Origin Chapter Eleven: The Ancient Creatures and the Upheaval at the Edge of the Universe

Lian Ping raised his hand and made a turning gesture. At that moment, a massive crystal-structured life pod appeared before everyone, about two meters in length and as wide as could be encircled by the arms of two average Imperial citizens. Around the pod, no propulsion devices or effects could be detected; it truly floated in the air as if by magic. One must understand that while Kelu ore can achieve levitation, it always emits a faint noise from auxiliary power and some physical feedback from the drive, even at its lowest energy consumption. The Kelu ore is never entirely still or undetectable in operation. Yet this life pod hovered without any auxiliary mechanism engaged. Glancing around, it was clear they were within a ship’s gravity-controlled compartment. A group of soldiers was gathered around the life pod, all standing solidly on the ground.

One soldier, acting on orders, pressed a conspicuous white button rimmed with red on the life pod. Instantly, a door—previously invisible—rose from the seamless surface and drifted away from the pod. Where the door had been, a band of white light remained, but as the door moved aside, the light faded, turning transparent, and gradually, a silhouette emerged.

The white light slowly dissipated, revealing a multi-limbed creature about 1.8 meters tall, immersed in a viscous liquid which seemed intended to protect it from desiccation. Within a few minutes of the light’s disappearance, the being began to convulse. A polyhedral structure that seemed like its head suddenly split open to reveal a fair, delicate face—yet, regrettably, it bore none of the features of a modern human, for the face was entirely devoid of any features, nothing more than an oval shape.

The creature’s movements grew more pronounced, clearly as its consciousness returned, and soon it would regain normal faculties of thought and action.

Suddenly, the being emitted a series of whistles—sometimes sharp and urgent, sometimes drawn out and haunting. As it made these astonishing sounds, its blank, delicate face swept left and right, scanning its surroundings, yet its other limbs seemed paralyzed, unmoving except for slight sways in rhythm with its calls and the turning of its head.

After about seven or eight minutes of these calls, the creature abruptly stopped, its head drooping as if utterly exhausted.

With the situation urgent and time short, the military scientists present hastily posed a few basic questions, disregarding whether meaningful communication would be possible.

The questions, prepared in haste, were simply whatever came to mind on the spot—no one had anticipated such an extraordinary encounter, so they were utterly unprepared.

Three questions were asked:

First: Is this the boundary of the universe?
Second: What are those linear bursts of intense light?
Third: Is it possible to break through the universe’s boundary into another universe?

Upon hearing the scientists' voices, the creature seemed to rally itself, responding with a series of even faster, more urgent whistles. Yet after two minutes, the sound weakened, as if the being could no longer breathe. Suddenly, the whistling ceased; the creature collapsed like a boneless fish into the liquid trough of the pod. Just before the viscous fluid submerged its face again, it let out one last, clear, resonant note—so pure and ethereal that everyone present was entranced, moved to tears.

The screen went black; the video ended. Lian Ping stood up again, wiping the tears from his eyes, and surveyed the room before solemnly declaring, “On our return journey, we discovered they had already prepared a complete and highly efficient language and written learning system—almost a universal language. Our technical experts quickly mastered a great deal of their vocabulary and script. Once we had learned their language, we immediately deciphered what this ancient being had said to us in the video.

“At first, we considered adding subtitles to facilitate everyone’s understanding, but I instructed the technicians not to. I wanted you all to experience the presence of this ancient lifeform without distraction. Had we provided subtitles or explanations, it would not have inspired the proper respect for this ancient being.

“Now, let me briefly summarize what the ancient being told us.

“In less than ten minutes, the ancient lifeform left us a wealth of information. Some details are being verified by our technicians even now, and we expect further developments in the coming days. More complete materials will be shared with you soon, and other findings will be explained in due course.

“What matters most now are the last two minutes, when our military scientists posed their questions. We learned their language from their instructional material, but what amazed us during decryption was that the ancient being not only understood our questions but gave us precise answers. Here is what he told us:

“First: The place we are now is indeed the edge of this universe—one of its several crucial boundaries, and among the most important of them.

