The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

Like a stubborn rock thrown into an endless pool of ink, the "Stargazer" silently glided into the long journey to the Twilight Starfield. Conventional warp drive was too risky with its damaged engine and depleted energy; Verna opted for the more cautious but extremely time-consuming sub-light-speed inertial navigation combined with short-distance spatial folding. The carefully designed route meandered through several desolate, sparsely populated "no man's lands," avoiding known interstellar routes, gravitational anomalies, and any potential monitoring networks. The rudimentary "wave disruptor" on the hull continued to operate, emitting an almost inaudible low-frequency hum, distorting and diluting the regular fluctuations emanating from the ominous silver crack on the Star Key, blending them into the noise of the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Time seemed to stretch out on the ship by the long, lonely, and uncertain voyage. Everyone found their own rhythm, and in the oppressive silence and apprehension about the future, they devoted themselves to their work with an almost obsessive focus, in order to combat the suffocating feeling that was omnipresent and stemmed from the "Shadow of Libra" mark.

Luo Wei became the most silent person. He spent long periods of time in his cabin—a small room that had been simply reinforced and equipped with basic energy-stabilizing runes. This became his "secluded retreat" where he digested knowledge, honed his stellar power, and attempted to communicate more deeply with the scarred Star Key in his arms. The fragments of his insights from "A Preliminary Exploration of the Interaction between Star Laws and Origin Codexes" acted as keys, opening the door for him to integrate the Stargazer system with the "Origin" concept. He was no longer content with merely casting star spells, but began to try to understand the "rule intentions" behind each rune, contemplating the subtle yet essential connection between stellar power and "evolutionary" psionic energy. This kind of thinking was profound and obscure, progressing slowly, but it deepened his understanding of the essence of power at a visible speed. His mid-stage Second Ring Star Speaker realm had become thoroughly solidified through knowledge feedback and continuous meditation. His star power had become more condensed and pure, and his use of "Stardust Mirage" had reached a level where he could almost perfectly blend into the environment for a short period of time. His "Star Vortex Resonance" technique had also become increasingly proficient, and he could even attempt to temporarily convert part of the shield's energy into small-scale gravitational disturbances to deflect or delay potential attacks. However, whenever he immersed his mind in the Star Key, trying to nurture and smooth the silver crack with his fused star power, he could always feel a cold, stubborn will of order resisting and eroding him, like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone. The progress was minimal, which always cast a shadow over his heart, but it also strengthened his determination to find the "Twilight Remnant" as soon as possible.

Current status: Luo Wei (Mid-stage Second Ring Star Speaker, stable)

Core training: Deepen understanding of "An Initial Exploration of the Interaction between Star Laws and Origin Codex", solidify realm, hone "Stardust Tracing" and "Star Vortex Resonance", and attempt to construct a new star technique model.

Ability Progress: Significant improvements have been made in the precision of star power manipulation, stealth ability, and defensive skills, and theoretical understanding has made a leap forward.

The challenge is that the Star Key Crack erosion is slow and continuous, and conventional methods are insufficient to contain it.

Combat capability assessment: Overall capabilities have steadily improved, with significant progress in survivability, stealth, and tactical flexibility.

Verna's lab became the busiest and most "dangerous" place on the ship. She categorized the vast amount of knowledge she had gained from the "Evolutionary Legacy," prioritizing research on aspects relevant to the current predicament: psionic shielding technology, anti-tracking algorithms, starship enhancement, and the energy antagonism principles against the "Imprint of Order." Together with Annie, she attempted to translate theory into reality using limited materials and a small manufacturing unit. An upgraded prototype of a full-band fluctuation jammer based on the principle of "phantom refraction" was created. Although it was enormous, consumed enormous amounts of energy, and its effect was still only interference rather than eradication, tests showed that it could further reduce the leakage of the Star Key's rule fluctuations by 30%, which was already a huge success. She also began to analyze the blueprint for the "Directed Rule Disturbance Generator," a one-time weapon derived from the Legacy, which might be a trump card for dealing with deadly threats in the future, but its principles were extremely complex, involving rudimentary operations at the rule level, and progress was slow. The high-intensity work and constant mental strain made her look even thinner, but her eyes always burned with focused light.

Lilith's focus was entirely on Airi. Inside the medical pod, the Crystal Rock girl remained asleep, her breathing steady and long, as if she were simply lost in a sweet dream. But Lilith knew that beneath this calm surface, a silent war was raging. Airi's soul was firmly locked by "Order Suppression," and the "evolutionary" process within her body was forcibly interrupted, creating a dangerous stalemate between the two forces within her fragile body and spirit. Using the activity of the Starflow Crystal and several gentle psionic catalytic formulas obtained from the knowledge of the legacy, Lilith concocted an extremely complex "Deep Sleep Elixir" designed to slowly nourish and repair the damage to Airi's soul and attempt to "lubricate" the energy conflicts within her body, continuously infusing it through the life support system. Every day, she would spend a great deal of time sitting by Airi's bedside, holding her hand, gently "questioning" that dormant consciousness with her gentle spiritual power, conveying thoughts of comfort and calling. She was also trying to analyze the "order" information that might remain from the silver light that struck Airi, hoping to find the weakness of the "suppression mechanism," but this was more difficult than studying the Star Key Crack because it involved taboos that directly affected the soul.

