yasinovel Chapter 4269 Rekindling the Spark
Chapter 4269 Rekindling the Spark
Chapter 4269 Rekindling the Spark
"Congratulations, you have triggered the hidden quest 'Reigniting the Spark'."
"Mission Overview: This is an extremely difficult objective to achieve, and also an unexpected coincidence. Whether you choose to accept the mission or ignore it will not have a direct impact on you, but it will certainly have a huge and far-reaching impact on the 'Gravekeeper' who carries the spark."
"Mission Objective: Obtain permission from the Authority to release the soul within the mind of 'Dream of the Decaying One,' allowing the ghost of a vanished civilization to be reborn in the world."
"The prerequisites for triggering and completing this task are—"
"1. Possess the authority of 'Wonderland,' 'Dream Gate,' or 'Gatekeeper,' or permission from a person with relevant powers."
2. Obtain permission from "Dreaming of the Decaying One".
"Note: This is an atypical mission. Due to the possibility of adjustments, we are providing guidance on an exceptional basis. However, the rebirth of the ghost of a vanished civilization will have its own impact, which you will need to assess yourself."
After reading the information that appeared in the text box, Angel was stunned.
This mission... there's no need to even act it out.
In particular, the term "unconventional guidance" clearly indicates that the source of the task's release, "Fairyland Power," felt that this choice might "correct" the negative uncertainties of fate, so they temporarily released such a customized task.
Yes, it's a customized task.
It was specially made for Angell.
As the first sentence of the mission overview states: this is an extremely difficult goal to achieve.
First, it is necessary to understand the past of the decaying creature, especially the origin of its enlarged head.
This point could not have been achieved without Angell's last-minute inquiry.
Therefore, this so-called "reignition of the spark" must be the result of the fact that the power of the fairy realm has just been generated.
As for possessing the authority of "Wonderland," "Dream Gate," or "Gatekeeper," or the permission of those with related powers, this directly locks in Angell.
Because only Angell possesses these powers simultaneously.
So if word got out that this wasn't a custom-made task, probably no one would believe it.
However, judging from the mission content alone, Angor can probably understand why the Fairy Realm's authority would make an exception and tailor this mission specifically for him.
The "Reignite the Spark" mission is not difficult to understand.
The Decaying One's mind contains a large number of fragments of the soul of the Prussian civilization, which are both a responsibility and a burden to it.
To a ruthless scholar, this is fragmented, unsystematic, and polluted information.
To others, this is awe-inspiring yet meaningless burden of civilization with no future in sight.
In short, everyone else, whether the high and mighty demons or the common people, knew very well that the lingering echoes of these shattered civilizations were of no value.
Only Angell could make them valuable.
Because Angel possesses the Dream Crystal.
The properties of Dream Crystals allow the consciousness within a soul to coalesce and, through the power of Nightmare Realm, construct a body to fill the void, thus gaining a new life in this new world.
Just look at the Crystal Eye Clan; their sacred corpse crystals are filled with the souls of the dead.
Now, they have all been reborn in the Dream Crystal Plains.
Therefore, only Angell has the means to settle the lingering echoes of the soul in the minds of the decaying beings, and may even be able to rekindle the sparks of a vanished civilization.
This is something even the powers of the Fairy Realm themselves cannot do, because it can only affect the Fairy Realm.
In the "simulation" of the powers of the fairy realm, helping the withered may have some obvious benefits, being able to correct the negative uncertainties of short-term fate.
—For example, it may have foreseen certain things and felt that it would be beneficial to seal the demon god's thoughts.
Therefore, it exceptionally guided Ingres.
However, whether or not these souls should be reborn in the Dream Crystal Plains is entirely up to Angell himself.
……
What was Angell thinking?
He didn't hesitate much. The "unconventional guidance" of the celestial power was a strong positive signal, meaning that this move was very likely to help the current core goal of sealing the demon god's thoughts.
He trusted this "intuition" derived from the rules.
But that's precisely why he needs to stay calm.
The last sentence in the text box, "You need to make your own judgment," serves as a warning.
Because while the powers of the Fairy Realm might see "short-term gains," they cannot predict all "long-term variables." Therefore, Angell himself still needs to clarify what it truly means to accept the complete echoes of a vanished civilization's soul.
