291: Shadow of the Void of Karen

The iridescent flow of the hyperspace lane stretched into countless gorgeous and illusory ribbons outside the portholes of the ranger. These light and shadows, composed of twisted space-time and overflowing high-dimensional energy, should have been one of the most magnificent sights in the universe, yet at this moment, they could not dispel the heavy, almost tangible oppression inside the cabin.

The lucky escape from the terrifying pursuit of the Greedy Aggregate did not bring the slightest relief of surviving a disaster. On the contrary, the twisted monster's hideous posture, the extreme malice contained in its attacks, and especially its desire for the stone of silence—a desire far exceeding ordinary destructive urges, bordering on a pathological greed—were like a cold shadow branded deep into their retinas, stubbornly hanging over everyone's hearts, whispering threats incessantly along with the low hum of the ship's engines.

The ranger traveled silently through the vast and desolate interstellar medium, following a more convoluted and winding route replanned by Evelyn. The ship, like an injured interstellar beast that had become more vigilant, pushed all its camouflage fields and anti-detection systems to their theoretical power limits. Ion trails were carefully scattered, thermal radiation was absorbed and recycled by multi-layered composite materials, psionic fluctuations were covered by harmonic interference fields, and even conventional electromagnetic signal emissions were reduced to the minimum necessary for basic navigation.

Evelyn regularly performed irregular short-range jumps—not pointing to a clear destination, but jumping randomly within a preset range of safe coordinates, much like a stalker constantly changing hideouts in a dark forest, striving to leave behind every trace of physical evidence that could be tracked. The moment each jump was completed, all sensors would conduct an all-around, multi-spectral extreme scan, searching for any signs of tailing or ambush.

However, the sense of crisis—of being firmly locked onto by something beyond vision, like needles pricking the back—did not dissipate with these extremely cautious measures. It was like a festering sore, or a colorless and odorless toxin permeating the cabin air, slowly eroding everyone's nerves. Excellence would often wake up suddenly during the simulated "rest period" late at night, as if he could hear fine, inhuman chewing sounds in the void; in Stardust's data stream analysis, she would occasionally capture untraceable mental background "noise," like distant, malicious whispers; the constant, soothing psionic green light of the White Elder seemed to flicker more frequently than usual, like a calm lake surface being constantly brushed by an invisible breeze.

"It's still there," Stardust said during a navigation meeting, pointing to a seemingly flat energy background reading, her gray eyes hiding sharpness. "It's not conventional tracking. We've successfully masked our physical traces. But it... can 'smell' something else. It might be some kind of 'conceptual pollution' left behind by the Heart-Devouring Demon's power after contact, or more likely..." Her gaze turned to the black containment canister that always stayed in the corner, "It is this stone itself, in a passive state, still continuously emitting some unique... 'ripples of silence.' To chaos, this extreme 'silence' might be more conspicuous than the brightest lighthouse."

Excellence nodded silently. He felt the same. As the voyage continued, his Perception of his power of Order became increasingly acute, and he realized more and more clearly that a subtle, indescribable "thread of Resonance" seemed to have been established between him and that stone. This thread allowed him to perceive the stone's state more keenly, but it might also... expose him, and even the entire ship, to some kind of higher-dimensional "Perception."

Repair work and routine navigation proceeded in parallel under a depressing tone. Stardust used the relatively stable sailing segments to conduct a series of more in-depth, yet also more precarious, non-contact studies on the stone of silence. Direct detection had proven to be futile—any form of active probing would lose all meaning of "being detected" the moment it entered the range of its "silence" field. Thus, she changed her approach and designed a set of extremely complex and precise indirect observation schemes.

She set up as many as seven layers of psionic harmonic Resonance arrays, quantum vacuum fluctuation detection networks, and ultra-fine space-time curvature monitoring points around the containment canister. These devices did not emit any active signals themselves; they only "listened" and "observed" with extremely high sensitivity to the minute traces of interaction between the stone's field and the ship's internal environment, or even the external cosmic background.

This work consumed massive amounts of computing resources, requiring Stardust to sink most of her consciousness into the ocean of data. Excellence sometimes saw her standing in front of the main console, her body like a frozen sculpture, with only the golden torrent of data surging endlessly in her eyes, reflecting the complex turbulence of information she was processing, which was unimaginable to mortals.

