In this forest of transparent cylinders, Zhang Qi felt an unprecedented dead silence.
He had never imagined that the godlike civilization from the original work—the one devoted to rebooting the universe and returning everything to the pastoral age of ten dimensions—would reveal such a tragic true form.
"What exactly... is going on?"
Zhang Qi's voice echoed through the empty space, not through vibrations in any medium, but directly in the form of information, questioning this silent forest.
"As you can see, this was our choice, and also our only destination."
The Zeroers' collective consciousness spoke again. "Before answering your question, please allow us to show you a piece of... history.
A painful history of this universe, long forgotten."
Before the words had faded, the scene before Zhang Qi abruptly changed.
The forest of brains around him did not disappear, but the entire space seemed to have been infused with an illusory image.
He saw a ceaselessly surging river of light, every wave within it a dazzling civilization.
"Our homeland was not in this dimension.
It was in a higher place, a place... your three-dimensional world's physics cannot describe."
"There, the speed of light was not a constant. It could be infinite.
That meant information traveled without delay. The moment a thought was born, it could be known at the other end of the universe.
In such an environment, all civilizations could understand one another. Technological advancement had brought material abundance beyond the very concept of 'need.'
In your Earth's terms, it was a true utopia, a golden age."
The voice paused, as though searching for an appropriate word.
Before Zhang Qi, the river of light reached the pinnacle of its splendor. Countless intelligent lifeforms of different shapes sang and rejoiced within it.
"But even a golden age can rust.
There