Elemental Magnetic Star

Chapter 144 Redemption of the Sea

"Flame Wave... Flame Wave?" Flame Wave diverted his gaze from the Endless Sea, "What is it?"

"Do you remember how to operate the Nuwa System?" Aurum Aspire had been fiddling with it for quite some time but still had no clue, "It feels like we've regressed to the Stone Age." For them, who had been detached from Earth's civilization for dozens of generations, the human technology from thousands of years ago was unattainable, as alien to them as they were to the people of Earth. They were true aliens of the Elemental Magnetic Star. So, what about Earth's civilization? Was it wishful thinking to even maintain a basic repository of knowledge and heritage? Aurum Aspire felt utterly defeated.

"It's okay, those things are just there, waiting for you to retrieve them once your memory is restored," Flame Wave said nonchalantly, as if what they were about to open was Pandora's box.

"Restoring memory is easier said than done," Aurum Aspire snorted, "I thought coming here might trigger some memory mechanism, but I've got nothing."

Nothing? Flame Wave didn't think so, "Do you remember how the Nuwa System was deployed here? By the Endless Sea, so far from the Celestial Domain? Why wasn't it firmly controlled by humans?"

The Nuwa System was, in fact, a highly sophisticated and cutting-edge device, boasting tremendous computing power and a life-support system, the basis of their survival once.

"Because the energy was depleted, humans could no longer use or even sustain it, so they had to look for new sources of energy. Maybe the Endless Sea here has the energy it needs?" Aurum Aspire vaguely remembered it was a difficult process, with pain, struggle, and sacrifice, but he couldn't recall the specifics.

"All I remember is that rebooting the Nuwa System was a hasty decision because human lifespans couldn't wait. There was a scramble for spots; we were the losing side, left by the Endless Sea to die. I vividly remember the agony of being engulfed by the Endless Sea," Flame Wave had always harbored a deep fear of water, a sequelae from that time. Only later, by continuously soaking in the Pine Mist River to recover elemental magnetic power, did he gradually overcome this fear.

Yet, besides fear, he always felt he was missing something, especially when he faced the vast Endless Sea again, not with panic or timidity, but... attachment, and gratitude. Why? Was it because he had fallen into the Endless Sea again years ago and was saved by Raina Grace, thus harboring special feelings towards the Endless Sea? No, it wasn't that simple.

During that fall, he felt fearless, even thinking it wouldn't be so bad to just sink. What was he anticipating then? Deep in his memory, at the end of the Endless Sea, the most splendid flowers had bloomed before him, so beautiful like a miracle of life, in which he found redemption. Later, Jade Thistle told him she had saved him. He believed her.

But a confusion always made him feel as if in a dream, with a sense of loss and melancholy lingering after waking up. He always seemed to be searching for something inadvertently, with an empty gaze.

Until Raina Grace appeared. Everything about her matched his empty soul; his eyes involuntarily followed her, lingering on her graceful figure, her gentle words, her innocence, her wisdom, her warm embrace, her tender kisses...

"Do you see anything wrong with these?" Aurum Aspire's voice came through, revealing irritation and anxiety, "Why haven't we found anything?"

Flame Wave snapped back to reality and looked towards Aurum Aspire. In a flash, he seemed to see a vision, as if returning to the past, standing beside rows of empty "breeding" capsules, inspecting something. The capsules were like buds waiting for a command to bloom. New life and solitude, prosperity, and decay intertwined here, like cycles of reincarnation.

Flame Wave walked through this once thriving place, pondering and reminiscing, while Aurum Aspire occasionally opened a "capsule" to inspect closely.

Time passed by the second as they browsed, and finally, Aurum Aspire seemed to discover something. Under his hands, a "capsule" was fully opened, revealing its contents. "Do you think there's a mystery inside here?"

Flame Wave scrutinized the inner structure, frowning slightly, "What, you suspect the main control of the Nuwa System is in these capsules?"

"Where else could it be? We've looked everywhere," Aurum Aspire tossed the cover he had opened in frustration.

"Even if we find the main control center, do you think it can still work? After being neglected and unattended for so long?" Flame Wave wasn't optimistic.

"But over the years, the Elixir of Rebirth occasionally produces infants, indicating the Nuwa System hasn't completely failed," Aurum Aspire tried to convince Flame Wave, actually bolstering his own confidence, "We need to figure it out before it's completely inoperable, or it'll be too late."

"Too late?" Flame Wave saw Aurum Aspire's urgency, always wondering why after so many years of indifference, he suddenly became so impatient, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Aurum Aspire hesitated for a moment and handed something to Flame Wave, "This is a memory chip, always kept in the Scholar's Pavilion. I believe it contains very important information, maybe the entirety of civilization. But without a reading device, all of this can only be buried. Are you content to remain in ignorance?"

Holding the thin, almost weightless chip, Flame Wave wondered if it truly contained the entirety of human civilization. The infinite power hidden within intelligent life was the most astonishing miracle in the universe. Even if he had little memory of real images and knowledge, the surprise and awe remained etched in his heart.

"Has anyone tried to create an 'awakening charm' in addition to the rebirth charm, to ensure successful rebirth?" Flame Wave asked Aurum Aspire. He had been bothered by such requests before and left them to other wizards for experimentation. Apparently, someone had managed to produce a working charm and put it into use. He didn't care or believe in it, as memory was the most complex mechanism of the human heart, not something that could be completely replicated so simply.

The Elixir of Rebirth held an unparalleled sacred status in the Elemental Magnetic Star Domain because infants truly were born there. Proven by the Scholar's Pavilion and blessed with the rebirth charms of the Silver Sect wizards, almost everyone believed the Elixir of Rebirth could "bring the dead back to life." Hence, the so-called "great powers" flocked to it, and ordinary people held it in reverence.

But only a few knew, or could judge rationally, that the reborn great powers often lacked the so-called "previous life" experiences or memories, hardly qualifying as rebirth. Thus, some sought other solutions, like adding other charms if the rebirth charm was insufficient, such as the so-called "awakening charm."

As far as Flame Wave knew, rebirth charms genuinely recorded the dying person's information, which, if the Nuwa System was functioning properly, would be injected into the newborn embryo along with the genes, becoming part of the infant, truly achieving "reincarnation."

This was the original principle of creating humans with the Nuwa System—preserving the best of human genes and information. However, it was later selfishly altered by some, demanding the Nuwa System preserve "the best genes and the most complete memories." The word "complete" highlighted reality and individuality, showing that even if one could become a superhuman, the heart still yearned for the real self.

But the Nuwa System had long been a shadow of its former self, with almost no chance of transmitting information to it, let alone restoring all memories.

After Flame Wave's reminder, recalling the mechanism of the Nuwa System, Aurum Aspire had an epiphany, "Are you saying, they later put the awakening charm into the main control center?"

Flame Wave nodded, "I guess, human greed dictated that the most important information would be copied down."