Lin Ye stood at the network's core node, feeling the power gathering there. The sensation defied description, as though the entire universe had opened its heart to him. Countless consciousnesses flickered within his perception, each carrying its own unique light. Some shone brightly, belonging to powerful beings; others were faint, belonging to insignificant lives. Yet regardless of their strength, they were all equally important, for every will was an indispensable part of this resonance.
Eryen led the Eternal Empire's reformists into the operation. Those pure-blooded beings who had once taken pride in their lineage now stood shoulder to shoulder with the lesser beings they had despised for countless ages. The hatred of history was temporarily set aside at this moment, because a more important enemy stood before them. Eryen said this was the Empire's true first step toward rebirth. Only through such a trial could the old divides truly be healed.
The Pope of the Extinction Church personally took part in the coordination. Its void-like form became a powerful relay station, helping beings unfamiliar with cross-dimensional connections integrate into the whole. The Pope said this was the true meaning of extinction: the old perishing, the new being born, rebirth emerging from destruction. The Order Sovereign represented rigid, lifeless order, while what they were creating was living order—an order capable of growth and evolution.
Even some former enemies joined them. Eternal Empire dissidents who had survived the Great Purge, civilizations that had broken away from the Rulekeeper Alliance, and factions that had originally harbored doubts about the network all chose to stand on the right side at this critical moment. Not because they fully embraced the network's ideals, but because they knew that if the Order Sovereign won, no one would meet a good end.
The gathering of wills required time.