The Postponed Day of Destruction

In the dying embers that had gradually cooled after all things fell silent, the corpses of ancient gods ruled over the ashes of the world, while certain things that had "grown" from those corpses built imitations and phantoms of the past amid the ashes. Stripped of all mythic halos, and after reorganizing all the information currently available, the Deep Sea Era before Duncan revealed its truest—and most chilling—face.

Of course, he could have described this era in gentler terms, or explained the gods' current state in ways that were easier to accept, but that would not change the essence of the matter.

He stood up and scratched Goat Head's neck. The former "Creator" raised its head and studied Duncan's expression. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."

Duncan sat back down. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke as if talking to himself. "...The whole world is just a pile of embers slowly going out..."

"I heard Lucretia mention those words," Goat Head immediately said.

Duncan nodded and said nothing more. Instead, he reached into his coat and, after feeling around for a moment, pulled out two things.

One was a "sphere" radiating brilliant light: an Ancient Star shrunk countless times over. Flames flowed across its surface, and its gentle radiance continuously erupted, receded, and surged, as though maintaining the star's "operation."

This was the "gift" Vana had obtained from Tarquin—the Senjin people's former sun.

The other was a pale golden crystal, intricately cut and roughly the size of a fist. It had dozens of irregular, asymmetrical facets, each with a flawless, polished texture. Extremely delicate structures seemed to be hidden within it as well, spreading outward from the crystal's center like strands of hair and forming a three-dimensional grid encased within the crystal.

Goat Head's attention