Great, we're doomed now!

“The essence of Magus Dynamics is to use the collision between protons and antiprotons to generate enormous energy, which is then collected and utilized in the form of light,” Masaki said, turning his gaze from the sky to Ye Shou. “Theoretically, if the positive energy output is sufficient and the coverage area is large enough, the antimatter that makes up the vortex can be converted into light during the continuous collision process, and then consumed!”

As expected of Masaki—Ye Shou nodded.

"However, this requires extremely precise energy control... It is many times more dangerous than defusing a bomb."

"So we have to find someone to help us," Ye Shou said solemnly.

-

At TPC headquarters, after Gatanothor was defeated, although a super bomb was left behind, the global black fog had indeed been contained, the crisis of the extinction of human civilization was temporarily relieved, and communications were restored immediately. Sawai, Yoshioka, and the others who stayed at headquarters all breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them stood side by side beside the base of the towering pillar of light. The temperature of the platform they were on had stabilized, and the pillar itself no longer fluctuated as drastically as it had at the beginning. Instead, it presented a smooth, continuous flow, like a bridge fixed between heaven and earth.

The eyes of the remaining personnel, including the two old men, were all fixed on the holographic screen hanging in the corner of the wall not far away, where the scene was switching from the Pacific battlefield back to various parts of the world.

The state of emergency has not yet been lifted, and ordinary citizens are still not allowed to leave the shelters, but TPC and government staff are now allowed to come out and check the safety of the surrounding environment.

The crisis was shorter than expected. Everyone had prepared for a period of hardship, but they didn't expect to be able to return to the ground so quickly... However, the vortex was like the Sword of Damocles; they could not rest easy until it was removed.

Sawai was also very curious about what it was. If Gatanothor was an enemy he knew would appear long ago, then the Dark Vortex was completely unexpected.

Nourishing~

Nourishing~

There was a burst of static in the communicator, then Megumi Kijima's voice came through; she was speaking a little faster than usual.

"Director, the energy fluctuations in the near-Earth atmosphere are continuously increasing, and the magnetic field readings are also changing drastically. The radius of that vortex is expanding every ten minutes, and there is currently no sign of it slowing down."

Sawai didn't respond immediately after hearing this. He looked down at the terminal on his wrist, where a young man's portrait was displayed on the screen, which made him subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness... Ye Shou?"

"Uncle Sawai, it's me."

Ye Shou's voice came through the speaker, with the sounds of sea breeze and faint water splashing in the background. Although the radio waves were not very stable, he enunciated each word clearly: "The vortex in the sky itself does not pose a threat, but it is an entrance to somewhere..."

He quickly gave a brief explanation of the situation, and Sawai readily accepted the status quo.

"Since you said it, then you must already have a solution?"

Sawai trusted him as always: "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

“Megasys can counteract dark matter,” Ye Shou said. “Their energy properties are opposite, which can create a counterbalance and gradually dissolve the existence of the vortex itself, but to do this requires extremely precise calculation of the ‘quantity and timing’.”

"I understand."

Sawai understood Ye Shou's meaning and waved his subordinates over without hesitation to assign tasks.

"I will contact the teams on the Atlas and the Temple of Solomon. You can use any of the supercomputers that TPC still has available!"

...In a certain virtual space, Horii's holographic image appeared first, followed by Nori, a genius boy skilled in data analysis, and then Dr. Yao from the Atdis also joined in.

His image looked somewhat tired, but his eyes were fixed on the Megas power core model projected in the center of the table, and his fingers were constantly gesturing in the air.

"Hedge? It should be achievable, if you think of it as a super-massive power engine..."

However, the size of that vortex is already... given the current output limit of the Magus engine we can access, it's difficult to reach a critical point in a short time that would trigger a counteracting effect.

Even if you reach that point, you still need to maintain that extreme output while adjusting... This is a huge test of the equipment's durability!

Professor Agasa's image lit up in another spot on the desktop: "What if we synchronized the stored energy of all the Redstone satellites within Earth's satellite orbit?"

"With the continuous output from the spark tower at headquarters, it could theoretically be converted into the engine's energy department..."

