Roland only snapped back to his senses after quite a while.

Unlike the core of a Fallen Evil, the astrolabe only appeared within magic creatures or Oracles that no ordinary martial artists could contend against.

Roland believed that the Martialist a.s.sociation could only hope to defeat such an enemy by concentrating its force and plotting a meticulous plan, but they would never hand over the astrolabe willingly. Sending the astrolabe through express delivery was an act that risked the chance of infecting others to which seemed as though it was child's play.

But if it wasn't sent by the a.s.sociation, who sent this?

Roland checked on the address and telephone number from the sender and discovered that they were fake. The only believable point was the postal address used that indicated it came from the same city. Obviously, the sender wanted to remain anonymous.

The fact was that the actions of the other party wasn't that brilliant. The delivery company did not require their customers' true ident.i.ties simply to cut costs; otherwise, tracing the delivery would had been easy. But to create a false address in hopes of hide from a trace? It was a near impossible task in modern society, as checking the cameras or asking the employees were typically ways to quickly lock onto the sender.

But Roland was hesitant about using the power of the a.s.sociation to investigate the sender.

By the looks of it, the other party obviously knew Roland and held some goodwill towards him; otherwise, they would have never sent such a problematic item to the apartment.

Regardless, a person that a.s.sisted him in impairing the Erosion was most likely standing on the same side as him. Roland decided to maintain the situation knowing that the other party had no wish to reveal themselves.

Roland mopped his forehead and decided to push the problem for later.

More importantly, he needed to deal with the astrolabe in front of him.

He focused his attention back to the box.

If the astrolabe came from a rift monster, I can directly merge and get rid of it. But if this came from an Oracle, wouldn't that mean…

No, how is that possible. Roland couldn't help but laugh. To be able to kill a rift monster is already an exaggeration, much less an Oracle. Even Fei Yuhan was only able to struggle persistently against one, I shouldn't delude myself into such fantasy.

He placed his hand on the astrolabe.

The astrolabe revived from its static time as blue and white speckles started revolving. The center became brighter and brighter until a resplendent beam of light shot out. At this point, everything occurred very normally, like how he had witnessed the scenes merging.

But in the next second, the world suddenly plunged into darkness. A large amount of consciousness surged into his brain while bringing an unbearable pain!

Roland almost lost his consciousness under the perilous situation. After stabilizing his state of mind with great difficulty and waiting until everything settled down, he opened his eyes and found himself standing in a void. The snowflakes were present like in his previous experiences, but having gone through it three times, his mind was able to filter through the unrelated clamors.

… Fine, it actually comes from an Oracle.

Seems like I have to investigate the person's ident.i.ty.

Roland puckered his lips and looked around.

It's still using the universe as its background?

Roland was uncertain due to the void's s.p.a.ciousness and emptiness. Compared to his previous experiences, this trip was obviously darker, as though the stars had been hidden.

After spending some time, Roland finally found a base point from the spa.r.s.e snowflakes. The dim light resembled a source on the verge of being extinguished and was the size of a needle embedded in the darkness.

Following this point, he found more lights.

Upon seeing this, he became even more uncertain of his location.

The lights were arranged evenly with equal gaps in between, which was unlike a natural celestial body.

"Let me ask you, what is gravity?"

While doing a surveying with widened eyes, a voice that suddenly came out from behind caused all the hair on his back to stand!

He immediately turned around and noticed a gray and blurred shadow that floated erratically, as though it it was incorporeal.

The words were not spoken in a language he was well acquainted with, so much that he was unsure if it was even a language. Although he did not understand the reason, he knew that the content was simplified upon being mapped in his mind. It was as though the other party had produced a complex electromagnetic waves that pa.s.sed through a filter, filtering out the greater part of the message, leaving only the content he was able to comprehend.

"Were you… asking me?" Roland asked carefully.

'Gravity is the force most deserving of reverence in this world.' Another voice in his consciousness gave the answer, and it sounded extremely familiar to him.

Roland rolled his eyes.

First, the sudden question had spooked him, followed by the answer that came from nowhere. Roland thought that he had landed in a memory fragment to which he was partic.i.p.ating in and did not realize that he was a mere spectator.

"That's right, it is a universal force, stable, and the more imposing it is, the stronger it becomes…"

"It dilates time and brings about form from nothingness. That is how life can take root, for civilization to continue its existence."

The voice gradually filled with cadence, as though it was narrating an eulogy at the top of its voice.

"And the first force recognized by every race is gravity. It is a cradle and a chain. In a civilization's history of improvement, they struggle to be free of gravity."

"To flee from the ground and fly in the air, to a distant place, isn't that so."

"Now, it will be an obstruction for us once again, our final obstruction."

'The risks are unpredictable, I do not suggest implementing the Gateway Plan.'

"Every step forward has its risks, you should know that."

'I understand. My suggestion from the beginning hasn't changed.'

"But you're still helping me to complete it." The gray figure flickered twice. "For the plan, I have waited for many millennia, it is time to activate it."

Wait a minute, what is the Gateway Plan? What does it mean for it to be the final obstruction? Roland felt as though he had missed out on an extremely crucial piece of information. But no matter how he opened his mouth or what he thought, he was unable to inquire further. The parties engaged in the conversations never replied to his shouts.

'… I understand.'

"Buzz…"

As the conversation ended, the snowflakes increased in quant.i.ty.

According to his experience, when the episode reached its end, time would flow faster. But without having any reference, he was unable to make an accurate judgment.

Roland watched as the lights converged towards the center. Instead of an increase in illumination, it quickly became pitch black. The remaining lights flew towards the darkness like moths attracted to a flame without stopping. Roland did not know how many had converged into the darkness, as everything that had occurred felt like an instant and at the same time, endless…

Finally, as though a limit had been breached, a dazzling red light blossomed from the darkness and swept past the entire world in an instant!

It traveled faster than the speed of light, completing its sweep by the time Roland reacted, turning everything back to its original state.

But Roland knew that the world was completely different—a great change had taken place!

The first feedback was the gray shadow that dispersed like a mist under the red light.

Following that were the deaths occurring all around. At every corner of the darkness, death and destruction repeated continuously, Roland was unable to see the scenes with his eyes, but everything was reflected in his mind: The burning cities in the distance, the collapse of a planet's...o...b..t, the fishes that stopped moving in the streams, and the rotting worms in the caves…

Even his body which was floating in the void started deteriorating.

There were no difference between superior and inferior lifeforms.

At this point of time, the snowflakes had occupied his entire vision.

When everything ended, the sight of his bedroom appeared before him again. Roland endured the strong sense of discomfort and s.h.i.+fted his body to the window with clenched teeth. The warm afternoon's sunlight sprinkled over his body, and the sight of the streets br.i.m.m.i.n.g with life allowed him to heave a sigh of relief.

At this time, he felt something wet on his cheek.

He used a finger to wipe it, only to discover that it was a tear drop.