Who is Curze?
As the sudden words echoed within their minds, the soldiers of the Unified Earth Government's U.N.S.C defense forces did not know.
The Covenant warriors who had come to carry out a "purification" operation against humanity's Reach did not know either.
But as soldiers belonging to the Holy Selene Empire's faction—especially those under the Eighth Astartes Legion, the Night Lords—how could they possibly be unfamiliar with the name of their direct military commander?
Konrad Curze.
And within the entire Empire, who could address the master of an Astartes Legion in such a tone—like summoning a mere attendant—was self-evident.
Bang... Crash!
Pushing aside the layered armor plating wreckage pinning him down, the Master Chief dragged himself free from beneath the twisted remains of the armored vehicle and raised his head, clutching his left shoulder where flesh lay gruesomely exposed.
The enhanced physical capabilities granted by the Spartan-II biological augmentation procedures and the life-support system installed in the Mjolnir powered exoskeleton worked simultaneously. The horrific tear wound looked terrifying—but that was all it was.
On the ground, in the sky, and in outer space—almost at the same moment—the thunderous roar of artillery fire ceased.
Staring at the atmosphere now filled with the colossal Night Lords fleet, the Master Chief froze.
"Nathaniel didn't deceive us... The Royal Guards, the Empress, the Empire he spoke of—they all truly exist. It wasn't fabricated CG."
The Master Chief had always maintained a skeptical attitude toward the communications footage he saw aboard Nathaniel's ship.
After all, by the 26th century, fabricating CG, falsifying communication feeds, and forging films were trivial feats for human technology.
They had reached a level where the false was indistinguishable from the real. Attempting to verify authenticity based solely on visual flaws was nearly impossible.
And this was precisely why the Unified Earth Government's outer colonies deeply distrusted official media—believing that the Covenant, alien massacres, and external wars were nothing more than lies fabricated by the government.
Until disaster truly descended upon them, they had treated it all like a movie. A joke. A spectacle.
"John! Are you alright?"
At that moment, Dr. Halsey, clad in a white lab coat, hurried over under the escort of several Spartans.
"I'm fine." The Master Chief shook his head but kept his chin raised, eyes fixed upon the sky. "Doctor, why are you here? This area isn't safe."
"The base's communication systems are completely destroyed. Soldiers can't find their commanders, commanders can't direct their troops—the central network is in total chaos. In a situation like this, I chose to stay with my children..."
Reaching his side, Halsey had just begun wondering why the heavily armored Astartes giants around them were dropping to one knee when her gaze suddenly passed through the collapsed breach in the fortress dome.
Her expression changed drastically.
The sky... no, the entire region of space seemed to have split open.
A cosmic particle energy far beyond Halsey's imagination disrupted the magnetic fields between star systems, pierced through dimensional and spatial barriers, and poured a violet-crimson torrent into this relatively small system.
From top to bottom, the sky around the massive warships visibly blurred. Lights shifted in iridescent colors—a spectacle not belonging to reality itself, as though challenging the very limits of imagination.
Twisted specks and lines began appearing out of thin air across Reach's surface, rippling irregularly within the eerie violet-red glow.
In that instant, the Empire's soldiers felt as though they had returned home—arriving once more in the prosperous Honkai Dimension.
The sensation was wondrous. Fatigue of body and spirit vanished. Movements grew lighter and swifter. Relaxed. Comfortable. Like fish returning to water.
In stark contrast, the U.N.S.C forces felt overwhelming oppression—like sinking to the bottom of the sea, suffocating. Especially the Covenant's Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar legions.
Halsey's body trembled slightly.
Everything had been normal just moments ago. Why, after only a few breaths, did it feel as though heaven and earth had transformed—becoming hostile to their very existence?
The planet. The universe...
The Creator was rejecting them.
"What is that..."
Billions of kilometers away, a crimson "star" suddenly emerged.
Its radiance eclipsed every star in the Epsilon Eridani system, appearing as though it were right before their eyes.
It was an enormous "star." From the surface of Reach, gazing upward, what one saw was something seemingly burning eternally—radiating endless light and heat. A boundless, silent, cold blood sun.
Upon its surface, blazing solar flames surged. Amid the crimson flare activity, brilliant golden lines and a diamond-shaped radiance rotated and contracted—like the focusing lens of a camera.
"That's... biological?"
Halsey's blue eyes narrowed as she whispered in disbelief.
What was this? Was she seeing things? Or was she simply too exhausted?
She was observing unmistakable signs of life—on a stellar body.
The next moment—
"Welcome, Your Majesty!"
Thud! Thud!
Halsey watched as the kneeling Night Lords struck their chest armor in perfect unison, fists held before their hearts, shouting with fanatic fervor.
"Long live the Empire!"
Almost instantly, roaring cheers rose from every landing zone, merging into a unified wave. It felt as though heaven and earth responded. Even the thunder of warship engines was drowned out.
The U.N.S.C soldiers stared in stunned confusion at the scene before them.
