Chapter 1130 — From the Other Shore

"Of course it is. This mechanical structure was never meant for tracking celestial bodies. I have now put a servo-brain in charge of the antenna dish's control. The servo-brain's calculation precision is sufficient, but the mechanical precision of the dish is the fatal flaw," Beyila said. "That problem should be solved after the dish is rebuilt, but we still need some experts in astrology here. I will not ask for star masters of Paramel Observatory's caliber; a few graduates from the Imperial Academy will do. At least they understand how to construct the antenna's tracking trajectory according to the laws of celestial motion."

"I will arrange the best astrologers for you, along with ample funding," Gao Yang said, glancing at Beyila. "Who taught you to talk like that, playing pitiful to wheedle funding?"

Beyila's expression did not change in the slightest.

The platform then fell quiet. Gao Yang, Beyila, and Belantia stood beneath the antenna in silence, each lost in thought. That tacit silence lasted a full minute before they suddenly said in unison: "Does it truly come from the starry sky?"

As the words fell, the three looked at one another. After another brief silence, they laughed in spite of themselves. Then Belantia drew a deep breath, as though nerves stretched taut had suddenly relaxed: "But I still cannot believe it... Though I did have this thought, is it really possible? This mysterious signal you speak of, it..."

"It is not a wild fancy, though many indeed have never thought in this direction," Gao Yang interrupted Belantia, his expression turning serious. "When the signal first appeared, I speculated as much, but I never told anyone, because the idea is too advanced and runs counter to many people's habits of thought. You should know that I... hold a different view of the starry sky."

Beyila and Belantia both thought at once of Gao Yang's identity as an "Outworld Wanderer." They exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, but did not expose anything.

"For more than two years we have studied this signal," Gao Yang continued. "Beyila should know this well. We set up monitoring stations across the nation, even an overseas station in the Aogulei Tribal Kingdom. We tried every method to locate the signal's source, but found nothing on earth. Of course, we also tried pointing the antennas at the sky, but perhaps luck was against us, or perhaps the old crystals lacked sensitivity. Previously, every antenna pointed skyward received no useful information... except this time.

"Of course, we cannot rule out that the signal comes from somewhere else, such as the Shadow Realm overlapping the real world, or some elemental world, or even... the divine realm. But we currently lack the ability to establish large-scale outposts in those places, so speculation in that direction remains only speculation. The only possibly reliable clue so far... is this one."

Belantia said nothing. She only raised her head somewhat absently and gazed at the sky. As the glow dimmed with the passage of time and a faint dusk crept in from the distance, her keen eyes caught a few points of starlight. Over the past centuries, it seemed, she had never noticed how these stars drew her gaze.

In her abstraction she heard Gao Yang's voice from beside her: "In fact, we should have known long ago that we are not the only intelligent beings in this universe. In this world, 'outsiders' are not rare guests."

"Yes, I know that in the distant deep sea of the east there is a kingdom of sirens. They claim to have come to this planet aboard giant ships capable of interstellar flight, and some siren allies even move within the Empire," Beyila said with a slight nod. "I have seen stories about these sirens in newspapers and on radio programs."

"But this is the first time we have used our own 'ears' to hear a voice from beyond the planet... though it is only a possibility," Belantia said, withdrawing her gaze from the sky and looking at Beyila and Gao Yang. "A distant, unknown world has sent us a mysterious, unknown sound... That is not the same as hearing a story. I never imagined I would experience such a thing."

"Neither did I," Gao Yang said after a pause, his smile carrying complicated emotions. "This... even leaves me a little at a loss."

"You do not seem all that happy?" Belantia noticed his mood keenly. "I thought you would be more pleased than this. This is an exciting discovery, and it has to do with the 'starry sky.'"

"But it is not necessarily a good thing," Gao Yang said. He had indeed been excited for a time, but the excitement was now gradually fading, and more thoughts were spreading from the depths of his mind. "Do not forget, in our world, 'taking a step forward' is always accompanied by great risk."

Hearing this, Belantia calmed at once. She thought immediately of those documents from the Theocratic Council, of the fragments revealed by the dragon race, and a grave look appeared in her eyes: "You mean... the gods will lose control because we look at the starry sky..."

"It is not quite that bad," Gao Yang shook his head. "According to reliable intelligence, merely 'looking at the starry sky' is not enough to cause the gods to lose control. Only the act of stepping toward the stars drives Them mad. So at least at this stage, this discovery carries no risk of triggering a godscourge."

"Reliable intelligence?" Beyila could not help frowning. "Is this information truly credible?"

"It is credible," Gao Yan nodded. "The Dragon God told me so before he went mad."

Belantia and Beyila: "...Then it is indeed credible."

"But the risk does not come only from gazing up at the stars," Gao Yang shook his head, his gaze unable to resist drifting toward the sky once more. "The source of this signal itself... may also be dangerous."

The Silver Empress suddenly wore a thoughtful expression, and at the same time, those distant stars that had gradually begun to flicker seemed, in her eyes, to carry some different meaning now.

Perhaps... among the stars there really did exist a group of hypothetical "senders," perhaps the signal that Sorin Listening Post had picked up today truly came from that distant direction. If all of this were true, then "they" should be there right now, separated by a distance beyond what either humans or elves could imagine, gazing at this shore from the other side of the starry sky.

That distance far exceeded the barrier between the mortal nations of today and the wasteland of Gondor.

A single monumental wall had already turned the mortals outside it and the cultists within into two utterly distinct "peoples." Then those "senders" far off at the other end of the starry sky... were they friendly?