Shrouded Seascape

Charles's speculations were based on his observations of the Foundation's actions.

Although the Foundation had claimed that they were protecting mankind behind the scenes, Charles had never seen them protect anything, let alone mankind.

If the Light God's interference was the reason behind their failure to stop the Pope's plan, then Charles could still understand it.

However, the Foundation hadn't intervened even as the sunlight massacred the denizens of the Subterranean Sea. They had done nothing and simply watched as the deaths unfolded.

To make matters worse, the Foundation remained hidden and didn't contact the people of the Subterranean Sea at all despite the world-ending crisis that required locating and retrieving the darkness to resolve. They merely proceeded with their own plan.

The Foundation had claimed that they were in the middle of saving the Subterranean Sea, but their previous actions made Charles question their true purpose.

Charles could still remember Aaron, whom he met inside 041's world, and the latter's oath rang in his ears.

"We fight in the dark so people can live in the light! We fight to protect mankind from anomalous entities!"

"They say our experiments are cruel and inhumane, but our endeavors are necessary for mankind's survival!"

"We must win this war, not just for our sake, but for the sake of humanity as well!"

"I, Aaron Lee Hotchner, do solemnly swear that I will be absolutely loyal to the Foundation as a Foundation's Rank C personnel! I will obey orders, remain disciplined, and be tight-lipped! We secure! We contain! We protect! For mankind's sake!"

The complex emotions within Aaron's voice, despite being trapped in 041's world, couldn't have been fake. His fervent emotions and his determination to sacrifice everything for his sublime faith were something that Charles hadn't seen in the Foundation members he had encountered so far in this era.

Charles believed that the original Foundation was truly working for humanity's sake, but Charles couldn't believe Feuerbach's claim about how their Foundation was working for humanity's sake. It seemed false no matter how he looked at it.

Moreover, there was a popular saying about how actions spoke louder than words. At this point, Charles found it difficult to trust any organization, and it included even the Foundation, which was apparently "working for humanity's sake."

"It's fine. This is not going to affect our collaboration. The intelligence and technology they possess are what we need the most right now."

"Yes, I think so, too. I'll keep tabs on them. Just go ahead and keep doing whatever you've been doing up here."

"Isn't it a bit too early to start being wary of the Foundation?" Jenny asked, walking over in her long robe.

"Hmph! Too early? Says the one who was immediately wary of me and Charles as soon as our alliance was formed," Julio retorted, leaving Jenny speechless.

"Working together while being wary of each other can be done at the same time; there isn't any conflict of interest at all," Charles said to Jenny.

Just as Charles' words fell, the metal disk beeped twice, and the hologram of an enthusiastic-looking Feuerbach appeared once again.

"The council's members have discussed the matter, and they've decided to disclose the relevant information. Moreover, you already know of our existence, so there's no point in hiding it," Feuerbach said.

The murmurs in the tent abruptly came to a halt. Everyone's eyes fell on Feuerbach, waiting for him to continue. Feuerbach swept his gaze across the room, and he smiled upon seeing that everyone was staring at him.

"The entity up there is 002," Feuerbach said.

Charles' pupils constricted to needle points at the remark, and he looked as if he had been struck by a hammer in the head. God Fhtagn's Project ID was 003, so the entity in the sky above the darkness was ranked higher than Him.

Just what kind of existence is 002?!

"002? What's that? What does that mean?"

"That's it? Numbers as a name is so lame, and who knows what that means?"

"Yeah, my naming sense is bad, but even I won't give my son such a lame name."

The governors muttered among themselves.

"Silence!!" Charles and Julio roared at the same time, silencing everyone.

Feuerbach cleared his throat and added, "It's not that easy to explain, so let me just put it this way—the so-called magic of the Western Seas, the relics you've transplanted into your bodies, and the bizarre entities on the islands of the Subterranean Sea—all of them are from 002."

Charles wasn't actually surprised by Feuerbach's remark. The frightening abundance of magic on the surface world and the relicfication told Charles that there was an existence up above influencing everything down below.

"What is 002? A Divinity?" Julio asked. Charles had already told him about the Foundation's naming convention.

Feuerbach shook his head and replied, "It's really hard to explain. You can call It a Divinity, but the way you refer to everything incomprehensible and unobservable as a 'Divinity' is really inaccurate.

"There's actually a massive difference between those entities. Would you consider the Feaster to be on the same level as God Fhtagn?"

"Since they are both Divinities, which is stronger? 002 or God Fhtagn?" a governor asked the burning question in everyone's minds.

"We don't know," Feuerbach said in a matter-of-factly way. "We can't approach It, so our understanding of It is very limited. Our drones and our strongest Mobile Task Force never managed to return upon approaching 002."

"We don't know what exactly happened to them. In fact, we only managed to deduce 002's existence after about a hundred years of effort and research by our researchers."

"However, the Foundation has a rough guess of Its color, and It should be purple. The purple light outside is coming from It. Its purple light is extraordinary as well, containing many things. Unfortunately, our eyes can only perceive the color of the light, which I personally admit is a bit sad."

"You don't know what It looks like, you don't know Its abilities, and you don't even know whether It's a living existence or not…

"The only thing you know is Its color. How is that any different from disclosing nothing to us?" A dissatisfied feminine voice echoed among the governors.

Charles couldn't see her, but the voice definitely belonged to Anna.

Feuerbach shrugged, and he sounded helpless as he replied, "You insisted on knowing the answer, and we also never said that we know a lot about It.

"If it weren't for 007 opening that door, we wouldn't have bothered coming up here. This place isn't a habitable place for human life, after all."