Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 990 - 783: Disasters of Other-Worldly Invasion

Chapter 990: Chapter 783: Disasters of Other-Worldly Invasion

Manoylis (abbreviation Ma): The progress that appeared before I was born was all taken for granted, the progress that occurred after my birth would push the world toward a more perfect future, and the progress that appeared in my later years was all reactionary heresy.

Atosan (abbreviation A): That is true.

Ma: But, Atosan, we have lived until this time, but it seems we have never seen such heretics, have we?

A: Indeed.

Ma: Why is that?

A: Because the progress of civilization had already stagnated during our youth, a time when we were all very young. No one would have thought that it would be the last progress we’d ever make.

Ma: There is one more thing you haven’t clarified.

A: Which is?

Ma: We have lived until now; I am already eight hundred seventy-three years old, and what about you, Atosan?

A: I have lived seven hundred seventy-seven years.

Ma: Which means we are both very old. Compared to before, compared to our youth, we have lived several lifetimes. Look at me, and let me look at you; there are no traces of being eroded by the years on us. This is the progress we witnessed in our youth, and thereafter, our society, our civilization, has made no further progress.

Many of our fellow beings, like us, have long lives, but they no longer have the spirit of progress. They are eager in their pursuit of true immortality, yet neglect other forms of development. Atosan, we can’t yet be considered immortal, can we?

A: Indeed, we have only delayed aging, extended our lives, we are not immortal. As long as our souls still dwell in our bodies, we will eventually age, die, and then decay.

Our people strive ardently for the immortality of the soul, willing to forsake the body, to transform themselves into pure and flawless spiritual beings. However, this became the origin of all disasters.

Ma: Why did it become like this?

A: The pursuit of spiritual immortality inevitably involves abandoning the physical flesh. Once they discard the flesh, they break free from the body’s restrictions on using the World’s Source. With the World’s Source at their disposal without any limits, they are no longer called humans, but Gods.

Ma: You mean to say, the progress of these past centuries was all to turn humans into gods?

A: That is true.

Ma: But unlimited freedom breeds desires leading to disasters. Humans do not possess divinity; human greed will lead them to pursue power uncontrollably. Those who have will want even more to their surplus, and those who have not will try to take away everything from others. Even though the World’s Source is abundant, it is difficult to sustain human’s endless desires. It’s like a mountain piled with gold, seemingly inexhaustible, yet if one takes a handful every day, one day it will surely be depleted.

A: So, Manoylis, you do not agree with the idea of humans becoming Gods?

Ma: Indeed, humans should have birth, aging, sickness, and death, just like the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter. It is against nature to become a god, and greed will bring endless disasters to the world.

A: Then how should we break this pattern?

Ma: True Gods should not be human. They can use the Source without restraint but will abide by the rules; They may possess almost infinite power, yet they would never use it for evil, to harm others. This is called divinity; if a god lacks divinity, then they cannot be called a god.

A: Yet it seems our world is heading in the opposite direction. The True Gods serve those who have recklessly become gods. These so-called gods wield absolute power, yet harbor greed. They are discontent with the status quo, wishing to doom their kin to death and to firmly control the world in their own hands.

M: Alas...

A: Why do you sigh?

M: As you see, the World’s Source is becoming more and more scarce. Once, we could simply reach out our hands and sense the Source flowing in the air; now, even if we chant the Sacred Song, we can hardly gather its power. The excessive consumption of the Source has made this world increasingly abnormal. Sometimes, during our summers, heavy snow falls, and in winter, we have scorching sun overhead. Places once known as lakes have turned into dry hollows, and areas once known as deserts are now inundated with seawater.

Everyone, every single person has seen all this. If we continue to destroy without restraint, this world will inevitably head towards a path of ruin, and even the gods will be unable to avoid it.

Nowadays, the Gods are still quarreling over the rights to use the Source, trying to gather as much into their own pockets as possible, utterly ignoring the withering of the world, utterly ignoring the life and death of their kin. The gods fight among themselves, twilight is approaching, everything will end, and everything will be destroyed. No one will be able to avoid it, this world is about to enter the cycle of rebirth, and even we, in the end, will not be able to change anything.

A: Are we to sit in this broken homeland, watching ourselves slowly perish?

M: Of course not, there’s still hope as long as we can leave this world.

A: Why don’t we escape to the heavens?

M: The heavens? The sky is nothing but a vaulted fresco dotted with stars; there is no escape there.

A: But we still have a solution, right?

M: Yes, the entanglement and collision of the Source can warp time and space. Using this, we have built the magnificent Haromino Celestial Gate, which connects to worlds across other spaces and times. Like worms boring through corn, we have used this gate to carve through the world’s barrier on the ground, connecting to distant worlds of time and space.

A: Yet here we still sit, covered in the summer snowflakes, unable to go anywhere. Our once-prideful Celestial Gate doesn’t seem to function as we imagined; the world remains in a sorry state, unchanged by the gate’s presence and, if anything, made worse. Manoylis, where did it all go wrong?

M: We built many, many Celestial Gates, linking to countless enchanting worlds. However, these are worlds where we cannot tread because they lack the Source; we cannot live in a world without the Source.

Also, residents from other worlds, out of vigilance and disgust towards us, pass through the gates to launch attacks on our world, known as Disasters of Other-Worldly Invasion. These invaders are so formidable that even our gods cannot defeat them. After expending tremendous effort, we finally closed some of the gates, stopping the attacks from the natives of another world.

A: That’s terrible, but have there been any good news?

M: Certainly, we did once connect to a wondrous world. This world was much like ours but also void of the Source. Frightening reptiles inhabited this world. They lacked intelligence, but we couldn’t harm them. In their world, it seemed there were True Gods in the sky, shielding the creatures of that world. They had no Source, the void filled their world, which was incredibly despairing, yet they could gaze upon the vastness of the stars.

A: So we cannot set foot in any world without the Source, can we?

M: Yes, countless attempts have made us realize a problem. It’s very possible that our world is nothing but a huge prison, and we are the punished species.

In all the worlds we’ve connected to, none have a Source like ours. Among all the worlds we’ve connected to, none have a sky as resplendent as ours, which is nothing more than a beautifully crafted fresco, like the bars of a prison cell, keeping us firmly locked within this world.

A: So we’re doomed to destruction?

M: Yes, destruction is inevitable; struggling only delays it. The gods’ infighting leads to the depletion and swelling of the Source. The world will eventually be destroyed due to the absence of the Source. Only after tens of thousands of years will the world reboot, with the Source replacing the void, returning this world to peace. But as those who once lived in this world, by then, we may no longer exist.

A: So should we believe in fate, or is this merely a thorough calamity caused by man?