Faced with this force strong enough to suppress the natural order of the planet, the surging tide of black beasts ravaging its surface instantly slowed. Some of the weaker Abyssal beasts were even pinned down, unable to move at all.
From outer space, the pale-green planet defended by an artificial ring defense system had already turned dim, as a sinister purple-red aura continuously altered its hue.
Now, two-thirds of the planetary surface had already turned purple-red. This area was the domain formed by the Abyssal aura.
Within this domain, the instincts of the entire Star Rail Universe were powerless to resist.
If one were to liken the universe to a human body, then the regions engulfed by Abyssal aura were undergoing cancerous transformation.
This was not the power of the Teyvat Universe invading the Star Rail Universe.
Rather, the Abyssal aura had ignited the Star Rail Universe's own cosmic darkness.
It was something that already existed within the Star Rail Universe itself, now awakened and detonated—something that would not draw the attention of the Tree and Sea.
This was the unique nature of the Teyvat Abyss.
Not only the Star Rail Universe, but no great universe could resist the Abyss.
The Abyss of Teyvat was the dark side of countless cosmologies. As long as a great universe's cosmology contained such a concept, the Abyssal will could freely manipulate it.
This was precisely why Noah dared to unleash the Abyss in a direct, violent invasion.
The Abyss was his ultimate trump card—one he had never once played until now.
Once activated, no other universe could possibly withstand it.
Previously, he had refrained from using it mainly to allow the main universe—home to the various pantheons and divine collectives—to develop freely. Moreover, if a universe had not yet reached standard single-universe level, being eroded by the Abyss would heavily damage its origin.
The loss would be borne by the Teyvat Universe itself, so the Abyss was a card reserved only for facing great universes.
A decisive, absolute killing blow.
In places where the Abyssal aura ignited the cosmic darkness of this universe, domains were formed where Abyssal creatures could traverse at will.
This was not space travel but a power beyond the universe itself.
A standard single-universe could never comprehend such forces.
It was akin to when, back in Teyvat's era of the Seven Nations, the gods faced Abyssal domains.
"...Ugh..."
Topaz, one of the Ten Stonehearts of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department, was drenched in sweat as she urged her Cornerstone, Topaz of Debt Retrieval. She had been entrusted with a portion of an Emanator's power by Diamond, the department's minister and Emanator of Preservation.
Her exertion was already pushing beyond her limits.
Although the Cornerstone could allow her to temporarily unleash Emanator-level strength, it was only a weakened version.
Moreover, it depended on her own ability—the greater her talent, the stronger the eruption she could summon.
"Huff… huff… So this is the cosmic-scale catastrophe that we prepared for half a year ago?"
"It's only just begun, and it has already shattered Pier Point's defense array! There's no safe corner left in this entire galaxy!"
Topaz gasped heavily for breath. Wearing flight gear, she hovered above the atmosphere of one of the IPC's most important administrative planets, staring in terror at the advancing frontier of the black beast tide.
"No good! My strength alone isn't enough!"
As a P45-rank senior executive of the IPC, how could she not grasp the dire situation?
Turning her gaze to the cosmic depths, she saw the starry skies suffused entirely with purple-red haze. Even the light of distant stars, shining across countless light-years, had taken on that eerie hue.
Within the Pier Point Galaxy's deep space, there was not a single place left undisturbed.
Roar—Roar—Roar—Roar—Roar—
What was worse, from the locations where the galaxy's defense array had collapsed, several purple-black suns let out terrifying howls.
Those were not suns but living, terrifying cosmic monsters.
As one of the Ten Stonehearts and a senior executive of the Interastral Peace Corporation, Topaz had, of course, studied the history of Amber.
The ancient Leviathans that humanity once fought during the Twilight Era under the protection of the Amber King were nothing compared to these cosmic monsters—not even a fraction.
The current Aeon of Voracity had been the last of the Leviathans, elevated into aeonhood. Yet even the largest of the ancient Leviathans had been no bigger than a gas giant.