Results gradually emerged after several standard days of continuous observation and analysis. It was both within expectations—the reaffirmation of the absolute nature of the "silence" field—and brought new, vaguely unsettling revelations.

Data showed that when the ship performed routine energy output adjustments (such as engine power fine-tuning, environmental system circulation), or when extremely subtle, naturally occurring fluctuations appeared in the external cosmic background radiation, the seemingly absolutely stable boundary of the "silence" field around the stone of silence would exhibit a regular "fluctuation" on a nanometer scale. This fluctuation was not an absorption or reflection of energy itself, but more like a kind of... adaptive "mapping."

"It 'records' these ordered, regular fluctuations," Stardust said, showing Excellence a holographic model, with the black core representing the stone in the center, and the silver sphere representing its field, constantly fluctuating slightly. "In a way we cannot fully understand, it converts this 'ordered' information into part of the structure of its own 'silence' field, allowing it to constantly self-adjust and reinforce at the microscopic level, becoming more 'pure' and 'absolute.' It can be understood that it is utilizing the 'Order' of the environment to resist any possible 'disorder' erosion, maintaining its own 'perfect silence.'"

She pulled up another set of comparative data: "However, for simulated high-chaos energy disturbances carrying the characteristics of the Heart-Devouring Demon, the field's reaction is completely different. There is no 'mapping,' no 'recording,' only a kind of... inert, but essentially absolute 'repulsion' and 'dissolution.' The moment chaotic energy touches the boundary of the field, its very existence seems to be negated, directly returning to nothingness."

Stardust closed the holographic model and looked at Excellence, her tone that of a researcher's calmness, yet carrying a hint of chill after deep investigation: "Therefore, its 'silence' is far from simple energy absorption or shielding. It is a more advanced suppression involving information levels and existential rules. It has fundamentally different 'attitudes' toward 'Order' and 'chaos.' Toward the former, it tends to 'observe,' 'learn,' and 'assimilate' to maintain the 'perfection' and 'eternity' of its own 'silence.' Toward the latter, it is a ruthless, fundamental 'erasure.'"

"This explains why my power of Order can resonate weakly with it," Excellence mused, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the armrest of his seat, "and also explains why the Heart-Devouring Demon is so obsessed with it—is it not just hating a nemesis, but... craving the power to 'negate' its own chaotic essence? Or, is it afraid that this power will be used to completely 'end' it?"

"Both possibilities exist and may be true simultaneously," Stardust added. "Judging by its behavior of calling itself a 'key' and guiding us to the 'Silent Corridor,' it clearly possesses some vague 'intent' or 'program' that transcends a simple tool. And the fragments of information it left behind mention 'cannot suppress it for much longer'—if we view its 'silence' field as a means of 'suppression,' then the object being suppressed is very likely the Heart-Devouring Demon or the more primordial 'chaos' it represents. The weakening of the field means the lock of the cage is rusting. This might explain why the Heart-Devouring Demon's recent activities have escalated sharply, even being able to split off a specialized hunting unit like the 'Greedy Aggregate,' going to great lengths to cross distant star systems to track us—it sensed an opportunity, or, sensed an imminent threat."

Excellence felt a chill crawl up his spine. What they were carrying might not just be a "key" to the center of the mystery, but possibly a "sealing core" itself that was failing, imprisoning a cosmic-level terrifying existence. And the Heart-Devouring Demon was the prisoner eager to break out of the cage, or the mad extension of the thing imprisoned.

"White Elder, what is your view?" Excellence asked in the silence.

The wooden carving was silent for a moment, and then an old and distant psionic fluctuation slowly spread: "This object... can no longer be defined by worldly standards. Its principle is close to the 'Dao' at the beginning of heaven and earth, but its nature is stubborn, seeking only 'annihilation,' nearly approaching 'nothingness.' The operation of the Heavenly Dao, the alternation of Yin and Yang, the mutual generation of movement and stillness, is the constant. Isolated Yin cannot grow, and solitary Yang cannot thrive. The 'silence' held by this stone is an 'absolute silence' that excludes all 'movement' and 'change.' If this continues, it may not be a blessing for the universe, but rather... the end of all things."

