关于涨落的冥河（残卷） Rising and Falling of River of Souls (Fragment)

一册残破的石板，内容为当地学者对于「冥河」这一现象的调查记录与部分结论，落笔年代不详。 A shattered stone tablet recording local scholars' investigations and partial conclusions about the River of Souls. Its date of authorship remains unknown.

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…「在死亡初诞后数年间，我们都未曾有精力把视线投向悄然流淌的冥界之水。」

..."In the years following the birth of Death, we hadn't the energy to turn our gaze to the silently flowing River of Souls."

最初的记录源于某则描绘战争的文献，原文见下：

The origins of the initial records come from a particular war-related document, as seen below:

…军势出现在地平一侧时，周遭便注定会在第四个晨昏时前化作纷争之地。若是战场规模巨大，染尽大地的鲜红会汇聚成幽紫，沿着胜者离去的方向蔓延，又在艾格勒将目光投向它之前沉入大地…

...When the military force emerged on the horizon, the surrounding land was fated to become a battlefield before the fourth morning and evening. In the case of a large-scale conflict, the blood staining the earth would gradually shift from crimson to a ghostly purple, stretching in the direction of the victor's departure, and would sink into the earth before Aquila's gaze ever reached it...

我们推测，那时的人们将日常难以见到的紫色当成「至深的赤红」，另有部分文献中，还将其描述为「瑰丽又散发危险气息」或是「纷争之殇」云云。

It is believed that those who witnessed this at the time saw the rare purple as "the deepest crimson," and in other writings, it was described as "beautiful yet dangerous" or "the sorrow of Strife."

然而据某位哀地里亚将领的手稿，这一认知可能仅仅持续了数个光历年——

However, according to the manuscript of a general from Aidonia, this understanding only lasted a few Light Calendar years —

…自邻邦信息阻绝以来第三个月，疫病的蔓延终究没能被控制住，那座城现在已经一片死寂。但今日探查后，哨兵发来的回报让我有些疑惑，他说邻邦的雪原上出现了幽紫的河流，但却未听闻纷争踏入此处…

...Three months after communication with neighboring regions was severed, the plague could not be controlled, and that city fell into complete silence. But after an investigation today, the report from the sentry left me puzzled. He spoke of a purple river appearing in the neighboring snow plains, though no reports of conflict or strife have been heard...

…一直以来的想法是错的？那并非浓郁的赤红，而是死者的步道！我命副官传令众军，切不可切不可触碰那冥河之水…

...Could I have been wrong all along? That was not a rich crimson, but the path of the dead! I ordered my adjutant to send orders to the troops — under no circumstances should they touch the waters in that River of Souls...

这应该是「冥河」一词首次出现的时间点，此后，他们认定其现世的缘由与「塞纳托斯」的诞生有所关联……

This marks the first appearance of the term "River of Souls." Later, its emergence into the physical world was thought to be linked to the birth of "Thanatos"...

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不明•光历█████——在一场「举城狩猎」的活动后，冥河涌现，致使归途被延误。

Unknown: Light Calendar █████ — After a "city-wide" hunt, the River of Souls appeared, causing a delay in the return trip.

██图•光历25████争月——饥荒致三成居民消亡，有记录在城外荒地发现「冥河流淌两日」。

██: Light Calendar 25████Strife — Famine led to the death of thirty percent population, with records indicating "the River of Souls flowing for two days" in the wasteland outside the city.

曲恩██城•光███5年初——战争导致城毁，冥河浸没整个城区，据外部观测记载，至少维持了十五日以上。

Quen██ City: Light███5 — War destroyed the city and the River of Souls flooded the entire district. According to external reports, the flow persisted for at least fifteen days.

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…结合哀地里亚传来的文献，学者们总结出了一些规律——冥河会随着大量的「死亡」出现，不消数日便会消散，其涨落与「死亡」的规模相关。

...Combined from Aidonia's documents, scholars have identified a pattern — the River of Souls appears whenever there are significant numbers of deaths and fades away in a few days. Its rise and fall are directly linked to the scale of death.

而针对其本质的讨论至今仍混乱不清，数个论点诸如「阻碍亡者面见塞纳托斯的试炼」，「迷惘灵魂的具象化」，「塞纳托斯的泪滴」等均有其支持者，但始终无法求证…

Debates on its nature continue, with theories such as "a trial to prevent the dead from meeting Thanatos," "the manifestation of lost souls," or "Thanatos' tears," but none have been proven conclusively...

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