However, Seraphine felt as though distinct, thorough currents flowed, washing through space-time, suddenly encompassing the star system—a mere tens of billions of kilometers in diameter—within the colossal Light-Year Dragon's body.

  The scale of this star system was so narrow, yet her sensory acuity was so profound.

  Therefore, the orbital paths, terrain, volume, mass, composition, and entire structural information of the numerous rocky planets, gas giants, icy dwarf planets, and the even greater number of moons and comets within this system, alongside that yellow dwarf main sequence star—1.392 million kilometers in diameter, encircled by myriad stars—all this diverse planetary data was instantly extracted by Seraphine and reviewed in a flash.

  After review, Seraphine made a startling discovery.

  She found that this star system, existing within the empty chamber inside the Light-Year Dragon's body, which was wandering in the dark matter halo region on the edge of the Milky Way, was almost identical to the Solar System, both in its overall orbital framework of celestial bodies and the volume, mass, and unique topographical features of its many planets.

  From the innermost planet, Mercury, possessing the largest diurnal temperature variation, to Venus, holding the highest surface temperature; from Mars, which stands tall with the highest mountain in the entire Solar System, to Jupiter, possessing the fastest rotational speed in the entire Solar System; from Saturn, which boasts the largest number of moons, to Uranus, with the lowest recorded surface temperature; from Neptune and Pluto, both exhibiting peculiar overlapping and interleaved orbital phenomena, to Earth, which weighs countless tons and is the sole planet in the entire Solar System to support a complete life-sustaining environment.

  All of the aforementioned characteristics, this star system possessed entirely, and their similarity approached 100%.

  Even on that second Earth, surprisingly, there existed seven continents and four oceans, hosting a Carbon-based intelligent civilization—a civilization where all individual life forms belonged to the taxonomy: Vertebrates - Primates - Hominids—the intelligent species.

  That is to say, Human Civilization.

  What a remarkable coincidence; everything appeared truly coincidental.

  So coincidental that it sparked suspicion as to whether an unknown entity had intentionally engineered this entire configuration.

  Quietly gazing at the gradually rotating blue planet not far away in the boundless void, Seraphine couldn't help but feel a tremor in her heart:

  "Only tens of thousands of light-years from the Solar System, a second Solar System has materialized. Moreover, within this second Solar System, a second Earth and a second Human Civilization have also appeared.

  This probability... is simply impossibly low.

  Not just within the Milky Way, but even across the entire observable universe, to naturally evolve a second star system completely identical to the Solar System, and based on that, also evolve a second Human Civilization almost identical to Earth's in terms of physiological structure, genetic level, and even overall society and culture... This kind of probability remains terrifyingly remote.

  So terrifying that even if every atom in the entire observable universe were used as a denominator to divide, it probably wouldn't suffice."

  From beyond the Light-Year Dragon, in the vast, deep space.

  Seraphine's Eye of Transcendence flickered with extremely intense light: "This defies logic. What is this? Why is this occurring?"

  Harboring surging questions, she once again extended her profound and immense sensory power towards that 'Earth'.

  Swish—

  Her sensory probe swept across.

  Seraphine immediately discovered that although this second Earth also hosted a Human Civilization, unlike Earth's Civilization, this one was currently still in a classical era where feudalism held dominant sway; the dawn of the industrial revolution had yet to break, and capitalism had not fully germinated.

  Moreover, it was a 'prosperous' classical era that had refined cruel methods of governance to the extreme, such as policies favoring the people's ignorance, subjugation, impoverishment, and humiliation.

  Strangely, on this second Earth, numerous dynastic states were established, centered around specific territories, tribes, and cultures. Although the natural economy remained paramount, preventing global unification, they all utilized the same language!

  That is, the dialect of the Biplex—the Auran Dialect.

  It is also known as the Flowscript, or the Speech of the River.

  "Interesting."

  Seraphine's trace of Primordial Soul perception, like an invisible breeze, instantly swept across the entire landmass.

  All sorts of ancient customs and practices instantly entered her 'sight'.

  "I recall that even on Earth 1, this language did not exist. It was only present in the history of my old world. How has it become universal across all nations on Earth 2?

  Extraordinary events must have an underlying cause; there must be a secret hidden within this.

  Perhaps the secret to why this second Solar System was born and persists lies within this."

  With this realization, Seraphine's sensory power intensified, instantly submerging into the memories and consciousness of countless beings across the globe.

  For a moment, the memory information of countless individuals, like streams, rippled and flowed, suddenly converging into a vast ocean of data, appearing within the Cosmic Intellect deep within Seraphine's Primordial Soul.

  Hum—

  In just a blink of an eye, all the memories of approximately two hundred million people on the second Earth were reviewed by her.