“Second: Those linear bursts of intense light are the souls of another universe. When a soul departs its body, it is drawn by a mysterious energy in the cosmos, taken away to some unknown destination. They, too, have been seeking these answers. At first, they had only just begun to understand the phenomenon. Upon its discovery, they dispatched interstellar research vessels, spanning hundreds of generations and over ten thousand years of travel. Eventually, during their cosmic journey, they happened upon an even more ancient interstellar craft, filled with unknown advanced technology. Harnessing these newfound technologies, they completely upgraded their exploration equipment and altered their own physiologies. Most crucially, they acquired the ability to conduct ultra-long-distance temporal jumps, allowing them to reach the very edge of the universe for exploration.

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Just two years into their research, disaster struck. For unknown reasons, a massive energy disturbance erupted beyond the boundary, and within a few days, energy monitors detected that billions upon billions of souls surged from the other universe into this one. The epicenter was precisely where their main fleet base was located. These souls, brimming with more power than ever observed before, swept directly toward their fleet base. Because the edge of the universe had always been tranquil, the base rarely kept its defensive shields raised to save energy. As a result, nearly all of their kind were struck and overwhelmed by the onslaught of souls. Most perished instantly, their souls carried away as well; a few survived the initial shock but died slowly in agony, their souls also snatched away—some even dragged back into the opposite universe, despite the continuing influx of souls from over there.

At that moment, he hid himself in the life pod and activated his lab's protective barriers, narrowly avoiding the deadly impact of the souls. He thought he had survived, but the fleet base commander, in his last moments, ordered all systems shut down to prevent the ship from malfunctioning and exploding if left unattended. His aim was clear: to leave everything dormant, preserving their traces for future explorers to inherit their mission. Though he gave the shutdown order, he must have known some would hide in the life pods and perhaps survive for a long time. So he issued a second command: all operational orders, codes, and essential document decryption protocols should be handed over immediately to any survivors discovered by future generations or new lifeforms. Thus, the seven minutes of whistling from the ancient being were to deliver all the information we were meant to inherit.

In truth, many did take refuge in the life pods; however, our subsequent searches indicated that only this survivor remained. According to his account, he alone activated his lab’s shields, which effectively protected his pod. The others, when opened, were either empty or contained only dust—likely due to incomplete closure during the emergency shutdown, failing to withstand the energy shock. Some pods still held the viscous fluid, but their occupants had been dead for an untold number of years, their bodies showing no signs of life.

As you saw, even this survivor lasted no more than ten minutes before dying. Yet we were privileged to witness such a wondrous ancient being and to accept his legacy. From our preliminary analysis, the flourishing era of this civilization was about six billion years ago. Their home planet was swept by a mysterious plague about ten thousand years after their departure, leading to global extinction. Though they possessed advanced ancient technology and had prepared a rescue mission upon hearing the news, their own doom struck at that moment. Had they left a few days earlier, some remnant might have persisted, but fate spared neither them nor those who remained on their world.

Upon returning to base, I immediately convened our chief scientists to discuss the inheritance. Within days, we will dispatch a large team of researchers and technicians to the ancient scientific ship to begin large-scale recovery operations.

Finally, the third question: Can we break through the universe’s boundary into another universe? The answer: it remains uncertain. They had just begun to make headway, trying to capture souls and study their energetic composition to master border-crossing technology, but all attempts failed. In theory, it may be a promising direction for research. However, just as they were preparing for further attempts, tragedy struck, and all came to a halt. He recommended we consider pursuing this line of inquiry.”

Lian Ping related all this in a single breath, his words clear and precise.

All present listened, drawing sharp breaths. Five minutes passed, yet no one had recovered from the sudden revelation.

Lian Ping drank a cup of Yulan Hengsi, then, without inviting any opinions, continued, “That covers the last two minutes. In the preceding seven minutes, the ancient being spoke of the Reincarnation System, a set of technical documents and engineering plans left by an even more ancient species. These are nearly identical to the Reincarnation System found in our own base. It is a technology for capturing, releasing, and restoring souls. They had planned to begin this research but were delayed by their inability to capture any souls crossing over from the other universe. According to the ancient texts, the preferred method was to have a volunteer sacrifice themselves, so that the soul could be harvested before cosmic energies intervened, enabling effective research. Our earlier successes with animal experiments were based on seizing the soul before cosmic energy could act, and the reason the General’s soul could be captured and reincarnated in time was due to the Reincarnation System and the supporting machinery left by the base’s former owners, which allowed us to act before cosmic energy intervened. Otherwise, who knows where we would have had to search for the General today?”

Only now did the General and the others grasp the profound complexity behind it all.

