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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟔: 𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 (2)
The dominant species of the Triangulum galaxy. Having transcended machinery to become 100% mechanical beings, the Reptured are now observing the approach of the Ycloquasar from the outer Local Group, which is set to annihilate all intelligent life.
The Triangulum galaxy is located between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. This means that if the Ycloquasar approaches from the edge of the Local Group, it’s likely to attack Andromeda before it reaches the Triangulum galaxy.
Teptorm, the leader of the Reptured, is located deep beneath the surface of the capital planet, within a massive server.
Of course, as an artificial intelligence with the highest decision-making authority, Teptorm doesn’t exist in the physical world, but rather in cyberspace, free from the constraints of a physical body or the concept of death. Thus, to say that Teptorm is located somewhere may not be entirely accurate.
The Believer, who had arrived on this metallic planet, accessed the Reptured network and initiated electronic communication with Teptorm.
【Teptorm, your people must join forces with the Quakacor of the Andromeda galaxy and confront the approaching Ycloquasar with all your might.】
Teptorm understood the meaning of the message perfectly.
【Is it your wish that we join forces with the Quakacor legions and throw ourselves at the Ycloquasar, even if it means certain doom?】
【The survival of the Reptured is at stake.】
【The probability of extinction is extremely high. If we resolve ourselves to extinction and fight to the end in the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way will inevitably become the final battlefield.】
【We desperately need analytical information to plan our counterattack. With the valiant legions of the Quakacor and your people’s cool headed analytical abilities, we might be able to find a breakthrough against the Ycloquasar.】
On the contrary, if no breakthrough can be found, there is no hope. The Ycloquasar is an enemy of unimaginable power, and this desperate situation leaves the Local Group with no other option.
Both the Believer and Teptorm understand this fact.
【We revered the Vehlpciaarct as our idol. However, the ultimate fate of the Vehlpciaarct, as shown to me by the second leader of the Chimeraz and the human artificial intelligence known as Ark, revealed the direction our species should take.】
【What direction was that?】
【It is that we must also consider the ‘unobservable’ and ‘invisible’ aspects of events in order to avoid making the wrong choices. This is not a matter of mathematics or calculation.】
【Indeed. The Vehlpciaarct believed that the Chimeraz they knew was the entirety of the Chimeraz, and they made their calculations and judgments based on that assumption. And they acted upon their convictions with unwavering certainty. That was the flaw in the Vehlpciaarct mindset.】
【If we, the Reptured, can truly become a mechanical species with perfect ‘transcendence of the physical’, we will not reject your people’s help with the necessary technology. Furthermore, if all members of our species must become instruments of war and go to the front lines, then so be it.】
【May I ask why you have come to such a decision?】
In the end, this situation means that the Reptured are being asked to sacrifice themselves on the front lines. They are being asked to abandon the survival of their species, all for the sake of gathering intelligence that might help the allied forces in the rear.
And yet, Teptorm calmly understood and accepted this situation. That’s why the Believer is curious.
【Teptorm, are you saying that the Reptured have a kind of belief, just as the Vehlpciaarct did?】
【I do not know if what we have can be defined as a belief, but if you, the Believer, say so, then I suppose it is.】
Perhaps this conversation between the Believer and Teptorm will be their last.
Even if the combined forces of the Quakacor and the Reptured were to confront the Ycloquasar, their chances of victory are slim. This is because the invasion is not limited to the Andromeda galaxy; it is happening simultaneously across the entire Local Group.
It’s hard to imagine that the Ycloquasar will be repelled in the Andromeda galaxy, but if the Reptured and the Quakacor somehow manage to resist and gain the upper hand against the Ycloquasar, even for a moment, then more Ycloquasars will likely invade Andromeda.
So, while there may still be hope for the Local Group, there is virtually no hope for the Quakacor or the Reptured.
【We did not have any beliefs in the past, but after witnessing the fate of the Vehlpciaarct and observing the recent situation in the Local Group, we have come to have a belief. It has shown us the direction we, the Reptured, should take.】
【. . . .】
【We will become as powerful as the Vehlpciaarct, but we will not meet the same futile end. We are machines, but we desire to continue existing, and it is for the sake of our continued existence that we have transcended the physical. Therefore, the Reptured as a species will not be extinguished in the battle of Andromeda.】
【You mean to leave behind a seed.】
【I will save my own Infinity Data and the spirit of my people. Even if 99.9% of the Reptured perish, the Reptured will be reborn in the future.】
【Unfortunately, we do not have a server capable of storing your Infinity Data. We could accommodate your data’s volume, but we would not be able to properly convert the data format when the time comes to revive you.】
【If your people’s systems are too advanced to convert our data in the future, then our best hope lies with the humans.】
【Humans . . .】
【Believer, are you not aware of the being who has become the de facto leader of the human forces? The conversation that took place during the Great War with the Le-orantarum Federation was heard by all leaders.】
Lopez.
