The tip of time's iceberg
"Hello, newly born knights!"
A rich, resonant voice rang out. It belonged to Qin Xiaoxia, who stood directly before the four of them.
In fact, Qin Xiaoxia had been the first person to catch their attention after they woke.
Although they understood his words through Su Su, who immediately took up her duties as interpreter, their attention remained fixed on the original speaker.
The space around him seemed blurred, shimmering as though warped by scorching flames, yet all they felt from it was warmth.
Alongside the immense pressure of his presence came an indescribable sense of closeness.
"Knights? You mean us?"
As the oldest and most experienced of the four, Baru was the first to ask the question that not only the four men on the floor, but also Su Su, Jenny, and the others wanted answered.
Why had four people on the brink of death become these so-called "newly born knights" after being saved?
The title stirred a faint sense of envy in the others.
The moment Doudou heard his older cousin gearing up to spin another tale, he hopped onto the sofa whose cover had been pulled off and settled in.
Moments like this were even better than watching TV.
Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Qin Xiaoxia calmed the fluctuations of magic around him and became an "ordinary person" again.
Smiling, Qin Xiaoxia sat cross-legged on the floor so the four men clutching the sofa cover around themselves would not feel he was looking down on them.
Seeing this, everyone else simply sat down too.
There was something rather atmospheric about sitting together in a circle.
"This is a story from a very long time ago."
With a sigh, Qin Xiaoxia began his tale.
He glanced at Su Su and nodded to her. She nodded back excitedly, already eager to hear and share a story buried in history.
"I'm sure you realize that what you encountered was not something ordinary people could fight. Were you terrified? Did you feel helpless? Did you feel... despair?"
The process of having one's soul "digested" was exceedingly cruel, even worse than death by a thousand cuts.
Since the soul was far more sensitive than the physical body, victims generally remained conscious as they were consumed, effectively watching themselves being "eaten."
There were no exceptions unless an Anomaly monster possessed the power to numb souls. Clearly, the Corrupted Crystal Mine did not, nor did it need to numb its prey's souls.
As they listened to Su Su's translation, goosebumps rose across the four men's bodies visibly, and they even began trembling uncontrollably.
The calm they had maintained since waking shattered at that moment. That terror was still fresh in their memories!
"Don't be afraid. I've already dealt with the Corrupted Crystal Mine. It can't cause any trouble now."
After offering that reassurance, Qin Xiaoxia abruptly changed his tone, his expression turning serious.
"But did you think that was what true terror looked like?"
"Heh, heh, heh. The Corrupted Crystal Mine is merely a low-grade Anomaly with little intelligence, acting on instinct. The danger it poses doesn't even compare to a single Kipello Ghoul. Oh, right, Su Su has seen an immature one of those."
Su Su froze. Only then did she realize what the thing attached to Haohao had been.
While she paused to think, the three people beside her and the four naked men grew desperately impatient, repeatedly urging her to translate.
Once Su Su explained the whole story, Jenny and the others learned that she had already experienced a supernatural incident in Huaguo, and had been lucky enough to meet the man who had now come to their rescue.
Having someone else supplement an account was a powerful way to build trust, especially when that person knew those involved well.
So Qin Xiaoxia listened patiently as Su Su vividly recounted how Haohao had been saved, adding the amusement park misunderstanding along the way. Jenny and the others, including Baru, could not help laughing aloud.
Once he felt they had heard enough, Qin Xiaoxia calmly explained the characteristics of the Kipello Ghoul, bit by bit, in meticulous detail.
His account sent chills through everyone. The four "knights-to-be" were still relatively composed, but the others could not help hugging themselves and rubbing their arms, their hands and feet turning cold.
The name Ghoul readily brought to mind minor monsters from games such as Warcraft, but only after learning what it truly was did they understand its horror.
It was a social, infectious organism that reproduced asexually through a series of stages, including parasitic incubation, metamorphosis, and predation upon maturity-a terrifying invasive species somewhere between a ghost and an undead creature.
Give Ghouls a little time and space, and future Resident Evil films could probably be shot on location. They would certainly be far more terrifying than the lumbering creatures in the originals!
Now they also understood why he had said the Corrupted Crystal Mine was far less dangerous than Ghouls.
"Throughout history, we have endured countless Anomalies, horrors no one wishes to contemplate. This goes back thousands of years!"
Without giving Su Su time to voice her doubts, Qin Xiaoxia continued. As he recounted those historical ordeals, his tone shifted from profound sorrow to blood-soaked anguish.
The world had never existed alone. The modern scientific community's questions about whether humanity and Earth were alone were so laughable.
From the earliest stages of civilization, humanity had continually encountered enemies it could not fight, facing the threat of extinction at any moment.
And it was not just humanity. The same was true of the world's other species.
"But humanity's potential is limitless, far beyond anything you can imagine!"
Amid that sorrowful darkness, Qin Xiaoxia's words seemed to cast a ray of light. With greater emphasis and a voice charged with emotion, he delivered his next sentence.
"Until the emergence of Dawn!"
That single sentence completely ignited Su Su's passion. Her voice was already thick with tears as she repeated it to her friends.
She felt as though she could see the arrival of an era that would end the tragic years of humanity, of the world.
The other listeners shared that feeling. Though they still did not understand what this Dawn was, they were powerfully moved by the sense of finally seeing the first ray of light before daybreak.
Everyone, including the four knights-to-be, unconsciously clenched their fists.
Doudou held the plastic bag he had never let go of. The sandwiches inside tasted only so-so to him, but what else could he do without popcorn at a time like this? Eat them, of course.
Anything tasted good while watching a show. The old sofa was not very comfortable, though, which made him miss the one at Qin Xiaoxia's home.
Another bunch bites the dust~
So Doudou thought.
"We learned. We advanced, learning from one another and even from monsters. After the first awakened humans had spent a considerable time fighting alone, the Nine Sages of that era decided..."
Qin Xiaoxia briefly paused in his narration, as though gathering himself.
"To establish Dawn!"
The tip of the iceberg of history's secrets had been revealed. Su Su covered her mouth, finally understanding how Dawn had come to be.
The first light kindled in absolute darkness!
PS: Thank you to reader Old Ma's Sky for the 500-coin tip, and reader Chang'e Roasts Hou Yi for the 100-coin tip. Thank you all for your recommendation votes~ I'm endlessly grateful, endlessly grateful!
A book like mine only avoided dying before it could get off the ground because of everyone's support!!