Chapter 409: The Covenant of Civilization
Yin
A long note rang out from an instrument of unknown name, clear and melodious, carrying with it a faint, almost imperceptible sorrow.
Sigurd's fingers brushed gently along Bronya's smooth chin while his other hand tapped lightly against his knee. He listened carefully, confirming that it was indeed an instrument unfamiliar to him.
"Yinxi," Su explained softly. "An ancient instrument from our era. A stringed instrument, but with winding resonance tubes. It's quite famous—though nine times out of ten, that's because Eden liked to use it."
His voice was low, as if he feared disturbing the purity of the music.
Sigurd nodded without replying, his gaze fixed on the stage as the curtains slowly drew open.
Suddenly, as though he had remembered something, he tilted his head up toward the lofty dome of the theater—and flicked his finger.
Whoosh!
Two objects fell straight down from above, cutting through the air with a faint rush of wind.
Another flick of Sigurd's finger subtly adjusted gravity itself, allowing the two objects to land lightly and silently upon his own widened bench.
"Watch quietly," he said calmly, turning his head, "or would you rather stay hanging?"
His eyes settled on the two little "bugs" lying there—both tightly bound by blue light-ropes, with cloth stuffed into their mouths to ensure they wouldn't make a sound.
"Mmgh!" ×2
Kiana and Sin Mal struggled, nodding frantically in unison, their watery, crystal-clear eyes pleading desperately with Sigurd.
He gave a flat hum of acknowledgment. With a thought, the restraints dissolved.
The two immediately sat upright, legs neatly together, hands placed on their knees, backs straight—so well-behaved it was almost unbelievable.
The corner of Sigurd's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Onstage, bathed in gentle golden light, Eden began to sing in a low voice.
"Mm~ mm~~~"
Sigurd's hand stilled on Bronya.
It was a beautiful voice—clear and flawless, like the tolling of a golden bell. With just a single sound, it seized the listener's ear, drawing forth a quiet, lingering melancholy.
Sigurd gazed at the stage, listening in silence.
And he was far from the only one. Everyone present, without exception, turned their eyes toward the stage, captivated by Eden's soft singing.
At this moment, her smile was both exquisite and sorrowful—a beauty so intense it could make one forget everything else, even feel short of breath. One couldn't help but wonder: what kind of scenery was reflected in those golden eyes?
"Ah~ ahhh~~"
The singing gradually rose, climbing higher, carrying with it passion and momentum, and with them the grand, ancient feeling of an epic—
Like… like…
"The rise of civilization," Sigurd murmured.
Su opened his eyes and nodded in agreement.
Then Sigurd asked quietly, "What's the name of this piece?"
"I don't know. It may not have a name at all."
"Hm?"
"After the Honkai descended, Eden never performed on stage again. She would occasionally hum unfamiliar little tunes to pass the time, but she never told us their names. She always said that art adorns an age of prosperity, and can only survive within that prosperity. Perhaps, once prosperity ended, she felt there was no longer any need for art to remain."
Su continued in a gentle voice.
"In any case, whether before she stopped performing or after, we had never heard her sing this piece."
He sighed silently—for the boundless sorrow in Eden's heart, and for the helplessness of her having to abandon art itself.
Sigurd nodded. As he felt the melody grow heavier and more profound, he said, "I remember that the you outside once handed over a collection of scores, saying they were precious things Eden left behind."
"Did I? Then perhaps even after the curtain fell on that age of prosperity, she never truly stopped pursuing or creating art. Maybe those were what she entrusted to me before the end of her life."
Su shook his head, sorrow deep in his eyes—then slowly easing.
"I'm sorry. As a memory construct, I never synchronized with that particular moment. I can't say for certain what the circumstances were."
For Eden, the fact that she still chose to leave behind her own scores at her very end might well mean that the Eden of reality had come to terms with many things—at the very least, that she carried far fewer regrets.
"Ahh~~ ah~~~"
The melody rose once more, fiercer and more stirring, striking directly at the heart—perhaps symbolizing the countless bloody and brutal struggles?
Sigurd savored Eden's voice. He asked no further questions, wanting only to properly appreciate this ray of artistic light from the Previous Era.
At a certain moment, the tune suddenly softened again.
"Mm~ mm~~~"
Sunlight, flowers, lovers entwined in a peaceful age, warm and happy families—Sigurd heard such imagery within it, and before he realized it, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Even someone as stoic as Kevin revealed a trace of emotion. He slowly closed his eyes, immersing himself in the warmth that followed layer upon layer of buildup.
