The mine was filled with automated equipment, such as conveyor belts and presses. As Simon delved deeper, he also saw mining golems, or perhaps mining robots. These abandoned items differed somewhat from Hallownest's style, perhaps remnants of technology from a civilization predating Hallownest.
Simon continued his ascent towards the peak. The closer he got to the summit, the fewer light sources there were, and the crystals grew dimmer.
The wind howled.
Crystals on the damp rocks were like cold, hard thorns.
The winding, circuitous passage gradually rose.
After crossing the last crystal cluster, light poured in from a narrow hole above.
Simon leaped out.
The biting wind shrieked.
This was the highest point of Hallownest.
The landscape was ravaged, with half-moon shaped stone tablets standing tall, like tombstones from an ancient era.
Through the gaps between these tall stone tablets, crystals could be seen extending towards Skyrim.
The stone tablets formed a magnificent pilgrimage path, passing through weathered sun arches, step by step, with inscriptions lighting up, symbols of gods, and prayers of believers.
An icy white light illuminated the slender figure of the newcomer.
Until the very pinnacle of the peak.
A statue of The Radiance stood solemnly.
Though broken, though tilted.
The divine majesty of the god remained.
Simon scraped his Dream Nail across the statue, and a dream message appeared.
"...Remember...the light..."
A weak will rippled through the statue, a faint but tenacious vitality, as if one could see the rising sun.
The Radiance was indeed not dead!
Simon was filled with shock and anger, raising his Nail, intending to destroy the statue.
Just then, brilliant light emanated from the crystal pillar behind the stone tablet, shining on Simon like a spotlight.
In an instant, he was dragged into the Dream World.
...
Darkness.
But darkness was not terrifying; what was terrifying was darkness that devoured light.
Simon walked in a blind world, the ground beneath his feet real and solid, so he strode forward.
He fully expected to walk forever.
But he could not.
The power of the void could resist the passage of time, but now Simon collapsed, exhausted.
He felt a long-lost weakness.
The power of the void had been stripped away.
A dream message surfaced.
"...Light in the darkness, the key to victory."
Simon briefly lost consciousness, and when he came to, he found himself sitting on a tranquil lake.
The lake reflected the blue sky, the sun hung high, clouds drifted gently, and a refreshing breeze carried the scent of flowers and grass.
And his power... his mask, the void material, all gone.
He had once again become a round, plump Maintenance Grub.
Simon felt a bad premonition. He removed the grimmchild Charm, and Little Grimm silently transformed into light, flying into the Charm.
He took out Unbreakable Greed; this Charm required three Charm slots, but Simon forcibly equipped it with two Charm slots, entering an overcharmed state.
Simon had a premonition that he was about to fight a god. Although he was fearless, he still had to take some protective measures.
According to the game's rules, being overcharmed would double the damage he took, but being hit by a god's attack offered little chance of survival anyway. He might as well gamble his life.
After doing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look around. This seemed to be the center of a lush green grassland.
By the lake, a few bugs were playing, chasing each other, falling into the soft, dense grass without feeling any pain.
These bugs were larger and wilder than the bugs of Hallownest, but their minds seemed particularly simple.
The lake surface trembled slightly. Simon looked down, and the mirror-like water reflected a scene.
In a peaceful world, bugs grew wildly. They were free from illness and pain, preying, entertaining themselves, and thinking, all according to nature.
Intelligent bugs gathered into societies, formed groups, and developed forces. They delved into souls, the workings of the world, and explored its mysteries.
Thus, a prosperous civilization based on Soul Energy developed.
Time flew by.
Soon, the bugs created machines, liberated labor, and had more leisure to pursue their dreams. Some bugs wanted to see beyond the sky, some wanted to see beneath the earth, and still others simply wanted to pursue the perfect "dream."
Those who wanted to go beyond the sky invented rockets, and they saw the shape of the planets.
The success of this endeavor greatly encouraged the bugs.
They were eager to see if there were kingdoms even older than their current civilization beneath the ground.
They invented digging golems and built efficient transportation systems, but what they unearthed was not ruins, but a crisis deeply buried by nature.
Soil, rocks, and minerals, metals and crystals—these resources delighted the bugs, so they accelerated the pace of mining.
However, good times did not last. Beneath the planet's layers lay a treacherous environment that mortals could not withstand.
At some point, they dug out acid water from the Earth's crust. The gushing acidic streams instantly destroyed many buildings and corroded machines, but the bugs acted quickly, plugging the breach before the acid water rose completely.
They bypassed the acid layer and continued digging.
They fully believed that any unexpected problem could be solved.
But they could not.
This time, what they unearthed was the void.
A black tide was released from the confines of the Earth's crust. Dense mist rose, accumulating in the atmosphere, forming a black shell that isolated the starry sky from the earth.
Those who were outside lost contact with the ground, forever lost.
The arrogant bugs welcomed winter.
Most plants went extinct, food was scarce, and the bug population dwindled... In short, it was an old-fashioned doomsday story.
After watching all this, the lake surface remained pitch black.
Simon clapped, "How interesting."
He had already learned the later story from the Crimson Will.
The desperate bugs believed in the remnants of light on the ground, and so gods came into being.
But there was one biggest secret, and that was the origin of the Dream World.
Perhaps it was related to that ancient civilization, perhaps not. Regardless, the mystery of the dream was hidden.
Rumble.
The earth shook. Waves churned on the lake.
A crystal mountain peak rose from the horizon of the grassland.
At the summit of the peak, there was a translucent, pure white eye, its gaze spanning a vast distance, fixed on Simon.
Simon shouted, "You are Lie Guang!"
There was no answer. Perhaps the god disdained to answer, or perhaps the god did not understand the communication methods of mortals.
"The story is great, I thoroughly enjoyed it!" Simon continued to shout, "So I'm here this time to completely put an end to The Radiance! If you stand in my way, then you're dead!"
A dream message appeared.
"...Even after seeing such a fate, a heart of violence still remains."
"The arrogance of mortals will ultimately lead to destruction."
Simon shouted, "Don't say useless things! I don't care what the world used to be like. Perhaps you once brought vitality to this world, but now you are hindering the progress of civilization! You deserve to be forgotten!"
Golden light burst forth from the pure white pupil, piercing the sky. In an instant, the sky transformed into a giant purplish-red crystal disk, covering the four wilds. Intense light refracted and danced within it, beautiful as lightning painting, grand as the impending apocalypse.
Simon laughed, "Excellent! Let's have a fight. If I lose, you can do with me as you please. If you lose, then you'll obediently roll into the dust of history!"
Crack!
Light fell like rain!
-------------------------------
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