Chapter 1 The Intense Plunge

The violent sensation of falling suddenly stripped Duncan's mind away from that blazing sun. He felt as if he were being dragged through a deep, lengthy tunnel by an immense gravitational force. The burning corona of the bear and the flesh and blood supporting it rapidly receded from view—and in the next instant, he felt a solid sensation against his back.

It was the back of his chair.

Duncan's eyes snapped open, and he gasped for air. He felt his heart pounding more forcefully than ever before, and in his retinas, it seemed as if the piercing light of the burning star still lingered. The truth of the flesh and blood beneath that sea of fire was even more strongly imprinted on his mind.

After a few more seconds, these intense impressions finally began to subside in his mind, until only that ethereal phrase echoed in the depths of his memory: "Fire-usurper, extinguish me, I beg you..."

Duncan frowned slightly. He was certain he had really heard those words.

This was... that "sun" conveying something to him? It had detected his prying and then sent him a... "cry for help"? Duncan rubbed his forehead, speculating on the truth behind this "cry for help" while recalling the various details of that blazing sun.

Without a doubt, that was what the followers of the "Ancient True Sun" worshipped, what they called the "true sun."

To be honest, in that brief moment when he first saw it, Duncan had felt a surge of emotion in his heart. He was awed by that blazing sea of fire, and he even thought he was seeing the "sun" he remembered, the sun he had seen on Earth...

His elation at that moment only magnified his shock and bewilderment when he saw the truth behind the sun.

The front of that sun was indeed exactly like the "true sun," completely consistent with the descriptions of the sun cultists, but that sight was only the sun's shell. Inside it... was a pile of indescribable things. Duncan recalled the pale, dim flesh and blood, and the withered, decaying state of the tentacles surrounding the eyes.

That "being" wrapped in the sun's shell... seemed to be in very bad shape.

In fact, Duncan even thought it was already "dead"—the feeling of lifelessness was so intense that even a distant glimpse could make one feel the aura of "death" rushing towards them from the depths of their soul. It was simply a burning corpse of an ancient god.

And that ancient god's corpse was asking him for help, hoping someone could extinguish the flames on its body.

A corpse was asking for help. This was a contradictory and alarming situation, bizarre and outrageous, but it fit the world's inherently abnormal "logic."

Duncan slowly sorted out his chaotic thoughts, recalling that during that brief glimpse, there was also a very concerning point, which was the "sun's" name for him—it called him "Fire-usurper." Was that mass of indescribable flesh really calling out to him? Had it really sensed the approach of this uninvited guest and therefore made a sound? Or was it simply calling out randomly in a daze?

If that cry for help was truly meant for him, then that was a very telling name, Fire-usurper...

Duncan lowered his head, gently rubbing his fingertips, watching a cluster of flames quietly burn at his fingertips.

The green spiritual flame obediently awaited his command, waiting to contaminate other flames and usurp other abnormal powers.

The next second, Duncan dispersed the spiritual flame in his hand.

Regardless of whether that "sun" was really talking to him, regardless of what the "Fire-usurper" it mentioned really meant, this was not something he could worry about right now—the cultists of Xilande City-State were still lurking in the shadows, and he had neither the ability nor the standing to deal with the "sun god" behind those cultists.

What's more, how would he know how to "help" that burning sun? Using his little bit of spiritual flame to cover that huge thing would exhaust him to death! Besides, the other party was just asking him for help; this didn't mean that thing was "one of us"—who knew what the consequences would be after extinguishing that sun? What if the fire was a seal, and the indescribable thing inside the sun would come alive and wreak havoc after it was extinguished? Would it still remember his "favor" of helping to "put out the fire" at that time?

Casually dealing with something similar to a god was not a wise move.

Duncan shook his head, feeling only a little regret in his heart—that so-called "sun god" was indeed not the sun he was familiar with.

Perhaps he would never see real "sunlight" in this world again.

