Silence.
As if the entire cosmos existed in absolute quiet.
Facing the question, all these mist-like life forms could do at this moment was remain still.
They were now forced into a binary choice.
In this kind of conflict, they were simply incapable of achieving smooth coordination, nor could they mutually support one another.
As a young civilization, they were far too insignificant.
Just like the Federation once faced the Olive Branch Civilization.
Weakness was their original transgression.
"This could be the fate of our civilization…" A nearby life form stammered this sentence out after a long pause.
It looked resolutely at the other life forms.
"I would rather perish on the battlefield than see my civilization kneel."
It exited the conference room.
Heading directly toward the enemy's position.
Its action swayed some individuals, and a portion chose to follow in its wake.
A civilization never lacks such determined members.
Every civilization possesses an inherent drive for conflict.
However, did that inherent aggression hold any meaning in this critical moment?
"Actually, I think everyone already knows in their hearts that we cannot defeat the adversary."
"At the very least, I mean absolutely, their objective is not annihilation."
This applied even to those who had chosen to depart.
If true hope existed, they wouldn't be forced to march toward certain death.
It was precisely because of the unpredictable variables that they were unwilling to confront the situation head-on.
From the very beginning, they had been drawn into the opponent's established rhythm. Satan's Hand had imposed too great a disadvantage upon them—so immense that they couldn't even mount a timely response.
At this moment, they still maintained a significant portion of combat power engaging the opponent's fleets deployed on all flanks.
What the status of the conflict was on those distant fronts, they were currently unsure.
But judging purely from the results on the primary battlefield, the outlook wouldn't be positive.
This was an all-out, decisive crushing defeat targeted squarely at them.
In fact, it couldn't even be termed a tactical crushing; rather, it was a comprehensive technological domination.
If they possessed sufficient power, if their technological reserves were adequate, Satan's Hand could have been countered easily. Then, the war would present an entirely different scenario.
But there was no "if" remaining anymore. Many "ifs" served only as excuses. What they needed to consider now was the ultimate fate of their entire civilization.
"Can the enemy's assurances be trusted? As long as we are controlled, we will be manipulated at their whim," one life form couldn't help but voice.
This represented their final struggle.
Because everyone understood they had no viable alternative left.
"Perhaps we can notify other sectors to attempt an escape."
A life form proposed the idea.
"Escape where?"
"Dimensional warfare has already commenced. The entire galaxy is entering a period of massive expansion. All civilizations are reaching outward, and beyond the galaxy, even more powerful civilizations are observing. Within the galaxy, we would be safe from external threats; outside the galaxy, the danger would multiply tenfold."
"This is the worst possible course of action. It's either immediate destruction or complete surrender. We are left with only these two paths."
They continued to argue, still wrestling with the inevitable truth.
Even though this realization was already undeniable fact.
"Cease the discussion. Up until this point, those supreme powers above us have not intervened."
"No civilization can shield us; only we can determine our course."
"Surrender is the only rational decision. We can only blame our origins; we are too weak. A weak civilization forfeits the right to a choice."
At this precise moment, uttering those words truly demanded immense fortitude.
Even the most powerless struggle implies that some sliver of hope and fortune still resides in the heart.
But this declaration extinguished nearly all residual fortune and hope.
It placed down the final, crushing weight.
And upon making this resolution, dozens of life forms instantly vacated the room.
"We realize this is the most logical choice, but just as Manni Ink stated earlier, we cannot accept such a destiny."
"Allow us to take one final, desperate gamble for our glorious civilization!"
"When surrender arrives, it simultaneously signifies death. A civilization's final collapse requires some to depart with it; otherwise, the demise is agonizingly lonely!"
These life forms, moments earlier, had not actually been completely unified.
Friction inevitably existed within any complex system.
But in this instant, all remaining life forms gained a profound, renewed appreciation for the comrades standing beside them.
The remainder paid their respects to those who had departed.
"Civilization will not truly vanish; it will be eternally inscribed in time, alongside your sacrifice."
...
Sucan waited for a prolonged period.
Perhaps three or four hours passed.
During this time, he frantically worked to restore the energy reserves of his Transcendent Realm.
Because he knew that regardless of success or failure, he was about to face a ferocious confrontation.
Indeed.
The enemies before him began to move.
