Chapter 4: Calamity Civilization
If one were to consider the World Star River where the Mycroft World resides as an isolated point, separated from other star rivers by a void voyage requiring hundreds of years, then the external world star rivers were all connected to each other, with distances that could be traversed in an extremely brief period of time.
Faced with Joshua's direct inquiry, the Great Khan did not hesitate. It seemed to know Joshua's temperament well, and had already prepared its response accordingly.
"The closer a world star river is to the inner region, the higher its energy concentration, and the more powerful its civilizations. Naturally, the environment there is also more dangerous, the number of civilizations fewer, and the number of World Devourers the greatest."
The white octagonal fungus projected a white light screen in midair. It casually drew a large circle, then drew a small circle directly below it, pointing to the small circle as it spoke: "The large circle represents the collective of the Multiverse Star River. An infinite cluster of worlds forms a massive circular structure. The Lost Star River exists independently outside the Multiverse Star River, having long since become a legend. Even for us to arrive here required centuries of preparation."
Then, it bent its segmented limbs, pointing to a part of the large circle closer to the inner side of the lower region: "Here is the world star river where we Star Shepherds once lived. As you can see, it is relatively close to the inner side of the circle's lower region. It is a very active and prosperous world star river, home to a considerable number of civilizations."
Based on the Great Khan's account, Joshua gradually came to understand the situation of the external world star rivers.
The closer a world star river was to the center of the multiverse, the more advanced civilizations capable of entering the void existed there. The farther away from the multiverse's center, the more ordinary life-bearing worlds there were. However, life-bearing worlds did not necessarily give rise to intelligent life. In some remote regions, perhaps several world star rivers contained no intelligent civilization at all, only a large number of primitive life worlds.
This was not actually surprising. According to Joshua's speculation, this multiverse might only be a billion or so years old. That was far too young for a universe. Without the catalysis of a high-energy environment, many worlds were still in the primitive stages of life evolution. For instance, several primitive life worlds discovered by the Imperial Foreign Exploration Department had life evolution still at the stage of "giant arthropods and jellyfish sharing the world," with amphibians not even having appeared.
Now, that world had become the origin of giant meat crabs, which tasted quite good.
The outer world star rivers, lacking the catalysis of a high-energy environment, were basically blank zones for civilization, with only a few advanced civilizations existing. The home star river of the Great Khan and its kind, however, was the most prosperous and civilization-dense star river in the entire lower region of the multiverse.
It was an extremely lively place, and likewise, an extremely dangerous one. The first-class energy concentration of the multiverse had not only spawned countless powerful civilizations but also countless powerful Void Behemoths. Hundreds of civilizations capable of entering the void coexisted simultaneously. Countless warships cruised through the void. Terrifying Void Behemoths roamed in groups. And the World Devourers, once mere myths, had become increasingly numerous in recent centuries, posing a tangible threat to many civilizations.
"But we did not leave our homeland because of the World Devourers. Or rather, not solely because of them."
Saying this, the Great Khan lowered its voice: "World Devourers are indeed powerful, but as long as we ally with other civilizations, repelling them is not impossible. And once a World Devourer is repelled, we need not worry about its reinvasion for centuries to come, allowing us to reproduce and develop in peace."
"Then, was it because of other civilizations?"
Joshua listened quietly as the Great Khan described the outer worlds. Upon hearing this, he easily understood the Great Khan's meaning. He let out a low chuckle: "If hundreds of void civilizations were to fall into mutual warfare, with Evil God invasions and Void Behemoth disruptions mixed in... I am indeed not surprised that you wanted to flee that star river."
The white eight-legged fungus did not reply.
It merely emitted waves of sorrow, 'gazing' at Joshua.
"Strong one, that is indeed the case, but it is not all."
The Great Khan spoke in a voice that seemed almost self-mocking: "If it were merely chaotic World Devourers, we could simply flee. Flee to another world star river, flee forever. Who could pursue us, who ride upon Void Behemoths? We have always been shepherds roaming the star rivers. Why would we cling to the name of a mere homeland? Why would we exhaust all our strength to come to this lost land?"
"What we are fleeing from is an irresistible, unopposable 'order.' What we seek to escape is the entire multiverse."
Joshua was slightly taken aback.
He sensed that, compared to the 'horde of Evil Gods' he had anticipated, what the Great Khan was about to say next was the true reason that had driven this powerful void civilization to flee like a beaten cur.
