Ashes Of Deep Sea -
Chapter 679 - Chapter 679 Chapter 676 The Hyper Incident
Chapter 679: Chapter 676 “The Hyper Incident Chapter 679: Chapter 676 “The Hyper Incident A bird?
Indeed, Duncan had pondered how best to explain the truth about the “Great Annihilation” and the current state of the deep-sea era to people. After all, the collision of worlds and the “incompatible” is such an abstract concept, not everyone could grasp it all in a short time; however, he never expected Rune to start the topic with an ordinary-looking little bird.
He looked up and noticed that the expression on Maurice’s face was thoughtful as he saw the so-called “mad bird.”
Under the gaze of many curious eyes, Rune placed the bird on the table in front of him. His voice was calm and clear, like that of a patient teacher in the classroom, revealing to the assembled church bishops the ultimate truth of this world–
“The black-feathered auks might be one of the oldest and most widespread species of birds in the world. They live along the stable shores of the City-States and on the perilous remote islands of the open sea. Even in certain horrific seas labeled as ‘anomalies,’ explorers have found traces of these birds’ existence… However, looking solely at their physiological structure and habits, the black-feathered auks are nothing special; they are just a tenacious species of bird, that’s all.
“It wasn’t until the year 1723 that scholars suddenly came up with a very interesting, or rather creative, idea–what do ‘all things’ look like in the eyes of those animals which share our world but perceive it differently than humans?
“The first to propose this idea was the famed scholar from the Academy of Truth, Hypa Strom. It dawned on him while he was playing with his pet dog–he looked into his beloved dog’s eyes and thought of the difference in ocular and brain structures between the animal and humans. The unique set of senses must, he reasoned, recognize and understand the surrounding environment in a wonderful, non-human way. When curiosity became too overwhelming to contain, he designed the infamous ‘Strom Experiment’–
“Using a series of complex mystic procedures, he connected his own senses with those of an animal. The initial test was conducted between him and his pet dog.
“The first experiment failed. The dog nearly died during the experiment–subsequent inspections showed that at the moment the connection was established, the dog experienced immense spiritual stress, which far exceeded the limits of an animal’s endurance.
“Hence, Hypa Strom designed a second test. This time, he decided to choose a ‘lower’ creature, one with a simpler brain structure–he only needed to share the perception of the creature and didn’t want it to die prematurely due to an overly complex brain unable to withstand the stress. The final choice… was the black-feathered auk.
“On an August afternoon in 1726, Hypa Strom completed all preparations. He placed the small bird inside a distinctive cage, allowing the bird to see the sky outside, while he himself lay on the experimental bed next to the cage–then the ritual began.
“In an hour, Hypa Strom had died. Horrific screams and a strange rumbling shattered all the lab’s windows, and the scholar’s collapsing soul caused a wail from the Spirit Realm, leaving twelve assistants and apprentices traumatized from the reverberation.
“Compared to many experiments and Transcendent disasters which had caused far more severe consequences, the ‘Strom Incident’ actually didn’t result in significant personnel casualties. However, certain … chilling ‘facts’ revealed by this experimental disaster cast a long shadow over academic circles, such that from then on, any attempt to establish shared perception across different species was considered an absolute taboo–
“And this is the ‘fact’ that was revealed by the experiment.”
As Rune spoke, he reached into his robe and took out an item–it appeared to be just a folded, seemingly ordinary piece of paper.
He unfolded the paper–a dense array of patterns met Duncan’s eyes.
“People found a torn record next to Strom’s body. When the corpse was discovered, it had already been severely distorted, its flesh twisted into a terrifying shape as if corrupted by an ancient deity, and the record was tightly clenched in the scholar’s right hand–the only part still retaining a human shape. Investigators deduced that this must be something the scholar had hastily sketched out using his last bit of sanity as he rapidly descended into madness…
“Please be assured, this is just a ‘Replication’ copied from the records, the contaminating aspects have been removed, and everyone can safely view it.”
Rune lifted the paper for everyone in the hall to see.
What was it? What on earth did Hypa Strom see before his death?
To be honest, even Duncan couldn’t relate those abstract and chaotic lines to the “Strom Experiment” as described by Rune. He only saw a mass of frenzied, twisting lines, trembling shadows cast upon a series of inexplicable geometric patterns, and countless structures resembling eyes or bizarre voids scattered across the paper. The first impression it gave was nothing but eerie chaos.
