Astria began explaining her reasoning. "Based on what we know, the Void Ark came from a state of primordial void. But the void itself shouldn't have any subjective experience."
"The fact that it developed a will and could act means it acquired consciousness at some point."
"And the birth of consciousness must come with pain, because consciousness means separation from the state of void."
"Perhaps the Void Ark has been trying to return to a truly unconscious state all along, but its method is wrong."
"Devouring positive concepts will only make it more conscious and more tormented, creating a vicious cycle."
The explanation had a certain logic to it, but the risks remained enormous.
Aris finally spoke. "Even if the theory holds, carrying it out would still be extremely dangerous. If the Libra Mark is contaminated, the consequences would be unthinkable."
Astria answered firmly, "If we do nothing, the entire Milky Way will be devoured in seventy-two hours."
"At least this plan gives us a glimmer of hope."
After the meeting, Lin Ye immediately realized a serious problem: to carry out Astria's concept dialogue plan, they needed to gather the power of all twelve zodiac Guardians.
"We currently have nine marks," he said, quickly taking stock in the command center. "We're still missing Aries, Scorpio, and Capricorn."
Sagitta brought up a status map of the Guardian communications network. "The Capricorn Guardian, Capricon, is on a mission on the Galactic Federation's capital planet. His status is normal. But we've lost contact with the Aries Guardian, Ram, and the Scorpio Guardian, Scorpios, for three months now."
"Three months?" Pisces frowned. "That lines up exactly with the movements of the Void Ark's vanguard."
Astria's expression grew grave. "If they were attacked by parasites..."
She left the sentence unfinished, but everyone understood. Losing even