Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 274 | Tracing the Source | Novela.app

Perhaps for humanity, and for all civilizations striving to survive, the ocean of time and space has always been composed of layers of threats. Yet, most people never understood the nature of this profound, ancient, and inevitable cataclysm. Today, Lei Ting caught a glimpse of its truth. An ordinary carbon-based organism had, since birth, obtained a fragment of the universe’s origin... No, that description was actually unfair. The existence of the Bottom of Spirit transcended time and space; it was self-existent and eternal, and thus, it made everything happening now self-existent and eternal as well. In this universe, fundamental physics and supernatural powers coexisted in a relationship of opposing dependence. The primordial rules of this universe had always been shattered; they had never been whole. Lei Ting had not merely obtained a part of it or become an avatar of that power; he simply possessed it within himself, and always had. This, too, was self-existent and eternal. It could almost be called destiny, but much like his repeated travels through time or the birth of parallel universes... There was no such thing as fate in this world—only objective facts and the results of human effort. ... ... Lei Ting’s vision went white. A formless, colorless radiance submerged everything. A pain that wasn't entirely unfamiliar caused him to briefly lose consciousness, though he did not lose his self-control. Once the truths regarding the universe, its essence, and the origin of all facts became clear—no longer restricted to vague concepts or inexplicable theories—the information began to exceed the endurance limits of a "biological" being. Though the current Lei Ting could be described as transcendent, he was, in the end, still a creature living "inside the box." The enemy did not squander this opportunity. In an instant, every weakness of the two men was struck with varying degrees of force. The attacks differed in nature, but they shared one commonality: they were equally devastating. A chaotic mind could not resist such an onslaught. Lei Ting didn't even prepare to fight back. He turned, pulled Evenheiler into a tight embrace, and dove into a rift of spatio-temporal turbulence. Given that there were no records of such a thing, and that he hadn't been constantly pursued during his previous travels, he decided in that millionth of a fraction of a second to gamble on a possibility. He would bet that the universe’s inherent rationality had not yet dissipated, and that the laws of time-space self-repair were still in effect. He would bet that these "guests" from afar could not simply bypass the restrictions of spatio-temporal turbulence to hunt them down at every single point in time! This was both human effort and destiny! Lei Ting threw himself into the infinite turbulence. A golden glow, as tangible as physical matter, surrounded him like a stellar corona guarding its core, neutralizing the incoming attacks. Black-red flames and blue crystals extinguished and shattered behind him, causing his blood to churn and gashes to appear across his skin. But as his blood was drawn out by the vacuum, it was simultaneously incinerated by the golden light, leaving not a single trace behind. At the same time, the injuries Lei Ting sustained were already fully healed. While attacks of an equivalent rank could cause him some harm, if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him! Carrying Evenheiler, who was still maintaining his ability simulation, he plummeted into the boundless darkness. He began attempting to push their transit point further and further back—forward into the past. Each jump covered only a short span of time, and they stayed at each destination for only a brief moment. He had realized that the history of the Bottom of Spirit’s existence was far longer than the period between the "ancient interstellar wars of this universe" and the "point where time-space became chaotic." It was a massive threat, and this threat must have begun during that first war—the war that no one remembered! In the subsequent, orderly development of history, destruction had followed like a shadow. All of this was thanks to those crystal-wielding bastards from Caligari! And the perfected Kothares currently hunting them clearly had a connection to Caligari! Everyone knew that to truly solve a problem, one had to find its root, trace the sequence of events, gain experience, summarize methods, and eliminate all issues in one fell swoop. Lei Ting had to—and could only—abandon his original plan. He had to push back to the earliest node he could trace! Even if, at that point in time, the human race might not even exist! At the thought of this, even someone like Lei Ting felt a surge of irritation. In the universe he hailed from, everything had become uncontrollably more chaotic after a certain point in time. Consequently, the density of warfare increased as time-space progressed. Because the density of war kept rising, resources became relatively scarce, and the intensity of conflict was forced to escalate step by step. And because both the density and intensity of war exceeded the limits of what a normal civilization could endure, the "Star" and "Caligari" of this universe fought until they exploded once again, taking countless lives with them. It was a chaotic closed loop, a tangled mess of rope strangling countless lives, and now, it was beyond unraveling. Its influence had permeated every aspect—at least in his universe, this chaotic influence had been deep-rooted for countless years before his birth. Even the Milky Way, which had given birth to so many civilizations and races, was a reshaped artificial construct. The density of stars in the Galactic Core had been significantly reduced compared to the calculations of the Earth civilization in the universe he lived in before his transmigration and rebirth. Only then could such a prosperous and noisy Galactic Union be born... But because conflict was everywhere and the cosmic environment was dangerous, almost all interstellar races performed genetic modifications on individuals. Even the most basic enhancement of radiation resistance required the biological body to develop an adaptive filter membrane on its surface. Beyond that, there were countless detailed changes. All of this resulted in the current Super-Orion humans and the original humans being so different that no one would likely think they were the same race. This was why an exploration enthusiast like Evenheiler hadn't shown much excitement upon discovering he had returned to history. To him, that race and the Orion humans were similar only in outward appearance. Compared to an Orion human, whose heart was a symmetrical cubic structure, primitive humans were so different they might as well be a different species. Even if Evenheiler regarded them as his ancestors, it was