Scholars in this world have always had many conjectures about the origin of the current Deep Sea Age and the world before the Great Annihilation. They have also tried to explain the historical fragmentation of the city-states in the Boundless Sea, the chronology of cultural relics, and the contradictory inheritance phenomena, just like
What any ethnic group that has formed a civilization system will do when facing history -
As long as there is history, there will be people who study history, and when people study history, there will be people who will try to explain those contradictions. There is never a shortage of conjectures. Most of the things that a layman can think of, professional scholars have already thought about, and may even have constructed.
A complete theoretical model.
Scholars actually have many theoretical models that can explain the reasons for the formation of today's deep sea age - including the one speculated by Duncan, and each of them makes sense.
The only problem is that there is no "evidence" to support each theoretical model. The Great Annihilation is like a majestic high wall, blocking everything before that time point. No information or relics can be passed down from before that point.
Now, Duncan believes that he has found a key "evidence" and extracted key information that is enough to support one of the conjectures:
The fragments left behind after the destruction of a distant and unfamiliar world - and a "memory" that accurately describes the doomsday scene.
Of course, in the face of a truly rigorous scholar, this isolated evidence may not be enough to fully and irrefutably explain the current situation of the Deep Sea Age.
"World aggregation theory..." Ted Leal whispered to himself, "I know that my mentor has always been a supporter of this theory - he believes that the current deep sea era is composed of a large number of worlds that were originally isolated from each other.
It is formed by overlapping and reorganization. What caused this overlapping and reorganization may be a major disaster that happened to several worlds at the same time. The so-called 'Great Annihilation' is not one disaster, but a series of disasters that occurred at the same time.
Therefore, there will be so many contradictions in the historical records of various races in the Infinite Sea, and some ancient legends will be seriously torn apart...
"This theory also explains why we can't find the 'original appearance' of the world before the Great Annihilation at all, nor can we find 'ancient cultural relics' that can support any kind of historical record - because those original appearances have long been reorganized, from the timeline of
From a perspective, 'this world' today did not exist at all before the Great Annihilation."
He stopped, exhaled slightly, and then continued to speak.
"The entire Infinite Sea was born at the moment of the Great Annihilation. Before that moment, there was no 'old world' that could be completely and accurately described and understood. There were only countless fragments of the old world as 'raw materials' accumulated in the time of the Great Annihilation.
Node - World Aggregation Theory, among all origin theories, its "explanatory power" is the best, and it explains almost all the problems we face.
"But at the same time, it is also considered the most whimsical and difficult to prove, because it fundamentally denies the point that 'history can be traced' and attributes everything to 'it has disappeared anyway', so although this
The theory is very good, but it has few supporters, and my mentor... is one of its few supporters."
After Ted Leal finished speaking with exclamation, Duncan finally broke the silence: "Now, we have evidence."
Ted Leal's eyes fell on the long sword. After thinking solemnly for a long time, he still shook his head: "Evidence alone is not proof - this evidence is indeed very likely to support the 'world aggregation theory'
, but the single piece of evidence is flawed, unless we can find a second conclusive 'world fragment', and it comes from a different world than the 'physical evidence' in your hand..."
When saying this, the tone of the secret keeper seemed very difficult and tangled. Obviously from an emotional point of view, he hoped more than anyone else that an unresolved conjecture could be confirmed, hoping that he had finally found the "answer", but since then
From the perspective of a scholar, he must be rigorous, and even show an inhumane "harshness" when he sees the first "evidence".
However, after he finished speaking, Duncan just replied with one word: "Yes."
Ted Leal didn't react for a moment, and even Lucretia next to him didn't react. After a moment, they all said in unison: "Do you have other evidence?!"
Duncan was silent for two or three seconds, turned his head and looked deeply into Lucretia's eyes: "The moon."
"That 'stone ball'..." Lucretia reacted instantly, "You mean, it is..."
"It is another 'fragment'," Duncan nodded slightly. "It comes from another world—another world that is completely different from the hometown of this long sword. Although I don't know what happened to it, I don't know what happened to it.
As for what it will look like now, I'm pretty sure it is...
