Chapter 2: The Opening (Part 17)
"Hahaha—excellent! It seems you are all quite confident in your ability to shoulder these responsibilities. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for you..."
Upon hearing the arrogant and chuunibyou-esque remarks from the two "Sparkles," the cloaked figure—far from taking offense—actually burst into hearty laughter, clearly delighted.
*"This guy actually has a surprisingly strong fondness for this sort of thing..."*
Lin Bai watched the mysterious figure—who wore an expression of sheer delight despite having just been verbally challenged by the two Sparkles—and felt a massive sweatdrop form on his brow.
The mere thought that this mysterious individual—with his rather peculiar tastes—was to be his future superior made the imaginary sweatdrop on his forehead grow even larger...
Then, having finished his laugh, the mysterious figure gave a casual wave of his hand.
And just like that, Lin Bai was instantly teleported back to the Solar System...
Gazing out at the vast star system spread before him, Lin Bai had yet to fully recover from the bizarre events that had just transpired at that conference table; he stood there, looking utterly bewildered.
*What exactly... did I just go and do?*
*I didn't even get a word in—I just listened to a few background details and then got unceremoniously dumped back here?* Most crucially, however—knowledge was now gradually surfacing in Lin Bai's mind: information regarding the specific abilities tied to their duties, as well as a wealth of general lore.
*So they can just transfer memories directly?*
*Then why the hell did they have to put on such pretentious airs?*
*Did we really have to sit in a circle together, acting as if we were holding a Round Table Conference?*
*Couldn't they have just told us straight up? Did they really have to drag my ass all the way over there?*
*Sigh.*
Lin Bai let out a helpless sigh and shook his head.
*Fine. They're the bosses, after all; I guess they can do whatever the hell they want...*
...
Suddenly, raging flames erupted all over his body, propelling him toward Earth at astonishing speed.
Earth—
The birthplace of humanity in Lin Bai's previous life; the very cradle of all life.
Back at that conference table, the responsibility bestowed upon Lin Bai and the others was to govern their respective star sectors—to create, to record, and, when necessary, to safeguard the continuity of civilizations and life itself.
The dinosaurs had now gone extinct, and life was only just beginning to stir upon the land; the emergence of humanity was still an incredibly long way off.
Lin Bai, evidently, lacked the patience to wait. Even though he was free to act as he pleased, there was absolutely nothing to do in this vicinity—nothing but stars and dark matter. It wasn't even as good as his time spent inside the Sun, where at least he could catch some sleep...
Moreover, he could not allow this planet to evolve into the same kind of magic-less, purely technological world that existed in his previous life. However, unlike the deities found in countless myths and legends, he did not possess the ability to effortlessly manipulate the fundamental elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—to create all of existence.
That mysterious figure had imprinted the "Karna" template upon Lin Bai. Consequently, Lin Bai now possessed Karna's Divine Core of the Sun—an attribute that resonated with his own nature with exceptional harmony.
Divinity is a truly wondrous phenomenon; it functions somewhat like a "buff," capable of exponentially amplifying one's destructive power, defensive capabilities, and regenerative capacity.
However, within the "Type-Moon" universe, numerous Noble Phantasms exist specifically to counter Divinity. Prime examples include Gilgamesh's *Chains of Heaven*—which bind a target with ever-increasing strength the higher their Divinity—and Karna's own *Spear of Mortality*, which serves a similar purpose.
This is a point particularly familiar to players of *Fate/Grand Order* (FGO); some have even gone so far as to jokingly wish that even mere skeleton soldiers possessed Divinity!
As a result, Divinity is often humorously mocked as a "debuff" rather than a boon.
Beyond that, he inherited all of Karna's skills, his memories, and his most renowned Noble Phantasms:
* **The Golden Armor of the Sun:** This grants immunity to the vast majority of physical and magical attacks, boasting the greatest defensive power in history. As long as it is supplied with sufficient energy, it renders all incoming damage utterly negligible. Furthermore, its capabilities extend beyond mere defense to include rapid self-regeneration, capable of healing even the most grievous, fatal wounds.
* **Karna's Immortal Spear:** Even in its standard configuration, this weapon delivers an output comparable to a nuclear detonation. However, once the *Golden Armor of the Sun* is dismantled and transmuted into the *Spear of Mortality*, it transforms into a true, bona fide weapon designed specifically to slay gods!