  After thoroughly absorbing the memories of all sentient beings, Seraphine immediately pinpointed the primary reason for the universal Auran Dialect employed by all nations globally.

  It turned out that nearly a thousand years prior, a formidable dynasty, vastly surpassing the Mongol Empire, had emerged on the Continent.

  This dynasty, after unifying the Asian continent, did not pause. Following a brief period of recuperation, it advanced from the east, defeating various nations en route, traversing thousands of miles of arid seas and towering mountains, directly confronting the ancient Roman Empire that governed Europe. It emerged victorious from conflict, ultimately subjugating the entire known world.

  Thus, in just a few decades, with the exception of the vast and fertile Africa, as well as ancient Australia, the New World, and the Southern Continent, the Eurasian landmass—which gathered the essence of all ancient civilizations on Earth—all fell under the dominion of this dynasty.

  In the subsequent several hundred years, the remaining scattered ancient continents were also, through the tireless efforts and arduous conquests led by this dynasty, brought completely into its fold.

  Ultimately, every continent across the entire Earth became territory under that dynasty's rule.

  Such a glorious and prosperous dynasty endured for eight hundred years before completely dissolving. Amidst blood and fire, it once again fragmented into dozens or hundreds of separate nations, scattered across the world.

  To this extent, although the world had fractured and was no longer unified, that deceased dynasty had, over eight hundred years, deeply imprinted its cultural hallmark upon numerous nations.

  Certain etiquette, customs, culture, and even language still circulated among the world's nations today.

  Although those newly formed nations desperately attempted to eradicate this influence, they were powerless, as the imprint left by that dynasty was too profound, too deep—so deeply ingrained that a complete removal would risk triggering frequent major systemic problems. Therefore, they could only cautiously maintain elements of it.

  And that dynasty, which had vanished for nearly two hundred years, was named 【Nova】, and its founder was named... Nova Vance.

  "Truly extraordinarily splendid."

  A trace of Seraphine's perception transformed into an invisible phantom, treading and walking upon the vast land.

  However, what proved intriguing was that no figure named Nova Vance existed in the history of her original world.

  The Biplex existed, but numerous events and key characters did not align with her former life.

  It was purely a parallel universe.

  But what explained the existence of this Earth number two, which should not have manifested within the Milky Way?

  It was... overwhelmingly bizarre.

  "Could it be that Nova Vance, who originated on this 'Earth' a thousand years ago... was a transmigrator?"

  Seraphine leisurely walked across the cold northern land, quietly observing the herdsmen producing mare's milk wine, and had a sudden thought:

  "If... this planet's Nova Vance was a genuine transmigrator, then by what means did he cross over here?"

  She looked at the thin farmers harvesting black grain in the distance, unable to suppress the thought:

  "Was his transmigration caused by a rare cosmic phenomenon, or some other unknown power?

  And this Solar System—was it deliberately engineered, or did it too undergo a transmigration?

  Such incredible coincidence, so bizarre—is this phenomenon man-made?"

  Swish, her figure vanished.

  She reappeared on a distant road.

  Ding-a-ling—

  The faint sound of bells.

  Amidst the vast, undulating ochre desert, a caravan laden with goods slowly passed by Seraphine.

  "A second Solar System and a second Earth, astronomically speaking they are almost within arm's reach, and also this eight-hundred-year-old new dynasty on this second Earth, along with that suspiciously transmigrated founder of this dynasty, Nova Vance... Hmm..."

  Seraphine slightly lowered her head, falling into contemplation.

  At this moment, shouts of killing suddenly erupted on both sides of the road. Two groups of ferocious bandits rushed out, loudly yelling as they charged with drawn swords at the somewhat panicked caravan, who were lightly armed merchants.

  "Kill!"

  "Kill!"

  "Plunder everything for me! Leave no one alive!"

  Seraphine looked up, coldly observing the two groups locked in battle. Watching the faint white light they emitted as they wielded their blades and swords, she couldn't help but chuckle, "Ah, Qi, inner force... how quaint. This is an Earth: Classic Wuxia Edition."

  When she first investigated this second Earth, she discovered that perhaps due to being situated for so long within the empty chamber inside this Light-Year Dragon's body, the humans residing on the surface of this planet had, over an extended period, evolved a system called 【Ethereal-Symmetry】, formed by combining many trace Ether-Crystalline elements with micro-trace Ether-Crystalline dark matter.

  By absorbing a type of Ether from the outside world whose activity was even lower than 'Low-Ether,' the humans here could refine a type of high-energy gaseous colloid material that carried a bit of personal information.

  This high-energy gaseous colloid, which the humans of this planet called 'Inner force,' was somewhat similar to Earth before Ether recovered, but only superficially similar.

  In terms of function and raw strength, this type of gaseous colloid was far incomparable; it could only be considered a severely downgraded and corrupted iteration of the genuine power.

