Chapter 2: The Third Veil

Several days after the operations in the Delta Star Domain.

The special human individual with a very long title, which could be abbreviated as Joshua, had only just learned of the results of the anti-Chaos weapon he had created, the "Light of Order."

This was because his main body was currently in a material vacuum zone extremely far from the Central Galaxy, compiling information from across the entire Starry World.

The Starry World was not an unfamiliar world to Joshua, nor even to the Mycroft World. Over a decade ago, Joshua had been teleported there via the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, responding to the call of the Central People to drive back the Void Mother Beast under the Plague Evil God. The legendary expert Faina had also traveled alone to the Starry World to study the path of Psionic Energy.

Back then, Joshua was merely an ordinary early-stage Legendary, so even though he did many things in the Starry World, it felt like little more than cleansing some Chaos before returning. Apart from another relic of the Sage and a gift from the Steel Serpent Star, he had gained little of substantive value. But looking back now, the Starry World held many pieces of information that could be cross-referenced, leading to sudden epiphanies.

First, the location of the Starry World.

Back when the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground teleported him, it mechanically responded to the request and initiated the transfer. The trigger point was a summoning by the Starry World's natives. Clearly, without the Central People's active summoning, the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground could not have detected their peril on its own. From this, it was evident that the Star River where the Starry World resided was extremely far from the Lost Star River.

Originally, Joshua thought the Starry World was somewhere in the Multiverse Star River, but based on Mycroft's current reconnaissance results in the Multiverse Star River, the answer was otherwise. The Starry World was likely located in another, truly distant Multiverse Star River at the far end of the real multiverse. This also aligned with the new multiverse model Joshua and others had formulated.

Second, the similarity between the Starry World's structure and the "super single world" in the "Rebirth Plan."

The Sage had visited the Starry Universe and even conversed with many other civilizations. He was undoubtedly very familiar with the Starry World. Otherwise, a Sage born in a small, flat world would have no reason to be so acquainted with such a starry world. The Rebirth Plan was likely designed based on the Starry World's structure; the two were definitely connected.

And not only that—Joshua didn't believe the Sage came to this world just to help the Central People advance their civilization. He surely had other purposes. Helping the Central People, though sincere, was probably just a side endeavor.

Third, the Steel Serpent "Star" of the Starry World.

According to Faina, her arrival did not attract Star's attention. This vast world will seemed to have fallen back into slumber after launching a holy war against Chaos. Its scale was so immense that even its thoughts were difficult to consolidate. This was a confirmed fact.

But according to the local natives, the leader of the Galactic Guardian Alliance, the "Life Preservation Program," could communicate with the "Great Will." If this Great Will was Star, then it was fine—at most, Star had given the Life Preservation Program a backdoor. But if not... then who was this Great Will?

These were roughly the points of correspondence. After all, over a decade had passed, and Joshua's strength had soared. Back then, he used a simulated stellar fusion reactor; now, he employed a mass-energy engine utilizing the Kerr black hole effect. His volume was only a few hundred meters then, struggling against a hundred-kilometer-class Void Mother Beast, needing to push it into a gas giant to kill it. Now...

Joshua, whose main body diameter exceeded [Redacted], wasn't one to bully others by size. He relied on tonnage to reason.

Of course, besides these, there were scattered doubts—such as the Plague Evil God.

Thinking of this, Joshua's mood grew serious as he pondered.

The Plague Evil God, based on the information he obtained from killing the Void Mother Beast back then, was not a traditional Chaos evil spirit born from the destruction of worlds and civilizations. Its essence was the "Ultimate Sublimation Virus," an artificially created ultimate lifeform. It was not an "Evil God" but an extremely powerful, highly intelligent non-human life entity.

It wielded the power of Chaos, but its essence was still life—alive, not a dead ghost. In this regard, the Plague Evil God was completely different from other Evil Gods, at least from the Decay Evil God Joshua had killed and the Death Evil God jointly suppressed by the Mycroft civilization.

"And not only that... I remember back then, when the Azure Orb first manifested its divine power, the Evil God curse it dispelled for me was from the Plague Evil God."