They charged toward him once more.
Countless attacks rained down upon him.
He was forced into constant evasion, dodging back and forth across the spatial plane, desperately searching for a viable opening.
He wondered if it was merely his own perception.
He sensed a distinct feeling of pity emanating from these adversaries.
This pity was an emotion he had never encountered before.
However, he had heard accounts of it.
During a prior mission, he encountered an exceedingly ancient man. This individual was truly ancient, originating from the era of the Old Federation.
He had witnessed the transition from the Old Federation to the New.
He had described: "When we surrendered, I felt the city weeping!"
It was this exact sensation.
At this moment, this critical war stronghold was also weeping.
"This is war. The weak will ultimately be destroyed."
Sucan felt a sense of pity, yet no compassion. Instead, his resolve hardened further.
The Federation, though immensely powerful when facing this particular civilization, was equally vulnerable when confronted by others.
In the grand scheme of dimensional warfare, the Federation was certainly not ranked among the greats.
Perhaps an invasion by a higher-dimensional civilization against a three-dimensional entity would signify the Federation's absolute collapse.
At this moment, he finally understood why Ayla had dispatched so many Divine beings to this location.
This was a battle they were absolutely required to win.
"Rest."
Sucan spotted an opening in the enemy's assault and charged in once more.
In the void of space, a faint funeral dirge seemed to play.
...
At the location of the energy core.
A colossal breach had been blown open here.
Its diameter reached a staggering 300,000 kilometers—a testament to the sheer explosive force of the energy core.
Several Divine beings had perished as a consequence.
But fortunately, a fragment of their consciousness remained anchored within their warships, allowing for rapid resurrection.
Had it not been for that anchor, achieving this breach would have been significantly more challenging.
Luna, naturally, chose to retreat momentarily. She positioned herself at the edge of the void. A portion of this massive hole even extended to the outer hull of the stronghold, creating an aperture through which a vast amount of gas was escaping.
At this moment, she looked back toward the unbreached passage of the stronghold behind her.
In the distance, countless life forms were rushing toward their position.
However, this surge seemed somewhat different from the preceding waves.
They did not carry overt malice. Luna perceived their collective emotions as more akin to a form of catharsis.
"So it wasn't an illusion after all?"
"I can actually perceive emotions themselves. Although emotions are fundamentally chemical signals, they are exceptionally difficult to capture accurately. It requires extremely subtle observation, which I currently lack. Therefore, the emotions I sense shouldn't be these standard signals, but rather another type—emotions originating from consciousness."
"A bit esoteric."
"Never mind that. No one truly understands the nature of consciousness. Perhaps only when civilization ascends to Type 3 status will that concept become clear."
"For now, let's deal with these suicidal fools."
This drive for self-destruction was truly an act of seeking death.
The Transcendent Realm spewed out a tail stream, boosting Luna's speed past 10,000 kilometers per second.
Luna did not activate any specialized weaponry.
As someone adept at area-of-effect maneuvers, her tactical repertoire was far broader than Sucan's.
The closer she approached those life forms.
The stronger the conscious connection she felt.
She wasn't entirely certain if this heightened sensitivity was a result of the fourth dimension.
The fourth dimension seemed to grant her an extreme sensitivity to consciousness, allowing her to perceive emotions transmitted directly from awareness.
This was beneficial.
Worthy of rigorous study.
But for a warrior focused on combat like Luna, it also served as a distraction, hindering her concentration.
She instantly materialized before an enemy life form.
This was her first time being this close to an alien entity. Though the opponent was merely a cloud of mist, Luna could still perceive its discernible intelligence. The entity possessed thoughts, and it possessed emotions.
"The more emotionally charged a creature is, the more resistant it becomes to control."
"If such self-inflicted deaths are permitted to occur freely, then this seed [of defiance] will perpetually remain in the hearts of every life form within this civilization, passed down through generations."
"Eventually, it will evolve into a glorious flower of resistance."
"I know your longing for immediate death at this very moment, but, I apologize, you are not permitted to die!"
Luna's statement existed only within her own mind.
As she materialized before that alien entity, one hand reached forward.
From her fingertips flowed tiny, shimmering particles.
These particles merged into the entity's mass.
Attaching to and influencing every particle that constituted the life form, thereby disrupting it.
