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Chapter 53: The Lightless Sea (End of Volume One)
Mine Director Shi left.
After he departed, the things clinging to human bodies also detached themselves. They slithered out of their twisted, misshapen hosts, emitting that cryptic and eerie cry—"Tekeli-li!"—before vanishing into the darkness.
What were they? What was Mine Director Shi? And what was this so-called Gatekeeper?
Li Xingyuan couldn’t think about these questions anymore.
He lay powerless at the entrance of the mine, his head tilted back as he stared up at the sky. The wind brushed against his sweat-drenched skin, stinging it with tiny pinpricks, as if slicing open microscopic wounds.
Old Liu sat down beside him. The wound on his head was still there, raw and unhealed. How had he managed to drag Li Xingyuan out of the mine like an indestructible tower? Li Xingyuan didn’t know the answer.
He gazed at the stars above. They gazed back, no longer crowded together. Perhaps the performance had ended, and they had retreated indifferently to their cold celestial thrones, casting their meager light upon the barren earth below.
But it wasn’t just Earth.
It wasn’t just Earth—out there in the Black Tide, countless planets were sinking into oblivion.
Countless lives—not just humans, far from just humans—whether rational or not, whether in forms comprehensible to humanity—
Li Xingyuan thought of the mantis, then Pan Shuai, and finally the colossal whale rotting on the mountainside. He remembered its bloated, decaying eye.
Closing his eyes, Li Xingyuan took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
This universe—all of it—was a vast, lightless sea.
Humans once believed they stood firmly on the solid ground of “reality,” measuring the cosmos with the lighthouse of physics and charting the future with the map of reason. We saw ourselves as masters of this land until one day, without warning, the tide rose. This was no ordinary wave but an ancient, lightless ocean swallowing everything we knew.
Here he was, Li Xingyuan, enduring horrors that likely amounted to less than a fraction of what all of humanity suffered. And yet, all of humanity’s suffering might itself be but a speck compared to the terrors this planet had endured. And this planet? Even speaking of it in terms of fractions seemed arrogant when measured against the infinite scale of the universe.
Yet even such minuscule suffering nearly broke Li Xingyuan, driving him to the brink of madness.
Staying on this planet meant certain death. That alien mantis had been right—human civilization would inevitably perish in the Black Tide.
Perhaps leaving Earth with the mantis would have been the wiser choice. Or perhaps throwing himself into Ubbo-Sathla’s embrace, surrendering to the eternal cycle of life and death, would have been better than this.
Li Xingyuan opened his eyes. Every inch of his body ached. Though the rebellion of flesh hadn’t truly threatened his mind, it had severely damaged his body. He felt acutely aware of every organ, every muscle within his chest and abdomen.
His head spun, overwhelmed by Ubbo-Sathla’s knowledge. It clung to his thoughts like colors seen instantly upon looking at objects, deeply etched into his consciousness. Even without those burdens, he was already exhausted. Since encountering the colossus’s steps days ago, how long had it been since he last slept? His brain no longer screamed in protest; it had gone silent.
With great effort, he propped himself up using his arms. Just this simple motion left him drenched in sweat, his lungs burning as though torn apart.
His left leg throbbed painfully. He could see his muscles twitching spasmodically beneath his skin. Supporting himself on them was agonizing. He couldn’t feel his feet anymore; his legs felt like crooked sticks holding him upright as he slowly rose to stand.
The wind tried to knock him down. It didn’t take much—a mere whisper of breeze cut through his skin like razors. Fall down, rest a little longer—the wind coiled around his ankles, coaxing him. What difference did it make anyway?
He wanted to speak but had almost forgotten how humans produced sound. How did the vocal cords work again? How did lips and tongue form words to convey thought?
“Old Liu,” Li Xingyuan rasped. “Let’s go.”
Go where? For what purpose? These questions were beyond his concern now.
He fixed his gaze on Old Liu, watching as the older man slowly, steadily rose to his feet like a mountain emerging from the earth.
Go! Fight!
That’s what Li Xingyuan wanted to roar, but the two words he’d just spoken had drained him completely.
The crushing sense of helplessness inside him hadn’t broken him. Neither had the terrifying theories of destruction nor the overwhelming despair.
Until now, he hadn’t understood why he refused the alien mantis’s offer to leave Earth. But now he did.
Because he was angry. Ever since the Black Tide reached Earth, ever since the genetic plague erupted, ever since witnessing the unfathomable suffering inflicted on humanity, he had burned with rage.
This anger hid deep within his mind, embedded in his genes, concealed behind his rationality, masked by all the education he’d received.
But when all those defenses crumbled, when none of them proved sufficient against the horrifying truth, the anger blazed fiercely, propelling him to his feet.
He was a fighter! An enraged, snarling warrior shaking his fist at this vast, indifferent, meaningless universe!
Fight!
Fight what? Fight the physical laws condemning them to die! Fight these monsters! Fight those gods! Fight the Black Tide! Fight the stars! Fight this universe!
If the universe is destined to destroy us, if we are fated to perish someday, then let us die fighting!
If human civilization is doomed to collapse, then let us tear a piece of flesh from this world before the end!
If this lightless sea holds no hope, then let us build lighthouses before we are swallowed whole! If the universe has always been dark, then let humanity light torches before our destruction!
Go! Fight!
Anger surged within Li Xingyuan’s mind. Within his trembling body, a faint light flickered in response, fueling his defiance.
Rumble...
At first, Li Xingyuan thought it was a hallucination. But when he looked up at the sky, he saw it—an iron bird, flying toward them.
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