From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 744 Sorrow and Annihilation
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Stepping into this magnificent underground ruin, even the well-traveled and resolute Sui Meng couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and indescribable shock.

This is not due to its enormous size.
While it was indeed impressive, with massive stone pillars seemingly supporting the weight of the entire planet and towering domes plunging into shadow, its scale far exceeding human norms, what truly moved Sui Meng was the pervasive, almost tangible, atmosphere of sorrow and desolation that permeated every corner of the place.

He couldn't help but recall his experiences in the 18th universe (StarCraft).

The Xel'Naga ruins there are equally magnificent, filled with incomprehensible divine technology and the majesty of a creator.

But the atmosphere there is cold, aloof, an empty shell left behind by the sleeping or departed "gods," lacking the warmth of "emotion."

After all, the Xel'Naga were indeed regarded as creator gods in that universe, and ultimately, the Xel'Naga chose to "merge" with his father, Emperor Suiyang, becoming a part of his father's power and knowledge, and becoming part of the foundation of the Empire.

In a sense, in Universe 18, his father had already replaced the Xel'Naga and become the embodiment of the supreme rules of that universe.

However, the ruins of Tavolantis before our eyes are quite different.

There is no divine transcendence here, only the elegy of civilization.

Just as the war maid sensed, every cold stone, every engraving, seemed to be silently weeping over the past glory, the struggle that followed, and the final desperate self-sacrifice.

This overwhelming sense of desolation, the collective demise of an intelligent race, is far more poignant than any temple of gods.

Halsey, on the other hand, quickly entered his own "analysis mode" after the initial observation.

She raised her hand to adjust the specially made analytical eyepiece, carefully examining the smooth, strange carvings and architectural structures on the wall.

"A stunning artistic style," she commented, her tone carrying a professional assessment. "The lines are full of fluidity, seemingly showing a deep reverence for nature, perhaps their understanding of harmony between the ocean and energy, yet they also contain a geometric precision, demonstrating a high degree of rational thinking."

To choose self-freezing in such a resolute way at the very end of despair, just to prevent a greater disaster from spreading.
This spirit of dedicating everything to an ideal that transcends one's own existence is indeed worthy of deep reflection.

She shook her head slightly, with a rare hint of respect, "Among the many alien civilizations in the multiverse that I have encountered, most are obsessed with their own survival, expansion, or some distorted beliefs. People like the Tavolantis, who seem to be able to consider the broader impact when their own survival is at stake, are extremely rare."

The group continued deeper into the wide, downward-sloping main corridor.

Soon, they arrived at a particularly special area.

A giant corridor that is extremely wide and has walls that are polished to an exceptionally smooth finish.

What is even more striking is that the huge walls on both sides are covered with a continuous series of murals, the colors of which have faded with age but whose outlines are still discernible, accompanied by a large number of neatly arranged and complex unknown characters.

This is clearly not a random decoration, but rather a meticulously compiled epic gallery used to record history.

"Stop."

Halsey immediately raised his hand, signaling the group to stop.

Her gaze was drawn to the murals as if by a magnet, her eyes sparkling with the light of discovering a treasure.

"Cortana, initiate a high-resolution scan and create a holographic model. We need to decipher these mural sequences and writing systems on-site. This could very well be the 'self-narration' left to future generations by the Tavolantis civilization."

"Understood, Doctor. Start the multispectral imaging scanner and simultaneously establish a symbol comparison database."

Cortana immediately sprang into action, her fingertips projecting fine scanning beams to capture every detail of the murals and text.

Upon seeing this, Sui Meng immediately made the corresponding arrangements.

He turned to the Vanguard guard behind him and gave a concise and clear order: "Spread out in battle formation and guard all entrances and exits of this corridor. Do not touch anything here, including the walls and the floor."

His gaze swept over the seemingly silent murals and the possible hidden structures. "The absence of living things does not mean safety. Sometimes, the traps or unknown mechanisms contained in inanimate objects that have been dormant for thousands of years can cause more deadly damage."

After giving the order, Sui Meng stood still, and together with Halsey and Cortana, turned their gaze to the ancient murals.

