Wasteland Echoer.

"What did you say? Who are you? Why are you hiding in the shadows?" Wright shouted as the clouds filled with chaotic golden light shone.

Perhaps it was the primordial "divinity" that was already present within him that took effect, or perhaps it was a blessing bestowed by the Creator. In any case, the huge clock made of golden threads trembled slightly, shook off a few golden sparks, and then emitted that same youthful voice again, which was even more youthful and made people feel calm and excited.

This time, Wright heard it especially clearly; this almost divine voice came from inside the giant clock:

"prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Wright approached the clock with a puzzled look, examined it carefully, and said:

"Were those words just now a prophecy about the East?"

"You truly are the chosen one of the Creator, the Lord of Night, and the Goddess of Light, the one destined to uphold order. With just a few words, you've deduced what I'm trying to say. Indeed, this is a prophecy from Khitanris." The boy's voice echoed again from the giant clock:
"Back then, when Idari Sage met Arctosia, the incarnation of the Lord of Night, he clearly stated that he would only transcribe seven volumes of the 'Epic of the Future.' On one hand, this symbolizes the seven deadly sins of God, warning people through prophecies of the future not to stray into the delusion of destruction; on the other hand, Egodis, the incarnation of the Creator, insisted that he write until the end of this cycle, that is, the end of the 'End'."

“But Aida knew that humanity after Book 8 would be an absolute tragedy, a collection of all kinds of suffering. When the wasteland disaster came, people would struggle, they would resist, and they would have three chances to approach the ‘end of the long night,’ but in the end they would all fall in the ‘dawn.’ Humanity does need suffering to inspire its will, but excessive suffering will wear down its spirit. If people knew that the ending was destined to be a tragedy, chaos would come sooner.”

"So, what does this have to do with the East?" Wright was confused, but he still grasped the key point of the question.

"Because, in reality, most of the content after the eighth volume belongs to the East. There's nothing worth writing about west of Khitanris anymore." The boy's voice was tinged with a sense of vicissitude that was extremely incongruous with his age, as well as a sense of loss that seeped from the depths of his soul.

At this moment, the gold threads that make up this clock, which is so full of the charm of the Khitans, lose their seemingly gorgeous brilliance and begin to reveal their original appearance as the gold gradually fades and the long night gradually envelops the dream.

That's right, this is a giant clock in the style of the Khitans.

A colossal red dragon hangs high above the cauldron, coiling and overlooking all living things. The watch body and dial together form a bronze cauldron that seems capable of refining all things. In the lower right corner of the dial, the characters stamped by the imperial seal of the Flame Empire are engraved.

"By the mandate of creation, may its glory endure forever."

Wright stepped back slightly, carefully savoring the message conveyed by the boy's voice, and examining the crimson bronze bell that blended Eastern and Western styles. Suddenly, an unbelievable guess arose in his mind.

His voice was almost trembling as he guessed:

"Could it be that the latter half of the Wasteland Era will be dominated by the Easterners?"

“That’s right.” The youthful voice came again from the giant clock. “Aidari Sage saw it… He saw ruins, a place ravaged by war. The double-headed eagle’s emblem was riddled with holes, the navigator’s telescope was broken, the statue of Venus was cut in half, and even the steel of Crusde was corroded and decayed by the endless flood.”

"Therefore, after witnessing the catastrophic reality of the wasteland's future, Aidari, in endless pain and despair, wrote verses of despair and hope that coexisted in the final volume of the eighth book of 'The Epic of the Future'."

"Despair and hope coexist, what is that?" Wright asked curiously, as the surrounding space began to flicker violently, like a screen experiencing electromagnetic interference. "Hades' nightmares could not ultimately erode a steadfast heart; the children of light and darkness are destined to break free from the shackles of a thousand years; death, disaster, and pain gaze upon everything like Medusa's eyes; hope, light, and new life roar through the world like the flames of Khitanris," the boy's voice read aloud.
"Life is full of suffering and fate is full of twists and turns, but for a person of divinity, it is indeed an opportunity. Wright, after the Labyrinth of Sharon, you will finally understand everything."

"Understand what?" Wright shouted, his hands gripping the fence that had inexplicably appeared in his grasp, asking urgently.

"The truth of the world." The boy's voice behind the giant clock gradually became distorted and low, like the call of a devil, or even more like the whisper of a demon.

Within seconds, the dream constructed by this golden twilight began to disintegrate, and the scorching mist returned to his body. Wright suddenly opened his eyes, took a few quick breaths, and found that he was still on the cable car of "Kami-no-Hama" in Torii Town.

