Besides the Astral Spirit Kingdom, other Guardian races were alerted by the distress message from the Elemental Dimension.
In the boundless Void of the Astral Realm, there exists a kind of being that even the most arrogant gods dare not blaspheme. They are not gods, yet they bear a mission that even gods revere; they are not the laws themselves, yet they are the laws' most beloved children. They are the Void Whale — Purification spirits spontaneously conceived by the Astral Realm, walking monuments of order, and living grace of the Void.
The essence of this race is that of the Scavenger and Purification beasts of the Astral Realm. The Void Whale is born from the first sigh at the birth of a plane. Whenever a fragile plane struggles to take shape in the Void, the chaotic impurities and fragments of laws it expels will not dissipate under the intervention of some cosmic will, but will condense and sublimate, eventually giving birth to a Void Whale.
Their lives have only one purpose: to devour anything harmful to the plane. Chaotic energy, law toxins, shattered Space-Time turbulence, shadows formed from resentment... these calamities that would make even gods frown are the food and mission of the Void Whale.
Each Void Whale is like a moving Astral Realm spectacle. Their adult body length is usually comparable to the size of a plane universe. Their very existence distorts the scale of the surrounding space, giving observers the illusion of being "both distant and near".
The Void Whale's body is not covered by flesh and blood, but by a strange substance composed of solidified starlight and liquid Void. Its skin is as transparent as the purest crystal, and inside, one can see slowly flowing starlight and colorful energy flows. As it ages, stardust-like brilliant spots of light will accumulate in its body.
When their enormous fins are spread out, they can cover the vast Void, their edges shimmering with the faint light of spatial rifts. With a single swipe of their tail fins, they can glide gracefully through the Void, effortlessly traversing between dimensions.
Vast and deep, like an eye that holds the entire nebula within its pupil, they forever carry an ancient, gentle, and slightly perplexed wisdom, which is the source of their "simple and honest" temperament.
The Void Whale "sings" by vibrating space itself. Its voice is deep and resonant, transcending dimensions. It can soothe unstable dimensional barriers, and those who understand its song will feel the tranquility of the beginning of the universe.
The Void Whale race is divided into age groups based on size. Juvenile Void Whale are "only" a hundred kilometers in size, their bodies displaying intense starlight flow. Full of curiosity, they need elders to guide them and teach them to identify different types of "harmful substances." Their most obvious characteristic is their innocent, naive gaze, often causing them to collide with various Void bodies while engrossed in their observations.
The young Void Whale are now able to perform Purification tasks independently, and light spots have begun to settle in their bodies. They have mastered deeper spatial traversal skills, but still prefer slow "swimming." They gather together and play by "slapping" the Void Ripples with their tails, creating a spectacular scene.
The light spots inside adult Void Whale have connected to form a star map, each one a unique Starry Sky painting. At this stage, they can Purification most dangers and calamities, and they begin to understand the weight of their mission, their eyes gaining a touch of compassion amidst their gentleness.
Above the adult Void Whale are the true powerhouses of the Void Whale race. Each one is an absolute relic, known as Ancient Whale. There are very few such beings in the entire race. They are living fossils of the Astral Realm and their existence is an Epic Purification in itself.
Ancient Whale typically slumber within the rifts of Space-Time, only awakening when a great catastrophe strikes.
The Void Whale's daily routine involves patrolling around newly formed planes and fragile worlds, opening its enormous maw—not a mouth in the physical sense, but Purification force field anchored in space. Harmful substances are drawn in like gravity, and within its "Astral Realm Furnace," they are subjected to, suppressed, and transformed.
This process is painful for the Void Whale, but they only emit soft, low resonances to soothe the Purification plane, never roaring.
When the "toxicity" accumulated in a Void Whale's body reaches a critical point, usually when it voluntarily chooses to stop transforming, it embarks on its final journey: leaving all planes behind, swimming towards the most desolate depths of the Void in the Astral Realm, its body turning into a sky full of light dust starting from its tail.
In the instant of complete dissipation, all the harmful substances accumulated within the Void Whale's body throughout its life were thoroughly reconstructed in its core "Death Singularity," transforming into the purest primordial energy of order, which was then showered upon the surrounding Astral Realm like spring rain.
Only one star core crystal remains, containing its entire life's memories and a Purification sample of calamity, becoming a floating monument.
