Chapter 222: It Belongs Neither to a Path Nor an Aeon; It Is the Primordial Form of Imaginary Authority
"As long as someone calls for help, I will go. There is no need to think of me as someone deep or mysterious, even if my actions align neither with the Abundance nor the Destruction."
"Noble and selfless," Jing Yuan praised, his golden eyes curving into a polite, calculated smile.
"I am merely searching for an answer," the cloaked figure replied, his voice an even, unreadable baritone.
"Searching for an answer?" Jing Yuan tilted his head slightly. "What answer are you looking for?"
"...Have you ever observed ants?" The Ferryman turned his hidden gaze toward the three Xianzhou generals seated across from him. "Carrying ideals and expectations on their backs, falling into fruitless endings time and time again... Always thinking I have traveled a long way, but looking back now, I find I am just an ant, exhausted from running in endless circles within the boundary drawn by fate."
'Nihility?'Jing Yuan mused internally.'Is he...'
"So Your Excellency is actually an... Omen Vanguard walking the Path of Finality?"
"An Omen Vanguard? No. I am just someone hoping to save those I can within the limits of my power, simply because I have recognized reality for what it is."
"Have you found this answer of yours?" Feixiao asked, her sharp gaze piercing through the dim lighting of the room.
"I am still seeking it." The Ferryman tilted his head slightly, the fabric of his hood shifting. "I just no longer demand a perfect answer. Saving one is better than saving none. An ant cannot carry away an entire granary, but it can carry away a single grain of rice placed before it. A fish stranded on the beach will always care about its own life; what I must do is return the stranded fish to the water."
"You..." Rekka spoke up, his tone perfectly measured to sound like a curious bystander.
March 7th suppressed a twitch of her lips. This familiar tone, this familiar feeling. This guy was starting his theatrical nonsense again.
Dan Heng remained entirely silent. 'What on earth is happening?'he thought, a rare spike of frustration piercing his usual calm.'I really want to join this conversation.'As for the Ferryman? Through the figure's reactions just now and some highly specific micro-expressions he had caught, Dan Heng was now absolutely certain that this mysterious entity was just a fake identity puppeteered by Rekka. He recalled that Rekka had literally introduced himself as the'Ferryman' back when they first met. He really wanted to know the context behind this elaborate play, but Teacher Dan Heng deeply felt he was being kept in the dark.
"How many people have you saved?" Rekka asked, playing his role as the inquisitive Trailblazer to perfection.
"Fifteen thousand seven hundred."
"Fifteen thousand seven hundred?" Jing Yuan repeated, wondering what specific unit of measurement the man was using. Individuals? Ships?
"Survivors from fifteen thousand seven hundred planets," the Ferryman clarified smoothly. "I am not entirely sure of the exact headcount, but the surviving population of each planet is at least one hundred million."
The survivors of each doomed world were placed in special, highly secure compartments of the Hyperion, each civilization living inside their own isolated World Bubble. Ai-chan, the ship's dedicated AI, was responsible for managing the logistics and delivering various survival materials into those World Bubbles on a strict schedule.
"With such a massive population base, the resources consumed daily must be astronomical..." Jing Yuan noted, his smile turning slightly more serious.
"There is no need for you to worry about that. The universe is vast and boundless; it is only tens of thousands of worlds."
The statement was delivered with a casualness that bordered on the absurd. Looking at it from this perspective, the sheer scale of the Ferryman's operation was enormous. also, they seemed to be continuously growing their numbers.
"And you achieved this in six standard months?"
"Correct." The Ferryman nodded slowly.
Jing Yuan blinked. 'What do you mean six standard months... How many entire planets did you save in six months?'
It was exactly like a seasoned Cloud Knight discussing the culling of the Abominations of Abundance. You ask someone how many abominations they have killed in their lifetime, they proudly give you a massive number, and then you happily ask them how many they killed just yesterday.
This was the traditional behavior of a Deliverance lunatic. A genuine King of Philanthropy operating on a terrifying, cosmic scale. It was the most supportive, unhinged episode of traditional Deliverance one could witness. It did not matter if the home was completely destroyed; it could always be restored later. Children, rejoice, it is the Ferryman, we are saved!