The monsters now reflected in her eyes, however, were several times larger than ordinary stars.
Their sheer gravity alone was enough to damage the defense array.
Even planet-buster cannons, when fired upon such colossal cosmic monsters, failed to stir the slightest ripple.
"Pier Point… It's not just likely—it's certain that it will be destroyed…"
As Topaz muttered in despair, her confidence collapsing, an immense rift appeared across the space ahead—a set of violet claw marks that ripped space apart like a curtain.
From within emerged a massive wolf head of dark gold, wreathed in violet-black currents, slowly pushing through.
Its crimson beastly eyes fixed on Topaz, carrying a hint of mockery.
Mocking the futility of the natives' resistance.
Only then did Topaz realize—the claws of this beast, one capable of annihilating a planet in a single strike and far more terrifying than the Doomsday Beasts of the Antimatter Legion, were reaching straight for the planetary defense ring.
Topaz's face went pale with horror. If the ring was destroyed, the entire planetary defense system would collapse.
The barriers that had barely held back larger monsters would vanish. The whole planet could very well be lost.
"Stop—!"
"Charge! Numby—!"
A golden, ornate piggy burst forth from space, riding an energy storm as it charged at the claws of the Golden Wolflord, a high-god-level monster.
But the Golden Wolflord only opened its maw and spat out a violet-black energy projectile toward Topaz.
The golden piggy bank was obliterated instantly, and the blast struck Topaz in the same breath.
Crack—
The Cornerstone in her hands shattered on the spot.
Topaz lost consciousness and plummeted from the planet's atmosphere toward its surface.
The Golden Wolflord did not continue its attack. Instead, it withdrew back into cosmic space.
Abyssal monsters at god-level possessed intelligence, and their instincts told them clearly what should and should not be done.
The moment the Cornerstone shattered, Pier Point's headquarters received the report.
At that very moment, the place was filled with all of the IPC's highest executives—all of the Emanators of Preservation.
Countless staff members frantically relayed messages to powers across the universe and transmitted urgent commands to personnel.
"Emergency report! Layer 73 of the galaxy defense array has been destroyed 100%! Layer 72 has sustained 96% damage… Layer 23 has sustained 11% damage… The rest of the array has all suffered varying levels of damage, and the collapse is still spreading!"
"Emergency report! Gravitational wave signals have already been sent across the entire universe to establish contact—"
"Emergency report! P45-level senior executive Director Topaz has lost all contact!"
"Topaz has already perished?"
"No surprise there. In the face of a cosmic-scale catastrophe, even an Emanator cannot preserve much. Besides, in this calamity, powers on par with an Emanator are hardly rare."
"Hardly rare? There are many. Just within the Pier Point Galaxy alone, there are more than ten monsters at Emanator-level strength. Some are even stronger than us. The only mystery is why they didn't attack us immediately."
"Perhaps they follow some unknown operational mechanism."
"Heh… In less than half a system hour, two-thirds of the entire galaxy has already fallen. To think—light alone would take 100,000 years just to cross the whole galaxy."
"It's incomprehensible. Even the IPC's entire team of spacetime researchers in the Technology Division, or the scholars of the Genius Society, have no clues."
"Don't waste your effort. How could the special power of another universe be judged by the knowledge of this one? The very cognition is different."
"What we must do now is evacuate all the Corporation's vital assets to safer galaxies."
"Just now, we contacted the Genius Society. The Aeon of Erudition, Nous, has already calculated the positions of those gates that suddenly appeared across the entire universe. They are distributed evenly."
"However, galaxies farther from these gates will suffer more slowly."
"We need as much time as possible to understand the power of this other universe."
"Issue orders to all senior executives of P40 and above. Relocate as many vital assets as possible to safer galaxies."
In this conference room, known only to a handful, the holographic projections of the Interastral Peace Corporation's leaders held a brief meeting.
These leaders were not all in Pier Point; they were spread across the universe, connected here via projection technology.
All were at least P47 or above.
At this level, the lowest rank was a candidate for the Board of Directors.