In Angell's judgment, he personally felt that these "ghosts of vanished civilizations" were no different from the "remnants of souls in the crystal of the holy corpse." Therefore, he personally tended to believe that the appearance of these ghosts of civilizations might have some slight impact on the Dream Crystal Plain, but it should not be too significant.
But Ingres was also well aware that there were limitations to judging such questions about "the future path of destiny" on his own.
Therefore, he decided to seek help from outside.
The person they sought help from was naturally Laplace.
Angel quickly condensed the situation into a nightmarish image, then contacted Laplace and handed her this image containing a wealth of information.
Of course, Angell didn't forget the rabbit girl either.
Although the rabbit girl might not be able to give her any advice, in order not to worry her, the nightmare scene was shared with her as well.
Next is waiting.
While Angor waited silently, the little devil host didn't urge him on. He was still immersed in the tragic story told by the withered one, his eyes fixed on the withered one, as if he wanted to go forward to comfort him, but didn't know what to say.
The withered one, after recounting his past experiences, seemed to have temporarily unloaded a heavy burden, displaying a brief and false sense of ease... while also showing some slight regret.
Just like some people who suddenly open up to strangers, after reflecting on themselves, they wonder if they said too much.
The withered and decaying are in this twisted state.
Therefore, both the imp presiding and the decayer were temporarily absorbed in their own thoughts and did not notice Angor's sudden cessation of behavior.
Laplace also knew that time was of the essence for Angell.
She quickly had someone bring Gleipnir online, and then contacted several people she felt were qualified to understand and capable of analyzing the matter, sharing the situation with them.
About ten minutes.
Laplace gave Angel a response.
The entire response focused on the "drawbacks" of reviving the Prussian civilization.
Because Angell himself could see the advantages, what he needed were the disadvantages to see if they were within his tolerance.
After listening to Laplace's synthesis of many opinions, Ingres focused on two drawbacks. While Ingres could analyze other drawbacks, large or small, these two were ones he hadn't considered.
The first drawback is the "burden that may arise from the disruption of consciousness".
Although the remnant souls within the sacred corpse crystals are also "remnants," they are the result of the natural wear and tear of the soul over time. Even if some memories are missing, the core of consciousness remains intact, and the soul and memories form a complete system.
In this situation, the remnant soul within the Holy Corpse Crystal is reborn in the Dream Crystal Plains. It only needs to gradually replenish its missing common sense to survive on its own.
Because their core essence is stable.
The lingering echoes of the soul in the minds of the decaying are not "incomplete" due to natural wear and tear, but rather physical fragmentation.
Even if they are reborn, although they will have a large amount of memory loss, this is not the key issue. The most critical issue is that the emotional module is incomplete or even the logical chain is broken.
In other words, their cores are unstable, like a group of "collective sleepwalkers".
More importantly, incomplete consciousness means that they may become confused, paranoid, or even unable to understand the meaning of "new life".
Therefore, they require long-term guidance and care.
Simply put, the appearance of this large group of "Soul Echoes" in the short term will only be a burden on the current Dream Crystal Plains.
Only as time goes by and their core logic and emotional modules are gradually rebuilt will they slowly generate value.
This is an indelible cost of time and care.
Ingres also agreed with this.
Because these "ghosts of the Prusia civilization" are now an isolated island, even if they are reborn in the Dream Crystal Plains through their powers, they will not be able to generate any useful value in the short term, nor will they have anyone close to take care of them.
Therefore, in the short term, only the people of Dream Crystal can bear this cost.
Why should we let others take care of us for nothing?
Laplace offered a solution: Dream Crystal could "advance" the care costs, and she could also coordinate resources from all parties to provide assistance, but this must be considered an investment.
The cost needs to be clearly defined: either it should be paid by the decaying beings immediately, or it should be recorded in the accounts of the Prusia civilization and repaid when it recovers in the future.
This solution is reasonable, and Angell agrees with it.
Most importantly, the "investment" in the Proscia civilization is likely to be worthwhile.