Barton's transformation was the most outwardly apparent. Having just entered the Star Warrior (First Ring) realm, he needed extensive practical experience and adaptation to his new powers to solidify his position. However, within the confined space of the starship, he had no opponents. Thus, the gravity training room became his most frequent haunt. He pushed gravity to its limit, repeatedly practicing his new combat techniques—a fusion of the "Star Rock Body Forging Method," the "High-Frequency Vibration" characteristic, and the explosive power of Star Aura—under a load strong enough to crush an ordinary person. He no longer pursued flashy moves, but focused on concentrating his power into a single point for explosive power, striving for ultimate penetration and destruction. Every punch, every kick, carried a muffled whistling sound and a subtle spatial tremor. He also consulted Elder Anderson on simple maintenance and modification of melee weapons, polishing several standard alloy swords to a chilling gleam and attempting to infuse them with a faint, resonant aura. His aura grew increasingly solid, every movement carrying the weight of a mountain and the dangerous tension of an impending explosion, his realm steadily solidifying in the early stages of the First Ring.

Elder Anderson was the ship's most reliable "chief steward." He established strict energy and resource allocation schedules, monitored the operational status of every system on the starship, and planned the next possible, very small-scale resource gathering point (if there was a safe opportunity near the route) based on Verna's research progress. He compiled all the data obtained from the "Evolutionary Legacy" regarding the Twilight Sector, the Evernight Zone, and the Space Labyrinth, producing a detailed route risk assessment report. In his spare time, he would also instruct Annie on basic starship operations and life support system maintenance; he greatly admired the girl's diligence and meticulousness.

Lina's state was somewhat difficult to describe. Under the combined influence of the legacy environment and the trials, her intuition seemed to have undergone a qualitative change. She was no longer as easily overwhelmed by the chaotic information from the outside world; instead, she could observe and filter things from a more "transcendent" perspective. She often sat alone by the viewing window, gazing at the ever-changing, dark starry sky outside, her amber eyes deep and penetrating, as if she could see through the darkness and touch some more essential, flowing "veins" behind it. She told Lilith that sometimes she could "hear" the extremely slow and grand "breathing" and "whispering" of the starry sky itself—not sound, but an indescribable rhythm. She began to consciously record these vague perceptions and tried to compare them with star charts and the spatial structure data provided by Verna. Occasionally, she could detect extremely faint gravitational ripples or energy turbulence that had not yet been detected by instruments, providing valuable early warnings for navigational avoidance. Her intuition is evolving from an "early warning radar" to a more profound "environmental perceiver".

Annie is the most positive and motivated member of the team. She eagerly learns everything she can—Velna's rune principles, Lilith's potion basics, Anderson's ship knowledge, and even Barton's power control techniques from his forging. Her Star Speaker apprenticeship is progressing steadily; she can now reliably cast several practical first-level support spells and, under Verna's guidance, is beginning to try to understand more complex energy circulation principles. She also proactively takes on many daily chores, using her attentiveness and enthusiasm to quietly ease the oppressive atmosphere on the ship.

Three months passed quietly in this atmosphere of high self-discipline and everyone's hard work.

The voyage has reached its ninety-seventh day.

The Stargazer was traversing an extremely vast interstellar void, where even the faintest stardust was scarce. This place was known as the "Desolate Corridor," one of the most desolate and "safe" passages to reach the Twilight Sector. Inside the ship, everything was normal, with only the faint hum of the equipment running.

Lina, who was on duty, suddenly looked up from the observation window, her brows furrowed, and gazed at the deep darkness to starboard. She whispered into the communication channel, "Starboard, one o'clock, distance... very far, extremely far. There's a strange 'echo'... not stars, not planets... it's like... many broken 'sounds' and 'images,' crushed and thrown into the void, drifting with some kind of energy flow... very sad, very chaotic, but... it seems neither malicious nor active."

Her description immediately caught the attention of Verna and Lowe. Soon, the passive sensors also detected the anomaly in that area: extremely weak, wide-spectrum psionic radiation background noise, slightly above the cosmic background value, and exhibiting irregular, slow fluctuations.

"It could be the aftershocks of radiation from an ancient battlefield, or informational disturbances left over from some large-scale cosmic phenomenon," Anderson analyzed. "Based on our flight path, we'll be passing its edge at a safe distance. We recommend maintaining observation, but there's no need to get close."

