Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 246 Destruction from Forty-Two Light-Years Away

2088 years.

"A two-hundred-year journey of suffering, the road to the revival of an ancient nation..."

On that day, a renowned VR media outlet stated the following in its 3D news report.

On that day, something many had already predicted happened: the "Third World War," which had lasted for more than twenty years, came to a complete end. With the end of the battle on the last Atlantic island, the war between the two small countries ended, and the Third World War also ended.

After the turn of the millennium, the changes in the world order exceeded everyone's expectations. A huge Eastern country rose rapidly, and over the decades, this ancient nation gradually took away all the glory that belonged to the world's strongest country.

The world's largest GDP, the first country to send humans to Mars, and the country with the highest rate of artificial intelligence adoption...

Despite numerous obstacles, the rise of this nation exceeded everyone's expectations at the turn of the millennium. By the time World War III broke out, its GDP was 1.2 times that of the world's strongest nation, and it was aggressively challenging the world's dominant position in every aspect. Thus, World War III broke out.

But unlike any military strategist's vision in the past, this world war took a different form than anyone imagined. The two behemoths, separated by thousands of miles and located at opposite ends of the earth, did not directly engage in bloody combat, but instead calmly and cautiously waged war invisibly by using the numerous proxy countries under their control.

On the islands of the Atlantic, in the Gobi Desert of Africa, in the deserts of the Middle East, in the cities of Europe, in the jungles of Southeast Asia, on the ice sheets of the North and South Poles... in every corner and region of the world, behind every war, there are more or less the shadows of two behemoths. With this unspoken understanding, these two behemoths have drawn most of the world's countries into the flames of war.

Like two chess players manipulating their pieces, calmly advancing their pieces, fighting and battling each other, yet with an unspoken understanding.

While the casualties of this "Third World War" were not as great as those of the previous two world wars, its scale and scope far surpassed them. Ultimately, after a long war lasting twenty-three years, the balance of power gradually shifted, the outcome became clear, and the war gradually drew to a close.

On an Atlantic island, soldiers from two small countries shook hands and made peace, as did soldiers from two large countries.

Isolated outside the World Island, the Americas were no longer able to manipulate the situation there. The former world's strongest nation retreated silently to its homeland, licking its wounds, while that ancient nation once again stood atop the world.

Fifty stars dimmed, but the brilliance of those five stars shone throughout the world.

"...Humanity should not be confined to this small planet. As humans of this era, we should have the determination and confidence to create a new world for our descendants..."

Inside that United Nations conference, under the watchful eyes of the world, a diplomat from an ancient nation delivered a New Year's address.

……

After the New Year's address, the composed diplomats went backstage. The ceremony on the surface was over, but a more arduous battle awaited all of humanity.

"Chen, it's been many years."

Upon seeing the middle-aged diplomat, the thin young man who had been sitting in his chair waiting stood up, smiled, and bowed slightly. He wore old-fashioned gold-rimmed glasses over his smiling eyes, just like him and the organization behind him—old-fashioned and conservative.

"Mr. Roman, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

The diplomat nodded to him in salute.

"This is a matter of concern to all mankind, so it's okay to wait a little longer."

The thin young man shook his head.

Neither of them were the type to waste words; in such urgent matters, what mattered was to deal with things quickly. So, from the very beginning, their argument went straight to the point.

"...We take your request for assistance very seriously, but after careful discussion, we believe it is not necessary to focus all our efforts on space exploration..."

The diplomat, surnamed Chen, admitted.

For this regime that has just taken over the world, the world is far from stable. The massive unemployment caused by artificial intelligence could trigger a third world war or destroy this precarious nation.

The application of artificial intelligence has changed the way the world operates, and this ancient country has benefited greatly from it. Although the organization represented by the thin young man and the things he is asking for are important and concern the fate of humanity, at this time, many of the upper echelons of the ancient country are more inclined to sort out domestic and foreign affairs than to rush into space exploration.

