Chapter 13 Old Dreams

Morris sighed.

"When those of us who dig through history exhaust ourselves to reach the high wall of the Great Annihilation, when we spend our lives searching for artifacts, comparing ancient texts, trying to glimpse the scenery on the other side of that wall, we are faced with such bizarre and motley things."

The old man's face was filled with deep weariness and frustration, as if he were a traveler who had trudged through most of his life, still unable to see the end of his journey, and had no choice but to accept reality.

"The history before the Great Annihilation is fragmented and contradictory. The records between different city-states are like bizarre and motley stories, or mutually unconnected dreams... No decisive evidence can prove which record is correct, or that there is a theory that can integrate these contradictory things."

Duncan, however, was silent for a moment, because his thoughts were surging like waves. Among the incredible "fragments of unofficial history" described by Morris, he seemed to be experiencing a baptism of information storm.

As a "foreigner" who had experienced the information age and had good associative abilities, he could imagine or guess some things from the other party's description—

The dome covering the entire continent might be some kind of artificial ecological device. The energy system originating from the sun and using substances in seawater as fuel might be fusion technology.

The giant ship sailing in the void, relying on capturing dust and gas clouds in space to provide power, could be one or several colony starships.

As for the so-called dream of the Demon God… the seawater coming from the dream to reality… he couldn't imagine what it was for a while, but it sounded like a fantasy concept, something with a completely different style from the technological atmosphere in the first two historical fragments.

He could find explanations or guesses for many things, but no matter what, these things could not be pieced together.

Just like Morris said, they were more like mutually unconnected dreams, outlining completely different "prehistoric histories."

Contradictory and fragmented, completely unusable to reproduce the appearance of the world before the Great Annihilation.

"Perhaps your statement is correct, there is a 'horizon limit' on the key event of the Great Annihilation," Morris's voice came from across the counter, interrupting Duncan's thoughts. The old man held his forehead, his tone low, "We cannot observe the 'events' on the other side of the horizon, so the history before the Great Annihilation is a concept that we can never trace back to."

Looking at Morris, who was filled with emotion, Duncan's thoughts did not stop. Gradually, he came up with a rather bold idea: "Then… what if these records are all true?"

Morris raised his eyes and looked at Duncan with some surprise, "Oh?"

"If these records are all true, and the history recorded by each city-state or each race is really the true appearance of 'the world before the Great Annihilation' in their perception?" Duncan stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps our ancestors ten thousand years ago really came from completely different 'homelands,' with completely different civilizations? The Great Annihilation trapped these exiles from different worlds on this sea, and before the civilization was completely cut off, the descendants of the exiles barely recorded what they knew, and after ten thousand years, it became the 'contradictory history' that troubles scholars…"

His thoughts became active, and he paused before continuing, "Perhaps the essence of the Great Annihilation is not the end of the world, but a 'great teleportation'?"

Morris looked at Duncan in surprise, and suddenly said, "...The conjecture of the Brock Bendis school? The theory of world drift? This is a relatively unpopular school of thought. Is your research on ancient history really that deep?"

It was a compliment, but Duncan was a little confused: Listening to this, someone had already thought of this possibility?!

He blinked, but didn't let his surprise show, and pretended to follow the topic: "It's just some scattered knowledge, but I like this conjecture very much."

"I also like this conjecture—although it's very unpopular," Morris shook his head, "But like all other conjectures, we have no evidence, so it can only be a conjecture.

"The Clark school once hypothesized that the interference of the subspace with the real world distorted all historical records. The Valentim school believes that the world before the Great Annihilation was countless isolated crystal lattices. The Bologna city-state even believes that the world before the Great Annihilation simply did not exist. All records of prehistoric history are illusions created by shadows in the subspace..."

"To say something I shouldn't, even some heretical cults have their own understanding of world history. The doomsday evangelists who worship the subspace firmly believe that the end of the world has already begun, and is chasing and devouring our civilization along the river of history. The contradictory historical records of various city-states are the result of the real history being gradually torn apart by the subspace. The Great Annihilation is a barrier blocking the end of the world. When the history after the Great Annihilation is gradually polluted and torn apart, it will be the day when the entire world falls into the subspace…"

The more Duncan listened, the more astonished he became. After a long while, he shook his head subconsciously: "I didn't know there were so many strange assumptions..."

"Ordinary people don't dabble in this field. After all, researching history is a dangerous thing in a mystical sense," Morris said, "But one truth is obvious: if thousands of scholars have spent their entire lives exploring an area with no way out for hundreds or even thousands of years, then they must have put forward all the assumptions that can be put forward."

Duncan slowly understood what the old man meant.

For these people who have really spent their lives digging through books and artifacts, it is very simple to put forward an assumption that can explain the status quo. As scholars, what they lack is never imagination and vision.

What they lack is evidence, evidence that can prove even any one of the assumptions.

"...Is there no evidence left?" Duncan asked, "Any 'physical evidence' from the history before the Great Annihilation that can prove that some 'wild histories' are true, not even one?"

"So far, none has been found," Morris said slowly, "Ten thousand years, plus one dark age after another, countless city-states rising and falling in the endless sea, it is too difficult for things from ancient times to remain... What can be passed down is either an unreliable manuscript, or a story passed down by word of mouth, and these things themselves may have changed during the process of being passed down."

Duncan was silent for a moment.

In the depths of his mind, on the distant Vanishing Sail, the waves were gently rising and falling, and the boundless sea, as always, covered the entire world.

It also covered all possible truths.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Researching ancient history is really a difficult thing."

"Yes, what we have to face is not only the fragmented 'years,' but also the empty and unsupportable status quo," Morris sighed, "If anything could be dug out on the limited land of the city-states, it would have been dug out long ago. If it can't be dug out, it means that the things that can prove our history are hidden in places that mortals cannot reach."

"Such as the bottom of the sea?" Duncan said suddenly.

"The bottom of the sea? Ha, that's a terrifying and bold statement," Morris laughed, "But this is really the only remaining thought of many historians who have reached the end of their rope... There is evidence at the bottom of the sea, artifacts piled up like mountains, cities of ancient civilizations, ruins that can explain everything, but what's the use? When we dive down, we can only touch shadows. Mortals cannot touch the deepest part of this world."

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then said, "But this has indeed spawned another conjecture... Although it has not become a school of thought, many people speculate that the lost 'old world' in history is actually under the sea level of the endless sea, and is even precisely located at a certain 'depth' between the abyssal deep sea and the spirit world—the world before the Great Annihilation is sleeping at that depth."

"Why do you say that?" Duncan was a little curious. This plausible but unfounded assumption aroused his interest.

Morris thought for a while and explained, "Because many fragmented ancient histories mention that the world before the Great Annihilation was shrouded in the 'starry sky,' and as we all know, the 'starry sky' is on the interface between the abyssal deep sea and the spirit world."

Duncan almost choked himself to death with a mouthful of saliva: "Cough cough… huh?"

"Are you okay?" Morris was startled by Duncan's reaction, "This shouldn't be anything unbelievable..."

"I'm fine, I was just listening too intently and choked," Duncan quickly waved his hand, "The starry sky is between the abyssal deep sea and the spirit world, of course I know, of course I know..."