"The Fallen Apostles are essentially a race born from all kinds of mistakes. They are facing a problem that no one has ever faced before." God Father leaned back in his chair, his thoughts drifting away. "They do not belong to the Abyss, but they are also enemies of Order."
"Is the situation really that serious?" I felt that it was inconceivable.
"Up until ten minutes ago, I didn't think so much." God Father smiled. "All this while, I have never directly asked about the matters regarding the Fallen Apostles. This was all left to the children to handle, so I don't know much about them. In my impression, I have mixed them up with those regular abyssal mutations. But now, it seems that I should pay more attention to them. According to what you said, the Fallen Apostles are not completely mutated crazy individuals. They are still rational, and at the same time, they are still affected by the Abyss. The reason for this is probably attributed to the Shiring Apostles' powerful vitality and self-purification ability. Your psionic energy can continuously neutralize the Abyss, but it is not strong enough to directly annihilate it like the Void. Thus, the two powers constantly clash, compromise, and transform, finally producing the unprecedented mutation of the Fallen Apostles. Now, I can basically confirm that they are unable to survive in the Gates of the Abyss, nor can they survive in a world of absolute Order … Hmm, this isn't right. They can survive in a world of Order, but as time passes, the world of Order will eventually be transformed by them into a strange environment that suits their race's characteristics. "
God Father paused, as if giving me time to understand these problems, before continuing. "You mentioned yourself that you have a fleet of Abyssal fleets under your command. They are stationed independently, because when they gather together, they will have a certain impact on the surrounding environment. I'm guessing that this is definitely a passive phenomenon. And as the number of individuals increases, and the degree of concentration increases, this impact will become more and more obvious. In your Empire, the number of Abyssal fleets is ultimately limited, and they have more or less been purified, so the impact they produce will not cause any trouble. You can even ignore this small problem, but for the Fallen Apostles … they need a more distorted, more chaotic world. They transform the world, and at the same time, they rely on such a world. This is probably a process of mutual influence. "
"So … they need to create a new 'Order' for themselves …" I began to understand a little.
"If a race wants to survive and develop, they will have to transform the environment they are in." God Father's tone was as unhurried as ever. "However, all the races that have appeared in the past, including the Source-bearers, the Protoss, or those created by you, belong to the Order side of creatures. No matter how they transform and adapt to the world, they at least abide by the main premise of 'Order'. Even if they destroy their own world, they do so under the condition of obeying the rules of Order. Therefore, the world is still a world, and the existing template and Void Quadrant will not be affected by the activities of these races. However, the Fallen Apostles are an exception. Their requirements for the world are destined to exceed the limits that 'Order' can tolerate. No existing world template is suitable for the survival of the Fallen Apostles. Therefore, as long as they are still developing, there must be … a template that meets their requirements, or even a Void Quadrant that meets their requirements."
I suddenly felt enlightened, but I was even more astonished. "Wait, if this hypothesis is true … they're going to create a new world model out of thin air? Or even a Void Quadrant? "
"The possibility of the latter is very high." God Father nodded. "I don't know if you have thought of it, but the Fallen Apostles will never choose a gentle strategy like 'transforming the world one by one'. That is because the existing worlds of Order all have a basic framework. If the Fallen Apostles were to transform them one by one, it would definitely cause great damage to their basic framework. Based on my guess, the lifespan of every universe within their borders should be extremely short. If you force a world of Order to operate in an orderly manner under the influence of the high density of the Abyss, it will consume the world by a hundredfold. Thus, their borders are probably the most unstable. At any time, a large number of universes will die early due to the influence of the Fallen Apostles. They must change this situation, so it is very important to create a world model that fuses with the Abyss from birth. "
"This … Is it possible to do so?"
"It's extremely difficult. I don't even know where to start. However, if the Fallen Apostles have been researching this matter for over ten thousand years, they might have found a way. The following are all my guesses. Oh, of course, the above is also my guess. I'm guessing that it is impossible to change this kind of distorted world by just changing the template. All of the parameters determined by the world template are within the framework of Order. This is a tree-like structure, and the world template is only in the middle of this tree-like structure. It is completely controlled by the word 'Order', and above it … is the Void Quadrant. Only the Void Quadrant can determine some more fundamental things. "
"So you're guessing that they want to make a move against the Void Quadrant?" I felt that I was almost unable to keep up with God Father's pace. "Indeed … Their great cause might be something as whimsical as this. They extract key items from various worlds and destroy the universe according to the sequence of a ritual. However, we have never been able to conclude any rules from this, because no one has ever thought of the Fallen Apostles' ultimate goal to such a bizarre degree."
"Making a move against the Void Quadrant? This is a good word to use." God Father closed his eyes slightly and muttered to himself for a few seconds. "The difficulty of creating a Void Quadrant out of thin air is unimaginable. If my understanding of the nature of the Void is correct, then there are only three people who can do it."
I was astonished that there were actually such amazing people in the world. "Which three?!"
God Father silently looked at me. "You're wrong. Right now, it's two and a half."
