Chapter 1 This Really Is a Cliché

"This really is a cliché development," Hao Ren couldn't help but think.

An ancient civilization from the previous era, facing an unidentified natural disaster (the God Kingdom explosion), was dragged into the cracks of space-time. The surface world was destroyed, and the survivors relied on powerful technology to build large-scale shelters inside the planet, where they eked out a living. As time passed, the disaster on the surface gradually subsided, but the survivors in the underground shelters, due to prolonged isolation and drastic environmental changes, suffered a breakdown in civilization, turning into monsters or simply dying out. The shelter facilities they left behind became dangerous "Great Tunnels," filled with deadly gases and relentless monsters, regarded as a scourge by the new civilization on the surface...

Hao Ren could even boldly guess that, if these assumptions were true, the so-called poisonous gas in the Great Tunnels should actually be the normal atmospheric composition of this planet ten thousand years ago—it was the foundation upon which the previous civilization thrived, but now it was a disaster for this era's ecosystem.

But could just ten thousand years really produce such a huge change? Or was there some other major change that occurred on this planet after it was dragged into the Dark Domain, greatly accelerating the process of ecological evolution?

These questions could probably only be answered after entering the Great Tunnels.

He originally thought that becoming a mercenary in a daze and signing a guard contract with a reckless female mage was just an insignificant little episode, but he didn't expect this matter to lead to such important information. Hao Ren couldn't help but marvel at his good luck: if Liya hadn't suddenly appeared and mentioned the Great Tunnels, he didn't know how long he would have to wander around this world with everyone before coming into contact with the secrets of that underground world. After all, for most normal people in this world, the Great Tunnels were an object to be respected and avoided, and a reckless "scholar" like Liya was a rare species.

Having made his decision, Hao Ren closed the geography book in front of him: "Everyone, rest and recuperate today, prepare yourselves, and tomorrow, follow Liya to the vicinity of the Great Tunnels and try to find the entrance to the underground..."

But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a communication from Nolan: "Boss! You better come out and see this!"

"What's the situation?" He didn't expect Nolan, who was performing a reconnaissance mission in the high altitude, to suddenly send a message, and thought something unexpected had happened. "Enemies?"

Nolan's tone was urgent and shocked: "No! It's the sky! There's something incredible in the sky!"

The group immediately exchanged glances, and then ran in unison to the wide French window in the library, pushed open the window and looked up at the dark night sky outside.

Even the cat girl was startled by what she saw, her eyes wide: "...Meow meow meow meow?"

In the dark night sky, a fragmented world was slowly crossing the sky!

These were several huge shadows, larger than any satellite or star Hao Ren knew could appear in the sky. Ordinary people could tell with the naked eye that they were fragments of broken continents floating in space. The three largest continental fragments were arranged in a triangular pattern, with clearly visible raised mountains and deep ravines, and even some faint traces of what appeared to be man-made objects. Between these three aerial continents, there were countless black dots of all sizes: these were floating islands surrounding the continents.

All of this undoubtedly once belonged to a complete planet.

The surface of the broken continents was not completely dark. In their depths, some dark red or dark yellow lines could still be seen. Those faint lights seemed to be the remnants of magma that had not completely cooled—or perhaps something else was still emitting residual light.

While everyone was in shock, these lands suspended in the sky were still moving across the sky at a speed visible to the naked eye, and had now gradually reached the center of the night sky. Their vast scale almost covered a third of the sky. Although the whole process was silent, it carried an amazing sense of oppression and solemnity. Hao Ren even felt like he was hallucinating, hearing a dull sound as if giant trees were rolling across the ground: rumble, rumble...

These auditory hallucinations were interrupted by a clear voice suddenly coming from beside him: "Ah, what are you all doing, lined up in front of the window?"

Hao Ren snapped back to his senses and was surprised to see Liya standing not far from him: she was standing outside the window, her feet in the air, and some small, shimmering runes were moving around her, isolating the cold air from Longwind Ridge.

This mage seemed to have come out for some fresh air during a break from her research.

"Ah ha, I'm just out for a walk, don't look so spooked," Liya waved her hand casually, noticing the surprised expressions on Hao Ren's faces. "I know it's a bit scary to greet people from outside the window like this, but people as knowledgeable as you shouldn't be too frightened, right?"

"Um... Oh, it's nothing," Vivian quickly recovered and put on a gentle smile. "We were just looking at the night view, and... the scenery in the sky."

"Oh? Oh, so you're looking at the Shattered Heavens," Liya followed Vivian's gaze and looked over, turning back with a knowing smile on her face, seemingly not surprised that Hao Ren and his party were collectively gazing at the sky in the middle of the night. "Indeed, no matter when, no matter how many times you see it, it's a fascinating sight, isn't it? I just didn't expect you adventurers who travel around the world to have such refined tastes. You like reading books and gazing at the Shattered Heavens, I'm starting to think you're actually a group of scholars on a study tour."