[3-Star Equation: Ferryman (Trailblaze / Enigmata)]
"You look very empty, as if... there is absolutely nothing beneath your cloak," Feixiao noted, her eyes narrowing as she stared intently at the Ferryman's seated form.
"Indeed." The Ferryman did not bother to deny it.
It was indeed completely empty, because what sat underneath that heavy fabric was not a human being at all, but merely a highly advanced puppet controlled by Rekka.
The negotiation ended quite smoothly after that. Both the Astral Express and the 'Ferryman'confirmed their cooperation matters with the Xianzhou Alliance. However, the Express and the Xianzhou already had an established cooperation; this meeting was just stating it formally once again for the record. Inviting the Express crew to sit in this time was mainly a political maneuver to pull the'Ferryman' into their allied group.
The food on the table was actually eaten; no lavish dishes were wasted. Once the plates were cleared, the generals took the opportunity to suggest seeing how these rescued survivors were currently faring.
"Very well."
The Ferryman waved his hand casually. A void rift, shimmering with the deep, captivating light of distant stars, tore open in the air right beside the dining table.
"Come in."
Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with their own eyes was entirely different. If it were not for a metallic door visible in the far distance, it would be almost impossible to tell that this vast, cosmic expanse was actually just a special storage compartment deep within the Hyperion.
It was, essentially, a perfectly simulated Sea of Quanta.
Countless iridescent bubbles floated silently in the dark space, drifting down to the floor before gently ascending toward the ceiling again in a hypnotic rhythm.
"These things floating in the air are..."
"Each one is a world."
"What kind of power is this?"
Seeing such a stunning sight, even the ancient, well-traveled Xianzhou generals were visibly moved.
"Please do not misunderstand; this power belongs neither to a Path nor to an Aeon." The Ferryman held his hands behind his back, looking out over the floating spheres. "It is the most primordial form of Imaginary Authority, the literal incarnation of the truth behind the world's operation."
"Every single one of these?"
"Each one contains the remaining survivors of an entire planet."
"Do they know where they are living?"
"They do; I tell them the truth. Everything inside here is a flawless projection of the real world. Those who are willing to come, come; I will never force those who wish to stay behind and face their end."
"Are they... really still alive?" This was the most important question for the Alliance leaders.
"Of course they are still alive. It is not like I have converted them into some digital or spiritual life form; it is simply safer for their physical bodies inside."
Jing Yuan stood shoulder to shoulder with Huaiyan. Inside the shimmering, transparent membrane of a nearby World Bubble, a miniature world was operating silently. Even through that thin layer of cosmic membrane, one could clearly sense the vigorous, obvious vitality thriving within.
This technology seemed to share striking similarities with the Xianzhou's own explores. Space-folding technology was not exactly a rare concept in the wider universe, but where did such a massive, continuous amount of energy come from to sustain tens of thousands of them? What was the primary energy source?
The Xianzhou's energy came directly from the Path of The Hunt, generously opened by the Reignbow Arbiter. This divine connection was the absolute foundation that allowed the Xianzhou Alliance to hunt abominations across the sea of stars and possess near-infinite power.
Then what exactly was this 'primordial form of Imaginary Authority' that the Ferryman spoke of so casually?
If the Ferryman was telling the absolute truth, if the billions of lives inside these fragile bubbles were truly living, reproducing, and continuing their civilizations normally...
"Eye-opening. Truly eye-opening," Jing Yuan murmured, narrowing his eyes as a genuine smile graced his features.
"This is not a perfect solution. Placing them in the isolated cracks of space is merely a temporary measure," the Ferryman replied, his tone carrying a heavy, sorrowful weight for the first time.
"The Xianzhou Alliance also has some deep insights into space-folding technology." The smile on Jing Yuan's face deepened just a fraction, and he folded his hands neatly in front of him. "Since Your Excellency shares our deep desire to uphold justice and combat universal calamity, we can certainly engage in much deeper cooperation regarding the permanent placement of these survivors, the provision of necessary supplies, or extensive technical exchanges."
"That is precisely why I am sitting here today." The Ferryman nodded slowly, the starlight reflecting off his hood. "I will seriously consider any form of equivalent exchange."
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