  "Too restrictive, and a system with far too poor potential," Seraphine commented.

  Swish, her figure vanished again.

  She appeared in the Southeast region.

  Dense bamboo forests, vast terraced fields.

  Standing atop a mountain, Seraphine calmly observed the tea farmers diligently picking tea leaves in the sprawling tea plantations below. Her Eye of True Revelation and Chaos Calculation immediately activated, beginning to attempt to capture the true secret behind all of this.

  Hum—

  Just at this moment, several thousand light-years away from the Dark Matter Halo region, at the outer edge of the original Orion spiral arm in the boundless void.

  A translucent hexagonal crystal spaceship suddenly materialized.

  Amidst the fluctuations of space-time, two hundred-meter-tall faceless metal giants, one red and one blue, vaguely emerged from the dark void surrounding the crystal spaceship.

  They were Orgrid and Gusheim, Sages from the Arnel Civilization of the galactic core.

  After appearing in this interstellar region, they were immediately rendered completely stunned by the almost absolute vacuum surrounding them.

  Although looking in all directions, they could still perceive the seemingly real starry sky 'painted' by the faint starlight transmitted from afar.

  But the simplified causality telescopes carried by these two Sages 'informed' them that the dazzling stars hundreds, even thousands of light-years away... had now vanished into thin air.

  At the same time, the Trans-Dimensional Resonator also transmitted observational data, indicating that within a spatial radius of at least fifteen hundred light-years centered on this location... there was not a single star.

  Clean, like an empty universe.

  "Having traveled all this way, almost the entire Orion spiral arm is void. It’s over... This is a monumental issue..."

  Gusheim said with an incomparably shocked and trembling voice, "This, this, this... Who on earth executed this?!"

  "This... This... At least tens of billions of star systems, and tens of thousands, or even more, interstellar civilizations, plus an unknown number of sentient beings, have... have simply vanished! All annihilated!"

  Gusheim looked somewhat fearfully at the dim void around them, murmuring with unconcealed terror, "Such absolute destruction, such a catastrophe!

  Could it be... that a God of Hunger, a hundred million times the size of a star, has truly... descended upon the Milky Way?"

  "I don't know... I only know that this is a massive problem; the Milky Way is facing an unprecedented crisis!"

  Orgrid, clutching his chest with trembling arms, stated, "Regardless of the reason, and regardless of the cause, to be able to completely erase tens of billions of stars across the entire Orion spiral arm, spanning over 20,000 light-years, in such a short timeframe—this destructive capability is at least... at least Upper Sage level!"

  "Upper Sage... How is that possible?! That is a legendary entity capable of obliterating countless stars with a single strike... equivalent to ancient Star Eaters! Our civilizations in the galactic core haven't produced such a powerhouse in millions of years! The even more powerful Andromeda galaxy's civilizations seem to boast only one such figure. Could it be that great deity who descended? But... she has no reason to target the Milky Way, does she? We have no conflicts of interest with them, and the distance is so vast, over 2 million light-years!"

  Gusheim gasped in shock, "And... and to my knowledge, the technology for creating the 【Divinity-Frame】 in our Milky Way's 【Primordial-Reach】—wasn't it... lost millions of years ago?

  So how could... Agh, what I mean is, even if an unknown Upper Sage truly descended upon our Milky Way, without the power of the 【Divinity-Frame】... she shouldn't be able to bypass the light-speed shackles and unleash her full power, nor could she have obliterated the entire Orion spiral arm so quickly?!"

  "Hmm, you make a valid point."

  Orgrid nodded in agreement, "Only in the Realm of Phantasm, where such restrictions do not exist, can an Upper Sage freely exert all her power, unless..."

  "Unless what?" Gusheim tilted his head in question.

  "Unless this unknown powerhouse who descended upon the Milky Way... has achieved an unimaginable level of control over three-dimensional space-time. Theoretically..."

  Orgrid stated profoundly, "She is very likely a... being akin to the ancient Star Eaters, an entity that fully comprehends the deep mysteries of three-dimensional space-time... a Dimension Ascender!"

  "Another Dimension Ascender? Another ancient Star Eater?! This is impossible, absolutely impossible!" Gusheim on the side suddenly shook his head, unequivocally denying it.

  "And how can you be so certain?" Orgrid challenged in a deep voice, "How can you be so sure it's impossible?!"

  Gusheim heard this and relaxed slightly before slowly saying:

  "Because tens of thousands of years ago, when I first ascended to the Sage rank, driven by intense curiosity, I piloted this Level 8 warp spaceship out of the Milky Way, and then journeyed throughout the entire Primordial-Reach for a full three thousand years.

  "Therefore, although I dare not claim I have traversed the entirety of this realm, I have witnessed and interacted with tens of thousands of Galaxy-level Civilizations, which I estimate to be at least one-tenth of the total number of all civilizations...