difficult for him to truly feel a deeper connection. However, Lei Ting did not view the humans of the two eras this way. Because once, he had been one of those primitive humans. The original Lei Ting was no different from them. ... ... Thereafter, time flickered amidst the chaos. Lei Ting no longer hid his abnormalities from others during his travels. Evenheiler didn't ask why he was doing this; he simply maintained his energy output intermittently, being carried along in silence, appearing to be either deep in thought or simply dazed. When he reached the point where he could no longer even project energy and his reserves were completely depleted, he silently gripped his long blade. He struck whenever danger arrived, parrying what he could handle and evading what he couldn't. "You know I won't truly be destroyed by them," Lei Ting said in the midst of the chaos. He couldn't bear to see Evenheiler forcing himself to fight when he was clearly on the verge of fainting. "They can't even leave a wound on me that lasts longer than a minute." "But it hurts," Evenheiler whispered. "I think... it must." Even knowing it wouldn't cause much damage, he still wanted to do his part so that Lei Ting wouldn't have to feel "more pain"? Lei Ting fell silent at this. From then on, he stopped trying to change Evenheiler’s behavior. He simply took care to ensure the other man didn't overextend his energy—at the very least, Evenheiler couldn't be like him, drawing energy directly from the soul level at a moment's notice. His recovery speed was incomparable to that of any esper who wasn't a "Limit-Breaker." But the further back they traveled, the less the situation allowed him to act with composure. Starting from the node around 15,000 BCE, he began to see multiple timelines being destroyed from the very source of their divergence. That was absolutely the lingering aftermath of some war. Lei Ting even saw massive veins of blue crystals in the material realm at those points in time. They were born abruptly, growing from a grain-sized crystal of unknown origin. Within a few breaths, they devoured the surrounding matter and replaced its structure, potentially triggering earthquakes of varying magnitudes across different planets. From this, it was evident that if enough timelines were successfully destroyed, perhaps even the "matter" of the primary material universe would be converted into those energy-rich crystalline blocks! But going back another ten thousand years or so, he witnessed destruction caused by the aftershocks of a weapon from the "Star" civilization's war. Formless, colorless ripples swept across the starry sky. The peculiar crystals existing in the world at that time were all severely affected. They either regressed to their pre-conversion material structures or exploded violently, turning into flows of pure energy that dissipated into nothingness. The planetary crusts they had been supporting either became unstable because of the hollows left beneath them or simply suffered earthquakes, collapses, and tectonic shifts. During the transit, Lei Ting tried his best to maintain his spatio-temporal positioning near Earth. During this period, he witnessed the vast changes of the seas and lands and the passage of ages on this blue planet. However, it was achieved in reverse. In this way, he drifted further and further from the history that belonged to "Lei Ting’s" life. *** In the future, at the center of a rapidly changing battlefield sector, the phantom of Crater 900 flickered into existence. It appeared many times, each time with a different appearance. Sometimes it looked entirely intact, with shadows and sounds moving within; other times, a small section of it had been converted into blue crystals, with the crew inside occasionally shedding fine, reddish-blue crystalline shards. There were also times when there were no crystals and no people—just a dilapidated, ghost-like wreck. No one knew if those ships were the same one. Even if they were, no one knew which time period they each came from. Until one particular flicker, it took away a battered "new" spaceship. A short while later, Lei Li opened his eyes upon it. In his last memory, he was clearly approaching his target destination... but now, he was in a state of decaying darkness. Scanning the depths of the gloom, he could see the interior fittings of a Human Federation starship. But at the same time, the smell of rust born from a long lack of maintenance, the dust floating in the air, and the lighting system which showed absolutely no sign of power were all deeply surprising... even terrifying. One had to understand that in the interstellar era, unless there was excessive external influence, it was as difficult for starship materials to rust as it was for a stably orbiting planet to suddenly disintegrate on its own. Without tens of thousands of years of wear and tear, destruction by extreme cosmic radiation, or erosion by high concentrations of acidic or alkaline chemicals, the natural lifespan of an interstellar aerospace material could be long enough to outlast an entire species. Not to mention the dust drifting in the air. In an aerospace environment, free-floating dust was a source of extreme danger. Therefore, inside a starship or spacecraft, the importance of the air circulation and automated cleaning systems might even exceed that of the fire control system. But considering this empty, broken place didn't even have lighting... Lei Li patted awake the comrades—or rather, travel companions—lying next to him. The group of five scanned their surroundings. This was a... massive, towering hangar, but... "This place hasn't been used for at least two thousand years..." Among Lei Li’s companions, a creature resembling a living broadleaf plant shook its veins, its voice emitting from a small instrument hanging under a stem. "...Ah, many people died here. I mean... that dust..." "What?" Lei Li asked instinctively. "...That dust all used to belong to the Orion race." The living plant paused, seemingly stunned by its own words. "Wait, have you Orion humans even existed for two thousand years?" Lei Li: "..." Lei Li: "...?" Lei Li swallowed hard. He felt like this situation was starting to turn into some kind of cosmic super ghost story. *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 灵之底 | Bottom of Spirit | The source of chaos and power transcending time/space. | | 阳星 | Solar Star | Lei Ting's future title/identity. | | 科塔雷斯 | Kothares | An enemy entity or race. | | 卡利甘 | Caligari | A faction associated with blue crystals. | | 环形山900 | Crater 900 | A specific ship or location. | | 雷砺 | Lei Li | A character (Lei Ting's relative/father) appearing in the future/alternate timeline. | | 解限体 | Limit-Breaker | A high-level esper who has surpassed normal limits. | | 星 | Star | An ancient civilization involved in primordial wars. | | 猎户人 | Orion humans / Orions | The evolved/modified human race of the future. |