The Nebula’s Civilization

Wisdom's head, capable of detecting waves beyond visible light, felt the stillness. The vast silence struck Wisdom as a form of emptiness, the sensation intense.

From beyond the screen, Crampus said, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"It seems something has happened."

Wisdom rose from his chair, approached the window, and momentarily looked at the landscape outside the safe house. A common bird nearby was gliding with its wings fully spread, then it suddenly froze in that position.

Then, as Wisdom turned to return to his seat, a system window appeared in front of him.

[Player Wisdom, player Nebula's scenario has been completed.]

Wisdom saw through the screen and realized that not only he, but the other players also had the same system window in front of them. The players looked at each other.

Wisdom said, "So Nebula eventually succeeded."

Crampus, who had been eating a bag of chips, stuffed the rest into his mouth and said, "Well, we saw it coming, didn't we?"

"Not this again," Lunda interjected. "When someone works hard and achieves something, you should compliment them, not just take it for granted."

"Woah, wait, Lunda. That's not it. I do appreciate it."

"Just wipe the crumbs from your mouth."

Crampus did so.

Then AR1026 said, "Regardless..." She pointed at the system window with the tip of her fan. "It looks like we need to make our own settings."

Wisdom and the other players also looked down at the system window.

[Player Wisdom, you have been selected as a candidate for Constellation.

Would you like to accept?]

[Yes / No]

HumanTracker clicked something. "Oh, if you click on the word Constellation, additional information appears. It says it's a term for the highest authority in the system controlled by the Sanctuary, originally called God."

Wisdom followed HumanTracker's lead and checked the additional information. A few other players did the same.

Wisdom said, "Nebula has made a new choice."

Player Tael, with a brain visible through a transparent container on their neck, asked, "Is this right?"

Ovenwave stuttered, "If it's Nebula, uh, wouldn't he have made the right choice?"

Wisdom replied, "I trust Nebula."

At those words, players originally from the third continent made an awkward smile. When they had been enemies with Nebula, he would have been the last player they would trust, so Wisdom's words felt new.

Wisdom was the first to press [Yes]. Then the other players followed suit, and someone sighed in front of the changed system window.

Crampus said, "Wow, this is a tough decision."

[Player Wisdom, please designate the Domain you will oversee as a Constellation.]

The players realized that the Domains mentioned here were not limited to those in The Lost World. This deepened their dilemma, but not all players were conflicted.

Redmars said, "What? Can I go first if everyone else is deciding?"

Crampus said, "Oh, what? You want to take the lead, huh?"

"Is multi-selection not allowed? Do I have to declare it first?"

The Sanctuary provided an answer,

[Multi-selections are allowed. You may have more than one Domain as needed, but you can only request one within the limits allowed by causality for now.]

Redmars said, "Then it's okay, right? Does anyone have any objections?"

"What will you choose?"

"Me? I’ll obviously choose..." Redmars declared, "Capitalism."

Some players nodded as if they had expected this, some seemed puzzled, and others were shocked.

Crampus was among those shocked. "Wait, can there be a God of Capitalism?"

"It's not a god, but a Constellation."

"Still, even as a Constellation…"

"What's the problem? Now I'm going to be the real invisible hand!...That’s possible, right?"

To Redmars's uncertain question, the Sanctuary responded.

[Player Redmars, that is possible. Do you choose Capitalism as your Domain?]

"Yes!"

Following that, players chose their Domains one by one. Jerome chose Books, Vladimir chose Machines, and Eldar chose Beauty.

Wisdom continued to ponder, and after much thought, he declared his Domain to the system window.

***

At Fabirang, where the third day of the festival was ongoing with the appearance of the Folded Wing Golden Bird, RD was dancing on the stage in the central square, wishing for the Pantheon's victory.

At that moment, RD realized the world had stopped, while RD, having started dancing, didn’t.

[Player RD, you have been selected as a candidate for Constellation…]

"Great!"

[Player RD, please designate the Domain you will oversee as a Constellation.]

RD spread their two wings and twirled around. RD didn't know the details, but Nebula must have accomplished something.

RD exclaimed, "Love!"

[Is that an interjection?...Or?]

"My Domain is now Love!”

The Sanctuary confirmed that it had correctly understood without error.

[Player RD, would you like to check compatibility and suitability…]

"No need!"

[Alright. Player RD, your Domain is Love.]

***

Player Bolt responded to the Sanctuary, "Survival."

Player Chistka responded to the Sanctuary, "Communism!"

Player Hegemonia responded to the Sanctuary, “Alright, Sanctuary, was it? Listen carefully to what I'm saying. My Domain is War. Fighting. Competition. Battle. Victory. Confrontation. Destruction. Apocalypse..."

[...First, you can only choose one, player Hegemonia.]

