148: Broken Cradle

As that giant purple psionic hand, which blotted out the sky, completely broke free from the rift of The Void Realm, the physical constants of the material universe seemed somewhat overwhelmed at this moment.

The psionic avatar of that great being from The Void Realm, the instrument of desire, had finally descended completely into the interior of the Celestial Throne star system.

It had no fixed form; it was a constantly shifting purple storm composed of the highest-grade psionic energy.

At times it transformed into a wailing behemoth with a thousand faces, at times it became countless tentacles waving sharp blades, and at other times it collapsed into a huge, beating heart emitting an eerie light.

Its volume was so vast it even exceeded one of the satellites of Cradle Star. When it appeared in orbit, the terrifying gravitational disturbance even caused the tides of Cradle Star to instantly spiral out of control, triggering tsunamis that swept across the globe.

"What a spectacular energy level reaction."

On the bridge of the Titan flagship, the Eternal Silence, Major General Sal stood with his hands behind his back, seriously watching the avatar of the god on the screen as it vented its fury upon the material world.

Compared to the trembling and prostrating of the Angel people on the surface of Cradle Star when facing the divine avatar, the reaction of the Faleim People seemed out of place—they were too calm, as calm as if they were observing a specimen trapped in a glass jar.

"Target psionic index: Level 7 High Risk," the cold electronic voice of the tactical AI echoed through the bridge. "Comparing with historical database... 87% match. This energy level is slightly lower than the combat records with the avatar of the Whisperer in the Void during the 423rd engagement, but higher than the 112th encounter."

Sal calmly issued the command.

"Execute according to the operational contingency plan."

"All fleet, scatter."

...The battle broke out in an instant.

The psionic avatar seemed to sense the disgusting materialistic aura emanating from these few "silver little bugs." It was a denial of the soul and a desecration of psionic energy.

It let out a soul-piercing shriek; the sound could not travel in a vacuum, yet it stirred visible ripples on the shield surfaces of every warship.

Following that, countless bolts of purple psionic lightning erupted from its unpredictable body, like a giant net covering the entire starry sky, descending fiercely upon the task force.

This lightning was no ordinary current, but a psionic attack called Mind Lash. They ignored physical armor, aiming to directly burn out the neural pathways of the operators inside the warships.

For an ordinary civilization, this single blow would be enough to turn the entire fleet into unmanned ghost ships.

But in the Faleim Fleet, the situation was entirely different.

"Wide-area psionic impact detected."

"Activate Phase Deflection Shields."

"Adjust Phase Deflection Shield frequency to anti-psionic band."

The five Sciences End-class battleships and the Titan flagship reacted almost simultaneously. A faint golden halo rippled across their hulls; it was a defensive field specifically designed against psionic attacks, developed by the Faleim People in the old universe through reverse-engineering Fallen Empire technology. Its effect was only slightly inferior to the large-scale psionic shields of Fallen Empire ships.

The purple lightning struck the halos like mud entering the sea, instantly neutralized and dissipated, unable to make the warships' shield readings drop by even 1%.

"Commence baiting."

The five battleships suddenly accelerated. They did not retreat, but instead, like five sharp knives at extremely tricky angles, they used the high maneuverability of their Dark Matter Inertialess Drives to charge directly toward the side of the psionic avatar.

They were like five nimble gadflies, flying up and down around this massive behemoth.

Neutron Emitters and Phase Disintegration Beams poured onto the psionic avatar like raindrops.

Although conventional weapons had limited damage against such an energy entity—like using a needle to prick a cloud—it successfully enraged the opponent.

The psionic avatar roared, its form undergoing a violent change as countless giant purple claws extended from the storm, attempting to seize these slippery ships.

Every swing carried a terrifying power that tore through space, and every grab seemed capable of crushing an asteroid.

To an outside observer, this was a thrilling dance of death.

The silver-white warships darted back and forth within the purple tide of energy, facing one narrow escape after another. Several times, the massive psionic claws brushed past the very edges of the ships' shields, the resulting space-time ripples causing the ships' alarm lights to flash wildly.

On the surface of Cradle Star, the surviving Angel people watched the divine war in the sky with terror. In their eyes, those silver warships were like solitary boats tossing in a storm, liable to be destroyed at any moment.

However, inside the bridges of the Faleim People, the atmosphere was orderly.

"Warning, high-energy gravitational collapse detected at 30 degrees portside."

"Execute evasive maneuver protocol C-4."

"Deflect 15 degrees starboard, increase engine output by 20%."

The warship AI predicted every attack of the psionic avatar with femtosecond-level reaction speeds. Those seemingly perilous dodges were actually precise movements calculated billions of times.

They were dancing on the tip of a blade, but it was a choreographed, absolutely precise dance.

"Target aggro locked."

"Shield recharge rate stable."

"Lure position achieved."

Under the successful distraction of the five battleships, the psionic avatar's massive body was completely exposed within the firing arc of the flagship, the Eternal Silence.

By this time, the black Titan flagship had quietly finished charging its strongest strike.

