Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 1085: Memory

Two beeps resounded, and a red dot lit up next to the lens of the drone beside Nancy. The drone began hovering around her.

"I'm K9, and we are about to commence Experiment K392! I acknowledge the rushed nature of this experiment, but time is not on our side!" Nancy exclaimed, and she started walking toward the distant arch.

The drone followed closely behind her.

Individuals clad in diverse uniforms were busily preparing something around the arch, and each one of them was handling various electronic devices in a state of nervous but focused work.

K9 turned to the drone and said, "This is our first attempt. Should we achieve success, we would have essentially created our own Divinity, and our future would be replete with radiance for us all.

"The power of those projects going by a single-digit identifier is too formidable. Their strength is immense, not solely due to their capabilities but because they exceed the boundaries of human understanding, making replication impossible."

When she had just arrived here, she regarded this place as humanity's Garden of Eden, but the horrors of the Subterranean Sea exceeded everyone's imagination, including hers.

They weren't in the Garden of Eden; they were in hell. The humans here were no different from ants. As K9 spoke to the drone, she recalled the scenes she saw when she first became Fhtagn's follower.

It was only when she became a follower of Fhtagn did she understood why those affected by the meme exhibited such abnormal behaviors. They weren't under some kind of meme—they were simply afraid.

Knowing that escape was futile, they were left with no other choice but to submit and fantasize.

They could only fantasize that the Great One would accept their faith, and they worshipped Him as the one, true god to find the courage to live on.

A steel door on the gray wall swung open, and K9 walked in.

The corridor was bustling with staffers, and their gazes toward K9 were full of reverence.

These people were the ones who had descended with Nancy many years ago, and some were even the descendants of those people. The faces of the staffers had been changing over the years, but there was one thing that had remained unchanged—the GK Council.

There were some rumors within the Foundation about how the members of the GK Council had some kind of way to remain ageless and immortal. However, this didn't mean that they were unwilling to sacrifice themselves.

In fact, today, they would sacrifice themselves.

Traversing through the bustling corridor, it didn't take long before a huge but orderly laboratory appeared before Nancy's eyes.

A multitude of machines, linked by a network of cables, dominated the room, giving it a futuristic air.

A towering and enormous elliptical glass sphere was at the center of the mechanical marvel. It was swaying gently in midair.

"Do you know what's truly tragic? It's not that they have the power to annihilate us; it's that they could be breathing just a little louder, and they'd inadvertently cause mankind's total annihilation!" K9 stared at the glass sphere as her eyes blazed with fervor and fanaticism.

"However, we now possess Divine Blood, the power of God Fhtagn. This is our sole chance. Only by creating a power equal to theirs can humanity stand as more than mere ants in their presence!!

"Through various trials and experiments, we finally discovered the key to wielding the power in the Divine Blood. That immense power needs to be activated by sound."

Nancy gestured with her hand, and the drone turned toward 134. The little girl was shackled in a cage, and her mouth was secured with a metal cover.

Beside her was one of the other "Kings" of Sottom—the smoke entity with a flute. However, he was contained within a bottle, and his bone flute was tightly held in the hands of a task force member clad in white.

"I know… this power is formidable and must remain under the control of our Foundation. As such, this experiment requires the use of members from our own GK Council as materials!"

K9 walked forward and led the drone to a row of white chairs, each entwined with wires. Six individuals of varying genders and ages were already seated.

Upon noticing K9's arrival, their faces displayed a range of expressions, some stoic and others indifferent. Regardless of their demeanor, none spoke a word.

"Fortunately, Project Dawn has highlighted the crucial role of human will in our experiments.

"However, these sacrifices are necessary. Consider the case of Foss turning into 1002 after accidentally falling into an experimental vat.

"If it hadn't been for that incident, we wouldn't have known that humans could become materials to be integrated into our experiments," K9 said as she walked calmly toward the last chair. She sat down and allowed the scientists to shave off her hair and insert various fiber wires into her scalp.

She turned and calmly looked at the drone. "We seven are the most loyal to the Foundation. We're ready to transform our collective will into the last hope. OMEGA, initiate Plan A!"

With a beep, the drone began a slow orbit around the laboratory, like an eye in the sky silently recording everything below.

Seated in the final chair, Nancy's trembling heart gradually calmed down.

If the experiment succeeded, they could leave and return to the surface world to address those black meteors. Then, they would lead everyone to find another habitat in the vast outer space.

If the experiment failed, she would die, and the heavy, suffocating responsibility would land on the shoulders of someone else.

Soon, a cacophony of noises echoed—singing, flute noises, the melody from a music box, and the tapping noises of a shoe as it tap-danced. Nancy closed her eyes and listened to the reports of the nearby scientists.

"Dawn Four, all data normal. Activity reduced by fifty percent. Ready to integrate Divine Blood.

"Checking cognition of E5, A2, K9, D4, Z0, Q3, and L1. Completed. Brainwave patterns are normal. Soul synchronization prepared, commencing countdown: 5, 4, 3..."

Just then, a booming voice echoed from the giant arch and commenced a countdown. "Initiating Experiment K392, Trial 1. Commencing countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"

The darkness before Nancy was instantly replaced by a brilliant radiance. She could feel herself getting torn apart and reassembled in quick succession. When she regained her vision, she discovered that her will had merged with the other six.

Nancy had become the Blue[1] Light—one of the colors that make up the Light God.

The Light God was thrilled to feel endless power surging within Themselves. Just as they were rejoicing, the radiant light vanquishing the darkness seemed to have touched something, and They emerged from the sea.

They "saw" 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, and 009—these entities had arrived. Nancy and the others could only feel one thought from those entities—"They shouldn't exist."

There was something wrong here.

"We're not wrong! What's wrong with humans wanting to live?!" The seven lights of Light God shouted hysterically at the same time, and dazzling sunlight rushed out in all directions.

They wanted to take away all of humanity in the Subterranean Sea and head to the vast outer space. There were habitable planets out there. Even if there weren't, they were strong enough to terraform a planet!

Nancy and her colleagues wished to do that, but unfortunately, they couldn't do it.

They couldn't resist Them.

They failed to resist and were thrown into the abyss to accompany the slumbering Fhtagn as fear and helplessness engulfed their hearts.

1. Originally translated as 'Green Light.' The raw states 青色 which is closer to Cyan but since it's the seven lights of the rainbow, I first translated it as Green Light but eventually realized that it should have been Blue Light. ☜