Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1364: Chapter 1363: Listening to Ancestors Talk About Those Days Hung in the Sky

Gawain felt it was time to reveal some matters to those whom he trusted the most.

People like Aunt Heidi, Rebecca, Byron Kirk, and Amber—they have spent the most time with Gawain, know him the best, and their trust in him is unquestionable. Time has proven that their support for the current shared endeavor comes from the heart, making their words and actions mainly driven by shared ideals rather than mere interpersonal relationships or interests. On the other hand, having spent so much time together, they have realized many of Gawain’s special qualities and his close connection with the Voyager’s heritage to some extent.

Since none of them are fools, it is better to explain some things in advance.

Now that Cassandra and Asharena have learned the truth about space and the plan to further repair Firmament Station, this truth will soon spread to the upper echelons of the Dragonkin and sea demons. Thus, Gawain intends to take this opportunity to disclose matters related to Firmament Station and the satellite array to core members, including Aunt Heidi—after all, if everything goes according to plan, Firmament Station is bound to be exposed to the world, and during this process, Gawain needs to use many ancient Voyager artifacts. In such a situation, if his most trusted and competent people are kept in the dark, it might lead to complications during critical moments.

After all, team core members need mutual understanding; without it, at critical moments, when you signal someone with a look, they might respond with confusion, leading to an awkward situation. Even if it doesn’t lead to complications, the secrets accumulating among core members might constrain one’s actions, adding unnecessary worries.

Aunt Heidi noticed the serious expression on the ancestor’s face. This Grand Chancellor of the Empire, who exudes confidence and reliability in front of outsiders, felt a sense of nervousness out of nowhere—the kind reminiscent of her childhood nerves only in front of Gawain over the years. Following the ancestor’s instructions, she pulled over a chair and sat beside the wide desk, watching as Gawain took his seat on the high-backed chair on the desk’s inner side, before cautiously asking, ”Ancestor, what are you going to tell me?”

”Don’t be so nervous; I’m not going to criticize you,” Gawain, who had been worrying about how to start this paradigm-challenging revelation, could not help but laugh at Aunt Heidi’s tense demeanor. ”There are some things I’ve never shared with you, Rebecca, Amber, and Byron Kirk, which now seem ready to be revealed.”

Aunt Heidi had just started to relax when she heard the names from her ancestor’s mouth, quickly realizing the special ”tier” of these people, her expression instantly becoming solemn: ”Please, go ahead.”

Gawain rubbed the stubble on his chin, pondering for a couple of seconds before slowly beginning: ”You should know that, seven hundred years ago, I once left Loren Continent on a secret voyage and reached another continent southeast of Loren. On that unfamiliar land stood a tower left by the Voyager—I once ventured inside.”

”Yes, I know about that,” Aunt Heidi nodded immediately. ”Initially, I knew only the ’legendary version,’ but later, you shared some details with me...”

”Those weren’t all the details,” Gawain raised his hand, gently tapping his temple. ”In truth, what I ’scaled’ back then was far more than a single tower, and my connection to the Voyager’s legacy extends beyond that single adventure. To this day, an inseverable link exists between me and those relics, here—in my mind, in the depths of my consciousness, constant data exchanges occur beyond your imagination. In a sense... I am now the Voyager’s legacy.”

Aunt Heidi slowly widened her eyes, not fully grasping Gawain’s words, but the fragments she could understand were enough to spark countless astonishing conjectures in her mind. She couldn’t help but swallow, steadying her racing thoughts before asking, ”You mean your consciousness is ’bound’ with the Voyager’s relics? Those... ancient facilities can house human consciousness? And on that tower...”

Gawain chuckled, interrupting Aunt Heidi’s question: ”Don’t rush, I’ll tell you now what’s truly atop that tower—what’s really above our ’world.’

”First, I need to explain concepts about ’spacecraft,’ ’permanent space stations,’ and ’space elevators’—ah, don’t fuss over what ’elevator’ means, just consider it a type of lift... ”

In the next few minutes, Aunt Heidi’s mouth hardly closed.

Through Gawain’s clear and patient explanations, a ”real face of the world” she’d never imagined slowly unfolded before her. Satellites and space stations that have been watching over the planet for millions of years, alien creations capable of lasting near-permanently in outer space, and ”space elevators” stretching from earth to the stars—all unseen by mortals, operating quietly throughout the ages, challenged Aunt Heidi’s worldview but also ignited a different emotion: curiosity and the urge to explore.

Such astonishing things exist in the world, and their proximity to mortals throughout long ages was unimaginable.

But soon, her overly shocked mindset calmed—though the ancient facilities in space were mind-blowing, recent revelations in the domain of the Gods had exposed similarly incredible things through Kamel’s ”door” project. Sentinel Cruiser and Sentinel Base were creations on par with the satellite array and Orbital Ring Space Station, these entities tempered Aunt Heidi’s calmness before Voyager artifacts, so now, she was more surprised by the ”connection” between her ancestor and those relics.

”...For many years, my consciousness was stationed on a surveillance satellite in space, overlooking this land, until Amber awakened my body, allowing me to return to earth—but my connection with space-based entities didn’t fracture, instead, it progressed further. For example, I’ve now assumed control of the Firmament Station orbiting the planet...” Gawain’s voice was steady, creating a reassuring aura, ”Using this special perspective, I located the Winter and even contacted Cassandra and Asharena who entered Firmament Station via the space elevator...”

Aunt Heidi’s eyes widened, contemplative after a long pause: ”No wonder...”

With curiosity and a smile, Gawain asked: ”No wonder what?”

”No wonder you possess that unique worldview, no wonder you approach the problems we encounter from a transcendental perspective,” Aunt Heidi said softly, her tone carrying a complex feeling difficult to articulate, ”I once thought it was your innate quality and wisdom gained after transcending life and death, I hadn’t realized you spent seven centuries observing and contemplating this world...”