After a pause, the "White Elder's" thought became even more solemn, like the roots of an ancient tree deep into cold rock layers: "The 'Silent Corridor' it points to may be the destination where all 'silence' flows, or a place of 'return to nothingness' that channels, transforms, and even ultimately accommodates this 'annihilation.' Our journey is like going to the underworld; we must carefully guard the point of light in our spiritual platform and must not be tainted by that boundless 'silence,' losing the 'vitality' and 'choice' inherent in life. Remember, remember."

The "White Elder's" warning echoed in Excellence's heart like a warning bell. He did indeed feel that the longer he was in contact with the stone of silence, the more the absolute "silence" was not without influence. It was like a slow infiltration, occasionally giving him a strange sense of calm, but deep within that calm lay the temptation to give up thinking, give up struggling, and let everything return to stillness. This was a gentle erosion at the existential level.

The voyage continued amidst high vigilance and continuous research. Excellence devoted more time to meditation, sorting through the fragments of information in his mind, while more consciously tempering his power of Order. He found that, in the multiple "Resonances" and confrontations with the stone of silence, his power had indeed undergone subtle changes—it had become more condensed and pure, his sensitivity and resistance to "chaos" had increased, and his control had become more refined and nuanced. But the price was that his affinity for that "silence" was also growing synchronously, and the thought of "merging into eternal peace" flashed more and more frequently; he had to mobilize stronger willpower to dispel it.

Stardust dedicated herself to finding possible mental protection or stabilization means from the vast psionic technology data of the Harmonic Alliance. Combining existing data, she preliminarily designed several prototypes of "mental stabilization fields" based on specific psionic harmonic frequencies and tested them on a small scale on the ship. The effect was limited, like holding up a fragile paper umbrella in a storm, but it at least pointed in a direction and provided a sliver of psychological comfort.

Time passed silently on the scale of the star sea. As the ranger plunged into the outer region of the "Karrun Void," the scene outside the portholes underwent a subversive change.

Starlight, those distant and constant points of light that had accompanied countless generations of space travelers, began to become sparse and dim, as if the universe here was suffering from severe malnutrition. The originally evenly distributed cosmic microwave background radiation readings dropped to near freezing point. The numbers on the matter density table were pitifully low, with only a few atoms per cubic kilometer in most areas. This was a realm of near-absolute nothingness forgotten by creativity, a "desert" on a cosmic scale, empty, cold, and dead silent.

If not for the navigation system, inertial reference units, and quantum locators still working stably, providing objective references, the humans within would even lose their basic Perception of distance, speed, and even their own existence. The sense of direction became blurred here, up, down, left, and right lost their meaning, and only the stable artificial gravity inside the ship maintained a small anchor point of reality.

And right in this void where even the sense of existence became thin, that mysterious and profound "tendency" that had been guiding them reached an unprecedented level of clarity and intensity! It was no longer elusive, no longer requiring strenuous Perception, but had become a clear, almost tangible "gravity," coming from a "point" deep in the void that could not be described by three-dimensional coordinates, firmly pulling on Excellence's consciousness, and also pulling on the stone in the containment canister.

The "stone of silence" in the container has also undergone a significant change in state.

The shimmering light at its core has seen an observable increase in frequency and brightness, as if a sleeping heart began to beat as it gradually approached the source.

It no longer passively emits "silence"; occasionally, Excellence can feel a faint "pulse" of anticipation and urgency transmitted through those invisible threads of "Resonance".

However, the crisis is not far behind.

After entering the edge of the "Karrun Void", the ship's precision sensors for high-dimensional energy, psionic fields, and spatial stability began frequently reporting a series of strange and inexplicable readings.

Sometimes, it is the local space curvature showing tiny, instantaneous "dents" or "bulges" without warning, as if the fingertip of an invisible giant had brushed against the fabric of spacetime.

Sometimes, it is the sharp "negative voids" appearing in the background psionic field, as if some entity had opened its mouth and "devoured" the psionics in that small area, leaving behind a cold blank.

More disturbingly, high-sensitivity quantum information receivers occasionally capture some extremely faint, intermittent "echoes".

They are not sounds, but rather rhythmic disturbances in the spacetime structure; once translated by the sensors into patterns humans can understand, they sound like dull thuds from a great distance, like the slow friction of a giant pendulum, or the grinding sound of some indescribable, massive, cold mechanical structure in operation.

But these "sounds" are swallowed by a stronger, absolute "silence" the moment they appear, as if they were merely illusions or fragments of nightmares leaking from another dimension.

