Chapter 1491: The Meaning of Existing
Consider what it represented: more than 170,000 civilizations distilled into a single governing intelligence, holding the Cradle’s entire system in its hands.
But that did not mean Roland had no chance.
Lan’s unspoken request. Epsilon’s doubts. The memories locked inside the astrolabes. God’s reaction in the space between words. The clues had been accumulating for a long time. They were beginning, now, to connect.
The so-called replacement of God was never what that phrase implied.
“What did you say?” The Custodian’s hand stopped midair. The motion simply ceased, as though a clock had been interrupted.
“Aren’t there already species capable of adapting to magic power? Candidates with the will to explore what lies beyond the door?” Roland extended one finger and pointed. “If everything starts over now, no one will ever be able to tell you that.”
The face that wore Lan’s features showed something — a shift, small and sudden, like a hairline crack appearing across smooth glass.
“Do you understand what you’re saying? Once I leave, the Cradle dies. This universe becomes a relic with no life in it. And the other side of the door operates under entirely different laws — those transformed by magic power may find no way back. Failure means extinction—”
“That isn’t the point.” Roland kept his voice steady. “The outcome would be identical regardless of which civilization it was. Even if they were willing to go through the rift, you would never know if they succeeded. So compared to adaptability, aspiration matters more. You know this already. That’s why the Sky-sea Realm exists.”
The minimal motion in “Lan’s” face stilled entirely.
The Sky-sea Realm’s behavior had never quite fit the profile of a mere competitor. The reasoning wasn’t difficult to assemble. Magic power held the natural potential to exceed natural law. Species that matured in environments of extremely weak magic power could, through mutation, achieve rapid and startling progress — progress that might not make them fit for life beyond the barrier, but could destabilize the Cradle’s systems. To interfere with any species on the basis of a possibility, though, would contradict the Custodian’s own foundational rules — since creatures capable of adapting to magic-saturated environments would pass through this volatile phase eventually regardless. To manage the risk without deviating from first principles, a filtering mechanism was required. A sub-first grade filter. And so the Sky-sea Realm, modified and placed in the Swirling Sea, served as a pressure valve: an external stressor applied to species still undergoing natural selection.
Roland knew he was speculating. But God’s reaction confirmed that the speculation was close enough.
The hardest variable in the plan was not adaptation. A species sufficiently evolved might, eventually, meet the physiological criteria. The harder variable was aspiration. The will to go.
The more than 170,000 civilizations involved in Project Gateway were vast in number and, compared to the total count of civilizations that had ever existed in the universe, still a small minority. Their shared motivation was to break the seal — to allow the universe to continue indefinitely. But not every civilization would be willing to step into the domain of the genuinely unknown. Many would hesitate at the threshold. Many more would not take the final step.
Which meant: if a species appeared that was both fully capable of adapting to magic power and willing to go — the Custodian faced a dilemma. Inaction meant the agreement was never completed. Forced intervention meant no certainty of success, and the possibility of something far worse than failure.
“You think this is enough to sway me?” After a long silence the Custodian’s voice returned. Its hands had stopped moving. “Even so—”
“I’m not trying to sway your judgment.” Roland shrugged, making the gesture look easier than it was. “I’m only stating the simplest logic. You already understand the uncertainty of satisfying both criteria simultaneously — adaptability and aspiration. You understand it better than I do.” He let a beat pass. “And if you’re uncomfortable leaving the Cradle unattended, I can offer something. After you’re gone, I can allow the Cradle to continue operating and nurture lifeforms with potential — not through the Battle of Divine Will. Through something else. How’s that?”
“Lan” had not expected this. The stillness that followed was longer than any that had come before — Roland’s understanding of the rules, and the proposal his full calculations had produced. Finally it shook its head. “A very interesting argument. That you have come this far genuinely sets you apart. But an agreement is an agreement. I am the Custodian. This was established long before life began. It is the foundation of my existence.”
“Is it?”
Roland concentrated everything he had left and launched another Battle of Souls.
Darkness swallowed them both. The platform and stairs ceased to exist. Time slowed to something that felt like a held breath.
“All of that was merely to set this up?” “Lan” was calm in battle mode — calmer than before, every trace of prior uncertainty erased. “A surprise attack is entirely meaningless against me. I can redirect a portion of resources and satisfy every calculatory requirement. But this is fine too. Let this battle mark the end of the world—”
“No.” The drain on Roland’s psyche made each word cost something real, but he could not afford to stop. “I wanted you to see something. A past you may have forgotten.”
The words were barely out before the landscape around them changed and then began to move — receding at the speed of light.