However, he did not participate in the actual decryption work.

He was well aware of his own limitations; he was not an expert in archaeology, linguistics, or art appreciation.

Sui Meng couldn't help but think of his brothers, whom he had never met and who were scattered in other universes.

For example, Magnus, who had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and mystery, or Luo Jia, who was adept at interpreting the true meaning from faith and symbols, might have been able to decipher the truth behind these silent records more quickly if they were here.

As for himself, his mother, the goddess of war Athena, focused her teaching entirely on developing his psychic potential, endless tactical simulations, and cultivating his macro-strategic literacy.

How to destroy a fortress, how to command a battle, and how to use one's own power to turn the tide of battle—these are the areas he is proficient in.

"Soft sciences" such as art appreciation and archaeological deciphering, which require delicate perception and a large accumulation of knowledge, never appeared on the curriculum that Athena had prepared for him.

At this moment, his best option is to remain quiet, provide a safe working environment for the experts, and be prepared to deal with any unexpected situations that may arise during the decoding process.

Meanwhile, the decoding work proceeded rapidly, and only Halsey's occasional whispers remained in the corridor.

Cortana remained still, but her inner core was operating at an astonishing speed, rapidly comparing high-resolution images of the murals and text with her vast cross-cultural language database.

"Preliminary semiotic comparison is underway."

At this moment, Cortana was giving a report, her voice particularly clear in the quiet corridor, "Similarity screening with the known 17439 civilization writing systems. No complete match found."

The writing system is highly unique, but some geometric symbols show a weak correlation with early logical symbols, suggesting that its civilization may have touched upon the realm of higher-dimensional information processing.

Upon hearing this, Halsey adopted a more intuitive and associative analytical approach.

She strolled slowly along the murals, her sharp gaze scanning each image like a probe, her mind racing as she tried to resonate with the creators of ten thousand years ago. "Look at the narrative order here."

She pointed to a mural at the beginning of the corridor, depicting a slender creature with three-fingered hands sailing in a streamlined ship from a dying, cracked planet to a blue ocean planet.

"The migration, without a doubt, stemmed from a homeland on the verge of destruction. Tavolantis was their refuge, their hope for rebirth. This background often leaves a deep imprint on the art of civilization."
A yearning for survival, and a deep appreciation for their new home.

Her gaze shifted to the next set of murals.

The images depict creatures building cities in the ocean, using unknown energy technologies to harness ocean currents and cultivate unique marine life.

"They adapted to and dominated the marine environment, and their technology was quite advanced. Their architectural style, look at these domes and spiral structures, is full of considerations of fluid mechanics, but also has an elegant practicality. This is not like a civilization that worships military expansion, but more like a race that is good at adaptation and construction."

Cortana then provided additional data: "Based on a comprehensive calculation of the isotopic decay rate of the wall material, the stress accumulation model of the crystal structure, and the density of the micro-impact craters, it is inferred that the main structure was built between 165 million and 205 million years ago. The error range is mainly due to the planet's geological activity, but historical data is missing."

As they ventured deeper into the corridor, the content of the murals began to change.

A new set of murals, located in the middle of the corridor, has attracted everyone's attention.

In the image, the Tavolantis appear to have discovered a huge, radiant, double-helix structure in the deep sea, which is another primordial divine sign.

"A key node has been discovered." Halsey's voice carried a hint of excitement at uncovering a secret:

"They found it. Look at the posture of these Tavolantis, full of awe and curiosity. They regard this unknown creation from the depths of the starry sea as some kind of blessing? Or at least something of great value."

The murals depict the Tavorantis carefully studying the divine signets, measuring their energy output, and even attempting to replicate similar, smaller-scale double-helix structures and distribute them throughout the planet.

“They viewed the signet rings as an energy source.” Cortana concluded, combining the content of the murals with the limited symbolic decipherment, “The textual annotations repeatedly contain roots related to the concepts of ‘energy source’ and ‘eternal power.’ Their large-scale replication of the signet rings was likely to address the colony’s energy needs and further develop their new homeland.”

But the narrative of the murals seems to end there, or perhaps it turns to something else.