Titan-class war machines like mountains halted.
The lances of light in the sky ceased firing.
The descending giants stopped moving—every one of them prostrating themselves upon the ground.
"What exactly is that? A Covenant god...?"
As the "blood sun" shifted position, everyone finally realized—
That was no star.
It was a colossal eye, like a red giant.
The sea of stars trembled.
Two massive crimson cores, paired with a face formed from the patterns of countless stars—it was the outline of a human face.
Though shaped from constellations, the face was rough and boundless. Yet under a deliberately applied filter, the entire world fell silent.
"The Empress... the Empire..."
Halsey exhaled softly.
"So that's how it is."
The Master Chief lowered his weapon.
This... was nothing like the image of an Empress he had imagined.
...
"Not too late."
Beyond the starry expanse, Selene gazed upon the near-orbit of Reach, where the three factions were locked in chaotic battle, and made her judgment.
Focusing her pupils, Selene could see Reach—the former pride of the United Nations Space Command.
Manassas.
Quezon.
Ezhtergom...
After undergoing immense human-cost environmental engineering transformations, these towering skyscrapers and bustling streets had once rivaled any international metropolis on humanity's homeworld, Earth.
And now, in merely a single encounter, the Night Lords had broken through the heavily funded and heavily manned orbital defense network. The city was littered with rubble. Vehicles and abandoned luggage that had never been cleared away lay scattered everywhere, evoking an especially bleak and desolate sorrow.
"A combination of island-hopping tactics and decapitation strikes. If we were even a little later, Curze might really have reached Earth itself."
The tactics employed by Konrad Curze were nothing more than a hybrid variant of island-hopping warfare fused with decapitation strategy.
First, reconnaissance forces deployed beacons to execute a decapitation strike—crippling Reach, sealing space-time, and paralyzing the U.N.S.C command system.
Then, moving simultaneously with Curze's main fleet, multiple sub-fleets followed star charts obtained from human outer colonial governments. They bypassed unimportant resource worlds, residential planets, and minor military installations—targeting instead transportation hubs and logistical nexus planets.
Once Reach went offline and key near-core colonies came under attack, chaos was inevitable. Even if the Unified Earth Government headquarters detected the conspiracy, these were highly developed inner colonies—not some worthless outer frontier rocks.
The inherent flaws of a parliamentary system meant that if the ruling party so much as hinted at abandoning the inner colonies, the opposition would immediately move to impeach. Under such political pressure, they would have no choice but to act.
And once they moved, U.N.S.C reinforcements heading to support the inner colonies would inevitably collide with the Night Lords' sub-fleets. They might not be annihilated in a single encounter—but being pinned down was certain.
Meanwhile, any U.N.S.C fleet dispatched to investigate Reach's situation would plunge directly into the encirclement of Konrad Curze's main legion fleet.
Worse still, dividing several reinforcement fleets would leave Earth's already limited naval power stretched even thinner.
With Earth's defenses growing increasingly hollow, Curze could then launch a direct strike at the heart—a second decapitation—with a high probability of capturing Earth in short order.
"It was a good plan. Unfortunately, it would only create a blood feud rooted too deeply to erase. Either slaughter them all and replace them with a new population—or personally conduct large-scale mind control... But that would stray too far from my original intent."
Selene desired not a lifeless cannon-fodder world, but a vibrant interstellar civilization of the 26th century—one capable of providing, on a massive and stable scale, worlds dedicated to forging, agriculture, research, tourism, recruitment, and more.
"And the current level of force is just right."
Her gaze shifted.
This was a trench in Manassas, Reach's capital—a hastily constructed defensive position. Taking advantage of craters and cover, a group of U.N.S.C defense soldiers in dust- and blood-stained exoskeleton armor were desperately holding their ground against the Night Lords' airborne assault forces.
Corpses, severed limbs, and wrecked armored tanks lay everywhere around the trench. Layers of soil had been scraped away, stained reddish-brown with blood.
Though the disparity in strength was overwhelming, the ordinary U.N.S.C soldiers' eyes remained resolute.
They did not understand why the armored giants and rebel auxiliaries pouring from drop pods and assault craft had suddenly halted their attack—but they seized every second to reinforce their trench.
"However many scum there may be, humanity does not lack the brave."
Selene thought of the traitors in the outer colonies who had colluded with the Covenant and sold out humanity's homeworld coordinates. Compared to them, these soldiers who stood firm unto death appeared all the more magnificent.
"Such warriors ought to belong to me."
Thus, upon the stiffened bodies of these U.N.S.C soldiers—
The battle had only just begun. The destruction inflicted upon Reach by Konrad Curze's Night Lords was not severe. At the conventional level, the objective of deterrence had already been achieved.
"Seven hundred and one million, one hundred forty-three thousand, six hundred eighty-seven."
That was the number of humans Selene sensed upon Reach.
"Slightly fewer than recorded."
