Chapter 191

To be honest, even though Hao Ren was considered worldly-wise now, he absolutely would not have imagined the true history of Lahrien to be like this before hearing the truth Constance was telling him.

This was a world that had been destroyed many times over, its experiences of doomsday far surpassing Hao Ren's initial guess of only twice—that is, the doomsday caused by the Lord of the Mad, and the second doomsday caused by the fall of the Goddess of Creation. In fact, compared to what it had experienced, the shockwave released when the Goddess of Creation fell, which split the planet in two, was nothing at all.

From the First Era, when the ancestral civilization was so powerful that it could almost reverse the laws of the universe, being destroyed by the Lord of the Mad, the entire world reduced to fragments, and the entire civilization ruined, to now, when the entire world was left with only an incomplete planet, and the Inheritors had degenerated to the point where they could only wield swords and spears in battle, what separated them was not simply the river of time.

Each collapse of the universe meant the complete shattering and reorganization of the timeline, with everything being reshuffled as if formatted, and the Inheritors were like "stubborn files" that could not be completely deleted each time. They forcibly continued some things in each annihilation and reincarnation, and to this day, they no longer even know what they are continuing.

Hao Ren now finally understood what the Gorgon Empire, the Tumen Empire, and the Helsonja, these seemingly vastly different "kingdoms," really were—they were all Lahrien civilizations—the different names of this civilization in different timelines as it continuously reincarnated in annihilation.

Looking into Constance's eyes, Hao Ren slowly said, "The first question I want to know—the Mad... I mean, Annihilation, is it also weakening synchronously?"

Constance was taken aback by this question, then revealed an understanding expression: "Indeed, that is the key point. With the continuous destruction and reshaping of the world, it seems that it is not only the 'source' of the ordered world that is being depleted, but the power of Annihilation is also constantly weakening. Initially, it could completely obliterate the entire universe, but after a few eras, it could only wreak havoc within the Milky Way, and now... its power has even weakened to the point where it cannot kill an old man like Duke Owen on the spot."

Duke Owen, lying on the bed, immediately shouted in a resonant voice, "Your Highness, I may be old, but I haven't become weak yet, have I?"

It seemed that after resting for a while, his energy had recovered somewhat.

Hao Ren, after hearing Constance's words, didn't say anything more, but silently noted down the important clues that the power of "Annihilation" would weaken synchronously with the reincarnation of the universe, and that it had consistently failed to completely destroy Lahrien. Then, he asked the second question, "Does anyone know what caused this world's continuous reshaping and reincarnation?"

"How could anyone know," Constance looked at Hao Ren with a slightly strange gaze, "The world's destruction and then rebirth, that is almost the truth of this world. Even the most ancient ancestors failed to understand the essence of the universe, let alone those who have inherited it to this day—after all, the level of civilization is constantly declining."

"Is that so..." Vivian also broke the silence, "Does anyone know the specific situation of the first generation of ancestors? For example, what their civilization was called, what level their technology reached, and... what did they do at the last moment when doomsday arrived?"

Constance shook her head: "No one knows. The more ancient the memory, the more severely it is lost. Even the Inheritors with the strongest souls cannot resist this law. Even my father only knows the approximate history of six or seven eras ago, and as for the most ancient first generation of ancestors and the universe of the First Era... to be honest, that is almost a myth. We only have vague concepts and some pieced-together records. So, what I just said may not be the complete truth—the true history has long been submerged by reincarnation, and no one knows it anymore."

As she spoke, she finally couldn't suppress her doubts: "Are you really Inheritors? The questions you are asking... shouldn't come from the mouths of Inheritors."

"Perhaps it's because we inherited more technology and knowledge," Hao Ren said casually, "When it comes to some black technology, our World Tree Temple does have some, but when it comes to historical data from the era of changing... it's actually a bit embarrassing."

"So, such a situation has emerged among the Inheritors?" Constance frowned slightly, "The world has reincarnated too many times, and the Inheritors seem to be gradually reaching their limits... More and more anomalies are constantly appearing, but fortunately, you at least brought knowledge."

Lilia then asked curiously, "So, according to your statement, that Emperor Berrentin is also an Inheritor? And this war you are waging... is to complete the era change?"

Constance revealed a serious expression: "Yes, and from the day I became conscious, I knew that this day would come."

Perhaps influenced by Constance's determined aura, the room fell silent for a time. Charlemagne and Awenna needed time to slowly understand and accept these incredible facts, while Hao Ren was thinking about some more profound matters.

