Standing on the steps of the library , the caretaker endured , looking up at the enormous and distant faces . There was no anger , regret , or reluctance on their faces—only sorrow and release . Tens of thousands of years had passed since the last of the ancestors had fallen after enduring an eternity of loneliness . Now , only their lingering will maintained the platform and their heritage .
It was this accumulated will that had given birth to him , the corpse of the First People . Not living , not dead . He was locked in his prison of knowledge with no power to subvert the river of Fate . A shudder rippled through the platform , and another set of cracks appeared .
We’re too late , - the corpse sighed , its hollow eyes peering beyond the layers of the storm . Beyond reality itself . - Or rather , too early . No fate , no fate . -
Only silence answered . To be the first was both a blessing and a curse . Now , they were out of phase . He could tell . It wouldn’t have helped even if the ancestral will managed to hold on beyond the curtain call . The poison was anathema to their being , yet the cosmos was to be remade in its image .
If that is our fate , so be it , - the corpse sighed , turning to the library behind him . - But we shall leave our mark on the tapestry . -
A light lit up within the innermost sanctum of the Kaltorum Halls , and the whole platform started to rumble . The outer bodies , now no more than withered husks void of Aether , collapsed into stardust . They formed the first layer of the storm that consumed one layer after another .
Outer Supplicants , Explorers , Star Treaders , Cosmic Pathfinders . One by one , they joined the storm . Even the platform shrunk . The energy that was once used to resist the vortex now went into empowering the stardust . Into empowering the final ritual of their kin . Soon , even gargantuan ancestors crumbled , the Aether locked in their bodies igniting the stardust with their spirit . Endless energy poured out of the library , joining the storm outside the protective sphere .
The ancestral platform was gone , turned into a blazing galaxy that shielded the sphere as it fell toward the vortex . Even the poison was forced away , unable to eradicate the final ritual . The library shook , cracks spreading across the pillars that had stood for countless years . The corpse looked at the familiar halls one last time before he closed his eyes and joined the others .
The library exploded , erasing the last vestige of their civilization . But from within the destruction , 229 lights emerged . Each dragged enormous amounts of stardust to their side until all of it was consumed . Together , they formed a complex constellation that forced its truth on reality itself .
The constellation wasn’t static . Each of the lights held a supreme truth , and they took turns becoming the eye of the constellation . As such , one constellation was 229 . Even its revolutions contained a supreme truth , one that barely managed to stave off the maelstrom’s hunger until the constellation flickered and disappeared . Left was a vortex no longer locked down and impeded , which rapidly consumed what little remained .
Inheritor , we are the First People , - a booming voice echoed through the cosmos . - Born from the Aether , returned to the Aether . For so long , we searched the starry sky for answers , for others . We found none . We ask nothing in return for this gift . We only ask to be remembered . -
The scene shattered and was replaced by a dried out trough under an amber sky . Gone were the immense ripples of mysterious power . Instead , there was only poison .
Aether . . . Void . . . - Zac muttered , his mind still awash with the scenes he’d just witnessed .
I knew it . -
Zac’s glazed-over eyes focused , and he turned around . Ogras was standing just next to him with a victorious smile on his face . Zac’s thoughts were still a jumble . He slowly looked around , trying to compute what just happened . Just what was that vision?
It took a few minutes before Zac felt himself back to normal , able to process what he’d been shown . In a sense , it felt a lot like when he first came in contact with Ultom . That time , the vision had been triggered by the Cosmic Vessel passing through the inner barrier of the Void Star . This time , it seemed to have been triggered by him stepping onto the soil of the riverbeds .
Both had spoken of conviction and defeat . One had shown the broken-down castle wall of what Zac assumed was the Left Imperial Palace . The other vision depicted an ancient civilization’s ark supposed to give them a chance at survival . Yet there were also some differences .
Zac still shuddered upon remembering the vision of Ultom . The power engraved into the castle walls . The small courtyard which seemed to supersede the Dao itself . Just grazing the concepts of Ultom almost killed him .
Conversely , he was absolutely fine right now . The scene of those towering beings in this new vision looked incredibly imposing . The Orom would have been able to fit between the teeth of those six ancestors . And even if dead , they exuded nigh-incomprehensible power . At the least , they had to have been the equivalent of Late-stage Autarchs , but Zac suspected they were Supremacies .
Yet , neither they nor the ancient library gave off that unfathomable meaning . The whole vision was more distant , like he had been watching something on television rather than experiencing it . That didn’t mean these First People were weak . As far as Zac could tell , they were an incredibly powerful faction , but one that didn’t quite have the strength to leave an Eternal Heritage .
But when did this happen? Zac doubted they were from the previous era . Then they wouldn’t have called themselves first . Did their civilization actually spring up sometime during the Cataclysm between Eras , when the Dao was ripped apart and the Heavens gone? It would explain how they could cultivate the Void , or Aether as they called it . And the poison they mentioned was the Dao .
Zac had never considered it before , but it was possible that the Cataclysm and the Heavens’ reformation took billions of years . If Zac had to guess , there had been a lull sometime at the tail-end of the Cataclysm , one long enough for a Void-attuned species to appear . Then the final process kicked in as the Heavens began reforming , and these First People died out .
The ancestral platform was supposed to have shielded the best and brightest until the Cataclysm finished , but they had underestimated the process . Instead , the corpse had split their inheritance into 229 parcels and forced it through the vortex . It was like a faux Eternal Heritage , one that only had to survive the formation of a Heaven , not the destruction of one .
Faux or not , Zac’s heart beat with excitement . There was something amazing waiting for him here . Now , he just had to unravel the clues and unearth the truth .
Hello? -
Ah? What? - Zac said as he turned back to the demon . - Knew what? -
That you were up to something , - Ogras said . - What is it? An inheritance? A lingering will of a supreme cultivator? A corner of the Heavens whispering your name? -
I saw a vision . I haven’t confirmed it , but I think there’s an inheritance here , - Zac whispered . - A big one . -
Old-monsters-popping-out-of-the-woodworks-big? - Ogras said .
Kind of , - Zac said , warily looking at the sky .
Do you take us for bandits? - Null scoffed . - The boss has collected innumerable inheritances over the years . If it’s been placed here , then it’s up for grabs for whoever’s fated . -
My guide says it’s fine , - Ogras said .
Mine as well . -
Your girl doesn’t know you well enough yet . She should have known better than to go into secluded cultivation with you on the move . - Ogras grinned . - Well , then , what are we waiting for? What now? Where to? -
Zac gazed across the huge , dried riverbed before looking down at the ground beneath his feet . Nothing here seemed connected to that ancient platform or the First People . Did the riverbed perhaps make up a formation mirroring one of those constellations? It was too early to tell .