Chapter Seventy-Four: Exploring the Signal

Atanis was meditating in his chamber when suddenly an alert came through from a detector stationed in the high orbit of Midgard. The detector had sensed a surge of dark energy, but the force quickly concealed itself. Atanis did not take the warning lightly; he immediately reported the information to the Council of Light and Shadow.

"... This is the current situation, Your Eminence," Atanis spoke in secret within the Kara network to Gaskell. Now regarded as the next Archbishop, every one of Atanis's communications was personally overseen by Gaskell.

"Well done, Atanis. Your vigilance is commendable. I will consult with our allies about dispatching a fleet to Midgard. May the gods watch over us," Gaskell replied, pleased with Atanis’s swift reaction but aware that reinforcements to Midgard required discussion with Asgard.

"At your command. May the gods protect us," Atanis responded, fully understanding the gravity of the situation. After exchanging formalities with Gaskell, he ended the communication.

Atanis had also briefed Gaskell on His Majesty El’s departure from Midgard to confront the Dark God. Gaskell informed him that the communication device carried by El had failed. Given that their adversary was a Dark God, this was considered a normal occurrence for the time being. However, they could not rule out the possibility that His Majesty was in a communication dead zone. Therefore, the Stellar Empire had dispatched reconnaissance ships to various cosmic singularities, striving to locate El as soon as possible.

...

A mothership was advancing toward the Dark Star Domain. This vessel was specially constructed by the Stellar Empire for investigating cosmic singularities. Unlike standard operational motherships, this exploratory mothership had reduced its powerful weapon systems, such as purification beams, in favor of reinforcing its own shields and auxiliary systems to better navigate the complex environment within the Dark Star Domain.

Upon entering the Dark Star Domain, the ship activated its phase-shift shield and hyperspatial communication devices, attempting to establish contact with the outside world. After several failed attempts, the phase technicians aboard had to concede to the domain’s treacherous nature. The chaotic laws of physics here were impossible to harness stably; physical constants fluctuated wildly, and even devices capable of interdimensional communication could only sporadically receive signals.

Though the communication devices failed, the phase-shift shield brought promising news. Thanks to the mothership’s immense spiritual energy, it had constructed an independent spatial bubble around itself. This meant that as long as the shield remained intact within the Dark Star Domain, the ship and crew could remain safe.

As for weaponry, the already diminished armaments were even weaker in this realm, but the exploratory crew had never placed much hope in their offensive capabilities, so disappointment was minimal.

At this moment, Captain Lester was directing his crew toward a relic site. Their ship had just intercepted a distress signal originating from the ruins ahead. Though the origin of the caller’s arrival in the Dark Star Domain was unknown, Lester could not ignore a call for help.

“Executive Officer, we’ve arrived at the source of the signal,” the navigator reported, scanning the planet below.

The Dark Star Domain was not static. According to the Stellar Empire’s long-term explorations and records, its initial size was only half of what it is now. The other half had grown over countless ages as stars extinguished and were drawn into the domain, becoming part of its expanse.

At the edges of the domain, remnants of artificial structures persisted—ruins left behind by long-extinct civilizations. Though the Interstellar Tribunal protected most intelligent species, some had vanished due to unforeseen circumstances. These relics naturally attracted researchers. Thus, Lester and his crew were not overly surprised to receive a distress signal from within the domain.

Shortly, sensors detected a lifeform. Lester immediately activated the warp matrix to beam the individual aboard and personally went to inquire.

The rescued was a young Stellar compatriot. However, Lester could not sense their presence in the Kara network and thus questioned them warily: “Who are you? Why are you here?”

The chaotic laws of the Dark Star Domain severely disrupted Kara communications. While Lester could not establish contact with the Council of Light and Shadow, he could still detect the presence of Kara energy. In other words, within the domain, Kara could not communicate directly with the outside but could observe whether an entity existed.

If a Stellar practitioner died within the Dark Star Domain, their memory and soul would return to the spiritual realm rather than directly to Kara’s embrace, existing in a semi-independent state similar to those practicing the Path of Shadows. The highest custodians could reclaim them once found, though most Starlings were unaware of this fact.

“I am Jinara, an archaeologist from Nairazim. I was investigating an ancient civilization’s ruins when I was transported here. Thank you for your assistance,” Jinara spoke earnestly, though Lester felt an unease he could not place.

After a lengthy conversation, Lester’s suspicions eased. Considering the mothership’s presence in the domain, and after conferring with Jinara, he temporarily assigned her to the exploration team.

During subsequent searches, Lester secretly instructed his men to observe Jinara. Only after receiving reassuring reports did he finally lower his guard and classify her as a normal security risk.

It was precisely this relaxation that gave Jinara the opportunity she sought. Since boarding the mothership, she had restrained her true feelings, employing a divine artifact granted by the Great Gods to deceive the minds of the ship’s temple knights, passing Lester’s scrutiny and infiltrating the vessel’s interior. Her next move was to seize control of the ship.

Jinara was originally the fourth ascendant from Tadarlin. Under orders from the high lord Marash, she had been lying in wait at the ruins, anticipating the arrival of the Stellar Empire’s exploration ship. Her mission was to covertly capture the ship without alerting the empire’s upper echelon.

To this end, she had begrudgingly befriended the ship’s phase technicians, extracting critical intelligence from them: the communications devices were intermittently functional.

Armed with this knowledge, Jinara began her plan to swiftly take the ship within an extremely short timeframe, ensuring it could not send out any further distress signals.