Divine Flame Crystal

Chapter 682: Sky Ceremony Day

"It's not that the sun is broken, it's that the timing is wrong." The old man sighed softly.

What’s even more frightening is that many people’s memories are becoming disordered.

"Who are you?" The husband stared at his wife, his face full of confusion.

"I am your wife." the woman said crying.

"No, I clearly remember... you died ten years ago."

This confusion spread like a plague.

People's emotions are also on the verge of collapse.

The parliament sent someone to reassure them: "It's just a temporary anomaly and will pass soon."

But Kronos watched from the darkness, his eyes as cold as ice: "It will not pass. The rift is devouring the future, and your present is just a covered wound."

In a factory in the north, a group of young apprentices are inspecting the crack guide trough.

Suddenly, one of them fell down and never woke up again.

"What happened to him?" his companions shouted in panic.

"His heartbeat and breathing are normal...but he won't wake up!"

After examining him, the researcher's face paled. "His time has been taken away. He lives in the future, but the future... has been borrowed."

The workers were stunned and confused. They could only carry their companion to a corner and cover him with a cloth.

"We can't stop working." The supervisor gritted his teeth. "The Rift Fleet is waiting for us."

The young apprentices fell silent. They didn't dare to speak, but for the first time, fear began to grow in their hearts: perhaps they would be the next.

During a council meeting, Celia finally couldn't help but stand up.

"The Rift Engine is tearing the world apart! Time is disrupted, memories are distorted, and life is disappearing... Can't you see this?"

The hall was filled with noise. Someone shouted angrily, "You're just an apprentice. What right do you have to question our victory?"

Celia stared at them intently: "Because I was the first to calculate the rift, I know the cost! You are devouring the future! When the future is completely hollowed out, everything we have now will collapse!"

The director was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke, "But if we stop now, we will fail immediately. We have no way out."

Celia's eyes were red: "Then at least admit it - we are on the road to destruction!"

The hall was silent.

Finally, the one in power coldly declared: "The Rift Engine will continue to be used. Those who oppose it will be expelled."

Celia was led out by the guards. Her steps were steady, but her eyes were like burning fire.

A huge testing ground was built in the western border.

The Rift Cannon stretches across the land, its barrel three hundred meters long and surrounded by cooling towers and energy conduits.

That day, countless people gathered on the distant mountains just to witness the first experiment.

"Target: Black Mountain," the control officer announced coldly. It was a towering, isolated peak that had been chosen as the target.

"The fissure cavity is stable."

"Energy reserves are one hundred percent."

"Countdown—three, two, one, launch!"

boom--!

The barrel of the giant cannon roared, and the fissure cavity opened instantly. The future energy was extracted and turned into a stream of silver-white light, penetrating the sky and the earth!

In an instant, the Black Mountain crumbled, reduced to ash. The ground shook, the sky resounded, and it felt as if the entire world was trembling.

Cheers resounded through the sky.

"We made it!"

"The Rift Cannon is invincible!"

However, just as everyone was ecstatic, an accident happened.

The sky above the testing ground suddenly twisted, revealing a deep crack. From within the crack came a low rumble, like countless voices wailing simultaneously.

"Space... is collapsing!" a researcher screamed.

Immediately, hundreds of people collapsed on the spot, their bodies intact but having lost all consciousness.

The remaining people fled in panic, and their shouts drowned the valley.

The cheers turned into cries.

At night, Kronos stood alone at the edge of the ruins, his cloak rustling in the wind.

He looked at the crack that had not yet completely closed with pain in his eyes.

"I should have stopped them earlier." He murmured softly, "But this is their own choice. I can't take it away."

He squatted down, stroked the forehead of an unconscious boy, and said in a sad voice: "You are still alive, but you have no future. If one day everything returns to nothingness...will you blame me?"

There was no answer. Only the wind rustled across the wasteland, bringing with it a rending hum.

Kronos slowly stood up and turned to leave. The figure beneath the cloak looked lonely and heavy.

