Chapter 59: Between Civilizations

Within the shadowed cells of the central temple, the six Divine Attendants—Ye Lian among them—faced the five visitors from Earth, their hearts brimming with curiosity and longing for the marvels of Earth’s technology.

To be chosen as a Divine Attendant was to stand among the brightest stars of Skyvault, each of the six a prodigy in their own right. Even had they failed to become students of Shen Xing, their talent would have elevated them to the forefront of scientific achievement. During Shen Xing’s trials, he imparted not only divine arts but also pressed them to study the sciences, all for the sake of this very day. If they could defeat these extraterrestrial guests, they would swiftly absorb the essence of their civilization.

Yet, bound by the limits of Skyvault’s own civilization, the six could not truly grasp the scope of technology required for interstellar travel. It was Su Xiaoyi whose voice first broke the silence in the cell, his question cutting straight to the core.

“How vast is the universe? Where does it end?”

The five from Earth stood silently within their prison, exchanging glances in response to Su Xiaoyi’s inquiry, yet none spoke.

Seeing this, Ye Wu flicked his hand, and Yao Ling was lifted into the air. An invisible force tightened around her throat, plunging her into a desperate, gasping struggle. The other Divine Attendants were startled by this, wanting to speak to Ye Wu, but in the end, they restrained themselves, their gazes shifting to the Earthlings.

Unable to bear the sight, Yao Yuan’s face darkened, frustration coloring his tone. “Let her go, and I’ll answer your questions.”

Only then did Ye Wu set Yao Ling gently back on the ground. She collapsed to her knees, clutching her reddening throat as she coughed uncontrollably.

Yao Yuan drew a deep breath. Even in such dire straits, he gambled that the High Priest was a person of wisdom, and so he made his own demand. “I’ll answer your questions, but in exchange, you must also answer mine.”

Ye Wu shook his head coldly, his voice devoid of emotion. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”

“I only wish to resolve the doubts in my heart. Even if we’re to die here, I want to understand why.”

Yao Yuan fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a tone that bordered on pleading. “If you agree, I promise to answer without holding anything back.”

Ye Wu wished to object, but Su Xiaoyi laid a hand on his shoulder, and at last, Ye Wu nodded.

“As long as it does not touch our secrets, I’ll tell you.”

As the eldest among the Divine Attendants, Su Xiaoyi’s stance all but represented the consensus of the six. Receiving this signal, Yao Yuan’s strained nerves eased at last. He drew a slow breath and began to share humanity’s understanding of the cosmos.

“The universe is boundless. To this day, we cannot perceive its entirety.”

“The observable universe, as known to Earth, spans roughly 300 billion light years in diameter.”

Three hundred billion light years.

This number sent ripples through the hearts of the Divine Attendants. Only now did they realize that their world, Skyvault, was little more than a speck of dust within this vast expanse.

“You don’t even know where the edge of the universe is—so how much could you possibly know?”

Qu Shixin’s sudden remark caught not only the Earthlings off guard, but also made several Divine Attendants rub their foreheads in exasperation.

“Brother Qu… maybe you should take a walk outside?”

“Come on, I was just joking! Honestly, I need some air anyway—this place isn’t fit for anyone.”

With a grin, Qu Shixin made it clear he wasn’t serious, merely seeking an excuse to leave. Sensing that Su Xiaoyi and the others could keep things under control, Lin Luan prepared to leave with him; her keen senses had picked up something strange nearby.

Qu Shixin and Lin Luan departed first. Su Xiaoyi, Ye Wu, and Ye Lian then launched into a barrage of unsolved scientific puzzles. Yang Sa, not as learned as the others, was nonetheless unmatched in the use of her abilities, so she stood by as a silent guard.

Their questions ranged across dark matter and dark energy, the unification of quantum mechanics with general relativity, gene editing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and more. Many of these were mysteries even to Earth’s most advanced minds. Yao Yuan could only marvel at the breadth of Skyvault’s intellect, offering simple explanations of established theories, while keeping back certain details.

After a rapid exchange of questions and answers, Yao Yuan began to pose his own.

“Does the Star Father truly exist?”

Ye Lian was the first to nod, her face alight with reverence.

“The Star Father absolutely exists! He is eternal, indestructible! His greatness cannot be conveyed by words!”

“How did humanity arise on your world?”

“The Star Father created all things and set the laws of evolution. Humanity emerged from that process.”

“Don’t you find it odd that, though we come from different worlds, we are identical in form?”

Ye Lian and the others faltered at this. Brilliant as they were, they had pondered the question, but their deep-rooted faith left them untroubled, assuming all in the universe were children of the Star Father.

Peng Wenyen, standing nearby, seemed to sense their thoughts and explained further.

“The evolution of species is full of chance and accident. Every planet’s life forms are unique. In our own galaxy, we’ve observed several intelligent civilizations—each utterly distinct.”

Now that the Earthlings’ emotions had settled, their curiosity was unfettered. Zhang Yu, following Peng Wenyen’s answer, added, “For us to be so alike cannot be mere coincidence.”

“Your language and script are identical to those used by civilizations on Earth.”

“At first, we suspected that perhaps Earthlings had migrated here and founded your people. But according to your records, your civilization is over five thousand years old, and by our calculations, that overlaps with the timeline of our own. This only deepens the mystery.”

“In that era, even short-range interstellar travel would have been impossible for Earthlings, let alone discovering—”

Yao Yuan subtly nudged Zhang Yu, halting the words before they slipped out. Zhang Yu realized his near indiscretion and fell silent.

As the Earthlings finished, a somber confusion settled on the faces of Su Xiaoyi and his companions, their brows furrowed in thought. They did not believe Yao Yuan was lying—not only because of the honesty in his eyes, but also because Ye Wu, gifted by their teacher with the ability to sense emotions, showed no reaction. Though not as penetrating as their teacher’s insight, Ye Wu’s lack of response confirmed the Earthlings were truthful.

In this moment, the fog between the two worlds grew thicker still.

Yao Yuan’s questions became like a ring of keys, each one probing the lock of a door as yet unopened.