Mountain Hollow, Deadly Vortex

That meant that whenever it wanted, it could travel to my era. In its eyes, time did not exist at all. All it saw were countless overlapping spaces. Humans had merely assigned those spaces a timeline, making them seem to exist within time.

That was why it said time was something humans had invented.

But without time, how could we define a world's past, present, and future? At least, I could not comprehend it.

Was this the difference between civilizations? Could it also mean that although we believed extraterrestrial beings needed several light-years to reach Earth, that might not actually be the case? If extraterrestrial beings, like Dark Matter, had no concept of time and could reach Earth through the infinite folding of space, then the time they spent could be almost negligible. At the very least, it would not take the several light-years we imagined. Perhaps it would take no more than the time needed for a meal or a cup of tea.

The thought made every hair on my body stand on end.

Leaving distant matters aside, take Dark Matter itself. They appeared to lack true life, yet the civilization they possessed was already terrifying beyond belief.

Humanity on Earth had clearly fallen behind in the progress of civilization. We did not even know how far behind we were. Such a gap meant that in a future war with extraterrestrial beings, we were destined to lose, to be destroyed and replaced by a more advanced civilization.

"Are you worried about humanity's future?" Erha asked me.

I gave a bitter smile. Shouldn't I be worried?

Erha said, "Aren't those ancient mighty figures, those arts and methods that leave us in awe, also a form of civilization? I think you don't need to worry so much. Most of those mighty