  But among so many powerful Civilizations, I found not a single trace or rumor of a Dimension Ascender.

  Simultaneously, not a single Galaxy-level Civilization has managed to breach the threshold of Divinity-Frame technology—the capability to create it, allowing portions of the Realm of Phantasm to overlap and blanket the real universe, thereby enabling Sages to circumvent the speed of light restriction and unleash their absolute strength.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Even the Upper Sage level... there are merely a handful in the entire Reach; it's not that they are entirely nonexistent, but their population is far, far too sparse."

  "Ah—never mind."

  Orgrid sighed, "It's pointless for us to speculate here. Let's take this intelligence back to the galactic core region, notify the Sages of all races, and deliberate on it together."

  "Agreed."

  Gusheim also sighed, nodding his assent. His mind then stirred, summoning the hexagonal crystal spaceship, which was silently docked tens of thousands of kilometers away, to deploy a giant Tractor beam and fly towards their location, drawing both him and Orgrid aboard the vessel.

  Hum—

  Space-time rippled subtly.

  After the two entered the ship, the crystal spaceship was instantly enveloped by a ripple-like warp bubble. Then, amidst a low vibration, it vanished in a flash from this vast cosmic void, rocketing toward the center of the Milky Way at millions of times the speed of light.

  ...

  Deep within the dark matter halo, far removed from the end of the Orion spiral arm.

  Gazing upon the restrained and immobile Light-Year Dragon just over a hundred light-years distant, the fiercely flickering illumination within Seraphine's Eye of Transcendence, situated on her colossal, radiant visage, finally began to slowly subside.

  After continuous calculation and deduction, a vague yet unformed answer had now subtly crystallized within her vast consciousness.

  Chaos Calculation 'informed' Seraphine that whether this answer could fully materialize and manifest was closely linked to the time movement data of this universe and the second Solar System.

  Indeed, in past research concerning temporality, Seraphine had already discovered that time, much like space, possessed inherent properties of motion, distortion, and vortex formation.

  Furthermore, building upon this foundation, she had even deduced that time, as it flows amongst all phenomena in the universe, carries distinct directional characteristics, smoothness, and irreversibility.

  These intrinsic properties and data within 'time' can actually be readily acquired and cataloged simply by utilizing the entanglement of gravitational interaction and measuring the non-Gaussian nature to quantify the non-classical aspects of the gravitational field.

  Based on this data and these characteristics, one can then extrapolate the exceedingly subtle and intricate data regarding vortices, currents, twists, and other variations generated by time's movement.

  Moreover, a long time ago, during her 'insightful interactions' with Monroe, Seraphine unexpectedly discerned that the speeds of the external eddies generated when the time torrents of different parallel universes interfere with each other all exhibit minuscule numerical variances.

  These variances clearly serve to delineate the similarities and disparities between various parallel universes.

  Therefore, she immediately settled down and began meticulously calculating the star system housed within the empty chamber of the Light-Year Dragon's body.

  Calculating its specific sequence of time data.

  This type of calculation was not challenging for Seraphine at her current level, requiring none of those precise physical instruments.

  Thus, in a mere second, the data for the second Solar System was calculated by her.

  Seraphine then compared this against the time data of her current space-time and easily arrived at a startling conclusion:

  This second Solar System, situated within the Light-Year Dragon's core, definitively originated from another parallel universe.

  And its arrival in this specific space-time occurred approximately two thousand to three thousand years ago.

  Concurrently, having obtained the complex time data, Chaos Calculation also activated precisely on schedule, suddenly completing the vague answer that had subtly surfaced in Seraphine's mind:

  [The second Solar System was transported and placed here by an unidentified entity originating from an unknown space-time. Nova Vance's 'transmigrator' persona has a 90% or greater probability of being the direct result of intentional interference by this unknown entity. The identity of the unknown entity cannot be speculated. The purpose behind this unknown entity's action cannot be speculated.]

  "An unknown entity?"

  In the vast void, Seraphine murmured to herself, "To possess the capability to move an entire star system from one parallel universe to another parallel universe...

  Such monumental power... I surmise it has already transcended the so-called peak Sages and entered an entirely different echelon."

  In fact, after assimilating all of Ogulafata's memories and cross-referencing them with all of Cadelon's and Panei's recollections, she had already grasped the overall combat power stratification of the Universal Sage realm.

  Stated plainly.

  This Sage-level tier is segmented into 4 distinct ranks:

  Lower, Middle, Upper, and Peak.

  Firstly, to achieve entry into the Sage tier, one must command at least one type of fundamental cosmic force; this serves as a necessary precondition, otherwise, the Half-Sage Cadelon would represent the evolutionary terminus for all.