"Alert: Spatial structure anomaly detected. Coordinates marked. Range approximately five thousand kilometers. Anomaly type: Local spatial 'viscosity coefficient' abnormally elevated, spatial mobility reduced to three percent of normal. Consistent with database descriptions of long-term residual effects of high-intensity 'echo' severance. Recommendation: Avoid." Evelyn's calm voice echoed on the silent bridge.

"Avoid as recommended. Maintain main course, but detour around the anomaly and pass outside the safety distance." Excellence ordered, his eyes fixed on the main screen.

That void, marked in light gray and seemingly empty, displayed an uncomfortable, glue-like texture under the sensor view.

If a conventional craft were to stray into it, it would likely be unable to move, like an insect trapped in pine resin.

"The long-term scars of 'echo' severance..." Stardust walked over, looking at the data.

"The records of the Harmonic Alliance were right; a large-scale phenomenon occurred here, and its impact has profoundly altered the underlying rules of local space."

"Information transmission, energy flow, and even the movement of basic particles have become extremely difficult there, almost completely suppressed by the residual effects of 'silence'."

"No wonder follow-up investigations always ended in failure—without special means, it is impossible to penetrate such a region where rules are distorted."

"We are getting closer." Excellence whispered.

The power of "Order" in his arms pulsed so strongly at this moment that it felt like a heart beating in his chest, with every pulse tending to synchronize with the faint pulse of the "stone of silence".

Two magnets were irresistibly drawing closer to each other.

Just in this atmosphere, where increasingly tense "silence" and anticipation were intertwined, the psionic detector, which had been on the highest alert specifically for the energy signature of the "Heart-Devouring Demon", suddenly emitted a piercing, extreme shriek!

"Highest level alert! Ultra-high intensity 'Heart-Devouring Demon' pollutant energy signature detected! Homology comparison... 97.3%! Bearing, behind and 15 degrees down, distance... closing rapidly! Entered effective tracking range! Quantity: one! Energy reading... highly consistent with the 'Greedy Aggregate' in the archives, but peak intensity increased by about forty percent! Target confirmed: Evolved 'Greedy Aggregate'! It has followed us!"

Evelyn's voice lost its usual absolute stability, taking on a metallic, hurried edge.

The air on the bridge froze instantly!

"How is it possible?!" Stardust's pupils constricted.

They had been so careful, detouring such a long distance, even entering this rule-distorted, nearly absolute void, and yet that monster could still follow them like a shadow!

Excellence's heart sank, but long-term combat instinct allowed him to instantly suppress his shock.

"All hands, combat readiness level one! All defense systems online! Weapon systems charged to maximum safety threshold! Engines prepare for overload maneuvers! Prepare all our trump cards!"

His voice was resolute, and his energy pistol had already popped out, the cold touch sharpening his mental focus.

The "ranger" was like an awakened steel behemoth, instantly switching from stealth mode to combat posture.

Shield generators hummed, expanding the light-blue energy barrier to its thickest state, weapon ports across the hull slid open to reveal muzzles ready to fire, and the main thrusters and attitude adjusters entered standby overload status.

Sensor images captured the pursuer.

It was still that disgusting, constantly squirming and deforming dark purple aggregate, but its form had changed significantly.

Its volume seemed to have shrunk, becoming more condensed and compact, like evil metal forged by a hammer.

The purple-black slime flowing on its body now formed an energy membrane that constantly flowed and changed into strange patterns, like living armor.

And the most striking and chilling change appeared roughly in the center of its body—a vertical, narrow, irregular crack like a torn wound had split open!

Inside that crack was not flesh or energy, but pure, swirling darkness that seemed to devour all light and hope!

In the darkness, countless smaller, purple-red light spots flickered and swam like an evil swarm, coalescing into a cold, greedy "gaze" full of the desire for deprivation!

This newborn "Eye of Void" was staring fixedly at the "ranger"—or more accurately, it pierced through the hull and was "nailed" to the direction of the cabin storing the "stone of silence"!

A mental fluctuation, more condensed and piercing to the bone than before, swept over like an invisible mental storm!

This time, the impact was not a wide-range pollution, but a highly concentrated "piercing" with a cold sense of hunger!

It ignored the ship's shield's partial attenuation of mental attacks and acted directly on the deep consciousness of the crew!

