The genesis, top floor.
The Garden of Serenity.
A special tea party began here.
This was Fogremia's proudest creation, devoid of anything mundane.
The floor was a single piece of moonlight crystal, flowing with a soft radiance, its engraved sacred geometric patterns echoing the trajectories of the stars in the universe.
In the center of the garden stood a round table, also carved from moonlight crystal.
Every piece of tea ware on the table, from cups to saucers, was an artwork polished by Fogremia's own hands; the elegance of their curves was enough to drive any ancient master to madness!
And Sanguinia brought the miracle of life to this tea party.
Countless exotic flowers and plants, never before seen in the universe, bloomed around the garden; they were creations of the authority of Vitality.
Their petals changed color with people's moods, exuding a fragrance that soothed the soul.
At this moment, the garden was suffused with a warm golden hue, a blend of joy and serenity.
The newly reborn Magna, the Crimson Sage, sat upright.
She picked up the jade-like, warm crystal teacup, felt the perfect temperature, and tasted the flower tea infused with the aura of life... an unprecedented, novel experience impacting her mind.
This... is a meeting?
In her memories, meetings of the Thousand Sons were always held in cold strategic rooms.
The atmosphere was always serious and oppressive! Filled with anxiety about unknown knowledge and fear of losing control of power!
And here...
She watched Angronia, who was tasting a pastry with her eyes closed, looking blissful.
She watched Sanguinia, who was smiling and using her wings to shield Terrania in her arms from the breeze.
She watched Fogremia and Valeria, who were huddled together, whispering about the shape of the pastries.
Finally, her gaze fell on the quiet goddess in black robes sitting in the main seat, a gentle smile on her face.
It fell on Leticia.
Magna's brain, accustomed to analyzing everything with logic and data, felt for the first time an emotion that could not be quantified or parsed.
It was called "warmth."
This was not a cold council.
This was home.
"Since this is to celebrate Magna's return, let's have Magna open the first agenda item today."
Leticia spoke with a smile, breaking the warmth.
"Prospero has been completely purified, and we have an absolutely safe initial territory."
"Do you have any thoughts on the construction of our future home?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Fogremia was the first to stand up, her posture elegant.
In her deep purple eyes, the fanaticism of an artist ignited!
"My Goddess! I believe our home must become the only 'perfect temple' in this decaying universe!"
Her voice was filled with unquestionable pride and confidence!
"Every one of its buildings must follow the strictest sacred geometry! Every street must perfectly correspond to the trajectories of the stars! It itself will be the greatest work of art dedicated to you! An immortal monument that will allow all who witness it to feel the ultimate power of 'beauty' from the depths of their souls!"
Fogremia's description was full of passion, and both Sanguinia and Valeria showed longing in their eyes.
However, after a moment of silence, Magna also stood up.
She first cast an apologetic look at Fogremia, then turned to Leticia, her tone rigorous and clear:
"Sister Fogremia's vision is undoubtedly great."
"But... forgive me for speaking plainly."
Her voice became the most precise scalpel, dissecting this so-called "greatness."
"I just performed a preliminary simulation of sister's proposal in my mind palace."
"The conclusion is: if we follow your aesthetic standards completely, those overly complex, purely decorative structures will severely sacrifice the building's load-bearing capacity and defensive efficiency!"
"According to calculations, under the same level of orbital bombardment, its overall structural strength will drop by 37.4%!"
"At the same time, to maintain those lighting effects and energy cycles, unnecessary energy consumption will soar by over 52%!"
Magna's words caused the fanatical atmosphere in the garden to freeze instantly.
Fogremia's perfect brows furrowed slightly.
"Magna, do you think that for the sake of cold 'efficiency,' we should sacrifice 'beauty'?"
"Beauty is the highest manifestation of our Goddess authority! It is the ultimate display of divinity! A building that cannot provide spiritual elevation is nothing more than a cold stone fortress!"
"No, sister, you have misunderstood."
Magna shook her head, the light of reason flashing in her beautiful crimson eyes.
