"We're assembling on our homeworld?"
"Correct."
The disguised trio was currently strolling through a commercial street within the [Great Attractor Substrate] in a 'Bai-Che-Zi' formation. Although one member of the group had expressed her dissatisfaction with this "sortie formation," it was a shame that, being in the wrong, her objection was invalid.
"These guys won't cause any trouble, will they? After all, it seems we don't have a very good relationship with most of these Astral Gods," Little Zi said with a hint of worry.
"It's fine," the Monarch replied, unconcerned. "They're old relics who have lived far longer than us. They won't do something as tactless as stepping into the Empire's territory uninvited."
"But haven't we met tactless Astral Gods before?"
"Then it's the same as always..."
"We'll just kill them."
The topic was simple, but its content was excessively violent.
Why was Qlipoth unable to determine which Astral God the "Outsider" was? The reason was simple: in the time since the Monarch had driven 'Lan' from the material universe, the "Outsider" was not the only Astral God to have died at his hands.
After devouring Annihilation's power, the [Path of Order] the Monarch currently held was nearly on par with Nanook's... the difference was almost a matter of 49% versus 51%.
The reason why the various Astral Gods, led by Qlipoth, referred to the Monarch directly as "Order"—a form of address used for an "unfamiliar Astral God of equal rank"—was because in Little Bai's current power composition, even looking solely at the [Path of Order], he was already extremely close to the level of an Astral God... not to mention the [Path of Order] was one of the most powerful Paths in existence.
Even if he only used the Dominion of Order, the Monarch could fight more than half of the Astral Gods present at the meeting to a standstill.
The Monarch was truly one to strike at the slightest disagreement.
Regardless of whether they had an Astral God backing them or not, all civilizations and factions held an innate fear of the Empire. If there was no Astral God, an Imperial fleet consisting of a single [Sovereignty-class] vessel piloted by an [Apostle], or a small squadron of [Sovereign Might-class] ships (12 Titans), could reduce an advanced civilization to rubble within 72 hours. If there was an Astral God... what was that saying again?
"We, your subjects, were ready to fight to the death. Why did Your Majesty surrender first?"
The Empire rarely annihilated an entire civilization. The destruction rate of a civilization's integrity was typically between 60% and 75%. In the end, a faction of surrenderers would always emerge on their own. With the help of these "defectors," it was far more convenient than having the Empire occupy the territory with its own people.
But Astral Gods were a different matter.
After merging with Annihilation's Path, the [Dominion of Order] in the Monarch's hands had broken through its limits. As Little Bai's true body continued to grow stronger, this upper limit was rising in tandem.
The Authorities held by Astral Gods... were all stepping stones for Little Bai's growth.
However! The Monarch would not devour the entirety of an Astral God's Authority.
After all, upon ascending to the throne of an Astral God, he would face the same predicament as Nanook—his overall power would increase exponentially, but he would have to use the vast majority of it to suppress the conflicts and backlash between the different Paths.
He also remembered what Annihilation had once said.
Although [Finality] had been stripped away, Little Bai, who possessed all the remaining [Order]—aside from the subjects of the Empire who believed in him, there was no other power of the Path of Order left in the star-sea universe; all the "Honkai" phenomena at the border of the Tree and Sea now stemmed from the Monarch's avatars—could very well become a target for Nanook to eliminate (devour) with all his might.
The best way to prevent this situation was, in fact, singular... he had to become the new "Astral God of Order."
For this purpose, when "liberating" an Astral God, the Monarch would only absorb around thirty percent of their Dominion, allowing the remaining power of the Path to return to the star-sea universe. Whether it was reclaimed by the branches of the Imaginary Tree or gave birth to a new Astral God was of little consequence to him.
"Eh?"
"Don't be so violent. Whether it's Astral Gods or civilizations, it's more interesting when there's diversity."
"Look—"
Little Zi bent down, her "demonic claws" reaching out, about to forcefully knead Cheche's slightly chubby baby-fat cheeks... only to be zapped with a 'CRACKLE'.
Incidentally, that simple 'CRACKLE' caused the reactors in half a continent's worth of ecopods within the [Great Attractor Substrate] to shut down for a brief moment.