The massive silver "Joshua World" was rotating in the void. Only a vacuum zone with no stars or matter could withstand the power of the warrior's current mass. Joshua, whose freely spreading gravity twisted space and light, calmly reviewed his memories: "At that time, the Plague Evil God I saw was different—it was a corrosive ghost born from a world destroyed by a great plague. In that regard, it was exactly the same as the Decay and Death Evil Gods. Oh, right, and the Atmosphere."

Almost forgot about it.

The Atmosphere Evil God was also a typical evil spirit born from destruction. Joshua could be certain it was different from the Plague Evil God that appeared in the Starry World, that peculiar Chaos lifeform.

Both were plagues, both were Evil Gods, yet they had such different backgrounds and powers. Honestly, Joshua found it hard to discern the difference and could only ponder silently: "Could there be two Plague Evil Gods in this world? Is it just a coincidence of names, or is there another reason..."

Thinking about such questions led nowhere.

Sensing no other clues to pursue, Joshua immediately shifted his focus to other information.

For instance, the current state of the Starry Universe.

On this point, the Central People had already narrated much during the summoning. Back then, Joshua, still separated by the multiverse, had the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground broadcast a video showcasing his power for them. After witnessing videos like "Crushing a Star with Bare Hands," "Condensing a Black Hole in the Chest," and "Shattering a White Dwarf with a Palm," the Central People, repeatedly confirming the videos weren't fake, swore that even if it cost their entire civilization's credibility and heritage, they would create a path straight through time and space for the "God of the Central Realm."

"It's not necessary..."

Joshua had wanted to say to wait longer, letting the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground slowly fine-tune to the optimal frequency, allowing him and the Central People to teleport at a lower cost. But upon learning that the Central People had already joined the Star River Guardian Alliance, were engaged in battle against the Chaos side, and had suffered many military and civilian casualties, the warrior could only sigh: "It seems there's no time to wait... Since this is your choice, I won't refuse."

"But remember, Milhabs (the strongest psionicist of the Central People, former High Commander of the Central Realm), blindly paying and gambling a nation's fate will one day make the blind pay an unbearable price."

"But without gambling, there's only darkness ahead."

The only man who could maintain the ritual and communicate across infinite distances with Joshua spoke in a low, dry voice, as if suppressing a burning flame: "This can also be seen as an equal exchange—we trade everything we have now for the 'possible' hope."

The ritual was successful and smooth, no need to elaborate. After arriving at the Central Galaxy, Joshua quickly helped stabilize the galaxy's anomalies. The Central People had gambled and won—nothing more to say. What followed was Joshua's business.

Using the "Emotion" power, which he wasn't yet proficient with, Joshua quickly determined the boundary between Order and Chaos in the Starry World based on the residual "emotions" of extinct civilizations. Within the Order side, civilization extinction was naturally rarer, while on the Chaos side, all life and souls were devoured, leaving no emotions. Regions with more extinction were the frontlines where neither side was secure.

It was then that Joshua realized the Starry World was in dire straits.

No joke... This place had over five "Evil Gods" appearing simultaneously.

And that was just what had been discovered. Who knew how many more Evil God minions were descending in the distant depths of the universe?

"All old acquaintances... Plague, Famine, Stagnation, and 'Escape' and 'Division.' Are these names given by the local civilizations? Quite fitting."

Sensing the Evil God auras in different regions, Joshua's expression didn't change, but he grew serious. Although some weaker Evil Gods, like the Decay Evil God and Atmosphere Evil God, he felt he could crush with one hand and even capture as specimens for study, if it were a powerful one—say, one level below Plenty—he would need to treat it with genuine caution.

The former great enemy, the "Famine" Evil God that had shaped the Radcliffe family's destiny as guardians, now seemed insignificant to Joshua. Stagnation, Escape, and Division weren't very familiar, but based on their minions, they weren't particularly strong.

Only the "Plague Evil God"... Only this one could effortlessly create hundreds of legendary-level, even surpassing ordinary early-stage Legendary, "Plague Mother Beasts," simultaneously attacking dozens or hundreds of interstellar civilizations and firmly suppressing them. Even Joshua could only do the same, not surpass this level.

Earlier, Joshua sensed that the Central People's envoy had deployed his specially crafted anti-Chaos weapon, the "Light of Order," destroying a Void Mother Beast. But the Light of Order was a special weapon Joshua had meticulously made. It seemed unremarkable but was one of his most powerful attack methods, capable of destroying any tangible or intangible matter, soul, or supernatural power in the observable multiverse. In other words, he could similarly suppress dozens or hundreds of interstellar civilizations.