"I am not denying the value of 'beauty.' I only believe that 'truth' is the cornerstone that constitutes the universe."
"And 'efficiency' is the most direct manifestation of 'truth' in the reality dimension!"
"A fortress that cannot protect the Sisters to the maximum extent, no matter how beautiful it is, is a failure in my eyes! Because it violates the most fundamental and truest 'truth' of 'protection'!"
A debate about "beauty" and "truth" suddenly unfolded at this warm tea party!
Angronia was overwhelmed; she impatiently scratched her wild red hair, picked up another piece of pastry, shoved it viciously into her mouth, and muttered indistinctly:
"As long as it's hard enough for me to lean against while I hack people, isn't that enough..."
Sanguinia smiled like a true angel, constantly refilling the flower tea for her two debating Sisters, trying to use the fragrance to reconcile the collision of ideas.
Leticia watched it all with great interest.
She did not stop them.
She liked this atmosphere.
She liked seeing her Sisters, in an absolutely safe environment, freely and unreservedly showing their truest selves and sparking the collision of thoughts.
This, in itself, was the meaning of "home."
Only when the debate began to rise to the philosophical level of "whether the essence of beauty is contained within the set of truth" did Leticia smile and raise her hand.
In an instant.
Fogremia and Magna fell silent simultaneously.
They turned around in unison, looking at Leticia with the most devout gaze, waiting for the Goddess's final verdict.
"Fogremia."
Leticia's voice was gentle, yet contained unquestionable wisdom.
"Beauty is the soul armor that we use to resist the endless despair and madness of the universe."
"Magna."
Her gaze turned to the other sister.
"Truth is the sword of wisdom that we use to cleave through the endless ignorance and lies of the universe."
"They are both an indispensable part of our home."
Leticia smiled and concluded.
"There is no distinction between high and low."
Fogremia and Magna were shocked upon hearing this!
The persistence in their eyes dissipated simultaneously, replaced by a sudden realization.
The two looked at each other again, smiled, and all disputes vanished into thin air.
However, Leticia's words were not yet over.
Her gaze finally fell calmly on Magna.
In an instant, the warm atmosphere in the garden vanished completely!
An invisible pressure, the solemnity belonging to a higher-level meeting, descended with a boom!
"So, Magna."
Leticia's voice was flat, but carried a weight capable of piercing the soul.
"As the new 'Intellect' of our Sisterhood, as our seeker of truth."
"In your opinion, what is the greatest threat we currently face?"
This question, like an oracle, fell with a boom!
All expressions on Magna's face instantly vanished.
Her crimson eyes, which had been sparkling due to the debate, settled completely at this moment, becoming as deep and deathly silent as the universe.
The scholar's pride and the debater's edge were actively withdrawn into the deepest depths of her soul at this moment.
Her body leaned forward slightly.
Her hands were respectfully clasped in front of her.
Her entire aura switched instantly! From a "Sister" full of self-awareness, she became the most devout and focused "student" waiting for a question from her mentor!
"Reporting to the Goddess."
Her voice was very low, filled with absolute reverence without a hint of impurity.
"Within hours of gaining my new life, I have used all the new power you bestowed upon me to analyze the highest-level Subspace information flow I could reach, and conducted the most thorough cross-verification with my vast old knowledge base."
"My conclusion is..."
She paused, seemingly weighing the word that was enough to subvert cognition.
"Chaos is not our only enemy."
"And it is... not even the most terrifying enemy!"
This sentence, like ten thousand years of cold ice, was thrown into the warm garden!
Everyone's movements froze at this moment!
Even Angronia's incessant chewing stopped!
Magna looked up, her deep crimson eyes reflecting Leticia's calm face, and delivered her final report in an incomparably grave tone that could freeze the soul.
That report was chilling.
"Beyond the curtain of the universe, on the edge of all known reality, there exists a... more ancient 'thing'."
"A... 'thing' that even those four arrogant Dark Gods are deeply terrified of, and because of this, they tacitly and jointly maintain the status of the entire The Galaxy as an 'energy farm'..."
"The Ultimate Catastrophe!"
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