By sacrificing his defenses in exchange for raw destructive force, he gains the power to deliver a single, decisive strike capable of instantly killing a deity!
Moreover, by virtue of his very essence—his true nature—his energy supply becomes virtually inexhaustible, provided he remains within the reach of the sun's light.
Thus, one must add another attribute to the list: "Mana: MAX."
Karna himself is a Heroic Spirit who demands a colossal amount of magical energy; the majority of his offensive techniques are energy-based attacks. Theoretically, with an infinite energy supply, the sheer scale of destruction he is capable of unleashing far exceeds the limits of ordinary imagination.
For instance... what if he could just spam his EX-rank Noble Phantasms at will? Many may not fully grasp this concept, but if explained from a different perspective, it becomes quite clear.
While these forces possess immense destructive power, the act of creation is—by far—a much more arduous undertaking than destruction.
This is precisely why Lin Bai and his companions, at this particular moment, can serve only as guides, observers, and guardians.
Possessing the essence of divinity, he currently qualifies merely as a demigod—at least according to Lin Bai's own understanding.
True divine power—manifesting as "Divine Particles"—is the miraculous substance capable of creating all things and wielding the ultimate destructive force. Only a true Divinity Core can harness and transmute these Divine Particles; and provided one commands sufficient faith, forging such a Divinity Core is a task of effortless simplicity.
However, even though such beings are nigh omnipotent...
Just as there are a thousand Hamlets within a single person, the power of faith can indeed elevate a mortal to godhood; yet, by the very same token, it can reduce that individual to a mere puppet—a living embodiment of the deity as perceived and defined by the masses.
Consequently, Lin Bai has no intention of choosing such a path. Fortunately, time is a luxury he possesses in abundance; moreover, as things currently stand, his sheer power allows him to look down upon all creation with absolute impunity. With the God-Slaying Spear in hand—and should he choose to fully unleash the power of that Noble Phantasm—any deity standing before him would be reduced to nothing more than a mere lump of flesh.
For no matter how potent a weapon may be, its true efficacy ultimately depends upon the one who wields it.
As one whose very essence is the Sun itself, the power Lin Bai is capable of unleashing far surpasses that of Karna. Even a God-King might not survive an encounter with the God-Slaying Spear.
With a slight shift of Lin Bai's will, an ancient-looking tome materialized before his eyes. This book was visible only to Lin Bai; in truth, provided he so desired, it could manifest before him in any conceivable form—
For instance, as a computer terminal, or perhaps a transparent, floating display screen.
Its true essence had already become inextricably fused with Lin Bai's very soul.
The full title of this tome was the *Prime Codex of Wisdom*.
It was a mystical artifact bestowed upon everyone present by that enigmatic figure during the recent assembly.
It automatically records—and enables Lin Bai to master—all the knowledge and skills existing within the primary universe of his current star sector.
Furthermore, it compiles the archetypes of every treasure, weapon, and invention found within this sector. These archetypes are encoded within the text as fundamental principles; whenever Lin Bai wishes to utilize them, he can instantly manifest them into reality.
It also catalogs the genetic sequences of every living organism within the sector, allowing Lin Bai—at the mere command of his will—to physically create any creature recorded within its pages. Life 3
The *Primal Codex*—a tome recording every scrap of information regarding a civilization—is also capable of analyzing and deciphering the underlying rules of all that remains unknown. It is a repository of knowledge that will not vanish, even should the civilization itself be annihilated.
Of course, the mysteries it holds run far deeper than that.
At present, the *Primal Codex* remains nearly blank; for thus far, no civilization has yet taken shape within Lin Bai's star sector.
Even though Lin Bai's star sector encompasses a scope far vaster than one might imagine—and contains numerous planets even more conducive to the propagation of life than the Earth currently before his eyes—
The birth of life is, nonetheless, no simple feat. It requires a confluence of countless coincidences and unforeseen events to come to fruition—a truth Lin Bai came to realize after witnessing the billions of years of evolutionary change that unfolded upon Earth.
However, as the passage of time continues, the entries within this *Primal Codex* will grow ever more numerous; and Lin Bai, as the Codex's master, will likewise grow ever more powerful.
Perhaps, to describe this *Primal Codex*, one might borrow a phrase from the vocabulary of Lin Bai's previous life:
The Book of Omniscience and Omnipotence! 21
...
However, the most pressing matter right now is figuring out how to get things started...