However, just as the starship was about to pass through the area at a safe distance, Irene, who had been lying peacefully in the medical bay, suddenly twitched slightly! Lilith, who had been monitoring her vital signs, immediately issued an alarm: "Irene's brainwaves are showing abnormal fluctuations! Her soul reading is rising slightly! She's...reacting while she's asleep!"

Almost simultaneously, the Star Key in Luo Wei's arms also resonated with a clear and urgent pulsation without warning! This time, the direction of the resonance was not the distant Twilight Starfield, but directly towards the void region filled with broken "echoes" that Lina had described!

"The Star Key is reacting! It's pointing to that 'Echo' zone!" Lowe suddenly stood up. "It's synchronized with Airi's fluctuations!"

Verna immediately retrieved all the scan data, her expression grave: "The psionic radiation spectrum of that area... analysis shows that it contains extremely trace amounts of residual signals that match the psionic characteristics of the 'Primordial Spirit Race'! And... very faint, inert residue similar to that left by the decomposition of 'Crystal-Eating Bacteria,' but it seems to be extremely ancient! Could it be... another, even older site, a relic or battlefield related to the Primordial Spirit Race and the Crystal-Eating Bacteria?"

This speculation sent everyone's hearts racing. An unrecorded ancient site that might contain crucial information?

"Go check it out." Rowe made the decision, but with unusual caution. "Barton, prepare for battle. Instructor Verna, activate the highest level of stealth and shields. Lina, maintain continuous awareness, and immediately warn of any signs of danger. We will only conduct long-range scans and limited detection; we will never easily enter the core area."

The "Stargazer" adjusted its attitude, cautiously approaching the void region emanating a faint, chaotic "echo." As it drew closer, the sensors captured more and more details. It did not appear to be a physical remnant, but rather a vast "information graveyard" composed of sparse ionized nebulae and fragmented psionic fields. Countless broken fragments of thought, distorted energy echoes, and even some blurry image remnants drifted and swirled like ghosts in this cold void, as if silently recounting a forgotten and tragic past.

"A high-density information entanglement region has been detected, with a relatively stable low-energy vortex at its center." Verna pointed to an inconspicuous bright spot on the scan image. "The resonance of the Star Key seems to point to the center of that vortex."

"Send a low-power, highly encrypted probe over there to attempt to collect information samples and environmental data," Rowe commanded.

A fist-sized probe, coated with a psionic energy-absorbing layer, was launched silently toward the low-energy vortex. The data stream transmitted back by the probe gradually became clearer, showing that the spatial structure at the center of the vortex was unusually stable, like a natural "information storage point," containing a relatively complete, yet equally chaotic and painful, stream of information.

Just as the probe was about to begin its deep reading, an unexpected change occurred!

Inside the medical pod, Airi abruptly opened her eyes! But her gaze was empty and lifeless; the silver glint deep within her pupils didn't light up, instead being replaced by a chaotic, flickering light and shadow! She sat bolt upright, uttering a strange, androgynous whisper, filled with countless broken echoes. This whisper wasn't transmitted through her vocal cords, but rather directly through psionic broadcasts, reverberating in everyone's minds:

"...No...there's no escaping it now..."

"...The web of 'order'...is everywhere..."

"...They...modified 'devouring'...betrayed 'evolution'..."

"...The blood of our compatriots...The lament of the spirit core..."

"...The last spark...must...be hidden well..."

"...The key...the eyes...found...the 'cradle'..."

The fragmented words, mixed with extreme pain, anger, resentment, and a hint of resolute determination, were accompanied by more broken and distorted images—burning crystal cities, cold, silvery-white warships, dark purple bacterial tides that blotted out the sky, self-destructing psionic halos, and a fragment enveloped in pale golden light that shot into deep space (extremely similar to the Star Key!).

Airi's body was trembling violently, the crystalline patterns under her skin were flickering, and her breathing was extremely chaotic, as if she was about to collapse at any moment.

"Unconsciously... she resonated with the collective grief and despair of the fallen Primal Spirit warriors remnants in that 'information graveyard'!" Verna exclaimed. "Those fragmented pieces of information are assaulting her already fragile consciousness!"

"Sever the probe immediately! Retract it! Retreat the entire ship! Lilith, stabilize Iris!" Rowe ordered urgently.

However, it was too late. The probe seemed to have triggered some residual, extremely weak psionic mechanism. From the center of that low-energy vortex, a thin, hair-like stream of pale golden information, composed purely of highly condensed sorrow and obsession, shot out, ignoring spatial distance and instantly striking the "Stargazer." It didn't attack the ship's hull, but directly connected with Airi's consciousness, which was in an unstable, open state due to resonance!

"ah--!!!"