Those who witness the death of the Void Whale will receive the blessing of the Astral Realm if they harbor good intentions; if they do so with malice, they will feel the cold gaze of the laws.
The Void Whale's kind and naive nature makes it impossible for it to understand "malice." When it encounters an injured starship, it will curiously approach to observe it, often causing the crew to faint from shock. When it encounters a fleeing demon, it will think that the other party is playing a game.
Their thinking and actions are measured in "years," and a simple exchange may require decades of thought and response.
To outsiders, the Void Whale appear fearless and undaunted, but in reality, it's not bravery, but rather a complete lack of awareness of danger. They swim into the epicenter of the dimensional eruption to "devour" the radiation turbulence simply because they perceive the "color as odd."
Treat fragile planes like chicks in an egg; shield them from Void storms with your body and hum softly until the plane stabilizes.
There is no hierarchical division within the Void Whale pod; the only differences are in age and experience. The status of a "leader" is derived solely from respect.
They communicate through spatial vibrations, patterns of twinkling starlight, and the rhythm of energy flows within their bodies. A complete dialogue can last for hundreds of years.
Every ten thousand years, the Void Whale race will have a "Starlight Convergence," where all Void Whale converge on the location of Orosa to share memories and Purification experiences. At that time, that star field will be so beautiful that even the gods will weep.
Such a pure and beautiful race naturally receives the protection, even reverence and worship, of the major forces of the Astral Realm order. Some civilizations will set up "Starlight Altars" for Void Whale that pass by, even though they know the Void Whales don't care, it is a sign of respect from their civilization.
Those who offend the Void Whale Void Whale of ignorance will only be confused and avoid it if no harm is caused. However, those who kill the Void Whale will be hated by the entire world.
In the Astral Realm, there are moral laws more inviolable than the laws of physics, and the crime of killing Void Whale is definitely among the top three.
Anyone who kills the Void Whale, and the murderer and those connected by blood, will have their luck collapse like a sandcastle. This will cause them to be struck by meteors while walking, to inhale law toxins while breathing, and even if they seclude themselves for ten thousand years, an annihilation crystal will just happen to fall from the ceiling.
No matter which plane, demiplane, or dimensional rift it hides in, the Judgment Thunder will ignore all defenses and bombard it periodically. This thunder does not harm the body, but only burns sins and souls, causing Eternity pain.
At the same time, all Earth Guardian will receive a direct order from the Astral Realm Will to hunt down the killer; whoever kills the murderer will be forever blessed by the laws of the Astral Realm.
All civilizations that understand the significance of the Void Whale will be simultaneously wanted.
In this way, the murderer will never be able to "integrate" into any environment; the world will instinctively reject him, energy will avoid him, and even time will become chaotic around him.
It was as if the Astral Realm roared in his ear, "Those who slay the Void Whale deserve to live!"
These are the Void Whale, the most beautiful and kindest beings in the Astral Realm. They possess the power to tear apart galaxies, yet they only use it to embrace the vulnerable; they endure the deepest pain in the Astral Realm, yet their eyes forever hold a starlight-like smile; their very existence seems to mock the law of "survival of the fittest," for here, the strongest are precisely the gentlest; the most revered are precisely the most naive; the most inviolable are precisely the most willing to sacrifice.
When countless beings look up at the Starry Sky and see a massive shadow gracefully swimming across the Milky Way, know that it is not a monster, but the nanny of the stars, the cradle of the planes, the most clumsy yet perfect cleaner created for itself by the pan-consciousness of the Multi-Cosmic Sea.
They are Void Whale.
Those who harm them are making enemies of the entire multiverse. Those who love them need no words, only a deep respect for life in their hearts. Protecting them is the last and highest pride of intelligent civilization.
At this moment, as the distress call from the Elemental Dimension arrived, somewhere in the Astral Realm Void, a Thorn of Space-Time thorns intertwined, and a dark, malevolent aura, like a chilling venomous stinger in the dark night, sent shivers down one's spine.
This was a heavily polluted Void in the past. If it is not cleaned up in time, it will be like a festering sore on the human body, constantly infecting other intact skin and flesh, and even penetrating into the bone marrow, causing the entire vital signs to collapse.
On the scale of the entire Astral Realm, this polluted land will continuously erode those still well-ordered rule systems, causing large swathes of territory to collapse.
Fortunately, the Astral Realm has a way to deal with this situation, and the Void Whale was created for this purpose.
