Duncan stared at the cube floating at the tip of the Black Sun's tentacle for a long time, studying the information on its surface that seemed to have reached him only through the greatest effort.
He imagined how this tiny metal cube had been delivered to this world—to this era—and what method and process had made it possible.
This was a letter, a letter sent from the New World to the Old World. Yet all information that could prove this had been erased by some force. Its creators might have tried countless ways to ensure that the cube could "identify its origins," but it appeared those efforts had failed. Failure, however, did not mean they had been meaningless.
Its very appearance was an interpretation. Though that interpretation seemed to be nothing more than the Black Sun's extraordinarily bold conjecture, at this moment Duncan was more than willing to believe it was the sole correct answer.
Amid the silence, the Black Sun's deep, layered tremors finally broke the quiet. "The manufacturing process and operating principles of this cube surpass my understanding—surpass every body of knowledge that has ever existed in any city-state, and even every technology known to have existed in any world before the Great Annihilation.
"On the other hand, if we consider its purpose, I can find no reason for anyone to manufacture this cube and place it within the World's Creation. Even the Ancient Kings lacked the power to send anything into the World's Creation. Thus, the only explanation I can think of is that this cube came from a world and an era beyond my comprehension.
"I know the entire history of this sanctuary. The only thing I do not know is the future.
"The future involving the 'New World.'"
The magnificent yet false corona at the