"You've corrupted Cheche."
"No. Getting zapped by Cheche is entirely your own fault, Little Zi."
"Little Zi, you brought this upon yourself," Cheche added in a milky, child-like voice.
'CRACKLE!'
The widespread power outage and the thunderstorm that had just blanketed the city above vanished in an instant.
"I knew it!" Little Zi puffed up her cheeks (though they weren't as round as Cheche's) and planted her hands on her hips, glaring at the "still acting cute despite being 10,000 years old" Cheche beside her.
"When we go out to play together, you two always team up to bully me."
"..."
Little Bai and Cheche exchanged a silent glance and then resumed walking. In situations like this, as long as they ignored Little Zi, she would eventually catch up on her own.
"Hey!"
As expected.
"I was angry just now, aren't you going to comfort me at all?!"
"Hmm..." While Little Bai was still thinking of how to reply, Cheche had already offered a serious rebuttal:
"But this is the 21,900,000th time Little Zi has been angry. Using the same trick one-fifth of a billion times... it's not going to be effective anymore, is it?"
"...Has it really been that many times?"
"'+1'"
With the sound of a very classic mechanical announcement, Cheche took out a traditional-looking calculator. Because it was completely devoid of any smart features, this precious calculator could not be hacked or have its data tampered with in any way.
Incidentally, the miniature mechanical fusion reactor inside ensured an ample power supply.
"..."
Staring at the number displayed on the calculator, the now-silent Little Zi was clearly completely pinned down by Cheche's follow-up attack.
"Ahem."
Little Bai gave a slight cough, interrupting their daily exchange.
"Little Zi, were you being serious just now?"
"Serious about what?" Little Zi didn't immediately catch on.
"About that 'diversity of civilizations' remark."
"Hmm... I do genuinely feel that way."
Little Bai gently rubbed his chin. "Although life experiences can change one's perspective on other beings, you've never shown such a tendency before, Little Zi."
"..."
"Could it be that 'Beauty' is having an influence on you?"
Idrila, the Astral God of Beauty, was long gone. Although the [Mirror Holders] were still trying to find her relics, with the continuous weakening of their upper echelons and the passing of the very few members of the [Old Knights of Beauty], the road to reviving this [Path] was clearly fraught with difficulty.
Idrila was among the top tier of Astral Gods. She and Aha, the Astral God of Elation, had similar experiences; both had witnessed "Truth" at the crown of the Imaginary Tree... although that truth was different in each of their eyes.
Currently, the two individuals who held the most of the [Path of Beauty] were Little Zi and a Nameless who continued her journey through the star-sea universe with the [Astral Express]:
March 7th.
Little Zi had no interest in becoming an Astral God. She disliked having her freedom constrained by power, so even though the Empire had obtained a large number of Astral God relics (many of which were related to Idrila), she had not used them to absorb the power of the Path and ascend to godhood. The Monarch didn't even fear living Astral Gods, let alone factions and civilizations that merely possessed their relics. These relics obtained by the Empire were either given as rewards to its subjects (especially the peripheral races) or tossed directly into the legendary "King's Treasury."
Even so, thanks to her own talent and growth, the [Path of Beauty] was still the Dominion power Little Zi was most proficient in.
As for March 7th...
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, and it was unclear how it was done, the Monarch already knew the truth about March 7th: she was actually Idrila's amnesiac 'reincarnated body'.
But that was a story for another time.
"The Path?" Little Zi thought for a moment and replied. "...It's not impossible."
"But if you put it that way, Little Bai, you have so many Paths. Why does it seem like you're not affected much?"
"Me?"
"..."
This silence was longer than any before. Even time itself seemed to stretch and slow due to the Monarch's hesitation.
"How could there be no effect?"
As Cheche gently tugged on his sleeve, "He" revealed a "weak" and bitter smile for the first time—an emotion that no Astral God or subordinate had ever seen, an emotion belonging to the name "Little Bai," which was only shown to his most intimate companions.
"Compared to the 'Lu Xing' you spoke of..."