  Subsequently, one must possess the destructive capacity equivalent to a thousand stars to be genuinely considered to have stepped into the Lower Sage realm.

  The Middle Sage, however, mandates possessing a second, or even a third, or perhaps a fourth fundamental force as a prerequisite, alongside the power to annihilate a million stars to be deemed to have entered and permanently secured residence in this rank.

  The Upper Sage advances further, requiring complete mastery over all four fundamental cosmic forces and their thorough sublimation into a unified power. The ability to destroy a billion stars is the benchmark for entry into this echelon.

  As for the final Peak Sage realm, the practitioner wields the terrifying ability to obliterate a trillion stars with a single, full-effort strike.

  That is to say, the power to eradicate the Milky Way.

  When confronted by a Peak Sage, even the Milky Way would cease to appear vast or infinite.

  A single full-force exertion from that Sage could collapse and bury it, utterly annihilating millions of civilizations and countless sentient beings, reducing everything to desolate vacuum.

  In the perception of Ogulafata, who had established connections with many high-ranking members of the Galactic Cult of the Evil Eye, a Peak Sage marks the culmination of the evolutionary trajectory for all entities and beings within the universe. Beyond that lies the dominion of the Great Eyes, a domain inaccessible through mere talent, science, methodology, or sheer effort.

  However, Seraphine also gleaned a crucial understanding from the memories of those few individuals: strictly speaking, a Peak Sage is functionally still an Upper Sage; there is no fundamental qualitative shift, but rather a massive quantitative aggregation.

  Much like her devoted subordinate Cadelon.

  In fact, Cadelon, akin to a freshly ascended Stage Ten Overlord life form, falls under the Milky Way Overlord classification.

  But if they were forced into a life-or-death confrontation, Cadelon could effortlessly crush that Stage Ten Overlord with merely a single digit.

  The reason lies in the combat power disparity between the two, which exceeds 900 times.

  The relationship between a Peak Sage and an Upper Sage follows a similar pattern.

  Although both are categorized within the Upper Sage tier, the Peak practitioner can reduce the Upper practitioner to dust with a single, casual touch.

  This is because the differential between the two reaches a staggering factor of a full 1000 times.

  A Peak Sage is the ultimate stage of Upper Sage cultivation, and the final ascension point of the Universal Sage realm.

  Once beings of the universe step into this realm, they will perceive countless sentient life forms and view stars as minor specks, yet they will simultaneously find themselves utterly incapable of ascending or progressing further.

  Because, according to the memories of Ogulafata, as well as Cadelon and Panei, the Peak Sage rank represents the evolutionary ceiling for sentient beings; further breakthrough becomes impossible.

  And within the memories of those few individuals, Seraphine also uncovered a vital piece of intelligence.

  That is, regardless of which species in the universe achieves the Sage level via what method or technique, they must cultivate a specific and precise Sage method in order to continue advancing.

  Otherwise, relying on the original set of cultivation methods, one can only achieve little with great effort, or even stagnate and make no progress.

  For example, within the memories of Cadelon and Panei, the Sage method circulating among the six great Civilizations of the galactic core was known as 《Hyper-Archon》, whose origins remain unknown.

  As for the specific contents of this method, the two of them, having not yet reached the Sage level, were completely unaware.

  In the galactic core, this was a crucial secret only accessible after truly entering the Sage level and receiving permission from the superiors of the six races.

  And the Sage method detailed in Ogulafata's memories was completely distinct from that used by the civilizations in the galactic core.

  Perhaps, the Sage method in his memories was, at its core, a self-destructive path aimed at gradually "approaching" the Great Eyes, intending to transform him into nothing more than a lowly avatar, or perhaps a horrifying tentacle of that Evil God.

  Of course, for a foolish heretic like Ogulafata, this was undoubtedly the finest method available in the world.

  After all, his innate Root Spirituality had already been entirely corrupted by the so-called Great Eyes, turning him into a tragically intelligent and self-willed puppet.

  So, what was there that he wouldn't willingly become a tentacle and avatar for his most revered deity?

  Finally, in the memories of the Witch King Mycenae, there existed another Sage method.

  Or perhaps, it should be termed... the Mythic Achievement Method.

  Because within that boundless Realm of Phantasm, the equivalent existence to a Sage was... a Myth-level Witch.

  Previously, after acquiring extensive data concerning the Gendaya nation, Seraphine easily deduced the correlation between the witch system and the power levels of many life forms in the physical universe.

  The lower tiers were relatively vague and lacked precise matching.

  But the higher tiers were strikingly clear.

  For instance, False Gods correspond to the newly ascended Stage Ten Overlords.

  Ancient Myths correspond to Lower Sages.

  Primordial Myths correspond to Middle Sages.

  Archaic Myths correspond to Upper Sages.

