Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Alice's fingers touched Patchouli's cheek, until her pretty face flushed red again.

“Alice…” Patchouli turned her head slightly to avoid her gaze.

However, this time Alice was much tougher than before. She straightened Patchouli's skewed gaze, forcing her to look directly at her.

Light blue eyes gaze at pale purple eyes. The pale purple eyes reflect the light blue figure.

[But that's precisely why you seem even more adorable... No, that's not accurate. You're adorable no matter what. And I will wait for this adorableness until the very end of time—even when the concept of 'adorable' no longer exists.]

“Patchouli Knowledge.” She looked directly into Patchouli’s eyes and, unusually, addressed her seriously with a formal title, said, “I will support any decision you make, and you should know that I always keep my word.”

She had already revealed the true nature of her divine power during her earlier playful antics, and by giving away 'Wandering Star' to create a permanent garden planet, both of these actions were actually intentional on her part. She knew that Patchouli had to walk her own path, and she wouldn't force Patchouli to make a choice, but when Patchouli was lost, she would try to be a guiding light, dispelling the fog in Patchouli's heart.

She knew Patchouli would make a choice, and she knew Patchouli had already made a choice.

“Alice Margotrovid.” Patchouli murmured the name, slowly closing her eyes and then opening them again. When she opened them, her pale purple eyes no longer reflected anyone, signifying that the shackles that had sealed her power had been removed.

Gradually, a pure and clear light appeared in her pale purple eyes.

Gradually, the pure, clear light was tinged with the colors of stars.

So Alice snapped her fingers, scattering the vast stellar array around the galactic center as if using the Milky Way as a musical instrument. This might be considered a provocation, but it could also be seen as a call.

Because the planet is an important medium through which powerful beings can form connections with certain hidden entities.

And so, amidst the trembling of the star clusters, and the shifting of fate, on the outer edge of the Great Library, at the center of the Milky Way, countless golden rays converged into a colossal human form—perhaps a Buddha, the 'Heaven' who governs the order of the entire galaxy. A magnificent halo surrounded Him, revealing His divine essence.

A new god is about to be born.

The death of the Old Gods would be the best sacrifice.

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Fairies of the Seven Luminaries

The Awakened One. In the lunar world, this term means 'the one who has attained enlightenment.' If He is summoned on Earth or in a region related to Earth, and is able to be summoned, then this true god residing deep within the Milky Way will manifest in the world in the form of Shakyamuni.

Shakyamuni is Him, but He is not actually Shakyamuni. After obtaining data from Mooncell and the interior of the Predator Planet, Alice examined the phenomenon of the 'Awakened One'. She ultimately arrived at a conclusion that holds true at least in this external world.

The so-called Awakened One is actually a filtering mechanism, much like a predator reaping the benefits of wandering stars. Like a wandering star, it relentlessly harvests one nascent civilization after another in the galaxy. However, unlike the physical destruction of wandering stars, the Awakened One targets the realm of spiritual civilization. And its method is to become the endpoint, to become that next level of 'heaven' after ascension!

Ah, that's right. As long as they are within the Milky Way and several surrounding galaxies, and through their own abilities they elevate and break through to achieve spiritual enlightenment, their spirit and soul will be perceived by the Enlightened Beings at the very moment they cross the gap between the divine and the mortal realms. Then, they will be captured and assimilated—or, to put it more politely, using the slightly neutral term 'guidance'. But in essence, nothing will actually change.

And it is precisely because of the existence of the 'Awakened Ones' that no civilization in this vast galaxy can cross the spiritual barrier between the divine and the mortal realm. Just as the Wandering Star annihilates and embraces all civilizations that have the potential to ascend in the material realm, its methods are more covert, more gentle, and more... deceptive to the realms of lower life forms.

"After all, in the multiverse, the term 'ascension to a higher realm' is a lie. And I know this all too well."

Alice's form detached from the new Grand Library, landing lightly atop the main control tower. Perhaps because her race was undetermined, the colossal golden figure before her ultimately appeared as a colossal god seated upon a lotus throne, possessing a thousand hands, a thousand eyes, and a thousand forms—a colossus whose sheer size could encompass an entire day. And when those thousand limbs—perhaps hands, perhaps arthropods, perhaps tentacles—formed a thousand different seals symbolizing supreme power, based on a thousand distinct civilizations, even the radiant silver heart paled in comparison.

