This was a day in the centuries before the Common Era—a day of mundane peace.
On this day, people were born and people died. Mothers nursed their infants, fishermen cast their nets, merchants conducted their trade, and boatmen pulled their oars. Highwaymen kept a close watch on every passerby, prowling within the shadows of the woods.
Yet, in a world humanity did not yet know—a world of dim, black nothingness—a transformation that would decide the fate of the human race was underway.
An "existence" known as "The Deceased" was dying.
From this death, an "existence" named "Lover of Mankind" was being born.
The process was like a butterfly breaking from its cocoon, like a sculpture taking shape, or like a work of art being repainted.
As the alien power gradually transformed into a familiar aura, a face like a jade statue with closed eyes began to solidify beneath the crumbling husk of "The Deceased." Lei Ting and Evenheiler watched the scene intently, vaguely sensing the rejection of time and space.
This rejection deepened as the transformation from "The Deceased" to "The Lover" progressed. Soon, the presence of "The Deceased" became so thin it seemed on the verge of collapse—she did not appear to be resisting. Beneath the closed eyes of "The Lover," a streak of jarring crimson began to spread...
"The Deceased..."
Evenheiler stared at the figure he was seeing for only the second time. His brow furrowed, golden light flickering in his eyes as he asked Kotales, "...What is she?"
He felt a powerful sense of threat from that phantom, a primal and savage force.
Usually, it was masked by an elegant, humanoid form that was neither truly human nor inhuman. But at this moment, its long hair burned, its face was fractured, and its civilized, beautiful exterior cracked and shattered like an eggshell. From within, a magnificent and heartless, pure white statue emerged...
During this process, the violent power gradually subsided.
"The Deceased" did nothing to change the course of events, nor did she look at anyone. She simply emptied her gaze, scanning the entire Earth, her eyes wandering over every human settlement as if nothing else in the world existed except for the busy people on the ground.
Kotales watched her... no, watched *It*.
He watched the mottled, peeling edges of Its visage. The receding of those lines represented the death of a "living-dead" being, while another similar yet different existence was silently born. It was as if this were not a hand-off between existence and nothingness, but rather...
"When every biological race begins to cluster... they produce a form of primitive worship. This is the instinct of intelligent beings to revere the strong and their innate curiosity at work..."
Kotales raised his hand, tracing a line in mid-air with a spark of crimson fire. "...And the primitive worship of humanity, like that of most carbon-based lifeforms, is 'Life and Death'."
Undercurrents surged in the darkness, conveying unspeakable information. In that moment, the two men understood the origin of "The Deceased" and the meaning of "The Lover."
Concepts born from humanity's most primitive beliefs were naturally shaped by the feedback of the "Spirit's Depths," gaining sentience and a sense of self. Though it was a form of existence without "life" in the narrow sense, it gained "Life" and "Death" through the thoughts of the people.
The ones who bestowed all this upon It were the "living" who walked the earth; and after they passed away, they would return to Its embrace.
Therefore, It called itself "The Deceased."
And... when humanity required a transformation, and that transformation was indeed taking place, this being that was neither living nor dead calmly let go of "Life" and accepted "Death."
"But why?" Lei Ting asked suddenly.
Standing slightly behind Evenheiler, his handsome, resolute features looked more like a sculpture than ever. "Why must humanity 'change'? And what will this 'change' turn humanity into?"
"You should know the answer to the second question better than I," Kotales said softly. "As for the first...
"...Because if they do not change, they will die.
"And they will take the entire Galaxy down with them."
...
Though the Galaxy’s location was remote, it had actually been a key point during the interstellar wars of the ancient era.
This was because it served as one of the nodes for the "The Stars" civilization’s fire-control network across the observable universe. Moreover, it was the core node for this particular galactic sector.
Therefore, no matter how many times this place was destroyed—no matter how the stars were churned, space was torn asunder, or matter was flung away—a strange power would spread through the darkness to readjust the gravitational lines, causing a new galaxy to reform around the galactic core as quickly as possible.
"Their fire-control nodes and experimental bases cannot remain vacant for long... at least, that is what the power they left behind has determined," Kotales said. "That power permeates the entire Galaxy invisibly... I suspect it manipulates everything, including you, including me, and including everything that happened up until the moment you began to trace back through time.
"The race I belong to has some connection to 'The Stars.' We are now known as the 'Silver Star,' and we could be considered the controllers of the Galaxy. But even as an elite among them—" He boasted about himself without the slightest hesitation, before his tone took a sharp turn downward, "—I have never seen 'Its' true form."
Lei Ting’s expression turned solemn.
Yes, he had sensed it long ago—the combat power displayed by the "Silver Star" was completely disproportionate to their immense influence.
He had been puzzled by this before, even attempting to analyze possible reasons by combining all external conditions, but to no avail... because the relevant conditions simply couldn't form a logical chain.
