Eden or Pandora's Box

If that Labyrinth City is a city whose buildings are enveloped by various kinds of vegetation, revealing its mysterious urban outline.

Therefore... this City in the House is exceptionally clean.

There is no hiding...

The streets are neat and orderly, with houses arranged like blocks of tofu of varying sizes, standing side by side.

Even some items placed outside the building were only covered with a layer of dust.

Traces of human habitation can still be faintly seen here.

Of course, it may not necessarily be the human race; it could also be other highly intelligent beings.

It's just... too much like a human.

"Judging from the size of the house and the size of these items, the user's build should be similar to ours, so... it's more likely that they are human." Oboro led the three of them through the dimly lit street.

Menchi looked around and said softly.

Some areas inside the building, which are part of the city, were as bright as day.

Other areas were almost dark, as if night had fallen.

That's because the area that appears during the 'daytime' period is where sunlight is shining through the windows of the 'house,' but because the windows are relatively small, the light doesn't radiate completely.

"So many murals..."

Anthony chimed in.

As they walked along, they discovered that all the buildings in the city, regardless of size, had some kind of mural carved on their exterior walls.

This reminded Long of the book he had obtained in the Kurta Clan's settlement years ago, and the Botswa Tribe's reverence for stone artifacts in East Gorteau.

They also explored some of the dwellings and found that most of the remaining household items in the city were made of minerals—beds, chairs, chests, and cabinets—with very few items made of pure metal. This was completely different from the Labyrinth City ... the Labyrinth City showed signs of being 'developed and prosperous'.

Long looked down at the thick layer of dust at her feet and raised an eyebrow. "It's very clean here, only dust. It seems that the tribe that originally lived here left not long ago. If it had been too long, it would have been overgrown with weeds like the Labyrinth City... Of course, there is another possibility, that something has been 'cleaning' this place all along."

"..."

His words made Menchi and the other two feel a chill in their hearts.

In the city, there are some areas that look like leisure zones, planted with vegetation... but without exception, they are all stone sculptures.

From large trees to small lawns, everything is made of stone.

"The abundance of resources on the Dark Continent goes without saying... The species that once lived here, whether human or not, did not need to use stones to meet their daily needs. Metals, textiles, compounds, and so on can all be found, making it very easy to develop industry or technology."

As Long continued walking, he said, "This phenomenon... can only be inferred to be a kind of culture."

"Migration?"

Anthony stroked his chin. "If it were a large-scale migration, they certainly wouldn't be heading to the center of the lake where we are... In other words, they went to a more central location on the continent."

Menchi shook his head. "It doesn't seem like a migration. The 'appearance' left behind in this city, including some items in the residences, is too complete... If it were a move, some things would definitely be taken away. And even after a long time, some 'traces' will still remain. Like 'disorder'... But this city, just as we see it, is clean, orderly, and undamaged..."

After speaking, the woman glanced at Long and said coldly, "It's more like overnight, for some reason, everyone here... disappeared."

Although the environment and geographical location are different, everything is similar to the Labyrinth City.

Where did the person go?

"Captain, you once said that the reason we humans were able to bring back the five great calamities was because the 'gatekeeper' wanted to punish humanity and give us a warning. In other words, he deliberately let the humans take away the survivors. If he didn't want to, we wouldn't have been able to preserve those 'samples'."

"Well... In a way, the gatekeeper knows about the existence of the human world in the center of the lake. And, he doesn't want humans to come to this continent... To truly enter the Dark Continent, one must pass through that 'gate,' and to enter the 'gate,' one needs to undergo some kind of test to gain qualification or recognition. As for what lies behind the gate, whether it's Eden or Pandora's Box, that remains to be seen." Long nodded slightly.

As they got closer to the city center, the four of them could clearly see several huge stone statues standing in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

Extremely eye-catching.

Like a landmark building in this city.

"Why?"

Anthony asked, puzzled, "If that's the case, wouldn't that so-called goalkeeper become like a 'manager'?"

