"Elio is right."
Kafka hesitated for only a moment before taking a lifelike, flower-shaped brooch from her "pocket" and tossing it straight to Ziz.
"This is the relic of Idrila you were looking for."
Ziz examined the brooch briefly after catching it, then immediately tossed it to Eden. The item was ultimately destined for Little Bai anyway, and she still needed to keep an eye on the [Holy Ark] in her hand, leaving no time to study this new Astral God relic.
"Star of Brocade."
"It is the prototype for the [Knights of Beauty]'s standard-issue armament, the [Rose Armor]."
Kafka paid no mind to Ziz and Eden's actions and continued to explain.
"It requires an [Emissary]-level mastery of the [Authority of Beauty] to wield. Now that Idrila has vanished, I'm afraid it can only serve as a souvenir."
"As for whether the [Grand Monarchs] can find anything in it..."
"Perhaps your 'Emperor' can make a discovery."
After she finished speaking, Kafka handed the floor back to Elio.
"That's how it is."
"Although it is but a small token of our sincerity, a relic of an Astral God should be enough to smooth over some minor misunderstandings and unpleasantness."
Elio gathered Kafka and Silver Wolf behind him.
"Please convey my respects to your 'Monarch'."
"The [Antimatter Legion] does not give up easily. Their plan has suffered significant losses this time, so please be careful in the future... I'm sure we will have opportunities to cooperate again."
"Well then."
"I still have some small matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."
Elio did not engage in further conversation. With a slight step backward, the three figures vanished into the dim starlight.
At the same time.
"Little..."
Ksshh...
"Little March! How are things on your end!?"
A communication signal from the [Astral Express] came through March 7th's wristband.
"The problem has been resolved."
As March 7th answered Himeko, Dan Heng walked a few steps forward and pulled Horkos's relic, the [Noble Inlay], from the meteorite fragment it was embedded in.
"Are you guys alright? What was wrong with the Express?"
"We were ambushed by the Antimatter Legion's [Hyper Zetton]."
"We barely managed to withstand one [One-Trillion-Degree Fireball] thanks to the Express, but the 'Cosmic Island' spaceport..."
"Please convey my condolences to Mr. Jorah."
"..."
Compared to the number of soldiers and civilians the M81 Interstellar Federation had lost in this battle, a few seconds of silence could hardly be described as "long."
"It seems you defeated the [Hyper Zetton]?"
Jorah was already in a bad state. The battle had been extremely taxing for someone of his level, and the complete annihilation of the Iron Warlord forces had pushed him to the brink of collapse.
It was a wonder that he could still perform his duties when he asked that question. He knew full well that the "Cosmic Island" had no chance of resisting [Hyper Zetton] (the M81 Interstellar Federation possessed some precious knowledge from the [Garden of Recollection], and its high command had a certain awareness of most individuals and weapons that could threaten them, including [Hyper Zetton]). His daughter, who lived on the Cosmic Island, was most likely dead.
But if [Hyper Zetton] was not eliminated, the disaster would likely extend far beyond a single spaceport.
"A stroke of luck."
"An unknown [Dragonkin] bought us time. With Welt and everyone's help, we managed to fire the Express Cannon... That thing's power was more incredible than we imagined, but it seems to have some effect on the Express's operation. The 'tracks' of the [Path of Trailblaze] in front of the train have become much more ethereal."
Himeko quickly explained the Express's current situation.
"Setting that aside."
"This [Dragonkin]... is it a friend of the M81 Galaxy?"
Having arrived immediately after the Cosmic Island's explosion, Himeko's first thought was that this [Dragonkin] must have some connection to the M81 Galaxy.
"No."
As Jorah shook his head, everyone else's gaze turned to Eden.
"Our survival..."
"We have Miss Eden to thank for it."
---o---
Inside the Astral Express.
Himeko was directing [The Nameless] to continue with the train's repairs. The materials they were using came from the Super Titan-class starship "above" them, which was large enough to blot out the sky:
[The Spear of Adun]
That's right. Although the M81 Interstellar Federation was not a top-tier civilization, as believers of "Fuli, the Astral God of Remembrance" and a high-level civilization under the [Garden of Recollection], they were clearly not disposable pawns.