However, if there was actually another power controlling the "Silver Star" from behind the scenes, and that power was the true mastermind... then it all made sense.
A sudden realization dawned on Lei Ting, but at the same time, doubts began to swarm in his mind.
From the "last time" to this time, he had learned all the knowledge required for interstellar warfare and civil administration. He knew how to convert a civilian starship into a military logistics vessel in a short time; he understood what to do to control everything before his eyes... He had even vaguely touched upon a deeper level of matter manipulation. It was just that a veil still hung between him and that god-like power, and he currently lacked the motivation to tear it away and glimpse the reality of a higher level of super-ability.
—A rank advancement that was extremely difficult for ordinary people was, in Lei Ting’s eyes, merely a matter of stepping over a small hurdle. This was the truly terrifying aspect of a "Limit Breaker."
But even so, despite his constant suspicions and his own immense strength, Lei Ting had never been able to find even a trace of that "It" within the Galaxy.
Thus, he could at least be certain that the material realm of the Galaxy shouldn't contain many of the opponent's tentacles.
But this also made him doubt certain non-material things. Given that he had searched the "Spirit's Depths" of the Galaxy thousands of years in the future top to bottom, he once again turned his suspicious gaze toward the artificial networks.
Technology possessed a certain uniformity. If "It" had truly controlled the Galaxy from the very beginning, it wouldn't be impossible for "It" to have influenced the underlying logic of every civilization's internal network during the development phase to facilitate "Its" own access...
...But now, a question arose.
Why had "Firewine" never mentioned any of this?
Lei Ting’s expression grew increasingly grave.
He was certain that "Firewine" had not betrayed the Galaxy, which made everything seem even more bizarre and inscrutable. Could it be that "Firewine" didn't know the information Kotales knew? Was it that it *couldn't* speak of it? No... even if it couldn't speak, could it not even give a hint? Or was it that it was under constant, strict surveillance by that "mastermind manipulating the Galaxy" and had to be cautious in every word and deed?
But at the end of the "last time," the Galaxy had been blown to smithereens—why didn't that thing show up then?
One must understand that for an existence at that level of power, no matter what form its original body took, obtaining a physical vessel wouldn't be difficult.
And he himself had been fixed in the cracks of time and space for a full four hundred years. During that time, his psychic power had been scanning the entire Galaxy, searching for traces of survivors.
Yet four hundred years had passed, and even the aftershocks of the explosion showed no sign of dissipating... Everything he loved and everything that loved him had died; Evenheiler was only one of them.
And he could only stand beneath the gaze of the stars and the high-temperature energy storms that tore everything apart, using his willpower to ignore his own pain, forcing himself not to sink into the dreams of the past, searching infinitely and hopelessly for a single possibility of survival.
Lei Ting couldn't help but close his eyes briefly.
His heartbeat was calm, his blood pressure stable. No one could see how much information had flowed through his mind in that instant, or how many suspicions had taken shape within.
Evenheiler, who was standing almost flush against him, suddenly moved his fingers and brushed the back of Lei Ting's hand.
Lei Ting’s fingers slid through the gaps between Evenheiler's well-defined knuckles, turning his hand over to grip the other's. Their gold-crafted ornaments swayed and collided, letting out a crisp, pleasant chime.
Kotales paid them no mind.
He pointed across the space at the final part of "The Deceased"—an eye, a beautiful eye.
A beautiful facade, an eye without internal structure to support it.
"Look at her one last time..." His tone was somewhat wistful. "...And let her look at you."
Lei Ting cast aside his chaotic thoughts for the moment. He glanced at Kotales, quickly re-evaluating him, and finally determined that the man was at least trustworthy for now.
Therefore, he also looked toward that eye.
He saw it watching him, and Evenheiler. Just one look, only one.
...
...It shattered.
A wingless statue, white and smooth as jade, was fully born into the world. As "The Deceased" died uneventfully, a new individual was born.
At the moment of its birth, it gained its own name.
"...'Lover of Mankind (Love People)'..." Evenheiler murmured, speaking the name. "...I understand.
"Life must first understand death before it can understand love..."
—But compared to the inevitable arrival of "Death," he had to think more about how to "Love."
Thus, "Lover of Mankind" was born, just as humanity was about to be guided onto another path.
That phrase which served as Its name was saturated with crimson chaos and passionate love, devoid of any ra...
—The pure white statue slowly opened its eyes, and tears of blood welled out from within.
It began to smile serenely, its gaze sweet and soft, yet carrying a profound sadness.
After being born, the first action of the "Lover of Mankind" was to lean down, extending a massive, flawlessly white finger to gently touch the cheeks of the two travelers from the future.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, children from the distant future," Its voice was clear and gentle. "I am... 'Lover of Mankind'."
...Ra... Rationality?
The pupils of the two men shook in shock.
***