Lian Ping addressed the group again, “This time, the General took quite a risk, but fortunately, with the advanced Reincarnation System, we managed to save him. There were some minor errors in the plan, but the General is still with us, although…”

He paused.

“The General will have to take one last risk, for we all agree we cannot accept you as a youth, ha!” Lian Ping burst into hearty laughter, finally breaking the tension that had hung over the meeting. The others joined in, sharing the relief.

“Rest assured, General. This time, the Reincarnation System will work perfectly, restoring you to your true self and returning this poor youth to life.” At this point, Li Jimo stood up and addressed the General.

“Thank you all for your tremendous cooperation and tireless effort. These days have been exhausting for everyone. I propose we hold a banquet tonight—raise a glass together! I would also like to introduce two friends: this is Lord Los, Minister of the Imperial Technology Expedition Division.” The General stood and walked straight to Minister Los, who rose calmly and nodded to each person in greeting. The General shook his hand firmly. “Old friend, you’ve seen today what we’re dealing with. I’m afraid we’ll be relying on you more than ever.”

Los straightened his back and replied boldly, “These old bones still have some steel left. Don’t worry.”

“Haha, a fine blade never grows dull. Please, have a seat, my friend.”

The General then approached Zagu, who had already risen to meet him. Clapping Zagu’s shoulder, the General said, “This young man is a scion of loyal lineage—his grandfather was Prime Minister Zack, his maternal grandfather Grand Judge Runiver, both murdered by traitors. Zagu is their descendant, an outstanding youth. My safe return is largely thanks to him. He grew up hunting and adventuring with his father on Green Source Star, receiving rigorous and systematic training and demonstrating exceptional insight and courage. I am comforted to see such worthy heirs; may their ancestors rest in peace…”

As he finished, the General could not help but shed two silent tears, which he brushed away before patting Zagu’s shoulder again and turning away.

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Zagu watched the General’s retreating figure, then bowed deeply—first toward the General, then to everyone present—before quietly returning to his seat.

When the General reached his own seat, he did not sit, but began issuing orders: “Adjutant Qin, notify Reception to arrange a banquet tonight to celebrate, and to bid farewell to Los and Zagu, and to welcome Lian Ping. Li, prepare the Reincarnation System; before the banquet, restore both myself and the youth to our true forms—thank you. Adjutant Qin, also inform Chen Pi to prepare the infiltration mission; specific orders will follow. Other matters will be scheduled for future meetings. For now, let’s rest and relax. There’s much work ahead, but it needn’t all be done at once. Dismissed!”

With a wave of his hand, the meeting ended.

Gradually, the group left the central reception hall. The General directed Adjutant Qin to escort Minister Los and Zagu back to his lounge, while he and Li Jimo proceeded to the Reincarnation System laboratory to restore themselves.

As for Minister Los and Zagu, they wasted no time in filling their cups with Yulan Hengsi and digging into the sparkling fruits piled on the table. Watching Li Jimo, Los could not help but envy his youthful vigor and good looks, wishing he could regain such youth in an instant.

Adjutant Qin saw this but said nothing; after all, it was only natural to want to improve oneself. Suddenly, however, he remembered something and quickly stopped Los and Zagu from overindulging.

“Minister Los, Brother Zagu, you can’t overdo it, or you’ll be found out when you return. If the improvements are too dramatic, the physical changes will be obvious.”

Hearing this, both Los and Zagu immediately understood and ceased their feasting, catching their breath after eating too hastily.

At that moment, a voice sounded from outside the door: “Reporting, Chen Pi present.”

Adjutant Qin waved to open the door, and Chen Pi entered carrying an energy transmission device akin to those used for travel from the Empire to the Zero Hub.

After saluting, Chen Pi turned to Zagu. “Brother Zagu, the General just gave me orders to ask you to stay. He has important matters to discuss with you and would like me to teach you how to operate the energy controller and other related skills. As for Minister Los, due to the special nature of your position, you must return first. The General also said you’ll meet again soon.”

Turning to Los, Chen Pi spoke a few words, to which the minister smiled and nodded in understanding.

Once Chen Pi had finished, Adjutant Qin stepped forward. “Everyone, let’s go to the banquet. The General has just completed the Reincarnation process; both he and the youth have regained their bodies and consciousness.”

Just as everyone was preparing to leave for the banquet, a violent tremor shook the ground, as if the entire planet had shifted…

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