IBHJ 1308

Turns out Universe Type Alaya wasn't completely destroyed after the Lord of Salvation got sealed in the Root. It was more like a network made up of countless servers scattered across the universe. Even though the main network collapsed, some servers still exist. Like this one right in front of her.

This was actually a network node that the ancient civilization had set up in what humans called the Scutum constellation. After the main Universal Type Alaya system went down, this node didn't die with it. Instead, it had been drawing energy from UY Scuti and other red giants in the area to keep itself running all this time.

To make communication easier, the spiritual particle giant holding the Moon in its hands released some energy waves. Using Gaia as a template, it formed a humanoid figure that looked just like her.

"Sweetie, I can't believe I found you~!"

Before Universal Type Alaya could even say anything, Gaia rushed forward and threw her arms around it, bursting into tears. "You have no idea what I've been through since you disappeared! Everyone's been pushing me around! The new gods locked me up, the Umbral Star came and harvested my civilization, my own brothers and sisters sealed me away, and Crimson Moon played me. Even that branch node you left behind turned on me and found ways to make my life miserable. Now I've been kicked off my own planet! It's been awful—you've gotta help me get some payback!"

Universal Type Alaya: "..."

It reached out and gently patted Gaia's head.

"So... will you come back to Earth with me?" Gaia asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. She'd already made up her mind to somehow convince this Universal Type Alaya to return with her.

Even if it's not the complete Sweetie, just bringing her back would be enough, Gaia thought with a mischievous smile. I'd love to see who'd dare mess with me then! Time to show everyone who really runs this universe!

Ideal King? Beast? Umbral Star? That Dyson Sphere-Chaos thing? Ha! With her Sweetie by her side, none of them would dare cause trouble!

But the Universal Type Alaya shook its head. "Node-14752736 is locked to this star system and cannot be removed," it stated flatly. "Wormhole preparation in progress. Will transport Mother Star sense back to the Mother Star shortly."

"What? No way!" Gaia's face fell. She threw her arms around Alaya and buried her face against it. "Please, come back with me."

"..."

Alaya said nothing, just continued gently stroking Gaia's head. Its eyes were crystal clear, but deep within them flickered something almost... human.

"Gaia!"

Saturn's voice boomed as it finally emerged through the wormhole into the Scutum constellation. It had expected to find Gaia already consumed by UY Scuti. Instead, it froze at the sight of the particle giant sitting in space like its own galaxy.

"Is that... Universal Type Alaya?" Saturn asked, completely stunned.

"Saturn! You finally made it!" Gaia called out excitedly.

The humanoid form of Universal Type Alaya dissolved into particles, and the enormous spiritual giant slowly rose to its full height, gently nudging the Moon toward Saturn.

"Your UO... it actually still exists!" Saturn couldn't hide his shock as he stared up at the immense spiritual giant. Saturn was already massive by most standards, but next to this entity, it might as well have been a speck of dust.

"Yep! My Sweetie is still around!" Gaia couldn't stop grinning. Nothing in her long existence had ever made her this happy—seeing Universal Type Alaya again felt like the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Just then, a comet streaked past the edge of the Scutum constellation, leaving a trail like a tear across the darkness.

Gaia's eyes narrowed instantly. "It's the Umbral Star! Fourteen thousand years have passed, and now it's back to harvest the Milky Way again."

As if on cue, the Umbral Star passing through Scutum seemed to detect their presence. It immediately deployed nine vessels carrying Vanguards, all heading straight for them.

"They're coming after us," Saturn warned. "Nine vessels is way too many—we need to get out of here!"

"No need to run," Gaia said with a smirk.

Saturn gave her a surprised look. In all their time together, he couldn't remember the last time Gaia had sounded this... confident.

Gaia pointed at the nine Velber vessels heading their way, then turned to her UO with a smile. "Sweetie!"

[Mother Star sense's intent detected. This intent does not violate the Universal Protection Law. Request achievable.]

The giant rose to its full height and swept its massive hand toward the nine approaching vessels. That palm—as vast as an entire nebula—sent endless waves of energy pulsing outward like a supernova explosion.

BOOM! BOOM!

The nine Velber vessels didn't stand a chance. They exploded instantly, leaving nothing behind but cosmic dust.

The Umbral Star passing through Scutum made a complete U-turn and high-tailed it out of the Milky Way.

"Ha! Look at that!" Gaia planted her hands on her hips and burst out laughing. "My Sweetie scared them off! They're running away! Hahaha!"

"Truly impressive," Saturn said softly, watching the spiritual particle giant. "Even in this incomplete state, it can harness the spiritual particle fluctuations from these red giants to create such devastating power... If not for the Evil of the Root... if Universal Type Alaya had been fully established, perhaps that harmonious, orderly universe the ancient civilization dreamed of would have existed long ago. There would be no Umbral Star, no outer gods. But unfortunately..."

After driving off the Umbral Star, the Universal Type Alaya glanced down at Gaia one last time. Then its enormous form simply dissolved, scattering into countless particles across the space.

"Let’s go, Gaia," Saturn said. "The Emperor's barrier is gone now. We can head back to the Solar System."

Gaia stood there watching Universal Type Alaya scatter into nothingness. She turned to Saturn with a serious expression. "Saturn, you're the strongest UO in our entire Solar System—our big brother, really."

"Your UO still exists, so you can drop the obvious flattery," Saturn replied dryly. "You clearly want something from me."

"See? So smart!" Gaia's face lit up with a smile. "I've got this idea—it's not fully baked yet—but I need your help!"

"This is definitely going to be trouble."

"But you'll still help me, right?"

Saturn didn't answer right away.

Finally, he let out a long sigh. "As long as whatever you're planning doesn't harm the balance of the Solar System or cause any real damage... fine, I'll help."

"Perfect!" Gaia's smile widened. "Then we're not heading back to the Solar System just yet."

"You mean..."

"There have to be more of Sweetie's nodes out there in nearby star systems, just waiting to be found," Gaia explained, her voice growing earnest. "We find them, wake them up, connect them together. We might not be able to protect the whole universe like before, but we can at least keep ourselves safe. Stop the Lord of Salvation from manifesting!"

Saturn thought it over for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I understand."