Chapter 1385 — Legacy
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 5
As the last words of Sir Scott faded, the images stored within that space reached their end. In one soundless instant, the hazy light drifting in midair scattered like crumbling snow, dissolving into a sky full of fine, glimmering particles that swiftly vanished into the air—and this seemed to trigger a chain reaction. The moment the light dispersed, a sheet of radiance suddenly swept across the floor of the entire platform, coalescing into bright white lines that raced toward the central area, while the fog-like, swirling light that had always shrouded the center rapidly dimmed and weakened over the next few seconds.
Dai Lan stared blankly at the spot where Sir Scott had disappeared. The ancient mind core turned somewhat clumsily, as though processing an immense volume of emotional information; Gao Yang even heard an abnormal noise from within her body, which made him ask with unconcealed worry, "Lady Dai Lan, are you all right?"
"...I am fine," Dai Lan blinked, rousing herself from her daze. "We may continue the mission."
Her voice remained as detached and distant as ever, precise and calm like a machine—and calmer still than usual.
Gao Yang studied Dai Lan's eyes, then nodded after a moment and turned toward the central area of the Observatory. The white light that had shrouded the center had now completely faded, revealing what had been hidden within. He raised a hand and pointed. "Let us go inspect those things. If I am not mistaken, that should be the 'legacy' Sir Scott left for you."
"Left for all of us," Dai Lan said softly, striding toward it. Gao Yang beckoned to those following behind, and the group walked along the white streams of light flowing across the floor to the center of the Observatory, where the scene came clear—
At the center of the Observatory stood only a circular platform about a meter across, its middle slightly sunken. The surface, formed of some unknown material, mirrored the brilliant host of stars above, and upon the platform's center rested a "crystal block" no larger than a palm, seemingly built from layer upon layer of pale blue crystal. Guarded by the stars, mysterious radiance drifted across its surface. Around the platform, six chairs were arranged in symmetry: four of them each held a dark funerary urn, while the remaining two were occupied by Grand Scholar Alphonse Hall and Sir Scott Planting.
In this alien space, the remains of the two ancient scholars had not rotted but had become thoroughly desiccated, sitting quietly in their final positions, their heads still tilted upward, their sunken eye sockets seeming to gaze across seven hundred years at the rift above the space, at the limpid starry sky revealed within it.
Dai Lan came before the two ancient scholars and bowed her head in silent salute. The others around her instinctively held their breath, expressing their own respects in the brief silence. Then Amber's gaze caught a gesture Sir Scott had maintained in death—his withered, stiffened fingers pointed directly beneath his chair, as though deliberately directing people's eyes to where his fingers indicated. Amber followed that direction and at last her eyes widened slightly. "Ah, there is something on the floor!"
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn. Only then did they realize that the floor near the six chairs was densely covered with carved text and symbols! Centered on the round platform, they spread outward in highly regular fashion, covering nearly a third of the Observatory's floor. And because the environment within the alien space was stable, these carvings remained clearly legible to this day—only, everyone's attention had previously been captured by the star-mirroring platform, the "crystal lattice" at its center, and the remains of the ancient scholars, so that until Amber spoke, no one had noticed that the rough "texture" of the floor was in fact writing!