Ai Rui let out a piercing scream, clutching her head with both hands. More chaotic information and images rushed into her mind, and also fragmentedly flooded into everyone's consciousness through the weak psychic connection formed between her and Xingyue, Luo Wei, and others due to their long-term coexistence and the legacy they shared!

They saw more:

"Cradle of Glimmer," a prosperous and peaceful frontier outpost of the Primal Eldar.

The messengers of the Court of Stasis (which may have been called by another name at the time) arrived with a covenant of "peaceful development and joint exploration".

Early cultivation experiments of "crystal-eating bacteria" conducted in secret, targeting the unique silicon-based psionic ecological environment of the area, have been exposed.

A devastating betrayal and a surprise attack.

The desperate resistance and final self-destruction of the outpost's guardians hurled their remaining will and the outpost's database core into the depths of space, forming this "information graveyard."

And that fragment that was fired, carrying the hope of the "last spark"...

The information flow abruptly stopped. The pale golden connection was severed. That "information graveyard" seemed to have exhausted its last bit of vitality; the psionic radiation began to decay rapidly, and the drifting "echoes" gradually subsided and dissipated.

Ai Rui collapsed again, falling into a deep coma. But this time, two lines of tears, which condensed into pale golden crystals, slid down her cheeks. Her breathing was much more steady than before. Although her soul reading was still low, the intense conflict and disorder seemed to have lessened.

Inside the bridge, there was a deathly silence. Everyone was pale, speechless from the brief but intense shock of the information they had just received.

"The Cradle of Glimmer... the frontier outpost... the early experimental site for Crystal-Eating Bacteria... betrayal..." Verna murmured, her eyes filled with shock and realization. "So that's how it is! The research and testing of Crystal-Eating Bacteria started much earlier than we imagined! The Court of Stasis (at that time) had already begun secretly conducting these biological weapon experiments to eliminate 'variables' in a much earlier era! The destruction of the 'Cradle of Glimmer' was not an accident, but a premeditated purge!"

"The 'Cradle' that Airi mentioned earlier..." Luo Wei looked at the unconscious girl, then at the Star Key in his hand, "Could it be that the 'Twilight Remnant' node, or... the final destination that the Star Key truly points to, is not a fixed 'Remnant,' but... a deeper secret that might remain from the destroyed outpost 'Cradle of Glimmer'? The word 'Cradle'..."

"The data remaining in the information graveyard suggests that 'Cradle of Glimmer' is not only an outpost, but also an important 'observation point for psionic evolution' and 'nurturing base'." Verna quickly retrieved the fragmented data captured when the probe resonated with Airi. "'Spark,' 'key,' 'eye'... these keywords are linked together... I have a bold guess: the Star Key may not just be a fragment of the 'Origin of All Things,' it may be the 'key' to unlocking or locating the true 'Cradle' legacy! And Airi's awakened 'Interference Eye' may be the qualified 'eye'! The so-called 'Twilight Remnant' may just be a... transit station or outpost guide to the true 'Cradle' legacy?"

This speculation is heart-pounding. What if they're looking for more than just a refuge or a repository of knowledge, but a "cradle" that might contain the very core legacy of the Primal Eldar's struggle against the Court of Stasis...?

"But all of this is still speculation," Elder Anderson cautiously cautioned. "Moreover, we just passively received this information, and it's hard to say we haven't left any traces. The fluctuations in this 'graveyard,' though faint, could be detected by the tribunal that has been monitoring the historical traces of this star system..."

His words sent a chill down everyone's spine. Indeed, the resonance and information surge just now, though brief, had nonetheless caused a fluctuation in psionic energy.

"Get away from here immediately! Full speed ahead! Activate the highest level of stealth and fluctuation confusion!" Rowe decisively ordered. "Target remains the same, Twilight Shadow Starfield! But before we arrive, we must digest the information we've gathered today. Instructor Verna, analyze the fragmented data with all your might, trying to reconstruct the possible coordinates of the 'Cradle of Glimmer,' or its connection to the 'Twilight Remnant.' Lilith, keep a close eye on Airi, see if there are any new changes or memories after she wakes up."

The Stargazer accelerated again, like a startled bird, quickly moving away from the "information graveyard" that was returning to silence, and continued heading towards the Twilight Starfield.

Outside the porthole, the starry sky remained dark and deep. But in everyone's heart, this unexpected turn of events stirred up a storm of emotions. Fragments of historical truth, like keys, were slowly unlocking a door to something older, more cruel, and perhaps where ultimate hope lay hidden. But behind that door lay redemption, or a deeper trap? Bearing both the "keys" and the "eyes," where would they lead on this marked path of escape?

In Luo Wei's arms, the silver crack on Xingyao seemed to be slightly warming from the resonance just now, as if it were silently urging him on, or as if it were issuing a deeper warning.