Chapter 454 - Aspect Of Existence (Part 1)
In the vast expanse of uncharted space that lay beyond the government's territory, was a planet called Triune. This planet was once rich of crystal veins, but the aggressive mining had turned it into a barren rock thousands of years ago. With no worth left for the cultivators, this planet was abandoned, and left to follow its original trajectory that brought it outside of the government's territory, where it would float alone, never to be visited again.. Or at least, until now.
Now, this planet was populated by thousands of people, all there for the same reason.
Dozens of spaceships were stationed right on one side of the planet's orbit, while on the other, on one of its moons, was erected a building which contained numerous cultivators. Both parties ready to intervene at any moment.
These two groups were observing the planet's surface, above which, inside one of the planet's ancient yet still strong buildings, three parties were sitting at a table, discussing the terms of an armistice. These three parties were the universal government, the intergalactic coalitions, and finally, Daniel's group.
To represent the intergalactic coalition were two generals of the Kruga race fully dressed in their spatial suits, and the scientist that Daniel had kidnapped, and released back to its faction the moment the group agreed to have a conversation. On the government's side were the commander, also known as the military strategist, one of the senators, and finally, an appointed representative of the many factions, a child of Iewah called whom Daniel had met before, Romah the Teacher.
Sitting behind their respective representatives, were nine alien soldiers clad in spatial armors, six cultivators, and three of the Teacher's students.
This meeting had been imposed by Daniel in order to find common ground between the two warring civilizations before their conflict would ultimately bring the destruction of their universe.. But unfortunately, it was too early for that. The misconception that each faction had of the other would cause the two sides to start a fight before any good points could be made.
"How can we know that you are telling the truth?! For all we know, you have summoned that monster as a desperate measure after we turned your armies into nothing!" Said one of the alien generals through a speaker that translated his odd sounding voice into the human language, and vice versa. An object that, along with the return of the scientist, had been granted to the aliens by Daniel's group.
In response to these words, the senator, who had only heard about the war and was not personally himself, sprung up on his feet, and said, "How dare you accuse of something the stupidity of your civilization caused!"
Both sides were clearly too angry at one another, but fortunately, in each side, was at least a member willing to listen. The two who had already talked to Daniel, the alien scientist, and Romah the Teacher. The two of them were the only reason why the escorts of the two factions didn't start another battle right then. That, and the immense pressure that they were feeling from Daniel, who observed their exchanges in silence.
"We have been using this technology for hundreds of years, and nothing ever happened. Are you implying that it is only a coincidence that that thing appeared once we were on the verge of wiping your armies?" Retorted the alien general with a tone that matched the anger and volume of the senator.
This exchange went on for awhile, until finally, Daniel, unable to wait for a moment to intervene any longer, slammed his fist on the large wooden table, turning it into sawdust, and barked, "ENOUGH!"
Shocked by Daniel's outburst, the alien soldiers immediately pressed the buttons on their gauntlets and prepared to extract their generals from the buildings. The same did the cultivators, who unsheathe their weapons, and prepared to fight. Their actions were interrupted the moment Daniel continued by saying, "This is more important than any battle for the territory or silly contest. Your actions are destroying the universe, and with it, every being that lives in it. It has to stop! This is not a discussion."
Thanks to the information obtained by the scientist, the aliens were aware of the enmity between Daniel and the government, and that was the only reason why they would listen to his words. That, and the fact that he had saved the lives of the generals present by banishing the dimensional destroyer.
"How do we know that you are telling the truth? How could you possibly know what would have happened if you were unable to cast that creature away?" Asked one of the alien generals in a more accommodating tone.
Daniel knew that there was no way for him to convince the aliens to give up their technology out of good faith, so he had already prepared a demonstration.
"That is a good point." Said Daniel before turning to look at Edmund and Nova, who sat at his left. He then said, "Pick any of your soldiers to go with my two companions, They will show them."
The members of the government looked at Daniel with interest. They already knew that Daniel's companions were able to freely open portals that lead to the void, but they did not understand how that could be possible. After all, not even the humans who lived in the void had ever found a way to come and go as it pleased them. They would simply use their comprehension of shattered space to predict the formation of the rifts, and use them to travel to the stable space.
The generals noticed the interested expressions of the cultivators. "Where would you take them?" Asked one of them.
"You may not know, but our universe is but one of an uncountable number of dimensions. From some of them come our powers, while many others are liveable universes. Apparently, the universes live on a countdown. When a dimensional destroyer is able to mature, they will bring the destructive power of space, which in time will propagate through the whole universe, making it unliveable." Said Nova, the spatial elemental.
"We can take one of your soldiers to visit the void, one of the dimensions that have been already destroyed. You will understand once you see it with your own eyes." Added Edmund with a plain and unbothered tone.
As soon as Edmund finished speaking, the commander of the government's army turned to look at him, and said, "Why didn't the Void Dwellers ever reveal to us the nature of these.. 'Destroyers'? Why are you the only ones aware of what they do?"