"..."
After lingering for some time, the tender, moving melody came to an abrupt and unheralded halt.
Everyone frowned—some more deeply than others.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Drums thundered, followed by the shrill cries of countless instruments, painting a soundscape of fear and despair.
And gradually, Sigurd understood.
What Eden was singing about… was their civilization.
As expected, violent conflicts and contradictions took center stage, with rapid, ominous chanting that symbolized fear and darkness becoming the main theme of a new chapter.
Eden's skill was truly extraordinary. Like a master puppeteer, she used invisible strings to tug at the souls of her audience, firmly grasping everyone's emotions in her hands.
Rumble—!
The roar of artillery slowly emerged beneath the music, tightening hearts already strained by the frantic rhythm, bringing with it an overwhelming sense of heaviness and oppression.
The conflicts grew ever more intense, the sorrow ever deeper—until it felt as though all light had vanished, and humanity could only stumble through darkness, gradually losing every last glimmer of civilization.
No one knew how much time had passed before the singing finally faded away. The final sound came from what seemed to be a stringed instrument—its string snapping.
Screech—
The sharp sound jolted everyone out of their respective emotions, pulling them abruptly back into the solemn, magnificent golden theater.
Only then did many of the girls instinctively touch their faces—only to realize that tears had already slid down their cheeks.
"I finally understand why Eden was willing to step onto the stage again, here of all places."
Su spoke as he looked toward Sigurd, whose expression remained calm.
After a brief silence, Sigurd asked, "Why?"
"Because you—or rather, all of you—are hope."
"..."
"You may not realize it, but the first time you set foot in the Elysian Realm, you crushed one memory construct after another like rotten wood. In the end, even Kevin fell beneath your indestructible body. The shock that brought us… was immense."
As he spoke, Su wore a gentle smile.
Kevin glanced at Su, said nothing, and tacitly acknowledged the fact that he had once been defeated by Sigurd.
Sigurd remained silent, waiting for Su to continue.
Su swept his gaze across the room—over his old friends, and over those unfamiliar children—then went on:
"We are memory constructs. We don't know what has happened in the real world. But all of our memories stop at a certain moment, while the Elysian Realm continues to run year after year…"
"That alone proves one thing."
"We failed. And our civilization failed as well."
At this moment, Kiana and the others fell completely silent.
They couldn't bring themselves to speak—to tell these Heroic memory constructs, who had kept vigil for fifty thousand years, the reality that the Previous Era's civilization had long since come to an end.
Su, however, continued to smile as he said:
"Of course, we feel loss and sorrow. But at the same time, another question must have been hidden in the hearts of all memory constructs for a very long time—what kind of threat was it that destroyed us?"
"Even as memory constructs, we are still curious. We imagine what it might have been like, and fantasize about how such a threat could be defeated—a threat that must have been unimaginably powerful."
Su let out a quiet sigh, then continued:
"The answer is actually quite simple. Since it was a threat stronger than us, then only a power even greater than ours could overcome it. That power… is you, Sigurd."
"Especially during your second entry, when you brought with you these children who are Herrschers. You showed us even more possibilities for a new era. I believe that you—no, that all of you—have the potential to shatter despair."
Su concluded his words and gave the girls an encouraging smile.
At that moment, Eden stepped down from the stage and returned to the audience, stopping before Sigurd.
Raising her golden goblet, Eden toasted him. Her smile was gentle as water—like an older sister gazing at her younger brother, or a mother looking upon her child—as she said:
"After peace ended, I stopped singing, because art had lost the soil in which it could exist. But today, here, I have seen a new era filled with hope."
"So I sang the story of the Previous Civilization to you—to the hope of the new era. Promise me this: you must carry your beautiful civilization forward. You must defeat the Honkai. All right?"
Eden smiled.
One by one, the Heroic memory constructs—aside from Mobius, still in her embryonic stage, and Kalpas, who was absent—rose to their feet behind Eden.
In this moment, it was as though the Previous Civilization and the Present Civilization, separated by fifty thousand years, were gazing at one another.
Sigurd stood up. A wine glass appeared in his hand, and he gently clinked it against Eden's.
Clink
As the glasses met, the girls also stood behind Sigurd, almost as one, smiling toward the opposite side—some gentle, others bright with vitality.
"What you couldn't accomplish, we will."
So said Sigurd, as he drank together with Eden.
At the heart of the resplendent golden theater, the civilization of the present made its promise to the civilization of the past.
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