The moment [Hyper Zetton] appeared, the [Spear of Adun], which was on a patrol mission only 170,000 light-years from the M81 Galaxy, had detected the signal and rushed over at maximum warp speed.
On a side note, the [Garden of Recollection] (or more accurately, the combat-specialized [Incinerators]) usually only had one "Super Titan-class" ship on patrol at any given time. The three Super Titan-class ships also had slightly different functions: the [Spear of Adun] was for "conventional" combat, the [Memory of Nezin] for scientific research, and the [Pride of Altaris] for destroying civilizations.
Unfortunately, by the time the [Spear of Adun] arrived, the battle had already concluded in the supernova-like blast of the Express Cannon.
Which led to the current scene: [The Nameless], the [Garden of Recollection], and the [Imperial Apostles], three organizations sitting in the meeting room of the Astral Express as if in a conference.
On another side note, the starship fleet that had immediately set off from the M81 motherworld after receiving the distress call from the "Cosmic Island" spaceport was indeed no match for the [Spear of Adun] in terms of speed. Although their fleet commander was also present in the meeting room, his seat was relegated to a rather obscure corner.
"I am a High Templar, an Executive Councilor of the [Garden of Recollection], and the current captain of the [Spear of Adun]..."
"Tassadar."
A gray-blue body, artiodactyl limbs, exquisite golden armor, tentacle-like "dreadlocks" and beard, and a being with no pupils, only a faint blue light constantly spilling from the corners of its eyes—one of the three main races that constituted the [Garden of Recollection], and also the main fighting force of the [Incinerators]: the Protoss.
"On behalf of the Protoss and the Garden of Recollection, I thank you all for the aid you have rendered to the M81 Galaxy."
The Protoss made his attitude clear from the outset.
As a high-ranking member of the [Garden of Recollection], although Tassadar was not skilled in martial combat (only star-destroying class), he was backed by a Super Titan-class ship, so he spoke with considerable confidence.
"This exchange..."
"Firstly, is to rebuild the 'Cosmic Island' for the M81 Galaxy. Secondly, it is for the [Pale-Yellow Crystal] in your possession."
The [Pale-Yellow Crystal] was the energy core and design schematic of [Hyper Zetton].
It had been ripped out by Cheche with a tiger-heart-snatching claw at the same time the [Astral Express Cannon] destroyed [Hyper Zetton]. Of course, although Cheche was the one who obtained it, as a spoil of war, it should have been jointly held with [The Nameless]... To be precise, [The Nameless] were meant to share the "pressure" from the [Garden of Recollection].
In reality, the [Garden of Recollection] was one of the few very direct top-tier civilizations, and the Protoss were the foremost experts in this regard within the [Garden of Recollection].
The Protoss had come for [Hyper Zetton], and their reason was unconcealed: by studying [Hyper Zetton], the Protoss could analyze the working principles of its "special energy shield" to better counter the celestial weapons of the Antimatter Legion.
To be honest, the Paths of Fuli, the Astral God of Remembrance, and Nanook were not exactly hostile. The [Garden of Recollection] was, in many ways, a neutral faction. However, because of this neutrality, many races and civilizations believed in Fuli, and some of them were inevitably annihilated by the Antimatter Legion. As this number grew... although the respective Astral Gods never acted, their massive factions of [Retainers] had unknowingly evolved into a hostile relationship.
When the Protoss offered help, they truly helped (analogous to the Soviet Union), but they were also very blunt when they made a request.
"For this,"
"We are willing to dispatch [Probes] under the command of your Conductor to cover all future maintenance costs and procedures for the Astral Express."
"Furthermore, we will grant the members of [The Nameless] unrestricted passage through twenty-two star sectors."
The territory controlled by the [Garden of Recollection] was vast. Unrestricted passage through twenty-two star sectors... even if the Astral Express traveled for tens of thousands of years, it might not cover it all.
"Although you may not need it, in times of necessity—"
Tassadar placed a rhomboid construct, composed of numerous blue lines, to float quietly above the meeting table.
"This is the '66th [Aetheric Edict]'."