"I can answer that." Said Nove before leaning over his chair. He then started to explain, "I was formed in the void, and have lived in contact with the dwellers for all of my life. None of those who dared to venture close to one of those monsters have ever been able to come back. Me, him, and a servant of the Tamer are the only exceptions."
Not really satisfied with the answer, one of the escorts of the commander stepped forward, and said, "Commander, I'll go."
None of the aliens did the same, and it was only after the general covered the microphone and exchanged a few words with the scientist, that he turned to look at one of the soldiers that was standing behind him, and ordered him to go.
After the nervous soldier joined the cultivator in the middle of the room, Edmund and Nova joined them, and opened a portal to the void, and along with the two warriors, entered it.
For the following five minutes the two sides looked at one another with hostility, wondering whether this process was meant to take so long, or if Daniel had tricked them into killing two of their warriors. Luckily, right before they could start complaining, the portal opened once again, and from it, walked out a calm looking Edmund, an indifferent Nova, and the two shocked warriors, who weakly walked towards their factions, and reported what they had seen.
The reason why it had taken five minutes, was that instead of simply showing them the mature destroyers that lived in the void, the two had brought them into the stomach of one, where the concept of collapsed space was held. If not for Edmund's relatively new ability to travel between familiar dimensions, the three would have been stuck there, unable to come back.
Surprisingly, of the two factions, the one who showed the biggest reaction were the cultivators, who suddenly understood how close to losing everything they had built they truly were. The aliens, on the other hand, remained quiet.
For a moment, everyone in the room knew what needed to be done.. The aliens were bringing the destruction of the universe, and the only way to stop this was to stop their consumption of grey matter.
"Don't listen to them.. Those troglodytes are tricking you into giving up what makes you strong. They are jealous of you.. They will use their brute strength to turn you into slaves." Said a disembodied voice that came from behind the aliens, but that did not require a translation to be understood by all races present. This voice was grating, and not at all pleasant to the ear.
All those present sprung up on their feet. None of them had felt any form of presence around them, and yet, they had all heard this voice.
"Who is speaking?" Asked the commander.
The question of the commander was left unanswered by a second disembodied voice that came from behind her, the senator, and the Tacher. "What is the point of this meeting.. They will never give up what they have. They will keep using their trinkets to take and take.. Until there is nothing left.. Kill them all now." Said a second voice, husky and orotund.
Daniel was beyond confused. Between him and his companions, his group was composed of those who could see the most of the universe, and yet, even he could not perceive the source of these voices. Different in more than just tone and sound, almost polar opposite in nature, they seemed to come from nowhere and yet everywhere.
"Who are you?" Daniel asked, unwilling to let these entities manipulate the two factions into mutual destruction.
As soon as Daniel finished asking his question, two figures appeared behind the two factions. The one that appeared behind the aliens was that of an old Kruga, covered with an armor that was clearly beyond their race's level of technology. The second individual was a distinct middle aged human with a dignified appearance, and a feeling of power that was emanated by his body..
"You can refer to me as Evolution. I am the personification of the natural path of life." Said the human-like being with a dignity that not even an emperor would deem himself worthy of.
"A step under anything that is important." Said the alien-like being with a derisive tone. He then added, "I am Ingenuity. I inspire the intelligent, and are to thank for anything that separates you from beasts."
No matter from which faction, all those present were left with no words. These beings were inconceivable, and from the way they described themselves, it seemed that they were talking of themselves as superior beings which had descended heaven to advise their pupils. Evolution to the humans, who had managed to better their race through natural selection and power, and Ingenuity to the alien races, who had abandoned the evolution of their bodies to embrace technology and development.
"This alliance is unnatural.. Their knowledge cannot compare with your own, and allying with them is as wise as allying with a pet. Your power comes from creativity and imagination.. Follow their path, and you will lose what you are." Said Ingenuity to the aliens, who until now, had been having similar thoughts.
Similarly, Evolution said to the cultivators, "They cannot offer anything to you. They have reached their limits, but you haven't. Ambition and greed will make you stronger. Kill them all, and take your places at the top."
"DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!" Shouted Daniel, grabbing the attention of the nearly swayed cultivators and aliens. "Remember what happened a few hours ago? Remember what we have risked?!"
"The end is but a part of existence." Said a hoarse and guttural voice that came from right next to Ingenuity, right where immediately after, appeared another being with the semblance of a member of the Kruga race, showing which side he was supporting.
"Conclusion.." muttered Evolution, whose nature was constant, neverending, and opposite to that of both Ingenuity and Conclusion. He then turned to look at the former, and with a faint smile, he said, "I did not come alone either."
By the side of the cultivators, a fourth figure appeared. However, this time, the entity was recognizable to at least five of those present in the room. Daniel, Sewah, the Teacher and all of his students immediately felt the powerful familiarity towards this figure. An old man whom they quickly recognized as Iewah himself.