Life possessed its inherent genetic code.
Luna had previously conducted some basic research on these life forms, but she hadn't managed to capture their fundamental code.
If she could obtain that code, it would be invaluable.
It would grant Luna the ability to easily influence these four-dimensional beings.
Since direct influence was impossible now, Luna could still induce confusion, bewilderment, and even unconsciousness.
Luna turned and departed after executing this maneuver.
One life form, infiltrated by these shimmering particles, stood frozen momentarily, then its body suddenly began to vibrate intensely.
Coinciding with the vibration, countless flashing particles were also released from its mass. These particles drifted outward and settled upon the bodies of other life forms.
The shimmering substance was a unique type of inhibitory material.
It could, to a significant degree, impede particle-to-particle communication.
This communication was restricted to specific information exchanges; the overall system would continue to function normally otherwise.
This civilization's organisms seemingly possessed no effective countermeasure against this microscopic approach.
Luna soon observed the area covered by the substance she released expanding rapidly.
Initially, it was only a small deposit, but those substances began to self-replicate, growing exponentially more numerous.
"Four dimensions are indeed more intricate than three dimensions. This has presented us with some complications."
"However, perhaps precisely because of this high-dimensional complexity, they are unable to penetrate the microscopic realm. Three dimensions only require miniaturization across the 3 spatial axes for observation, whereas four dimensions demand mastery over 4 spatial axes, and it is not as simple as merely adding one extra dimension."
Dimensions are unique entities. Augmenting a dimension is not as straightforward as a triangle evolving into a square.
Greater dimensionality can actually hinder spatial compression, because the concept of "smallness" has a ceiling. Once that limit is reached, further reduction is achieved by eliminating a dimension. Theoretically, four dimensions possess vastly greater potential scope than three dimensions.
This does not mean four-dimensional space cannot foster microscopic civilizations.
Rather, the path is comparatively more arduous, and thoroughly researching complex matters requires time.
A less advanced civilization would find it extremely difficult to allocate that necessary time.
Therefore, everything was proceeding more smoothly than Luna had originally anticipated.
She had expected her methods to encounter some resistance.
But the difficulties proved surprisingly few.
The rushing, mist-like life forms slowly decreased their velocity, then stopped entirely.
"Thank me for allowing you to witness the moment your civilization accepts surrender."
Luna turned and departed in another direction.
She would ensure more of these life forms were permitted to survive.
What she failed to realize was the immense, building anger she had ultimately brought upon the many watching enemies.
...
Stronghold Command Room.
The high-ranking officials of this civilization could observe scenes unfolding across many areas within the stronghold via their internal displays.
Coincidentally, due to the energy core's explosion, numerous life forms shifted their focus towards the entity responsible for its destruction.
Even many high-ranking officials who had previously withdrawn intended to converge on the energy core's location, wishing to meet their demise alongside the one who annihilated it.
However.
What they witnessed now were their comrades, individuals who had remained steadfast even in the face of certain death, staring blankly around them.
They seemed to have completely forgotten their intended course of action.
"Damn it all!"
"They won't even grant us the dignity of death!"
"This is an utter insult to these brave warriors!"
These civilization's high-ranking officials were in extreme anguish at that moment. If they possessed tear ducts, they would undoubtedly be weeping uncontrollably.
Although they desired to surrender, they had also fiercely hoped to complete this civilization's final, defiant dance.
Yet, even this last opportunity to perform was snatched away by the adversary.
They were truly, pitiably weak.
Rage surged within their hearts, but what utility did anger possess now?
The enemy had definitively sealed their fate.
"Cease all futile resistance."
"To surrender and still expect respect—that is fundamentally impossible."
"The enemy deployed merely this contingent, and we were crushed. Frankly, even if the enemy hadn't destroyed the energy core, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Who can say how many more foes we might confront later?"
"Even if we managed to repel them this time, the enemy has already mapped our strengths and vulnerabilities. Next time they return, they will manipulate us at will."
"Broadcast the official notice!"
"We have been defeated… We failed without even putting up a genuine fight."
Sucan had orchestrated a swift victory strategy.
Had it not been for this calculated deployment, they might have engaged in a prolonged struggle, potentially leading to mutual losses for both sides.
However, the moment Satan's Hand was activated, it signaled the definitive conclusion.
