My name is Shuli, and I come from a small, nameless town on the planet Efera. It’s localy called the Blue Flower Town because a certain blue flower blooms there all year round.
That is my hometown.
I finished elementary school in the city when it was still popular to argue that the universe was big, and everyone was full of yearning and fear for the mysterious starry sky, believing that the glittering Milky Way was like the town’s gold mines in the earth, full of gold and inexhaustible resources everywhere but also full of terrifying monsters like the Golden Swallow.
My math teacher came from the most developed city on the planet at that time. He was about to retire and came here to retire early and to enlighten us young kids. He taught class very freely, often straying away from the textbook and into his own area of expertise, cosmology. With an enthusiastic tone and expression, he told us stories of the vast universe.
Under his guidance, I fell in love with this romantic yet brutal subject. So, I took the entrance exam for the Department of Cosmology in college and stepped onto a spaceship heading towards the universe.
I was the only one from the town to pass the exam. My parents were proud of me, but not happy about it.
“Shuli, the universe is very dangerous, especially in recent years, with the discovery of the trace of the ancient gods on the edge of the universe. More and more astrophysicist experts are losing their lives in chaos and madness.”
In the dim light of an oil lamp, my mother packed my luggage while trying to persuade me to give up. My father smoked on the side, as the deep wrinkles on his forehead revealed his silent worries.
In fact, I knew all of these things and even more than they did.
She guessed she was really born at the wrong time. The year she decided to become an astrophysicist, the Astronomical Universe Bureau discovered traces left by ancient gods.
Countless astrophysicists were curious about these mythical creatures that were born on the edge of the universe and had endless legends. So, with a thirst for knowledge, they began to trace their origins and, using some imperfect technology, managed to locate the ancient gods.
Then, disaster struck.
Thousands of astrophysicists went insane the moment they detected the existence of the ancient gods. Their minds were distorted and their bodies mutated to varying degrees.
Machines used to detect the ancient gods were reduced to ashes in an instant, and ships carrying these machines and astrophysicists, along with 32 nearby planets, were turned into wastelands and transformed into monsters within a minute.
After that day, the Astronomical Universe Bureau announced that they would give up on exploring the existence of the ancient gods and launched the Star Network to protect all inhabitable planets in the universe.
From then on, astrophysicists became the first beings distorted by the ancient gods, and this distortion would spread to all astrophysicists, even those who were still students.
Of course, humans were not powerless. At the Star Network launch center, the power of the ancient gods’ distortion was reduced by about 25%, which could extend the time that astrophysicists were distorted, allowing them to continue their research.
However, what they used to research was how to develop and sustain this universe, and now they needed to research how to escape from this universe.
In any case, the disaster of the ancient gods has begun. With just one glance from these terrifying creatures, this universe was plunged into extreme chaos, and all beings transformed into monsters.
“It’s a thousand times, ten thousand times more terrifying than death and destruction.”
This is how an author who witnessed an astrophysicist whose body and mind were completely distorted described it.
Since then, the profession of astrophysicist has gone from being popular among the elite in the universe to a taboo name that no one dares to touch. If anyone did they would share the same fate as their predecessors in the Star Network on their first day of enrollment–hero.
Yes, heroes.
A group of people who know that they couldn’t give up for the sake of the survival of mankind, without expecting or even possibly receiving any reward, Heroes.
There was no more tragic profession in the world, and there was no more terrifying story than this.
I know, I know all of this. That’s why I chose to follow my heart.
Humans always have a hero’s dream, regardless of gender, family background, education, or origin.
Everyone dreams of saving the world, of stopping a crisis just as a building is about to collapse, and being embraced by the cheers and adoration of the people, receiving flowers and applause.
Born unknown but dying gloriously.
How romantic.
I had the same idea, and as long as I wanted it, that title was within my grasp.
So I convinced my parents and embarked on the thorny road called “hero”, chasing after the most romantic death in the vast universe.
On September 1st, I officially became a student of the Cosmic Astronomy Institute, and on the day of enrollment, I boarded a spaceship and arrived at the Cosmic Astronomy Bureau in the center of the star network, meeting my seniors and the heroes of the universe for the first time.
That was the deepest nightmare of my not-so-long future life.
Here, I saw the most cutting-edge research results and technological products in the universe, piled up like garbage in every corner.
A huge observation screen was the only source of light here, with only a piece of coordinate information on the left, forever still; on the right was a constantly refreshing stream of information, huge and vast, with data so complex that even a glance would make one lose focus.
Between the observation screen and the high-precision instruments, several almost indiscernible “people” were lying on the ground, recording information with a dozen or so tentacles and observing data changes with their 28 pairs of fly-like eyes… with an ugly and sinister face, smiling at her.
