Chapter 3: The Truth Behind the Stars (Part 1)
Overall, the imagination of any intelligent life form is not particularly developed.
Compared to beasts with almost no imagination, or even single-celled organisms and inanimate objects, it is naturally a different story. But to be fair, speaking generally, the imagination of intelligent life is inherently limited.
Imagination—a seemingly free word. Yet in reality, from the moment it is born, it has always been constrained and regulated by the self, by common sense, and by everything one has seen and heard since birth.
This is not a bad thing. Imagination is a tool for humans to connect and integrate things, a mold for generating inspiration and new creations. It inherently needs to be limited and constrained to think about things that are practically useful for life, rather than aimlessly diverging into bizarre fantasies stranger than dreams—for instance, imagining worlds beyond one's own while the common people can't even get enough to eat, guessing whether various aliens exist among the stars, conjuring up seemingly meaningless virtual social structures, or fabricating an ultimate enemy so powerful it defies belief.
What's the point of that? Many races among the stars often think this way. What does existence beyond the world have to do with me? The galaxy and universe are so vast that even if something happens, it won't reach me. Instead of pondering these things, it's better to think about how to fill one's stomach, how to transform oneself, transform the surrounding environment, and then transform the world.
Even imagining getting a promotion and raise tomorrow can at least provide some spiritual comfort.
But unfortunately.
Sometimes, reality is stranger than dreams.
One day, out of the blue, light from beyond the heavens shines upon the earth, interstellar warships hover above skyscrapers, and then the once-stable 'reality' begins to twist—when countless primitive races are forcibly civilized into interstellar civilizations by the allied forces of the Galactic Guardian Alliance; when employees who couldn't get enough to eat yesterday and complained about their harsh bosses are flooded with basic materials brought by advanced technology the next day; when primitive forms of civilization, ideologies, and thoughts teeter on the brink of collapse in the face of suddenly elevated technology.
What they have to face are ultimate enemies so exaggerated that even science fiction writers might hesitate to adopt such settings: Chaos Evil Gods capable of eroding the entire universe.
Oh, and there are multiple of them.
Can't get enough to eat? Genetically modified agricultural products allow one person to farm enough to feed ten thousand. Are there aliens? Seven or eight different types of interstellar warships can answer that question clearly. Are imagined virtual social structures useless? Sorry, now they're useful. The whole world rushes into a utopian era, then immediately transitions to full military control—among ten thousand races, there are ten thousand things they never imagined. Even dreams need a basis in reality.
This is the world of the stars. This is what the vast majority of ordinary civilizations and ordinary races have experienced in the past.
They once thought it had nothing to do with them, that there was no need to care about the future, that the sky would fall with the tall ones holding it up, that the universe was so vast there would always be a place to hide—but reality shattered these illusions and told them they were never alone, that civilization was never an island, that they always had to take responsibility for their own fate, and that from beginning to end, an invisible chain connected all life.
In the silent, dark vacuum of space, a massive silver star twisted its own light, distorting the flat space around it. It hung alone beyond thousands of galaxies, observing all the stars, and then let out a sigh.
"What a vast chain."
Joshua, waiting for his partner, surveyed the galaxy. He could observe the entire starry world from a peculiar perspective: in Joshua's field of vision, all ordinary light waves were blocked. In the dark background, only two kinds of light shone—one was the light emitted by life, and the other was the light of psionic energy, which gathered wisdom, soul, and 'imagination' together, using 'spirit' to change the 'material world'.
He could see that the entire starry world was like an immensely vast silver-blue giant net, with white particles scattered across it. These particles were life-bearing planets and settlements in the universe, while the net was the prototype of the reincarnation of souls, the collective form of all psionic energy in the world, a massive entity like a coiled giant serpent, a chain of fate binding all life in the starry world together.
Joshua sighed. He could see that the Steel Serpent 'Star' was sleeping within this giant net. This was not surprising—the larger something is, the slower it moves. Given Star's scale, it was absolutely impossible for it to fully awaken. At most, it could use a single point as a focal point to awaken a portion of its will in the surrounding area.
