Chapter 1521: The Civilizational Divide

Two civilizations, separated by four light-years, born and thriving under completely different environmental conditions, with vastly different cultural backgrounds and even physiological structures—their technological paths, social systems, and ways of thinking were worlds apart. When such civilizations suddenly establish contact, one mind-shattering revelation after another inevitably follows.

Even with Gawain’s imagination, he had never anticipated that a civilization would launch its own gods into space at three-tenths the speed of light. So when the Noyans heard of the Lorens’ great feats, they naturally reacted with similar astonishment—“Holy crap, how on earth did you guys pull that off?”

Of course, the Noyans’ initial response was a string of question marks, which caught Gawain off guard. But not long after, a follow-up message arrived from four light-years away. The printer clattered as lines of text appeared on the paper tape before Gawain’s eyes: “You actually went to war against your own gods?! And you won?!”

Barely two seconds later, the machine was silent again before the Noyans sent another message: “Apologies, perhaps we didn’t express ourselves clearly. What we mean is that you have at least once reached a stage in some domains where conflict with your gods was unavoidable, even erupting into full-scale war—and you not only won, but also learned from the experience to prepare for future encounters? And despite having fought such ‘divine wars,’ you still have the confidence to pursue ‘coexistence and transformation’ with other gods?”

Gawain stared at the words on the paper tape, somewhat surprised. He had expected his statements might shock the other side, but not to this extent. It made him wonder if the “divine wars” he and the Empire and Alliance had fought might be terrifying to other civilizations at their level in the universe. Still, these thoughts didn’t hinder his communication with the Noyans. Soon, he drafted a reply:

“One correction: we haven’t fought just one such war, but several divine-level wars. We have also faced out-of-control, frenzied gods and ‘divine disasters’ multiple times.”

This time, the Noyans’ silence lasted longer than all their previous pauses combined. After a while, Gawain saw their reply on the paper tape: “Unbelievable… This news has caused a huge shock among our leaders and sages. Could you share more details? We… never imagined a civilization could be as extraordinary as yours.”

The phrase “extraordinary” was underlined twice—a mark left by the Star Decoders during translation, indicating it was a uniquely Noyan term difficult to render precisely. Gawain’s gaze lingered on the underlines for a few seconds before he began to respond:

“First, let me clarify: the Loren Alliance is not a warlike people. Our wars with the gods were tragedies, not something anyone wished for—if we could, we would embrace peace.

“Second, the divine wars that occurred on our planet are not classified; we can share them.

“To date, we have killed or neutralized multiple gods and demigods. The first recent divine disaster was natural in origin, triggered by an out-of-control ‘demigod.’ We contained and killed it with mobile firepower.

“The second broke out on the border between two nations, caused by a rampaging war god. We formed defensive lines with mortal legions and used long-range artillery to kill it. Recovering and analyzing its remains advanced our understanding of gods.

“The third occurred nearly simultaneously in the northern polar kingdom, a historical legacy issue. I won’t go into details, but the northern kingdom managed to kill the god independently, at great cost.

“The fourth and most recent happened in the heartland of the Alliance. The final stages were chaotic, as we faced a mad ancient god and artificial godlike beings. We were pushed to the brink but ultimately prevailed. The aftermath of this war caused a powerful magical shockwave that swept through the universe faster than light, indirectly enabling our civilizations to locate and communicate with each other.”

Gawain summarized the major divine disasters on their planet but omitted many details—partly because they weren’t necessary for early contact, and partly because he realized the vast cognitive gap between the two civilizations. Too many details would only increase translation difficulties and misunderstandings, and he wasn’t ready to expend energy on that yet.

The Noyans didn’t keep him waiting long. Moments later, the printer whirred again, spitting out a new tape: “Four divine disasters?! You’ve fought four wars against your gods? And you won them all?!”

Gawain thought carefully before replying cautiously: “We regret it deeply. The Lorens are a peace-loving people, but ruthless natural laws often disregard mortal desires for peace. Due to a lack of understanding of the ‘thought currents’ governing these events, fate pushed us into conflict with our gods. For survival, mortals had no choice but to fight.”

Just as Gawain sent the message, Amber’s voice came from beside him: “The more I read ‘peace-loving,’ the more it sounds off… especially since we just told them about the four divine wars.”

Gawain sighed. “Not just you—it sounds off to me too. But I really do love peace. Don’t you?”

Amber made a strange face, about to say more, when another message from the Noyans arrived. Both looked at the printout as the Noyans asked: “One of our sages is very interested in your mention of an out-of-control ‘demigod.’ What exactly is a demigod? We have no such concept on our planet.”

Gawain carefully explained the initial divine disaster in Cecil: “It was a tragic man-made calamity. At the time, we had not yet formed a united, rational alliance and lacked understanding of how gods operate. A group of dark cultists, driven by extreme ideology and blind impulse, attempted to artificially create a god. The resulting demigod was uncontrollable, and we had to kill it… This caused great loss.”

