He tapped his staff, and the star chart shifted rapidly, finally settling on an unfamiliar star sector.

In the center of the star sector floated a massive silver sphere composed of countless mirror surfaces.

"And one of the issues you care about most," Aurora's voice lowered, "is that the headquarters of the Observer Council is right there. The Absolute Observation Tower, the Nest of a Thousand Mirrors."

The image zoomed in.

On the surface of the silver sphere, among the myriad mirror fragments, the same scene was reflected simultaneously.

The moment the dawn sailed into the Golden City of Shandora.

Bai Cheng's pupils constricted sharply.

"They... have been watching us this whole time?"

"Not just watching." Aurora waved his staff lightly, and the image changed to show the interior of the silver sphere.

It was a world composed entirely of data streams and logic grids.

At the core of that world floated a cold, silver heart. The extra-dimensional script pulsing on its surface translated to:

"Experiment No. ST-774321, entering Phase Two: Variable Intervention Observation."

"New Experimental Objective: Verify the interference efficiency of belief systems on the Absolute Rational Decision Model."

"Observation Sample: Shandora, the Golden Land (High-concentration belief environment)."

"Intervention Variable: Emerald Sea Successor Team (Carrying non-preset causality)."

"Estimated Conflict Trigger Point: 72 standard hours later."

Aurora looked at Bai Cheng, a grave expression appearing in his clear eyes for the first time.

"Successors, you have brought more than just the truth."

"What you have brought is a long-predetermined..."

"Ultimate proving ground for faith and rationality."

Light flowed within the star chart inside the temple.

The bells of Shandora echoed leisurely amidst the golden sea of clouds.

And far away in the Nest of Mirrors beyond the sea of stars, the eyes of countless Observers watched everything in silence.

A new chapter had struck its overture within the hymns of the Sky Island.

The dawn docked at the temple square, the cracks on its hull slowly repairing under the warm halo of Shandora.

Bai Cheng and her companions followed High Priest Aurora through the Star Chart Temple to a Chamber of Truth constructed of pure white crystal.

Soft golden runes flowed along the four walls of the room, and a massive transparent crystal slab floated in the center.

Aurora tapped his staff ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) lightly, and an ancient map of the Sky Island appeared on the crystal slab.

It was not Shandora, but a vaster, more fragmented world of cloud seas.

"The ancient truth you seek is but a fragment of the Sky Island epic."

Aurora's voice echoed in the silence.

"The Sky Island Jaya from the legends of the Pirate King once belonged to an even older civilization alliance alongside Shandora: The Sky Federation."

The map on the crystal slab split and reorganized, eventually presenting three connected yet independent Sky Island regions:

On the far left, a shattered archipelago shrouded in lightning, with a massive clock tower floating in the center: "Former Site of Jaya, Thunder God Island."

In the center was Shandora, the Golden Land, where the radiance of the sun core shone as bright as a lighthouse.

On the far right was an eerie airspace composed entirely of mirrors, where countless islands floated like shattered glass, intertwined with silver data chains.

"Nest of a Thousand Mirrors, the Observer Domain."

"Jaya, Shandora, and the Nest of a Thousand Mirrors." Aurora pointed to the map.

"The three main cities of the Sky Federation represent the three pillars of Sky Island civilization: Faith, Heritage, and... Rationality."

He paused for a moment, a flash of pain appearing in his eyes.

"When the ancient war broke out, the Sky Federation intervened as a neutral arbitrator.

But the Observer Council was still a think-tank institution of the Federation back then. Under the secret manipulation of Thousand Faces, they tampered with the arbitration data, leading to an internal rift within the Federation."

The images shifted: the Thunder God of Jaya and the High Priest of Shandora were in a heated argument;

The Observers of the Nest of a Thousand Mirrors coldly recorded everything; the Covenant Stele of the Sky Federation shattered in a thunderstorm.

"The fuse for the rift was Shandora's golden bell."

Aurora waved his staff, and a towering giant bell cast entirely of gold appeared on the crystal slab, its body covered in ancient oath runes.

"It was not only a symbol of faith but also the core resonator for the Sky Island civilization's Wish Network.

It could transform the prayers of billions of living beings into Reality-correcting Force.

Similar to your Emerald Sea's star track, but older and more powerful."

"Where is the golden bell now?" Bai Cheng keenly grasped the key point.

"It vanished," Aurora's voice was low.

"On the night of the rift, the Thunder God of Jaya, Enel—"

"No, that is a name wrongly passed down by later generations. The true Thunder God was named Rego. He led a fleet to attack Shandora, attempting to seize the golden bell,

To forcibly unify the Sky Island's faith with the power of lightning and resist the impending foreign invaders."

"But he wavered at the last moment." An unfamiliar voice came from the corner of the room.

Everyone turned to see a one-armed old man wearing tattered golden armor and an eyepatch over his left eye slowly walking out of the shadows.

His armor was covered in lightning scorch marks, yet it still radiated an undying majesty.

"Rego was no tyrant." The old man was the former Guardian Legion Commander of Shandora, Garel the Broken-Winged Eagle.

His voice was raspy, "He was just... in too much of a hurry.

He saw the future projections shown by the Observer Council, which indicated that the Sky Island civilization would be defeated one by one by foreign enemies within a century due to internal division.

He chose the most extreme method to forcibly consolidate power."

Garel walked to the crystal slab, the image of the golden bell reflected in his single eye.

"On the night of the attack on Shandora, Rego's fleet had already broken through the outer city defenses.

He personally ascended the clock tower, his palm already touching the clapper.

But at that very moment, the golden bell rang of its own accord.

It wasn't struck; it resonated with the sincere concern for the Sky Island's future hidden deep within Rego's heart, beneath his anxiety."

The scene from that year appeared on the crystal slab: the golden bell erupted with unprecedented light, and the sound of the bell turned into tangible sound waves, sweeping across all of Shandora.

Rego's fleet stalled in the light, and the weapons fell from the soldiers' hands.

Rego himself knelt atop the clock tower, tears mingling with raindrops as they fell.

"The sound of the bell awakened the clouded hearts of everyone," Garel said.

"Rego realized that forced unification would only accelerate destruction.

He swore an oath before the clock tower that he would lead the people of Jaya into the depths of the Sea of Lightning, serving as a shield to guard the borders of the Sky Island. As for the golden bell..."

He looked at Aurora.

The High Priest took over: "The golden bell exhausted the wish power accumulated over ten thousand years during that resonance. The bell body sealed itself and turned into countless fragments,

Scattered across the former site of Jaya, Shandora, and... the mirror maze of the Nest of a Thousand Mirrors.

The Observer Council has been trying to collect these fragments because they discovered that a complete golden bell can rewrite observation data.

In other words, it can interfere with their absolute rationality experiments."