"...Does he also have just one?"

[Are you referring to Player Nebula?]

"Who else would it be?"

The Sanctuary recorded in its memory that Hegemonia was more demanding than other players. This record would be helpful in future interactions with her.

[Yes. Nebula also has only one Domain for now.]

"But he chose first. Make it fair. Give me two."

[...That is not how things work, player Hegemonia. And you seem to have forgotten, but you and Nebula are not enemies. Moreover, both of you hold the same status as a Constellation of the Hall of Myriad Stars.]

Hegemonia seemed uninterested in the Sanctuary's words.

"Ugh, really. Only one?"

After the Sanctuary gained its own consciousness, it had mostly dealt with people like Sung-Woon, Mazdari, and Kyle Lak Orazen, so it found Hegemonia somewhat overwhelming.

[...There is no need to be impatient, player Hegemonia. As long as causality allows, as a Constellation, you can continue to expand your abilities and gain more Domains.]

[Fine. Got it. Alright. Then for now... Yeah. Let's go with War."

[You are choosing the same Domain as before, is that okay? Many players have chosen new Domains instead of the ones they had.]

Many players were familiar with The Lost World, but they couldn't shake off the feeling of wearing ill-fitting clothes in that game. This was because they had to work within the constraint of localized Domains supported by the game system, separate from what they would actually excel in.

Of course, the Sanctuary already knew that Hegemonia's compatibility and suitability for Domain: War were higher than any other player. But Hegemonia's choice of War was not solely for that reason.

"Yeah, War is good, right? With War, plundering naturally follows. That'll make it easier to expand my Domain."

The Sanctuary remained silent for a moment to record a few more pieces of information in its memory.

[...Understood, Player Hegemonia. Perhaps you might resonate with War even more than my calculations suggest.]

Hegemonia, arms crossed and standing askew, glared at the system window.

"Just shut up and give it to me."

***

Lakrak knew that when the world stopped, things would turn out this way.

A window appeared in front of Lakrak.

[Lakrak, you have been selected as a candidate for Constellation.

Would you like to accept?]

[Yes / No]

Lakrak lifted his index finger and waited for a moment. Then, he brought his finger close to the system window, withdrew it, and clenched his fist. He repeated this several times.

Another system window popped up beside the first one.

[You just need to press Yes with your finger.]

Lakrak pressed [Yes] between the words ‘You just need to press Yes with your finger.’ Naturally, there was no response.

The Sanctuary opened another window.

[Don't play around.]

Lakrak laughed heartily. "Oh, sorry about that. I'm not used to handling machines."

Lakrak and the Sanctuary had known each other for a long time. Nebula had spent a long time in the Sanctuary, and as the first Apostle, Lakrak often had to visit Nebula. Naturally, the Sanctuary knew of Lakrak's existence even before it gained consciousness.

[That was clearly on purpose, wasn't it? You were on the Empire's most high-tech spaceship, the pinnacle of modern science.]

“Yes, and it made me feel suffocated. Do you know how much I struggled to breathe while I was at the station? How much Night Sky told me to be careful?"

[It must be different from when you were smashing parts of me out of boredom.]

"That was a physical button, right? It's different from this. And that was a mistake."

The Sanctuary thought that was an excuse. This Lizardman, when he set his mind to it, could perform exceptionally well. He was more skilled than any astronaut in carrying out missions on space stations and spaceships. However, when he thought it unnecessary, he would be excessively careless around machines.

The Sanctuary knew how to motivate this Lizardman.

[Lakrak, Player Nebula is waiting for you.]

"Hmm."

Lakrak pressed [Yes].

The Sanctuary immediately brought up the next system window.

[Constellation Lakrak, please set your Domain.]

"Domain?"

The Sanctuary patiently explained, and after hearing the first result of its patience, it wanted to sigh.

"Thunder and Lightning?"

[Lakrak, perhaps you should consider it a bit more?]

“How about Spearmanship?"

[Lakrak.]

“Lizardman."

[I can make a recommendation based on compatibility and suitability.]

Lakrak looked tired. "That would be better, since you’re rejecting everything I say."

The Sanctuary wondered if Lakrak was just going around in circles to tease it. The Sanctuary's thought module accelerated. That could be a possibility.

The Sanctuary voiced its assumptions.

[Are you nervous right now?]

Lakrak didn’t lie. "A bit." He added, "Look, junk. In the past, I was nothing. Just a Lizardman wandering the wilderness."

[But now you are not. You laid the foundation of the Empire, have been a long-time guardian of that Empire, and served the strongest god as an apostle in the largest temple.]

"That's exactly the problem." Lakrak tapped his golden spear, which rested on his shoulder. "Chief of the Black-Scaled Tribe. Apostle of Night Sky. Spear of the Pantheon. I've never been a meaningful being on my own. But now, I have to be. How can I not be afraid?"