"With this, you can call upon any nearby non-Titan-class [Golden Armada] for support in any star sector within 450,000 light-years of the [Garden of Recollection]'s jurisdiction and its surroundings."
---o---
"..."
Aside from March 7th and Dan Heng, there were no other members of [The Nameless] present at the meeting.
After exchanging a look, neither had any reason to object. Although for the Protoss, the terms they offered would not cause them any loss, they were an absolute benefit for [The Nameless]. For adventurers who roamed the cosmic sea, such a reward was impossible to refuse.
"We have no objections."
After receiving the affirmative response from [The Nameless], Tassadar turned his gaze to the three individuals led by Ziz.
"Thank you for your support. Then—"
"Members of the Empire."
Tassadar's tone was much more serious than before.
Unlike [The Nameless], who had lost their Astral God, they were already on friendly terms with the [Garden of Recollection]. Moreover, their strongest combatants no longer included any at the [Grand Monarch] level (though many [Emissaries] remained, which was why the major powers of the cosmic sea still "respected" them), so they posed no threat to the [Garden of Recollection].
But the third party in this meeting was different.
Based on the intelligence provided by Jorah and the Protoss's own analysis of Elio, Tassadar was certain that the pinnacle of this civilization's power was a bona fide [Grand Monarch].
More critically, this was a Grand Monarch whose stance was unclear, whose Path was unknown, and whom they had never met. Having clashed with the Antimatter Legion did not necessarily mean they were hostile to each other; the games played by top-tier civilizations were never as simple as they seemed.
Even if they were truly hostile, for them to make their first appearance in the cosmic sea by sending subordinates to directly eliminate a [Hyper Zetton] and a top-tier Fragmentum creature... such a blatant provocation to the Antimatter Legion at least indicated they possessed the strength to not fear the [Lord of Annihilation].
Don't be fooled by Elio's ability to escape from the [Lord of Annihilation]. That was only because the latter disdained to use his true body against an [Emissary]-level opponent. When facing an enemy of the same level, the [Lord of Annihilation] had no habit of using clones or projections.
His fearsome reputation was built upon the deaths of more than a handful of powerhouses of the same level.
"State your terms, please."
Name your price.
This was both a display of the [Garden of Recollection]'s wealth and their way of expressing goodwill.
"Anything?"
"Yes."
Faced with Ziz's smiling counter-question, Tassadar affirmed once more.
"Even if you wish for an audience with Lord Fuli, we can do our best to arrange it."
Fuli, the Astral God of Remembrance.
His spirit wandered the cosmic sea, while his physical body resided in a sacred place called "Ulnar"— a name known to all major powers, yet no outsider had ever reached it.
To actively contact Fuli, the two Grand Monarchs of the [Garden of Recollection] (also their only two) had to jointly visit his physical body preserved in "Ulnar." Note the use of "visit." "Ulnar" was not uninhabited; it was home to a race in the cosmic sea whose individuals were extremely powerful but few in number: the Xel'naga... Fuli was a member of this race.
(The above information comes from the Express Library, a record left from a time when Akivili had not yet vanished and the [Path of Trailblaze] still had Grand Monarchs. On a side note, the library has the following remark after the relevant record: Authenticity is debatable.)
"No."
"A meeting with an Astral God is out of the question."
Ziz refused the extremely tempting offer. For a Grand Monarch who had already reached the pinnacle of power, there were only two ways to advance further: either their own Astral God died and they took their place, or they "absorbed" the power of more, different Paths. Meeting with other Astral Gods was undoubtedly the most effective way to achieve the latter.
The problem was, the matter of "absorption" was an absolute secret.
Even within the Empire, only a very few had learned a fraction of this information from the Monarch.
Normally, a meeting with an Astral God, especially with Fuli, who was known to possess the most "truth" in the universe, was primarily sought for "memories"—which was a different aspect from the "knowledge" held by Nous, the Astral God of Erudition.
"If it's possible..."
Ziz thought for a moment.
"Do you have any of the Astral God of Remembrance's... commonly used items?"
"Our 'Emperor' is fond of collecting such things."
She then added:
"...as a sign of admiration."