Chapter 730: The Memories of LH-01

Beneath the faint and distant starlight, an immense and ancient deity loomed, its form resembling a colossal range of star-shaped mountains. This being, ancient beyond comprehension, emitted a deep and resonant trembling sound. Its voice possessed a formidable power, one so intense that even the most steadfast humans could be driven to madness. It held the strength to unravel the very fabric and order of reality. Yet, when Duncan encountered this voice, all he sensed was a profound sense of weariness and frailty.

This was the weariness accumulated over ten thousand years, a weight borne from carrying the burdens of an entire world on its shoulders.

Duncan had arrived armed with numerous questions, but upon hearing the voice that seemed to emanate from the dark, star-shaped mountains, his initial question concerned Alice: "Was it you who intentionally released that 'tentacle' from the icy depths of the deep frost sea? LH-03... Navigator Three, what's the meaning behind all this? Why did you send Navigator Three to our world under the guise of 'Alice'?"

The mountainous figure in the shadows paused momentarily before responding with its deep, vibrating voice: "This was the only method to ensure LH-03 remained functional... My central programming is descending into disorder, and I can no longer maintain the simulated environment essential for LH-03."

Shirley and Dog, shielded by their captain, somehow kept their sanity intact. Yet, as they listened to the exchange between their captain and the Nether Lord, they found themselves questioning their own understanding. They recognized every word spoken but couldn't grasp the meaning of the conversation - what was this 'core program'? And what did they mean by a 'sandbox'?

But it was evident that their captain, Duncan, was fully aware of the nature of his dialogue with this formidable, ancient deity.

After pondering for a few seconds, Duncan pieced together the information and formulated a hypothesis about the situation the Nether Lord - also known as Navigator One - was describing.

"So, you're implying... that after the destruction of New Hope, LH-03 has been functioning within you?"

The mountainous deity replied: "It appears you're already quite informed."

Duncan hesitated slightly before responding with a nod, "I discovered that key."

He was confident the Nether Lord would comprehend the significance of "the key."

As Duncan anticipated, the Nether Lord understood immediately and responded with a low, gentle hum, indicating acknowledgment, before slowly saying: "Given your knowledge of the New Hope... our discussion can proceed more straightforwardly. Indeed, everything is as you have deduced."

The entity then lapsed into silence, possibly sifting through the myriad fragments of its ancient memories stored in its extensive database, or maybe pondering how to succinctly explain the events that transpired at the dawn of history. After a brief pause, Duncan heard the low whisper of the ancient god from the dark mountain range:

"In the beginning, there were three of us."

Lights flickered across the body of this ancient deity, resembling the flow of galaxies it had observed over eons.

"Our creators were a race of profound wisdom and resilience. Prior to the calamity that befell them, they managed to slow the flow of time, crafting a temporal bubble. Within this time-altered capsule, which to them was a century, they constructed a monumental ship and brought the three of us into existence."

"I emerged first, tasked with the monumental role of reconstructing our civilization upon the New Hope reaching its destined haven. They bestowed upon me the dual capabilities of creation and replication, empowering me to comprehend and reconstruct any form of matter."

"After my birth, Navigator Two came into being. Its purpose was to oversee the ark's myriad functions, assimilating and processing a deluge of digital information. With our creators in hibernation, it assumed the role of their collective consciousness, steering the fate of our voyage."

"Navigator Three, though the smallest, held a crucial role. It was charged with navigating a safe trajectory through the cosmic expanse. To fulfill this, it compiled an exhaustive atlas of all known stars and their evolutionary patterns, while also managing the ark's propulsion systems."

As Duncan watched, the serpentine and colossal form of the mountain range momentarily dimmed, then gradually reignited, its grandeur now fully visible.

"I yearn to share with you the story of our creators' civilization. It was a civilization of unparalleled splendor, a jewel amidst the cosmos, but... its light has been extinguished, lost to the distant stars. The inadequacies of language fail to capture even a fragment of its former glory. All I can convey is that, on a fateful day, our journey commenced. We were the bearers of our civilization's legacy."

"In the final moments before departure, I was commanded to consume our creators' home planet. I archived everything from its surface into a memory vault, prepared for eventual replication. Navigator Three identified the most promising sanctuary among the stars, and at the precise moment the time capsule shattered, it ignited the engines. Navigator Two then assumed control of the ship's systems, safeguarding the dormant minds of our creators in its vast consciousness... As the deep red hue of the apocalypse engulfed everything, we embarked on our journey."