For example, the real reason that caused the phenomenon of "Annihilation Reincarnation" in this world—he believed that it was definitely not the work of the Lord of the Mad. The reason was simple: the Lord of the Mad had no ability to think and could not perform such delicate operations as harvesting leeks.

Just then, Constance reached out and grasped the platinum scepter floating in mid-air.

The platinum scepter emitted a slight hum, which woke Hao Ren from his thoughts. His attention was once again drawn to the scepter.

Before Constance could take the scepter away, he quickly asked, "Wait, I have another question—what exactly is this platinum scepter used for?"

"The Scepter of Rule is the key to the era change," Constance seemed very patient, "When the war for the era change reaches its final stages, all the order in the world will basically collapse, but only within the scope of the platinum scepter's coverage will order be able to survive—and the place protected by the scepter will be the battlefield for the final battle. The fate of the world will come to an end under the scepter's light, and the new era will begin with the scepter as its center."

Hao Ren's eyes lit up slightly: "In other words, this scepter is something that has never changed in the process of annihilation and reincarnation? It is an ancient artifact that existed in the First Era?"

Constance hesitated: "... I wouldn't dare say that so definitively, but it has indeed existed for many eras."

Hao Ren reached out: "Can we take a look? Don't worry, just a look. We are very interested in this kind of ancient relic."

Constance didn't think much and handed the platinum scepter to Hao Ren.

Hao Ren took the scepter and carefully examined the patterns and carvings on its surface, while the data terminal simultaneously flew to the scepter's side and scanned it completely from top to bottom.

"Lilia, come and take a look." After confirming that the data terminal had completed the scanning and archiving, Hao Ren handed the scepter to Lilia next to him.

The little Goddess of Creation took the long staff, which was almost twice her height, and nodded earnestly while carefully examining it. He didn't know if she really saw anything, but she studied it for a full ten minutes before returning the scepter to Constance.

"Have you seen anything?" Constance asked, a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"The pattern is nice, looks quite gorgeous," Hao Ren spread his hands. "Just like I said, we... are a little embarrassed when it comes to historical inheritance. I can't see any secrets in it at all."

As he said this, he was quickly communicating with the data terminal in his mind: "How is it? Any findings?"

"It is indeed possible that it has experienced era changes—in addition to the outer layer of plating, the material used inside the scepter cannot be manufactured by the Lahrien people of this era, or even by the Gorgon-level galactic civilization. After rough analysis by this unit, the strength of the main body of the scepter alone is comparable to the main material of the Creation Engine."

"Then it really might be from the First Era... What else?"

"In addition, an extremely precise data storage structure was found inside the scepter. Although it cannot be cracked for the time being, this unit has extracted it through information snapshots and uploaded it to Nolan. She should be able to handle it. Also, Lilia should have extracted a copy of the scepter's data. Let her pass the data to Nolan later. Comparing the two samples should improve cracking efficiency."

Hao Ren and the data terminal's communication took place at the consciousness level, and the exchange of information was completed in an instant. At this time, Constance had just put away the platinum scepter. She looked at the Charlemagne and Awenna siblings, who were still somewhat unable to recover their senses, and shook her head almost imperceptibly: "It seems that you still need some time to adapt—go back to your rooms and rest first. Come to me after you've sorted out your thoughts. I hope that you can find your place in the era change by then."

Charlemagne immediately opened his mouth: "No, we can..."

"There's no point in being stubborn. This is an era change, not a small war between a few countries," Constance interrupted the Ison Prince, who was obviously lacking in experience despite his extraordinary talent, without any politeness. Then, her tone softened slightly: "I don't mean to deny you—you went to so much trouble to bring the Scepter of Rule to me, which has already laid a cornerstone for the era change, but you do need to reorganize your thoughts. This era is coming to an end. Doomsday is not in some distant prophecy, but right in front of you. At this time, you should give yourself some quiet time to think."

Awenna blinked: "Because we will soon find that being immersed in quiet thought will be the last luxury in this world, right?"

"You are very smart," Constance glanced at Awenna, her eyebrows raised, but there was no hint of contempt in her tone, "Wisdom is precious. Cherish it."

The Charlemagne siblings left.

Only Hao Ren's group, Duke Owen, and Princess Constance were left in the room.

Duke Owen, who had been silent since the beginning, suddenly broke the silence: "Your Highness, I have a request."