The galactic center was His domain, and in this attack, He mobilized a fraction, perhaps even less, of the heat within the galactic center. This heat was enough to vaporize a giant planet and turn a small planetary system into a dead zone—it converged into a line with a radius of no more than one kilometer, the end of which pointed towards Alice's right eye.

It was a powerful attack. Alice could clearly tell before the ray of light even touched her that even a true god would find it difficult to withstand such absolute destructive power head-on. But not being able to withstand it head-on didn't mean she was helpless against it, and Alice didn't even intend to block it.

She simply stretched out her finger and spoke a sentence before the ray of light traveled at the speed of light to reach her.

"The rules are being redefined: operation is prohibited by light and heat."

The erosion phenomenon immediately occurred, and a region of space directly in front of her, approximately one light-second in diameter, collapsed into chaotic disorder before she even finished speaking. This universe simply lacked the ability to function correctly after the two fundamental principles of light and heat were removed. And the instant this chaotic, one-light-second-wide region of collapse was completed, that incredibly brilliant pillar of light arrived precisely in that area!

Light and heat can propagate through the universe because the fundamental physical laws of the universe allow them to do so. But when these laws are challenged, their only option is to avoid this dead end—the brilliant beam of light, upon touching chaos, scatters violently to both sides like water crashing against a reef. And the Great Library, located precisely behind the 'reef,' and Alice atop it, are unharmed, as expected!

"Don't try to fool me with this, God of the Galaxy," Alice said calmly, her gaze passing over the crumbling tide of light on the surface of the chaotic region and looking at the ancient god perched on the edge of the galactic heart. Both she and the other understood that this level of magic, aside from its imposing presence, didn't even qualify as a greeting.

This is simply the extraction and projection of light and heat from the galactic center; in essence, it is merely a large-scale, ordinary natural phenomenon. The 'Awakened One' did not add the erosion effect to it, which means that this force is powerless to address the modification of the cosmological constant!

The Dao Erosion can alter the environment, adapting the rules of the universe to God. The Dao Erosion can also restore the environment, returning a celestial region of the universe that was adapted to a particular god to its original form!

Two thoughts suddenly flashed through Alice's mind.

First, [how much water did that famous emperor release back then?]

Second, [Just how much effort did Luo Ye expend to kill those top-tier True God generals back then?]

Third… there is no third. Because just as these two thoughts crossed her mind, the chaotic region of light-second rules before her was shattered by a gigantic hand-like object composed of countless curves, polygons, and illogical twisted clumps. The chaotic order was re-established, the dissipated energy was reabsorbed, and then the gigantic hand moved straight forward, colliding violently with Alice's outstretched fingers in space!

On a cosmic scale, that golden hand wouldn't be much smaller than Jupiter.

Alice's fingers, however, remained at their original size.

Spacetime was distorted at her fingertips. Although her feet remained atop the Great Library, the extended fingertip traversed tens of thousands of kilometers to touch the truly colossal hand that blotted out the sky. The next moment, multiple erosion phenomena simultaneously appeared on that enormous hand!

In an instant, the hand that originally belonged to the 'Awakener' grew countless twisted and deformed flesh and organs. The flesh and blood withered rapidly, settled and transformed into thick soil, and rocks and metals were subsequently formed. In an instant, the fallen hand transformed into a huge planet floating in space!

In the initial clash, Alice had a slight advantage.

At the very moment the second instant began, the newly formed earthen planet melted like a block of wax in endless radiance, and a thousand golden giant hands burst forth from the earth, transforming the earth and rocks on the planet into their own material as they rushed toward Alice's location!

But this time, Alice did nothing.

She doesn't need to do anything.

Just as those thousand hands ripped through space and time, hurtling towards her from the past, the future, or folded spaces, and were about to touch her, billions of starlight emanating from the depths of the Great Library beneath her feet swept those golden arms aside like willow branches scattered by a whirlwind.

A large portion of the starlight was altered in nature when it dispersed the giant hand, transforming from starlight into golden light and merging into the thousand hands. A small portion of the giant hand silently dissolved into the starlight, joining the torrent of starlight and damaging its original structure.

Patchouli's form then appeared beside Alice.

"Do you need any help?" Alice asked, tilting her head slightly.

“No need,” Patchouli replied calmly, her tone ambiguous, “This is a test I must overcome myself.”

As their voices clashed, the Dao Erosion phenomenon simultaneously formed within a third of the surrounding sky. A thousand times more starlight than before the conversation erupted, instantly shattering the golden limbs and then transforming into outward-expanding barriers extending to the boundary of that third of the sky. These barriers were resilient and immense, and in the next instant, the sound of chanting scriptures arose from the outside. In the blink of an eye, vast Buddhist kingdoms appeared within the starlight.

