Lost in these culturally bewildered thoughts, he saw Mason. The volatile warrior was squatting nearby, utterly absorbed in chipping away at a large, carefully selected piece of stone, clearly fashioning a new axe head with intense focus.
His eye for selecting the right kind of stone, the innate understanding of its grain, the precision of his strikes with a harder hammerstone, were far beyond ordinary.
"Hey Cecil, check this out… this guy… Mason… he seems to really know his rocks, doesn't he? Like, on an almost intimate level."
"Observing behavioral patterns of target 'M'sen'…" Cecil's voice hitched, the static that usually plagued it noticeably, almost shockingly, less than before. "Subject demonstrates exceptional proficiency in advanced lithic reduction techniques, including material assessment for conchoidal fracture properties, precise impact force vector control, and targeted flake spalling, significantly exceeding the observed tribal mean… Cross-referencing semantic information for the designation 'M'sen'…" A momentary pause, filled not with static, but with an almost smooth hum of processing. "Confirmed, Sir. The local appellation 'M'sen,' based on refined analysis of proto-Huaxia root words and associated cultural signifiers, strongly correlates with concepts of 'Stone-like Hardness and Enduring Strength,' and is intrinsically linked to the hereditary designation or bestowed honorific of 'Stone-Splitter' or 'Stone-Shaper' within this particular tribal lineage. High probability this is his given name or a title reflecting his familial vocation and inherent skill."
"Holy crap! So he really is 'Stone Bro'?! This setting is too damn hardcore! It doesn't do anything by halves, does it?" Steven was dumbfounded, a strange sort of respect mixing with his usual apprehension towards the fierce warrior.
Life continued its slow, grinding, and often terrifying rhythm, until one evening cycle, during what Steven mentally, and with a touch of desperate longing for normalcy, termed the tribe's "Bedtime Story Hour."
The elderly Wu, Nv Chou, her face a mask of deeply etched wrinkles and ancient sorrows, gathered the tribe's children again near the central, slightly warmer area of the cavern. The vast chamber fell utterly silent, an almost sacred hush descending. Even young, boisterous warriors like Mason stood respectfully to one side, their faces uncharacteristically somber, etched with a profound reverence that Steven had not seen before.
Then, the children's high, clear voices rose in the familiar, haunting chant, their innocent tones echoing strangely, filled with an unconscious gravity, in the vast, fireless dark:
"Chaos parts, Pangu is born; Great Axe strikes, Heaven from Earth is torn. A deep land formed, Azkadilon its name; In endless sea, 'midst Chaos' flame. Stars then fell, Sky-River rent; Dark fiends of West, on East intent. Pangu in rage, His divine axe did wield; Blood dyed the heavens, His body, Earth's great shield. Axe shattered eightfold, to the eight wilds they flew; Fire-Seed bequeathed, for a Hero brave and true."
"Fire-Seed bequeathed, for a Hero brave and true!" Steven, as if struck by an actual bolt of lightning, suddenly seized upon the key information, his weariness momentarily forgotten.
"Cecil! Analyze! Now! 'Fire-Seed'… does that mean one of those eight Pangu Axe fragments? The core artifact? And 'Hero'… is that referring to that aloof, always-composed leader guy, Xuanyuan Hao? Or… is it…" He couldn't resist a fleeting, absurd moment of transmigrator-protagonist wishful thinking. "By the usual tropes, who else but me, the unexpected outsider, would be tasked with some epic, world-saving quest?"
"…'Fire-Seed'…" Cecil's voice was suddenly, remarkably, much smoother, the overlay of electronic static almost entirely gone, replaced by a clear, resonant tone. "Based on intricate contextual analysis and deep symbolic association, there is a high probability this term refers to a primordial energy core possessing dual, paradoxical characteristics of absolute creation and utter destruction. This aligns perfectly with the Pangu Divine Axe fragment concept, and is speculated with 97.3% certainty to be the legendary Sui Stone Heart…"
The AI paused, then continued, its voice gaining a new level of clarity. "Regarding the designation 'Hero'… insufficient specific data points at present for precise individual identification. However, such 'Heroes' in verified prophetic traditions typically possess intrinsic traits of challenging established norms, breaking through conventional limitations, and leading transformative, paradigm-shifting change."
Just then, Xuanyuan Hao himself happened to walk past, his expression thoughtful. A warrior approached him respectfully, reporting something in low tones, and in doing so, clearly called out his full name.
"Xuanyuan Hao!" Cecil confirmed the name's illustrious, almost unbelievable background with an immediacy that spoke of its now greatly enhanced processing power: "Sir, major discovery of critical importance! 'Xuanyuan'… is unequivocally recorded in this system's core historical and mythological database as the direct lineage surname of the founding ancestor of the primeval Huaxia tribal confederation, the first cultural progenitor, the legendary Yellow Emperor! This individual, Xuanyuan Hao… his identity is by no means simple! His lineage carries immense weight."
"Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor?! A living, breathing legend is right beside me? That name alone sounds like a damn final boss, or at least a critical quest-giver! Don't tell me I'm a Level One noob who's stumbled into a zone with a max-level, mythic-tier character just casually strolling about?! Is the game balance in this world completely, utterly terrible?!"
Steven's mind reeled, his entire understanding of this bizarre, brutal world violently re-calibrating once more, a dizzying cocktail of fear and a strange, inappropriate excitement bubbling within him. This unfolding plot was more thrilling, more terrifyingly real, than any trashy transmigration drama he'd ever binge-watched in his previous life!
The intense, burning curiosity about the "Fire-Seed" and the Pangu Axe fragments, now supercharged by glimpses from the children's ancient chant and the shocking revelation of Xuanyuan Hao's almost divine lineage, made Steven desperate to learn more, to uncover the fundamental secrets of this world.
He scanned the vast, mysterious cave, an electrifying thought striking him like inspiration: "If this truly is the legendary Kunlun Mountain, the fabled abode of gods and immortals, and this is the tribe's most 'Sacred Cave'… then maybe… just maybe… like those ancient Paleolithic caves back on Earth… these very walls might hold some kind of records left by those ancient peoples? Like… murals? Depicting their history, their myths, their… secrets?"
This idea, once formed, ignited like a wildfire in his mind. Since he couldn't find a reliable light source for now, he'd have to search as best he could by the dim, ghostly, and frankly unreliable glow of those ever-present fungi!
He made up his mind, a new resolve hardening his features. Avoiding the others, who were settling down for what passed as night, he began to grope his way towards the deeper, darker, less-frequented parts of the cavern.
The further he ventured from the main encampment, the dimmer the ambient light became, the colder and more stagnant the air bit at his exposed skin. The ethereal bioluminescence of the strange fungi became his only, treacherous guide, casting long, dancing, menacing shadows from stalactites and colossal pillars that seemed to writhe with a life of their own in the periphery of his vision.
The silence here was profound, absolute, broken only by the soft, hesitant scuff of his makeshift leaf-shoes on the uneven stone floor, the frantic, thudding drum of his own heartbeat against his ribs, and… Cecil's low-voiced environmental analysis, which now seemed much clearer, almost crisp, a steady stream of data in his mind.
"Sir, anomalous rock wall structure detected three meters to your left front. Appears to exhibit… artificially tooled marks, inconsistent with natural geological formations." Cecil's voice was suddenly crystal clear, devoid of any prior static, and carrying an uncharacteristic, almost startling hint of… digital excitement?