The reason is that the Proscia civilization was a "civilization of seekers of truth," and the mainstream of the civilization was the pursuit of truth, which resulted in a large number of scholars.
There's a common-sense principle in the pan-dimensional world: investing in scholars with valuable expertise generally won't result in losses.
This is why, after discussion, Laplace felt it was possible to "advance" the payment—after all, this was a high-quality stock with clearly visible benefits.
However, the civilization of seekers also has a drawback that must be taken seriously.
This drawback is also the second one that Ingres focused on.
—"The Wildfire of Civilization Obsession".
Taking the remnant souls in the sacred corpse crystal as a control group, these remnant souls of the Crystal Eye Clan are passively waiting for redemption. Their civilization has not encountered any problems, so the core demand of the remnant souls is only "existence" itself.
But the Prussians were different.
They were forcibly preserved by the decaying beings in the name of protection. Their fragments of souls not only contain the thoughts of individuals, but also the resentment of the entire civilization that "pursued the truth but came to an abrupt end."
This discontent may be nothing more than a silent obsession in the short term, with no apparent impact; but in the long term, it is very likely to coalesce into a collective demand to "rebuild the Prussian civilization".
Going further, it could potentially evolve into a highly exclusive and aggressive form of "civilizational hegemony."
Having experienced the destruction of civilizations, they are more determined to rebuild them.
This is a kind of ambition.
It is also a kind of ambition.
In the end, they might even covet the entire Dream Crystal Plains.
However, Angor is not worried that they will covet control of the Dream Crystal Plains. As the holder of the authority, he has absolute control.
What he was more worried about was the wildfire of obsession in the hearts of the Proscia people, which could very well spread like wildfire.
Because they are civilizations of seekers of truth, they are inherently committed to "order" and "truth".
In the original world of Prosha, they might have been able to restrain themselves; but after the dramatic changes, these obsessions could turn into fanaticism.
Furthermore, given the seekers' mastery of "knowledge," once their consciousness gradually becomes complete within the Crystal Origin, will they attempt to impose their own civilizational ideals on other beings?
Could the obsession with "rebuilding civilization" lead to ideological conflicts with other ethnic groups?
The key is to ignite a prairie fire of ideology.
Therefore, Laplace pointed out the core of this drawback: maintaining superficial stability is easy, but changing people's obsessions and ambitions is very difficult.
However, she also offered a new perspective: "If a wildfire cannot be extinguished, the best approach is to define its burning boundaries and give it a greater burning objective."
Due to time constraints, Laplace did not provide an in-depth analysis of the statement, but Ingres was not foolish and understood its meaning perfectly.
Simply put, it's about both blocking and guiding, while also making grand promises.
This is indeed a solution, and because of the first drawback, the care of the Prusha people is the responsibility of the people of Dream Crystal Plains, so this process can actually be guided to some extent.
Restoring the Prussian civilization is possible; the Dream Crystal Plain is large enough to accommodate different civilizations, but they must be harmonious and stable.
You can be proactive and ambitious, but you need to set your sights on something outside the world.
……
Both major drawbacks have solutions.
Moreover, the benefits of accepting the Prussians are also evident: in the short term, it can correct negative uncertainties; in the long term, it can obtain feedback from "seekers of the Way".
By this point, Angell had a general idea in mind.
He decided to accept the hidden mission of "Reigniting the Spark".
However, after analyzing the pros and cons for most of the day, he still had to focus on the withered one.
If the withered one ultimately does not agree, then all his analysis of the pros and cons is actually meaningless.
Thinking of this, Angell raised his head and looked at the withered one.
Angor's actions naturally attracted the attention of the Decayer, and also brought the Little Demon Master back to his senses: "Hehehe—I almost forgot, there's still important business to attend to."
Are you planning to move on to the third question now?
The little demon's gaze had already begun to sweep across the surrounding monuments; its impression of Angor, after the Decayer, was now extremely positive.
Therefore, this time it plans to choose the simplest and easiest examiner for Angell.
However, before it could give any hints, the sound of Angell's footsteps could be heard.
He walked step by step, passing the Little Demon without stopping, and walked past him to the withered one.
At that moment, the shadow of the seal stele stretched diagonally across the ground, making both of their shadows appear very long...