Mist's warning instantly sent tension rippling through the entire network.
"Are you certain?" Lin Ye asked gravely. "What evidence do you have?"
Mist's fluctuations trembled violently. "Deep within the rifts... I sensed their presence..."
"That presence... was filled with hunger and greed..."
"They're watching us... waiting for the perfect moment..."
Guanlan immediately mobilized the Observer Civilization's entire sensory network to conduct a deep scan.
Ten minutes later, it sent back confirmation. "Mist is telling the truth."
"We detected unusual concentrations of energy at the junctions between several dimensions."
"Those energy entities deliberately concealed themselves, but they left traces in the rifts."
"There are at least... twenty-three of them."
"Twenty-three?" The Absolute One's voice grew grave. "If each one has the strength of a Fifth Dimension being..."
"No, they're stronger than ordinary Fifth Dimension beings," Primordial Origin said. "I recognized that energy signature."
"They're 'Epoch Predators,' predatory beings that appear specifically during Dark Eras."
"They belong to no civilization and have no fixed form. Their sole purpose is to devour other civilizations' energy and knowledge amid the chaos."
"After every Dark Era, countless civilizations vanish without a trace. That's their handiwork."
Xu Chi asked, trembling, "If even you know about them, does that mean they've existed for a very long time?"
"For at least five epochs," Primordial Origin said. "They grow stronger with every Dark Era."
"Because they've absorbed the essence of countless civilizations."
"And this time, they've clearly marked the Superconsciousness Network as their greatest prey."
Wu Wu gave a bitter smile. "We wanted to protect the participants during the Dark Era, but instead, we've made the network an even more obvious target."
"How ironic."
"It's not irony. It's inevitable," Niu's voice rang out. "The brighter the light, the more attention it draws from the darkness."
"But if we extinguish