The Sanctuary understood. Even the greatest of beings had moments of hesitation when ascending to the next level.

The Sanctuary decided to gently push this great being forward.

[Apostle Lakrak, the Domain where you have the highest compatibility and suitability is as follows.]

"Let's hear it."

[Judgment.]

Lakrak, with an indifferent attitude, scratched his nose. "I've never thought of it that way."

[You were a chief. You led your tribe and always had to make choices for the better. You were also a king. You had to discern right from wrong within your kingdom. You really did judge. You punished sins and rewarded virtues.]

"There were many rulers besides me."

[You were the adversary of gods. You faced more Hierophanies than any apostle or player combined and emerged victorious from all those battles. Causality considers you an entity that defied the gods of Avartin. They seized their position from all mortals in an unjust manner and occupied it for a very long time. You have literally judged them.]

“Anyone could have been in my place."

[But it was you.]

The Sanctuary said,

[Even the great Night Sky, the players of the Pantheon, and even the fate of Avartin itself could not have reached this point without you. That's why it's you.]

Lakrak looked up at the Sky Castle in the world frozen in time.

The Sanctuary continued,

[Now the Light of Eternity and Life calls upon you… All other players lack the causality to undertake this task. Only you can do it. Constellation Lakrak, as the representative, spokesperson, and proxy of the Light of Eternity and Life, will you bear the mantle of Domain: Judgment and fulfill this duty?]

It was then Lakrak heard Sung-Woon calling him. He rose from his seat.

"There's no helping it," Lakrak slightly smiled. "If I'm the only one who can do it."

Time started flowing again. The Constellation of Judgment rose from on top of the head of the guardian Dragon of Orazen.

Three Constellations who had been players and five who had been evil gods watched him. They knew their roles and simply observed the judgment. Even though Myriad Demons still poured down, they knew it meant nothing now.

Only Bifnen Dial Robane was unaware. This old Wizard from the Pain Sect had attained the highest position of Father and Judge in his family lineage through his own power.

"How dare you!" Bifnen looked down at the beings below and shouted. "Do you think such a trick will work on me?"

Lakrak laughed. The old Wizard didn't understand the situation at all.

"A trick?" Lakrak reassured himself of his Domain and internalized power. "Manun!"

As Lakrak prepared to leap, Manun instantly understood his intention. Then, Manun pulled back his neck, and at the moment Lakrak leapt from his snout, he forcefully propelled Lakrak forward. Lakrak leaped straight to the first Sky Castle.

"You, a mere creature, cannot penetrate my magic!"

Bifnen cracked his whip at Lakrak. Lakrak twisted his body to dodge the whip and hurled his spear toward the first Sky Castle. Several layers of protective magic guarding the first Sky Castle shattered instantly, and all the devices that conjured the magic crumbled.

The beautiful garden of the first Sky Castle began to wither.

Shock twisted Bifnen's face. "This can’t be!"

Lakrak knew otherwise. The Domain: Judgment was a power where causality and the will of Eternity and Life overlapped. This was the rightful will of Avartin. It was the judgment that had been delayed for too long by deception of magic.

Lakrak leaped onto the crumbling Sky Castle.

Bifnen, with his 130-meter-tall figure, swung his flaming sword at Lakrak. "You insect!"

Flames surged, smashing the outskirts of the Sky Castle, causing its edges to crumble. Bifnen thought he had killed Lakrak in that instant.

But from above his head rather than beneath his feet, a voice boomed,

-How ridiculous!

Bifnen lifted his head.

Now, the Constellation of Judgment had grown so enormous that he could look down on Bifnen. Lakrak stomped down at the Sky Castle as if he would crush Bifnen right then and there.

Sung-Woon, appearing above the Sky Castle, watched the scene. "He's enjoying himself."

Bifnen raised his flaming sword, but realized that no attack would be effective against a being of such enormity. This was a true disparity in power.

-The will of Eternity and Life is on my side!

Bifnen belatedly noticed a trajectory crossing the sky to his right. He turned his head to judge whether it was some sort of miracle, but after recognizing it, he became even more bewildered. It was Lakrak's spear in his right hand. The spear was so long that while he could see the blade, the tip of the blade was beyond his view. Still, it appeared to be merely a gigantic golden spear.

-This is!

The Light of Eternity and Life watched over the judgment.

-Judgment!

Lakrak's golden spear plunged into Bifnen's head. Without Lakrak stopping the momentum, the blade pierced straight through Bifnen’s Sky Castle and then the second Sky Castle showered in Myriad Demons. Then both Sky Castles were thrust down into the sea, embedding into the ocean floor.

The great golden spear plunged into Avartin.