Within the acceleration rail at the bow, which stretched for hundreds of kilometers, antimatter and matter were violently annihilating under the constraints of spatial technology, producing a terrifying energy sufficient to make even stars dim in comparison.

"Annihilation Beam, fire."

Sal gave the order.

Hum—

A beam of light so pure it seemed more brilliant than a star erupted from the Titan's bow.

It silently sliced through the void, leaving permanent scorch marks in space wherever it passed.

The beam accurately struck the core of the psionic avatar—the deepest part of that purple vortex.

After a shattering sound from a higher dimension, the previously overbearing psionic avatar let out a roar of agony under the impact of energy that contained the pure laws of destruction.

A massive hole appeared in its energy-constituted body the moment it was hit by the beam, and the surrounding psionic energy boiled and evaporated violently like scalding water.

This single strike directly shaved off one-third of its energy reserves.

A wave of thought filled with shock and rage swept across the entire star system.

The wounded divine avatar went completely berserk. It no longer tried to catch those annoying flies, but instead gathered all its power together.

The purple storm began to contract, eventually turning into a high-density psionic black hole several thousand kilometers in diameter.

It attempted to launch an even wider-area attack, trying to pull the entire star system along with this fleet into the abyss of The Void Realm.

"It's getting desperate," Sal sneered.

"Anti-Psionic Interference Obelisk, activate Overload Mode."

The silver-gray spire on the Titan's back suddenly erupted with a blinding white light.

A powerful interference wave targeting psionic frequencies spread at the speed of light, like invisible chains, tightly binding that expanding psionic black hole.

The space that was originally collapsing was forcibly stabilized by this interference wave.

The psionic avatar's charging was interrupted, and its movements suffered a brief moment of paralysis.

And this was the opportunity the Faleim People had been waiting for.

"Fire the second Annihilation Beam."

Another Annihilation Beam.

This time, it directly pierced through the center of the psionic black hole.

The already unstable high-energy structure finally could not maintain its form after suffering a second heavy blow.

The psionic black hole collapsed, exploding again into countless chaotic energy currents.

The divine avatar began to become illusory and transparent; its power was rapidly draining, returning to The Void Realm.

"The final blow."

Sal looked at the dissipating figure and issued the execution order.

The Titan's main cannon lit up once more; it was the death knell announcing the end.

The third Annihilation Beam, carrying the iron fist and will of the Faleim Civilization, completely erased that tattered divine projection.

Boom—

This psionic avatar disintegrated conceptually.

With the complete dissipation of the psionic avatar, a final psionic surge full of resentment and curses swept across the entire Celestial Throne star system.

"You... will... pay... the price..."

The voice of the instrument of desire drifted further away, finally vanishing into the other side of reality.

And at the same time it disappeared, that final burst of disordered psionic shockwave brought a devastating disaster to this star system.

Although the Faraim Fleet remained unscathed thanks to their shields, the star system itself suffered.

In orbit, thousands of Angel space stations, satellite fortresses, and those civilian ships that didn't have time to evacuate shattered and disintegrated one after another under this shockwave like fragile glass toys.

Countless pieces of debris flew through space, forming a cloud belt of dead metal.

And that beautiful home planet, Cradle, was not spared either.

Although most of the shockwave's energy was absorbed by the atmosphere, the resulting global electromagnetic storms, geological upheavals, and psionic backlash still leveled vast areas of the surface.

Looking down from space, large patches of scorched marks appeared on the surface of Cradle Star—scars left by ignited forests and cities leveled by the shockwave. The atmosphere was filled with dust and ionized clouds, and the once beautiful sky became murky and foul.

The Arctic Circle region, where the Supreme Cathedral was located, suffered even more due to the direct impact of the first neutron beam, triggering violent geological changes. The entire continental shelf fractured and sank, and seawater poured in, forming a new sea.

The once prosperous capital system was now riddled with scars, and the once sacred religious holy land was now nothing but ruins.

First Prince Mika sat blankly on the ruined terrace of the imperial palace, watching the gradually dissipating purple light points in the sky and the devastated land.

The shackles on his body and soul had long since been unlocked, and Losanda had long since been reduced to ashes.

The god was gone.

The dream was over.

All that remained was a mess and endless desolation.

"Is this... the price?"

Mika looked at the six silver-white warships in the sky, which were like messengers of natural disaster, and complex tears flowed from his eyes.

They had driven away the god, but the "salvation" they brought was filled with the scent of blood and destruction.

Hundreds of millions of Angel people lost their lives on this day, or became lunatics who had lost their minds.

When the dust settled, Sal looked at the devastated star system outside the porthole, at that planet burning in the flames of war, and a trace of pity couldn't help but appear on his face.

This battle, which was supposed to save the Angel civilization, had caused such massive destruction and casualties. Was it all worth it for the Angel people?

But he quickly put away the emotions he shouldn't have.

"Mission accomplished."

He calmly recorded in the log.

"Plan steps completed smoothly, civilization-level contract terminated, target star system severely damaged, psionic entity expelled."

"In view of the unavoidable destruction caused by the battle, I apply to provide humanitarian aid to this star system."