Gawain opened his mouth slightly, surprised at Aunt Heidi, then couldn’t help but laugh: ”It seems your understanding may be a bit off, but it’s fine if that’s how you see it.”

After a brief contemplation, Aunt Heidi spoke with a thoughtful expression: ”So, you plan to have Dragonkin and sea demons help repair that... ’space station’? Are you hoping to use the repaired station against potential Sentinel responses?”

”That probably won’t be possible; it’s a considerable uncertainty—no one truly knows if sea demons and Dragonkin can decipher Voyager technology,” Gawain shook his head, ”I do plan to use Voyager relics against Sentinels, but as for repairing Firmament Station... it’s a long-term plan, even if we start now, seeing progress will likely take a long time anyway.”

”Who knows about this now? How much do you plan to reveal publicly?” Aunt Heidi continued, ”Do you genuinely intend to ’share’ all this with other Alliance Member States in the future?”

”Now you know, and Cassandra and Asharena know too. Soon Byron will know as well—all those who are trustworthy and bear significant responsibilities should know this, and in the future, one day, these things, including Firmament Station and the satellite network, will inevitably be made public among all the member states of the Alliance,” Gawain has made a decision, ”The mortals of this planet must eventually emerge from their cradle, whether it’s to ’come of age’ or to survive in the magic wave spreading across the universe, and as long as we plan to take this step, the Voyager legacy in space is something everyone will inevitably face.

”Crabs pulling each other down will never climb out of the cage, it’s a very sensible saying, especially in this not-so-friendly world, the path forward for mortals is already treacherous step by step, and I certainly don’t want everyone to be ultimately trapped and dying on this planet.”

”Of course, we can’t be blindly optimistic in this process, nor can we unconditionally trust that everyone can possess the same rationality as us—the luckiest point in this process is that space constructions like Firmament are under my control, we can utilize this to exert maximum influence during the Alliance’s exposure to Voyager legacy and ensure the process is controllable.”

”I understand,” Aunt Heidi gently nodded, ”Your thoughtfulness indeed goes much deeper than mine...”

Gawain’s lips twitched, feeling that Aunt Heidi seemed to change a little after learning these truths—more admiration for the family’s old ancestor, which is not quite what he initially imagined...

One can only say it’s no wonder she once engaged in magic research, and the blood flowing in her veins is directly inherited from Rebecca’s line; their acceptance ability cannot compare to ordinary people.

Thinking of a certain iron-headed creature, Gawain couldn’t help but murmur to himself, ”I wonder what Rebecca’s reaction will be once she knows these things...”

”Her? She’s probably not capable of thinking so far ahead,” Aunt Heidi couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile, ”Her biggest reaction would probably be thinking, ’The ancestors are amazing,’ ’Really not surprised they’re my family’s old ancestor,’ and then, for a long time, being unable to sleep because she can’t take this matter out to show off or pestering you to tell her the stories hanging in the sky... Ah, the last sentence was a bit inappropriate, but I was speaking from Rebecca’s perspective. I’ll just give her a good talking later...”

”Ahem,” Gawain coughed immediately, ”You’re a bit off there?”

”I’m kidding,” Aunt Heidi’s lips suddenly curled up, ”I also look forward to what the child’s reaction will be then.”

For some reason, Gawain suddenly felt Aunt Heidi was much more relaxed in front of him at this moment.

...

Under the star-filled clear night sky, the towering ancient ”huge tower” stood between the sea and sky. This was the first time in this season of human history seeing such magnificent scenery, and at this moment, everyone standing beneath this tower would naturally feel a sense of participating in history.

Byron Kirk raised his head, gazing into the deep night sky.

The optical shield system hid the sight of the space megastructure visible from the planet’s surface, but even if nothing could be seen, knowing of the miraculous creation’s existence made it inevitable for one’s mindset to undergo a permanent change—especially when simultaneously aware of the little secret of the one they pledge allegiance to, the change in mindset becomes even more unavoidable.

”Honestly, did you understand all of it?” Asharena’s voice came from beside, the red-haired Dragonbranded Witch curiously watching Byron Kirk’s eyes in the night.

”Honestly, not all of it, mainly the concept regarding the space station, satellites...” Byron scratched his already messy hair, ”Just knowing it’s some advanced technology that lets important function facilities float forever high in the sky, orbiting the planet... But I understood the part about the King.”

”To us ’non-professional’ types, understanding up to this part is enough,” Asharena softly exhaled, as if releasing the pressure accumulated earlier, ”Any thoughts?”

Byron Kirk carefully thought for a long while, countless feelings and sudden realizations fluctuated in his heart. The veteran knight, who was the Empire Navy’s first marshal, cast his gaze towards the distant vast sea, and after a long period of reflection finally spoke in a deep voice: ”The King is awesome.”

Asharena: ”...”

”Can’t help it, that’s just my level of culture—the daughter’s grammar textbooks I can’t even get through,” Byron Kirk spread his hands, ”But one thing I can be sure of, after the war ends... this world will really be turned upside down.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Cassandra was just reporting her experiences in Firmament Station to General Vanessa, the sea demons.

Having experienced the ”Great Collapse,” General Vanessa was greatly shocked—since her awakening tens of thousands of years ago near the crash site in Antawen, it has been a long time since she felt such a shock.

”The ring-shaped megastructure we saw during the fall process...” General Vanessa murmured, ”Tens of thousands of years later, we once again received intelligence in this regard, in such a circumstance...”

”General Vanessa,” Cassandra looked at the sisters behind General Vanessa who were performing guard duties, her expression turning serious, ”This time... how many deep water technicians and Deep Sea Witches did you bring?”