Chapter 236: The Whispering Corridor and Echoes of the Past

The spiraling downward staircase seemed endless, buried deep in the lowest layer of the Ark, as if leading to the planet's core. Glowing crystals embedded in the walls on both sides emitted a steady yet faint light, barely illuminating the rough, ancient stone steps beneath her feet. The air was cold and heavy, permeated with the scent of dust and the sediment of time; every breath felt like inhaling a thousand years of solitude.

And that faint whispering had never ceased since she stepped onto the staircase.

At first, it was merely blurred background noise, like the clamor from a distant market. But as Xiang Lingna descended step by step, the sounds gradually became clear and distinct. It was not a single voice, but a mixture of countless voices—there was Elvish, there was Human, and there were also some twisted, bizarre syllables she could not understand at all. They wove together, sometimes urgent, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes angry, sometimes fearful, like a chaotic soul choir endlessly chanting fragments of the past in this confined space.

Xiang Lingna walked down cautiously. Her body, having recovered some strength, was still weak; the brand on her right leg, temporarily suppressed, occasionally sent a faint stinging and cold sensation, reminding her that the hidden danger remained. She vigilantly watched the surroundings, her left hand clenched into a fist, ready to deal with any danger that might appear.

The walls on both sides of the staircase gradually changed. No longer smooth, they began to feature large-scale reliefs covering the entire wall surface.

The style of these reliefs was extremely ancient, even more rugged and abstract than the murals at the entrance of the Sanctuary above, full of symbolic meaning. They no longer depicted the beautiful scenes of Elves and nature living in harmony, but rather... war, disaster, and flight.

She saw huge, hideous shadow creatures descending from a torn sky, devouring light and life; she saw magnificent Elven cities collapsing and falling amidst flames and explosions; she saw countless refugees, including Elves, Humans, and some other strange races, crowded inside the great Ark, their faces filled with despair and fear of the unknown; she saw the Ark struggling to navigate through chaotic energy storms and distorted star space...

This was an epic record of the end of civilization and a difficult escape.

The whispering also seemed to change with the content of the reliefs. When passing areas depicting war, the whispers became high-pitched and filled with fear and despair; when passing areas depicting the Ark's voyage, the whispers became low and filled with confusion and prayer.

Xiang Lingna slowed her pace, immersed in this heavy and tragic echo of history, as if witnessing the distant era of disaster with her own eyes. The Ark was not always this silent ruin; it had once carried the last sparks and hopes of countless civilizations.

So, what happened later? Why did the Ark crash here? How did the disaster in the Seventh Ecosystem occur? Those "Chaos Devourers"...

Her questions quickly found partial answers in the following reliefs.

The content of the reliefs began to become bizarre. In scenes depicting life inside the Ark, some discordant shadows appeared. The outlines of some Elves and creatures became distorted, growing strange, moss-like or fungal substances on their bodies. Scenes of suspicion, strife, and internal conflict began to appear.

Immediately following were scenes of isolation and purification. Contaminated areas were sealed off by massive energy barriers. Then... it was loss of control. Terrifying, twisted monsters that seemed to fuse plant and animal characteristics broke through the barriers, causing madness and destruction inside the Ark, devouring everything. The Elven guards fought desperately but were pushed back step by step.

The whispering here became extremely sharp and painful, filled with screams and desperate cries.

Xiang Lingna saw the relief of the Seventh Ecosystem—huge plant roots were contaminated and devoured by dark red substances, which then gathered as if alive, forming the prototype of the dark red aggregates she had encountered before! The "Chaos Devourers" indeed originated from the disaster inside the Ark!

She continued downward, her Heavy Heart growing heavier.

The final relief showed a scene frozen in time: a group of Elven elders surrounding a glowing object (likely that seed), sending it into a downward passage (very likely the one she had come down). Behind them surged a dark red tide. The elders' faces were filled with determination and sorrow.

The whispering here turned into endless, sorrowful sighs and chants, like a funeral song for a civilization.

So, the Sanctuary and this seed were the last measures the Elven civilization was forced to take to preserve their final hope before the disaster completely spiraled out of control. They sacrificed themselves to seal this area.

And that "hunger"... perhaps it was the general term for that dark red power that devoured and contaminated everything?

Xiang Lingna seemed to touch the heavy pulse of history, feeling a bit more awe and understanding for this seed and this Sanctuary.

The staircase finally reached its end.

Ahead appeared a huge, arched entrance. Inside the entrance lay a space so vast and breathtaking it was overwhelming.

This was a huge circular hall, its scale far exceeding any place she had seen before. The dome of the hall was so high it was almost impossible to see the top, embedded with countless crystals emitting a faint glow, as brilliant as a starry sky. The center of the hall was empty, while the surrounding circular walls, from the ground to the dome, were densely and neatly lined with countless... crystal prisms!

Each crystal prism was over a person's height, crystal clear, with what seemed to be faint, mist-like energy bodies sealed inside. Looking closely, those energy bodies vaguely presented outlines of various different races and forms! Some looked like Elves, some like Humans, and others were completely unfamiliar forms.

And the whispering that filled the entire space, omnipresent, originated from these countless crystal prisms! Every prism seemed to emit a faint mental fluctuation; countless fluctuations gathered together, forming this vast, never-ending "Sea of Echoes"!

This was the Hall of Echoes! These crystal prisms... could they be...

An incredible conjecture arose in Xiang Lingna's mind. She slowly walked into the hall, approaching a row of prisms on the edge.

She gently placed her hand on a crystal prism sealing an Elven outline. Instantly, that Elf's whisper became clear, no longer chaotic fragments, but a repeated thought full of worry:

"... Elana... my daughter... you must survive... escape..."