It seemed that the dream he had just experienced greatly extended his perception of time. After all, according to his mechanical watch, less than three minutes had passed from entering the dream to exiting it, which was not even a short nap.

“Dark, Commander Light, look.” Artyom pointed to the “Torii Shrine” that was faintly visible through the mist, and continued to talk about his future plans. “We plan to build an amusement park here, right below the shrine, in the area that used to be a lake. This cable car is the only entrance to the amusement park.”

"It's quite nice, but what do you plan to do with the pool at the summit? I remember Hefeng Eva saying that the entire 'God's Edge Mountain' was able to swallow the lake and rise from the ground thanks to the earthbound spirits formed from a portion of the 'Chosen One's' soul." Dark rested his chin on his hand and chatted casually with Artyom:
"Now the power of the 'Chosen One' has completely disappeared from this world, and the energy that supports its internal stability is waning. In other words, the entire 'God's Edge Mountain' is just an empty shell. What about the pool on top? How can we ensure safety if we build an amusement park?"

"What era are we living in? If the mountain is hollow, we can just rebuild it with reinforced concrete. As for the pool, it's sustained by the energy of the 'Spirit-Suppressing Wood,' so it won't collapse anytime soon. Although most of the 'Sorrow' inside the mountain has disappeared, the 'Chain' element that sustains the 'Sorrow' hasn't. We plan to transform the entire mountain into a giant furnace to provide electricity and other energy to the entire town." Artyom explained, his face beaming with barely concealed excitement.
"He Feng Yiwa persuaded Professor Igor to participate in the town's 'electric furnace project.' With just a few simple arrangements, Torii Town can retain its place in the impending... no, already arrived chaos. Therefore, in order for the town to survive the chaos until the end of the long night and the arrival of a new era, we have to devote all our energy to our children."

“Children? Indeed, Ivan XXII once said that even a powerful and vast empire like Crusad cannot easily ignore the importance of education. Whether in war or peace, poverty or wealth, chaos or tranquility, children should receive a proper education. This is not only for one country, but also for the Crusad people.” Dark gazed at the dissipating morning mist and the increasingly clear mountaintop world, and sighed:
"Unfortunately, the federal governors of all time have never truly understood the meaning of this passage. Although they superficially instilled the highest moral standards in the federal soldiers and taught them the most advanced military, physical, and mechanical knowledge possible, they never truly taught them how to live."

“We won’t make that mistake, Commander Dark.” Artyom gave a meaningful smile and said:

“Even though our former mayor, Angelica Rurik, was a corrupt official, he and his predecessors did everything they could to protect these children, teaching them various ways to avoid contracting the ‘Heartless Virus.’ Torii Town has an unwritten rule that children under the age of fourteen cannot leave the town, which minimizes their contact with the ‘virus.’” Artyom said, a hint of pride always on his face.
“We fear the lost more than the ‘heartless,’ except, of course, my wife, Hefengyiwa.”

"Why?" Wright, snapping out of his brief dream, looked abruptly at Artyom and asked.

“The ‘heartless virus’ damages the areas of the brain that control emotions, making people more prone to acting on instinctual impulses. Even those poor, semi-lost children often have moments when they cannot control their emotions. Admittedly, intense emotions can help the lost to unleash power beyond their physical limits, but this can also bring more conflict and disaster,” Artyom explained.

"So, what you're trying to create is an absolutely safe 'paradise' where children 'thrive' under your strict plans?" Wright sneered, turning his head to look aside.

“That’s natural.” Artyom seemed oblivious to Wright’s emotions, instead pushing his plan even harder. “Only rigorous design can achieve the final result with minimal deviation. In fact, humans, and the Lost Ones, are merely complex and precise machines. Souls and spirits are just illusions produced by brain secretions. A safe environment, coupled with a rigorous growth plan, is what allows the town to truly survive in the chaos of Crusted. By the way…”

As they were talking, the cable car finally arrived at its destination, which was a corner at the top of the mountain, not far from the pool where the "Suppressing Spirit Tree" was located.

After the violent shaking ended, the three jumped off the cable car one after another. Since today was the first trial run after the cable car was reopened, many of Artyom's former subordinates were standing around the mountaintop.

Wright looked closely and saw that the "Torii Shrine" was located at the edge of his field of vision. Avoiding the main road under construction, and navigating the winding dirt paths, he estimated it would only take 15 minutes to reach the most mysterious shrine in Torii Town, the one steeped in the culture of the Flame Empire, the one with the strongest Eastern religious atmosphere, and also the most vibrant temple in this wasteland. (End of Chapter)