"In those dimensions, all cross-dimensional connections would be severed, and civilizations could only survive on their own resources."
"And the darkness would last a long time—at least several thousand years, at most tens of thousands."
"Many civilizations would perish in the Dark Era. Only the strongest and luckiest could endure it."
Lin Ye's expression turned grave. "Would the Hyperconscious Network be affected?"
"Definitely," Guanlan said. "If connected dimensions fell into darkness, the participants within those dimensions would lose contact with the network."
"That would weaken the entire network."
"Worse still..." It paused. "According to predictions, the dimensional branch we occupy is also within the Dark Era's range."
"In other words, we might be sealed off as well."
This news plunged the entire network into panic.
Many participants began discussing whether they should prepare in advance and stockpile resources. Some even suggested temporarily dissolving the network and having everyone return to isolation.
But Niu's voice rang out, calm and resolute.
"Panic will not solve anything," it said. "We need to understand the nature of the Dark Era before we can find a way to deal with it."
"Guanlan, does the Observer Civilization have detailed records on the Dark Era?"
Guanlan brought up ancient archives. "Yes, but the records are extremely chaotic, because every Dark Era manifests somewhat differently."
"The only common point is that all affected dimensions undergo a 'Rule Reset.'"
"Rule Reset?" Lin Ye sharply caught the key phrase. "What does that mean?"
"It means the fundamental rules of that dimension are forcibly altered," Guanlan said. "For instance, physical laws might suddenly fail, causal relationships might be thrown into disorder, and even the flow of time could reverse."
"Amid that chaos, existing civilizations would collapse. Only beings capable of adapting to the new rules could survive."
Primordial Source suddenly spoke.