But the warrior could also see that this net was incomplete—a third of the universe had been eroded by darkness. They were constantly advancing, destroying white particles one by one, tearing apart the net, devouring stars, gradually corroding and eroding the entire world into black wreckage.
Faced with such a threat, no life could stand aside. All intelligent minds were a community of shared destiny.
So Joshua could also see that the giant net was angry. As if in a natural counterattack, between countless planets and countless networks, unimaginably vast vortices were gathering, emitting brilliant lights of various colors: this was the net of emotions, psionic energy driven by the emotions of countless lives. It had always existed, always accumulating.
Then, watching this giant net, Joshua noticed that at the nearest strand of the net, an extremely vast amount of psionic energy began to converge. The silver-blue light began to manifest in the material world. The warrior, using ordinary light-wave observation organs, saw a warm, jade-like, translucent crystal appearing 'out of thin air'. Within this round, translucent psionic crystal, countless star-like blue lights drifted, forming a miniature galaxy-like pattern.
This was an encounter in silence.
[Welcome protocol initiated: Greetings, visitor from beyond the world. We are pleased to see a powerful being like you willing to assist us. We are one of the three major intelligent collectives of the Machine Collective. You may address us as the 'Third Veil' or the 'Eternal Lighthouse'.]
There was no sound. A faint ripple of psionic energy contained endless information. In response, Joshua silently replied with his mind: "This is a contract. An agreement I made with the Midgardians and the Steel Serpent 'Star'. They called me, so I came."
"'Eternal Lighthouse'... The leader of the Galactic Guardian Alliance, or at least one of them. Since that's the case, I won't waste words. I want to know why the Steel Serpent 'Star' has fallen asleep again, and why the invasion of the Evil Gods has become so fierce in just ten years."
From an outsider's perspective, the scene was very strange—in the dark void, a silver sphere that twisted light and another translucent blue light sphere rotated in a regular spiral, forming a rather peculiar binary star system. Both were releasing visible waves of supernatural power, engaging in a very deep and concise exchange.
[Detailed explanation: Relocating the term 'Steel Serpent' to 'Mother of All Things'. The slumber of the 'Mother of All Things' is its normal state. In the observable history of the universe, the Mother of All Things has only awakened twice since its birth, and both times were incomplete awakenings. It is supposed to sleep, and this is beneficial to all life.]
[Situation analysis: The invasion of the Evil Gods is fierce because almost all living beings in the entire universe are now aware of the existence of Chaos and the Evil Gods. The Chaos minions have created large-scale teleportation ports like the 'Eternal Void Anchor'. Currently, over thirty-one types of Evil God minions have been observed, and over five types of Evil God avatars. The most active Evil God is codenamed 'Plague'. The 'Eternal Void Anchor' has been destroyed, and the pace of the Evil God invasion has slowed.]
The Eternal Lighthouse's reply was simple and direct, without any euphemisms, which suited Joshua well. He also inquired: [Information query: The database shows your name is 'Joshua van Radcliffe'. An 'Immortal' (Legendary Low-Mid rank) transcendent individual from the Midgard civilization. Identity confirmed. Current power level has surpassed 'Infinite Light' (Legendary High-rank and above). Your advancement speed exceeds 100% of the transcendent individuals in the database.]
[Inquiry protocol initiated: Are you the inheritor of ——————? Do you come from the same world as ——————? We must confirm this information to determine the next steps for communication.]
——————?
A blank?
What does that mean?
Joshua was stunned for a moment by the Eternal Lighthouse's question, but he understood in less than an instant.
This blank... was probably the true name of the 'Sage'.
Come to think of it, everyone had been calling him 'Sage' for so long, but whether it was the Seven Gods or others, even the World Will, they all used the title 'Sage' instead of his real name. The Seven Gods were understandable, as their memories were incomplete, but the World Will had no reason to follow the Mycroft people in calling him 'Sage'.