  And that singular existence, whose rank was unknown, which had never manifested in the long history of the Gendaya nation, standing above the Archaic Myth level, should correspond to the Peak Sage level.

  However, unlike the Sage methods in the real universe, which can only be cultivated by Sage-level existences.

  In the Realm of Phantasm, where fundamental rules and material reality are entirely different, Resplendent Moon-level Witches can commence cultivation of that method called 《Lex-Consensus》.

  Its cultivation principle bears some similarity to the belief-based apotheosis methods found in the D&D worldview, differing only in specific branches and intricate details, but essentially, it also leverages the power of belief generated from the souls of countless sentient beings.

  "Calculated this way, my third layer Material Facade could be considered an Upper Sage, yet it is significantly more powerful than an ordinary Upper Sage.

  However, if we also factor in the second layer Three-Dimensional Exterior and the first layer four-dimensional true body, then this Sage classification system, based on three-dimensional beings, clearly fails to accurately categorize me.

  That Peak Sage definitely cannot harm my true body."

  Seraphine stated with a solemn gaze, "So, what level is that unknown entity, which arranged the second Solar System for obscure purposes? Could it be... another Great Eye?"

  "Perhaps... this entity is an 'Observer'."

  Standing in the vast dark matter halo interstellar region, Seraphine quietly pondered, "At the very periphery of the Milky Way's Orion spiral arm, an artificial Solar System has been placed. It is highly probable that this entity exists... purely for observation.

  Observing Nova Vance's various behaviors following her 'transmigration,' observing the human society completely altered by her actions, and also, after being altered... observing human history."

  "But what is the rationale behind this? Human Civilization and history... they are so minuscule when viewed on the scale of the entire universe. What possible significance could this action hold?"

  Her mind remained calm, yet she became momentarily lost in a prolonged contemplation concerning humanity and the universe—the grand and the minute.

  Through extended epochs, all human cognition and judgment are fundamentally sensory-driven.

  The material waves of all things in the universe, after being captured, transmitted, and assembled by human sensory apparatus, finally materialize a seemingly complete yet ultimately perceived cosmic reality within the human brain.

  The relationship between humanity and the universe is precisely this.

  The universe is the ultimate 'concept.'

  It is a profound paradox: the finite human mind can never fully grasp the entirety of the universe.

  Just as a living head can never fully comprehend a dead one.

  The fundamental basis for this situation is Scale.

  Or perhaps, magnitude.

  The universe's scale is overwhelmingly vast; humanity's scale is comparatively insignificant.

  Therefore, how could such a limited, dust-like mortal possibly comprehend the colossal universe?

  This is not an act of self-deprecation.

  This is the empirical truth.

  At least in Seraphine's assessment, up to this point, she had failed to discern any special 'expectations' from this immense, terrifyingly large universe regarding the genesis and continued existence of humankind.

  Perhaps among the countless galaxies and planets within the universe, Earth is considered a notably vibrant sphere.

  From the initial single-celled life gradually evolving into multicellular organisms, and then, across a long, drawn-out timeline, life forms becoming increasingly rich and complex, ultimately evolving into the apex life form on this planet: humanity.

  It appears quite unique, quite remarkable.

  But along this evolutionary path, Seraphine also witnessed firsthand the intensely vibrant vitality of the Orion spiral arm.

  Millions of life-sustaining planets, tens of thousands of interstellar civilizations, trillions of sentient beings.

  Thus, when set against these countless planets and civilizations, the seemingly extraordinary Earth... becomes utterly commonplace.

  Moreover, on this grand stage spanning tens of thousands of light-years, this stage continuously cycles its 'protagonists' and 'supporting characters' over periods of hundreds of thousands or millions of years.

  When your current song concludes, ours begins.

  One generation replaces the next.

  Across countless years alone, the stage known as the Orion spiral arm might have already seen dozens of 'protagonists' and 'supporting characters' cycle through.

  If time were extended to an even broader scope—billions of years.

  Then the number of such civilization changes and successions would expand to thousands or tens of thousands of times over.

  If a relatively vivid analogy were used to describe the relationship between human history and cosmic history:

  Then stand up, stretch your arms out wide.

  Next, imagine the span between your two palms.

  This span represents the entire history of the universe.

  Thus, the histories of countless civilizations that have ever existed in the entire universe, as well as those that still exist today, are contained within those palms.

  So, where does human history exist?

  Find your fingernail, and gently file it with a nail file.

  No need to use excessive force; just a slight rub is sufficient.

  After filing, look for the tiny fingernail fragments adhering to the silvery surface of the nail file.

  Is that tiny fragment the entirety of human history?

  No.

  Using nano-sized tweezers, extract a single carbon atom from that minuscule fingernail fragment.

  The protons within that atom—that represents the history of Earth's humanity.