What it contained was not just hatred for life, but a twisted, extreme craving for "silence" itself!

It was as if the "stone of silence" was a nemesis that had to be devoured, and a supreme sacrifice that could cause it to achieve some kind of evil "sublimation"!

"Argh—!"

Excellence felt as if his head had been pierced by a red-hot iron rod, with sharp pain accompanied by intense dizziness and nausea.

The console in front of him blurred.

Stardust groaned, her body swayed, and she held the edge of the console, data streams flashing frantically in her eyes as she tried to parse and shunt this terrifying mental attack.

The green light of the "White Elder" wooden carving flared, forming a thicker mental shield, but even the surface of the shield rippled violently under that concentrated "gaze".

"It... evolved! Highly targeted!" Stardust squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.

"That 'eye'... is a new organ! A core attack and Perception unit! It is using some method to directly 'locate' the stone! Conventional concealment is completely ineffective!"

"Fire! Stop it from getting close! Main gun volley! Missile saturation attack!" Excellence roared, enduring the mental pain.

The "ranger" fired with full force!

The main bow gun spat out thick beams of destruction, side pulse laser arrays wove into a dense light net, and dozens of missiles carrying high-explosive, fragmentation, and psionic interference payloads trailed flames, swooping toward the incoming monster like a swarm of bees!

However, the evolved "Greedy Aggregate" showed a completely different response strategy.

It did not block hard, nor did it use tentacles to deflect.

It simply aimed that newborn "Eye of Void" at the overwhelming web of fire!

The darkness in the center of the "eye" suddenly accelerated its rotation, forming a small but heart-stoppingly deep vortex!

High-energy particle beams and lasers approaching the vortex were strangely deflected, as if their paths were twisted by an invisible force field, narrowly grazing the monster's body and firing into the void behind.

The missiles, as if hitting an invisible ocean of glue, slowed down sharply, their trajectories becoming erratic, and then they were entangled and dragged by slender, hair-like but incredibly tough tentacles extending from the vortex, silently disappearing into the darkness, not even a spark of explosion appearing!

"Energy deflection! Entity consumption! It has evolved targeted defensive capabilities!" Stardust's voice was shocked.

The monster's learning and adaptive ability was simply contrary to common sense!

"Try psionic shock and spatial disturbance bombs!" Excellence gritted his teeth.

Psionic shock bombs specifically for spirit bodies and non-entity targets, as well as small space bombs capable of causing local spatial structure instability, were fired.

The result was equally chilling.

The psionic shockwave was completely absorbed and digested upon touching the dark vortex, like mud ox into the sea.

The weak spatial ripples caused by the space bombs were forcibly smoothed and suppressed by the rotating darkness as they approached the vortex, as if the vortex itself possessed the privilege to "veto" spatial anomalies within a certain range!

"Damn it! This thing is now like a black hole specifically for anti-energy, anti-psionic, and anti-spatial disturbance!" Excellence's heart sank to the bottom.

Conventional heavy firepower seemed to have lost most of its effectiveness against this monster that had evolved the "Eye of Void"!

The monster seemed to emit a silent, mocking, and thirsty shriek, its speed increasing again!

Countless purple-black tentacles covered with a faint film of darkness, like javelins shot from the abyss, attacked the "ranger" from every tricky angle!

The penetration and corrosion ability of these tentacles against energy shields had clearly increased significantly!

"Shield energy dropping rapidly! Shield disintegration rate at contact points overloaded! Estimated time to full overload: twenty-eight seconds!" Evelyn's report sounded like a death warrant.

Did he have to rely on the "stone of silence" again?

Excellence's gaze flicked toward the storage container.

But the consumption and mental burden of last time were fresh in his memory, and he instinctively felt that frequently stimulating the stone was definitely not a good thing.

At the critical moment, the "White Elder's" aged but calm mental fluctuation poured directly into the consciousness of Excellence and Stardust: "Do not panic! This creature's newly acquired 'eye', although having the strange ability to swallow, deflect, and veto, must have a root for its power, and there must be gaps in its operation!"

"This old man observes the darkness in its 'eye', which is different from the chaotic erosion of the usual 'Heart-Devouring Demon', and closer to the 'void' of 'depriving existence'!"

"Perhaps we can find a gap to strike it!"

