Cain also turned his gaze toward Keshiva, even suspecting that Keshiva had gone to Orion himself and dismantled the Plasma Spark Tower.
"Don't look at me like that," Keshiva said, shaking his head. "I didn't do it."
He then gestured for Yuzare and Cain to follow him into a conference room.
As for the other survivors, under Princess Easo's arrangements, they were settled into the residential sector of the Moon base.
"Now there's no one else here. You can explain, right?"
Cain was impatient by nature. The moment he entered the conference room, he sat down and questioned Keshiva directly.
Keshiva and Yuzare also took their seats, and Keshiva began explaining the situation.
"After I dismantled the Light Particle Converter, I originally planned to go to Orion to inspect the Plasma Spark Tower," Keshiva said slowly. "However, the moment I left Earth's atmosphere, I discovered that Orion's light had already vanished."
"The ship I used was one left behind by Camearra—originally belonging to Tiga."
"After making some modifications, although the ship's artificial intelligence refused to obey me, I eventually obtained manual control."
"The ship's speed was astonishing. Once I arrived at Orion, I discovered that the Plasma Spark Tower was gone."
At those words, both Yuzare and Cain were visibly shaken.
Gone?
An entire tower—how could it simply disappear?
"What exactly happened?" Cain asked, deeply confused.
"It was caused by a massive crustal movement on the crystal planet where the Plasma Spark Tower was located," Keshiva replied. "The planetary surface underwent violent tectonic shifts, burying all exposed crystals beneath rock formations that had never existed there before."
"And so, the Plasma Spark Tower vanished along with that crustal upheaval."
"So that's what happened…"
Yuzare had never expected the disappearance of Orion's light to be linked to the crystal planet that sustained the Plasma Spark.
At least it wasn't Keshiva's doing.
"That means," Yuzare said with tightly furrowed brows, "we no longer have the power to transform into Giants of Light."
When she had first seen Keshiva, she had hoped he could construct another Light Particle Converter, allowing the Giants of Light to save Earth.
But now—
It seemed they could only watch Earth fall into ruin.
"The Plasma Spark requires crystals that cover the planet's surface," Keshiva said solemnly, "not crystals buried beneath stone."
"Even if I rebuilt the Plasma Spark, that light would no longer be capable of triggering human evolution."
There was nothing he could do.
After confirming the cause of the light's disappearance, Keshiva had attempted to return to Earth.
However, when he witnessed that colossal monster entering Earth's atmosphere from space, he halted his approach and instead remained on the Moon.
There, he began preparing a series of contingency measures.
Of course, not that kind of 'final arrangement.'
"That giant beast is nearly impossible to deal with without the power of Giants," Keshiva continued.
"So, at the Moon base, I modified several airships and constructed two massive arks."
When Keshiva revealed this, both Yuzare and Cain were stunned.
"Giant arks?" Yuzare paused, then asked, "To be used for…?"
"To search for new land," Keshiva answered calmly. "A new land for humanity."
"Additionally, I risked my life and made a trip back to Earth to collect some golden-yellow flowers."
"Those were Gijera," Cain added.
"Gijera?" Keshiva nodded. "After analysing it, I discovered that a certain liquid within Gijera can cause aging cells to break down and regenerate into new cells."
"Perhaps… with this substance, we can live until thirty million years later."
When he finished speaking, excitement was clearly visible on Keshiva's face.
"Thirty million years later…" Cain repeated softly.
Instantly, he recalled something his master Tiga had once told him.
The Dark Temple would unseal itself thirty million years in the future.
"…This is for Camearra, isn't it?" Cain said quietly.
He understood immediately.
After all, Keshiva was Camearra's father.
If she were sealed within the Dark Temple for thirty million years, Keshiva would never live to see her again.
"This technology is indeed extremely useful to us now," Yuzare said, nodding thoughtfully.
She had never imagined that Gijera—once an accomplice in humanity's destruction—would possess such potential.
Many of the surviving scientific elites were already advanced in age. If humanity were to find a new land, they would be indispensable in rebuilding civilization.
And not just scientists—
Right now, every kind of talent was desperately needed.
"This data disk contains a large volume of technological research," Keshiva said, handing it to Yuzare. "I made a copy for you—just in case."
Yuzare barely glanced at it before passing it to Cain.
"From now on, all decisions are yours, Cain."
"I understand."
Cain left the conference room.
From this point forward, everything would depend on his commands.
Yuzare, meanwhile, led a team and piloted an airship back toward Earth to retrieve additional Gijera samples.
Along with the personnel, Guardie, the yellow-furred dog monster, also accompanied Yuzare.
At present, Guardie could be considered the most combat-capable "dog" among them all.
Earth was now filled with danger. With Guardie present, their chances of survival were much higher.
Protected by their Hearts of Light, Yuzare and her team were unaffected by Gijera's influence. They quickly collected large quantities of Gijera vines, flowers, and portions of its root system.
However, according to Keshiva, the most valuable substance came from the core essence of Gijera's primary root, where the liquid's effects were strongest.
Xiongbeng Plateau.
Yuzare ordered the team to deploy excavation machinery and dig deep into the plateau.
Scans confirmed the presence of massive Gijera root systems beneath the surface, making it an ideal location to extract essence.
Before long, they reached a root as thick as a giant python.
"Begin collection," Yuzare commanded.
At her signal, everyone drove long needles into the Gijera root.
The extraction equipment, provided by Keshiva, functioned much like human blood-drawing devices.
Once inserted, it automatically siphoned the essence within.
One container… two… three… four…
Canisters of Gijera essence were sealed and transported into the airship.
Just as the team was about to board and depart Earth—
A massive vine suddenly lashed around the airship.
The vessel shook violently.
"Not good—we've been discovered by Gijera!"
Yuzare looked out the window and immediately saw the thick vine erupting from the excavation tunnel they had dug.
"The ship's been restrained—we can't break free!"
The pilot shouted anxiously, gripping the controls as tightly as possible.