Chapter 954 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Most of the civilizations that successfully escaped the apocalyptic disaster of the Guardians were aided by the Denizens of the Stars. This ancient race that came from somewhere far, far away in the universe, was shrouded in mystery. Hao Ren had never found any reliable archeological evidence related to them in the Plane of Dreams. He knew nothing about their origins, or their societal structure and civilization. He did not know even know anything about their language and literature. Only one was for sure – they had very advanced tech in their hands and were very familiar with the Goddess of Creation. That was why they were able to hold themselves against the mad Guardians after the fall of the Goddess of Creation.

“They brought you the Gilded Disc?” Hao Ren stroked his chin as he arrived at yet another mystery related to the Denizens of the Stars. “Where did they find this Divine Artifact … Before the Star of Creation exploded, all the Gilded Discs should have been kept there.”

“Muru once mentioned about a special race called the Ancients. It was said they had existed in this universe long before the Goddess of Creation began to create life.” Vivian recalled the details. “We never thought to ask further about them, but could the Ancients actually be the Denizens of the Stars?”

Hao Ren considered her words. He turned to the old man and asked “What happened after? When you began your journey, were the Denizens of the Stars still with you?”

“I heard that in the first few centuries, they stayed with us. Those shining people lived in the navigation room.” The old man continued shakily. “Later, once they were sure that the Divine Artifact was working, they left, probably in search of other survivors. Our fleet continued the journey in an attempt to find a safe place to settle down, but the entire universe was affected … Every inhabitable planet we found was plagued with natural disasters. The native ecological system was ruined. We found the huge tentacles and poisonous blood pools everywhere we looked. The Divine Artifact protected our fleet, btu it could not cleanse an entire planet. After losing a few ships, we decided not to attempt any landing again. We will continue travelling until we found a planet untouched by the disaster …”

Vivian frowned. “What’s the story about the disease on your ark?”

The old man breathed heavily and spoke with a low voice. “No one knew what happened. It started without warning, and there was no effective treatment against it. We could not find the cause of the disease with our level of medical knowledge, but we knew that it affected only adults, and not children. Younger people were less affected by the disease. Adults who were infected would almost certainly die …”

“Almost certainly.” Nangong Bayue looked at the old man. “Are you the exception?”

The old man lifted his arm and studied the creases in his skin. He replied hoarsely, “Yes, I am the only survivor. I was young back then, very young. Perhaps that’s why the disease lost its hold on me. However, many people who were the same age as I was were not so lucky.”

Vivian raised her brows slightly. “How old were you when you first went into hibernation?”

“I … I don’t remember. 20, or maybe 23?” The old man’s eyes lost focus for awhile. “I remember being locked inside a white coloured room, studying and practicing every single day, trying to take in all the knowledge … When the disease spread, we knew that there was no way we could fight it. Like the ecological disaster on our home planet, this was also a catastrophe that would ruin us all. Hence, we began to make preparations. We spent a few years modifying the arks to build the Ultimate Vault. In that time, we lost half the adult population. Work on the Vault nearly came to a halt because of the lack of manpower … We sent our still healthy children into the hibernation facility, and tried our best to equip the older children with the necessary knowledge to survive in future. But these were not enough, far from enough … The oldest were 13, and the 13-year-olds made up less than one percent of the children.”

“That’s where you came in.” Hao Ren continued for the old man, trying to help him remember. “You were supposed to be the parent and teacher for the children. When the disease on the ark is eradicated one day, you were to lead them to rebuild your society?”

The old man’s head quivered like he was nodding in response. “Oh, that’s right, I’m supposed to guide them … When the children went to sleep, the adults waited for their deaths. The sanctuary will be sealed for a hundred years until the life support system finished performing a complete cleansing cycle. When everything was ready, the children would be awakened, and they would be guided by ‘parents’ to start over. There was more than one ‘parent’ at first. We were chosen by our mental fortitude and learning and leadership capabilities. Most importantly, we have to be immune to the disease. However, the candidates died one by one. The disease did not act strongly on their bodies, but they were not entirely immune to it. By the time I emerged from the training facility as the sole survivor, the children were already lining up to enter the hibernation pods. The last few dozens of survivors, already near their deaths, sent me of with a small farewell ceremony. I have been here ever since then.

Lily asked curiously, “Why were you placed here alone?”

“For my safety.” The old man explained slowly. “Because until the day the Ultimate Vault was completed, none of our medical experts could be certain that I was not infected, or a carrier or the disease. If even the last healthy adult was infected, we would rather give up on the rebuilding of our society. Hence, I was kept here in isolation, awakened every 10 years for a medical checkup … I remember now, I’ve used those before ..”