In the previous era, cosmogenesis had not been a complete ascension path. Some empires might have independently developed Synaptic Lathe technology, but the final and most important component, the [Horizon Needle], had only appeared after the Calamity ended.
Regardless, the path of The Excerptors had failed. They had all perished in the river of history, leaving only the Infinite Machine alone in the Kagantuya Black Hole, calculating its unfinished task.
Next came the Heavenly People Empire of Faith.
An empire composed entirely of pure-blooded humans, it had undergone both genetic ascension and psionics ascension, achieving perfection in both flesh and soul.
Humanity had refused to submit to the Calamity. Thus, they had taken a completely different path from The Excerptors, leading to the original Human Empire's split.
The Heavenly People Empire of Faith had carried out a plan that could only be called utterly insane.
"The core of this plan was time. Or, rather, me," the Time Worm said.
"Time?" Xi Yan asked, puzzled.
Time tore like shredded canvas in the black hole's gravity. Terrifying gravitational forces coiled around the Time Worm's pitch-black body, and time became so chaotic around it that even Xi Yan's enhanced mind could not comprehend its nearly shattered surroundings.
This was the Time Worm, born with the ability to manipulate spacetime and gravity.
"With my power, they devised a plan."
The Time Worm's four enormous foreclaws hooked into the edge of the black hole's event horizon like scythes, allowing it to extend its upper body out of the black hole.
It lowered its head, its mouth full of terrifying fangs opening and closing gently. That soft voice, utterly at odds with its dangerous appearance, passed through the chaotic spacetime and reached straight into Xi Yan's mind.
"Over countless years of research, the earliest human scientists