“Ah, another child with their hero dreams.”
A tentacle fell on my shoulder, lightly tapping and retreating, a hoarse voice rubbing against my eardrums, like frosted glass scraping against metal, sharp and piercing.
“Child, leave here. You should have better choices and a brighter future.”
The overlapping echoing words seemed to come from several people’s mouths, although hoarse and unpleasant, full of kindness. If the owner of the voice hadn’t been distorted by the power of the ancient gods, he would have been a kind and amiable grandfather.
I felt deep fear and shock at the scene in front of me, human instincts screaming in my chest, the rapid heartbeat, and my parents’ instructions and care echoing in my ears, urging me to leave quickly.
Reason told me I should leave immediately, the faster and farther the better.
But I didn’t move, just reached out and held the tentacle that had once caressed my shoulder.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Shuli.”
…
For the next three years, I studied at the Cosmic Astronomy Bureau while assisting the old professors in their research.
Yes, there were only three old professors left here, everyone else already died.
Even with such a high price, all they could do was detect the changes in the environment around the ancient god’s habitat and speculate on its movements, as well as find a way to leave this universe without encountering the ancient god.
However, the body of the ancient god was too massive, like the mythical Ouroboros, encircling the universe in its embrace, as if holding a pillow and sleeping soundly.
It had slept for countless years but could awaken in the next second.
There was no way to go around it, no way to escape, and no way to resist.
When there were still many astrophysicists in the Central Agency, some tried to resist. They loaded their spaceships with the most powerful weapons and tried to fly close to the ancient god to launch an attack and perish with it.
Those were weapons capable of destroying an entire galaxy, with tens of thousands of them in the spaceship, capable of even blasting open the gaps between universes.
But reality dealt them a merciless blow.
It turned out that the limits of science were still far from the realm of theology.
Human technology could not affect the ancient god in any way, because the spaceship was twisted into an undead monster in the moment it approached, and then decayed into cosmic dust within three seconds.
Every grain of starlight one saw at this moment hid the resigned souls of astrophysicists.
“We have no choice, the reason why we still insist on observing is because we don’t want to die ignorantly one day.”
The old professor’s compound eyes stared at the static cosmic coordinates on the screen, and the mouth full of sharp teeth curved into a smile.
I sat on his shoulder and recorded the significant changes in the data for him.
As he was no longer able to hold a pen.
In these three years, I have learned the most profound knowledge in the field of cosmology and tasted the deepest loneliness in the world. My hero dream has lasted for three years without stopping, but it was no longer as naive as it was when I was a teenager.
“Teenager, you are still so young, you should smile more. What’s the point of always having a stern face?” The hunched old professor joked with me in his spare time.
He said he was as handsome as me when he was young and was a popular figure in school. At that time, the people who chased him could be lined up from the Astronomy and Cosmology Academy to the outer ring of the Star Network. Unfortunately, he was obsessed with the cosmology career and even considered marrying his own degree certificate, so he rejected them all.
At that time, he always felt that time was precious and even controlled time with a stopwatch when drinking water. He didn’t have time to laugh, and he didn’t like to laugh. Now he has time, but he has no chance to laugh.
After listening to what he said, I found time in my busy schedule to smile at him.
I don’t know if I am lucky, but in these three years, my body has not shown any signs of distortion, and my brain has never fallen into confusion and madness.
I am very fortunate, but also a little regretful, because not being distorted means that my “hero” career will leave regrets. But more importantly, it was also a sense of hope…
Perhaps the ancient god would still sleep for a long time, perhaps humanity still has time.
I was so hopeful that even the dry and complicated data blossomed under my pen.
Until three professors suddenly shattered in front of me.
Without warning, it unexpectedly, shattered.
They were observing data just a second ago, still teaching me observing techniques, still correcting my mistakes, still chatting with me about their cats at home, but in this second, they shattered into powder silently and disappeared into the suddenly lit warning lights.
A tentacle fell from the air, it was the hand of the old professor reaching out to touch my hair. It fell on my head, leaving behind the last bit of warmth, and then disappeared quietly.
The coordinate that was supposed to be eternal and still on the left side of the observation screen started changing at an extremely fast speed at this moment. On the contrary, the data stream on the right side has stopped.
The time has come.
It’s not my time, it’s humanity’s time, it’s the time of this universe.
I sat there for a while, maybe just a moment, then raised my hand and pressed the red button next to me, sending the final message from the Astronomical Universe Bureau to the whole universe.
“The ancient god has awakened.”
Then I touched my hair, as if responding to the old professor touch from before, and wrote down the names of the three professors and mine with a pen on the paper.
