Chapter 685: Arrival

Deep within the Hermits' control zone, a twisted light curtain abruptly materialized in the darkness of space. The curtain rippled like water, and then countless spatial fissures of varying sizes tore through the local spacetime in a radial pattern—a massive black-red warship "fell" from the shattered warp space into the physical universe, then accelerated toward the thriving mother planet known as "Sanctuary" in the distance.

The high-ranking priest standing in the control hall of the *Dark Star* cruiser let out a long breath. The system alarms around him were gradually calming, sweat faintly dampening his robe, while a sense of joy that the mission was about to be fulfilled slowly rose in his heart.

Another white-robed priest beside him also exhaled deeply and remarked with relief, "The FTL core is stabilizing. Praise the Sage—I almost thought we'd be lost in hyperspace."

"Check the containment bay," another voice chimed in from the side.

"The containment bay is normal. That force-field box is still running—the 'Angel Catalyst' inside has finally quieted down."

"I never expected it to cause so much interference with the engine... Even though it was completely isolated, it still silently deviated our course..."

"That's probably the power of the Angel Catalyst—a truly high-activity catalyst should be like this."

"Is that so?"

"No doubt about it. The real stuff hits hard..."

Listening to the chatter behind him, a faint smile appeared on the face of the high-ranking priest dressed in a white robe with gold trim.

During the transport of that "Angel Catalyst" from the border stargate back to the mother planet, the ship had encountered a series of mishaps large and small in hyperspace—from the antenna system picking up strange noises to the FTL engine dangerously drifting and "field oscillating." The whole journey had been fraught with perils.

Yet it was precisely these various accidents that put everyone on board at ease.

Because there was no doubt that all of it was caused by that "stone" in the containment bay—its powerful force had been trying to break containment, and in the latter half of the voyage, it had even succeeded in interfering with the ship's navigation system.

This meant the cargo was genuine, and everyone's last shred of doubt could be dispelled.

If the journey had been completely smooth sailing, they would have been suspicious. But now... they could only say that this truly was a high-activity Angel Catalyst—it really did hit hard.

"Entering the mother planet's identification zone. Received communication from the orbital defense fortress."

The high-ranking priest nodded. "Patch it through."

In the center of the hall, a holographic projection of the mother planet's defense commander appeared above the large communication platform. The Inquisition officer in dark gold short robes nodded slightly in the image: "This is the star fortress *Radiance Rock*. Report the situation."

"This is the cruiser *Philosopher's Stone*. Ship identification code and mission covert code have been transmitted. My vessel was ordered to transport the 'Catalyst' from the border and has now successfully returned."

After a moment, the officer in the hologram showed a smile. "Welcome back, brethren—the day of foundation has arrived. Glory to you and me."

"Glory to you and me—"

...

Deep within the Supreme Hall of Sanctuary, a golden-haired man in a white-gold robe, surrounded by a faint halo, was leaning against the armrest of his throne, one hand propping up his forehead as if dozing. Two "Living Saints" with indistinct faces, as if forged of light, stood silently on either side of the throne. Powerful psychic energy resonated spontaneously, producing faint, wind-chime-like pleasant tones that echoed softly through the resplendent hall.

Suddenly, the "Holy See" on the throne opened his eyes.

He looked up toward the sky—the news had not yet reached the surface from the space station, but his gaze seemed to pierce through layer after layer of palace domes, through the thick atmosphere, and stare directly at the *Dark Star* cruiser that was pivoting to enter the atmosphere.

"They are back," the golden-haired man said softly. "Do you hear it? That door... it is resonating with the Catalyst in space, rejoicing. The true key has finally arrived at its destined place."

The two Living Saints bowed slightly, and the pleasant psychic resonance echoed in the air.

"The Gate of Eden has begun to grow of its own accord. This will be its peak of activity—in the coming time, you must guard the Forge of the Most High and the Rift Generator carefully," the golden-haired man said as he rose from his throne and stepped down the dais. "But for now... we must go welcome the 'Key.'"

The two Living Saints followed silently behind His Holiness, passing through the hall and corridors, crossing the long bridge suspended above the mountain peaks outside the palace—gradually, more priests emerged from the halls. Having just received the news from the space station, they gathered of their own accord and, without exception, fell in behind His Holiness.

The procession grew larger, yet maintained a certain sacred silence. Only the sounds of footsteps and robes rustling echoed back and forth on the long bridge atop the mountains.

His Holiness turned his head slightly and glanced at the followers behind him.

Some were young, some elderly; some were first followers, others were newcomers recently promoted—but no matter who, he knew each of them by name.

Those who had first followed him to this planet were now only a handful remaining.

His Holiness exhaled lightly and raised his hand to wave.