Lin Bai gazed with a look of utter bewilderment and melancholy at the desolate, barren planet—the "Earth-Star"—that lay before him, a place where absolutely nothing existed. *I'm not exactly a science guy; how on earth am I supposed to kick things off with biology?*
If left to develop naturally, just as Earth did, it would take at least tens of millions of years before intelligent life could possibly emerge. Lin Bai certainly had no desire to go back to "sleep"—at least not so soon after having just acquired a physical body.
*If only I possessed the power of time... to instantly accelerate the flow of time by tens of thousands of times...*
*Sigh.*
Lin Bai let out a soft sigh. He thought back to the "Golden Flash" he had briefly crossed paths with earlier; if that individual had inherited *all* of the Golden Flash's Noble Phantasms...
...then surely, within that "Treasury of the King"—said to contain every treasure in existence—there would be an item capable of aiding Lin Bai.
But alas, the template he had inherited was that of Karna.
Suddenly—
Lin Bai lightly tapped his palm. It seemed he had just... He had just stumbled upon a crucial detail: this mysterious group he had inexplicably joined appeared to be a cross-dimensional organization.
It seemed he possessed the ability to enter other dimensions.
Well, it was a classic "Infinite Flow" scenario, after all. In his previous life, there was a period when he had been absolutely obsessed with novels of this genre—he was practically an expert.
"Original Codex."
"Present."
Lin Bai silently called out in his mind, and instantly, a melodious, gender-neutral voice echoed within his head—rational yet gentle.
Indeed, the Original Codex possessed sentience. This was precisely why that mysterious figure had simply tossed Lin Bai back here after briefly outlining the basic premise.
The Original Codex was sentient—and its intellect far surpassed that of the vast majority of existing entities. Moreover, it was constantly learning and evolving, capable of assisting Lin Bai in his own cognitive processes.
Since the Original Codex was fused with Lin Bai's very soul, it functioned essentially as a secondary personality of his own; thus, there was absolutely no need to worry about betrayal.
Any matters that puzzled Lin Bai could, in principle, be resolved by the Original Codex through the analysis of fundamental laws and rules.
"We can teleport to other dimensional worlds, right?"
"Yes, Master. However, as you are currently unable to utilize 'Divine Particles,' such teleportation would consume a massive amount of energy. It would be an extremely wasteful endeavor."
The Original Codex replied softly.
Energy?
That was the one word Lin Bai simply couldn't stand to hear. Who was he? The Spirit of the Sole Star! And what was his true form?
The Sun!
Did they have any idea how much energy the Sun generated in a single second?
More than the sum total of all energy consumed by human civilization throughout its entire history!
So, "energy"? What even *was* that? Was that really something he needed to worry about? 1
"Gensho, from now on, just use your own judgment to handle such superfluous questions; don't ask me."
[Image: A look of aloofness]
"Yes, Master."
It wasn't that Lin Bai was being capricious; the sun generates energy every single moment—even if left unused, it simply goes to waste.
Back when Goetia gathered the thermal energy generated throughout human history to unleash the *Incineration of Human History*—a ritual capable of burning away the entirety of mankind's past—the energy involved was, in reality, still less than what the sun radiates in a single second.
Gensho—speaking in a voice that was gender-neutral yet gentle—replied.
Then, before Lin Bai could even react, a magic circle materialized beneath his feet. It was an exquisite and intricate design.
Dimensional Magic.
This was a discipline recorded within Gensho—the *Original Text*—at the time Lin Bai acquired it; knowledge that had likely been bestowed by that mysterious figure.
Lin Bai looked down at the magic circle. He did possess a rudimentary grasp of magic—knowledge inherited from the memories imprinted within his current physical body—though his proficiency was limited. His true expertise lay, first and foremost, in the martial arts.
Even so, Lin Bai recognized many of the symbols within the circle. Each symbol represented a specific function: deploying spatial anchors, establishing a spatial tunnel, stabilizing the tunnel, and so on.
For in that very instant, the usage of the magic circle had been fully imprinted upon Lin Bai's mind. From now on, he would no longer need to rely on Gensho to cast it—such was the true power of the *Original Text*.
He felt a familiar sensation of being pulled; a potent spatial force drew Lin Bai into the spatial tunnel.
After a brief moment of disorientation...
Lin Bai emerged into a scene of sudden, breathtaking clarity...