned about......"

Alice tilted her head: "Another thing? ”

"Black Sun, where the hell is its body hidden," Duncan gently reached out and straightened Alice's head, tilting her head, "I'm getting more and more curious about it. ”

Alice listened as if she didn't understand: "That...... Are we going to find out the essence of it? ”

"No," Duncan smiled and shook his head, "that's for later, and now we still have business to do." ”

"Business?"

Duncan's expression was subtle: "...... Analyze the route, you forgot? ”

"Well, I forgot!"

(End of chapter)