Each of their meetings could easily stir waves across the entire universe, with countless civilizations rising and falling in response to their decisions.
They were:
P49, Lifetime Director and IPC Founder, Louis Fleming—the only lifetime director for 14,600 cycles, one of merely two immovable pillars.
Lifetime Director and architect of the universe's credit currency system, Dongfang Qixing.
P48–P47 Board Directors and Director Candidates, also known as the Seven-Member Board:
Madam Scarred Eye.
Former Nameless of Trailblaze, now a Qlipoth zealot, Emanator of Preservation Oswaldo Schneider.
Emanator of Preservation, Diamond, Minister of Strategic Investment.
"Damn it! For our headquarters to collapse so completely in the very first wave—all of this is the fault of that damned Aeon of Joy!"
Oswaldo Schneider slammed his hand on the table, which instantly turned to dust. But since this was a projection, it was only a visual distortion.
Dongfang Qixing frowned. "Although the decoded declaration of war stated it was because the Aeon of Joy invaded their world first…"
"But that is nothing more than a unilateral claim. Who knows the truth?"
"In any case, as it stands now, the cosmic-scale catastrophe sweeping across the universe intends to destroy us all."
"To the enemy, what does it matter how you think? Their only intent is to destroy you."
"So, make haste."
With that, Dongfang Qixing disconnected.
"I must prepare as well. Though my galaxy has not yet been struck, according to the Genius Society, the nearest disaster point is less than two million light-years away."
Diamond sighed. "Sigh… In the face of this all-pervading, inescapable beast tide, our prior preparations now seem like nothing but a joke."
Oswaldo Schneider ground his teeth. "Damn it, I won't waste time discussing with you any further. If I don't take action now, Pier Point will be annihilated before evacuation even begins."
With that, he erupted with power—force vast enough to shake the entire galaxy.
The disintegrating layers of the galaxy's defense array slowed their collapse.
The invading Abyssal beasts above god-level were suppressed and forced into stasis. Some below god-level were crushed outright, their bodies shattered into pure Abyssal energy that was then reabsorbed by the Abyssal domains.
The energy of these fallen beasts would serve as nourishment for the birth of new Abyssal creatures.
The power of an Emanator of Preservation depended on how much strength the Aeon Qlipoth chose to grant.
Qlipoth was a relatively generous Aeon—any who were Emanators wielded galaxy-level might.
"All Strategic Investment Department executives at headquarters—abandon defense. Focus entirely on slowing the beast tide's advance. Activate every spatial warp device to preserve the Corporation's vital forces."
At the same time, all of the Ten Stonehearts, and all senior executives of the Strategic Investment Department, ceased their defense and charged directly into the fray.
Aventurine watched as the endless tide of colossal black cosmic monsters broke through the final galaxy defense array and surged toward Pier Point itself.
Around them, the orbital structures encircling Pier Point shattered under the beast tide's impact, becoming drifting debris scattered across space.
"Such an exaggerated beast tide… Even the wildest scenes of the Swarm Disaster recorded in historical images were no more terrifying than this."
"If it were other executives facing such a situation, they'd probably already think they'd been abandoned as cannon fodder."
"But me? No, not me. From as far back as I can remember—whenever there's gambling involved, I've never once lost."
"This time, I'll bet that I won't be devoured by monsters."
Aventurine's eyes held no fear—only exhilaration. Slowly raising both hands as though embracing the sun, he declared:
"So…"
[I place my wager]
[I gamble]
[I win]
[I spin the wheel of life]
[All or nothing]
[Traverse death to grasp life]
Aventurine erupted with light as brilliant as a star. That radiance sank into his body, and in space, a golden curtain vast enough to cover a planetary surface spread out. From the void, endless golden chips appeared.
Each golden chip, under Aventurine's full control, carried the destructive force to obliterate a space city of one million souls.
Now, countless such chips shot forth together into the tide of black beasts that surged like a cosmic ocean.
[All to the Amber Lord—]
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