"How to do it?" Excellence asked urgently, while desperately maintaining his mental defense.

"Excellence boy, your 'Order' is the anchor of 'existence' and the foundation of 'rules'!"

"You can condense your power into an 'anchor' and try to 'nail' the 'void rules' flowing in its 'eye', even for an instant, to break its absolute defense!"

"Stardust girl, you need to calculate its energy cycle Nodes and mental fluctuation frequency at the fastest speed, especially the instantaneous pattern of the 'eye's' dark vortex rotation and energy conversion, to find its weakest 'conversion gap'!"

"Evelyn, concentrate all remaining firepower, listen to Stardust's instructions, and attack its must-save area—the side and back of the 'eye', the Node where the tentacle energy converges!"

The "White Elder's" intent was clear and rapid; clearly, in the brief observation just now, this ancient wise man had already understood part of the essence of the enemy's new ability.

"Calculation starting!" Golden light flashed in Stardust's eyes, all redundant consciousness poured into analysis, and the data stream on the main console erupted like a volcano.

She was racing against time, racing against the monster's strange ability rules.

"Firepower system redirected! Main gun charging paused, waiting for precise coordinates! All secondary guns and close-in defense systems, concentrate fire on the root area of its extending tentacles!"

Evelyn executed immediately, the ship's firepower shifting from area coverage to precision point killing.

Excellence closed his eyes, pouring all his spirit, will, and the "Order" power, which had become purer after tempering, frantically toward the center of his eyebrows, compressing and condensing it!

He no longer sought external impact or defense, but to forge this power representing the "rules of existence" into an invisible, intangible, yet indestructible "anchor of rules"!

He wanted to use "Order" to anchor the "Void" that was trying to devour everything!

Time in the mental world seemed to stretch.

Pain, alarms, the booming of tentacles whipping the shield, the screech of energy overload... all background noise faded away.

Excellence's entire existence was concentrated on that "anchor tip" about to take shape!

"Found it!" Stardust's voice was like a sword piercing through the mist.

"The energy cycle of its 'Eye of Nihility' completes an internal mode transition from 'Devour' to 'Veto' every 1.28 seconds!"

"At the moment of transition, lasting about 0.047 seconds, the darkness at the core of the vortex will have a very brief 'retraction' and 'reorganization'."

"That is the 'gear-shifting' gap of its defensive rules, and also its most vulnerable moment!"

"The next gap is in... 0.3 seconds!"

"Coordinates synchronized!"

"Now!"

Excellence opened his eyes abruptly, silver light burning deep within his pupils!

That invisible "Anchor of Order," condensed with all the power of his existence, ignored the barriers of space and the energy membrane on the monster's body, transforming into a "flash of rules" that transcended conventional Perception, piercing with absolute precision into the center of that "Eye of Nihility," where the dark vortex was in the fleeting, fragile Node of its "retraction" transition!

"Sshh—hum!!!"

There was no deafening explosion, only a strange hum so deep it seemed to resonate directly at the base of the soul, causing existence itself to tremble!

The terrifying body of the Greedy Aggregate that had been lunging forward suddenly froze in the void, as if a pause button had been pressed!

The evil "eye" at the center of its body, the rotation of the dark vortex, suddenly stopped!

It was not physically blocked by an external force, but rather the operational core of its internal "nihility rules" of devouring and vetoing was forcibly "nailed" by the "Anchor" containing Excellence's pure concept of "Order"!

Although it was only for an insignificant instant, for such a bizarre existence that relied entirely on specific rule patterns to operate, this momentary "rule stagnation" was a fatal, systemic flaw!

"Fire!!!"

The commands from Stardust and Evelyn roared out at the exact same moment Excellence's Anchor of Order struck!

The ranger's main cannon, with its long-accumulated and highly compressed azure beam, like the first ray of light at the dawn of the universe, tore through the void and struck precisely at the area with the densest concentration of energy flow at the base of the frantically dancing tentacles behind and to the side of the "eye," as calculated by Stardust!

At the same time, all secondary batteries and remaining missiles poured all their firepower without reservation onto the monster's body, whose defenses were greatly reduced due to the "rule stagnation"!

"Screech—!!!"

This time, the attack hit the target solidly!

The main cannon beam, like a hot knife through butter, tore a huge, hideous wound on the monster's condensed body, with pale purple evil flames burning at the edges!

