Chapter Nine: Memories of Legacy

White Eyes!

Piercing through essence, mastering causality!

Guan Qian stared blankly at the stubborn-faced boy before him, his eyes abruptly widening and contracting. The flickering gleam in his gaze shifted rapidly between black and white, the eerie dual pupils making one's hair stand on end.

At this moment, Guan Qian's astonished face was filled with undeniable shock.

Heavens, the crystal skull!

Reflected in Guan Qian's alternating pupils was a crystal skull, and the object of his gaze was none other than the stubborn white-eyed boy!

A surge of terror and unease!

What on earth was happening? What did all this mean?

Confusion, Guan Qian’s mind spiraled into utter chaos.

“No! You—you are the crystal skull!” Guan Qian dropped his hands, which had been clutching his head, and suddenly looked at the boy. His startled cry shattered the desert’s deathly silence!

As if separated by millennia or by countless distances, the boy’s cold, white eyes glared at Guan Qian, sharp and merciless.

Instantly, Guan Qian felt his blood boiling, the faint connection of kinship becoming unmistakably clear.

“We—we come from the same system!” Guan Qian’s heart contracted violently, and a voice rose from deep within him.

“Ah—!”

With a hoarse roar, Guan Qian’s eyes were struck by an intense pain, plunging him into complete disarray.

The white-eyed boy’s pale gaze flickered, and with a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth, the entire space collapsed.

The shattered space exploded like a fallen mirror, fragments and shadows scattered everywhere.

“Dong—dong dong—dong”

Guan Qian’s heart pounded fiercely, and the whole space blurred and transformed rapidly.

A wave of ancient, rustic energy rushed toward him.

Space reassembled, time reversed and flowed backward!

“Crash—”

On the shore of the island, furious waves battered the coast, winds rose and clouds gathered.

A vast island rose from the sea, floating eternally like a lone boat on the boundless ocean, its destination unknown, its course uncertain.

Guan Qian opened his aching eyes, and a fresh sea breeze brushed his forehead, instantly clearing his mind and soothing his body.

“Hm?” Guan Qian gazed at the row of towering stones before him, letting out a soft sound of surprise.

Such a broad coastline, and yet a row of strange, colossal stones appeared suddenly, quite spoiling the view. Not only did they block the magnificent scenery of the shore, but they also clashed with the lush beach surrounding them.

Guan Qian floated, moving his body, retreating a hundred meters and looking up at the sky. The sight before him made him gasp.

It was a row of giant stone figures, towering into the clouds, their backs to the island, faces toward the sea.

Uniform elongated foreheads, prominent noses, deep-set eyes, protruding lips, and those drooping, oversized ears overwhelmed Guan Qian’s senses.

Each statue pressed their arms to their sides, faces cold and expressions dignified, standing upright on the shore, as steadfast as mountains! Like a line of warriors ready to set sail, it was a spectacular sight.

"Easter Island!"

Guan Qian instinctively recalled the terrestrial island by that name, but upon closer inspection, he realized this place was different. Except for the row of similar giant stone figures, nothing here matched “Easter Island.”

This… Guan Qian was deeply shaken.

Shaken in body and soul.

Suddenly, an old man appeared abruptly in Guan Qian’s field of vision, squatting atop the tallest, largest stone statue.

His white robe draped to the ground, white beard curling, posture hunched and aged!

He, too, faced the sea with his back to the island, radiating an endless sense of antiquity.

Guan Qian was stunned, unable to imagine how such an elderly, frail man could have climbed atop the massive stone statue. He seemed fused with the statue itself, his aura completely hidden, as silent as a living fossil.

Swish—

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Guan Qian floated over in a flash, coming face to face with the old man!

But—

“You—” When Guan Qian saw the old man's face clearly, he was so shocked he froze, his expression stiff, as if petrified, remaining motionless for a long time.

This was an old man with white eyes.

The same stubbornness, the same white eyes!

This—this was the white-eyed boy from the desert!

This was the crystal skull!

Boom—

Guan Qian could no longer think. He stared at this familiar yet strange figure, his mind in utter chaos.

The crystal skull, the living prophet—what was he doing here? What did these giant stone statues represent? What happened in that sorrowful chapter of human history?

The unknown! Everything was unknown, and Guan Qian had no clues.

The enigmatic crystal skull, the mysterious era—Guan Qian couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of extraordinary time this was.

A forgotten civilization? Or a mysterious realm?

Dong—dong dong—dong

Heaven and earth merged, the coast joined! Space once again blurred and reformed, time reversed and flowed backward.

Guan Qian was cast into eternal darkness—no sight, no smell, no touch, as if everything had sunk into deathly silence.

The stars and the sun, time and ages—all vanished!

“Ah—”

Guan Qian completely lost consciousness.

…

Drip—

A silky, cool sensation like sweet spring water fell on Guan Qian’s pale face, instantly drawing his sleeping mind back.

“Ugh—”

Rubbing his aching head, Guan Qian slowly opened his sore, swollen eyelids.

But as soon as he opened his eyes, he was utterly bewildered.

A crystal skull hovered nearby like a ghost!

The smooth skull was transparent and radiant, unrivaled in its beauty.

Strange and unknown energy flowed slowly across the skull’s surface, and in its dark eye sockets, a faint glow flickered like a fire. At this moment, two clear trails of tears flowed from the dark sockets.

Instinctively, Guan Qian touched his damp cheeks, and his scalp tingled, his whole body shivering as if struck by lightning.

“You’re awake.” A cold voice came from the darkness of the room.

The voice was icy, yet not unfeeling.

Guan Qian, already unnerved by the crystal skull, was startled again by the mysterious voice. He sprang from the bed, every muscle tense, watching everything around him.

In the shadowy corner, a dark figure held the crystal skull in both hands, slowly approaching.

When moonlight, like a delicate veil, shone on the figure’s face, Guan Qian’s mouth fell open in astonishment, yet not a single word escaped him.