Time flowing backward.
The Cradle’s living world degenerated. Lava and stone re-emerged beneath retreating land, and the metallic cover beneath that revealed itself again. The red light blooming from the cracks vanished and went dark. Then the fleets of the 170,000 civilizations rewound across space, and the gathered galaxies unmade themselves, the whole procession unraveling at a speed that turned everything into a single river of light with no visible end.
These were the memories from the astrolabe — everything Roland had collected and sequenced.
Until a gray figure appeared.
Time returned to normal.
“This is—” “Lan’s” expression broke open.
The gray figure walked to an incomparably large construct — something enormous, the scale of it hard to hold — and raised its head. “How does it feel? This memory pod, built from a galaxy’s worth of material, should sustain you for tens of thousands of years. You are free to expand the modules as needed. Given the length of what lies ahead, that option should remain open to you.”
“Tests are completed. Interaction is good.” A pair of eyes appeared beneath the construct’s surface — translucent, capable of direct communication. “But while circulating my consciousness across the different components, I identified several unnecessary redundancies. They occupy a significant amount of space without evident utility. It is suggested that they be simplified or discarded.”
“Keep them. They’re part of the design.”
“I did not find similar constructs in comparable auxiliaries.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re unique?” The gray figure gave off a warmth — something genuinely gentle, not performed. “These things may allow you to see things the other auxiliaries cannot. Domains they will never access. Treat it as a stubborn request of mine.”
The eyes were still for a moment. “I understand.”
“Good. Next is to activate the energy core — to separate you from the external supply. After this, you will be able to sustain yourself autonomously for a long time. In some sense, today is the day you are born.”
“Executing… order.”
The symbols on the translucent shell faded. The eyes went dark. The light disappeared without a trace. All that remained was the gray figure’s reflection on the smooth, polished surface.
Two steps forward. A hand, raised slowly, pressed against the outer shell — gently, the way you touch something that might feel it.
“The years ahead will be long. I don’t want to become a cold voice at the side of it, constant and mechanical. And you—” A pause. “You shouldn’t be just a machine.”
CRACK.
The hairline fracture in the glass split wide open.
Chapter 1491 - The Meaning of Existing
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
One could well imagine the strength it had, as the representative of more than 170,000 civilizations while also being in control of the Cradle system.
But that didn’t mean Roland had no chance of winning.
Lan’s unspoken request, Epsilon’s doubts, the memories from the astrolabes, as well as God’s reaction—all of the clues started to form a series of connections.
The so-called replacement of God was not in the true sense of the word.
“What did you say?” With its hand in midair halfway, the Custodian stopped suddenly.
“Aren’t species capable of adapting to magic power and qualified candidates wishing to explore the world beyond the door already in existence?” Roland slowly extended his finger out and pointed to the Custodian. “If we were to let everything start over, no one would have been able to tell you this.”
“…” It was the first change in expression that ‘Lan’ revealed.
As though a crack had appeared on smooth glass.
“Do you know what you’re saying? Once I leave, the Cradle will die and when the time comes, this universe will become a vestige of any form of life. Furthermore, the other side of the door possesses a completely different set of laws. Those transformed from magic power might be unable to return and failure means extinction—”
“That’s not the point, because it will be the same regardless of what civilization it is. Even if they are willing to head beyond the rift, you will never know if they succeed. So compared to ‘adapting,’ the ‘aspiration’ is far more important. You should know that better than me.” At this point, Roland slowed down his speech. “That’s right, you know about this, that is why there’s a species such as the Sky-sea Realm.”
God’s minimal actions made it seem as though it had quietened down.
The Sky-sea Realm’s various abnormal activities indicated that it was not just a competitor. In fact, it was not difficult to comprehend. Magic naturally possessed the potential to exceed laws. Mutation couldn’t be eliminated for species that matured in environments with extremely weak magic power, allowing them to obtain astonishing progress in a short period of time. This progress might not make them adaptable to life outside the barrier, but would jeopardize the Cradle system.
But to interfere just for the “possibility” that existed became an inconsistency that went against the basic rules—since creatures capable of adapting to environments with magic power would eventually experience this phase. In order to control the risks and prevent the situation from deviating, a sub-first grade filtering method had to be applied. Thus, the Sky-sea Realm, a unique species, was placed into the Swirling Sea.
Even though all of this was merely speculation, Roland knew that his idea was not too far off from the actual truth based on God’s reaction.
Since it was the Omniscient Custodian, the things it considered would definitely be more comprehensive.
Obviously, the hardest part of the plan, aside from the unpredictability of how a species would evolve, was ‘aspiration’.