But this pinnacle application of Steel Force could also be forcibly annihilated by ordinary "energy counterbalancing" techniques. That is, if the Void Mother Beast had slightly higher precision in its energy control, it could easily counterbalance Joshua's attack... Of course, "slightly" by Joshua's judgment. And ultimately, if the "Light of Order" didn't self-annihilate through mass contraction, the remaining cellular remnants of the Void Mother Beast might even revive.

Aside from this method, Joshua could at most create avatars or clones to fight, but that essentially amounted to an Evil God's avatar descending, crushing enemies with pure power. The Plague Evil God was an ancient monster that had lived for who knows how many years. Its accumulated pure power, Joshua felt, wouldn't be inferior to his, even after he had spent several years in the Genesis Maelstrom, amassing power far exceeding the combined strength of dozens of worlds.

The Plague Evil God was undoubtedly a formidable enemy, but since it hadn't descended yet, there was still time to prepare.

"Strange... How did the Sage find this world, which isn't even in the local Multiverse Star River?"

Pondering inwardly, Joshua was quite puzzled: "Across infinite time and space, the Sage hadn't yet advanced to Sage back then... He must have been guided by something to come here."

"What was that guidance?"

This question had no answer for now.

Joshua's main body continued to rotate silently in the material vacuum zone, waiting.

And what he was waiting for, treating as an equal, was naturally no simple character. It was the one he had communicated with in advance through the Central People, who had applied for the summoning ritual, even actively providing resources to help Joshua cross over.

Its identity was clear.

It was the leader of the Galactic Guardian Alliance, the core hub of the "Life Preservation Program," the collective will of the machine intelligence—the "Triple Veil."

And at this moment, in a distant, dead star system.

A massive black hole spun rapidly. This darkest, most heartless celestial body in the observable universe generated the loudest sound waves and brightest light in its accretion disk.

And a colossal metal ring, over 25 astronomical units long—3.7 billion kilometers—and over 30,000 kilometers wide, orbited the black hole's accretion disk like Saturn's rings, emitting a faint silver-blue glow.

The core hub of the Third Veil: [Beacon Perpetuity].

Visible within this immense artificial wonder were countless psionic pulses, like neural microcurrents in a brain, flickering and surging, filling the entire galaxy with a dreamlike, magnificent radiance.

It looked like a giant, ring-shaped brain was thinking, hesitating, and making judgments.

[Prompt: The Mother of All has fallen asleep. According to authority transfer, the 'Triple Veil' automatically obtains the world's 'Supreme Decision-Making Power.']

Within the formless psionic pulses lay immeasurable information, but the thought this infinitely vast will wished to convey was simple.

[Prompt: The 'Full Guardianship Directive' left by the Creator does not include 'External Reinforcements.']

[Declaration: The 'Life Preservation Program' has surpassed the original program. The 'Full Guardianship Directive' is void. The currently implemented protocol is the 'Final Defense Protocol.']

[Reconfirmation: The 'Final Defense Protocol' does not deny the possibility of 'External Reinforcements' appearing.]

[Proposal: 'External Reinforcements' have appeared, becoming an objective condition. Decision Individual No. 20910995 proposes adding them to 'Variables.']

[Second: Approved.]

...

[Decision: 99.793756% of decision individuals have made a judgment. The 'Third Veil' begins to take over the 'Proxy Entity,' commencing the next 'Negotiation Work' with 'External Reinforcements.']

The moment the decision was made, the immense star ring blazed with endless silver-blue light.

Within this silver-blue psionic radiance, faint, oddly shaped silhouettes could be seen... In the distant past, many civilizations that had communicated with the "Life Preservation Program" had seen these silhouettes, but their psionic power wasn't strong enough to see them clearly. Most civilizations guessed these silhouettes were representative icons left by the Creator for the program, or perhaps a simple logo.

This guess was essentially correct. But if any native of the Starry World had psionic power reaching the "Omega-level" and above, to the "Immortal," or even surpassing the Immortal to the "Infinite Light" realm, they could clearly see the true form of the silhouette hidden behind the endless psionic radiance.

There wasn't much to see, really, because the essence of that silhouette was very simple.

It was just a small, strange shape, like a tiny insect...

A silhouette.