The Lamp Ride was an alien ghost, and the World Backstage could only see its present, with no way to trace the past.
So what exactly the Lamp Clan it belonged to had encountered, how the sun was stolen, and why the Firefly God left, Lu Yao could only judge from its description.
“The place where the Lamp Race is located is covered by a black and grey fog all year round, and each one of us must light a lamp to not get lost in it, and the hanging lamp is the sign that the Lamp Race is alive.”
Speaking of his hometown, the fire on the head of the lamp multiplier flickered and dimmed, slowly illuminating a blurry, boxy scene, which was so smoky that only the sparse lights of the stars could be seen.
It continued, “When the Heavenly Lantern is present, the fog of the “Fog Harbour” is dispersed a bit, and visibility becomes higher, but the distance remains invisible.”
“We rely on the lights to survive in the fog.”
“The brightest and clearest time would be when the sky lanterns were only up for a while, and the surroundings would become unmistakable. That’s when we can see each other, but more importantly gather materials everywhere.”
Slymod asked, “You mean digging and smelting ores, and tanning leather?”
“No, not really.”
Lamp Rider explained, “A lot of the materials we have there are in crates, all kinds of crates. Wooden chests, iron chests, copper chests …… The best chests are silver and gold chests.”
“Those chests are good materials in themselves, and they will also contain many useful things, such as lamp stones, oil, and fire wires, lamp balls, iron skins, and copper rods …… Good luck might even find complete lamps.”
Lu Yao looked into thought.
In the world where the Lamp Clan was located, all sorts of materials were packed in boxes. This clear trace of artificiality indicated that other than the Lamp Clan, there were other groups that were preparing or had prepared this.
“There are also some ingredients that need to be found outside.”
Lamp Rider added, “Many of the crates have been opened, and even the crates themselves have been taken apart into pieces of wood and metal. We sometimes have to dismantle the bodies of our people and use what’s left of them to help more people be able to survive.”
Slymod agreed with that, “Very pragmatic.”
“Gotta live.”
Words slowly emerged from the head of the Lamp Rider, “The Lamp Clan has lampstones in their heads, bodies of copper, iron or silver …… and a few of gold, hearts of sparking discs, and flowing lamp oil in their bodies.”
“If not attacked by a fog beast, the Lamps can live a long time, as long as they take care to protect their bodies and replenish the oil in them.”
“After death, every part of the body is a very useful material.”
Lu Yao snapped back.
Something wasn’t right.
The physiology of the Lamp Tribe was not that of a normal creature.
He immediately asked Slemod to ask in detail.
After Lamp Rider’s detailed description, the image of the Lamp Race in Lu Yao’s mind gradually became clearer.
The Lamp Race were not flesh and blood creatures in the conventional sense, they were an almost semi-mechanical life with obvious traces of artificial manufacturing.
What made them self-aware was either the natural evolution of the world’s rules over a long period of time, or the handiwork of the gods at this level.
In principle, they were somewhat like beggarly versions of clockwork monkeys.
According to the physiological structure of the lamp race, their existence is more like to specialise in lighting fire, or bringing light, making lamps is the meaning of their life.
Like a matchmaker.
No, more like lighters.
“Are the Lamps born to be so peculiar?”Slemod asked it.
“I don’t know …… Misty Harbor is an ancient world, and it is said that other races existed before the Lamp Race, and that those crates are what they left behind, but they should be similar to the Lamp Race.”
The Lamp Riders pondered for a while, a series of ellipses appearing above their heads.
“The last giant said that the Lamp Race existed to create new suns that could be replaced with the sun in the sky, a great mission given by Lord “Firefly God”. The Celestial Lanterns are also an imitation of the sun, but nowhere near as far as the sun.”
“I’m a little confused.”
Slemod said, “Why would you want to replace the sun if it existed in the past?”
“The sun will go out.”
Lamp Rider said rightfully, “We have to make a new sun before it goes out, and then raise it into the sky to replace the old one that’s getting dimmer and dimmer. The sun here is very bright, so it should have been replaced not long ago, right?”
Lu Yao finally realised what the problem was.
“Misty Harbour” was a world that was different from its natural state.
There, the sun was some sort of high-level prop or spectacle that had attrition and a time limit. If the rules of a normal world were followed, the sun itself would exist for almost an eternity for the lives within the world.
In “Misty Harbour”, the real sun did not exist at all, only high-fashion artefacts.
It is not hard to understand why a god later stole the sun here.
The sun of the Lamps is a valuable treasure.
Slemod said, “…… So that’s how it is. And what substance is the World Pot of?”
“A world pot is a giant pot.”
Lantern Ride gestured, “The entire “Fog Harbour” is on the World Pot, and it spews out a constant stream of black mist, which also contains all sorts of materials, chests, and oddities, and of course, fog beasts.”
“But only the Gods can enter the depths of the fog and see the World Pot. The Lanterns can’t, there are numerous fog beasts down there, and there is a strong pressure that gets stronger the closer you get to the power.”
This description made Lu Yao think of the World Boundary.
What could be ascertained at the moment was that the composition of the ‘Fog Harbour’ was different from all the various known Divine Kingdoms, with obvious traces of artificial carvings and modifications.
However, the deeper levels of the world, Lantern Ride could not say.
It was neither clear what the “Firefly God” was like – that deity had disappeared before it was born.
Furthermore, it did not understand the identity of the outer god who stole the sun.
All the Lantern Ride knew was that after the strange disappearance of the Lantern Clan’s last giant, the Lantern Clan was weakening and dying. A great deal of knowledge inheritance and historical secrets had also sunk into the boundless black fog along with the giant craftsman’s demise.
……
Slemod finished his enquiry and reported to Lu Yao, “Lord God, the matter of the Lamp Race initially reminded my humble self of an old story that had been told amongst the Title Gods.”
“It is said that when the God of Darkness grows strong, it is the day when the God of Light weakens and slumbers, and there exists a correlation between these two main gods.”
“When the God of Darkness went from bad to worse, and hunted the gods, it would take away all the light and fire, and the first to bear the brunt was the sun.”
“The sun is the trophy of the God of Darkness, but wherever He passes through the world, the sun will be extinguished or disappear. It’s not easy to do this, it’s not just destroying the sun, it’s erasing it from the rule level, but retaining the order of the world itself intact ……”
“It was a way for the God of Darkness to show his power, and because of his distaste for the God of Light.”
“I think that perhaps a long time ago, the God of Darkness had passed through the ‘Misty Harbour’ and so left the world without a sun, and the local gods had to try to recast it ……”
Lu Yao muttered in his heart.
I didn’t think that “Misty Harbour” could even be associated with this Lord God.
To even glean away people’s suns, God of Darkness, you’ve really done all sorts of bad things!
“But when I heard about the World Pot, I realised that I thought wrongly.”
“As for the Lamp Clan and the World Pot …… humble opinion, the Lamp Clan is most likely a commodity used for trading, and the gods also use generics, apostles, believers, special races, and even entire civilisations as trading goods between themselves, and this type of buying and selling is called 『off voyage』.”
“Both the suns made there and the Lanterns themselves should be commodities.”
Slemod said, “It wasn’t the Outer Gods that stole the sun, but the “Glow Gods” sold that round of suns. That’s why the Outer Gods were able to enter the Kingdom of God and easily take it.”
“The “Misty Harbour” is a huge merchant shop, where you can bid for whatever you need, and the fog beast attack, which was probably a divine tactic, was a display and a test for the Lights.”
“It’s like a boss who sells goods and would open the display case box for customers to see and try the goods inside.”
Lu Yao was shaken.
The Gods were playing really fancy.
