Chapter 235 — Stirrings at the Door

"The technological progress you seek, your way of probing truth—it fits our conjecture well. I think the path you are on may be the right one, but… I fear you have woken a little too late."

Gao Yun did not know what expression to wear. Many words finally turned into an awkward, stiff smile, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Don't you think saying all that straight to a man's face is rather discouraging?"

"We sea-folk are used to speaking plainly," Till said, quite composed. "And I am used to being pessimistic first—you can look on the bright side yourself. After all, I did say the tide's cycle is not so precise; who knows, this time it might be delayed by a thousand or eight hundred years, and you or your descendants will have worked out the technology to resist it—or you might make a great leap, and figure out the tide's principle in two years. That's not impossible either."

Gao Yun's mouth twisted. "…Saying that is optimistic past all reason. I might as well hope that an almighty Creator really exists in this world, and the day before the tide breaks, changes the world's settings so that human civilization lives long and prospers forever."

"Who knows," Till shrugged (and the tip of her tail too). "The advance of civilization is sometimes utterly unreasonable and illogical. Some races cannot catch a glimpse of clear sky for hundreds of thousands of years; some races fall from their zenith into the abyss overnight. But so long as one lives, one must hold on to some hope. We sea-folk hold one belief: so long as one lives, there is always something in life worth looking forward to."

Gao Yun looked at this sea-folk who called herself a pessimist with some surprise, always feeling her words carried hidden meaning—yet when he looked more closely, Till's face had returned to that careless, lazy, indolent look.

She turned away and went on curiously observing how the machines ran. Gao Yun smiled and followed, to keep this piece of seafood from interfering with the workers in the rune-casting plant.

But just then, a clamor suddenly came from beyond the factory's main gate. Gao Qi looked up and saw a lightly equipped Cecil combat soldier come running in, all in a flurry.

The soldier trotted all the way up to Gao Yang, hastily offered a military salute, and, panting hard, said quickly: "My lord, the door… that door is stirring!"

"The door?" Gao Qi frowned. "Don't be so muddled—catch your breath and explain clearly what's going on."

The soldier hurriedly composed himself, drew a deep breath, and reported: "It is the ring-shaped magic door at the very bottom of the ancient facility. The soldiers guarding the door report that it is changing! It seems to have activated!"

"That door activated on its own?!" This time even Gao Yang was dumbstruck. He thought briefly, then gave his orders. "Go inform Hetty—and Pi Yun too. Tell them to come at once."

Then he turned to Till. "You should head back first—"

"Don't bother. I may as well come along and have a look," Till at once waved her tail. "You're always going on about some ancient facility in the mountains, some crystallized Gondor Empire technology or other—I've grown curious. But if the place is confidential, I won't go."

Gao Yang looked at Till, hesitating a little, but in the end Yun nodded. "Very well. If you wish to come, come along. Your knowledge may yet prove useful."

He thought of the fact that the mountain ruins had once studied the flesh of gods. If the door at the bottom of the ruins led to some place connected with the gods, then Till—a deep-sea harmonic god who dared devour the flesh of gods—might be of some use… at the very least she could serve as an appraiser, no?