Chapter 519 - 516: The Screening is Over

Chapter 519: Chapter 516: The Screening is Over

The image was blurry, but it was enough to tell a complete story.

The old projector stood silently in the sky, projecting a gradually dimming light. The brown filter grew fainter and fainter until the image dissolved completely, becoming a chaotic mess of shadows.

The reel slowed once more, then stuttered to a halt with a creaking sound.

"I thought that by placing my consciousness into a relic, I could avoid paying the price. But I was wrong. A price must always be paid. That is the rule of the abyss..."

"My consciousness is collapsing, turning into a void."

The murky lens turned toward the Eye of the Stars again.

"I didn’t lie to you. The convergence of consciousness will inevitably lead to collapse. It’s like stars—there’s a gravity between consciousnesses. Getting too close only leads to a collision, and then a shared fall into an unknowable abyss."

"My unrestrained use of the projector has accelerated this process. I can clearly feel my consciousness shrinking, caving in. The memories and thoughts that were once so clear are becoming disordered fragments..."

The starlight of the Eye of the Stars flickered, somewhat stunned. "How could this be?"

The Captain sighed. "We are all just trying to fathom the world with our limited knowledge. There must be a reason the world doesn’t allow consciousness to merge as one. Don’t even think about breaking rules that have long existed. They might be the very cornerstones of the world. Any act that touches these rules will lead to chaos and disorder..."

For some reason, the Captain suddenly began speaking of theories about the world and its cornerstones. As his consciousness collapsed, he seemed to have realized something.

"Eye of the Stars, it’s time to fulfill your duty. Send the consciousness of every member of the investigation team back to their original bodies. End everything on this island."

"Understood." The Eye of the Stars was now completely convinced. It no longer clung to its impossible ideals and obediently accepted the Captain’s command.

"Zhou Dynasty..." the Captain called out suddenly.

Zhou Dynasty was still reeling from the confusion about his true identity. The call startled him.

"What is it, Captain?" Zhou Dynasty asked weakly. He was deeply conflicted, unsure of how to face himself.

But it was as if the Captain had seen right through him.

"Live a good life."

The Captain spoke those four words to him plainly. His hoarse voice now sounded like the grinding gears of the projector’s reel, all its initial ethereal quality gone.

Hearing this, Zhou Dynasty’s eyes widened, and he numbly nodded.

After he spoke those four words, the projector in the sky seemed to freeze, falling completely silent.

Realizing something was wrong, the Eye of the Stars immediately gathered countless points of starlight and rushed toward the projector.

The living relics immediately blocked its path.

"What do you think you’re doing to Lord Ying!" Their form of address still hadn’t changed.

"I have to save him! I have to save him! His consciousness is shattering!" the Eye of the Stars said anxiously.

Hearing this, the living relics skeptically moved aside, and the Eye of the Stars took the opportunity to dash into the projector.

However, it wasn’t long before the Eye of the Stars retreated, flashing with red light and muttering nonstop:

"Disorder! Consciousness is disorder, but the cornerstones they form are orderly! Why? We aren’t a converged current; we are the chaotic fragments beneath that current! Are we just a pile of trash?"

The Eye of the Stars seemed to have gone mad, babbling incoherently. It seemed to have seen something terrifying inside the projector.

"What happened to Lord Ying?" the living relics asked, scrambling to get closer.

"Collapsed... Shattered... Became a mess..." The Eye of the Stars spoke in incomprehensible phrases as its red light flickered erratically, and the starry sky around it grew chaotic.

"No! I have to go look again!"

As it spoke, it rushed back into the projector.

This time, a long while passed...

It was as if the Eye of the Stars had vanished, and the surrounding starry sky began to dim.

After a long time, it finally floated out again, flickering.

"It’s hopeless... hopeless..."

A reel of film floated in the starry sky, the blurry images upon it flickering nonstop.

"This is the only thing left." The Eye of the Stars slowly placed the film reel into Zhou Dynasty’s hands.

"What is this?" Zhou Dynasty asked, at a loss as he held the reel.

"Fragments... collapsed residue... the ashes of a consciousness..." The Eye of the Stars used a string of words to describe the film reel.

Zhou Dynasty understood immediately. This was the only thing left of the Captain.

"Can it be used to return him to his body?" Zhou Dynasty pressed.

"No. It’s incomplete. It can’t be used as a consciousness," the Eye of the Stars replied helplessly.

Hearing this, Zhou Dynasty stared at the film reel in his hands, stunned for a long time.

He finally understood. The Captain had foreseen his own demise long ago, which was why he had shown that final movie to tell everyone everything.

Thinking of the Captain’s final words, Zhou Dynasty’s eyes instantly welled with tears.

"Live a good life..."

At that moment, he felt his own identity was completely unimportant.

The Captain had never cared what he was. Human or not, all that mattered was that he lived a good life.

Having merged with so many consciousnesses, the Captain had long understood that identity wasn’t important. The "self" was what truly mattered.

Zhou Dynasty no longer agonized over whether he was the "real" Zhou Dynasty. Scenes of the Captain taking care of him flashed through his mind, and he could no longer hold back the tears that streamed from his eyes.

But with his mask on, no one could see him crying.

However, the Holy Sword in Li Luo’s hand began to glow faintly, its light even piercing through the stone scabbard and shining out from the gaps.

"Zhou Dynasty..."

Sensing the strange reaction from the Holy Sword, Li Luo walked over and patted Zhou Dynasty’s rigid shoulder.

"You still have to save your teammates."

Li Luo’s words reminded Zhou Dynasty. He looked up at the starry sky.

"Eye of the Stars! Send the consciousness of every member of the investigation team back to their original bodies!"

The Eye of the Stars didn’t hesitate, immediately enveloping all the living relics.

But the living relics seemed to resist, unwilling to cooperate.

Seeing this, Zhou Dynasty began shouting his teammates’ names.

"Lin Wang!"

"Zhou Tieshu!"

"Li Yilian!"

"..."

With every shout, Zhou Dynasty was reminded of the Captain taking roll call.

The Captain always called out the names very loudly. Zhou Dynasty used to complain that the Captain was shouting him deaf.

But this time, he shouted even louder than the Captain.

As he personally called out these names, Zhou Dynasty finally understood. This was a responsibility—to bring the owners of these names safely to Sky Island, and then bring them safely back to the monitoring station. This was the Captain’s duty.

The louder he shouted, the deeper these names were carved into his heart.

With Zhou Dynasty’s shouts, the living relics stopped one by one. The moment they heard their names, they seemed to rediscover themselves, standing obediently in place and allowing the Eye of the Stars to return them to their original bodies.

Points of light, carried by the starlight, flew out of the relics and toward the motionless bodies.

When he got to the last name, Zhou Dynasty paused, hesitating for a moment.

But in the end, he still called it out:

"Lian Ying!"

After shouting this name, Zhou Dynasty looked hopefully at the film reel in his hands.

The result, however, was bound to disappoint him. The film reel didn’t react at all.

A tear slid quietly from under Zhou Dynasty’s mask. The gentle breeze caught it, sweeping it up into the starlight.

"Live a good life..."

In the sound of the wind, Zhou Dynasty thought he heard a familiar voice...