"Target confirmed... wait, why are we attacking that sphere?" the joint fleet's supreme commander suddenly asked in confusion over the comms.
"What is our strategic objective?" another commander echoed. "What are we fighting for?"
The concept of "strategy" vanished from the commanders' minds, leaving the entire fleet without a course of action.
Worse still, mass panic began spreading among the fleet's soldiers. Faced with the Void Ark, the concept of "courage" evaporated from their hearts, leaving only the urge to flee.
"I don't want to die!" "Why do we have to face this monster?" "Home! I want to go home!" The comms filled with the soldiers' cries.
Even the weapons systems stopped functioning properly, because the weapons operators had lost the concept of "destruction" and could no longer understand why they should fire weapons capable of hurting others.
Then came the most absurd sight of all: parts of the fleet began attacking one another.
"Why do those ships look just like ours?" "Are they enemies?" "What's an alliance?"
With the concept of "alliance" gone, the joint fleet could no longer distinguish friend from foe. A hundred thousand warships slaughtered one another before the Void Ark.
Sagitta watched the farce unfold, her heart filled with despair. "Even our last hope is gone."
"This is the final stage of conceptual contamination," the controlled Scobio said coldly. "Once the basic concepts disappear, a civilization will destroy itself without any outside intervention."
Sagitta realized she had only one choice left. She rushed to the bridge console and activated the Heart of Freedom's emergency protocol.
"I'm going to approach the Void Ark and make contact with Lin Ye and the others," she told the remaining Guardians. "This is our only chance."
"You're insane!" Seraphina tried to stop her. "That will only expose us to conceptual