If humanity's strong sensitivity to the Warp now came from a specific genetic sequence,
then if that part of the genome were removed from the entire human race, would humanity suffer less interference from the other side?
And the dying words of that Man of Gold had also mentioned returning to purity.
Did that mean they had already found some method to reshape humanity at the genetic level?
For now, Gaia had no way of knowing.
Dushi, who knew more of those hidden truths, had fallen into a kind of slumber. The next time it awakened would probably be after Gaia found it a new body.
And at present, the only clues she had were the "summit of the mountain" mentioned by that Man of Gold and the coordinates that had been transmitted into her mind.
Gaia lifted her head and looked at the enormous conduits overhead, still pulsing faintly, and could not help but sigh.
Based on fragments of memory in her mind, she had once believed that humanity's Golden Age must have been an era of hope and relentless progress.
But from the scattered words of Dushi and the Man of Gold, it was very likely that age had not been much better than the current Imperium of Man.
Mad biologists had altered the human genome as they pleased, while the self-proclaimed superior Men of Gold had enslaved other humans at the genetic level. That was the mark of a civilization already in decline.
Perhaps, with the help of the Men of Iron, humanity of the Dark Age of Technology had once expanded its dominion to the very peak.
But that illusion of prosperity had shattered like a reflection in water beneath some influence from the other side.
For a long time, she stared at the energy conduits that ran like the blood vessels of the planet itself.
This magnificent machine, capable of drawing out nearly endless energy, had witnessed the glory and ruin of that age.
And now, though it still carried out its duty, those who had created it had already vanished into the flood of history.
Seen that way, perhaps this universe had never truly possessed hope at all.
Destruction had always been the main theme echoing across the stage of the cosmos, and even civilizations that once shone with brilliance had been nothing more than performers in that endless tragedy.
If fate truly existed in this world, then it must be held in the hands of beings filled with unimaginable malice.
Anything that seemed to hold hope was only the overture to despair.
Those dark thoughts rose one after another in Gaia's heart, shaking her conviction.
If there truly was no hope in anything, then why was she still struggling so hard to prevent the chaos that would come on the eve of the Age of Apostasy?
After all, none of it could escape a tragic fate...
"Looking at it this way, humanity really is a tough species."
Just as an overwhelming sadness was beginning to rise within Gaia, Solomon's lightly teasing voice suddenly rang out.
She turned her head and saw that he was crouching on the ground, picking up a fragment of unknown alloy that had once been frozen within the stasis field.
He raised it into the air and studied its texture under the lamps of the cavern, then said half-jokingly,
"Even if this machine shows that our technology has fallen further and further behind, and that ancient civilizations were lost in some unknown disaster, our species still survives among the stars."
"Compared to those ancient humans, we're like the trash on the lower deck compared to the nobles on the upper deck. Humble, sure, but still tough enough to keep going."
"Isn't that its own kind of greatness?"
His words immediately stirred Gaia's heart, which had been heavy with sorrow, and even the Forge Lord, who had been wholly focused on the scanning results, could not help but turn and look at the free captain with a strange expression.
Those few lines woke Gaia like a dream breaking apart.
Perhaps this world truly was falling into an endless abyss, but there was no denying that beauty still existed within it.
And it was precisely because such beauty was wrapped in such deep darkness that it became more precious than anything else.
Strangely enough, this was something she had already understood long ago.
So why, when she had just sunk into grief over these tragic truths, had she failed to remember it in time?
If Solomon's words had not pulled her back, she even felt that her thoughts and beliefs might have undergone some subtle, irreversible change under the weight of that immense sorrow.
She took a deep breath, forced all those dark thoughts out of her mind, and her gaze became calm and resolute once more.
A sigh as cold as if it had drifted up from the deepest hell brushed faintly past Solomon's ear.
Maybe it lasted only an instant.
Maybe it lasted an eternity.
A chill like falling into an icy abyss swept through his entire body, leaving him dazed for a brief moment.
He turned his head in alarm and looked around, but in the empty cavern, there was nothing that could have made such a sound.
Solomon shivered involuntarily, then hurried to his feet and casually slipped the metal fragment into his pocket.
Wanting to leave this cursed place as quickly as possible, he turned to the Forge Lord and asked,
"Honored Forge Lord, is your investigation finished? Is there any way for us to get back up?"
If an ordinary mortal had interrupted the Forge Lord while he was in the middle of research, he likely would have been remade into either a servitor or a chunk of biological wetware.
But when Solomon asked, the Forge Lord answered with surprising patience.
"For now, it would seem so."
"By the Omnissiah's lungs, according to the scan results, something appears to be missing from this machine's chest cavity, most likely its central control core. If so, then this machine should not be capable of interacting with the outside world."
"Combined with the energy field's sudden disappearance, I believe that the servitor disturbance and the precisely controlled earthquakes were likely some sort of built-in program tied to that energy field."
"The purpose was most likely to preserve this ancient machine and, when the opportunity arose, seek help from someone capable of repairing it."
"But after the passage of such a long time, disorder developed within the energy field, and in the end it triggered the prearranged program ahead of schedule."
"By the Omnissiah, my experience researching ancient constructs is still far too limited..."
"Otherwise, if I could repair this machine, I would surely be able to learn much more."
The Forge Lord looked over the scan results with some regret as his emotionless synthetic voice sounded slowly through the cavern.
But what the Forge Lord said caught Gaia's attention immediately.
The meaning behind his words was obvious.
Dushi's body could be repaired, but it required someone with enough experience.
And hidden within that statement was another fact.
He actually knew someone capable of doing it.
If Dushi's original body could be restored, then Gaia would not need to find it a completely new one.
In order to uncover the truths Dushi knew as soon as possible, and also to gain its formidable strength, Gaia turned to the Forge Lord and asked,
"Sacred keeper of the holy forge, do you know of anyone who could repair this mechanical relic?"
After hearing Gaia's question, the Forge Lord's meaningful gaze settled on her, and then he slowly replied,
"I already told you about that person before."
"He is not only the forge-master with the greatest knowledge of ancient constructs I have ever seen."
"He is also my mentor."
(End of Chapter)
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