Chapter 204: Divine Realm Civilization
Chapter 204: Divine Realm Civilization
Even Magnus’s spacecraft had not been equipped with a warp drive.
Although his civilization could extract vacuum energy, it still relied upon a curvature drive.
After all, creating a warp bubble large enough for travel required an unimaginable amount of energy.
That was not a problem an ordinary civilization could solve.
Caelum had taken a shortcut.
He first used the technology tree to construct a warp drive, then used that warp drive to solve the energy problem in reverse.
Other civilizations had no way to reproduce his method.
"Impossible!"
The representatives quickly rejected the possibility that Aquora was developing a curvature drive.
Once that possibility was removed, the answer seemed obvious.
"Foreign interlopers?"
"Most likely."
"Just like us."
Magnus did not appear to have come here with any particular purpose.
He had merely stopped to rest during his journey through the universe.
While he was here, he casually helped Farstar advance its technology and enjoyed the lofty satisfaction of a god bestowing gifts upon mortals.
Beyond that, he paid no attention to anything.
Farstar understood its situation very clearly.
What they feared was that an outsider had greatly accelerated the development of Aquora’s civilization.
That would be extremely dangerous for Farstar.
"Then what about the colonization plan?"
"We should observe the situation for now."
"How much longer until the colony ship is complete?"
"Five years."
"Too slow."
"This is an enormous project. If we cannot establish an interstellar colony, then attacking the fourth planet would be meaningless. However, the First Fleet has already been completed."
"What if we send the First Fleet to test them?"
"Agreed."
"Colonization can wait. The attack on the fourth planet should begin as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more likely something unexpected will happen. We should end this quickly."
"I support the proposal."
Bang!
While the meeting continued, the doors were suddenly thrown open.
They slammed into the walls on both sides with a deafening crash.
The person who entered looked terrified and was drenched in sweat.
The representatives frowned.
"Emergency! Lord Magnus has been killed!"
"What?"
Their expressions changed drastically.
None of them could believe what they had heard.
The image on the main screen changed.
Caelum’s face immediately appeared.
Even more horrifying was the fact that Caelum reacted the moment his image appeared on the screen.
He raised his head and looked directly at the camera.
Then he offered a friendly smile.
His body flickered and entered a special dimension.
Following the electromagnetic signal, he traced it directly into the Farstar Senate.
Static crackled through the chamber.
Caelum appeared inside the Senate in an instant.
He glanced around at the terrified representatives as the space beside him began to distort.
"As neighbors within the same planetary system, I have come to offer my greetings on behalf of Aquora."
The representatives stopped breathing.
"Wait..."
"We can negotiate!"
Caelum shook his head.
There was nothing to discuss.
Boom!
A dazzling antimatter beam erupted.
The Farstar representatives closest to Caelum were struck first and annihilated in an instant.
In the dark depths of space, a beam pierced straight through Farstar.
It entered through one side of the planet, tore through the core, and emerged from the opposite side.
Several breaths later, immense energy erupted.
Farstar rapidly split into several massive fragments.
The released energy blasted away the cosmic dust surrounding its atmosphere.
Vast quantities of debris and dust were thrown into space.
Then light flashed.
A magnificent explosion swallowed the entire planet.
The energy released by antimatter annihilation shattered Farstar completely.
Several hours later, the brilliant light from Farstar’s destruction reached Aquora at the speed of light.
Every astronomer who witnessed it stared in disbelief.
"Farstar is gone?"
That was an entire planet.
How could it simply explode?
What had caused it?
"There was no sign of a meteor strike!"
The astronomers on Aquora were utterly confused.
No matter how hard they tried, they could not understand what had happened.
They quickly reported the event to the highest levels of the federation.
Naturally, their reports vanished without a trace.
The federation gave no response.
At the same time, on a planet fifteen billion light years from Aquora, beyond the Milky Way, a powerfully built man wearing ancient armor opened his eyes.
A violent light flashed within them.
"Magnus..."
The Divine Realm Civilization possessed a device capable of partially reading the tangible logical relationships within higher dimensions.
Through it, they could determine whether a person was alive or dead.
However, neither the device nor the technology behind it had originated within the Divine Realm Civilization.
It came from another civilization somewhere in the universe, one deeply obsessed with researching higher dimensions.
The muscular man’s name was Aether.
Magnus had been his elder brother.
Their people called themselves the Divine Realm Civilization.
Using curvature drive technology, they had conquered an entire galaxy countless years ago.
From that point onward, the galaxy became known as the Divine Realm Galaxy.
It was also when they began calling themselves gods.
The Divine Realm Civilization possessed extremely advanced technology and ruled countless civilizations throughout the galaxy.
Yet the number of people who could truly be called members of the Divine Realm was astonishingly small.
There were fewer than ten million in total.
Worse still, they were scattered throughout the entire universe.
The reason lay in the stagnation of their technology.
Research into warp drives, matter reconstruction devices, and dimensional transit devices had long reached an impassable barrier.
They also had no enemies.
Their technology was advanced enough to fulfill every desire and fantasy of every citizen.
Yet desire and aspiration were essential forces that drove life and civilization forward.
When every pursuit and desire could be satisfied, emptiness quietly took root.
Once a person lost every reason to continue, they often chose to embrace death.
In the end, only ten million remained.
The most advanced genetic modification technology had granted them endless life.
Many members of the Divine Realm eventually recognized the emptiness within themselves.
One after another, they entered deep space and began wandering the universe.
They left in search of themselves.
Magnus had been one of them.
His arrival on Farstar had no purpose.
It was pure coincidence.
Compared with other wandering members of the Divine Realm, Magnus still possessed some attachment to life.
He had not yet reached the point of seeing through both life and death.
Otherwise, he would never have feared Caelum.
Aether belonged to the newer generation of the Divine Realm.
Members of this generation no longer indulged every desire without restraint.
They placed greater importance on the inner world.
Their feelings and emotions were also far more vivid and intense.
Those born in earlier ages would never have reacted as fiercely as Aether.
Even if a family member died before their eyes, they might have remained unmoved.
The moment Magnus died, the Divine Realm Civilization learned of it.
Aether raised one hand.
A silver spear transformed into a streak of light and flew into his grasp.
Murderous intent surged from him as he prepared to enter the universe.
"Inform the Divine King that Magnus has met with disaster. I will investigate."
"Yes, Your Highness!"