As for why the Eternal Lighthouse could only emit a blank information wave, Joshua had many guesses, but due to insufficient information, he set them aside for now. He directly replied: "I am indeed the inheritor of the transcendent being known by the title 'Sage'. I come from the same world as him."
Communicating with machines was refreshing. The warrior thought to himself, quite pleased. Direct, no nonsense, comfortable. To be honest, Joshua hadn't had such a pleasant conversation with anyone in a long time. A question and an answer—couldn't be simpler.
[Confirmed: Life Preservation Program grants you 00θ-level access.]
[Re-expansion: Beginning negotiation and communication.]
[Commission process: The Life Preservation Program invites you to assist in the 'Final Defense Protocol' to resist the invasion of the Chaos Evil Gods. In exchange, any reasonable request within our capabilities can be offered as compensation, including but not limited to: 'Primordial Structure of Psionic Energy', 'Creation Process', 'Random Life World Generator', 'Reality Rewriting Port', etc.]
[Note: The Third Veil holds full authority, but to fully fulfill the request, the Second and First Veils must also act simultaneously. This may cause some delay. Please understand.]
Joshua was not overly surprised by this. In fact, it was all within his expectations.
The Life Preservation Program... this peculiar machine collective had the power to lead the entire Galactic Civilization Alliance, resist the Evil Gods, and communicate with the Steel Serpent Star. Joshua knew that the Sage had come to the starry world not just to help the Midgardians. He had another purpose. He had communicated with the Steel Serpent Star, but it was probably just a brief meeting without much discussion. So, who was the true entity that communicated with the Sage?
The answer was obvious—most likely, the one before him, the core intelligence of the Life Preservation Program.
He could ask directly about the specifics of their conversation later, but for now, Joshua had some doubts.
"What this intelligence just said... seems a bit strange?"
The warrior wondered: "In the observable history of the universe, the Steel Serpent Star has only awakened twice since its birth... This phrasing, this meaning, suggests that the Life Preservation Program witnessed the birth of the Steel Serpent Star? Its attitude towards the 'Mother of All Things' is very equal... even considering it as merely a 'tool' beneficial to life."
Just like itself.
Not only that, but terms like 'Creation Process' and 'Random Life World Generator' seemed to hint at something.
—The Sage had deliberately left coordinates in this world back then, and the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground had listed this world's mission as the first priority. If he were absent, it would even call upon other saints to fulfill the duty... The truth behind the stars was certainly extraordinary.
Better to ask than to wonder. Joshua spoke directly: "I want to know the history of the starry world. From beginning to end. Also, I want to know the true purpose of the 'Sage' coming to the starry world."
In response, the massive psionic crystal flickered with light, as if calculating and judging. Soon, a clear and concise wave of energy, carrying endless information, was transmitted.
[Permission confirmed: Meets criteria. Beginning data transmission: Observation Summary No. 79524913 (including all preceding files).]
[Detailed explanation: The starry world is an artificially expanded world based on the 'Founder' project. Its prototype was the size of a single star system. After hundreds of thousands of years of expansion and the natural convergence of void structures, the starry world grew to its current form. Without the invasion of the Evil Gods, the starry world would have grown indefinitely (original setting). It has now been proven that the starry world cannot grow indefinitely. In year 34,796,621, the growth of the starry world stagnated. At the same time, a large number of primitive life forms emerged.]
[Detailed explanation: The Steel Serpent 'Star' is a supernatural power entity naturally born from the birth of psionic energy and world expansion. Its existence gave birth to countless life worlds and is the imitation prototype of the 'Random Life World Generator'. The 'Galactic Psionic Network' is a technology born from observing the body structure of the Steel Serpent 'Star'. The 'Three Veils' were created with the responsibility of observing the world and the 'Mother of All Things'. We maintain stability.]
[Detailed explanation: —————— came to the starry world to seek the existence of the 'Founder'. The Founder has left (disproven). The Founder has been destroyed. We showed him the ruins and data left by the Founder. —————— before leaving, coordinated the structure of the world for us. Since then, supernatural forces other than psionic energy began to appear in the starry world. Information enriched. We are satisfied.]