Rights and obligations always go hand in hand. The more favors the Void Whale receive from the Astral Realm, the greater the obligations they must bear. This is their inherent responsibility and mission.
In the chaotic Void overflowing with filth, Song of Ages, Orosa current leader of the Void Whale race, is resolving this tainted place. As he moves, he resembles a moving galactic spiral arm. His body is completely crystallized, displaying a brilliance like star diamonds, and within him is sealed a calamity he has Purification, a calamity powerful enough to Destruction hundreds of planes. These calamities are slowly being transformed into tranquil light within him.
On Orosa's forehead is a natural emblem of order formed from the rules of the Astral Realm. Wherever the light of the emblem reaches, chaos ceases and the laws submit. The nebula in his eyes has evolved into a complete miniature universe, in which stars are born and die.
He was not the ruler of the Void Whale race, but a guide. Orosa remembered the birth and death of every Void Whale, and his song could echo throughout the entire Astral Realm, guiding the lost race. This was the origin of his nickname.
As a gentle, soothing hymn, seemingly capable of permeating the very fabric of life in the Astral Realm, resounded, the dark, negative energy of the tainted land slowly dissipated, vanishing without a trace like snow under the blazing sun. A continuous shower of pure light appeared out of nowhere, pattering softly onto the Song of Ages. On the dorsal fin of Orosa, it let out a light, joyful cry. Just as it was about to turn and leave, it received a distress call from the Elemental Dimension.
"The Adrian Federation has invaded the Elemental Dimension?!"
A look of shock flashed in Orosa's eyes, followed by regret. Why were there so many wars in the world? Was the fire of ambition truly endless?
However, Orosa understood that now was not the time to think about such things. His immediate priority was to gather his people to support the Elemental Dimension. If the Elemental Dimension were to collapse during the war, it would be a devastating disaster for the Astral Realm. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Countless lives would perish in the process. As the guardians of the Astral Realm, the Void Scriptures should act without hesitation at this critical moment!
Thinking of this, Orosa raised her head and let out a cry, the distant whale song resounding once more, spreading along the Space-Time pathways of the Astral Realm.
Upon hearing this sound, the Void Whale rapidly assembled, following the trajectory of the Whale Song. Regardless of their strength, guided by the Whale Song, they all reached their maximum speed, traversing an immeasurable distance in an instant and quickly completing their assembly.
This is one of Orosa's abilities; his singing can quickly gather his people.
After the Void Whale had gathered, Orosa looked at the Ancient Whale in front of him and asked in a solemn voice, "Have you all received the distress call from the Elemental Dimension?"
Gentle Barrier Hermes nodded slowly. "Understood. For the Astral Realm Plane, this is an utter disaster."
Hermes is the oldest living being of the Void Whale race. When she was very young, she used her body to withstand the Chaos Tide that lasted for three thousand years for a nascent plane. By the time the tides receded, her body had accumulated enough toxins to corrupt Divine Kingdom. When she left, the civilization that plane nurtured engraved the image of the whale on the Cornerstone.
Throughout her life, Hermes tirelessly dedicated herself to saving the plane from collapse, rarely sleeping and thus becoming the second most respected member of her race after the leader.
Floating beside Hermes is Stardust Child, Liuguang, a Void Whale born prematurely due to an accident. Its congenital deficiencies result in Liuguang being only one-tenth the size of a normal adult Void Whale.
However, Liuguang is extremely talented and is the strongest genius of the Void Whale race in the present era. Although he is not old, he is already among the top three in the race in terms of strength. He focuses on "cleaning up" the fragments of negative emotions in the Astral Realm dust. Even the undead feel calm in the areas he swims through.
After listening to the two elders, Liuguang spoke, her voice filled with doubt. "But why didn't the Mother of the Stars intervene? With her power, she should have been able to easily resolve the disaster brought to the Astral Realm by the Adrian Federation, right?"
At this moment, another ancient Void Whale, Nova, the End of Eternity, said, "The Mother of the Stars is not in the Astral Realm. As for where she went, I don't know. I learned this from the chieftain of the Titan God Race, so it can't be wrong."
Nova, the End of Eternal Silence, is a unique being among the Void Whale. He is the only ancient being who survived the Death of Purification and the only Void Whale who chooses to attack rather than defend in battle.
In terms of pure strength, Nova is undoubtedly the strongest among the Void Whale, but his actions violated the ancient traditions of his race, which is why he failed to become a leader.