The Rift Engine allowed humans to reach the pinnacle of power, but it also brought unprecedented disasters.

Day and night are confused, memories are lost, cities disappear, lives faint...the whole world seems to be slowly falling apart.

However, amidst a mixture of fervor and fear, the council made the final decision:

"The Rift Cannon will be fully deployed."

This sentence led the entire civilization to a real dead end amidst crazy cheers and suppressed fear.

Kronos wrote in his mind:

"341st Restart. Rift Energy has become a faith for all of humanity. When the future is fully borrowed, nothingness descends."

The harbor of the Gear City has been transformed into a huge shipyard.

It was no longer an ordinary ark, but a colossal vessel. Three thousand meters long, towering into the clouds, it resembled a floating steel city-state. Twelve rift engines were embedded in its belly, interlocking like twelve gleaming silver hearts.

At the bow, a massive, five-hundred-meter-long rift cannon pointed coldly toward the heavens. Deep within the cannon bore lay a dark tunnel that led straight into the void.

"Star Destroyer - Aurora." The Director stood on the deck, his voice hoarse but incomparably firm, "First ship, depart!"

boom--

The engines roared, the air twisted violently, and the Aurora slowly rose into the air, casting a massive shadow that covered the entire harbor.

The people on the ground looked up, their eyes flashing with enthusiasm and tears.

"We... finally have the weapons to challenge the stars!"

As the first Star Destroyer was launched, the second and third were completed one after another.

Soon after, ten star destroyers lined up in the sky, like ten giant steel gods, overlooking the earth.

In the streets and alleys, people sang loudly: "The light of the cracks illuminates the future!"

In the tavern, drunks slammed their hands on the tables and shouted, "Let the gods see that we humans can also create our own sky!"

But not everyone is partying.

A mother hugged her child and cried softly: "Every time the sky lights up, my child's eyes lose a piece of memory. He even forgot my name."

An apprentice murmured in a corner of the factory: "How many of our companions fell down while we were repairing the guide trough and never woke up again?"

Fanaticism and fear, like two ropes, tightly entangle the entire civilization.

On the night when the star destroyers were lined up, Kronos stood on the top of a distant mountain, looking at the giant silver shadow in the sky with a complicated expression.

"This is the furthest humanity has come in the 341st attempt," he said in a low voice. "But it's also the most dangerous."

He slowly stretched out his hand and wrote in the air with his fingertips:

"Record this. The Rift Fleet is formed, the Star Destroyer Cannons are ready to fire. The future has been overborrowed, and the river of time is beginning to crack."

The wind blew, and his cloak rustled.

"If I fail this time, can I still turn back?" he murmured, "Or will I... also be swallowed by the void?"

In the parliament hall, Celia stood up again, her voice cold and firm:

"Do you understand what you're doing? Every time a Rift Cannon is fired, it consumes an entire year of the future! When the future is completely drained, your so-called victory will vanish into thin air!"

Someone shouted angrily: "This is treasonous!"

The Director spoke in a deep voice, "I know the cost better than anyone. But if we stop now, humanity will be destroyed immediately. The Rift Cannon is our only chance."

Celia's eyes sparkled with tears: "You want to win the future, but you are destroying it!"

The parliament was silent.

Finally, the director waved his hand and said, "She doesn't need to come here anymore. Send her back to the factory. Her calculations are still useful. Let her shine where she belongs."

The guards took Celia away. She didn't struggle, but before leaving the door, she looked back at the hall and said coldly:

“You are not building the future, you are digging your grave.”

The day when the Star Destroyer fleet was launched was called "Sky Ceremony Day".

Ten massive ships lined up high in the sky, their rift engines roaring, illuminating the land with silver light. Millions of eyes gazed upward, breathlessly waiting.

"Target: Void Veil." The operator's voice echoed across the fleet's channel. It was an ancient barrier suspended in the sky, a symbol of myth.

"The fissure cavity is stable."

"Energy reserves are full."

"Countdown—three, two, one, volley!"

boom--