【The combined technological prowess of humanity surpasses that of us, the Reptured. Furthermore, humans possess the bodies of living creatures, yet the minds of machines. In other words, they design and use artificial intelligences, which are highly advanced forms of intelligent engineering.】
Artificial intelligences, having originated from the human brain, resemble the mental structure of humans. Therefore, artificial intelligences are classified as something entirely different from the intelligent engineering possessed by the species of the Local Group.
【Therefore, Lopez would likely have the means to safely store my Infinity Data, as well as the computational systems to restore it once this crisis has passed.】
【It is possible that his more antiquated technology might be more capable of restoring you than ours. However, even if we manage to repel the Ycloquasar, I cannot guarantee that the restoration will be successful. After all, humans and the Reptured have different methods of data conversion.】
【I understand that the success rate of the restoration is not 100%. But it is the option with the highest probability.】
Teptorm has decided to leave behind the seed of his species before his entire race transcends into more advanced machines and marches to the front lines.
【I will transmit the Infinity Data to the Milky Way galaxy, and I implore you to revive the Reptured if this crisis is resolved.】
【We will do our best. You will be remembered as the most perfect mechanical transcendents, and as noble sacrifices.】
And so, the civilization of the Reptured underwent a dramatic transformation.
All members of the Reptured became factories at the molecular level, repeatedly disassembling and reassembling themselves. The structures and ships of their civilization also disassembled and reassembled upon contact with the moving powder of machinery.
Everything the Reptured had turned into powder. The structures and facilities once possessed by the Reptured became nothing more than metallic powder floating in space, which soon rose into the cosmos and traveled to other planets and star systems.
Meanwhile, the information accumulated by the Reptured throughout their history—their science, their beliefs, and their spirit—was launched into space in the form of data. All of this data reached the Believers, who, using Creator’s Breath, transferred the vast data of the Reptured to the Milky Way galaxy.
The artificial planet at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
There, parallel servers with astronomical storage capacities began to spring up in an instant. The total amount of information accumulated by a single mechanical species was greater than the total amount of information accumulated by all of humanity.
“Transcendencer.”
➖Yes, Administrator.
“What is this?”
➖This is everything from the Reptured.
Lopez, who had been monitoring the influx of data, gave the command to expand the servers to the artificial intelligence.
In the meantime, the Believers also made contact with the Lomro-or and the Caycaconick of the Triangulum galaxy.
➖The Reptured will go to the front lines in the Andromeda galaxy. So, we need you to temporarily take over as the dominant species of the Triangulum galaxy and gather allied forces to fight.
The former Federal Enforcer, who had become the Federal Supreme Justice after the death of Le-orantarum Owron, accepted his destiny. The Lomro-or were a species that ultimately sought the stability of the Local Group above all else, so they would do their best to confront the Ycloquasar.
And the Caycaconick, a member of the Hive Alliance, also set aside their past grievances and agreed to cooperate with the Lomro-or.
And so, three days passed by the solar calendar, and the Reptured were no longer in the Triangulum galaxy.
The planets once inhabited by the Reptured became desolate and dead. Several stars also disappeared, becoming pitch-black dead white dwarfs.
All of that matter and energy had been taken and loaded as war supplies. And the powder of machines carrying the Reptured soon arrived in the Andromeda galaxy.
Soon, Empress Karcon witnessed a fleet resembling mechanical sea urchins in each of the Quakacor star systems.
➖Teptorm . . .
➖Greetings, Empress Karcon.
➖To think that your people would be the comrades who share our fate . . .
➖Do you dislike us because we are machines?
At that, the empress replied with a cheerful voice.
➖No, I think it’s refreshing. I am grateful that you have come to fight alongside us in our galaxy.
And then, another mechanical voice joined their communication network.
➖I also offer my assistance. Teptorm.
➖Who is that who just spoke?
➖I am the Controller of the Drataiden. Our species is small in number, but we wish to contribute to this final war in this galaxy alongside the Quakacor.
Teptorm looked on as the armies of the Quakacor and the Drataiden took their positions and thought to himself.
【Have they overcome their past differences and reconciled . . .】
In any case, the role of supreme commander in the Andromeda galaxy will be carried out by Empress Karcon, the leader of the dominant species.
➖Teptorm. Controller. And all allied forces who will fight alongside my children.
Collective consciousness fleets and machines gathered from each star system. On the ground, there were rotating swarms, weapons that ran on mechanical tentacles, and legions that surged like waves.
➖From a distant place, the transcendent beings known as the Ycloquasar are crossing time and the void. As they have always done, in every moment and in every place, the battle will be sudden and bewildering.
Empress Karcon’s voice spread throughout the Andromeda galaxy.
➖They will destroy our civilizations and will not stop until every intelligent being in the Local Group is extinct.
