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"It can't be stopped.
The metallic voice's answer chilled the blond man's excitement, but the next moment, the metallic voice's supplement restored some of his color.
"But it can be delayed."
"The Nightmare Seed is closely related to a certain power of the Lord and is the embodiment of this power. If you cannot break through a certain limit, you will not be able to escape its influence.
This is the price of harnessing the power of the Nightmare Seed! It's a price that cannot be stopped or avoided!
The only thing I can do for you is to delay the arrival of this disaster and minimize its cost. As long as you can carefully maintain a balance with it and not disrupt it, you will have more time.
Of course, you could also put it aside. But that's just wishful thinking. I don't think those researchers can resist the temptation of the Nightmare Seed. The Nightmare Seed's nature is that once it captures this thirst for knowledge and mystery, it will spontaneously integrate and influence it. This process is irreversible. Unless it is completely bound and sealed."
The metallic sound made the blond man's emotions fluctuate, but soon, he forced himself not to think about the problems that troubled him.
These issues should be discussed and determined by the Empire's top brass and leading researchers. What he could and must do was bring back the nightmare seed, which had been recorded in his database. Whether he, his sister, or the servants, they were merely tools in this mission.
They can't decide anything.
The tasks they could perform had been planned and set beforehand. Their autonomy was limited to the scope of completing their tasks. Upon returning, they were required to semi-publicly upload the information about their experience to their memory database.
"You are quite smart." The metallic voice almost instantly captured the blond man's psychological fluctuations, and there seemed to be a hint of smile in the rigid voice.
"Why are you telling me all this? I'm even starting to doubt that you gave us the coordinates of this universe, and used various information bit by bit to subtly guide us to take this journey at all costs, not to repair your own body, but to let us take the seeds of nightmares here back." The blond man looked at the warehouse door that was easily cracked and then opened, and said softly with a complicated mood.
"You're very perceptive." The metallic voice replied, causing the blond man's face to turn even paler. This answer practically confirmed the blond man's assumption.
"Don't be nervous. Your mood swings are so obvious that they make me feel uncomfortable," the metallic voice warned.
"I bear you no ill will, and I can still say that now. I'm simply doing my best to satisfy your wishes and demands. If you don't want to be a stand-in for a civilization, but still want to rapidly, almost explosively, improve your own civilization level and knowledge accumulation, then the Nightmare Seed is the perfect fit for you."
"You said you could help us delay and reduce the cost of using it?" The blond man entered the vault and glanced at the items neatly arranged on both sides.
"Altar of Knowledge/Truth. A device that replaces life and becomes its host, or rather, its core."
"It sounds a bit like the naming style of those magical empires that play with energy and mysterious civilizations."
"It does involve some knowledge systems and the use of power in that area."
"What does it do?"
"As an alternative host, I bear the cost of your lost life. Within the range of the altar's operation, you can gain bonuses in inspiration and wisdom."
"What's the price? Since it's an altar, what do we need as a sacrifice?"
"emotion!"
"emotion?"
"Yes, the spark of life and the fluctuations of emotion will automatically gather a kind of energy under the supporting facilities. This spiritual and emotional power can be used as a sacrifice and become the energy source that keeps the Altar of Knowledge/Truth running smoothly. The amount of energy you gather will determine the effectiveness of the altar."
"Sounds like a good deal," the blond man pondered, judging it in his mind. He knew there would undoubtedly be hidden dangers, but this shift from individual burdens to collective ones undoubtedly reduced those perceived losses and burdens. Compared to lives, the emotional cost was not heavy. And those top researchers didn't have to sacrifice their lives to gain inspiration and pursue knowledge and the future.
"What about the hidden dangers?" the blond man asked bluntly.
"Apart from some chaos and the emergence of extremists, there are no hidden dangers. At least before the final day, all hidden dangers are something you can bear, alleviate, and suppress." The metallic voice also gave an answer without concealment.
"The final day? Does it mean the end of civilization?" the blond man asked.
"It's even more terrifying than that. You could consider it the swan song of civilization, the end of the universe. You will attract the watchful eyes of unspeakable forces. I think you need to understand that all the reductions and delays in costs only postpone the time of their outbreak. And while you gain more and more time, the disasters that have been accumulating little by little, just waiting to erupt, will become even larger and more severe.
If we follow the rules, only your civilization will be destroyed. But if we use the altar, the universe that is ultimately destroyed will also include your civilization."
"Specifically? The disaster you're talking about, is it invisible? Or tangible? Can it be described? Or is it indescribable? Is it some kind of conceptual natural disaster? Or..."
"I've said enough. Knowing too much won't benefit you right now. Instead, it will attract the attention of those things even sooner."
"Those things? In other words, are they entities? Or..."
"No need to speculate. Those things are conceptual creatures, the incubation of a certain power. They are neither good nor evil, but it is clear that the impact of their appearance will be regarded as evil by all civilizations. They are a noble aggregation of all living beings, and at the same time, a vile fusion of all life. They are generally called evil gods.
Until you have advanced enough to escape the influence of the Nightmare Seeds, no matter how advanced your technology becomes, you will be unable to face them. Being unable to face them also means being powerless to resist. Your civilization will not be instantly wiped out by some force, but will, driven by your despair and powerlessness, gradually fall into darkness and collapse. Like the embers of a burning fire in the darkness. Either emerge from the darkness and step into the light, or burn everything and become the embers of a civilization about to be extinguished.