Alexei's eyes snapped open. A violent surge of vertigo flooded his brain, and before he could even attempt to stand, a wave of intense nausea hit him.
"Blegh..." He retched violently, coughing up a glob of unidentifiable black slime. The substance within the puddle was still wriggling.
The dagger he had previously taken out fell from his chest. Its blade was now completely rusted over, and the gemstones embedded in it had all shattered.
Suppressing his disgust, Alexei crushed the unknown organism under his boot. He then leaned against a nearby wall to steady himself as he slowly stood up. In the air, Ellie's silhouette had vanished, and the swarms of Mutalisks and Corruptors had all fallen to the ground.
The storm in the distance had long since dissipated. The Tyranid swarm had suffered catastrophic losses and had temporarily abandoned their assault. Similarly, the Zerg units directly within the radius of the psionic storm had been completely erased; even the massive Nydus Worm had lost its head. The Swarm had paid a heavy price.
The battlefield was now eerily silent. Within the bunkers, PDF soldiers were busy cleaning up the aftermath under the command of their officers. The fighting had ground to a halt.
"Did I just go straight into the Immaterium?" Alexei clutched his head, trying to piece together his memories, but his mind was still foggy. He recalled coming face-to-face with the Four Gods.
"It's a miracle I haven't turned into a Chaos Spawn," he muttered with a bitter smile. To stare into the true forms of the Four Gods and keep one's soul intact—there were likely very few in existence who could claim the same. Fortunately, Ellie had been saved.
Alexei remembered the middle-aged man who had come to his aid just as Ellie was about to be dragged away by the Four.
Under those circumstances, that man was likely the only one capable of pulling them back. Is He watching me? Alexei couldn't help but think about the final words He had spoken. "He wants me to go to Terra to find Him?"
Hell no. He was absolutely not going to Terra right now. Given the current situation, if he set foot on Terra, he might just vanish into thin air. He had to wait until his own strength was sufficient.
Furthermore, it was now the end of the 41st Millennium. It wouldn't be long before Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade erupted. When that happened, the location of planet Aiel would surely be affected; he didn't have much time to waste on a trip to Terra.
Moreover, if the galaxy truly ended up split in two, it would be more beneficial than detrimental for Alexei—provided he was prepared. After all, the Imperium Nihilus could not see the light of the Astronomican. Imperial ships would be unable to perform long-distance Warp jumps and would be forced into short-distance "blind" jumps. Meanwhile, Alexei possessed warp engines that were unaffected, and he would be well out of the reach of the "Emperor's" direct control...
Alexei rubbed his temples. The dizziness he felt upon waking had subsided significantly. His thoughts gradually returned to the present; he needed to check on the status of the members within the Zerg psionic network.
"Zagara... Zagara!" Alexei called out repeatedly through the network, but there was no response for a long time.
He frowned deeply, sensing something was wrong. He began calling out other names: Abathur, Colton, Lutheka... No one answered.
"Damn it," Alexei cursed under his breath. He began to stagger toward the command center in the middle of the camp, desperate to see what had happened to Colton and the others.
As Alexei descended from the high wall, a Medic rushed over to assist him. With the Medic's help, his physical condition began to stabilize.
He gave the Medic a small smile and told him he could walk the rest of the way on his own, urging the man to look after the more severely wounded PDF soldiers instead.
Just as he was about to turn away, he spotted a familiar figure.
Alexei looked at Kaidel, who had lost both legs and an arm, his eyes staring blankly into space. "What's wrong with him?" Alexei asked the Medic nearby.
"We don't know. His physical wounds have been treated, but his mind seems to have broken. No matter how much we call out to him, there's no response," the Medic replied.
Hearing this, Alexei immediately tried to use the psionic network to wake Kaidel, but it was useless.
What's going on? Did my act of connecting Ellie to the network turn everyone inside into vegetables? Alexei pondered with a grim expression.
Kaidel's condition was likely shared by the other members. If this result was irreversible, they were in deep trouble. The human side had effectively lost its high-level command, and the Zerg Swarm had lost its controllers.
If the Tyranids chose this moment to launch another attack, it would truly be "GG."
Luckily, the enemy's losses were just as severe as his own. Right now, it was a race to see who could recover first.
"No, I have to go back and check on Ellie. The problem must be centered on her." After instructing the Medic to take care of Kaidel, Alexei requisitioned a vehicle and sped toward the Main Hive City.
Main Hive City, Underhive, center of the Zerg Hive.
Alexei stood before the Hive with a grimace. Ellie was floating quietly above the Creep, her body radiating a golden light. On either side, Zagara and Abathur were collapsed on the ground, motionless.
Inside the nest, every Zerg unit had lost consciousness. As Alexei drew closer, the consciousness representing Ellie within the psionic network felt increasingly massive.
"Could it be that Ellie's immense psionic energy flooded the network, causing everyone else to black out?" Alexei was at a loss for what to do. He even felt a sense of familiarity within Ellie's psionic aura.
At this moment, Ellie had, in a true sense, become the Emperor's messenger... "Hell, what do I do? I can't just abandon the Zerg entirely." Alexei's head began to throb again. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Suddenly, the system panel appeared before his eyes. A strange sensation welled up in Alexei's heart. Following that instinct, he walked up to Ellie.
Looking at the girl floating at waist height, he gently placed his hand on her. Instantly, the golden light surrounding her began to pour frantically into his own body.
A progress bar appeared on the panel. As the golden light weakened, the bar gradually filled up. Finally, Ellie lost the power keeping her afloat and nearly fell to the floor; fortunately, Alexei caught her just in time.
As the golden light vanished completely, Zagara and Abathur began to show signs of movement.
But Alexei didn't care about that right now. His attention was entirely focused on the transparent panel in front of him. Below the three races, a new "race" had appeared.
There were no units or buildings inside—only a single line representing a progress bar: "1/?". At the very beginning of that progress bar, there were four words: Xel'naga.
The sole creator gods of the StarCraft universe, the shapers of life and order, the guides of the Protoss, and the makers of the Zerg.