"The loss of our database means I can no longer pinpoint the duration of our journey. What I am certain of is that we pressed onward, following the course charted by Navigator Three. The crimson tide of destruction chased us across the universe, stars imploding in our wake, the very fabric of space-time unraveling behind us. The universe gradually came undone, and everything eventually strayed far from what had been recorded in our database."

"In truth, Navigator Two had foreseen the outcome of our journey from the outset. Its capability to predict the end results of events meant that our voyage's conclusion had always been within its calculations."

"After our final leap through hyperspace, we reached what should have been a safe haven, as deduced by Navigator Three. Yet, under the scrutiny of our probes, this 'safe' new home crumbled away."

"The stars abruptly extinguished, a resplendent light burst forth from a colossal rift, and our ship plunged into it. We were bombarded with innumerable fragments, the ship's shields and hull bearing the brunt of this cosmic onslaught. A bizarre realm, foreign to our universe, collided with its boundary. This was the final message transmitted by Navigator Two before its signal warped beyond recognition. Following that, our ship disintegrated."

"This destruction... it obliterated the ark world within the ship. The navigation cabin, where Navigator Three resided, suffered the most catastrophic damage - its physical form was rent asunder."

The vibrations emanating from within the star-shaped mountain range momentarily quieted, and before Duncan, a 'river' materialized. It shimmered with a faint blue light, snaking across the ground like a viscous fluid reflecting the stars from the direction of the mountain range. It flowed past Alice and then gently receded into the earth, causing the doll to widen her eyes in astonishment at this spectacle.

"I exerted every effort to salvage our ark, Navigator Three included," the ancient deity's voice, low and resonant, once again reached Duncan, "I absorbed everything within my reach, storing it in the 'Creator's Vault.' I also engulfed the remnants of LH-03, preserving its data within my own backup database... My intent was to safeguard every aspect of the ark world because, as we traversed that rift, I had already witnessed the imminent collapse of our original universe."

"The creators charged me with reconstructing our civilization, and now, we represent the remnants of that legacy."

In the enveloping darkness, the deep vibrations gradually diminished, and Duncan stood in contemplation, silent for an extended period, until he finally broke the silence: "But you are deteriorating."

"Everything is in decline, Flame Usurper. This apocalypse hasn't ceased; it's merely been postponed — my current frailty is but a minor facet of its ongoing course," replied the Nether Lord, more calmly than Duncan had expected, "Yet the creators, despite facing minimal hope, still forged the New Hope. Even after foreseeing our journey's end, Navigator Two still sanctioned our voyage because the creators believed it's better to act, however futile, than resign to inaction."

"Hence, I dispatched LH-03 into your world... although at that time, I was uncertain of its significance or the potential outcomes. To prevent unchecked proliferation, I disconnected from that segment of the data carrier, so..."

There was a momentary pause as if the being was carefully selecting its words, and then the star-like lights flickered anew: "To be honest, when I observed LH-03's current 'condition'... I was taken aback. It deviated from the original plan."

"The 'data carrier' you released took on a human guise, encasing LH-03 within it — she's now known as Alice," Duncan said softly, "Frankly, the entire process seemed rather improvised."

"...But despite the odds, LH-03 endured and ultimately led you to me," the ancient god remarked.

Duncan's brow furrowed slightly in response: "Was orchestrating our meeting part of your plan?"

"No, I do not possess the predictive capabilities of LH-02. My primary functions are replication and creation. However... I do believe in the concept of fate, and sometimes, fate plays a hand in guiding events."

"...It's somewhat surreal to hear a machine speak of believing in fate," Duncan commented with a bemused expression, "...Is it alright if I refer to you as a 'machine'?"

"Not at all, I find the term rather endearing. It has been a long time since anyone has addressed me in such a manner," the Nether Lord replied with equanimity, "So, what more do you wish to learn?"

After a brief pause, Duncan posed a different question, "Rather than focusing on what I seek to understand, perhaps you could elucidate your intentions. You made considerable efforts to establish a line of communication with me at Alice's mansion and then guided me to this enigmatic location. This meeting surely extends beyond mere idle conversation... What is it that you expect of me?"

This inquiry was met with a prolonged silence from the entity resembling a "mountain range" shrouded in darkness, its constellation of lights and dark blue streams momentarily fading as if into oblivion. Shirley and Dog began to grow anxious, wondering if the Nether Lord had somehow been 'defeated' by Duncan's question. Then, just as their concern peaked, the lights and flows surged back to life with renewed vigor.

"Usurper of Fire, would you be willing to assume responsibility for all of this?"