  To put it cruelly, humanity is merely an insignificant speck born within the vast River of Time in the universe.

  Not the beginning, nor the end.

  Just a small and fragile existence appearing on the evolutionary path of all things and beings in the universe.

  So why, or rather, based on what logic, would Earth's humanity, which appears extremely ordinary and minute on both time and space scales across the entire universe, warrant the 'attention' of an entity of that magnitude?

  This is highly illogical; it is profoundly baffling.

  "Could it be that 'humanity' itself possesses some kind of 'essence' that even I have never discovered? Is this quality macroscopic? Or microscopic? Is it a material aspect, or an informational one?"

  Seraphine's eyes shifted, contemplating calmly, "Events and objects possess no inherent meaning; all definitions of significance are intensely individualized. Perhaps placing and observing this Solar System holds definite meaning for that unknown entity, but for me now, I truly cannot perceive any meaning in this."

  The birth and existence of humanity hold no meaning for this vast universe; perhaps, it only holds significance for humanity itself.

  "Is this unknown Observer some kind of six-dimensional life form from beyond this low-dimensional universe?"

  Seraphine had a sudden, striking thought: "Within the Eye of Transcendence, in the Grand Universe, which manifests as a ten-dimensional pyramid, the endless four-dimensional and five-dimensional space-time is silent and desolate; only six dimensions and above show signs of life. So, could this unknown entity, and the so-called Great Eyes... be six-dimensional life forms originating from outside this three-dimensional universe?"

  Lost in thought, she casually loosened her restraint on the Light-Year Dragon, allowing its enormous, trembling body to slowly 'carry' the second Solar System and drift away into the vast cosmic void.

  "After devouring the entire Milky Way, the moment of ascension will commence."

  Seraphine, momentarily distracted, glanced at the ascension progress dial within the Cosmic Intellect, and slowly articulated, "By then, I will be able to ascend to five dimensions."

  Giving one final look at the Light-Year Dragon, whose movement speed was almost imperceptible compared to her own, Seraphine slowly turned and stepped away toward the distance.

  She wasn't unwilling to 'collect' those hundreds of millions of Earth humans; it was simply out of extreme caution... it was better not to collect them.

  Who knew if this second Solar System had been rigged with some dangerous 'traps' by that unknown entity.

  Furthermore, Seraphine had quietly affixed a 'small toy' onto the Light-Year Dragon's body, akin to a signal transceiver.

  If she wished to locate this giant beast again, she could always return to this dark matter halo and retrieve it.

  For Seraphine, the second Solar System, whose origins she temporarily could not fully grasp, was merely a prelude; she had far more critical endeavors awaiting—devouring the Perseus Arm.

  Whoosh—

  Her mighty foot descended, stirring heavy space-time ripples.

  Like a cosmic giant, Seraphine, after taking seven or eight strides and spanning several thousand light-years, finally stepped onto the far boundary of the Milky Way's Perseus Arm, which spanned 60,000 light-years in length and 8,000 light-years in width.

  Upon entering this interstellar region, Seraphine harbored no intention of communicating with any civilization; she simply tore open over a hundred dimensional fissures scattered around her form.

  Hum—

  These dimensional fissures instantly stirred and surged, rapidly expanding into cosmic 'black holes,' each about one light-year in diameter, resembling abysses from a demonic realm.

  Over 100 'black holes' vibrated simultaneously, causing the vast three-dimensional space-time surrounding them to resonate as well.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  Hundreds of streams of devouring force, nearly tearing apart the expanding space-time of the universe, suddenly surged from the 'black hole' cluster, sweeping towards the vast star fields around them.

  And Seraphine, whose colossal, radiant form was densely adorned with dazzling nebulae, appearing like a humanoid cosmic entity of immense scale, slowly opened her slender, muscular arms at this moment, activating the Light of Infinity.

  Whoosh—

  In an instant, a brilliant divine light, seemingly encompassing all colors, all powers, and all capabilities, enveloped and covered the colossal cosmic space-time, spanning a diameter of 1000 light-years centered on her.

  In the next moment, this immense volume of space—large enough to contain hundreds, even thousands of millions of Solar Systems—suddenly began to ripple and surge violently.

  The invisible and intangible three-dimensional space-time instantly behaved like a lake imbued with countless volts of rampant electrical current; it violently expanded and surged, generating millions of intensely violent space-time torrents. With a speed countless times exceeding the speed of light, these torrents swept towards the vast star fields in every direction.

  The scale of these torrent layers was so immense, yet so aggressive, that within this 1000 light-year diameter space, concentric ripples of space-time vortices suddenly formed, centered on Seraphine.