Charlie, Phimos, Angela, Shuli.
In the year 3030 of the cosmic calendar, the ancient god awaken.
The intelligent brain of the Astronomical Universe Bureau automatically unlocked and started, and a steel blip bloomed at the center of the star network.
A cold mechanical voice prompted a note of caution, all weapon projects were unlocked, aiming at the slowly overflowing darkness in the depths of the universe.
“I am a researcher of the Astronomical Universe Bureau, Shuli.”
“Identity authentication has been passed.” The intelligent brain said coldly: “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Please keep this notebook for me.” Shuli handed the notebook in her hand: “Do your best, no need to force it.”
“Okay.” The intelligent brain put the notebook into the astronomical cabinet: “Is there anything else you need?”
“No.” Shuli shook her head. Her body had already begun to transform, and her consciousness was slipping into the abyss. She thought drifted for a long time before remembering what he wanted to do, and smiled at the intelligent brain as if waking up from a dream: “Well then, goodbye, intelligent brain.”
The intelligent brain paused, turning a giant cannon towards Shuli.
“Goodbye, Shuli.”
….
The intelligent brain of the Astronomical Universe Bureau had long been shut down. When the ancient god opened his eyes and looked at the universe, it, like all creatures in the universe, had transformed into a monster.
Just before the transformation was complete, it activated the “causal annihilation cannon” at maximum power and completely destroyed itself at the informational level.
Before its destruction, it placed the chip containing the final message and Shuli’s notebook into the core of the star network and sank it into the deepest part of the earth, just as Shuli had instructed: “Do your best.”
The intelligent brain knew that its transformation would not make this world worse, but its operating logic told it that it should be destroyed this way.
…..
Countless cosmic epochs later, the ancient gods died under the swords of their righteous companion, and even their body was sealed in the deep slash left by the sword, turning into the abyss and disaster of a strange planet – the kind that cannot be mentioned.
Meanwhile, the core of the star network was activated by a coincidence, evolving into a Chaotic Amusement Park.
“The amusement park is a place that brings happiness to people. The introduction to the amusement park is stored in the core of the star network, and the amusement park was originally developed for this purpose. However, this is still a world contaminated by ancient gods.”
A skeleton sat on a red velvet armchair, legs crossed, holding a cigarette between its finger bones, exhaling gray-white smoke as it spoke.
In its lifetime, it was a beauty, and even in death, its bones and posture were still elegant and dignified despite its decaying flesh.
Gin glanced at it and brushed over the old notebook with his fingertips. Wherever he went, the blurry handwriting gradually became clear, revealing the exquisite appearance of the dusty treasure.
He suddenly remembered the note from the system.
—You are not a savior or a god, but merely an obscure restoration expert from Era Museum.
…
—You are not a savior or a god, but merely an obscure restoration expert from Era Museum.
A line of text slowly appeared on the screen, lingering for ten seconds before dissipating like sand, replaced by a concise system panel that was so simple that it was hard to know where to click.
The map in the upper right corner, the operation buttons in the lower left corner, and the Q-villain in the center was gone.
Although Hideyoshi Akai hadn’t played many games, he had seen some live streams and knew that there would usually be a system guide for beginners. But this game was different. Not only did it lack an opening CG, but it also had no beginner’s guide. It was really a game that allowed for a completely free operation.
He held a cigarette in his mouth and swiped his finger on the interface a few times before finally clicking on the only map that might be useful, and was immediately stunned by the complexity of the map, which was comparable to a satellite scan of terrain.
The map could be scrolled up, down, left, and right without any boundaries, and there were areas that could be explored every few centimeters. However, the vast majority of them were grayed out, and clicking on them would prompt a message that said: “temporary exploration unavailable.”
There was a location marker in the lower right corner, which allowed players to accurately locate their current position. Hideyoshi Akai tapped it, and the map instantly slid to the only area that was shining with light – Sullivia.
As he clicked into it, the screen suddenly changed from deep purple to a blue sea of flowers.
System prompt: You have opened the first exploratory instance “Sullivia” Now, you will witness the last moment of “Sullivia” from the perspective of the ghost Shuli.
System Prompt: You have entered the battlefield – Abyss of Blades.
System prompt: You will assist the remnant soul of the “First Restorer” to kill the monsters in the abyss as an assistant.
System prompt: The battle has begun, skills are unlocked. Please provide assistance to the “First Restorer” at the appropriate time.
Rewards for this battle: 10,000 experience points, “First Restorer” [six-star character] limited-edition card for internal testing, and unlocking of the life system.
Note: He is your past, and you are his future.
Author’s message:
System: We give you a chance to fight alongside him.
Akai: Understood. I’ll fill up my credit card for you today.
