A Mortal's 'God'

After that, the Worms took over the planet—and took over the civilization of their own 'god.'

They were able to develop rapidly, and just as rapidly came to understand their own circumstances.

They possessed advantages bestowed by heaven: long lifespans and hibernation periods, decent physical strength, an innate ability to survive in harsh environments while also adapting to regions rich in resources. They could even obtain sufficient energy solely from isotope decay.

Their deep-space craft did not even need to consider protection or sealing. After all, the Worms could survive in outer space. Their only weakness was perhaps that, because they had no need to breathe, their metabolism was slow.

A slow metabolism meant slower speed. They could not move as swiftly as aerobic lifeforms, and were instead exceedingly sluggish.

Yet that was not necessarily bad. This slowness gave them more time to cross the void despite their insufficient speed.

There was only one problem: because they were too slow, the pace of their development might be severely limited.

However, after absorbing the remains left behind by the decline of their own 'god,' that problem was resolved.

The previous civilization had left behind its seeds, yet failed to wait for its own race to sprout from them. The Worms raised by one of their probes, however, inherited everything they had left behind.

The Worms advanced by leaps and bounds.

They traveled between galaxies. They modified their bodies, allowing aerobic respiration to greatly accelerate their thinking. They began uploading their consciousnesses into machines. They gained the ability to manipulate matter between galaxies. They became the 'Star-Making Gods.' They could easily grant immortality to all, and a single individual could destroy a planetary civilization.

They could easily stir up gravitational points within nebulae, create stellar cores, and then fuse stars into being.