You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"...Dad said you're a strange guy who will mess with their thoughts and feelings, and too much contact with you is...not good."

"Oh?"

Iori frowned slightly, but then relaxed.

The life form and social structure of the Golden Clan are a mystery. Although various hints suggest that they are similar to humans and are a highly developed group of saints who have transcended base desires.

However, based on the original work, we can infer that they possess very strong spiritual power. Just like the individuals in the Silver Clan who lose control because their emotions are suppressed too much, they may also have some concerns and dare not come into contact with an "unknown life form" like Iori.

Could it be that he foresaw that his people would change after coming into contact with him?

"Moreover, you who come from outside... compared to 'us' who have not yet set off, you may be going a step further... We need to be cautious."

Now I understand!

Iori suddenly felt like laughing:

This is what is known as the "Arrival of the Black Ships".

Throughout human history, there have been numerous instances of colonizers annihilating indigenous civilizations. The relative strength of the two sides is quite clear, and there have been very few instances of retaliation.

Why do colonizers always win? Is it because foreign monks know how to chant sutras better?

Of course not. Rather, it means that the civilization that was able to overcome geographical barriers and discover another continent first possessed a higher level of civilization and technology than the natives trapped on the continent.

This is why we assume that alien technology must be more advanced than Earth's—the ability to travel countless light-years to reach Earth is itself incredible.

The Golden Clan is merely "kind," not naive. They must have had some concerns, which is why they didn't dare to meet Iori.

After all, who knows if there's a powerful alternate universe behind Iori, or whether the overall atmosphere of that universe is friendly?

"However, Dad said...you and I should be able to become friends..."

Aigi smiled brightly, his two rows of white teeth making him look nothing like a savage.

"May I?"

"I think... it should be fine."

Iori smiled kindly.

Aigi didn't sense any malice from Iori, and his smile became even brighter—don't think he's easy to fool just because he's simple-minded; as a child of the Golden Clan, he also has a certain level of mental perception.

"I want to ask you a favor."

Iori paused, thought for a moment, and then emitted a mental wave.

Then, Lecti slowly descended from the sky, startling everyone.

It turns out that she did not leave with the Silver Clan, but stayed behind to wait for her companion, Meshidaka.

Clearly, as long as she doesn't break the contract, the Silver Clan can't force her to do anything else, and a certain degree of freedom can still be guaranteed.

"Who is this?"

Deannara was a little nervous, clearly having seen through the other party's true form.

"It's alright, the battle is over now."

Iori gestured for everyone not to panic, "She is Nodos, just like Edge."

"Nodos?"

"From the Silver Clan?"

Everyone held their breath, but remembering Edge's previous performance... they silently lowered their guns.

“I have no hostility towards you, Princess of the Black Iron Clan.”

Lecty gave a graceful bow, her gaze sweeping over the bewildered Edge before softening as she looked at Iori: "I knew I'd misunderstood. You didn't intend to stand by and watch the tragedy unfold... But how did you manage to do it? And how is Meshidaka now?"

Even now, Lecty still can't understand Iori's methods—Elmandes' power alone is not enough to "extract" Autenmia from the time stream.

It is possible to jump and overlap on different timelines, and multiple Autenmia may appear at the same moment, but it is impossible to keep a certain state of Autenmia alone while everything else is traced back to the origin!

This...this is not scientific!

"Let's not rush, let's go to a quiet place to talk this over properly."

Iori also extended an invitation to Aige: "Let's have the four of us plus Her Highness the Princess—discuss the future of the [Hero Clan]."

Chapter 532 Might makes the best bricks fly – that's the way to go!

Lekti didn't know what future the Hero Race could have, and neither did Meshidaka, the "Jinchūriki" of Ortemia.

Their home planet was destroyed, and all the other members of their race were dead. In the end, only five people were sealed inside the bodies of a weak race. They couldn't even be considered independent life forms. It didn't seem like there was any hope at all.

