""Once this Pandora’s box of thought is opened, there will be those who continually attempt to explore it. At first, they relied on hypnosis or indoctrination from a young age, raising such individuals on remote planets."
"But this method ultimately lacks efficiency, and as humans are intelligent beings, the more they learn and understand, the more naturally a spirit of rebellion will arise within them."
"However, the terrifying part of technological progress is that it brings unforeseen new evils."
"Since people will rebel of their own volition, why not design a life form that won’t resist at all, that, upon seeing certain images, will spontaneously feel affection or worship?"
"Thus, after continuous genetic experimentation and alteration, such life forms were ultimately created."
"These newly born species have no resistance to certain images, willingly serving those people, even sacrificing their lives, naturally enjoying this feeling from the instinct of life." He continued to depict the events of the Fifth Epoch.
"How terrifying," the priest beside him said, also sighing involuntarily.
"You can’t wrap fire in paper; when such groups started to grow in number, they were eventually discovered by mainstream society, which then sparked huge debates and divisions."
"Are these beings human, and how should they ultimately be dealt with? Such topics led to societal conflicts, and as more people became aware, more powers began to experiment with the same practices in secret."
"Nations began to split, civil wars broke out, and in the chaos, the moral standards of the whole world quickly declined. Whether it was to survive or out of selfish desire, this new species was being created continuously."
"They were used as soldiers, as cheap labor, or as the foundation of the divine throne."
"In the midst of mutual slaughter, larger organizations swallowed the smaller ones, becoming increasingly colossal, and the number of these entirely obedient new species they controlled grew ever more."
"In the end..."
"What happened in the end?" The priest, noticing he had suddenly stopped, asked curiously.
"In the end, this completely obedient species even came to support new Crowns." The man in the white shirt closed his eyes, feeling the utter despair of this historical moment.
What was originally a representation of many beings’ beautiful hopes and the unanimous divine Crown, later became a tool for selfish interests, where all that was sacred and beautiful fell from grace.
"Yes, even such a species without self-will, they are still living lives, with spirits and thoughts. They can indeed change the world, even a world that obeys the will of others."
"Intelligent life always takes pride in its free will. However, such arrogance holds no special place in the cold reality of physics; as long as conditions are met, whether good or evil, whether organic or inorganic, any can ignite the kindling."
"Humans are not special."
"Is it such a world of despair, then?" The priest, sitting by the lake, looked up at the azure sky.
"So what happened later, how did you escape?"
"Although such a dark Black Sun rose gradually in the Milky Way, ambitiously, there was more than one, and they surely did not trust each other." The man in the white shirt shook his head, sitting on the grass by the lake, and continued to narrate the events of the Fifth Epoch.
"Among the dark Solar Crowns, there were also conflicts and friction, scheming to cause the downfall of the others, they began to develop weapons that could specifically cleanse the opponent’s species."
"As long as the pillar species supporting the opponent’s Crown were exterminated, then the Crown representing the divine power would also gradually dissipate and fall."
"Thus, weapons that destroyed humanity were developed; some only required a Starship to break into the atmosphere, releasing a virus that could strip away the inhabitants of an entire planet."
"Some were designed to target the genetics of enemy species; others simply melted entire planets, induced various types of radiation and poison to ruin the opposing species’ Inhabitable Planets. This way, even if the enemies temporarily escaped, they would find it difficult to expand their species in the future."
"In this manner, human civilization is self-annihilating." The priest quickly discerned the hidden perils.
"Yes, although there were instances where one side swallowed the opponent due to victory, becoming more powerful, on the whole, human civilization was weakening and self-destructing."
"The conflict under the Black Sun destroyed many Inhabitable Planets in an instant, and some of the rare Species of the Milky Way also perished in such wars," the man in the white shirt said as he lay down on the grass, seeming to find particular comfort sleeping amidst the bushes. Explore more stories with freewebnovel
"The struggle has greatly reduced the number of livable planets, and many people began to flee. Because the overall strength of civilization had declined, many unimportant regions were no longer occupied or blockaded, creating many unnoticed cracks in the nation’s territory," he continued.