"Compared to natural disasters like World Devourers, the enemy of a civilization will always be another civilization."
The Great Khan spoke calmly: "Strong one, perhaps you, who once spread the seeds of life throughout the multiverse with goodwill, cannot understand. You, who once desired to help all the weak, cannot understand. You, who once swore to save even the abyss, can never understand."
"There are always some civilizations that are destined from birth to be enemies of all others."
The Great Khan's fungal form collapsed. Its soul body transformed into a twisted spiritual void, and an endless torrent of information surged towards Joshua in the form of soul waves.
And so, Joshua saw everything the Great Khan had witnessed over thousands of years.
He saw black warship clusters silently sailing through the void. Their immense mass distorted the orbits of stars. The fleet of the 'Knowledge Seizers' was like a swarm of ants, blotting out patch after patch of starlight.
He saw civilization after civilization, on the verge of entering the void and ascending to the stage of the multiverse, being struck down by a higher power. The civilization suppression platforms of the 'Generation Anchors' hung suspended in the void, imprisoning world after world.
He saw the most desperate scenes occurring simultaneously across dozens of world star rivers. The 'Sky-Devouring Swarm' devoured worlds and starlight. Countless deformed, bloated Abyssal Mother Nests dragged hundreds of suns along as food for their infinite larvae.
Two vast void civilizations had warred against each other for an entire ten thousand years. Their endless blood feud against alien life made it impossible for them to ever accept each other, or even any other civilization or order. The war between the 'Blood Court' and the 'Zealous Annihilation Order' was so immense that it surpassed imagination. When their Emperor and High Patriarch flew into a rage, their fury would burn through the void, affecting millions of worlds.
The 'Civilization Custodianship Agreement' promised unimaginable bliss to all civilizations. These metallic machine spirits meticulously cared for every race and civilization, granting them supreme pleasure from soul to body, without a single flaw. But as part of the transaction, the custodians would surrender their beliefs, wisdom, bodies, souls, and the future of their entire civilization as the price.
Suppressing war with war, countering destruction with destruction. Wherever the 'Star River Maintenance Group' passed, war ceased, conflict vanished. Everything returned to calm nothingness, along with civilizations and species, disappearing completely. With the declaration of extermination orders, light flashed in the void. Stars went out. Worlds shattered, turning into energy vortices in the void. Countless Steel Particles trembled and surged into the distance, like a silver gale.
When Evil Gods patrolled the realms, destroying civilization after civilization, the flames of war between civilizations had already destroyed millions of worlds. And as the number of destroyed worlds increased, so did the number of Evil Gods. The shadow of chaos had already spread under the light of the magic tide, but no one could stop it.
"In this multiverse, there is no longer any pure land. Even the most remote world star rivers have long been drawn into it. Endless conflict has never ceased... The Star Shepherds are tired. We only want to find a place to reproduce in peace. My offspring live on the backs of Void Behemoths. They have not lived on a real world for thousands of years... This is a very small wish, but it seems almost impossible to fulfill."
From the spiritual void came the Great Khan's bitter laughter: "Mad civilizations wage mad wars. Even those who appear to be gentle helpers are, in essence, even more terrifying butchers... Strong one, the era of the Ancestral Civilization ended tens of thousands of years ago. The creeds you once believed in have long been abandoned or twisted by them. Take, for example, the 'Civilization Correctors.'"
"The wars of void civilizations are truly too terrifying. Countless civilizations have been destroyed in their infancy. There is a type of civilization dedicated to supporting weak civilizations that have not yet entered the void, helping them ascend to the grand stage of the multiverse."
Hearing this, Joshua, who had been frowning since the beginning, relaxed his expression slightly. But recalling the 'twisting' the Great Khan had mentioned, he couldn't help but shake his head and say: "And the price of this support is the loss of autonomy, becoming a part of this 'Civilization Corrector'?"
"If it were only that, it would be bearable."
The spiritual void formed by the Great Khan let out a sneer: "Strong one, you should understand. The culture, customs, and natural habits of a racial civilization are extremely difficult to change. The reason some civilizations cannot enter the void is often precisely because their culture and natural habits prevent their civilization from progressing."
"A civilization that lives too comfortably can never progress. A species that evolves in the planet's core cannot imagine the sky. Such civilizations are fundamentally incapable of developing the technology to reach the void. And the Civilization Correctors will use the most forceful means to change all of this."