Naturally, this was also a phenomenon of eclipse. The colossal god at the edge of the galactic center remained unmoved on its lotus throne. While Alice chose to stand by and watch, countless monks of various forms and races emerged from the Buddhist kingdom, chanting unknown scriptures and directing the golden light emanating from within the kingdom to every place covered by starlight.

The war of erosion of the Way lies in mutual attack and conquest.

The starlight retreated under the attack of the scriptures and preachers, yet new power surged forth from the retreat.

The sea of ​​starlight rippled, and from the turbulent waves, one after another, elemental stars of the size between the Earth and the Moon emerged from the depths of the cosmos. These were the Seven Luminaries, the ancient path of Patchouli, seven miniature stars born after the abandonment of the Sun and Moon, replaced by light and darkness.

Centered around these seven elemental stars, thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of millions of smaller stars of varying sizes, ranging from Ceres to Halley, are manifested alongside them. They orbit and rotate around each other, and their rotation drives the rotation of the starlight ocean. In just a moment, this rotating starlight ocean transforms into a simulated Milky Way!

No, not the Milky Way! It's a fairy!

It is the Andromeda Galaxy, which is of a higher scale than the Milky Way, but is also a spiral galaxy!

As its cantilevered arms began to rotate, the countless Buddha kingdoms that had appeared out of thin air collapsed entirely amidst the churning sea of ​​stars. The countless chanters of scriptures also perished in the sweeping starlight, their remains disintegrating and annihilating, only to be reassembled into new starlight!

A myriad of lights, each a different color, descended from distant star regions. Unlike the Milky Way, which possesses a ruler, the Andromeda Galaxy, having long been purged by consuming wandering stars time and again, bears no trace of civilization or even intelligent life.

And it is precisely because of this that, when Patchouli's true form unfolded, the moment the simulated Andromeda star system descended upon the galactic boundary, the power of the unclaimed stars from the Andromeda system transcended the barriers of space and time to resonate with her. Even the already rapidly approaching speed of the Andromeda system was slightly increased as a result, forcibly shortening the timeline for its collision with the Milky Way, which was originally scheduled for four billion years later, by one-thousandth!

One in a thousand is negligible on a cosmic scale. Yet, the instant this phenomenon occurred, all sentient beings throughout the galaxy simultaneously felt a profound anxiety welling up from the depths of their hearts. Anxiety is a changing emotion, and emotion is the evolution of the mind. This evolution of the mind, originating from the entire galaxy, was enough to transform into an undeniable driving force. And at the apex of this force lay the pinnacle of all 'minds' within the galaxy—the sublimation and convergence of all enlightened beings!

Anxiety drives the Awakened One; within the galaxy, the desire for continuity stemming from the pan-consciousness of numerous interstellar civilizations urges Him to accelerate the battle.

This is the power originating from the foundation of His path, which He cannot resist, nor will He resist. Because He is an ascended god formed from the aggregates of enlightened beings, not a self-ascending being like a reincarnated being.

Then, the Buddha stepped down from the lotus throne.

From the void, countless golden lotuses sprouted, and the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed, thousand-formed deity transformed into the appearance of an ancient Buddha, conforming to the understanding of Earth's civilization. From these countless lotuses manifested countless chanters of scriptures; in the understanding of Earth's civilization, they were Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Vajras, and their domains expanded outwards with the progress of that ancient Buddha of Radiant Light. In the ocean of true ether, they shaped the earth, and on the earth, they constructed a Buddha-land. From this Buddha-land, even more living scriptures and celestial flowers grew, scattering across the void and then assimilating it.

Behind the ancient Buddha, the radiance of the Silver Heart dimmed slightly, visible to the naked eye of any extraordinary being. This time, it used its administrator privileges to extract a fraction of the light and heat from the Silver Heart, all of which it used to expand its own size.

He is out of control; the level of a true god cannot possibly control such a celestial-level true form. Therefore, the Buddha realm He extends outward is essentially nothing more than the wanton abuse of energy and Dao erosion. But He doesn't care, because He is the manager of the galaxy, and even if He makes a mess of things, He has a way to restore order afterward.