"Along these chaotic cracks, some turned to piracy, some began smuggling, and others, like us, simply wanted to escape."
"The first group on the ship was just like that, they escaped the chaos with a group of like-minded people and then searched for a new home in the vastness of space."
"It took hundreds of years to get here," after saying this, the man in the white shirt slowly drifted off into a nap on the grass, feeling the peaceful breeze of this utopian world.
The Priest standing on the side got up, looked at the sleeping man in the white shirt, and walked towards the lake, "Such a long story, also stirring deep emotions, I never anticipated that so many things happened after the end of the Fourth Epoch."
Stopping by the lake, he dipped his hands in, feeling the lake’s cold and refreshing water, which was enough to awaken his slightly drowsy mind in the afternoon.
"However, Isenisha said she still wants to go out and have a look; I couldn’t dissuade her."
High up on the distant World Tree, in the palace among the clouds, a young girl in a flowing light green dress sat by the window, a delicate and beautiful light yellow Rose in her hair, which looked like it was dipped in a light coating of gold under the sunlight.
The room’s decor was very warm, featuring a mix of vines, wooden structures, and fresh flowers, while the walls were the smooth, lustrous inner bark of trees.
This space had been carved out from the tree, and while it housed appliances from the technological era, they did not clash but seamlessly integrated with the style of the room.
Having lived on this planet for thousands of years, people had long become accustomed to the World Tree’s presence, and even as technology gradually recovered, they did not abandon this preference and style but instead incorporated it into the details of their lives.
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
Looking down at the grassy plains, the lake, the sea of flowers, and the forest below, the half-Elf girl strummed her seven-stringed harp, expressing her hopes and wishes for the future.
The slanting rays of sunlight fell upon her smooth toes; her light pink toenails contrasted with the white petals, creating a scene worthy of a beautiful painting.
A year later, the inhabitants of the planet who had successfully replicated the technology built their spaceship. Among the first batch of members to return to the Milky Way included a half-Elf girl who loved light yellow Roses. She was the Crowned girl who had sung prayers to the World Tree of this generation and was also the darling cared for by the Priests.
"Are you really going, Isenisha?" the elderly High Priest stood in front of the spaceship on the open ground saying goodbye to the girl, asking once more.
"Yes, Priest Grandpa, I’ve made up my mind," the golden-haired girl, holding her packed seven-stringed harp, spoke to the people before her.
"The Milky Way is not as wonderful as it used to be; you must know about the things that happened during the Fifth Epoch."
"If you run into any accidents, we won’t be able to save you. The distances in space are measured in light-years, and you may never live to see the day you can return." The old man spoke once more of the uncertainty of interstellar travel. Even with a Superspace Engine, the long voyages through space could take decades, or even centuries. It would be hundreds of years before the Starship capable of traversing vast spaces in days would be born.
"I understand, Priest Grandpa," Isenisha nodded again, her light golden eyes extremely clear and resolute.
"In that case, alright, I won’t try to convince you any longer."
"I wish you a safe journey and that your desires are fulfilled, Isenisha."
Following the crowd, she walked step by step toward the spaceship until, at last, she looked through the thick metal glass windows at the people on the ground. Although the current distance was only a few hundred meters, everyone knew that from then on, it would be a whole different world.
The pale blue Flame ignited, and with the surging thrust, the spaceship slowly ascended into the sky, through the continuous alarms and trembling, passing through the atmosphere until it finally re-entered the cold and distant cosmos.
"No one could have anticipated that the slowly rising flickering point of light heralded humanity’s third resurgence."
"To our eternally cherished and remembered ’Golden Rose’—Princess Isenisha."
—Recollections of the "Fifth Epoch"