"Blood" and tissue fragments, thick as asphalt and shimmering with a purple-black eerie light, sprayed wildly from the wound!

The chain explosions from the secondary batteries and missiles further expanded and tore the wound, destroying its chaotic internal energy structure!

The monster let out an unprecedented, sharp screech mixed with extreme pain, rage, and a trace of disbelief!

Its body convulsed and twisted frantically, attempting to break free from the "Anchor" piercing it and restart the "Eye of Nihility."

But Excellence gritted his teeth, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and poured all his willpower into the strength to maintain the "anchoring," holding on tightly!

He felt his spirit being rapidly drained, the edges of his consciousness beginning to blur, but he knew that letting go now would mean total destruction!

"Its core energy source is moving!"

"It's retracting deep into the wound, toward the back of the 'eye'!"

Stardust stared intently at the sensors, her speech as fast as lightning, "Evelyn! Rapid recharge of the main cannon!"

"Target, the predicted point of the energy core's retraction path!"

"White Elder!"

"Understood!"

The ancient intent carried determination.

The green light of the White Elder's wooden carving instantly became incandescent, and a vast, gentle, ancient psionic energy full of vigorous vitality, rather than attacking, permeated like the most exquisite dust into the monster's extremely chaotic and fragile mental fluctuations caused by severe pain and rule disorder.

This psionic energy did not confront, but cleverly guided and amplified the monster's instinctive fear of "extinction" and the panic of having its "existence" stripped away, causing its control over the energy core to falter and become confused for an instant!

It was that very instant!

The ranger's main cannon completed its second charge—faster and more recklessly than the first—and fired!

A relatively slender but extremely concentrated beam of destruction with spiral patterns shot along the trajectory predicted by Stardust, deep into the wound of the monster's body!

"Boom!!!"

It was as if a miniature star had been ignited inside the monster!

An explosion ten times more violent than before occurred!

Dark purple light mixed with viscous matter and shattered rule fragments, like an evil and magnificent flower of death blooming in the universe!

The terrifying shockwave stirred up the surrounding void space, forming chaotic energy turbulence!

Even at a safe distance, the ranger was pushed into a roll by the shockwave, its shields flickering wildly, and the hull groaned under the unbearable load!

The dark vortex in that "Eye of Nihility" completely collapsed and annihilated!

The monster's huge, twisted body, like a punctured abscess, rapidly shriveled, withered, and disintegrated, finally turning into a cloud of purple-black smoke that expanded rapidly before being diluted and swallowed by the void itself.

Along with it, its greedy, hungry, and malicious mental imprint also dissipated into this absolute silence.

The battle, after the ultimate explosion, came to an abrupt end.

Inside the cabin, only heavy gasping and the faint hissing of the system cooling down from overload remained.

Excellence slumped completely into the command chair, his face pale as paper, his head splitting with pain, and the sense of emptiness from his exhausted mental power almost swallowing him whole.

Stardust also leaned against the console, her body trembling slightly; the high-intensity calculations and command had pushed her to her limit as well.

The light of the White Elder's wooden carving was dimmed to the extreme, its psionic fluctuations so weak they were almost gone.

"Target... energy signature... completely dissipated."

"Life signs... zero."

"Mental fluctuations... annihilated."

"Confirmed, 'Greedy Aggregate' (evolved state)... destroyed."

Evelyn's voice sounded, with a hint of an imperceptible, relieved hesitation.

"...Did we really... kill it?"

Excellence's voice was hoarse and weak, still somewhat disbelieving.

The monster, which was almost immune to conventional attacks after evolving, had actually been killed by their joint efforts in this desperate, life-risking manner.

"Destruction preliminarily confirmed."

"But the Heart-Devouring Demon derivative form exceeds common logic, so I suggest maintaining the highest alert."

"Ship damage status: shield generator overloaded and burned out, needs replacement; multiple armor damages on the hull, structural integrity dropped to 78%; main cannon energy conduit melted; multiple sensors failed."

"I suggest immediate emergency repairs and leaving this area as soon as possible."

Stardust forced herself to perk up and reported quickly.

"Evelyn, execute a short-range emergency jump, coordinates... randomly generated, at least fifteen light-years away from the current area!"

"Prioritize maintaining life support and basic power!"

Excellence ordered with his last remaining strength.

