As Vivian had said, it was almost impossible to communicate with people who lived on faith as though it were food—at least when it came to matters of faith.
Gotalug was probably the most devout and tradition-minded elder in this remnant society. He possessed rich experience and ancient knowledge that others lacked, but he was accustomed to attributing everything difficult to explain to the Goddess's guidance. He told Hao Ren the ancient history recorded in the scrolls, but the truth behind that history would probably have to be deduced by Hao Ren himself.
According to Gotalug, the end of the Solar Dynasty had basically coincided with the time when something major happened to the Dream Plane. Thus, after the Goddess's fall, this planet and a small area of space around it must have been cast out of the Dream Plane and become trapped on the Wall of Reality.
The Sky Closing had been an emergency action taken by the Firstborn to deal with the natural disasters caused by the disappearance of sunlight.
While the Firstborn created the planet's surface crust, the ecosystem of the original surface must have suffered a devastating catastrophe. However, some force—perhaps truly the power of the Creation Goddess—had protected the humans on this planet, allowing them to survive in relatively safe places until the ecosystem gradually stabilized again.
After the Firstborn used its tentacles to create the Pillar Giant Tree and its domed canopy, the surviving humans built the final great city, Dorashir, only to abandon it without ever moving in.
Gotalug claimed that the Goddess had ordered the humans to abandon the city, but Hao Ren guessed that the true reason had probably been climate change.
These were the more credible historical facts after being pieced together.
The old man had limited energy and could