Opening up a new world is an inspiring slogan and the ultimate goal set by this ancient nation. But while gazing at the stars, one should also be careful not to fall into a pit.

Roman listened quietly, having anticipated the difficulty of the negotiations. He gently pushed up his glasses and shook his head.

"Chen, I understand your thoughts, and I also understand your country's thoughts, but I have some new information that I hope to share with you."

As he moved his eyes, a phantom projection appeared in front of them, displaying a large amount of data and reports, as well as 3D images of space.

The diplomat carefully examined the data, his composed face revealing nothing of his thoughts.

"A star disappeared forty-two light-years away? Why haven't we received any intelligence about it?" The diplomat asked calmly, turning his gaze away from the virtual projection.

"This message was sent ten minutes ago and was detected by our AI. You haven't paid enough attention to this, so you haven't received a message yet, but you should receive one in a few hours."

The thin young man explained.

He paused for a moment for no apparent reason, then said...

“Chen, my grandfather, old Roman, often told me before he passed away that I should have a sense of fear. I didn’t understand it then, but now I think I do.”

"Eighty-four years ago, during the 124 Incident in 2004, Manhattan, New York, was bombed. Of course, that's just the outside story. In reality, a beam of light shot out from... the pupil of that being. That beam of light sliced ​​through the Atlantic Ocean, evaporated the seawater, and punched a huge hole in Saturn. Eighty-four years later, we thought everything would end with the death of that being, but it turns out that's not the case."

"That light continues its advance, endlessly moving forward in that cold, desolate universe. The colossal star forty-two light-years away has been obliterated before it, a fact we only realized eighty-four years later..."

Roman shook his head as he spoke.

Faced with such a powerful force that could so easily obliterate a star, humanity, still clinging to this tiny planet, is utterly insignificant. And this light, capable of so easily wiping out an entire star, was merely a beam of light that emanated from the eye of that being eighty-four years ago.

"Chen, it hasn't disappeared. It's still watching us. That beam of light is its contempt and mockery of us. This planet nurtured us, but we shouldn't stay on this rock forever. We must escape, or we'll never have another chance to escape."

Roman looked at the diplomat in front of him with a somber expression.

Before him, the diplomat pondered for a moment, then spoke solemnly.

“Mr. Roman, I will report all of this to my country.”

……

The diplomat had left, and Roman sat back down in his chair. After a long while, he suddenly spoke.

“Kelly, do you know why Grandpa created a separate secret order within the organization?”

Forty years ago, Roman, who was nearly ninety years old, secretly founded a secret order within Freemasonry. The structure and form of this secret order were similar to those of the former Priory of Sion, and it adhered to the same beliefs.

Kelly remained silent beside him.

He is a silent guardian, needing not to speak, merely a stone statue for Roman to talk to himself.

Roman didn't seem to care about Kelly's silence, and just murmured to himself.

"Looking back now, Grandpa must have wanted me to join the Secret Order, but I refused because I thought it was boring... The Secret Order, the last guardian? Even though the Freemasons swallowed up the Secret Order, it's inexplicably like the Secret Order has been assimilated. Grandpa, what were you thinking back then?"

After a long silence, it got dark outside the window without us even noticing.

Roman gazed at the twinkling stars in the night sky and suddenly spoke.

“Kelly, a star has disappeared.”

Beside him, Kelly remained silent, not saying a word.

By the window, a man with a gloomy expression gazed at the night sky, lost in thought.

……

On the chessboard of the Crystal Sky, the thousand-headed, thousand-legged monster struggled with all its might, trying to break free from the chessboard.

Six hundred years ago, that monster with countless heads was now steadily reducing its head count. The largest head had already formed, and perhaps the time when all the heads were united in one place was not far off.

The thousand-headed monster stared at the planet, as if it could see a colossal creature slumbering inside.

"Roar……"

The thousand-headed monster roared across the chessboard.

Vigilant, fearful, but also filled with fighting spirit.

(End of this chapter)