"We come from a very remote place where there aren't many educated people, but we're different, and it's precisely because we're curious about the outside world that we've traveled together all the way here," Hao Ren cautiously weaved the background of his group and tried to continue the topic. "If this scholar has time, how about telling us about the Shattered Heavens?"

"Ah ha, I have plenty of time, but the topic you're asking about is too broad, how am I supposed to talk about it?" Being called "Scholar," Liya was obviously in a good mood. Although she said it was troublesome, she still opened the floodgates of conversation. "Some say it was once the kingdom where gods lived, others say it was a planet twinned with our world, but destroyed by war, and some even say it was an 'Old World,' the former place of residence of our ancestors. Later, disaster struck, the world was destroyed, and the ancestors used some ancient magic that has been lost to create a new world on the other side of the Old World, which is now Lahrien, and transferred all of us here—while the fragmented Old World floats permanently in Lahrien's sky. Which theory do you think is more reliable?"

Hao Ren, of course, supported the first one, but he didn't know what Liya's reaction would be, so he didn't say it directly, but instead asked, "What do you think?"

"Throwing the question back? Tch tch," Liya clicked her tongue, but wasn't dissatisfied. "I am a scholar, and although I also study myths and legends, I first look at those legends with a scholar's eye, not as a believer—so I'm more inclined to believe the third theory. It is the old Lahrien, the place where our ancestors once lived. Whenever we look up at the sky, we are looking in the direction of home... How evocative."

Hao Ren was a little speechless: "...Just because it's evocative?"

"Because of the power of humans," Liya, who was usually reckless, showed an unusually emotional expression at this time. "We are mortals, and our ancestors were also mortals, but when the Old World faced destruction, they had the ability to create a new Lahrien in the void and save so many races from that tearing land. How great is this power? Although these incredible ancient powers have now been lost, think about those ancient lighthouses that occasionally appear in the Sea of Mist, think about those incredible ruins underground, think about the mechanical palaces that still linger in the sky near the Highest Peak... Which of them isn't a miracle to us now? But those were all created by our ancestors with their own hands, not by some divine power... Why do some people just turn a blind eye to these things?"

Hao Ren didn't know what to say for a moment, because he didn't understand this newly acquainted mage or the background of this world. He could only roughly understand the other party's thoughts from Liya's words: she supported the third theory about the Shattered Heavens because she firmly believed that human power was enough to shape this world.

Vivian was a little curious: "You seem to be very dismissive of the 'God Kingdom Theory' of the Shattered Heavens?"

"It's not that I'm dismissive, it's that I don't even consider it a theory," Liya sneered. "Announce that those ruins in the sky are where gods lived? Then you can directly attribute all the unsolved mysteries about the Shattered Heavens to miracles. Whether it's its trajectory or those floating structures that violate the laws of nature, they can all be explained by 'God's design.' Anyway, it can't be proved or disproved, how easy—but that's not what a scholar should say."

Nangong Sanba reminded, "But it's still called the Shattered Heavens, not some Old Lahrien or Old World."

"Yes, it's still called the Shattered Heavens, after all, that's the name that has been passed down since ancient times, but the name doesn't explain anything," Liya said carelessly. "If that really was a place where gods once lived, then why did it become like it is now? Where did the gods who lived there go? If the gods there are dead, then isn't that god very useless? What's worthy of awe about a god who can't even protect his own home?"

These were almost heretical remarks. Even in this world where divine authority was in decline, few people would publicly preach these things, but Liya obviously didn't care about these worldly rules. Even when facing a group of mercenaries she had just met, she didn't intend to be cautious.

Hao Ren, of course, wouldn't have any objections to Liya's remarks.

Although he immediately associated those fragmented continents in the sky with the planet of origin, and he was well aware of the inseparable connection between this "Dark Domain" and the gods, he had no intention of forcibly reversing this mage's thoughts.

Liya's understanding of this world was her own business, and Hao Ren didn't think he had the right to interfere in this matter.

"Ah, I seem to have told you a lot of things that are hard to understand," Liya said with a smile. "Has it impacted your world view? You must be more supportive of the God Kingdom Theory, right?"

"I do support the God Kingdom Theory, but I don't object to your theory either," Hao Ren smiled. "The power of humans is very great, and sometimes it's so great that it can amaze the gods, but there's no need to compare the two, because gods have things that gods should do, and humans have things that humans should do..."

"A very novel view," Liya couldn't help but look at Hao Ren a few more times. "If you hadn't become a mercenary, you might really have the potential to become a thinker. Alright, I should go back and rest, I've had enough fresh air, and I'm getting a little cold."

"Then we'll see you tomorrow, Mage."

"See you tomorrow—you better get some rest too, we're setting off tomorrow."