This was Lockmadon's "nest."
The discovery had been so far beyond Hao Ren's expectations that he stood stunned for more than ten seconds after seeing the deciphered text. He only snapped back to reality when the Data Terminal began impatiently bumping against his head. "What the hell... do you know what this is?"
"You just stood there without saying a word. How was I supposed to know?" The Data Terminal flew around with a whoosh. "What exactly did you find? Is this a pit the Creation Goddess dug back then? Did she become hopelessly addicted to digging pits before she created life?"
"This is a nest, prepared for Lockmadon..." Hao Ren frowned. "I can confirm it now. The Red Moon really is some kind of projection of the Founding Star—just a miniature version. But the Lockmadon we saw in Kolo World was over a hundred kilometers in size. Even if this nest was the Founding Star's original size, it shouldn't have been able to contain a body as enormous as Lockmadon's... So this must have been where Lockmadon spent his 'childhood.'"
Hearing this, the Data Terminal froze in midair for a long while—which was probably its equivalent of being dumbfounded. Several seconds later, it finally broke the silence. "...Partner, you really live up to being the Goddess's handpicked troublemaker... Every clue you find is headline news."
This time, Hao Ren did not argue with the Data Terminal at all. He merely stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Which era's version of the Founding Star do you think the Red Moon is projecting?"
The Data Terminal failed to react at first. "Which era? What do you mean?"
"I've seen the Founding Star in an illusion—or at least part of it. In that illusion, I saw solemn Temple Clusters rising above the Sea of