He suddenly stopped, as if there was a force preventing him from saying that conclusion. This blocking force surged in his mind, roaring like a storm, and as a strong emotion, it was with him.
The rational part of the .
He instinctively rejected this conclusion.
Lucretia noticed something, and she looked at her father with confusion and worry.
Duncan finally spoke and finished the second half of the sentence: "...It is the remaining part of 'that world'."
In the end, reason triumphed over emotion.
When he came to this conclusion, he even had the illusion of "relief".
In fact, after he saw the "Moon" for the first time and returned to the Lost Home to talk to Alice, he already had a guess in this regard——
Since the "Moon" has appeared in this world, it is very likely that this world is his "hometown", a "hometown" that has been severely mutated and distorted.
However, there are no "elves" and "Sen'jin" in his hometown, there are no humans in the legends of the elves themselves, and the word "earth" never appears in the historical records of the city-states in the Infinite Sea. The "history" that has troubled many scholars
The "tearing" problem is particularly obvious in Duncan's eyes.
So...how was this boundless sea formed?
The most likely explanation is: there may be my hometown here, but only part of it.
To confirm this guess, we only need to find a second "moon"-like fragment of another world.
The only thing he didn't expect was that the second evidence would come so quickly and so directly.
Ted Leal and Lucretia looked at each other, and after a brief hesitation, they realized that Duncan had no reason to deceive them on this matter.
It turns out that there are already two pieces of evidence - no wonder the greatest explorer of the past would be so convinced and declare without hesitation that the world today is made up of piles of ruins.
Lucretia did not ask Duncan where he got his knowledge about the "moon".
Because she knows that the answers to these questions will eventually point to the subspace - no matter what form it is, her father has completed his own reshaping and transformation in the "deepest and darkest place", and everything he has now
The knowledge and abilities that Xiang himself cannot understand are all part of those imprints.
She shouldn't uncover them repeatedly.
Ted Leal had been thinking silently, but suddenly, he raised his head suddenly, as if he felt something.
The "secret keeper" quickly opened the heavy book in his hand, summoned the "stethoscope" from the pages, and rushed to the "living metal" on the central platform with a single stride.
He placed the stethoscope on the surface of the "living metal" and his expression suddenly became very solemn.
An extremely weak and slow heartbeat came from the room, and each heartbeat sounded slower and weaker than the previous one.
"She's dying."
Ted Leal raised his head and said with complicated eyes.
For the first time in his life, the "Keeper of the Truth" whose duty is to protect the city-state had particularly complicated emotions when faced with a "foreign object" that invaded the real world.
Because he suddenly realized that this indescribable "terrible thing" that brought panic to many people in the market... was actually very likely to be the same existence as humans, elves, and Sen'jin - it was
A "homeless man" who arrived in the Deep Sea Age from the Great Annihilation.
Unfortunately, his world was destroyed even more completely, and those tiny fragments... were far from enough to sustain him and his race.
The Deep Sea Age did not leave a place for homeless people like him. Under the influence of some as yet unexplainable mechanism, he became like this and was about to die.
Nina and Shirley subconsciously grabbed each other's hands, not knowing what to do for a moment. Lucretia could only look at this scene with complicated eyes, because she knew that this could no longer be reversed by human power.
Something happened.
In the heartbeat that gradually became lower and slower, Duncan finally walked forward slowly. He looked at the "living metal" that now had no human appearance at all, but another picture emerged in his mind -
The stubborn warrior, the silent magician, the ever-energetic hunter and ranger, the confident knights, the pessimistic psychic, and the confident and proud red-haired Groska woman...
They set out on a sunny afternoon, carrying the best swords and armors, the best scrolls and talismans made by the kingdom, and the king's blessing and trust, and walked into the distant wilderness together - just like the ancient
As described in the poem, a team of brave men go to save their world.
Duncan reached out his hand and gently pressed it on the cold and hard "steel".
"We are all homeless... Now, you are home."
The low and slow "thumping" sound finally gradually stopped, and after an extremely weak and slow beating, there was no more heartbeat sound in the room.
The last heartbeat is like a sigh.
Ted Leal turned around, as if announcing to this deep sea era——