Chapter 508 - 505: Distant Stars

Chapter 508: Chapter 505: Distant Stars

These events flickered through Zhou Dynasty’s chaotic consciousness like a revolving lantern.

The point of light that was him flickered. The emotions buried deep in his heart were transmitted to the surrounding stars with each pulse of the light.

Zhou Dynasty was well aware that he could not understand the pain of the family member who had lost their loved one.

And that family member could not understand his considerations when facing danger.

The guards couldn’t understand the difficulties of either, only mediating out of a sense of duty.

As for the passersby, they were only there to watch a good show, to get their fill of drama. Seeing such a tragedy, they wouldn’t feel any real sadness.

Perhaps they would only pretend to be somber as they discussed it with their companions:

"Did you hear? I saw something at the monitoring station today. A whole squad got wiped out, and the family member was acting like a lunatic. One guy got lucky and survived, though..."

"Sigh, the Abyss is so dangerous~"

"Yeah..."

They would nod their heads in feigned sympathy, displaying the requisite "virtue."

But after a night’s sleep, they wouldn’t remember a thing.

The emotional fluctuations were like a fleeting flash of red light, gone in an instant.

Zhou Dynasty knew very well that he and these people were all stars that would never intersect. They could only admire each other’s starlight from afar, never knowing its true meaning.

People used gravity to string together the social relationships that connected them, but that same gravity also flung their souls further and further apart.

Looking at the brilliant river of stars, a trace of sorrow involuntarily rose in Zhou Dynasty’s heart.

He didn’t know why he had suddenly thought of this incident.

’Perhaps I’ve been hung up on being a "deserter" all this time.’

His fluctuating emotions were once again swallowed by the surrounding points of light, and Zhou Dynasty returned to a state of calm.

"You’re in great pain, aren’t you?" a familiar voice sounded beside him.

No matter how the river of stars churned, this voice seemed to always linger by Zhou Dynasty’s side.

"Why are you still following me?"

"You’re in great pain, aren’t you? I can feel it," the voice asked persistently.

"A little," Zhou Dynasty answered truthfully. He knew he couldn’t deceive this voice.

"Your heart also yearns for empathy. Why are you unwilling to let down your guard?"

"I yearn for empathy?" Zhou Dynasty asked back.

"Yes. You wish humans could truly empathize with one another. That way, you could genuinely feel the family member’s pain, and others could understand your inner turmoil. Passersby wouldn’t be so cold. Everyone would truly and clearly understand what’s in each other’s hearts, and they would also understand that you are not a ’deserter’."

Hearing the voice once again state his inner thoughts so accurately, Zhou Dynasty felt a sense of helplessness. "Stop prying into my heart."

"I’m not prying. Your heart’s desires are flowing out on their own..." the voice said, sounding somewhat innocent. "You’re actually ’crying for help’ inside, aren’t you? Who doesn’t want to be understood by others?"

The voice echoed beside Zhou Dynasty, chattering on...

"Do you know why life created writing and language?"

"It was to allow companions to understand one’s thoughts... Language can better express what is in one’s heart and more accurately depict specific images."

"But long before writing and language, life had been exploring the path of ’understanding’."

"An infant cries and fusses to make its mother understand it."

"Insects produce all sorts of pheromones to make their subordinates understand their intentions."

"And didn’t humans create so much poetry and song to convey their thoughts and feelings?"

"Gestures, sounds, smells, touch, taste... Living beings use every means at their disposal to make their companions understand them."

"However, these methods can never touch the inner heart. The exchange of consciousness is always separated by a physical shell. The hearts of living beings hide deep within these shells, like stars gazing at each other from afar."

"The evolution of life is the evolution of ’understanding’. All living beings are ’crying for help’, not just you. A lonely star always yearns for the light from a distant one, unwilling to merely survive alone in the dead, silent cosmos..."

"It is not I who am prying into your heart. It’s that from the very beginning, you have hoped for others to understand your pain. Even without a direct exchange of hearts, it will be revealed through other means."

"You cry, you laugh, you frown, you sigh, you hang your head in dejection. You lock yourself in your room not because you hope no one will come looking for you, but because you hope someone will knock on the door, find you, and understand you..."

"Enough!" Zhou Dynasty cut off the voice’s speech. "I don’t want anyone to find me! Not all souls in this world feel lonely. I can cry for myself, laugh for myself, frown for myself... and I can lock myself in my room simply to keep my heart at peace."

After being interrupted by Zhou Dynasty, the voice said no more.

Faced with persuasion that went straight to his heart, Zhou Dynasty remained utterly impervious.

"Why do you keep trying to persuade me? Wouldn’t it be better to persuade the other points of light?"

Zhou Dynasty still didn’t understand why this voice insisted on clinging to him.

However, after asking this question, Zhou Dynasty only heard a helpless sigh.

"I’ve already tried to persuade every single point of light. But it’s no use. Many souls are destined to be lonely. If they can’t be opened, they can’t be opened."

Zhou Dynasty was utterly shocked to hear this.

"Every point of light... You’ve tried to persuade all of them?"

Forget the entire Sea of Consciousness—just this river of stars contained an infinite number of light points. And to persuade these consciousnesses, one would have to engage in tailored dialogues, understanding their inner hearts. How much time would that take?

"I began persuading from the moment the first point of light arrived here." As if hearing the question in Zhou Dynasty’s heart, the voice answered faintly.

"After that, I persuade every point of light that arrives, urging them to let down their guard and merge together..."

Hearing this, Zhou Dynasty grew even more shocked.

"Who in the world are you?"

"Haven’t you all been looking for me?"

The voice’s reply caused Zhou Dynasty’s point of light to glow red once more.

"You’re the Eye of the Stars?"

"Mm, that’s what humans called me when I was still a relic. But I don’t really like that name. I’m just an ordinary glass sphere..."

The voice continued to ramble on beside Zhou Dynasty like an old friend.

A thousand thoughts raced through Zhou Dynasty’s mind. For a moment, he found it hard to accept.

’No wonder it keeps using humans as examples...’

The Eye of the Stars had been brought to this Sky Island by humans. It was obvious that it had a special affection for humanity, and many of its thoughts were closely related to human society.

But Zhou Dynasty never expected that the Eye of the Stars he had been searching for was actually hiding right beside him!

The red light flickered, and Zhou Dynasty couldn’t suppress his excitement.

He didn’t know if Lord Ying’s film could pinpoint the Eye of the Stars’s location while he was in this Sea of Consciousness.

"Where are you, exactly?" Zhou Dynasty asked tentatively.

He knew his little scheme had been completely exposed, but that didn’t stop him from trying to gather intelligence.

"I am right here. I am everywhere," the Eye of the Stars replied.

Everywhere?

Puzzled, Zhou Dynasty looked around. Countless points of light were surrounding him, flying toward the Block-shaped void of consciousness.

He subconsciously glanced behind him. The vast Sea of Consciousness was encased in a glass sphere—what Zhou Dynasty had originally believed to be the Eye of the Stars.

But why was the voice coming from right beside him?