The golden mask shaped like the sun was still quietly placed on the table, its surface luster somewhat dim, as if it had exhausted its internal energy. Duncan reached out, wanting to pick up the mask, but the moment his fingertips touched the mask, a slight cracking sound entered his ears.

This originally very sturdy iron (plated with copper) mask had apparently undergone millions of years of weathering and erosion, and in the next second, it turned into dust in his hands, scattered with the wind. A Yi hopped over, spreading its wings in front of Duncan and gesturing: "Happy, poof, gone!"

Duncan didn't pay attention to the bird's annoying behavior. He faintly understood something in his heart—

This mask was ultimately just a manufactured "mass-produced holy object." Those sun cultists seemed to be best at using various consciousnesses to create this kind of limited-effectiveness counterfeit. These counterfeits had some of the power of the real thing, but their lifespan was ultimately worrying.

The function of the sun mask should be as some kind of communication channel. Low-level priests used this thing to contact the gods they believed in or the "progeny" descended from the gods, and just now, he forcibly activated all the power of this mask with spiritual fire, allowing it to briefly possess the effect of a "genuine product," and he glimpsed the appearance of the sun god in the channel—a few seconds directly exhausted the mask's "lifespan."

"In the future, I might have to find a way to get a real one..." Looking at the ashes floating in the air, Duncan said thoughtfully, "This thing burns out so quickly..."

He didn't intend to really "save" any sun god, but he was still quite interested in the secrets kept by those sun cultists, and he was full of curiosity about the history before the Great Annihilation. He felt that he would continue to research in the transcendent field; the wool from those cultists... should still be shorn.

But as his research deepened, he had to find a way to shear some high-quality wool. After a short rest to recover his spirit, Duncan left his bedroom.

The goat head, who was dazing by the navigation table, immediately turned his head when he heard the movement. He first confirmed whether the dove had sneaked out with him. Only after discovering that only Duncan was there did he breathe a sigh of relief: "Ah, great Captain, your loyal I, with the rest omitted, am diligently steering for you. I wonder if your 'voyage' was smooth? I sensed that your soul went to a very far place again, but this time it doesn't seem like a human city-state. If you want to go on a trip next time, you can actually mention..."

"How much do you know about the 'True Sun God' that those sun cultists believe in?" Duncan waved his hand and asked directly.

After spending some time with this goat head, he had become increasingly familiar with the other party's temperament, and he was more confident in his "captain's identity." He no longer felt as cautious as he did at first when communicating and asking questions. It was okay to casually ask some questions that were not related to the essence of the Vanishing.

This could also test how much the strange goat head knew about the transcendent field.

"'True Sun God'?" The goat head paused for a moment, then said hesitantly, "To be honest, I really don't know much about it. I only know that the cultists who follow the Sun God are crazy and foolish, but I don't know what kind of thing their god is... But the Sun God's 'blessing' does exist. Those cultists who are devout enough in their beliefs will gain some strange powers, which is also the reason why this cult has gradually developed..."

As he spoke, the goat head gradually reacted: "Ah, why did you suddenly mention this? Could it be that you just now..."

"I was just thinking, if a so-called 'god' is being roasted on a fire by his own believers, and his believers are still unaware of this, adding fuel to the fire every day, and mistakenly thinking that the 'corpse oil' roasted from the god's body is the blessing bestowed by the god..." Duncan said leisurely, "Then this matter is a bit ironic. It belongs to the kind that is too hellish even for dark humor."

The chart room was a little quiet. The goat head didn't even pick up the conversation, which made Duncan look at him in surprise: "Why aren't you talking? Aren't you usually very talkative?" The goat head said in a muffled voice: "...The topic is too esoteric. I don't dare to say, and I don't dare to ask. I can only say that the captain's insights are brilliant..."

Duncan immediately laughed.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he was beginning to feel that even the goat head in front of him was not as evil and dangerous as it had been at first. The atmosphere on this ship... seemed to be slowly getting better.