Cave Entrance

The collapse of Sacred Realm planet was nearing its end. That lush but false shell had now almost entirely fallen into the pitch-black hole at the planet's center.

Those Crystal Branches growing from the Core Area supported the few remaining fragments of land. Seen from orbit, the scene resembled a mythical giant tree spreading its crown through space, holding up the final patches of fertile soil at its treetops as the world fell apart.

The last batch of transport ships and their escort forces lifted off from those precarious Planet Fragments, their engine arrays drawing streaks of light across the darkness of space.

Baili Qing and Hong stood on the bridge of the Mass Effect, watching the scene in space through the broad Viewing Porthole.

"...I've seen similar descriptions in the Argraidean epics," Hong said softly. "In the myths, the planet beneath their feet collapsed and was reshaped three times."

"Myths and epics are a mixture of truth and falsehood. Before the Great Annihilation, anything could have happened," Baili Qing said blandly. "But there's one thing we can be certain of: the Hermetic Society, that festering tumor which had entrenched itself in the civilized world for centuries, has finally disintegrated today."

"The main body has undoubtedly collapsed, but it may take many years to purge the lingering poison," Hong said calmly. "Some exiled priests will inevitably have escaped this star region in advance. Other places in the Dark Current starfield may still conceal their secret strongholds, and some fringe groups may continue causing trouble under the banner of the Hermetic Society. The Cult Nation accumulated wealth for centuries. A capital planet's collapse won't make many things vanish into thin air."

"Whatever. I'm used to it. Cultists and warlord pirates are all this difficult to eradicate completely," Baili Qing said with