"How long has it been since we last gathered like this?"
"A very, very long time..."
On a shattered planet, six figures stood silently upon the fractured earth. Magma, spewing forth from the planet's core, continuously erupted from the ground. Searing waves of flame roared around the six, yet meticulously avoided their bodies.
In the sky above, the remnant of a dying sun hung, its lethal solar winds piercing through the thin atmosphere to ceaselessly scorch the land. The cities had long since fallen into ruin under the twin assaults of 'celestial fire' and 'terrestrial fire'. The people who once lived here had long ago been robbed of their lives by the deadly gases in the atmosphere. Even those who had managed to don oxygen masks or flee into life-support units were eventually smelted by the incandescent environment; the very pods meant to protect them became their final coffins.
In the planet's outer orbit, a chain of cold, aggressive satellites aimed their muzzles at the cities they once protected. Just three hours ago, they had been firing frantically at invading enemies to resist the foreign incursion.
---o---
"It seems we are one short again."
A female voice rose from among the six.
"Heh heh... after bungling the affair with the Xianzhou, I doubt she has the face to return. Lord Nanook should find a replacement for her seat as soon as possible."
Among the six, a figure cloaked in black robes, with a voice as grating as rotten wood being carved, slowly shook his head. His tone dripped with mockery for the absent person.
"Hmph. To fail is to self-destruct. But to disappear in such a manner is a complete joke. She should have annihilated herself before Lord Nanook! Hmph... still, compared to that waste who was devoured after his own scheme backfired, her death was considerably better!"
"Alright, let's not speak of them anymore. It only brings unpleasantness."
The woman's voice was mature. She put a stop to the short-tempered figure's tirade. If Lord Nanook were to discover them still bickering over internal matters, this assembly would likely end with them being punished.
"Hmph. Xingxiao, you are as tiresome as ever."
"Oh? Fenfeng, have you been watching too many Interastral Peace Corporation videos, or have you been playing that new game too much? A great Lord Ravager, acting all coy now?"
Although the woman named Xingxiao had just silenced his rant, it didn't mean she wouldn't talk back!
"You!"
The figure named Fenfeng's crimson eyes flew open, glaring daggers at Xingxiao, who remained hidden beneath her dark cloak.
"Tsk tsk, Fenfeng, you're still the same. Never one to use your brain. Your aesthetic of destruction is utterly primitive in my eyes!"
The one with a voice like grinding, rusted gears looked at Fenfeng, who was glaring furiously at Xingxiao, and shook his head in disdain.
"Must you two argue about this every time? Why don't you just have a go at each other to relieve the tension?"
"I think it's just too hot. I'll just snatch this star away in a bit."
"Are you out of your mind?"
Xingxiao, who had initially tried to calm everyone down, had at some point been drawn into the verbal free-for-all, a battle of indiscriminate, heavy-hitting insults. If Phantylia were present, the argument would likely have escalated even further.
But for the Lord Ravagers, this was perfectly normal.
After all, the seven of them represented seven completely different aesthetics of destruction. It was only natural for them to clash over their respective philosophies.
This time, however, no one resorted to violence. After all, the one who was best at sowing discord... was no longer here.
Just as the six Emanators of Destruction were still mocking and verbally assaulting one another, in a single instant, a certain authority surged from the depths of their souls. The six figures froze. Then, with immense piety, they prostrated themselves upon the ground, as if welcoming their supreme and unparalleled monarch...
A golden eye opened in the sky. It cast a light glance upon the six below, then vanished like an illusion.
The moment the eye appeared, the already fragile planet began to tremble violently once more. Magma, under immense pressure, surged forth, and countless volcanoes were born from nothing! The entire planet became a living inferno. Even the star, high above, dimmed for a moment. The entire star began to collapse violently, and all that awaited this star system was a deathly white light... the corpse of a dead star... a white dwarf.
"We obey, my Lord!"
After the eye disappeared, the six on the ground spoke in unison, sending off their god.
They had gathered here precisely because their god had issued a summons, compelling them to travel across galaxies with the bulk of their forces to this desolate star system.
This time, the Monarch's task was... to destroy everything!
Although this aligned with their original goal, for the Monarch to remind them in such a way surely meant there was something they had failed to do...
"Could it be that we are too slow? Has Lord Nanook grown impatient?"
"Heh, the so-called destruction aesthetics of you lot have finally dragged down my progress! Now Lord Nanook is beginning to show his displeasure with you!"
"Shut up, Fenfeng. No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"
"It seems we need a way to increase our efficiency..."
"Oh? Tiemu, do you have a good idea?"
"But of course. From now on, we must properly pick up the pace... my colleagues!"
---o---
"They have begun."
"What provoked Him?"
"Prepare. This will be a long struggle, for mortals."
"You and I need only record. We have no need to interfere in this matter."
"Yes..."
---o---
"Yin exists, and the Yang within the Yin also exists. Yang exists, so the Yin within the Yang... it's time for it to appear, isn't it?"
"Wait. It will appear soon. If it does not, then we shall facilitate its appearance."
"For... Equilibrium!"
"For Equilibrium!"
---o---
Pier Point
"Supervisor, we've detected that the star-rail in the C459 system lost contact four System Hours ago. Prior to that, we received a distress call from the C459 system, but the data appears to have been corrupted. We don't know what happened there!"
"Hmm... do we have any caravans there?"
"No."
"Hand the information over to the Intelligentsia Guild. Let them reconstruct it; that's their job anyway. As for the star-rail... it's just a worthless region of space. If the connection is broken, then it's broken."
"But..."
"Continue with your work. We have many more things to do!"
"Yes..."