After a moment of silence, Yao and Agasa simultaneously lowered their heads and began to calculate, their fingers moving rapidly across their respective virtual panels, numbers and formulas scrolling across the semi-transparent screens.

"...The basic framework is feasible; the key lies in error control during the execution phase. If the startup sequence of the Magus engines deviates, the energy field will be torn apart by the gravitational field of the vortex itself before a counterbalance can be formed, thus lifting the entire surface up!"

-

Far beyond the stars, a great battle has just ended. The universe has quieted down, and the beams of light that once intertwined in the sky and the flames of explosions are gradually dying down, leaving only scattered debris drifting in inertia, occasionally colliding with larger fragments and making a silent thud.

The wreckage of the warship twisted into irregular metal blocks, slowly cooling in the vacuum. More fragments came from the destroyed monsters, whose bodies were torn apart and scattered across tens of thousands of kilometers of space. Their bodily fluids froze into ice crystals at low temperatures, adhering to the broken shell surface and reflecting the cold light cast by distant stars.

Several streaks of light were escaping from the edge of the battlefield; their trajectories were unstable, indicating that they had been severely damaged.

Following closely behind them were a large number of neatly arranged warships. Their bodies were more compact than those of conventional spaceships, and their surfaces were covered with dark armor plates, like a school of flying fish darting through the cosmic sea. However, their scale and destructive power were so exaggerated that even the legendary Warrior of Light could not withstand them.

A planetary fortress made entirely of metal floats on one side of the battlefield. It is smaller than most planets and its surface is covered with layers of armor plates and turret structures. In some areas, hatches that are not fully closed can be seen, as if they once housed some huge biological weapon.

There are no obvious thruster nozzles, so it's unclear what kind of engine it's powered by.

On a striking "protrusion" on the surface of the fortress, a steel plateau thousands of meters above sea level, a massive palace extends outwards. Its dome is extremely high, and rows of dark pillars extend upwards for tens of thousands of meters, while its internal structure disappears into the shadows where no light can reach.

The throne is set on a high platform in the very center of the palace... It is not proper to place such an important place on the surface of the fortress. If it were placed inside the planetary fortress, no matter how powerful the attack, it would be unable to harm its master. Now, it is too conspicuous and has repeatedly become the target of the enemy.

But perhaps this is a unique aesthetic of that person?

It's impossible for him to stay safely in the rear and command the battle; he prefers to fight for honor by risking his life against the brave who break through all obstacles to reach him.

It's like pursuing a grand death ritual...

But his followers who admired him thought it was wishful thinking, since they couldn't find a single strongman in the entire universe who could defeat their master.

Even the renowned [Wheel of Suppression], an organization mainly composed of members of the Light Clan and composed of many powerful individuals, could only struggle to survive under its pressure, right?

Just moments ago, their warriors suffered a crushing defeat and could only flee with the survivors of this galaxy.

However, I keep running into them these days, and I don't know why they're harassing me so frequently... It's really annoying.

Inside the palace, the dark throne that supposedly rules the universe is made of some kind of dark metal, nothing particularly precious. Its surface is covered with a fine pattern, like natural mineral patterns, and it is by no means luxurious.

In fact, in the treasury of any ruler on any planet, one could certainly find more luxurious items befitting the status of a "king".

However, true power does not need external things to prove its status; on the contrary, only where the king is can be called the throne!

Covered entirely in pure black armor, the king of the universe sat atop it, his figure nearly half again as tall as the demons standing on either side of him. He had broad shoulders and a well-proportioned body, his outline resembling that of a human but with more harmonious proportions... Although it sounds strange, he exuded an aura of "handsomeness".

This is the being who is revered and called "Emperor" by both his subordinates and enemies. His kingly majesty is indeed as legendary as it is said, and just seeing him makes people want to kneel down.

At this moment, his gaze fell on the holographic projection floating in front of him, which showed the streaks of light fleeing from the edge of the battlefield. He shook his head slightly and looked at a demon standing below the steps on the right.

"Don't chase after them."

His voice was deep, carrying an air of self-righteous arrogance and disdain.