"Haven't I already changed far too much?"
---o---
The Sacred Empire, Central Galaxy.
Situated in the depths of space was a gigantic tree that bore an eighty-to-ninety percent resemblance to the Imaginary Tree. All the planets, including the "sun," hung high in its canopy like ripe fruits.
As far as the eye could see, there were hundreds of such fruits hanging in this "galaxy."
This was the most famous celestial marvel in the star-sea universe, and also the "homeworld" of the Sacred Empire. It was the largest branch that had been broken off the Imaginary Tree during the battle between the Monarch and Annihilation.
After being compressed and shaped by the Monarch's power, it had become the towering tree it was today.
Of course, this tree was not just the Empire's homeworld; it was also the only "Dominator-class" starship in the universe, a class that surpassed even super-titans and could unleash Astral God-level power even without being personally piloted by the Monarch.
It retained its former name:
[The Throne].
"No matter how many times I see it, it's still so magnificent."
The sheer volume of [The Throne] was absurd. It could easily accommodate the super-titans of other civilizations, let alone a small thing like the [Astral Express].
Stepping off the train and onto the incredibly solid metal ground, March 7th sighed with heartfelt emotion.
"Not only that," Himeko, the conductor of the Express, followed March 7th out. She was adjusting a device in her hand, trying to keep it from blaring overly noisy alarms.
"Just as the Empire officially stated, the Imaginary and Quantum energies here are maintained at a perfect ratio... 7:3. It will make most civilizations that haven't experienced the Quantum Sea uncomfortable, but not to the point of melting into a puddle."
This ratio was the same as the proportion of Imaginary and Quantum energy within the Monarch's body, and it was also the ratio within all "official" subjects of the Empire.
"It's not a big problem for us to get used to it, but..."
[The Nameless] were the first group of guests to arrive at [The Throne], but not all [Nameless] were qualified to ride the [Astral Express]. The vast majority of them arrived in their own distinctive starships.
Likewise, even among the adventure-loving [Nameless], over ninety percent had never experienced this kind of "seasickness." The moment they stepped off their starships, they were already collapsing in swathes like harvested wheat.
"Not everyone can adapt."
"But fainting here is better than dying directly in the Sea during the expedition."
Not far from the starport docking bay, a familiar figure slowly emerged from a swirling stargate.
"March 7th, Conductor Himeko..."
"Welcome."
"It's been a while, Eden."
The crew of the [Astral Express] were the leaders of the [Nameless] currently walking the [Path of Trailblaze]. They certainly deserved a personal reception from Eden, not to mention they were relatively familiar with each other from the two major factions.
"Hello, Miss Eden."
"Ah~" a small gasp was heard.
There were quite a few guests on the train. Among the crew members following Himeko was an acquaintance Eden hadn't expected to see.
"Mr. Jora, when did you join [The Nameless]?"
"No," he replied. "I'm still a member of the 'Incinerators.' I'm participating in this operation in a personal capacity. The Astral God has lifted the restrictions on his followers, and the [Garden of Recollection] is allowing members of its subordinate factions to participate individually."
Jora Bardotta.
The former commander of the "universe island" was now a member of Fuli's "war-faring followers," the Incinerators. His current post was Titan Captain, and his own power had barely reached the star-busting level.
"Of course, not many will actually choose to join."
"I can roughly understand their difficulties now... We haven't even entered the Quantum Sea, and even with my power, I'm already feeling a bit uncomfortable."
Jora's strength was not considered weak among the first batch of participants, but he was merely forcing himself to stay on his feet.
"No, Mr. Jora," Eden explained. "You're just unfamiliar with the power of the Sea."
"The Imperial science officers have already developed a corresponding serum."
"It can help your bodies quickly adapt to the conditions of the Sea and prevent the Imaginary and Quantum energies from clashing within you."
"However, some minor side effects are unavoidable."
All the members from the [Astral Express] had now disembarked.
"Of course," Eden said with a smile as she led the way.
"If you don't like relying on external aids, then for the next six months—"
"The Empire's special training can at least help you all gain a quantum energy resistance of 20% or more... accompanied by some insignificant pain."