I: "?" However, I quickly understood what was going on. Actually, it would have been fine to just use the Void Awesome Ranking. God Father (Second Brother) counted as one, Hilla (Big Sister) counted as one, and I counted as half. Alright, I probably didn't count as half. Saying it was two and a half was probably a form of psychological comfort. Now, there was one thing that I could be sure of. God Father and King Huron … Their foundations were unfathomable! The Void Quadrant … Could it be that the two Great Masters created it for the convenience of housing allocation in the past, which was already untraceable?
"Cough cough, it's not that impressive. I only said that it could be done, but I didn't really do it." God Father heard my guess and immediately coughed dryly. "In the past, I had such a grand plan with Hilla, but both of us felt that it was too much to do, so we didn't do it. I just want to clarify one point: Creating a Void Quadrant out of thin air is impossible for normal races that are below the Void Creatures. Absolutely, definitely, ten thousand percent. It's something that is impossible from the very start — "
God Father paused for three seconds and added the second half of his sentence as though he was gasping for air, "But there is a loophole."
I: "…" Can you hold your breath and say it all at once?
"This loophole is: Normal races can lay their hands on an existing Void Quadrant. This way, they can circumvent the restriction that 'normal races are unable to create anything of equivalent value to the Void' because they are only making some modifications to the existing items created by the Void. "
A bolt of lightning flashed through my mind. If God Father's deductions were correct from the start, then … the extent of the heartless things that the Fallen Apostles wanted to do was far beyond my imagination! Damn it!
"It is extremely likely that they want to distort an existing Void Quadrant so that they can normally produce a universe that meets their requirements. From then on, there will be an endless stream of deformed worlds that are similar to the universe that they live in. But to them, that kind of world is normal. And these deformed worlds won't be in danger of dying early. The ultimate goal of the Fallen Apostles is to make deformed individuals like themselves become a matter of course. They want to replace the position of the world of Order, or at least the position of a Void Quadrant. But considering the expansionary nature of the Shiring Apostles … "
"As long as one of them succeeds, they will begin to distort every Void Quadrant …" I felt my temples twitching. "In this process, the number of worlds that will be destroyed won't be in terms of one or even in terms of piles, but in terms of quadrants! The entire Void only has a total of twenty or so quadrants! "
"Up until now, everything has been deductions, hasn't it?" God Father actually still had that kind of carefree smile on his face. Then, he chuckled foolishly and scratched his head. "Hey, tell me, how did the two of us jump all the way to such a profound topic?"
I looked at God Father, and a sense of helplessness suddenly welled up in my heart. This kind of calm attitude …
But this kind of sigh only lasted for a few seconds, because I understood that God Father's harmless and carefree appearance couldn't be trusted. Behind that kind smile of a next-door older brother, there was hidden experience and wisdom that you would never be able to fathom. Perhaps the true ultimate 'great wisdom appears to be slow-witted' should be the person in front of me. Indeed, as he said, everything before was just a guess, but this guess, at least from a logical point of view, wasn't wrong.
I had always overlooked one point: Even though the Fallen Apostles were savage, they were a race that lived in a crevice. They rejected Order, yet they couldn't be accepted by the Abyss. Currently, there was no place for them in the existing Void Domain. Their world was distorted and deformed, in a state between Order and Chaos. And if they wanted to expand, develop, and even had the "lofty ambition" of bringing the Empire back to the peak of the Void Domain, they would inevitably spread their deformities to every corner of the Void Domain. Moreover, these deformities would become "axioms" in the Void Domain. In that case, what other death-seeking action could be more worthy of the name "great cause" than attacking the Void Quadrant?
I can't blame myself for not realizing the Fallen Apostles' 'gap' until now. After all, even though the New Empire now had a batch of Abyssal troops, they were still very different from the pure Fallen Apostles. They were few in number, orderly, and had been purified in batches by Xiaoxue once. The racial characteristics of the Fallen Apostles had almost been neutralized, to the point that even Shadora didn't notice the fact that the Fallen Apostles were fundamentally different from the Xi Ling Apostles.
"Even if there's a one-in-ten chance that these speculations are true, we can't just sit back and do nothing," Godfather pondered. "If they really have the ability to attack the Void Quadrant, then once their 'great cause' succeeds, I'm afraid it'll be really difficult to deal with them … Although the Protoss are strong, the Void is infinitely vast. When the deformities spread to the entire quadrant, even I can't control the situation. Now, it seems that the timing for them to start their 'great cause' is perfect. You also know that in the next few hundred years, the Abyssal Gates in various parts of the Void will once again enter an active period. The Protoss Expedition is about to begin. This way, with the convenience of the Abyss' activity cycle, it's equivalent to them getting rid of one of their biggest threats. I reckon that in their original plan, the Protoss was probably the only threat to their 'great cause'. The appearance of the New Empire should have been unexpected by the Fallen Apostles. Now, let's see if this accident of yours is enough to turn their great cause into a bubble. "
I thought about it. The core meaning of these words should be: I can't count on the Protoss anymore.