The scarred ranger, dragging its broken body, restarted the jump engine, leaving a faint ripple in the void, and disappeared without a trace.

When the ship emerged from the jump state again, it was already in a deeper, more empty region of the universe.

Here, even the sparse, dim starlight at the edge of the Karrun Void had completely disappeared.

Looking around, there was only darkness, pure to the extreme, absorbing all light.

It was as if this was behind the curtain at the end of the world, the absolute frontier where even the concept of "existence" became thin and blurred.

And right here, in this "nothingness" that seemed to be before the creation or after the end of the universe, that "tendency" pointing toward the Silent Corridor reached its peak!

It was no longer a pull, but a "Resonance," a "confirmation"!

It was as if the destination itself was in the center of this darkness, generating a cross-dimensional Resonance with the stone of silence and Excellence's power of Order!

Meanwhile, the core of the stone of silence, which had been quietly waiting in the reinforced containment canister, suddenly increased in brightness, as if a miniature supernova had erupted in the canister!

A complete, coherent, and incredibly clear thought, no longer carrying any sense of fragmentation, surged like a torrent directly into Excellence's nearly exhausted consciousness:

"the watchers... exhausted... return to eternal silence..."

"the gate... seal... shaken by the silence of the watchers... opening... irreversible..."

"Hasten to... the Silent Corridor..."

"Before the gate of the end... listen... choose..."

"Continue? Reshape? Or... return to the final silence?"

"The threads of fate... held in your hands..."

Accompanying this thought, heavy as an ancient bell toll, a picture far clearer, more complete, and grander than any previous fragment was directly branded deep into Excellence's mind:

It was a "background" that could not be described in words—neither dark nor light, but a "void" where "existence" itself tended to be thin.

In the center of this void, a "gate" was floating.

the gate was so huge that it transcended visual scale, as if it were an independent universe itself.

It was formed by the materialization of "silence," its material neither metal, stone, nor wood, presenting a cold, dim silver luster that flowed like mercury and starlight.

the gate was tightly closed, its surface engraved with countless geometric patterns and unreadable ancient symbols so complex they were dizzying, as if containing all the secrets of the universe from birth to end.

These patterns were not static, but slowly flowing and changing, as if they had life.

And in front of the gate, a blurry "figure," composed of more condensed "silence" and with its back to the scene, was standing quietly.

The figure had no specific form, but radiated endless exhaustion, loneliness, and... relief.

At this moment, the figure was starting from the edges, like a weathered sand sculpture, crumbling and dissipating bit by bit, turning into the finest silver light dust, merging into the vast silence of the gate surrounding it.

As the "figure" dissipated, from the center of the tightly sealed gap of that huge, cold, and heavy silver gate, faintly, a sliver of... light seemed to shine through.

It was not any known spectrum.

It was chaotic, ever-changing, as if containing infinite colors and yet as if containing nothing at all, containing all possibilities of creation and destruction, and also emitting a pure aura of "unknown" that made the soul tremble.

The image froze at this moment, then slowly faded away.

Excellence opened his eyes abruptly, cold sweat having soaked through his combat suit, the cold sensation making him shiver.

He looked at the containment canister—the "stone of silence" inside, its core light point flickering at an unprecedented, stable, and bright rhythm, like the pulse of the only lighthouse in an endless dark ocean, firmly pointing to a predetermined end.

the watchers had completely fallen silent.

the gate, having lost its watchers, began to loosen, and its opening seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

They had gone through hardships, escaped the hunt, and finally arrived at the end of this puzzle, the source of this guidance.

But what awaited them at the end was not an answer, but a huge choice, grander and heavier, concerning the fate of perhaps more than one world.

Continue what?

Reshape what?

Or... accept that final silence that encompasses everything?

The ranger, like a scarred and exhausted pilgrim, hovered quietly at the edge of this absolute void that even starlight refused to favor.

Ahead was the final destination, finally confirmed by the stone of silence and pushed by the invisible hand of fate—the entrance to the Silent Corridor, that silent gate that had begun to leak the light of the "unknown."

All the mysteries, all the struggles, all the sacrifices and persistence seemed to be coming to their end before this gate.

And they, holding the "key" and bearing "Order," would have to make that choice that perhaps no one was prepared to bear.

Inside the ship, it was silent.

Only the stone, in the canister, flickered on its own, waiting.