To Selene, the cybersecurity firewalls of the United Nations Space Command were thinner than paper. She easily accessed the pre-war population data for Reach—due to military fluctuations, it typically stood at around 703 million.
Casualties were inevitable. War was not a dinner party. In brutal terms, the number dead so far was negligible. As long as the overwhelming majority remained alive, that was enough.
The conventional military deterrence had been delivered by the Night Lords.
Now it was Selene's turn—to impose extraordinary, apocalyptic-level deterrence.
Just as she was about to extend her hand and unleash something grand, she sensed a surge of frenzied intent from within the Covenant fleet.
"The Prophet of Truth? A San'Shyuum."
Even as she spoke, she hooked the muttered prayers of those "ostriches" into her awareness.
"You are the Creator of the universe, the Destroyer of worlds, the Maker of life, the Master of the Ascendant Path, the Giver of immortality!"
"Your Majesty, your humble servants have forever obeyed your divine will. Please, have mercy upon your pitiful flock."
Within those thoughts, Selene felt joy and fanaticism—but also fear and unease.
No need to guess. They had mistaken her identity again.
Did the Forerunners ever look this enormous?
And what was the point of praying? The Forerunners had chosen humanity—not the San'Shyuum—as their inheritors. If the Forerunners returned from the grave, they might not slaughter these frauds outright—but they certainly would not greet them kindly.
Selene had reason to suspect why the San'Shyuum could partially decipher and utilize Forerunner technology.
The answer: a trial set by the Forerunners for humanity.
Sound familiar?
Precursors, Forerunners, ancient humanity—
Forerunners, Covenant, modern humanity.
The same pattern.
Having noticed the blind spot, Selene directly cut off the irritating chants of the "ostriches." She had no desire to listen further.
"The Covenant ships can be studied later... They are my property now. Destroying them entirely would be wasteful. Hmm? In their lower holds—Sangheili? Their life signs are weak. Internal conflict... Ah. The Great Schism orchestrated by the Prophet of Truth."
With that thought, Selene activated her authority.
Flash!Flash!Flash!
Within the bridge command center of the flagship Solemn Penance, the Prophet of Truth—who had been praying—felt his vision blur.
When his murky eyes refocused, he found himself standing within the boundless starry sea.
Around him were not only fellow San'Shyuum, but also Jiralhanae enforcers, cannon-fodder Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and even the Sangheili he had ordered disarmed and confined below deck.
In space—without any protective equipment.
There was no oxygen. No foothold.
Yet tens of millions—nearly a hundred million—aliens stood intact upon the starry expanse, their lives sustained in perfect condition.
Before they could recover from their shock, a cold female voice pressed them all to the ground, forcing them to bow.
"Let me count... Eighty million... ninety million... not even one hundred million. Konrad Curze was rather heavy-handed. That will suffice."
"Now then—humans. Since you're already here, let's hold a meeting together."
Hum—flash, flash, flash!
"This is..."
After the world spun around her, Halsey opened her eyes in confusion.
In the distance—she saw the sea of stars, the Covenant fleet, the Imperial fleet bearing the double-headed aquila, Reach...
Wait.
Her eyes widened.
She looked down.
Beneath her feet lay merciless, endless void.
"This is outer space?!"
She grabbed her own arm and squeezed.
"Tss... I feel pain. This isn't an illusion. This really is space! How is this possible...?"
"Doctor."
The Master Chief's voice pulled her from her spiraling thoughts.
"John... is everyone alright?"
Turning her head, she saw John-117—and the "children" she had created.
Beyond the Spartans, she saw fleet command staff officers, trench defenders from the city, U.N.S.C naval crew members, orbital defense platform officials...
Endless. Boundless.
They filled her vision to its very limits.
All of them had been brought into space.
Suddenly—
"It's those damned Covenant bastards!"
"It's true! Jiralhanae! Unggoy! Kig-Yar!"
"Kill them! Avenge our fallen brothers! Even if we die, we'll drag one down with us!"
In an instant, emotions boiled over.
Following the shouting, Halsey looked—and indeed saw the Covenant aliens.
Especially the San'Shyuum "ostrich" Prophets, rarely seen in previous battles, now present in notable numbers—conspicuous and impossible to ignore.
"Roar—! Shut up, you feeble worm! I'll break your bones one by one and grind you into paste!"
"Heretic! Standing with humans only defiles our sacred Great Journey!"
The Jiralhanae's temper flared instantly. Were it not for the strange violet-crimson field restraining them, they would have already attacked.
"Silence."
The scene resembled hundreds of millions of flies buzzing in her ears.
Selene's eye twitched faintly.
With a single word, the universe fell quiet.
Only then did everyone raise their heads, staring blankly at the colossal stellar goddess whose expression revealed unmistakable irritation.
Yes.
This was Selene's purpose.
To hold sun and moon in her grasp.
To contain the universe within her palm.
A council of billions within the sea of stars.
Such power alone was the kind of deterrence that carved itself into the soul.