However, this peace was shattered! A terrifying, cold torrent of pure metal and energy—the Reaper fleet, far older and colder than the Gravekeepers—torn through the nebula, swooping down upon the star field like a cosmic plague of locusts! The destructive light devoured the stars, and the shadows of the giant trees swayed under the attack, their branches and leaves withering...

Finally, a golden light, so dazzling it ripped through the horizon, erupted from the giant tree's core! Within the light, a tiny seed, enveloped in a lush green sprout, and a drop of viscous, crimson-black, star-emitting liquid (the blood of the star core) were forcibly ripped out and shot like a meteor into the depths of the universe... One of their landing points was precisely... Gaia!

Xu Shuangyao "saw" it:

In a cold laboratory, in a culture tank, a baby (young Pei Du) lay, entangled in tubes and immersed in nutrient solution. His eyes were tightly closed, his tiny body trembling slightly. Outside, a cold-blooded researcher in a white robe was recording data: "'Stardust Child' embryo implanted into subject number 737... Initial fusion rate 0.0001%... Severe rejection reaction... Estimated survival time less than 72 hours... Failure probability 99.99%..."

The scene shattered. Switched. Still in the laboratory. A slightly older Pei Du huddled in the corner of a cold alloy cage, his body covered in scars and scorch marks from the experiments. He hugged his knees, his eyes empty and numb, like a puppet without a soul.

The scene shifts. In the gloom of the sewers, a young man, Pei Du, lies gravely wounded and near death, his breath barely catching. A young woman (Xu Shuangyao), dressed in a washed-out lab coat, her face delicate yet tinged with fatigue and sorrow, kneels beside him, oblivious to the filth. Her hands, emitting a faint emerald light, press against a hideous wound on his chest. Her tears drip onto the wound, blending with the emerald light, and the wound slowly heals... "Hold on... Don't die..." the girl whispers, her voice tinged with tears.

boom!!!

Resonance interrupted!

Pei Du's hand, pressed against the golden roots, suddenly retracted! It was as if he'd been burned by a scalding iron! He stumbled back a step, his left hand, covered in energy veins, pressing firmly against his forehead! The dark vortex of thorns in his left eye spun wildly, its cold outer shell completely shattered! Shock, excruciating pain, bewilderment, and a throbbing and... sorrow from the deepest depths of his blood erupted from his eyes like a volcano!

"Ahhhh!" He let out a painful and confused roar.

Xu Shuangyao felt as if struck by lightning, her body slid limply along the giant golden roots and sat on the ground. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks, covered in a golden halo, like pearls from a broken string. Those images… Pei Du's childhood in the cold laboratory… the moment she had rescued him from the sewers… the giant tree that pierced the galaxy… the icy Reaper fleet…

Everything... is connected!

The source of the stardust power within Pei Du's body... the origin of the drop of "Star Core Blood" that triggered everything... why did the Gaia Seed land here... and even... the bond between the two of them, which seemed to have been predestined and transcended life and death...

Pei Du raised his head suddenly, and the vortex of thorns in his left eye was violently fluctuating. He looked at Xu Shuangyao, who was sitting on the ground with tears streaming down her face, with a fierce look, without any cold scrutiny.

No more data scanning, no more strength assessment.

That look was filled with unprecedented complexity and... a hint of deep-buried pain and a desire for confirmation that even he himself had not noticed.

Xu Shuangyao also raised her tearful eyes to meet his gaze. There was no fear, only endless sorrow, understanding, and... after a long journey of pain and destruction, the warmth and determination she had lost was restored.

Deep within the earth's core, a flowing golden light silently enveloped the two. Shattered fragments of memory floated within their consciousness, a corner of the ancient truth was revealed, and the cold barriers between them were quietly melted by the resonance of blood and shared pain.

However, in this silent gaze and the trembling of the soul——

Buzz!!!

A terrifying wave of will that is far colder, more ancient, and full of absolute order and supreme majesty than the Gravekeeper Fleet, like an icy probe crossing the endless sea of ​​stars, penetrated Gaia's atmosphere without warning, and accurately and indifferently swept across this star field that had just experienced revival and rebirth!

This wave of will was so powerful, so distant, yet so clear! It was like a high and mighty god casting a glance at an ant!

The thorn star core in Pei Du's chest suddenly shrank! The vortex in his left eye suddenly solidified! A shudder, emanating from the deepest depths of his blood, a mixture of icy fear and overwhelming hatred, instantly swept through his body!

Xu Shuangyao (Gaia) turned pale! The entire network of golden veins in the Earth's core trembled violently the moment that will swept through! The planet's will let out a silent, terrified wail!

Far away on the other side of deep space, the "Reaper" that destroyed the Golden Giant Tree Star Region!

They... sensed it!