The murals in the latter half of the corridor became more "abstract," depicting the movement of stars, some grand sacrificial scene, or incomprehensible philosophical speculations, but no longer clearly showing specific events related to the divine seal, nor any direct depiction of the corpse transformation, massacre, or eventual freezing.

“Strange.” Halsey frowned slightly. “The recording was interrupted, or rather, deliberately avoided.”

Logically, such a significant 'discovery' and 'utilization' would inevitably have been followed by more detailed developments, unless the subsequent history was less than honorable, to the point that they were unwilling to record it, or perhaps the area we are currently in was built before the full-blown disaster occurred.

Cortana retrieved the information obtained from the Earth Federation database through Wu Ji and confirmed it: "The Earth Federation's classified files mainly focus on their own research on the Divine Seal and the process of locating the planet Tavolantis. There is almost no substantial deciphering of the history of the Tavolantis civilization itself, especially its early history."

They may not have fully deciphered the history of the Tavolantis as 'colonizers' and 'discoverers of the divine seal' recorded in this corridor.

Sui Meng listened to their analysis and discussion without saying a word, but he had already memorized the key information.

In other words, the Tavorantis were not the creators of the divine seal. Like the humans of this universe, they were the "discoverers" and "victims" of the divine seal, and they fell into the trap of destruction much earlier.

This discovery makes the threat posed by the divine seal and the forces behind it appear even more ancient, "insidious," and pervasive.

The tragedies of history unfold with remarkably similar preludes at different times and on different planets.

After a period of intensive analysis and data integration, Cortana's computational core successfully constructed the basic analytical framework of the Tavoranti script.

"The language model has been initially established. Based on contextual association and image reference, the vocabulary filling level has reached the threshold for basic interpretation." She reported to Halsey and Sui Meng. "The content recorded in the current corridor murals has been fully analyzed. It mainly records the migration history of this civilization, the initial discovery of the divine seal and its energy application. The narrative ends at the stage of large-scale replication of the divine seal."

Having obtained the crucial language "key," the group did not linger. The Vanguard Guard continued to maintain their guard formation as they advanced deeper into the ruins along the magnificent corridor.

They passed through a huge archway, and the view suddenly opened up, revealing a much larger space.

This appears to be the living area of ​​the Tavorantis' underground city.

Unlike the previous mural gallery full of historical narrative, the walls, pillars and even the ground here are covered with more everyday carvings and symbols, but they are still centered around the divine seal.

The murals depict the Tavorantis using energy obtained from the divine seal to light up their cities, power massive underwater vehicles, and cultivate unprecedented luminescent crops.
The artists who documented their work created a large number of sculptures and paintings inspired by the double helix structure;
It even suggests that their social structure has been reorganized around the management and distribution of divine energy.

The influence of the divine seal, like an invisible catalyst, has long permeated every aspect of their post-colonial life, from productivity to culture and art, leaving its mark on everything.

Finally, they arrived at the heart of the residential area—

A vast, circular central plaza.

The square is surrounded by tiered viewing platforms, and the ground is paved with special stones that emit a faint glow and outline intricate geometric patterns. All of these designs clearly point to the raised circular platform in the center of the square.

It was an altar, or rather, a display base.

However, the pedestal that should have been the focal point was now completely empty.

The base retains traces of a powerful energy field, which can still be faintly sensed by sophisticated sensors and psionicists even after being frozen for millions of years.

The "double helix mystery device" that constantly "broadcast signals" to the Tavorantis and which they regarded as the source of energy and hope, that is, the original divine seal, has disappeared without a trace.

"It seems that although the pulse waves of the large device 01 can accurately locate and annihilate all organic life forms related to the Divine Seal, whether they are mutated corpses or fully formed blood moons."

Halsey observed the empty base and analyzed, "But it cannot completely destroy the Seal itself on a physical level."

The essence of this creation may transcend the conventional realm of matter. At most, the pulse wave forcibly suppressed its activity, severed its connection with other biomass, and put it into a state similar to 'dormant'.

Presumably, the primordial divine seal discovered by the Tavolantis has long been lost.

(End of this chapter)