This was an overwhelming rout.
A crushing defeat delivered without any semblance of justification.
At this precise moment, as if sensing their resignation, the monochrome effect pervading space vanished, and the stronghold instantly reverted to its normal appearance.
"The enemy's disabling weapon has lost its effect!"
Some life forms suddenly expressed elation.
However, in that very instant, they received external information transmitted from ships outside the stronghold, originating from different vectors.
It was nearly a complete operational failure.
From all four defensive quadrants, the defensive lines had failed to hold.
Their brief resurgence of hope was utterly, completely extinguished.
This time, their hearts had been dragged into the black hole of the abyss, leaving no path for escape.
The stronghold's commander broadcast the final intelligence update, and a standardized message of surrender was transmitted to every sector within the fortress.
After issuing these final orders.
It seemed to have expended all remaining strength, leaning against a bulkhead.
It addressed the other life forms: "Someone must carry the weight of this outcome, to be eternally scorned by all life forms."
"But I implore you to remember this: Weakness breeds destruction. Weakness is the fundamental original sin. Become powerful... Let all life forms engrave this command: You must achieve strength, no matter where the future leads, you must!"
After speaking those words.
It initiated self-termination.
Its body dissolved like fine dust, returning to absolute nothingness.
...
Luna's intervention ceased along with the final broadcast.
She did not believe this was a ruse or a feigned surrender by the enemy.
The raw emotions displayed by those soldiers moments prior represented the entirety of their resolve.
In such a hopeless scenario, even if deception were attempted, it would inevitably become genuine reality.
At this moment, Luna could already receive casualty reports transmitted from the warships. Everyone had received the grim tally, calculating the losses.
Although only a little over ten hours had passed.
Federation soldiers had already sustained over 10 billion casualties—precisely 14.2 billion.
That accounted for two-fifths of the total invasion force deployed this time.
Not even half the total force had been engaged.
But in truth, if the enemy had chosen to press the advantage, victory was merely a matter of time.
Including Luna's own countermeasures, the enemy could actually resolve the issue of exhausted soldiers with a bit more time, allowing all troops to recover and resume fighting.
The reason no one pursued that course was starkly simple.
If Luna had not wished for these soldiers to die, there were other, less fatal ways to prevent them from falling in battle.
And the only thing these soldiers genuinely desired was release through death.
Rather than enduring protracted torment, surrender was preferable!
...
At the stronghold's approximate central location.
Sucan had personally eliminated a large number of adversaries.
But they were relentless and unending.
It was only when the final broadcast appeared that the enemies before him abruptly paused, as if their fighting essence had been drained away.
At this moment, Sucan could finally afford a brief respite.
His first query was: why did the engagement halt? If these soldiers were also seeking annihilation, then the civilization's command echelon should have fulfilled those soldiers' desires before consenting to surrender.
In truth, he understood perfectly well that soldiers actively seeking death was fundamentally a detrimental occurrence.
However, he had become overly reliant on close-quarters engagement. This wasn't an issue within Hyperdimensional Space, as that realm permitted item storage, allowing him to carry numerous tools and employ diverse tactics simultaneously.
In the current reality, though, he was limited to the Transcendent Realm.
Thus, his only recourse was to eliminate threats.
Naturally, he also derived personal pleasure from the act of slaying.
Killing excited him.
At this moment, he was experiencing the clarity that follows peak excitement—the sage mode.
Sucan regained his composure and began to contemplate methodically.
"I can perceive this point, and other Divine Beings can as well. Therefore, some Divine Being must have engineered a mechanism to prevent them from engaging in self-destruction."
"Truly cruel; even more ruthless than I am."
With this thought, Sucan swiftly resumed his role as commander, ordering all soldiers to commence the detainment of the surrendered hostiles.
He bypassed the half-incapacitated enemies directly before him and proceeded toward the true epicenter of the entire area.
The objective was to maximize efficiency.
He directly seized a soldier and compelled it to act as his guide.
"Lead me to your supreme command!"
Sucan commanded, then paused, only then remembering that his captive could not comprehend his language, which risked misunderstanding.
Furthermore, mathematical notation proved inadequate for conveying such complex intent.
But fortunately, sentient life forms always possess an inherent telepathic connection.