After sending this, Gawain hesitated, then added on the network terminal: “I must emphasize that the cultists’ actions are condemned by our public morals. We neither seek to create artificial gods nor to provoke gods into war. Loren is a peace-loving civilization. Our alliance consists of multiple intelligent species united by shared goals and mutual aid.”

Amber, watching nearby, couldn’t help but comment: “You might want to reconsider sending that last part. It sounds like you’re digging a deeper hole.”

Gawain thought for a moment, sighed, and deleted the message. “I agree.”

Shortly after, the superluminal communication array received another signal. The printer clattered as a new tape emerged: “We are deeply shocked. Friends across the stars, you may not realize how unfathomable your actions are to us. The Noyans were born from the legacy of the Precursors. Long ago, we inherited precious knowledge and, before gods became an overwhelming calamity, we unlocked the secrets of the ‘thought currents’—to use your term. We have never experienced the extremes you have but achieved symbiosis with the gods in a peaceful, secure environment.

“Yet even so, we know how dangerous it is to confront gods directly. The Precursors’ knowledge details these horrors. They warned that mortals fighting gods face extreme peril, and the more advanced the civilization, the greater the danger. Winning even once is a stroke of luck. And you… have won four times.

“Our sages are debating whether your unique lifeforms and modes of thought give you innate advantages against gods. Our leaders urgently want to know—are the Lorens truly a peace-loving civilization?”

In this context, directly asking if the other side is peace-loving might seem a bit awkward. After all, if you meet someone new and ask if they’re a good person, they’ll usually say yes. No one walks up and says, “I love prison visits.” But Gawain understood the Noyans’ mindset perfectly—there was no other way to ask.

Given the explosive revelations just exchanged, it was only natural for the Noyans to ask. If they showed no reaction, it would be more worrying for Gawain—like discovering your next-door neighbor is a serial killer with a basement full of horrors, then visiting and seeing it all firsthand, yet returning completely unfazed, even eating three bowls of tripe soup. The only explanation would be that your own basement is even worse…

Granted, the analogy was imperfect, but Gawain had to focus his mental energy on interstellar diplomacy.

“Of course, Loren is a peace-loving civilization,” he replied solemnly. “Now that superluminal communication between our planets is improved, we are eager to share our culture and heritage with you. As I said, the Loren Alliance is a union of multiple species and many independent states. Violence and terror cannot sustain such a vast coalition.

“We will compile and send you historical and cultural materials. Though limited, we hope these will help the Noyans understand Loren—our worldview and values—through our art and literature.”

After a pause, Gawain added thoughtfully on the terminal: “Also, the ‘divine disasters’ I described may cause some misunderstandings, but we believe this is inevitable in early contact between unfamiliar civilizations. Just as you were shocked by our multiple victories over gods, we were equally stunned to learn that your civilization launched your gods aboard spaceships traveling several light-years.”

Sending this message, Gawain exhaled softly. He didn’t know if these responses would help the Noyans form a clearer, more accurate picture of the Loren Alliance. But no matter what, facing the magical tide together required deeper mutual understanding between their civilizations.

During the days when all communication had been cut off, the Noyans had already sent a large volume of data to this side. These materials gave the Star Decoders a preliminary understanding of Noyan society and history. In a way, this could be seen as a gesture of goodwill and sincerity from the Noyans in their efforts to establish dialogue. Naturally, the Loren Alliance needed to respond in kind.

Whether it was intelligence about the repeated divine calamities or the Loren people’s current inability to achieve peaceful coexistence with the gods, all of this could serve as the Loren Alliance’s sincere reply to the Noyans—and also lay the groundwork for smooth cooperation between the two sides in the future.

That said, Gawain was a bit worried about whether the information he had shared might have had some unintended consequences. From the Noyans’ response, it seemed that upon learning of the Loren’s harsh and arduous years, their first reaction wasn’t admiration for their resilience. Instead, they seemed to think the entire Loren Alliance was inherently bloodthirsty…

Fortunately, when Gawain disclosed the information, he had been cautious. He hadn’t revealed how, during the final phase of the Talash campaign, he exploited a loophole in the Voyager Legacy’s targeting system to destroy the Sentinels. Nor had he shared the grisly details of the False God’s demise—being devoured alive by sea monsters. Otherwise, no matter how much he insisted that “the Loren people love peace,” it probably wouldn’t have made a difference…

After a brief wait, Gawain received the Noyans’ reply. The continuous stream of paper tape carried the translated message from the Star Decoders:

“We acknowledge and accept the reality of the vast differences between our two civilizations. On this basis, we will hold the greatest goodwill and strive to use this goodwill as a starting point to actively understand the various messages the Loren Alliance has sent us—we also hope you will do the same.

“Perhaps we live on distant, alien worlds. Perhaps our histories are completely different. Perhaps we still lack understanding of one another, and this state may persist for a long time to come. But we must firmly believe that across the starry sea lies a steadfast and reliable ally. For among these cold stars, whether Noyan or Loren, we have found no other friends.”

(End of chapter)