Chapter 1429: A Possible Truth

Even two nations on the same planet harbor countless suspicions and risks of war. So what about two planets separated by the vastness of interstellar space? This was the stark reality confronting the three imperial rulers.

The boundless starry sky concealed too many secrets and possibilities. High Lord hoped that other intelligent civilizations scattered across the cosmos would share goodwill and virtue, but he knew better than to trust such hopes unconditionally.

Before a civilization develops the capability to travel to other planets and establish “disaster backups” beyond its home world, its survival in the starry sea is like a lone boat adrift on a vast ocean—any unexpected storm could capsize it completely. That storm might be a natural catastrophe like the magical tides, or a hostile alien civilization. Either possibility was a gamble no nation on this planet could afford.

“Before we discuss whether to respond to this signal,” the Silver Empress suddenly spoke, “I want to confirm one thing: do we even have the capability to respond? If, as scholars speculate, the signal was transmitted at instantaneous speed across the star sea, that might be beyond our current technology. If we don’t even have the basic tech, then debating whether to respond is premature…”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say,” High Lord gently tapped the table. “The sirens… you should know they crash-landed here aboard a massive starship. And not long ago, they partially repaired the ship’s faster-than-light communication array.”

Rosetta and Belsethia exchanged a quick glance, their expressions shifting slightly. High Lord then looked toward Amon, who had been silently sitting nearby. “I want to hear your perspective—from a ‘god’s’ point of view, what do you make of this?”

“Gods from different domains would likely have very different opinions,” Amon shook his head softly. “From my perspective alone, I do not recommend responding to the signal.”

“I thought you’d be more inclined to respond,” High Lord said, surprised, “since you usually favor proactive measures.”

He spoke tactfully, but what he really had in mind was the image of this once-nature god recklessly charging into battle at the Sky Station, or charging twice to rescue the Silver Empress from the front lines. This seemingly calm and reliable elf elder was actually quite reckless—embodying the self-destructive traits of countless creatures in nature. Sometimes High Lord even suspected that Amon’s “Great Stag” sacred image was just special effects; without the light and antlers, he might just be a deer…

He’d hesitated to bring this up directly, though he had considered quietly consulting Mimirna, the goddess of magic, who might find a way to verify such a bold personality.

Amon didn’t notice the flicker of oddity on High Lord’s face. He simply shook his head seriously. “Avoiding danger and ensuring survival is a biological instinct. I understand the value of curiosity and exploration, but I also know that predators and primal dangers in nature are everywhere. We are still too weak. Everything about that signaling civilization remains shrouded in mystery. Even if we analyze their civilization’s form and intent, it’s all based on signals they voluntarily sent. Responding now would be like placing our fate in their hands. After all…”

He paused, then continued, “They may not even be certain of our existence yet.”

At that moment, a graceful and gentle female voice suddenly filled the space: “No, I’m afraid the situation is not as optimistic as we imagine.”

High Lord immediately turned toward the voice and saw two figures appearing beside the round table, surrounded by golden light curtains and purple mist. From the golden light stepped a tall woman with flowing golden hair, dragon-like golden vertical pupils, and an elegant bearing. From the mist emerged a figure in a classical court-style black gown, her pale purple eyes flickering with charged arcane flames—these were the recently arrived goddess of magic, Mimirna, and the dragon goddess Enya.

The voice had come from Enya. She quietly scanned everyone present, her gaze finally resting on High Lord, who had convened the meeting. She nodded slightly. “Apologies for our late arrival.”

The two goddesses took their seats at the round table. Having half the attendees be deities made Rosetta and Belsethia look somewhat uneasy—they clearly weren’t used to this “Cecil-style” working environment. Amon immediately looked toward Enya. “What did you mean by the situation not being as optimistic? What exactly is going on?”

“I’m afraid we’ve already been exposed,” Enya said calmly. “If Mimirna and I are correct, the signal sent by that civilization was not a broadcast to the entire region, but a highly directional communication. They have locked onto our planet’s coordinates and most likely confirmed our existence. The request for a response is probably just a… routine confirmation.”

Enya’s revelation disrupted the entire rhythm. The three imperial rulers and Amon, who had just learned this, exchanged stunned looks. High Lord broke the silence: “What exactly is the situation?”

“Ahem, let me explain,” Mimirna cleared her throat and waved her hand, conjuring a floating light screen above the table. The image condensed into a magical projection of the planet. The surface was blurry, only faintly showing continents like Loren and Talrond, but beneath the vague exterior, pale blue streams of light flowed like veins through the planet’s interior.

At the focal point of these “veins” was the center of the Loren continent, marked by a distinct blue beam.

Mimirna waved again, and several illusory projections appeared around the planet, each representing different realms—elemental, shadow, spectral—and each showed the blue light streams flowing through them.

“As you can see, this is a schematic of the ‘world’ we live in—not precise, but good enough for understanding. The blue parts are the Deep Blue Pathways located in various realms. They connect as a whole on a higher dimension, where local changes affect the whole, and vice versa. Here is the largest known node of these pathways—the Deep Blue Well.

“Over the past period—strictly speaking, since the war ended—I have been continuously monitoring changes in the Deep Blue Well and recording fluctuations in the Deep Blue Pathways throughout the war. After receiving the meeting notice, Enya approached me to use my observation data to confirm something…”

As Mimirna spoke, the magical illusions shifted, showing a record of the Deep Blue Pathways’ fluctuations over time. At a critical moment, High Lord saw all the main nodes suddenly “tremble” simultaneously, like a powerful pulse—striking and unmistakable.