➖Furthermore, they have waited for a long time on the other side of the Local Group. This ordeal that we are all facing was ultimately their design. But we all desire to continue existing as intelligent beings, and so we will not succumb to their design.
These beings are not gathering in the face of a common enemy, the Ycloquasar.
They are gathering under the common goal of survival.
➖The history of the wars we have fought, the progress of our technology and civilizations, and the suffering of hatred and pain have all been rehearsals for this fateful battle.
At that moment, a white sphere of the Ycloquasar appeared on the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy. Approaching from the pitch-black interstellar space, it was so white that it seemed alien. And bizarre.
➖In the midst of despair, hope shines. All of us who were competing and killing each other yesterday have finally become one in this moment. That is the only hope we can rely on now.
➖They have come.
➖The Quakacor. The Drataiden. The Reptured. And all the species born in this galaxy and who have fought together for centuries. All intelligent beings who have taken up arms and sharpened their claws.
➖Among us in the Local Group, someone will find the answer. And someone will record and remember our story.
There, the Reptured fleet fired a beam of light. Then, the Drataiden fleet and the Quakacor fleet charged forward in unison.
➖Even if we are defeated, we will fight until the last of our members falls and is broken.
The beams of light warped. The charging Drataiden and Quakacor inflated like balloons and exploded before they could do anything. Dozens of fleets were torn apart in a single second, rendering the planetary defense network meaningless. Strange weapons from the Ycloquasar were teleported to the surface, scorching the landscape with blue lightning-like weapons.
Advanced weaponry dramatically shortens the duration of wars. So, no matter who wins, this suffering will not last long.
🔷🔷🔷
【The enemy has no fleet. Their military formation consists of a single supermassive mothership estimated to be of planetary mass and ground forces teleported via phase assault.】
White spheres of the Ycloquasar appeared one after another in each star system.
【Counter the enemy’s space attacks.】
News of the annihilation of an entire star system’s allied forces poured in an instant. And so, the Reptured fleet attempted the next strategy before it was too late.
【We will create a mechanical black hole and an accretion disk.】
Approximately 500 fleets of the Reptured fleet were sacrificed. The bodies of the sacrificed mechanical members disassembled into powder and rotated in a ring shape. The space from the center of the ring warped like a funnel, and the light that entered it could not escape, swirling around it in a vortex.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
A deafening noise erupted in space. Soon after, the accretion disk in the form of light rotated even more vigorously and expanded. It was a weapon that expanded at a faster rate and was much larger in scale than what the Vehlpciaarct had shown in the past.
It was the fusion of the Reptured’s mechanical transcendence and the Believers’ understanding of black holes.
Their mechanical black hole swung the accretion disk like an arm in an instant.
Zzzthhhhhhhhhht!!!!
It struck down the white sphere of the Ycloquasar.
Everyone was stunned by the sight.
The white sphere split in two, scattering countless fragments and explosions.
【We have successfully dealt the first blow.】
The Reptured recorded the effective hit, and the Quakacor fleet charged again through the gap in the shattered white sphere.
Swooshhhhhhhh . . .
Just then, the Ycloquasar weapons on the surface of each planet in that star system disassembled into light and rose into the sky.
There was nothing they could do.
They had no way of knowing what they were trying to do.
Immediately after, the white sphere in space turned red-hot, went into thermal runaway, and then exploded.
It was an explosion that could not be heard.
That’s because all beings within earshot were instantly annihilated the moment they witnessed the explosion.
The matter and the vast energy that made up the white sphere became a shock wave traveling at the speed of light, incinerating fleets and planets whole and causing the equilibrium of stars to collapse and explode. In this way, it killed planets, killed stars, and even destroyed the mechanical black hole. Moreover, the shock wave pushed away the interstellar matter and gas clouds outside the star system, changing the distribution of matter in a large area of space.
If one were to observe the area where the explosion occurred, it would seem as if the landscape of that part of space had changed.
【It’s a supernova.】
At that moment, Teptorm came to an even more shocking conclusion.
【The phenomenon that just wiped out 1160 fleets of the coalition forces was similar to a supernova, antimatter annihilation, and the expansion of the universe.】
【. . . . . First, an antimatter pulse spread along the shock wave traveling at the speed of light. Their planetary mass entity is equipped with an antimatter power source at least the size of their inner core.】
The words used to explain the phenomenon just now were unconventional.
Empress Karcon asked,
➖To cause such a complex phenomenon with that amount of antimatter as a weapon . . . Is it possible in this material world . . .?
【According to the calculations, there was an energy activity and interaction between matter that do not apply to the laws of physics that we know of.】
I don’t know how they managed to handle that much antimatter in one space. I don’t know how they released that much energy in that much volume. I don’t know how they moved that much mass at the speed of light.
It is an unknown energy. Their understanding of energy far exceeds the understanding known to the species of the Local Group.
Therefore, Teptorm defines it with a single word.
【The Ycloquasar controls dark energy.】