"Now, let's see who's been dabbling in sorcery atop the spire," Qin Mo declared, tapping the ground lightly with his staff. In an instant, the building that had been blown to pieces restored itself, its thick walls once again standing before them.
Yao En could hardly believe his eyes. He had just witnessed this structure being obliterated, yet now it appeared whole again. In his shock, he reached out to touch the wall, only to find his hand passing right through it. It felt as though the laws of physics themselves had been distorted.
"This is merely a scene, like a shadow of the past. I didn't truly restore it; you won't be able to touch anything," Qin Mo explained. "It's the effect of Trace Reversion."
Trace Reversion was a power Qin Mo had naturally mastered as his Star God abilities gradually returned. To a Star God, the timeline of the entire material universe was visible. They could observe the traces left by every particle in its passage through time, and by extracting those traces, they could recreate scenes from the past in vivid detail. Just like now.
"Follow me inside," Qin Mo commanded, stepping through the ghostly walls, entering the rooms beyond. Yao En hurried to keep pace. Together, they traversed the building, passing through walls and objects as though they were mere illusions, no longer bound by the physical rules of the present. Doors were no obstacle, and stairs were unnecessary—they could phase through everything at will, or reshape the environment to Qin Mo's desires.
To Yao En, this was an utterly surreal experience. If he had to sum up his complex emotions in four words, it would be: walking with a god.
As they moved deeper into the building, they abruptly stopped after passing through one last wall. They stood frozen, staring at the room before them. Inside was a man and a creature.
The man was an elderly figure, bruised and battered. The creature… defied description.
"What in the world is that?" Yao En muttered, his gaze fixed on the monstrosity. It had limbs sprouting from its mouth, eyes and mouths growing on its hands and feet, and its massive body was covered in these disturbing features, along with grotesque, tentacle-like appendages.
The sight was not only indescribable—it was profoundly horrifying and repulsive.
"A Chaos Egg," Qin Mo said.
"And what… what is it?" Yao En asked, suppressing the urge to vomit. The only reason he hadn't lost control was his unwillingness to show weakness in front of Qin Mo.
Qin Mo stared at the Chaos Egg, now understanding why he had sensed such a strong, repellent presence earlier. For a creature like this to appear within the Nest Capitol was far more disturbing than a hundred psychic beings nearby.
"Can it be killed?" Yao En inquired.
"Yes, even if you don't kill it, it will die on its own. It's inherently unstable. But don't engage in close combat—beware of its blood," Qin Mo warned patiently.
If similar Chaos Eggs emerged in the future across the Talon system, Yao En would need to assist in their eradication. Not every one of these vile entities would be fortunate enough to be struck down by Qin Mo's lightning.
"What was it before it became this… thing?" Yao En asked again.
"A heretic," Qin Mo answered, his gaze shifting from the Chaos Egg to the old man. The man stared out the window, his face twisted in disbelief. A few feathers sprouted from his neck, along with some strange, frenzied blue markings.
Qin Mo immediately realized this old man was a follower of Xianqi. As for how the Chaos Egg had come to be and why it hadn't attacked the man, further investigation was needed.
"Let it flow," Qin Mo commanded the air. The frozen scene began to move once more. The Chaos Egg and the old man came back to life, with the old man muttering to himself while keeping his eyes fixed on the view outside.
Suddenly, a small stream of electricity pierced the wall and exploded, unleashing a blinding torrent of lightning. In an instant, both the man and the Chaos Egg were reduced to dust, their demise so swift they had no time to scream.
"So they really are dead," Yao En commented.
"Indeed," Qin Mo confirmed with a nod. Then, he rewound the scene, like a video playing in reverse, allowing the events to unravel further back in time.
Qin Mo had many questions that still lacked answers, so for the next half of a Terra day, he continued using Trace Reversion atop the spire, studying everything that had transpired there. The Nest Capitol's past unfolded before his eyes, taking him back to the time before the Chaos Egg had formed, even to the very first war.
As Poison Sting and his servant plotted their schemes, Qin Mo and Yao En stood beside them, silently observing the reenacted scenes, gathering crucial information. Slowly but surely, Qin Mo pieced together the truth.
The Chaos Egg was once Poison Sting, a general of the enemy forces, and the old man was his enslaved servant. Their plans were grand, each more intricate than the last. One sought to gain knowledge and power through the war, while the other aimed to exploit his master for an even larger scheme. A plan within a plan. Don't ask—just know it's part of the plan.
Qin Mo also discovered the answer to a mystery that had puzzled everyone: Where had the people of the Upper Nest gone?
Through Trace Reversion, it became clear that they had been systematically used as ritual sacrifices. Poison Sting personally told each group that he had come to save them, leading them willingly into a vast array of cages along the mansion's side. To Qin Mo, these were nothing more than prisons covered in malevolent runes and symbols, but to the deceived victims, they likely appeared as transport vessels, taking them away from the doomed world.
During one of these rituals, an elderly man in the cage had complained, "That damned Kline bastard wasted his trip back. He didn't even mention the First Legion's rebellion."
This old man was clearly related to Kline. Qin Mo immediately activated his armor's recording function, capturing the scene in order to show Kline the fate of his family.
After unraveling the entire plot and preparing to teleport back to the Lower Nest, Qin Mo turned to Yao En, offering him a stern directive that he would need to follow for the rest of his days.
"Once the Upper Nest is under our control, the spire will be purged with artillery fire. What you've seen today is what you'll face from now on. This is your future responsibility, as I've planned for you."
"But this is a secret. Understood?"
As he spoke, Qin Mo removed his helmet, revealing the most serious expression Yao En had ever seen. Yao En instantly grasped the gravity of the situation and swore, "I will never speak of this to anyone except you. I swear it on the gods."
"Very good." Qin Mo patted Yao En's shoulder before stepping back, activating his protective field, and teleporting to the Lower Nest.
Yao En, meanwhile, was sent back to the battlefield above, where his fight continued.