Reviving the current Hero Clan would likely be even more difficult than reviving the Uchiha Clan—after all, Sasuke could still have a whole bunch of kids if he just lowered his standards.

But Iori didn't think so. He kindly invited Lecti and Edge to the golden ship and released Autenmia from the seal.

When Meshidaka emerged, he was unconscious, and it was Lekti who woke him up. Incredibly, despite having gone through such a fierce battle and theoretically being on the verge of death, and indeed appearing to be nearing the end of his life, his life force quickly regained strength, and he did not suffer any obvious injuries.

According to Alpha's instrument calculations, it seems that these Nodos all possess a peculiar bio-force field. Although they resemble humans in appearance, they are essentially a race of heroes capable of destroying the world, which is why they exhibit various extraordinary behaviors.

When Meshidaka woke up, the first thing he saw was Edge, and he was so frightened that he trembled and ran to hide in a corner—because of Iori's ability, he had retained the memories of the previous timeline.

In Meshidaka's memory, he was brutally ravaged by the berserk Belcules... just thinking about it sends chills down one's spine!

However, Edge was a kind person, and Meshidaka was also somewhat cowardly and did not hold grudges. After Lekti comforted him for a while, Meshidaka calmed down.

"I went to the former site of the Hero Race's homeworld, and found it there..."

Finally, the three Nodos were brought together, and Iori spoke frankly, repeating what he had told Lecty before.

"Wow, amazing! Can Belcules' mother come back to life?"

Edge seemed to understand "Gaia" as a mother figure to the heroes, and appeared very happy.

"You could say that."

Iori nodded, thinking there was no problem: "But this requires the power to create stars, as well as the flesh and blood of five heroes."

"Only the Golden Race can create stars."

"Many of the transit points on the Star Path today were created or modified by them," Deannaira said.

"But even the Golden Clan probably can't create land that can nurture a race of heroes."

Lecty held a rather pessimistic view of the plan: "Moreover, no one can understand the technology of the [Golden Clan], and even the [Silver Clan] has only inherited a very shallow part of it, far from learning the essence."

“I know, that’s why I’m asking Edge for help.”

Iori stared intently at the wild boy: "Of everyone here, you are the only one who has truly had contact with the [Golden Clan] for a period of time. What did they teach you when they raised you?"

"Hmm...really? I don't think they taught me anything."

Aiji chuckled: "But 'Mom' did teach me a lot, she taught me every day."

"……Mother?"

Meshidaka looked at Edge with a puzzled expression.

Deanna, who was standing nearby, quickly explained, "It's the central computer of his starship. Over the years, it's probably the only thing that has ever spoken to him, so Age... the master considers it his 'mother'."

"I can't create stars."

Aigi shook his head. If he had the technology of the Golden Race, how could Planet Oron still be in such a desolate state?

"I guess so, but your fathers must have told you what would happen if five heroes came together, right?"

Iori asked meaningfully.

Ignoring Iori's probing, Aigi nodded directly: "Yes, as long as somewhere... people like me will fulfill their contracts, and everyone can find happiness."

"What does it mean?"

Deanna asked with concern, "Where do you mean by 'a certain place'?"

"do not know."

Edge shook his head. "He didn't say."

He then turned his gaze to Iori, as if asking if she knew.

Iori nodded and said, "The legacy of the Golden Clan and the key to ending this war are stored there, but now is not the time, so I cannot tell you."

"why?"

Meshidaka asked timidly, "If it can end the war, then we should go sooner, shouldn't we?"

"Knowing too much is not good for you."

Iori shook his head mysteriously, his mind drifting to the riddle-solving characters in various works, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Actually, it's not that we can't tell them that place is the home planet of the [Golden Race], their place of origin. Not only does it have technology far surpassing that of the [Silver Race], but it also contains a gate to another universe.

This is a treasure left by the Golden Clan to future generations, much like the ascension platform in cultivation novels.

However, in order to test those who come after and verify their qualifications, this door requires five powers as keys to open.