The barrier covering the sacred district vanished silently in an instant. The high mountain wind howled across the long bridge, the cold blast whipping the priests' robes. Many of them instinctively tightened their clothes in the sudden chill, some looking up at His Holiness in surprise and confusion, only to see a warm smile.

"Keep walking," the golden-haired man said softly, his voice echoing throughout the entire mountain range. "Just like the day we first arrived on this cold, cursed planet—the second foundation day is here, my brethren. Keep walking."

And so the procession continued forward on the long bridge, heading toward the landing platform for starships.

Between the staggered palace walls, among the countless magnificent sculptures and ornate columns, servants wearing mind shackles humbly bowed their heads, shivering as they paid homage to the "masters" walking on the long bridge. Bronze Knights in full armor stood silently in the wind, their ceremonial capes fluttering behind them. The artificial saintesses of the Dominator Knights lurked in the shadows of the palace, smiling as they watched the procession of priests on the bridge.

The cold wind blew across the high walls, through the knights' empty armor and the ornate rooftops, howling and moaning like a grand yet twisted chorus of cheers.

And across the entire planet, an invisible force was swelling, stirring. The order of spacetime had already begun to warp on a global scale in Sanctuary...

Near the distant border stargate, the *Otherworld Traveler* was hidden inside a gravitational fault. The ship's own stealth field, combined with the local gravitational environment, distorted the distant starlight to ensure that no one would detect a behemoth lurking there.

Yu Sheng and his group had been at this "hiding spot" for several days, and the waiting time had exceeded initial estimates.

Aileen had been bored to death since two days ago—not that she had nothing to do, since she had six regiments of mass-produced bodies, four spare bodies at home, and Yu Sheng could open a door anytime for her to wander around. The little puppet's daily life was quite fulfilling, but even a full schedule couldn't dull the anxiety of "waiting."

In the ship's recreation area, after her sixth roll on the floor for the day, Aileen scrambled back onto Yu Sheng's shoulder. "Hey! Yu Sheng! Haven't you sensed it yet? Has that ship arrived or not? Those god-hauling cultists better not have croaked halfway..."

Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands. "Can you not jinx it with that crow’s mouth?"

"What can I say? First time in my life I hope a bunch of heretics have a smooth journey home... Too bad I'm channeling the Goddess of Ill Omen—good wishes probably won't work," Aileen said, then leaped from Yu Sheng's shoulder into a pile of Hu Li's tails, poking her head out and swaying. "Hey hey, Yu Sheng, seriously, did you dump too much kick into that 'stone'? I remember you piled a bunch of nasty tricks into it to make it look real..."

Listening to the little puppet's constant babbling, Yu Sheng started to have doubts. "Damn, that boatload of unlucky bastards didn't actually bite it in the warp, did they..."

Aileen tumbled out of Hu Li's tails, scrambling to her feet and widening her eyes. "No way! I was just saying—if that happened, the fun would be massive... Did you really overdo it?"

Yu Sheng rubbed his chin. "Shouldn't be. I took it easy—they'd just have a bumpy ride..."

He suddenly stopped.

Aileen was about to keep chattering, but seeing Yu Sheng's reaction, she tensed up. "Huh? Did they really bite it in the warp?"

"No, wait. Something's changed," Yu Sheng quickly motioned for the little thing to stay quiet while he concentrated and felt the connection through the blood he had left on both the "Angel Catalyst" and the *Dark Star* cruiser—there were "blood marks" on both. "The ship has stopped... the relative positions of the two blood marks are changing... The 'Catalyst' is moving. Someone's picking it up!"

Luna, who had been leaning against a pillar nearby, turned her head. "They arrived. At Sanctuary."

"Great! They finally made it!" Aileen jumped up and started climbing Yu Sheng's pants. "Not a wasted wait—open the door! I want to tear it up!"

"Hold on, hold on. I need to sense the situation around that blood drop I left in the hangar first," Yu Sheng said quickly while supporting the little puppet to keep her from falling mid-climb. "We don't want to push the door open and have a whole security force right in our faces. This is a serious infiltration operation..."

As he spoke, he concentrated and sensed, confirming that there were no other life reactions around that blood drop. Only then did he, like a thief, carefully grab something in the air—and pushed open a small door that was almost too narrow even for Aileen to crawl through.

"Won't there be surveillance in the hangar?" Aileen muttered by Yu Sheng's ear. "Opening a small door might still be seen..."

"...That's a fair point," Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then simply raised his hand and waved. "Alright, then Plan B. We charge."

Aileen: "You just said this was a serious infiltration operation—"

Before the little puppet could finish her yell, Yu Sheng yanked open a illusory door.

The scene on the other side of the door came into view, and Aileen fell silent.

Yu Sheng stared blankly at the barbaric alien landscape beyond the door. "...This is 'Sanctuary'?"

(End of chapter)