"Why are they so hostile towards humans? Or... is it for protection?"

Long understood what he meant: the gatekeeper was either protecting the human world or refusing to let humans 'land'—either way, it was possible.

"Our explorations over the past few years have given us a certain understanding of this world. What do you think are the differences between this place and the human world?" Oboro asked.

"Resources, treasures, wondrous life forms, and strange yet powerful forces..."

"Life forms... Although the species here are extremely dangerous, it's undeniable that, from a life perspective, their existence is incredibly diverse. Moreover, most of these life forms are fundamentally different from humans... namely, they lack mature souls. Simply put, whether large or small species, including microorganisms, they lack mature human thought and intellect, and similarly, they lack emotions and desires, especially greed... Human greed is insatiable. This very quality surpasses that of 99% of the creatures we've encountered so far... Humans are like a perpetually satiated monster. Once humans establish themselves on the Dark Continent, the impact and destruction they will cause to this world will be immeasurable—the destruction of countless food chains and ecosystems..."

Human nature can give rise to too many causes and effects.

It is also an add-on to civilization... war, power, control, conspiracy, etc. These things are completely incompatible with the natural law of the Dark Continent.

"Human beings are a species with extremely weak life energy, but with immense potential danger."

"Naturally, there must be advanced life forms on the Dark Continent whose intelligence is no less than that of humans... or even more transcendent species, but even so, they still feel fear towards humans."

"If you're neighbors and want to visit but they won't let you in, there are only two reasons... One is that they're afraid of you or dislike you. The other is that there's a vicious dog in their yard, posing an uncontrollable danger, and they're trying to protect you."

"My experiences along the way have made me more inclined to believe the first possibility: if humans set foot on this land and begin to conquer it, it will be devastating for the Dark Continent, or for some of the beings that rule the Dark Continent."

"Of course, humans do not possess this power nowadays."

Long held up one finger and began to speak eloquently.

This is just his understanding and speculation.

"If that's the case... even if we escaped to the center of the lake, we wouldn't have survived until now. Why not eliminate us?"

Menchi posed a profound question.

Why didn't your neighbor kill you?

Now that things had come to this, Oboro no longer hid his feelings from the three of them.

"Because of the law, murder will be punished with death... The Dark Continent naturally has no laws, but it must have some kind of order, and this order is beneficial to mankind. For example, a certain creature that dominates the Dark Continent likes humans very much... or even is humans themselves. Or it is restrained by some factor."

"From a realistic point of view, the Lake Island is too barren of energy. Many things from the Dark Continent cannot get the 'energy requirements' they need after entering the human world. This reason alone is enough to make most creatures unwilling to go there. It's like, if you were living a life of luxury, would you be willing to become a beggar?"

"The way organisms live is primarily determined by their environment; this is the decisive factor."

Oboro said, "This is the homeland of humans and Magical Beasts. We once belonged here... Don Freecss was able to roam this continent for hundreds of years. His existence and mine can prove that in a certain era in the past, humans were fully capable of surviving on this continent. They were able to control this life energy, which now seems incredibly vast, and had a unique power system. Our ability to control Nen is one manifestation of this."

"As for why they fled for their lives, why they migrated... perhaps it was a war, perhaps it was a disaster."

"This is just my guess, and it may not be accurate... You just need to understand now that humans... are actually quite terrifying."

Long smiled at the three of them, a rare occurrence for him. He had seldom smiled since Fante and Rita died.

"Perhaps... the diversity of all life forms on this entire Dark Continent was created by our human ancestors."

"The people who migrated to the Lake Island may only be a minority, not all of the Dark Continent... There may also be humans living in the center of the continent now, forming some kind of new civilization."

"Of course, it could also be a 'Purgatory' created by other species... Whether it is the Eden or Pandora's Box, we need to open it ourselves... I think it's more like the second one."

"..."

The three of them were speechless.

During their conversation, they arrived at the city center.

I saw the tall stone statues very close by.

The conversation abruptly ended.