The hall fell silent. The “Strom Incident” was no secret, yet not everyone, like the scholars, understood these professional matters. Many bishops from deep-sea churches, the clergy of death, and the Church of the Fire Transmitter were indeed hearing these details for the first time; the bizarre and dubious aspects of the incident led everyone into deep thought.
“This is the vision that Hypa Strom witnessed through ‘shared perception’ before his demise,” Rune’s voice rose in the silenced assembly hall, “What you are seeing is the ‘world’ through the eyes of the black-feathered auk–the trembling cluster of curved lines at the margin, stacked together, is Hypa Strom himself.”
A buzzing of discussion spread instantly around the room. Bishops seated at the edges of the hall spoke in low voices, and some looked towards the ordinary-looking black sea bird still resting on the table with astonishment or thoughtful gazes.
“The mad bird” seemed to be frightened; it jumped and flapped its wings within the cage, emitting a series of sharp and piercing cries.
Rune covered the cage with the black cloth once more.
“This is what once happened in our world and is still constantly happening at the ‘fundamental essence’ of all things,” he lifted his head, his gaze calmly sweeping across the hall, “‘Pollution’s’ nature, originating from the ‘incompatibility’ of all things, what we perceive as a single entity under a different perspective, or rather, under a different set of ‘rules,’ is fatal pollution and corrosion…”
For the following period, Rune narrated everything he had seen in the depths of The Dream of the Nameless.
About the nature of the Great Eradication, about the truth behind the collision of worlds, about the reasons behind the many pollution and corrosion phenomena in the current Deep Sea Era, and those “eternal conflicts” that still linger in the world’s underlying principles.
“…On the day of the Great Eradication, many worlds collided with one another; we still do not know the reason for this collision, but its result… was a Hypa event that spanned numerous civilizations, races, and worlds. In this collision, each world was each other’s ‘mad bird,’ each other’s ‘Hypa Strom.’ In the ‘world fundamental rules’ perspective, indescribable pollution corroded and twisted everything, and all old orders were utterly destroyed, while the survivors…”
Rune paused, slowly stood up, and looked around at everyone here.
“We, and everything around us, even the entire Deep Sea Era, are akin to the dying screech of ‘Hypa Strom,’ a shriek that is still echoing to this day, yet is nearing its end.”
The old man exhaled softly and slowly sat back down in his seat.
“That’s all for my part. Does anyone else have anything to add?”
He said, and his gaze fell on Duncan across from him.
“You’ve covered it comprehensively,” Duncan said, “That’s about all we know concerning the Great Eradication–let’s move on to discuss the gods, about the hypotheses on the nature of deities, and the recent activities you’ve been undertaking. These are my main concerns.”
The surrounding bishops seemed to stir slightly, while the four popes seated across the table exchanged brief glances as Duncan finished speaking–soon after, the commotion quietened down, and the Pope of the Fire Transmitter, wearing a simple robe, his skin grey-white like rock and with an exceptionally tall figure, gave a slight nod.
“From the clues we have, the gods seem to represent the powerful or unique individuals that remained after the worlds were destroyed in the Great Eradication–like the ‘burnt cores’ after a fire, carrying the… afterglow of a world.”
Frem spoke in a low voice, simultaneously raising his hand and tracing the outline of the Fire Transmitter’s insignia on his chest, as if repenting for his own act of “judging the deities” at this moment, but he still continued–
“…The Great Eradication demolished everything in the old worlds; strictly speaking, the gods did not survive that disaster, and regarding this point… we had already sensed it long ago.”
Hearing Frem’s words, Duncan’s eyes widened slightly: “You had sensed this even before?”
Simultaneously, he noticed the astonished expressions that briefly crossed Maurice’s and Fenna’s faces–clearly, even as saints, this was the first time they had heard such words from a pope’s mouth.
This was a “secret” confined to the Pilgrimage Ark!
Frem nodded gently.
“Yes, we had already sensed it–only now do we know the reason behind it all.
“The gods are dead, and they have begun to enter the ‘stage of corruption’… But only a few high-ranking officials of the church who patrol the borders with the Pilgrimage Ark know this truth, and another truth is…”
Frem paused briefly, lifting his head to look into Duncan’s eyes.
“The birth of the Pilgrimage Ark was to delay the ‘rot’ of the deities–and today, this kind of ‘delay’ has also nearly reached its limit.
“The ‘filth’ produced from the corruption of the gods… is about to seep into the mortal world.”
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