She touched another prism with a Human outline:

"... go home... I want to go home... damn war..."

Touching another prism with a strange form, like an energy lifeform:

... (incomprehensible frequencies and emotional fluctuations, filled with chaos and pain)...

These... could these be the... soul imprints of the victims on the Ark back then? Or perhaps the strongest thoughts and mental fragments of those at the moment of death, collected and sealed here by some power, forming this eternal echo?

This was not a storage room, but a huge... tomb? Or rather, a monument recording the final obsessions of countless the departed!

Xiang Lingna walked through an ocean of interwoven whispers, feeling that overwhelming sorrow, longing, fear, and unwillingness... her Heavy Heart was so heavy she could barely breathe. Behind every voice was a vanished life and a broken story.

What was her purpose in coming here? That Elven elder said the "seed" needed to be delivered to the "Sanctuary," and the "Sanctuary" was below the "Hall of Echoes." She was already in the Hall of Echoes; below... could there be an even deeper place?

She looked toward the empty area in the center of the hall. That was where the whispers of the entire hall were most concentrated and chaotic.

She slowly walked toward the center of the hall.

The closer she got to the center, the louder and more chaotic the whispers became; countless thought fragments surged against her consciousness like a tide, making her dizzy and unable to think. The brand on her right leg also seemed stimulated, beginning to burn faintly.

Finally, she reached the exact center of the hall.

The ground here was also carved with a huge, incomparably complex Elven formation. Within the patterns of the formation, faint light seemed to flow, resonating vaguely with the energy field of the entire Hall of Echoes.

And at the very center of the formation, there were also two palm-shaped indentations. Beside the indentations, a line of ancient Elven text was carved:

【With the Twin Lights, listen to the final echo, and open the path to the source.】

Twin Lights! This condition again!

Xiang Lingna looked at her empty right shoulder, then at the silver thorn mark on her left arm and the temporarily suppressed dark red brand on her right leg.

A contradictory vessel... both hope and risk...

Could it be... that the so-called "Twin Lights" did not refer to two pure forces of light, but rather... the strange balance achieved on her body by two completely different, even mutually conflicting energies?

A bold, even somewhat crazy thought arose in her mind.

She took a deep breath, her gaze becoming firm.

Slowly, she placed her left hand on one of the indentations. The silver thorn mark glowed faintly.

Then, gritting her teeth, she struggled to lift her right leg bearing the dark red brand, aimed her lower leg at the other indentation, and gently placed it down!

The instant her skin touched the indentation—

A sudden change occurred!

The countless whispers in the entire Hall of Echoes suddenly rose, becoming incredibly sharp and piercing! All the crystal prisms flashed violently!

The huge formation beneath her feet blazed to life! But the light that blazed was not pure milky white, but... half displayed a brilliant silver, while the other half emanated a strange, unsettling dark red!

The two lights, with her body as the medium, surged madly into the formation, yet clashed and repelled each other fiercely, making the light of the entire formation extremely unstable, flashing violently, as if it would collapse and explode at any moment!

Xiang Lingna let out a scream of pain! She felt her body become a battlefield once again, and this energy conflict far exceeded the previous ones! The silver mark on her left arm and the dark red brand on her right leg burned with intense pain as if ignited!

The Hall of Echoes trembled violently! Glowing crystals on the dome began to crack and fall!

Just at the brink of loss of control—

Amidst the countless chaotic whispers filling the space, certain specific, powerful fragments of will, drawn by this violent energy conflict and the strange state of the "Twin Light," seemed to break through the barrier of time, becoming exceptionally clear, and surged into Xiang Lingna's mind like a torrent!

"... Wrong! The direction is wrong! The energy is flowing backward!" an anxious, familiar male elf voice (like the one in the terminal recording!). "... Hold steady! Use the 'Key' to guide it! Channel it into the backup circuits!" the voice of that ancient female elf elder shouted sternly. "... No! Elder! The 'Hunger'... the 'Hunger' has seeped through along the energy connection!" a third voice, filled with terror, screamed. "... Cut it off! Quickly cut the connection to the main root! Activate the final isolation!" the elder's voice was filled with despair and resolve. "... That 'Cradle'... what about the children?!" "... No time! For the majority... must... ah!!" A violent explosion and a scream drowned out all other sounds.

Immediately, another cold, greedy, endlessly hungry will, like a parasite clinging to the bone, also attempted to force its way into Xiang Lingna's consciousness along that dark red energy connection!

"... Delicious... Light... More... Give me..."

Xiang Lingna's head throbbed as if splitting; she felt her very soul being torn apart by these chaotic thoughts!

But amidst this extreme chaos, she suddenly caught a clear fragment of will, directed and transmitted by that ancient elder at the last moment, seemingly with all her remaining strength:

"... Successor... if you can hear... remember... the 'Hunger' stems from... the World Tree's... sorrow... The Key of Purification... is in... the 'Twin Pool'... find... the first... tear..."

Boom!!!

The array's light erupted to its peak, then suddenly extinguished!

All anomalies vanished instantly. The Hall of Echoes returned to its original state; the whispers remained, as if nothing had ever happened.

Xiang Lingna collapsed to the ground, soaked through as if just pulled from water, her mind blank, with only that final fragment of will echoing endlessly.

The World Tree's sorrow? The Key of Purification? The Twin Pool? The first tear?

At the center of the array beneath her feet, between the two indentations, a small downward passage entrance, just wide enough for one person, silently slid open.

An energy fluctuation, infinitely ancient, infinitely pure, carrying a faint aura of sorrow, rose from below.

That, was the true path to the source?