What were the most forceful means?
Massacre.
Under the Great Khan's slow description, this seemingly gentle, helpful 'Civilization Corrector' revealed its true nature: It would design a set of void civilization templates suitable for the local civilization based on its own standards. It would design an entirely new set of cultures, customs, and natural habits from scratch. And then...
It would completely eradicate the vast majority of beings it deemed 'ignorant,' 'foolish,' and 'stubborn.'
The Correctors would only leave behind teachable children and a number of clones, indoctrinating them with the 'Civilization Correction Template' they had designed. Over decades or centuries, they would forcibly accelerate a low-level civilization into a void civilization that conformed to their own cognition and habits.
Within a single generation, a world would be brought under their control, with no worries about maladaptation. Because the beings living on that world were the native species. But the civilization itself had been completely erased and devoured. Through this method, the Knowledge Correctors' expansion speed was far faster than that of normal civilizations. Although they appeared on the surface to be a multi-racial alliance, in essence, they were one civilization, one race, one mode of thinking.
This was the Corrector.
"The territory we Star Shepherds originally roamed happened to be at the overlapping borders of a normal void civilization, the 'Civilization Custodianship Agreement,' and the 'Knowledge Seizers.' Before the chaotic era began centuries ago, the various civilizations coexisted relatively peacefully. Even if they disliked each other, they wouldn't start a large-scale war."
"But with the appearance of the Evil Gods, several civilizations were severely wounded. Their enemies naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity, wantonly encroaching on their spheres of influence. But the enemies of their enemies also wouldn't allow their own nemeses to develop freely. And so, without a declaration of war... soon, the entire multiverse, dozens of world star rivers, hundreds of void civilizations, were all drawn into a massive multiversal war."
The spiritual void formed by the Great Khan began to shrink back, reverting to its original white eight-legged fungal form. Its spiritual fluctuations were calm, with no sign of lying or concealment: "Our star river is already engulfed in the most terrifying flames. We cannot turn back."
Joshua did not speak.
He was still deep in thought, digesting the information the Great Khan had just sent him.
"Like bandits, plundering technology, transforming civilizations, taking over knowledge. Alliances that suppress the development of vassal civilizations, harvesting resources and talent, anchoring generations. Swarms that devour everything. Extremely xenophobic, racially purist empires and void cults... And a peacekeeping group that attacks everyone indiscriminately, believing that the absence of other civilizations is the ultimate peace. And the runaway machine servant artificial intelligences that have taken over civilizations."
Joshua murmured to himself: "Is it really that chaotic out there?"
He had, of course, previously considered a similar form of order—a 'Blissful Paradise' that imprisoned everything, manipulating all things as a game. If developed to its extreme, it would be countless players controlling puppet bodies, invading other worlds, bringing one world after another under his, Joshua's, control.
In fact, the matrix of the Blissful Paradise, the world under Joshua's control itself, was already complete. Even the prototype of the players could not be said to be non-existent. Once Joshua's spawn successfully hatched, everything would have a foundation.
Joshua naturally had no intention of doing this... but regardless, this multiverse was a bit too lively, wasn't it?
In reality, this was not even the whole picture. Because the Star Shepherds themselves were not a super void civilization vast enough to cross star rivers. They merely roamed over a relatively large area and were a bit more knowledgeable than ordinary civilizations. From the information they had revealed, Joshua could vaguely infer that several other powerful civilizations were waging war at the other end of the star river. For example, the 'Pure Energy Element Civilization,' dedicated to transforming all material worlds into a magical elemental state. The 'Purge Protocol,' which indiscriminately destroys all non-artificial intelligences... These strange civilizations were actually in the minority. More normal civilizations also waged war, driving their war machines to destroy worlds.
"Mad orders, calamitous civilizations, and the shadow of chaos lurking beneath the light of the magic tide. This is the true reason we Star Shepherds want to flee."
The Great Khan, seeing that Joshua had fully digested the information it had given him, spoke flatly: "Apart from the legendary Lost Star River, no world star river is safe to live in. The fiercer the war, the greater the number of World Devourers. I can see that an unprecedented, terrifying catastrophe is lurking. When it erupts, all things will return to ashes."
Only the ruins of the wars of the previous era, the star river isolated from all others, the homeland of the lost ancestors, might survive this catastrophe, standing apart from destruction.
This was the Great Khan's thought.