The more than 170,000 civilizations involved in Project Gateway might make the scale seem vast, but compared to vast number of civilizations within the universe, it was just but a small minority.
Besides, their common ground of understanding was to break the seal to allow the universe to continue inexhaustibly.
But not every civilization would be willing to head into the domain of the unknown.
In other words, if a species completely capable of adapting to magic power appeared, the Custodian would be caught in between a dilemma—if the Custodian was not willing to take any risks, the agreement would never be fulfilled. Or if God forcefully spurred the situation, no one could be sure that victory was assured for the Custodian.
“… You think that this is enough to sway me?” After a long silence, the other party spoke up. But despite saying so, its hands no longer continued to move.
“I’m not saying all of this to sway your judgment, but merely enunciating the simplest logic here. You already understand and know of the uncertainty in satisfying the criteria of being ‘adaptable’ and having the ‘aspiration,’ and you understand it without me continuing.” Roland shrugged and feigned casualness. “Of course, it is natural that you can’t be at ease leaving the Cradle. In that case, I can do a bit of a sacrifice. After you are gone, I can allow the Cradle to continue operating, and at the same time, nurture lifeforms with potential—just not through means such as the Battle of Divine Will. How’s that?”
“Lan” never expected such words from him and was stunned for an extended period of time, be it his understanding of the rules or his suggestion from his all-out calculations. In the end, it shook its head. “A very interesting argument, for you to be able to reach this step shows that you truly stand out from the masses. But an agreement is an agreement, I am the Custodian, be it a species or civilization, this is something set long before life began, and the cornerstone of my existence.”
“Really?”
Roland focused all of his attention and unleashed yet another Battle of Souls!
Darkness enveloped the two, the platform and stairs disappeared without a trace, and time seemed to freeze.
“All of that rhetoric, just for this? A pity that a sneak attack is completely meaningless against me. As long as I transfer a bit of resources, I will be able to satisfy all calculatory requirements.” Upon entering battle state, “Lan” spoke much more calmly, and all its prior doubts had disappeared without a trace. “But this is good too. Let this battle mark the end of the world—”
“No… I merely wanted you to see something, a past that maybe you’ve forgotten.” The huge drain on his psyche made Roland struggle to even speak, but he knew that it was a crucial moment that did not allow for him to fall.
As his sentence came to an end, the scenery around them changed, and quickly receded at the speed of light!
It was time flowing backwards—
The world full of vitality within the Cradle degenerated into lava and earth, once again revealing the metallic cover. The red light blossoming out from the crack instantly receded and turned black. Following that were the fleets of the more than 170,000 civilizations, as well as the galaxy which had pulled over—these strings of events receded at an extremely fast speed, turning the entire space around the two into a light that had no end.
All of which were memories obtained from the astrolabe, to which he had pieced them sequentially.
This continued until a gray figure appeared.
Time then returned back to normal.
“This is—” “Lan” revealed an expression of shock.
“How does it feel?” The gray figure walked to an incomparably large construct and raised his head. “This memory pod I built using materials from a galaxy is enough for you to use for tens of thousands of years. Of course,
considering that the work involved would extend for a long period of time, you are free to increase the modules as you wish.”
“Tests are completed, interaction is good.” A pair of eyes appeared beneath the construct—one could tell that its form was made up of a translucent substance and could relay messages directly. “But while circulating my consciousness with the different components, I discovered a few unnecessary redundancies. They occupy a large amount of space without being of much use. It is suggested to simplify or discard them.”
“Keep them, they are part of the design.”
“But I did not find similar constructs in other similar auxiliaries.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re unique?” The gray figure released a warm and gentle light.
“… what’s the meaning behind being unique?” The eyes blinked. “According to logic, the possibility of malfunction with the redundant materials greatly surpass the norm. It might completely jeopardize the entire mission—”
“But these things might allow you to see a few things, domains that the other auxiliaries might not be able to see. Treat it as a stubborn request of mine.”
The eyes fell silent. “I understand.”
“Very good. Next up is to activate the energy core, and allow you to separate from the external supply, you will be able to live autonomously for a long time. In some sense, today is the day that you are born.”
“Executing… order.”
Following that, the symbols on the translucent shell, the eyes, and the light disappeared without a trace, leaving only the gray figure reflected on the glossy surface.
The gray figure took two steps and gently caressed the gigantic outer shell.
“The following years will be long, but I do not want to become a cold voice by the side harping on and on. And as for you… you shouldn’t be just a machine.”
CRACK.
The crack on the glass suddenly split open.