51. Iain's Interstellar Exploration Program

The observation of the distant future automatically ceased.

Aine panted for breath, sitting in her seat with her body slightly trembling and her eyes devoid of light.

As the greatest oracle and master of prophecy, she would never doubt her own intuition.

"Within those stars, there truly lies some terrifying truth!"

"That mortal mage named Elian... his hypothesis might actually be true..."

Although she could not perceive finer or more specific details, the nameless dread she experienced as a prophet during that brief observation alone was enough to tell the tale.

Without hesitation, Aine invoked her transcendent divine power once more to restart the observation.

Nothing happened.

This time, she gleaned no valuable information whatsoever.

Across all observable futures, those stars appeared entirely normal, without the slightest hint of anything amiss.

The blurred prophetic imagery revealed that these celestial bodies would remain unchanged and unremarkable two or three tens of thousands of years into the future.

Yet this very outcome sent a cold shudder down the spine of Aine, a true deity, leaving her scalp tingling with terror.

It was as if...

The stars had perceived the observation of the Goddess of Knowledge, reined in the terrifying claws they had inadvertently exposed just moments before, and resumed their silent disguise.

Aine was certain that the dread she had sensed for that fleeting instant undoubtedly represented a power of absolute terror—a force capable of obliterating all divinities!

Yet, the moment her observation was detected, a bizarre and clandestine power immediately shielded her perception as a true deity.

To be able to block even the perception of a deity skilled in prophecy...

Such a conclusion only heightened Aine's profound unease.

"The hypothesis of that mortal mage Elian might indeed be correct!"

"This could truly be a power originating from beyond the world, outside the bounds of all known planes!"

Within the arcane laboratory of the floating city, Elian watched the transient flash of panic on Aine's face, a faint smile curving his lips.

Did she discover it after all?

In truth, Elian likely understood the upper limits of the Knowledge Goddess's power better than Aine herself. He knew the operating rules of her transcendent divine power and understood precisely how much she could perceive when the mighty existences of the distant realms obscured fate and interfered with prophetic outcomes...

In his past life, Elian had strolled alongside this close friend through the outer planes, wandering the Astral and Ethereal realms, jointly researching the mysteries of divine power and exploring the limits of divine authority across every distinct tier and divinity.

On one occasion, Elian even spent a century residing within the Iron City of Dis on the second layer of the Nine Hells—the birthplace of lawful evil deities—to witness firsthand the birth of an evil god from the faith of mortals in the prime material plane. Immediately afterward, Elian captured the newborn true deity on the spot and subjected it to numerous vivisection experiments.

Consequently, Elian was far more familiar with the extent of her prophetic perception than the present-day Goddess of Knowledge herself!

Had Elian not previously provided a vast amount of preliminary information and theoretical direction as the foundation for the prophecy;

Had he not precisely pinpointed every celestial body contaminated by the distant realms and guided Aine to probe all of them simultaneously;

Had he not subtly prompted Aine to observe both the future and the present of these celestial bodies concurrently...

Even the Goddess of Knowledge, Aine, would have been incapable of piercing through the passive shrouding of fate cast by the mighty existences of the distant realms for a brief moment, let alone perceiving the supreme terror lying beyond the dimensions!

Elian knew very well that the moment Aine perceived the anomaly, those mighty existences beyond the dimensions simultaneously sensed the peering gaze of the Goddess of Knowledge and proactively re-shrouded fate.

Had the apocalypse already arrived, those terrifying existences looking down upon the gods from the distant realms might have even directly utilized that momentary gaze to establish a metaphysical link and inversely obliterate Aine!

Causing this intermediate deity to perish along with her true body, reduced to a divine corpse adrift in the Astral Ocean!

Yet in this current era, the only thing they could do was to hurriedly conceal their pawns deeper and better, pretending that the outcome of that momentary gaze was merely a mistake.

But it was already too late.

"Respected and mighty Your Majesty Elian..."

Beside him, Aine's expression appeared slightly fatigued, her voice carrying a faint, trembling lulls.

"Upon reflection, your hypothesis holds a considerable degree of rationality. There is much room to explore regarding the future."

The Goddess of Knowledge bowed gently, offering a solemn salute to the sovereign of Eldolyn:

"I thank you, Your Majesty Elian; you have bestowed upon me incomparably precious knowledge!"

Even to me, the Goddess of Knowledge, this is knowledge of incomparable value... Aine silently added in her heart.

If the respect, adoration, and gratitude the Goddess of Knowledge had previously displayed before Elian were merely acts performed to maintain superficial appearances, then the words Aine spoke now were genuine and from the depths of her soul!

"Lady Einelli, I am delighted that you can accept my hypothesis and acknowledge its inherent rationality." Aine's lips curved into a gentle smile.

"The so-called power and threat from beyond the world remain, for now, a very crude hypothesis."

"We require further experimentation to prove this."

"For instance, traversing the boundless expanse of the void within the prime material plane, hurtling toward a sea of stars, and truly landing upon those malefic celestial bodies such as Hada, Urban, and Caiphon, establishing bases upon them for more meticulous research."

"Pity that as I am now, as Eldolyn is now, and as the mortal human race is now, we remain far too weak—still a long way from ever contemplating such a grand endeavor..."

As Elian spoke, he deliberately laced his tone with a measure of lingering disappointment and regret.

Listening to Elian's words, Aine offered words of comfort:

"It matters not, mighty Your Majesty. Perhaps one day, the human kingdom of Eldolyn shall indeed achieve the grand objective you envision."

"Yet, what I spoke of just now is something that even the current Elven Court would find difficult to accomplish." Elian continued deliberately with that slightly regretful tone.

Amidst such an atmosphere, Aine naturally voiced the very words Elian anticipated:

"Perhaps one day, the human kingdom of Eldolyn will achieve what even the Elven Court that rules this continent cannot."

A country named Eldolyn, a race named human, deserves to witness such a day... Aine thought to herself.

"Let us hope such a day arrives." Elian wore a knowing smile.

In her dialogue with Elian, an idea naturally sprouted within Aine's mind:

Indeed, directly exploring these bizarre celestial bodies posed far too much difficulty and danger for the mortal races of the current era.

Yet she, a true deity, could undertake such a task herself!

Aine intended to make brief preparations before forging another divine avatar to explore these celestial bodies harboring forces from beyond the world!

This, too, was part of Elian's plan: to have Aine utilize the time still far distant from the apocalypse to unearth more secrets of these celestial bodies, and subsequently issue a warning to the other deities!

"Ah, mighty Your Majesty Elian, I am immensely grateful to you for allowing me to perceive the potential of humanity and for sharing the fruits of your research with me."

Aine bowed in salute once more.

"Upon this visit to pay my respects to Your Majesty, I have a small token I wish to present."