In its third year of rooting beside the Stream of Laws, the Tree of Chaos has grown into a new landmark of the Co-Prosperity Zone. Its trunk is as thick as a mountain range, and the patterns of the Primordial Law flow across its gray-gold bark. Its silvery-white branches extend towards the sky, supporting a miniature version of the Six-Colored Halo. Its tender green leaves rustle in the wind, as if telling the story of the birth of the universe. Most striking is the gray-black fruit at its top, which is no longer still but, like a miniature star, slowly rotates, spreading the maternal aura of chaos throughout the entire Co-Prosperity Zone.
Xiao He became the "guardian" of the Tree of Chaos. Every day, she would sit under the tree, nourishing the roots with the Power of Chaos, grooming the branches with sword intent, and occasionally communicating with the Tree Spirit —the consciousness formed after the light fish merged with the tree, gentle and ancient, capable of answering many questions about the Primordial Law.
" The Tree Spirit said there's a ' Star Domain of Oblivion ' at the edge of the universe." That day, Xiao He said in the Alliance Council, a faint light condensing at her fingertips, projecting a blurry star map. "The laws there are so ancient that they're almost forgotten by the 'growth' of the universe, just as an old person forgets their youthful memories."
The leader of the Star Patrollers retrieved the observation data, his blue light tinged with seriousness. "Our detectors did indeed detect a faint 'law decay' signal in that direction, but we always thought it was an equipment malfunction. If the Tree Spirit's perception is correct, the laws there may be 'self-annihilating,' as if they never existed."
"Oblivion... is more terrifying than Return to Silence." Meng Ke's voice was low as he recalled the ancient battlefields utterly forgotten in the Destruction Universe. " Return to Silence at least leaves embers, but oblivion leaves not even a trace."
Qing He looked towards the Tree of Chaos, where the Primordial Law patterns on its trunk were flickering faintly, as if urging something. " The Primordial Law record the origins of all civilizations. The decay of the laws in the Star Domain of Oblivion might cause 'memory loopholes' in the entire Web of Laws." She stood up, her longsword drawing a gray-gold arc in the sunlight. "We must go and see if we can help them 'remember' their existence."
This time, the team was exceptionally large. Qing He and Xiao He led the core team aboard the " Origin Tracer " starship, which carried fragments of the Tree of Chaos fruit; Meng Ke and the elite of the Destruction Clan piloted the Crimson Warship, responsible for clearing the way; the Dream Guardian of the Dream Clan accompanied them personally, their " Law of Dreams " capable of awakening dormant memories; Geometry Clan dispatched the "Polyhedral Messenger," who was most adept at deciphering ancient laws, to reconstruct forgotten traces using mathematical language.
The starship sailed through the sea of stars for two full months. The closer it got to the Star Domain of Oblivion, the dimmer the surrounding starlight became, and the resonance of the Web of Laws grew weaker and weaker, as if it had entered the "blind spot" of the universe.
"The detector has completely failed." The Star Patrollers's voice was filled with anxiety. "The space here seems to have been 'bleached,' and even the Time Key can barely maintain its own timeline."
Xiao He pressed her hand against the porthole; the fragments of the Tree of Chaos's fruit burned in her palm. " The Tree Spirit is guiding the way... It's just ahead, in that gray nebula."
The starship entered the gray nebula, and the sight before them was breathtaking—there were no stars, no stardust, only a uniform "gray fog," with occasional blurry flashes of light and shadow within it, like shattered mirrors reflecting fragments of long-vanished civilizations: some were bronze towers, some were crystal cities, and some were winged beings soaring through the sky...
"These are... remnants of forgotten civilizations," the Dream Guardian sighed, his pale purple light extending out to touch the figures, which vanished like bubbles. "Their consciousness remains, but they can't remember who they are or where they came from."
The polyhedral messenger of the Geometry Clan suddenly projected a complex set of formulas. "The law structure of this nebula is 'increasing entropy'! All ordered information is being broken down into disordered 'ash,' like a book being torn apart and then crumpled into pulp."