Even if the soldier didn't understand Sucan's verbal command, Sucan's actions, in its perception, were akin to a casual directive, and it grasped the opponent's requirement following surrender.
Because it inherently knew how to execute that action.
It guided Sucan toward the stronghold's command facility.
Sucan followed closely behind, still carrying a degree of apprehension.
Did this entity truly grasp the nuance of his meaning?
Facts quickly proved that it did.
He was led straight to the command center.
The access points to this command room were constructed from highly specialized materials. The opening sequence required a form of gasification process.
The original wall structure liquefied into vapor, revealing a cavernous entryway.
Sucan entered.
He observed the life forms within.
Every single life form stood motionless in a daze, as if something vital had been stolen from them. They did not even register Sucan's presence.
The term "lost souls" served as the most apt description for them.
He transmitted a single piece of crucial data to this assembled group.
"Text; language!"
To effectively govern a civilization, one must inevitably seize control of that civilization's script and lexicon. Only then could substantive communication commence.
Every act of civilizational engagement was, fundamentally, a process of exchange, encompassing invasion and occupation.
Sucan waited in place for an extended period. Finally, one life form transmitted a massive block of information to Sucan.
Sucan had never encountered this specific information before. He received it, but could not decipher it at all.
This was unlike an English speaker struggling with English, nor was it comparable to a three-dimensional civilization attempting to comprehend the language of another three-dimensional civilization.
Upon viewing these script characters, Sucan felt a wave of relief regarding the simplicity of learning English and its alphabet.
The opponent's writing system possessed a three-dimensional structure. Theoretically, this script itself occupied not area, but volume, and portions of it even exhibited a four-dimensional composition.
The total count of characters surpassed 298.3 billion.
In contrast, English typically required mastering only 500 to 1000 characters for standard communication.
But this script necessitated grasping vocabulary orders of magnitude larger than that—hundreds of millions of times the complexity of English. Every language known within human civilization currently possessed a total character count far below this figure, with many being less complex than even English.
Sucan felt his head was on the verge of exploding just from contemplating it.
This was utterly outside his area of expertise.
He required a professional philologist!
He rapidly collected this language data, then employed simpler, more direct methods to neutralize the actions of these stupefied life forms.
"Brute force still reigns supreme!"
Soon, Federation soldiers gradually secured every operational node within the stronghold. Although complete control remained elusive, due to the inability to operate the advanced machinery without understanding the language, securing the enemy soldiers achieved the objective.
They had successfully taken custody of the facility.
And Sucan officially transmitted the complete control parameters toward the dimensional gateway.
This transmission signaled that the war had reached its conclusion!
...
Luna received the news while she was meticulously verifying her own developing hypothesis.
She was observing several four-dimensional civilization life forms, carefully monitoring their emotional states.
She could sensitively capture every shift in mood.
She even approached other individuals and confirmed that they possessed no such sensory ability.
Moreover, this feeling of emotional perception was continually intensifying over time.
When she questioned others, the definitive answer she received was that others could not perceive these subtle emotional currents.
Therefore, she concluded she must be special.
Why? What made her unique?
Luna remained perplexed.
A few days later...
The warships transmitted all intelligence gathered from the West back to Ayla.
In fact, explicit reporting wasn't strictly necessary; these warships were intrinsically programmed to send detailed status updates to Ayla automatically. These reports were exceptionally clear.
So clear, in fact, that Ayla could instantaneously know the complete psychological state of every entity under her observation.
Her primary concern, naturally, rested with Luna.
All of Luna's psychological activities were immediately readable by Ayla.
"Perceiving unknown life emotions..."
"It appears something connected to consciousness is also manifesting within the Eternal Cycle Star Nation. Super-microscopic world consciousness entities—fascinating!"
Ayla leaned her head, her silver-white hair naturally cascading onto the table surface.
She meticulously assessed whether any correlation existed between Luna's phenomenon and the entities she was studying.
Even with her formidable computational capacity, she could not establish a link; the available data was too sparse.
Research into consciousness within the Federation had been ceaseless, yet it had consistently yielded no progress.
This current event, Ayla mused, perhaps signaled the dawn of a breakthrough.
"To feel means to communicate. If we master the method of conscious exchange, the Federation as a whole might ascend into an entirely new era."
"I am genuinely looking forward to it!"