"These trash are incapable of hunting the Light Clan... Let them escape. They're opponents I've defeated countless times already, and I've long since lost interest."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Have the fleet clean up the battlefield, recover usable wreckage and energy modules. The next batch of supplies needs to arrive within three fortress rotation cycles, otherwise we will lack sufficient basic resources when we reach the next star system."

The demon bowed slightly, and the other demons began to carry out their respective tasks one after another. The image on the holographic projection switched from the battlefield to a wider galaxy scan map, and various coordinates were displayed.

"Alright... Next, which civilization should I destroy?"

The emperor's voice was somewhat uninteresting, and he seemed rather disinterested.

This makes sense, really. No matter how delicious the food is, once you've eaten it a hundred times, you can no longer enjoy it as much as you did at the beginning. The same principle applies to interstellar warfare.

Moreover, the emperor himself was not seeking pleasure, but rather "relieving his hunger and thirst," looking for something to distract himself, vent his anger and frustration, and this kind of behavior can easily raise the threshold.

By now, he finds it increasingly difficult to find solace in ordinary warfare... to the point that he appears less and less on the battlefield, leaving the tasks to his troops.

If there is any enemy worth fighting, it is only that detestable "light"!

However, the Wheel of Suppression is a relatively loose organization, with each member having the ability to wander the universe alone, which means it is impossible to capture them all at once, and chasing them one by one would be too troublesome.

It should be noted that although the Light Clan is weaker than the Emperor in terms of power, their survival ability is exceptionally strong. Unless there is a reason to fight to the death, once they are determined to escape, there are very few ways to stop them.

In fact, most of the Warriors of Light died because they were unable to retreat in order to protect a civilization.

If they act in teams, they can evacuate people while resisting, which will greatly increase their survival rate—just like before.

In addition, for some reason, over the past year, the Emperor's Dark Legion has been harassed and attacked by the [Wheel of Suppression] more and more often. Although this does not pose a threat to him, it is still quite strange.

(The emperor didn't care how many of his men died; he ruled through power and terror because he essentially had no feelings for these monsters and aliens.)

"Ok?"

Beneath the Dark King's mask, his gaze flickered, and he tilted his head slightly, as if drawn by something.

His movements were so subtle that they went unnoticed by his attendants, yet a rare and profound turmoil surged within him:

What is it that can affect the dark power within him across the vast universe?

He sensed an indescribable, strange fluctuation coming from a distant space, the intensity of which was unlike anything that could be produced by natural celestial activity!

...It could even be said that this was the only time he had ever seen anything like it in his life!

Moreover, why... did he suddenly feel a longing for it?

It was as if someone was calling to him, as if it could fill the insatiable thirst in his heart...

What he didn't know was that this was the very moment Gatanothor died.

Something big has happened!

The emperor unconsciously sat up straight, his gaze beneath his visor piercing through the palace dome, past the armored layers of the steel fortress, and landing on a blurry location in the distant starry sky.

He was an arrogant, or rather, absolutely confident man, who never bothered with vain things, but now he suddenly remembered a certain prophecy...

Could it be that the legend of the "King of Light and Darkness" is true?

The existing myths are the result of the collision of different civilizations. Among the race of light and the civilizations influenced by them, there is a story about the starting star Earth and the "legendary superman Bayeri", while among the forces of darkness, there is a legend of the "Dark Ruler".

In a remote corner of the universe, there exists a planet where the "Dark Ruler" sleeps. When the power of light gradually overwhelms the darkness, it will awaken from history, devour all light and hope, and bring destruction to this universe!

The two statements are completely opposite.

In Emperor Empera's homeland, however, a different story is told – yes, Emperor Empera was not born a dark race.

He had heard his mother tell him stories from his childhood about how, in the distant past, light and darkness fought for the "Star of Origin".

Light eventually freed people from darkness... but it also became too weak as a result, and fell into a deep sleep after sealing away evil.

The prophecy says that whoever finds this planet will be able to choose to become the inheritor of light or darkness, and thus obtain the entire universe!

...Of course, that was the more adult version; the one his mother told him was closer to a fable:

The struggle between light and darkness will never end, from planets to the universe, but as long as we hold onto hope, we can find light to illuminate ourselves even in the most difficult times.

—He once believed it so deeply.

But now, he is the emperor who commands the Dark Legion!

Because it's all fake!