"All intelligent life in the universe will lose the ability to think and regress to a primitive biological state," the Void Ark's core consciousness said, trembling. "The entire history of civilization will be erased."
"How much time do we have?" Astria asked urgently.
"Based on the rate of energy accumulation... no more than an hour."
Lin Ye turned to Augustus. "Can you stop it?"
Augustus shook his head. "Only a complete rewrite of the Void Ark's core programming can stop it. But that requires the three Guardians' Concept Marks to merge completely with my creator privileges."
"That means you will be bound to the Void Ark forever, becoming the new maintainers of the universe's concepts. You will lose your ordinary lives and shoulder endless responsibilities."
"And if the merger fails, the torrent of concepts will scatter your consciousnesses completely."
"I accept," Leo said without hesitation.
Astria nodded as well. "For the future of the universe, it's worth it."
Lin Ye drew a deep breath. "We'll shoulder it together."
"Before I tell you how to merge, I must let you understand the greater truth." Augustus waved his hand, and the Concept Space began expanding rapidly until it encompassed a view of the entire Multiverse.
Countless glowing spheres floated in the infinite darkness, each representing an independent universe cycle. Most gave off a faint but steady glow, but many had gone completely dark, and some even bore an unsettling black-red hue.
"The Void Ark is not the only concept regulation system." Augustus pointed at the spheres. "At the birth of every universe cycle, a mechanism for safeguarding concepts forms naturally."
Lin Ye gazed at the spheres and felt the Constellation Marks within him begin to resonate. "These different universes..."
"Are the true source of your Constellation Marks," Augustus said, confirming his suspicion.