Of course, there's nothing to complain about. The Protoss Expedition cycle has been unshakable for millions of years. They regularly eliminate the accumulated Abyssal Powers. There are even many worlds that use the time when the Protoss Expedition Army passes by and does nothing as a ten-thousand-year history. It's as accurate and eternal as Pandora's height. That's why the Protoss can't spare any manpower at this time, so I can't complain at all. However, although I don't have any temper, I still have a lot of regrets. Godfather probably saw through my thoughts. He shrugged and said, "Of course, now it seems that the threat of the Fallen Apostles is no less than a collective outbreak of the Abyss. So, I will do my best to prepare reinforcements. I hope that you can delay their footsteps as much as possible. The more time that passes, the more advantageous it will be for us. "
I shook my head and temporarily put aside the trivial matter of the Fallen Apostles. I'll go home and talk to Sandora. She should be more far-sighted than I am.
"About the civilization at the bottom of the Abyss, do you have any thoughts?"
This is also the indirect reason why we came here to meet Godfather. At first, the Protoss found out about the Fourth Civilization, which was why they found this universe wreckage with signs of deep exploration. Godfather himself was also very concerned about the mysterious civilization that suddenly appeared. When he heard me mention this, he nodded slightly and said, "The Fourth Civilization … You know, I recently had people look through all the files of the Protoss. At least in our records, this Fourth Civilization has never appeared. Even the traces of their existence have not been discovered. So, we can basically be sure that they only recently had the ability to send information to the world of Order. The first to receive the information was the old Empire. However, that was after the old Empire's series of outrageous plans had begun to be implemented. You also know about that period of history. Because of the endless disputes over the problems of those experiments, the relationship between the Realm of Gods and the old Empire was a little stiff at that time. Also …"
"And I'm afraid that the emperors of the Empire at that time no longer revealed anything related to Project X to the Protoss. They did not tell you about the Fourth Civilization." I said emotionally. The biggest mistake that the Shiring Apostles made was to ignore the Protoss's warning and confidently study the Void. Now, it seems that this mistake caused many chain effects. The Fourth Civilization had already appeared tens of thousands of years ago, but because the information between the Empire and the Realm of Gods was isolated, Godfather did not know about it. Until the fall of the old Empire, it became a secret that was hidden for tens of thousands of years. If the Fourth Civilization was a threat to the world of Order, then we would have undoubtedly lost the most precious opportunity.
"It's worth being vigilant, but it's hard to say if it's a friend or foe," Godfather said slowly. "When I heard from you that a powerful civilization that was about to break out of the Abyss had appeared in the world of Order, I was also shocked. But after reading more information that you sent me, I think that this civilization is actually a kind of 'Order' race. The depths of the Abyss will show an abnormal state of peace, and the deeper you go, the more obvious this state of peace will be. Then, it is possible that there is a world of Order at the bottom. It's just that I'm a little worried if their 'Order' is compatible with the 'Order' here. From the Black Shuttle in your hands and the EN-166 sample that I just learned about today, it can be seen that at least the substances in their world are 'incompatible' with ours in nature … "
I exhaled. "I can occasionally 'hear' sounds from the other side of the river. It's like they are very curious about the situation on our side, and from the looks of it, they don't have much more information than we do. The Fourth Civilization's detection technology is more advanced than the Empire's, but I'm afraid that it will be a long time before they reach the level where they can carry people across the border. Do you think … this is related to the nature of the Void Creatures? Can you hear it? "
Father shrugged. "Of course I haven't heard it. Otherwise, I would have started preparing tens of thousands of years ago. Void Creatures are very strange. Although they are a race, each individual has a different nature and ability. We concluded this rule a long time ago … "
I glanced at him. "It's just you and Big Sis. Is it necessary to conclude something that can be understood just by exchanging name cards?"
Father: "… Isn't it too high-end to say that? Also, I seem to be a little affected by Hilla after being entangled with her for so long."
"For example, constantly emphasizing the population problem of the Void Race, and publicly calling a conversation between the two of them a meeting of the entire race?"
Father looked at me seriously. "Do you dare to not stray from the topic?"
I laughed foolishly, feeling a little disappointed in my heart. It seemed that I couldn't get the experience from the two seniors to understand the situation at the bottom of the abyss. This was a problem that only I could solve. But from the looks of it, if I wanted to rely on my own experience to figure out this matter, I might as well study which came first, the egg or the chicken.
Just as Father and I were both in a daze … thinking, an unfamiliar little girl's voice suddenly came from the side. "Dad!"
Due to various reasons, I subconsciously wanted to answer when I heard this word. Luckily, I suddenly realized that this didn't sound like the voice of my naughty child. I turned my head to look, and as expected, there was a little girl standing not far away from me. She wasn't from my family — she was from Father's family.
Father God was stunned. "Cyndia? Why are you here? "
The little girl puffed out her chest and said openly, "I snuck out from home! Because mom is cooking today! "
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