  The various types of star systems, scattered near and far, above and below, left and right, were all caught in the countless layers of violent space-time torrents and vortices. Like millions of fish resting quietly in a lake, they were each 'electrocuted' into trembling, involuntarily moving with the space-time current. In an instant, they condensed into powerful and astonishing superluminal space-time distortion rivers, surging majestically toward Seraphine, who stood quietly in the boundless void like a cosmic titan.

  Boom!

  Boom!!

  Boom!!!

  The vast space-time silently surged and exploded.

  Colossal star systems, each tens of trillions of kilometers in diameter, shoulder-to-shoulder, crashed into each other and accumulated within the space-time river, rapidly traveling hundreds of light-years to Seraphine's vicinity.

  Even before truly reaching her second layer of exterior, these star systems had already been forcibly 'crushed' by the even thicker and more immense space-time vortices, shedding their outermost and sparse nebular 'shells.' In the space-time flow, which exceeded the speed of light countless times, only the most refined portions remained—

  The central burning star, and the many rocky planets, gas giants, and the even greater number of moons orbiting these planets.

  It was only at this moment that a few civilizations, possessing a relatively high level of spacefaring technology and existing within these star systems, barely realized that something seemed to be happening in the 'outside world.'

  As for those low-level civilizations, which had existed for thousands or tens of thousands of years but still hadn't truly entered the cosmic era, they remained lost in the passage of time.

  They had no inkling of what transpired outside their space, nor what fate awaited them.

  Time passed in a flash.

  Rumbling and roaring, a surging torrent of light, condensed from millions of star systems, rushed from all corners of the vast space, crashing into Seraphine's boundless, abyssal-like domain.

  Boom! Boom!

  Crack! Crack!

  Stars cried out; the surrounding void shattered and warped.

  Amidst waves of majestic, vast, and terrifying explosions of light and heat, superluminal, sky-rending rivers of light roared and surged around Seraphine's grand body.

  At every single moment, countless stellar system cores, either brightly shining or dimly fading, slammed violently into the hundreds of terrifying, abyssal-like dimensional fissures on the outer layer of her second exterior, which continuously emitted horrifying devouring power.

  Unlike before.

  This time, Seraphine no longer needed these stars and planets for sustenance.

  Therefore, apart from the intelligent life communities existing within the star systems, which would be protected in groups, by crustal plate units, via a layer of space-time membrane, all other countless tons of matter would, upon entering the dimensional fissures, instantly collapse into immense light and heat, being mercilessly absorbed into her body.

  Thereafter, those intelligent life forms radiating the glow of Spirituality would, in their fear and shock, be instantly 'converted' en masse, and then, through the space-time connection path that flickered during the interchange between all dimensional unit cells at the deepest part of the dimensional gaps, be collectively transferred into the three-dimensional unit cells within the body of her second exterior, becoming Seraphine's new source of intelligent sparks.

  As for the utterly desolate star systems that completely lacked any Spirituality glow, not even a single atom would be able to exist; all would be torn apart and swallowed into nothingness by the dimensional fissures on Seraphine's body surface.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  Vast torrents surged; space vibrated.

  Every second, hundreds of stars painfully exploded within the dimensional fissures. After releasing bursts of terrifying light flow comparable to gamma-ray bursts, they sadly exited the cosmic stage, becoming hot and glittering energy streams profusely disappearing into Seraphine's body.

  Boom, boom, boom!

  Thus, in just a few minutes, this dazzling space, 1000 light-years in diameter, transformed into an 'absolute vacuum' where not even a single atom existed.

  And the millions of star systems, tens of thousands of intelligent civilizations, and countless intelligent life forms that once inhabited this vast interstellar region, all vanished into the mists of cosmic history, disappearing into the boundless, continuous River of Time.

  They became the source of Seraphine's intelligent sparks, fueling her ascension, increasing the cost of her evolution.

  Having accomplished all this, Seraphine, without a word, took another step.

  Boom!

  Space-time vibrated; the universe surged and rumbled.

  With one step, she traversed over a thousand light-years, arriving in a boundless spatial region 'filled' with dazzling nebulae.

  Looking in all directions, various intelligent civilizations existed within each star system, diligently and independently carrying out their own operational rhythms.

  Some were grinding stone tools to protect their fire; others were assembling armies to prepare for a cold weapon war; some were madly exchanging hydrogen bombs, creating nuclear armageddon; some were united in their first interstellar voyages, or contentedly preparing for cosmic expeditions after losing past glory...

  Numerous and varied; there were many more.

  The 'nearby' cataclysmic destruction that just occurred had no effect on this region of space.

  The low-level civilizations existing here, unable to break the light barrier, had neither the ability nor the qualification to detect that destruction.

  They could only blankly accept the terrifying 'fate' that even deities brought forth; there was no alternative.

  Unable to grieve, nor qualified to grieve.

  Thus, Seraphine began a new round of grand devouring.