[Fluctuation], [Life], [Time], [Nothingness], [Existence]—these five fundamental concepts that constitute the universe can be unified to open the gate to another universe, which also corresponds to the five remaining heroes.

It is unclear whether the Golden Clan created the gate after studying the power of these five individuals, or whether they possessed the technology themselves and divided it into five fragments, storing them within the bodies of the Hero Clan.

In short, these five Noldor, including Edge, are the hope for "Ascension," and none of them can be missing!

This is why, in the previous battles, Iori never killed any members of the Hero Clan.

Hero fragments are clearly less valuable than those that have been fused together.

If she accidentally goes too far and things get out of control, and one of these five powers is missing, then Iori will be tormented to death by obsessive-compulsive disorder!

“You don’t need to pay attention to what I’m saying. Just follow the contract and your own thoughts. Fate has already secretly arranged a matching ending for everything.”

Iori changed the subject and said seriously, "But there is one thing to remember, and that is that you must never kill your own people—Nordos other than yourselves."

As long as all five of you are present, things will proceed smoothly towards the desired outcome. Whether it's humanity, your mother race, or the Silver Clan, everyone will ultimately obtain what they desire.

"Is this also a prophecy of the [Golden Clan]?"

Lecty squinted.

Iori has a mysterious background but possesses power capable of contending with the Heroes. Just now, Edge mentioned that he had already encountered the Golden Clan, and there was also the matter of him seizing the power of Elmandes... Could it be that this man has some connection with the Golden Clan, and is some kind of agent they left in this universe?

"In order to ensure the future they envision is successfully realized, will the [Golden Clan] allow you to stay and control the overall situation?"

Lecty understood everything; it was like a sudden realization.

"Everything was still before, so you didn't show yourself. But when the princess of the Dark Iron Clan began her expedition to find their Noldor, the five of us were finally able to reunite. The gears of fate began to turn, and you came out as planned to take control of the whole situation?"

"……is that so?"

Iori blinked, stroked her chin, and pondered, "I see, so that's how you see it... Well, think what you want."

"really?"

Deanna was overjoyed. She shared the same thought as Lecty, otherwise it would be impossible to explain Iori's appearance at such a coincidental time.

"That would be wonderful. If both humans and the Silver Clan get what they want, then we won't need to continue fighting, right?"

Generally speaking, if someone has been suppressed by a foreign race for over a hundred years, they will definitely seek revenge once they gain the power to fight back.

Nodos is a strategic weapon akin to a 21st-century nuclear bomb. Moreover, the prophecy explicitly states that Edge will save humanity, implying that he is the strongest Nodos. Humanity is not without the ability to declare war on the Silver Race.

Deannala herself was not against war. She firmly believed that humanity must reclaim the solar system, but she also believed that it was impossible to exterminate the Silver Race. The nature of Nodos meant that they could not engage in mutual extermination battles, otherwise, if their numbers increased, they would destroy countless planets in the chaos.

Even if humanity wins, continuing the war would come at a far greater cost than in the past century.

Therefore, her initial idea was to reclaim the solar system, use Nodos as a strategic deterrent, and maintain a relatively peaceful relationship with the Silver Race, which is currently the limit of what humanity can achieve.

As for how things will develop in the future... to be honest, she doesn't think she's a saint and can't solve all the problems.

But now that Iori says the Golden Clan has left a backup plan, it instantly gives her hope of permanently solving this problem!

"That's true in theory, but the Silver Clan won't give up hunting you down, and they would never share the Gold Clan's legacy with a lower race they look down on."

Iori said seriously, "You are destined to have an extremely brutal war to end everything."

"...That's just how it is."

Deannara's expression was solemn, displaying a maturity beyond her years.

"Only suffering can make people cherish peace, and I think the Silver Clan should be the same."

Conversely, if the extermination of humanity would come at no cost, or be so minor as to be easily tolerated, then the Silver Race would absolutely not be willing to act according to the prophecy of the forerunners.