Chapter 546: Abyss of the Star Sea

Seeing the Silent King staring at him in disbelief, Warand—having already dispelled his Warrior of Light transformation and now appearing almost human—tapped several times on a device resembling a wristwatch.

A holographic screen flickered into view.

Displayed upon it was an image resembling a black hole.

No measurements were listed, yet a single speck beside it caught the Silent King’s eye.

A speck he recognized—

a planetary system, reduced to the size of a sesame seed by comparison.

Pointing toward the void-black phenomenon, Warand spoke gravely:

“That creature is shrouded in a field similar to a black hole whenever it manifests. Our Light Nation refers to it as the Abyss of the Star Sea. Other civilizations call it the Cosmic Cataclysm, the World Devourer…”

“But those who have seen even a fraction of its true form call it Aeon Cronos, What you’re seeing is only a fragment of its body. No civilization has ever claimed to have witnessed its full form— not because none survived, but because its true size exceeds the capability of even our greatest detection arrays.”

As he spoke, the image shifted.

The screen now displayed a vertical, gold-and-crimson eye.

The Silent King felt pressure crash upon him instantly.

He had no lungs or heart, yet the energy core within his body surged erratically, as if under extreme duress.

A single thought appeared in his mind:

‘If I ever encounter this thing… I would not survive.’

And worse—

He felt watched.

As though the moment his gaze met the eye, the eye met his.

A primal fear overtook him, and he instinctively tore his gaze away.

Warand quietly shut down the projection.

“I know—you felt its attention. That is normal.”

He continued:

“According to our analysis, the Abyss of the Star Sea possesses memetic properties. Any medium that conveys information about it— an image, a recording, even a sufficiently detailed description— can serve as a pathway through which it may look back.”

The Silent King turned toward him with an expression like he had seen a warp entity.

He could not fathom why someone would show him such a thing if these dangers were real.

Warand shrugged.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter.”

The Silent King’s voice grew sharp with doubt.

“And why are you so certain?”

Warand replied calmly:

“Because to that creature, we are as insignificant as microbes. Would you care if a bacterium glanced your way?”

The Silent King had no response.

Warand continued:

“The last time our Light Nation saw the creature, it destroyed a 200,000-light-year cluster of galaxies with a single finger. Every atom of matter—gone. Not even dust remained.”

The Silent King fell silent once more.

Only then did he understand the magnitude of the threat.

After some thought, he asked cautiously:

“Since you’re fleeing this way… doesn’t that mean the creature is advancing in the opposite direction?”

That was the hope he clung to—

that whatever madness Warand described, it would never concern him.

But Warand simply shook his head.

“Unfortunately, no. It is coming this way.”

The Silent King stiffened.

“Then why run toward it? Are you all suicidal?”

Warand sighed.

“Because there is nowhere else to run. Everything behind us has already been devoured.”

The Silent King froze.

“Devoured… completely?”

Warand nodded.

“During our flight, we encountered a machine civilization called Skynet. They, too, were refugees fleeing from the Abyss. By combining our data, we determined that the creature has already consumed one-tenth of the observable universe, and its rate of consumption increases with its growing size. In a few tens of thousands of years… the entire universe will be gone.”

Warand’s voice dimmed with the weight of inevitability.

It was the resignation of a civilization forced into eternal retreat, surviving only by delaying extinction.

The Silent King clenched his metallic fists.

“Is there truly… no solution?”

Warand shook his head.

“Perhaps there is one, but none we can conceive.”

He continued:

“Skynet developed advanced time-travel technology. They attempted to travel into the past to kill the Abyss before it matured. But during transit, they were struck by an indescribable catastrophe. Half their civilization was instantly corrupted into abominations.”

“They barely survived. After that, they abandoned every form of confrontation—direct or indirect. They now pursue research into parallel-universe migration, hoping to escape into another reality beyond the Abyss’s reach.”

The Silent King, who himself possessed rudimentary time-related technologies, quietly set aside any similar plans.

Before he could fully consider what to do next, a new urgent report arrived from the border.

Another extragalactic force had entered the galaxy.

And—just like the Warriors of Light—it had already engaged the Tyranid swarms…

With such ferocity that several star systems had been obliterated in the fighting.

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