"...This is it, everyone. Either you return victorious, or you never return at all."

"..!!"

Even though Heigra and Drais remained utterly composed — their calmness unshaken by the heavy words — the rest of the assembly could not suppress the tremor that ran through their bodies, not showing if it was from excitement or fear.

One of the generals clenched his jaw until his teeth scraped audibly, and his rough, gravelly voice broke the tense silence, "Is it time, then... to activate the Iron Pact Wall plan? But without Verilion, how could we possibly execute it? …Are we to replace it with Planet Shadhar instead?"

The long-dreaded moment had finally arrived — the moment they had known would come since the revelation of Verilion's existence. Every one of them had sensed this day in their bones, as if the stars themselves had whispered its inevitability.

They had prepared for years — decades, even — weaving plans that spanned the breadth of their empire. They knew that once the Galactic Seed evolved, the Cosmic War would ignite, and the universe would no longer be the same.

The plan they crafted was meticulous, born of desperation and brilliance both: they would defend the Seed at all costs until His Majesty transferred it to another sector. They would form an unbreakable wall of sacrifice — offering up nearly all their subordinate planets, most of their fleets, and countless soldiers — to stall the invaders. A decade-long bastion of defense and attrition.

But no one expected the assault to come now — not against Verilion, but against them.

And certainly not two thousand four hundred years before the Seed's ascension.

Heigra turned sharply toward the man who had spoken, her cold eyes narrowing. "Think before you speak. They have come to erase our existence — would you truly activate a plan that helps them do it faster?"

Her words struck like steel, and the room stiffened further.

The unspoken truth hung in the air: their most secure and hopeful strategy — the plan meant to shield a single sacred world — had just been rendered meaningless. The defense that could have lasted ten full years now had no purpose. The coming invasion wasn't meant to destroy a Seed, nor to conquer territory. It was meant to exterminate them.

"Do not trouble yourselves," Hedrick finally spoke, his voice calm but resonant, like thunder wrapped in velvet. "We already have an initial plan in motion."

He turned his gaze slightly and gestured toward his right. "Drais. The deadline we agreed upon has passed. Were the shipments distributed?"

To his right stood a man young in appearance but hardened by centuries of duty — a black eyepatch covering one side of his face. Drais inclined his head.

"Curses and anti-curses, enchantments and spells, talismans, and full epic sets of armaments and armor in the Empire's distinct hue — all have been delivered and distributed equally across the border depots. The process was conducted under full secrecy."

He paused, his voice lowering slightly as if revealing something far greater. "And, more importantly... the gates of the inter-stellar communication network have been completed and tested."

"....?!"

Hedrick turned toward him sharply, his crimson eyes gleaming with both shock and satisfaction. A faint smile touched his lips before he returned his gaze to the massive star map before him. "Excellent... this alone will rewrite the rules of engagement."

"What curses and what anti-curses?" one of the generals demanded, his voice rising with disbelief. "How could such supplies have been sent to our depots without any of us being notified?" His eyes darted across the room. "Did any of you know about this?"

"..." Heads shook in silent unison — none of them had.

But another voice spoke up, curious rather than angry. "This... inter-stellar communication network you speak of — what is it exactly?"

Drais met the man's eyes steadily. "As the name implies, it's a network capable of transmitting messages across immense distances — not over months, not over days, but in near real-time. Messages can travel instantly between systems within the same starfield, and if sent from another starfield, they may delay no more than an hour. When they arrive, they connect directly to the receiver's mind — without delay or distortion."

A stunned silence fell.

"Huh? That's impossible."

"There's nothing like that anywhere in the cosmos."

"Even the most advanced warship comms take weeks to transmit messages between starfields."

"This... this has to be a hoax!"

Drais waited patiently until everyone had finished voicing their opinions, his single visible eye observing the room in silence before he finally spoke. "Are you all done?" he asked calmly, his tone steady but carrying the weight of authority. "The networks have already been planted and tested. They don't just transmit sound as I previously mentioned — they can also send small parcels: maps, weapons, talismans, and various other materials. They're capable of transmitting spatial rings as well, complete with their internal contents."

He then reached into his coat, drew out several shining rings, and tossed them casually toward the gathered audience. The rings glimmered faintly with intricate cosmic inscriptions as they rolled to a stop before each person. "You can access the network through these rings," Drais continued. "Guard them as if they were your own lifelines. Every plan, every movement, and every command we make will be delivered directly to you through these."

"This...?" murmured several of the attendees in disbelief. Every person in that grand hall was a Nexus State being whose existence stretched back hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. Upon receiving the rings, they immediately began examining them with their own unique techniques — waves of energy scanning the runes, probing their structure, tracing the flow of power within.

The most knowledgeable among them widened their eyes in genuine astonishment. "By the heavens... these are authentic. These are unmistakably the Runes of Path of Space! I've studied countless variations of them before, but this particular method of engraving— it's unlike anything I've ever seen from the Interas Galaxy. Have they adopted a new style of rune crafting?"

"If this is genuine," another general spoke, voice trembling with restrained excitement, "and if these rings truly allow interplanetary communication without any intermediary... then the Interas Galaxy has outdone itself this time. It seems that their dominance over wealth, prestige, and technology might never end."

Drais slowly lifted one finger, a faint smirk touching his lips. "First of all, this isn't just interplanetary communication." he said, "these rings can synchronize with any location containing a gate. That means if a gate is installed aboard a spacecraft, the crew aboard that ship can send and receive messages or small packages even while traveling through the void. The gate itself is extremely compact — it needs only a single chamber to be installed. The process is remarkably simple, provided, of course, we can afford one and actually obtain it."

Marshal Thran's eyes widened in disbelief. "Instant communication from warships? Lord Drais, do you truly comprehend the magnitude of what you're suggesting?"

"Of course I do, Marshal," Drais replied firmly. "I, too, didn't believe it at first. That's precisely why we decided to announce this only after installation and successful testing." He smiled faintly, turning toward the female general who had spoken earlier. "Secondly… the Interas Galaxy are not the creators of this technology. In fact, they likely have no knowledge of it at all. We were explicitly ordered to remain silent regarding its true origins — so please, inform your teams to do the same."

"What are you saying?" one voice demanded incredulously. "There's another force capable of producing spacefaring technology this advanced besides the Interas Galaxy?"

"That explains the unusual rune patterns…" muttered another.

"Who are they then? Don't tell me—it's the Galaxy of Time Sands? I've long suspected they had a hidden spatial division!"

"In truth," Drais said, straightening himself and glancing to his right, "We have here a representative from the true innovators behind this revolutionary creation." His voice lowered slightly, carrying an air of intrigue. "They have produced not just this… but countless other inventions beyond anything I have ever witnessed."

"...What?" murmured several voices, the air thick with tension.

All heads turned toward the direction Drais was looking.

There, standing silently by one of the marble pillars of the grand hall, was a young man dressed entirely in black — his posture relaxed, one arm resting casually against the column as he watched the gathering unfold from the shadows.

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