Lucifer's Plan

"The Celestials didn't destroy this race," Richard said. "They did it themselves."

Zagi gave him a suspicious look. "Oh?"

"You might not be able to sense it, but I can perceive something called 'cosmic energy,'" Richard said. "In many of the places we passed through before, even though many years may have passed and the old energy had been mixed with impurities, becoming much murkier, I could still sense traces left behind by cosmic energy."

Zagi understood. "You're saying this was the weapon those so-called 'Celestials' used?"

Richard nodded. "That's right. Cosmic energy is the foundation the Celestials use in battle... no, it's more than that. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's the basis of their existence. So wherever the Celestials fought or fell, there couldn't possibly be no fluctuations of cosmic energy."

"But there's none here?"

"That's right, there's none here," Richard said. "This battlefield we're seeing now, these graves... they're the bitter consequences of their own making."

It was unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.

A civilization whose technology had reached its peak had declared war on the Celestials with weapons and technology that had made them invincible across the universe. They had once gained the upper hand in the war against the gods, achieving countless glorious victories, only to perish in a Civil War.

"Nova Prime said that the Godslayer was one of a kind," Richard said. "Even after exhausting the wisdom and inspiration of their entire race, using all their materials and technology, they only managed to build one set. If their race had not been united, if there had been many factions and forces within it, then it was easy to imagine that this one-of-a-kind ultimate weapon would have sparked conflict. Everyone would have wanted ownership of it.

"So in the end... this was what