Tap, tap, tap...
Walking out of the dark passage, Irene raised her hand to shield her eyes slightly under the glaring sunlight, having grown accustomed to dark vision.
In an instant, her draconic pupils adapted to the sudden change in light.
Lowering her hand, Irene glanced at the rather deep pit and asked the yellow light orb behind her, “Do you need me to carry you up?”
“Thank you for your concern, but Mia does not need help.”
The light orb trembled twice, its voice ringing out from thin air.
“Mm.” Irene gave a soft nod. Her dragon wings unfurled behind her, and with a light push off her toes, she shot upward like a cannonball.
The moment she landed and folded her wings, Daviel came trotting over eagerly.
“Sis, we took care of all those humans. Not a single one is left.”
Daviel raised his head, a proud expression on his face as if he had accomplished some monumental feat. The patchy areas on his body where his scales had previously fallen off were now covered in a thick layer of bloody scabs, making him look even more ferocious.
“Not bad.” Irene patted Daviel's body in encouragement.
“Your Grace.”
Cezar walked over at this moment, carrying a pile of items—mostly storage rings, weapons, and the like, still stained with half-congealed blood.
“These are the spoils of war we gathered. Please have a look.”
Irene gave them a casual glance before turning her gaze away. “Did you get any information out of those humans?”
She had many doubts in her heart right now that desperately needed answers.
“My apologies, Your Grace.” Cezar bowed his head and pulled a book out of his storage ring.
“Those humans resisted too fiercely, and we couldn't keep any of them alive.” As he spoke, his gaze drifted inadvertently toward Daviel.
“However, we salvaged this from their camp. It seems to be the journal of that Gold Rank mage. I thought you might be interested, Your Grace.”
With that, he handed the book over.
Irene took the book, but before she could open it, a startled cry rang out from nearby.
“Holy crap! What on earth is this?!”
Turning her head, she saw Daviel staring in astonishment at the light orb slowly floating up from the pit. He stretched out a claw, trying to poke it, but the orb dodged.
“I found it inside,” Irene explained briefly, though she kept the details about the light orb being hacked and calling her the Creator to herself.
Sometimes, knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.
“Going by what you said, Sis...” Daviel looked at the light orb, then turned his gaze back to the metal structure inside the pit, suddenly saying, “Could this be a tower spirit?”
“Probably.”
Irene directed her gaze toward the light orb.
After the light orb had been hacked, she had asked it all kinds of questions, but received no useful answers. It was as if the thing had amnesia; it remembered nothing other than its name, Mia.
She had even cast several lie-detection spells specifically for this. Given the light orb's weak magical fluctuations, it definitely couldn't have bypassed her spells, yet the results remained the same.
Thus, she had no choice but to bring the light orb back to study it slowly.
The light orb didn't resist either, behaving like an obedient artificial intelligence.
It was worth noting that the magical conduits around the light orb, upon inspection, turned out to be power transmission lines connected to something resembling a power core.
Aside from the light orb, the Central Control Room contained nothing of use; the equipment there had long since decayed beyond recognition.
As for the light orb itself, it was neither a pure mechanical creation nor a pure magical beast. It was more like a completely new lifeform born from a combination of magic and machinery.
Its internal structure was so precise and intricate that even Irene couldn't comprehend it.
The only thing she could figure out was that this thing used machinery as its bones and mana as its flesh and blood. It seemed to have no lifespan limit; the machinery and magic inside had achieved a perfect, self-sustaining cycle. As long as it was supplied with mana, it could live forever.
Of course, its strength could never increase. If its rank rose, its power consumption would spike drastically, and it would die from an insufficient mana supply.
This structure was somewhat similar to a mage tower's artificial intelligence—a tower spirit—though far more advanced.
Perhaps, just as Daviel suggested, this was indeed something akin to a tower spirit. As for its function, it was likely meant to assist in controlling this vessel.
Pulling her gaze back, Irene flipped open the journal in her hand with a sense of curiosity about the unknown.
Fortunately, there were no protective spells placed on the journal. Otherwise, given her current magical expertise, it might have taken her some time to crack.
Turning to the first page, Irene skimmed through the entries rapidly.
Most of the first half of the journal recorded useless trivia, such as discussing magical insights with so-and-so.
What they ate today, and what they planned to eat tomorrow.
It wasn't until she reached the latter half of the journal that she slowed her reading pace, scanning word by word:
“August 22nd, Year 13801 of the Divine Calendar”
“Today, my mentor, Lord Kalancio, told me that he wishes to burn his own life force to ascend to the divine kingdom in the flesh. He wants to have an audience with the gods and bring their divine will back to the earth, so that the lost lambs will no longer wander in confusion.
“To be honest, I really wanted to stop him. As a Legendary expert, his lifespan should have at least a hundred years remaining.
“I wanted to persuade him otherwise, but when I looked into his deep, profound eyes, I knew I couldn't stop him.
“My mentor's fanatical faith in the gods is just like my pursuit of knowledge—unshakable.”
Seeing this, Irene frowned. Why did he say he wanted to bring the divine will of the gods back to the earth?
Couldn't they just pray to the gods?
It was true that the gods wouldn't personally respond to ordinary believers. Those prayers and requests were usually answered automatically, like a pre-programmed system; otherwise, the gods would be worked to death.
But as an archbishop, he had to be a fanatic. The power of faith generated by a believer of this level was substantial in both quality and quantity.
In the eyes of the gods, these individuals shone as brightly as lighthouses in the night, and their prayers would generally receive a response.
She couldn't help but think of the characters displayed on the light orb inside the ship, but she shook her head and continued reading.
“September 1st, Year 13801 of the Divine Calendar”
“The Ascension Ceremony was held today after all. Clergy from various nations gathered here. This ritual was highly secretive, and as my mentor's adoptive son, I was fortunate enough to participate in person.
“I watched with my own eyes as my mentor burned his life force, his level of existence reaching that legendary state infinitely close to godhood.
“Is this what a demigod is like? It is truly fascinating.
“For some reason, when my mentor departed, I felt a strong sense of unease.
“I hope it is just my imagination.”
“February 4th, Year 13803 of the Divine Calendar”
“Time does not stop flowing just because my mentor has departed. It has been two years, and he has not returned. The clergy are still waiting; their fanaticism fills me with awe, yet I feel like a lost lamb. The sense of unease in my heart is growing stronger by the day.
“Perhaps I am just too tense. Maybe I should go out for a walk.”
“May 9th, Year 13803 of the Divine Calendar”
“The clergy excitedly told me that a powerful surge of divine power has rippled from the divine kingdom. It is highly likely that my mentor is returning!
“When I received this news, I was so thrilled I almost blew up the alchemy lab. To me, there could be no better news than this.”
“May 20th, Year 13803 of the Divine Calendar”
“Just what happened in the divine kingdom? At the moment of his descent, there was nothing but despair in my mentor's eyes.
“Why did my mentor say that the gods no longer exist?”
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