The Early Void Engine

Keisha wanted to become the King of the Gods!

Gods decided everything for lower civilizations, but who decided the fate of the gods?

Or rather, who was the so-called possessor of supreme wisdom elected by the gods?

Kiran was obsessed with exploring the truths of the universe. Recently, he had been busy transforming his form and barely paid attention to the Deno Civilization under his rule, so how could he possibly spare any thought for the countless lower civilizations scattered across the universe? He was clearly not the right candidate. And since Keisha had proposed this idea, the outcome spoke for itself.

In truth, neither the Deno Civilization nor the Lieyang Civilization rejected Keisha's theocracy, especially Lieyang. They had always been a monarchy, so it was perfectly normal for one person to decide the direction of their civilization.

They were merely shocked by Keisha's arrogance. Although she might indeed have been the only suitable candidate for God King, and with Di Hongkun wholeheartedly pretending to be dead, Keisha's position was unshakable—wasn't it a little too conceited to say it herself in front of so many people?

She was seriously getting carried away!

That last sentence was Shen Jun's unspoken thought...

Her speech stunned everyone present. Only two people showed no surprise: one was Kiran, and the other was Shen Jun, who had expected it all along.

He knew that over the next twenty thousand years, the entire Known Universe would be suppressed by Keisha. The oppressive force of the Justice Order would leave every major civilization gasping for breath... if not for the Protoss.

Suddenly, the surrounding scene shook. Keisha sighed and said, "I didn't expect them to launch another counterattack so soon. I haven't even finished speaking."

Keisha seemed somewhat reluctant to stop, unaware of just how great an impact her words had made on the attendees. Inviting the major civilizations to a conference in the middle of a battlefield, aboard her own flagship, and on the front lines no less—how big did her nerve have to be to do something like that?

"Since that is the case, this Theocratic Conference will end here. Please return to your respective places."

Keisha imperiously saw her guests off. The Sun God and Pan Zhen logged off without a word. Kiran's Great Light Sphere flashed twice before disappearing, and Shen Jun could not figure out what he had meant to convey.

With Kiran gone, the two Deno kings who followed him naturally had nothing more to say.

In the blink of an eye, only Shen Jun and He Xi remained.

"Then I shall not disturb Queen Keisha as she takes the field to slaughter the Trigonians."

As the only civilization formally allied with the angels at present, Shen Jun felt it would be inappropriate to leave without saying anything.

"Queen, I shall take my leave as well."

"Don't hang up just yet, He Xi."

However, just as He Xi helped Shen Jun close the Dark Communication and was preparing to log off herself, Keisha spoke.

"Queen, I am here."

He Xi dropped to one knee and waited for Keisha's instructions.

"How long have you been staying with the Protoss? Are you not planning to come back?"

A teasing smile appeared on Keisha's face, as though her earlier dominance had vanished without a trace.

"Uh..." He Xi smiled awkwardly. "Wasn't I doing it to promote the peaceful development of relations between our two races? And while I was at it, conducting some normal technological exchanges with the Protoss..."

"Oh... I see." Keisha paused, then abruptly changed the subject. "So your relationship-building technological exchange... involved accompanying that young Protoss Hierarch to Jude Star for roast duck?"

"Huh? Tomboy! You were spying on me?"

The moment she heard that, He Xi sprang to her feet and glared furiously at Keisha.

Although Keisha was the Angel King, He Xi had never been stripped of her title as the Heavenly Based King. She merely served as the Holy Right Wing. Besides, setting status aside, Keisha and He Xi were as close as sisters and had been best friends for thousands of years.

Looking across the Known Universe, He Xi was the only one who dared call Keisha "Tomboy."

"Hmph. I never thought an Old Enchantress like you could lose her temper too."

Keisha refused to back down.

"Tomboy!"

"Old Enchantress!"

"No matter what, we have been old friends for thousands of years. You suddenly ran off for decades without coming back. Was it wrong for me to care about where you were?"

After their playful quarrel, Keisha spoke softly.

"This..." He Xi had no answer.

Then, a mischievous expression appeared on Keisha's face as she asked, "That Hierarch... what do you think of him?"

He Xi's expression suddenly changed. She looked both shy and angry, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"Wh... what do you mean, what do I think? What are you talking about? Why can't I understand you?"

He Xi said in embarrassment.

"Hehe..."

Keisha laughed without the slightest restraint.

"What are you laughing at, you tomboy!"

"Hey, I'm serious. I'm not joking with you."

He Xi fell silent. She understood Keisha—often even better than Keisha's own younger sister Liang Bing—so she could tell that Keisha was genuinely serious this time.

"Shen Jun... although he is very young, he is... very mysterious. He seems to know the Known Universe extremely well, yet he knows very little about this era... It makes no sense."

"So... I believe the Protoss Shen Jun spoke of are a civilization older than every civilization in the Known Universe... I think that is highly credible."

"The Protoss have an Executor named Zeratul. In terms of status, he can be regarded as their Holy Wings; among the Protoss, they are called an Executor. Zeratul has a ship called the Void Seeker. Although I cannot determine what material it was made from, I can conclude that it was formed unimaginably long ago..."

"Mm..."

Keisha pondered in silence. To be honest, when He Xi had sent word that she had discovered the remnants of a powerful civilization that might have survived from hundreds of thousands of years ago, Keisha's first reaction had been disbelief. Yet the information He Xi occasionally sent back, along with what she had said now, all pointed toward one answer.

The Protoss were far older than anyone could imagine!

Could that Amon who supposedly destroyed the Protoss truly exist?

Then she recalled the inexplicable destruction of the God River Nebula. Even Kiran was extremely evasive about it, while the Known Universe merely believed that the God River Civilization had perished in a massive supernova explosion.

To Keisha, that was a joke!

"Could it be... the Void creatures Kiran spoke of truly... No. The status of primary lifeforms must never be shaken. The nobility of life must not be profaned. Even if it truly exists, it must and can only become a secondary lifeform!"

After wavering for only a moment, Keisha immediately steeled her resolve.

"Still... the technology related to secondary lifeforms could be studied. For example, it could be used to make some kind of engine weapon..."

Having made up her mind, Keisha prepared to research the Void Engine several thousand years earlier than in the original timeline—even three thousand years before Carl began his own research!

"Mm, I more or less understand now. Let's end the communication."

Keisha casually cut off the Dark Communication, cast aside the complicated thoughts in her mind, spread her wings, and charged into the battlefield. Wherever Silver Wing passed, it was as though no one could stand in its way.

The Form War had gone on long enough. It was time for it to end!

"Whew, I finally diverted Tomboy's attention." After Keisha left, He Xi let out a sigh of relief, completely unaware of the earth-shaking changes her words had brought to the world.

At that very moment, in an unknown wild starfield millions of light-years away, a strange-looking spacecraft warped into the area.

That was right. It was Zeratul, who had been traveling the stars in search of ancient ruins. He had not returned to Aiur for over twenty years, though he regularly transmitted information at intervals. Sometimes, when he took a liking to an unclaimed planet, he would even warp in a Protoss force to establish a colony or mining base.

The Void Seeker possessed countless incredible black technologies. For example, it was itself a mobile Time-Space Navigation Route warp point that could connect to any Protoss Warp Gate. However, the number it could transport at once was limited and could not exceed two hundred Protoss.

"Mm... That familiar yet unfamiliar aura again... What exactly is drawing me here?"

For some reason, Zeratul suddenly had a bad feeling.