And Joshua, knowing the Great Khan's thoughts, looked at it with a strange expression.
This mushroom head would never have imagined in its life that this so-called 'only pure land' was the final destination for all the Evil Gods' patrols, right?
The experts of their Mycroft Civilization had argued for at least half a year about whether to flee to avoid the convergence of the Evil God cluster. And then these eight-legged fungi came running over on their own... What was this? A delivery? Even a delivery wasn't this fitting. They had spent hundreds of years, enduring countless hardships, only to run to this desolate ruin to seek their own doom.
He had never seen such bad luck.
"After hearing so much from you, I have indeed learned much that I did not know. But, Great Khan, do not pretend to be innocent. You Star Shepherds are not good people either."
Relaxing his furrowed brow, Joshua narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke to the Great Khan in a low voice: "To be honest, in the eyes of other civilizations, you, who ride Void Behemoths, devour worlds, and roam the star rivers, are just as much a calamity as other destroyers. We will not forget this. You devoured several living worlds just to provide organic matter for your Void Behemoths."
"Ordinary worlds and low-level civilizations are nothing more than pasture to you. You are no different from what you fear. They are merely strong, and you are weak."
"We admit it. We are willing to abandon this mode of existence. We have no conditions."
The Great Khan said bluntly. It bent its segmented limbs towards Joshua: "We have long been prepared for everything. Submitting to the Ancestors is not a shameful thing."
At the same time, all the personal guards following behind the white eight-legged fungus also bent their limbs in unison.
"...Not unexpected."
Faced with such a straightforward display of submission, even Joshua had nothing to say.
He personally disliked this type of civilization represented by the Star Shepherds. But according to the previous internal discussions among the Mycroft Legendary experts, the vast majority believed that the Star Shepherds were an important channel and intermediary for the Mycroft Civilization to contact the new world star rivers of the outside world. Although the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground could theoretically connect to every corner of the multiverse, they, in the Era of Falling Stars, should not bet everything on the legacy of the Era of Radiance.
Letting out a breath, Joshua said softly: "But it certainly isn't just that."
"Great Khan, what you have said is the truth, and you have indeed not concealed anything—only regarding the question of 'why you fled your own world star river.' You have indeed answered it completely."
"But there must also be a reason why you conceived this idea. Speak. You, who dared to strike at the Decay Evil God, certainly did not intend to cower here for the rest of your lives. Your purpose in coming here is not merely survival."
Joshua had no real expertise in the soul. He could not detect the thoughts the Great Khan was hiding from its spiritual fluctuations. Even with his guesses, he had no proof.
But he did not need proof. He only needed to voice his conjecture. This was the privilege of a powerful civilization.
To this, the Great Khan showed no anger or resentment at being questioned.
It calmly nodded and said: "Correct."
"If it were merely war and World Devourers, that would indeed drive us to despair. But what truly drew my attention to the Lost Star River was indeed another reason."
"What reason?" Joshua asked, his tone curious.
"Because of you."
The Great Khan 'looked' at Joshua with a strange 'gaze.' It surveyed the entire vanguard fortress cluster and spoke with complex spiritual fluctuations: "Because of the existence of the Ancestral Civilization."
"According to ancient records from tens of thousands of years ago, within the Lost Star River lies infinite mystery... This was once the center of the multiverse, home to the most prosperous civilization and the most powerful experts. Countless ancient ruins and the remains of prehistoric civilizations are there... The Ancestral Civilization defeated countless World Devourers. The power of their legacy is undoubtedly what we crave."
"Rumor has it that at the very bottom of the abyss of the Lost Star River lies the secret capable of opposing the 'Calamity.'"
Hearing this, Joshua was momentarily stunned.
"The very bottom of the abyss?"
This was indeed a very familiar term.
The abyss was a concept found in every world star river. It was the graveyard of worlds, the gathering place of infinite wreckage.
And the abyss of the world star river where the Mycroft World resided was particularly unique.
It was the dwelling place of ancient evils, the origin of the Azure Orb. It was a chaotic place of burned-out ruins and unextinguished flames. The Sage had once fallen to its deepest point, and in the depths of that fall, had slain the strongest Evil God in the observable universe, 'Plenty.'
If there were any secrets in the abyss, they were undoubtedly worth believing. The former battlefield of the Sage and Plenty, the deepest part of the Extreme Dark Abyss, indeed possessed a mystery that could attract all civilizations.