Belsethia whispered instinctively, “This is…”

“This is the moment the ‘Sentinel’ forced its way from the Deep Blue Pathways into the real world,” Mimirna said gravely. “If my guess is correct, the Initiators used a very special technology to convert the Sentinel system’s physical form into a ‘projection’ state similar to a divine realm, allowing it to remain stable in the Deep Realm. The Sentinel’s forced entry into the real world was not just spatial teleportation—it reversed that conversion process, causing an extremely intense pathway shockwave.

“If Enya and I are right, the shockwave caused by this reversal was beyond imagination. Though mortals cannot perceive or observe it, it stirred ripples in the very ‘substrate’ of our universe. These ripples spread outward at unimaginable speeds—perhaps even beyond the concept of ‘speed’ itself.”

Mimirna exhaled softly, ending her explanation. A brief silence fell over the room until Enya’s voice broke it: “More than half a month ago, in that brief instant, our planet shone like a torch in the night sky—visible clearly for hundreds or thousands of light-years. If that signaling civilization has been watching the stars, they could not have missed this unmistakable flash, which clearly bore signs of artificial intervention.”

Everyone felt their hearts skip a beat. Suddenly, the change in the signal’s mode made sense.

They had truly observed “our side” changing, which was why the originally aimless broadcast had shifted to a more efficient, targeted transmission.

“We need to reconsider this matter,” Rosetta said with unusual gravity. “From now on, whether we respond or not, all discussions must be based on the premise that we have already been exposed.”

High Lord remained silent for a moment, brow furrowed deep in thought. His contemplative expression caught the attention of Belsethia and Amon. The room quieted, as if everyone was subconsciously waiting for him to speak. Finally, he broke the silence: “Responding to the signal… this is probably our only choice.”

He raised his head, eyes sweeping over everyone. “Our existence is now known to an alien civilization. They clearly know our location. The so-called ‘Unknown Civilization Alpha’ is us. So continuing to stay silent is pointless. Under these circumstances, we must respond—and we must do so quickly and as clearly as possible.”

Enya met High Lord’s gaze. “To prove to them that we also possess faster-than-light communication technology.”

“That sounds like bluffing,” Belsethia shook her head, “We only have a half-destroyed communication antenna. But it seems to be the only way we can maintain some initiative.”

“Actually… I might be a bit more optimistic than you,” High Lord glanced at the Silver Empress. “I’m increasingly suspicious that the civilization sending the signal isn’t as advanced as we think. Even their faster-than-light communication technology seems to have many questionable aspects.”

“Questionable?” Mimirna’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“That flash that exposed our coordinates appeared over half a month ago, right?” High Lord began slowly. “According to your and Enya’s analysis, that flash must have spread extremely fast—possibly as fast as faster-than-light communication.”

“Yes,” Mimirna nodded. “The shockwave occurred at the universe’s foundation, spreading as a projection through the ‘Deep Sea.’ According to the unified wave model and our latest cosmic stratification model, information in the Deep Sea isn’t bound by the physical laws of the material world. Theoretically, it can propagate infinitely fast—this is the technical direction I envisioned for faster-than-light communication.

“Of course, this is only theory. We currently lack the technology to actively generate such stable information ripples in the Deep Sea, nor do we have a way to retrieve or ‘listen’ to such fluctuations. The shockwave triggered by the Deep Blue Well is the first ‘instance’ I’ve observed…”

As the sovereign of magic and mysteries, Myrmeena, like Rebecca, easily became absorbed whenever the conversation turned to technical matters. Many of the theories she casually mentioned sparked a flood of uncontrollable ideas in Gawain’s mind.

But he quickly forced his racing thoughts back under control and shifted to a serious tone. “So, what you’re saying is that the ‘signal flicker’ from our planet half a month ago has already spread hundreds, maybe even thousands of light-years away—instantaneous transmission and reception. Yet the ‘sending civilization’ only changed their signal pattern two or three days ago. Why the delay?”

Amon glanced between Gawain and Myrmeena, uncertain. “Did they spend two weeks debating how to write the first message? That seems unlikely…”

“Exactly, that’s impossible,” Gawain nodded. “They’ve been broadcasting for so long. If they really detected another intelligent species, they would have had all kinds of communication protocols ready to go. The fact that it took them half a month to switch signal modes means they simply needed that long to adjust their equipment. But let’s not forget—this civilization has been broadcasting this signal since the days of the Gondor Empire. Their faster-than-light communication technology has been in use for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years…”

He paused, folding his hands under his chin, then continued thoughtfully, “A civilization that’s been broadcasting via FTL comms for a thousand years, yet now it takes them half a month just to change their signal pattern? That suspicious circumstance can only mean one thing…”

The Silver Queen immediately caught on. “The technology isn’t theirs!”

“Not theirs,” Gawain agreed. “The equipment might not be theirs either. They could be paying a huge price or going through extremely complicated procedures just to control it indirectly. Or…” Enya mused thoughtfully, “they might have simply borrowed some legacy from the Starfarers. If that’s true, it makes sense they haven’t cracked the ‘core secrets’ of the transmitter in a thousand years—Starfarer devices are known for their extremely tight core protections.”

Gawain spread his hands. “Imagine if they were a civilization that developed technology normally, and had mastered FTL communication a thousand years ago. How advanced would they be now? They should have long since overcome the Magic Tide, solved the Black Trap. They wouldn’t need to wait for our response. By the second day after our planet ‘lit up,’ their jump ships would probably already be hovering over the Loren continent.

“But the truth is, none of that has happened.”

(End of chapter)