Qing He took a deep breath and retrieved a fragment of the Tree of Chaos fruit. "Only the Primordial Law can 'reassemble' this information. Xiao He, use your Power of Chaos to guide the energy of the fragment. We need to build a ' Memory Anchor ' at the center of the nebula."
Xiao He nodded and pressed the fruit fragment onto the starship's energy core. The gray-black fragment instantly burst forth with dazzling light, merging with the starship's Power of Chaos to form a gray-gold pillar of light that pierced through the nebula. Wherever the pillar of light passed, the blurry remnants of civilizations began to become clear, and even intermittent sounds could be heard—forgotten languages telling ancient stories.
Building the Memory Anchor was extremely difficult. The entropy-increasing power of the nebula constantly eroded the anchor's structure, and the newly formed law patterns were quickly eroded by the gray mist. Only by alternating support from Meng Ke's dark red energy and Qing He's Power of Chaos could the anchor be barely kept stable.
"We need... more 'memory'." Sweat beaded on the Dream Guardian's forehead as he infused the anchor point with ancient legends recorded by the Dream Clan. " The Primordial Law alone are not enough; we also need the power to be 'remembered'!"
Qing He immediately ordered, "All cultivators, inject the origin legends and core laws of your civilizations into the anchor points! Let the forgotten laws know that they have never been truly forgotten!"
In an instant, countless streams of colorful information surged into the gray-gold pillar of light: the "creation myths" of the cultivators of the heavens, the "epic of resilience" of the Destruction Clan, the "allegory of illusion and reality" of the Dream Clan, the "origins of mathematics" of the Geometry Clan... These streams of information intertwined with the Primordial Law, condensing into a giant "memory crystal" at the center of the nebula.
Within the crystal, the remnants of those forgotten civilizations were finally revealed in their entirety—they were the "first generation of inhabitants" of the universe, who had created a glorious civilization governed by laws, but because they were too ancient, they were gradually marginalized in the evolution of the universe and eventually fell into oblivion.
"We... remembered." An ancient thought echoed within the nebula, carrying a sense of relief and gratitude. The memory crystal emitted a soft light, neutralizing the increasing entropy within the gray fog. The grayness of the nebula gradually faded, revealing the brilliant starry sky behind it—there, countless forgotten celestial bodies shone anew, forming an "ancient star map" that perfectly matched the existing star map.
The moment the Memory Anchor stabilized, the fragment of the Tree of Chaos fruit suddenly merged into the crystal, transforming into a gray-black pattern that connected the ancient star map with the existing Web of Laws. The entropy-increasing power of the nebula completely dissipated, replaced by a gentle energy of "coexistence of the old and the new."
As they left the Star Domain of Oblivion, the thoughts of the first generation of inhabitants echoed once more, "We will protect this 'memory,' and we will also inscribe your stories... into our star map. The way of balance is the symbiosis of 'remembering' and 'being remembered.'"
On the starship's return journey, Xiao He looked out the porthole at the ancient star that had lit up again, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. She knew that the Memory Anchor not only awakened the forgotten laws, but also made the Alliance's Web of Laws more complete—like the Tree of Chaos, which is rooted in the initial soil and constantly absorbs new nutrients to grow more luxuriantly.
The Tree of Chaos in the Co-Prosperity Zone has grown taller during their absence. Among the Six-Colored Halo on its branches, a dark gold representing "ancient memories" has been added, coexisting harmoniously with the other colors and shimmering with a warm light in the sunlight.
Qing He stood under the tree, gazing at the distant starry sky. She knew that there might be more " Star Domain of Oblivion " in the universe, and more undiscovered secrets of the laws, but as long as the Tree of Chaos continued to grow, as long as the Memory Anchor continued to flicker, and as long as all races continued to "remember" each other with their hearts, the way of balance would continue forever.
The story of protection will be written in an even longer chapter through "remembering" and "inheriting." In the distant sea of stars, a new call is ringing out; it is the voice of the future, inviting them to continue exploring the infinite possibilities of cosmic balance.