He didn't care, but Patchouli had to. Despite the aid of the Great Library formed from a wandering star, this Andromeda-type true form, reaching a scale of one-third of the celestial sphere, was still beyond her control. At her current level, she was at most comparable to, or even slightly lower than, Ex. And precisely because of this, as the Buddhist Kingdom expanded outwards without limit, the scale of the galaxy collapsed. It shrank from one-third of the celestial sphere to one-third of a light-hour, and from one light-hour further into an even smaller scale.

When she gained complete control over her true form and could fully manipulate everything under her command, her size had morphed to a mere seven luminosities. Alice was already gone, and the remaining matters were left for her and the 'Awakener' to resolve themselves.

She will not fail.

Because she has found the key to winning.

—She could clearly sense the urgency that the 'awakened one' felt, driven by his inner strength.

..............................

Meanwhile, on a tiny stage in the distant solar system, Flora awoke for the second time from a terrible premonition.

Second cycle begins.

Section 49. The Second Cycle: The Source

Flora opened her eyes abruptly, feeling a tightness in her chest, as if her blood was boiling and urging her to destroy something—she found herself inside her own temple. This restrained her hands, preventing her from unleashing a power capable of annihilating everything around her right there in the temple.

What happened? —I don't know.

Something happened? — Definitely.

She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to calm her breathing. Memories churned in her mind, but only brought her a chaotic response. She felt as if she had experienced something significant in the past, yet these events seemed to have been completely forgotten.

She subconsciously raised her dominant hand, and the equilateral triangle Command Seal on the back of her hand came into view. She suddenly felt that the red on the Command Seal was more glaring than usual, and just looking at it made her feel a stinging pain between her eyebrows and a slight soreness in the tip of her nose.

Something very important, extremely important, has happened. Something profoundly impactful, yet unexpected, has occurred. Could it be related to the Servant? Or is there some malfunction in the Holy Grail system?

The flamebird perched on her shoulder cooed, pulling her thoughts, which were about to run wild like a runaway horse, back to normal. Her breathing immediately calmed, and her rapid heartbeat and blood flow quickly returned to their original levels.

Flora regained her composure. Then she began to survey her surroundings.

“This is a revelation; something important is about to happen. So I must prepare in advance,” she muttered to herself. Then, she immediately felt a strange sense of déjà vu, even in the unconscious words she uttered.

She rubbed her forehead, summoned her loyal mortal subordinates and the high priest, and then issued the order for full-scale preparation for war, urging all industrial lines to operate at full capacity. However, the more she spoke, the more awkward her words and actions felt. It was as if she had issued these orders not long ago, and now she was simply performing meaningless repetitive tasks!

Something's not right. —But where exactly is it wrong?

If her experience of arriving on this land were compiled into a book, she felt that the decrees she had just issued might be the content of chapters twenty-five and up—of course, that was just her feeling; to avoid padding the word count, she simply recited the decrees quickly and naturally. Even so, after she waved her hand, dismissing her servants to carry out her set goals, a deep-seated doubt surfaced from the depths of her heart, filling her vision.

What exactly is wrong? And what should I do?

She rubbed her forehead vigorously, closed her eyes, and the divine wisdom bestowed upon her by Mangotlund transformed into tangible perception that rapidly expanded outwards. Like an all-pervasive wind, it instantly covered the entire sky and ground of Imanitism, materializing all the changes within the city into data and then appearing before her eyes.

The first phase of the project is complete, and the Iron City has been established...

[All 46,333 residents of the city-states under Imaniticity are on duty... not one more, not one less...]

All production lines are operating, and the stockpiled materials match yesterday's settlement volume and natural wear and tear. A total of 1,900 automated production machines are all in operation...

Flora frowned. She found that all the supplies in her territory matched the records. There were no unexpected casualties either. Everything, after accounting for the changes, perfectly matched her statistics from yesterday. However, the more consistent this was, the more she felt that something was amiss.

She raised her hand, intending to recall her Servant. But before she could do so, she felt that now might not be the right time, so she changed her instructions. Instead of immediately teleporting her Servant back, she summoned her remotely through the bond of their contract. According to her calculations, Ba's arrival should be in about five minutes.

Five minutes, a short time.

But Flora felt that if she couldn't figure out what the problem was within five minutes, then spending ten or a hundred times more time thinking probably wouldn't make much difference. So, she pressed her forehead and began to imagine the variables that might affect her future.

The images of the Mesopotamian gods and kings flashed through her mind. Then she rejected them all, because she knew the extent of their power, and more importantly, because she saw the limits of her own power.

—Power Unleashed: 32%