Galaxy's First Ruler

UGF-P02

Imhotep stepped down and discussed the terms of the Initiation with the Kings and Queen.

"Shall we?" the Supreme Commander asked, giving the other four a brief look.

He looked at the watch on his left wrist and pointed out, "That direction."

Boudicca confirmed from her watch, and it was the same as she had thought. Everyone knew about that direction. Believers and Non-Believers alike had humbled themselves in that direction. They taught recruits how to find that direction even without using the multi-utility watch.

That was the direction of the Galactic Center.

The place from where The Oldest One had been watching over the Galaxy since the beginning. Boudicca had seen people kneeling in front of this group of five. Even the dukes, if the Kings want to, would have to kneel in their presence. But this was the first time she saw the Kings and the Queen kneel. And they were kneeling with utter reverence on their faces.

All the other members in the sealed chamber felt a gentle breeze. Boudicca had also felt this unseen and unannounced breeze. And she knew a word would follow the breeze.

"RECORD."

The group of kneeling Royal said in a deep tone simultaneously. A screen with tons of info appeared in front of their eyes. Boudicca saw many undecipherable symbols glowing in the Queen's eyes, whose kneeled posture was still etching itself in her mind.

"I, Imhotep Paphnutius, on the authority of my Rank, call upon the Will of The Oldest One."

Boudicca, dazed by the words that could shake the heart and mind of a normal person, looked around frantically. Boudicca had come from the Kingdom of Life-Authority, where the Mana all beings worshiped Mana. But even she couldn't deny the existence which the RECORD had confirmed.

Her mind flipped through the pages of books she had read in the past.

In the famous book–MANA and RECORD: a philosophical theory, the author had theorized that before the beginning of the Universe there was Mana. From Mana came all that is now, and in Mana, it would all end. Mana is omnipresent, yet for a long time, it didn't interact with its creation. But at some point RECORD came into existence. The anonymous author had pointed out that if Mana is the cause in a cycle of creation and destruction, then only Mana would be the effect. But for it to change from a cause to effect, it would need an external force.

And that force is RECORD.

In amateur's terms, as the author hypothesized that if Mana was energy, then the RECORD would be the device that converts its form. The author also highlighted the fact that it is RECORD that provides the beings the means to access Mana. Not the so-called GOD, The Oldest One, whose teachings are being forced upon every being in the 2nd Quad. Boudicca didn't find it odd that the book got banned in the 2nd Quadrant. And they even did a Galaxy wide search to find the author, on the orders of the then King of 2nd Quad.

She was still extracting more information from her memories when a sleepy feeling arose in the heart of every being who was in the chamber. It wasn't much different from the feeling of trying to stay awake, even after not sleeping for the last 3 days. Boudicca, with her groggy eyes, saw inky and thick darkness engulfing the direction the Supreme Commander was facing. If it was an illusion, then it was just too surreal.

Then, like a candle in a darkroom, Boudicca saw a tiny point of light within the darkness. Thousands of the same flickers soon followed the alone flickering light point. And this fabric of stars had seemed to wrap around something globular. When a few points of light strayed from the circular path, they completely vanished out of existence. It was like there was something in that well of darkness that was hiding and waiting for them.

The priests of the Kingdom of Eternal Servant had vividly described this same scene in the Holy Book of The Oldest One.

Boudicca didn't even know if she was in a dream or reality. But she could see the head of King Antiochus was already on the ground with piety and she could also hear some broken conversation.

Imhotep said in a shaky voice, "I am sending the Party Requests now."

[…

Sending Party Requests…

…]

Words materialized on Imhotep's RECORD. People called it The Ceremony of Five Kings because it needed at least Five Kings to form a Party for the Dream Phase Initiation.

[…

Party Status: Active

Party Members: Imhotep Paphnutius, Alvis Hildingr, Antiochus Theotimus, Hagen Bergman, Eluned Rhiannon

Party Leader: Imhotep Paphnutius

…]

Boudicca wasn't sure from where the Supreme Commander had found the strength to raise his head. But she could hardly hear him saying the next words.

"Darkest among Dark, Devourer of Dreams, Endless Veil of Slumber, I as the leader of the Party of 5 Kings plead with you to Initiate the Dream Phase."

[…

Sending Request...

The Request has been accepted.

State Terms of Initiation.

…]

Imhotep turned around and looked at the other four, and nodded. They all once again confirmed the terms they had agreed upon. He faced the starry cover, but he didn't dare directly look at its center.

"All the Barren Earth would be put under the Dream Phase. For three years, all Barren Earth would be unapproachable to foreign beings."

Boudicca remembered it needed them to give only the coordinate of the planet at the Ceremony. But the King's group had changed it and they had added an extra condition to it.

'So… So… So… this is… how they would keep it… it unbiased,' Boudicca found her thoughts were fading with time.

[…

Transferring Terms…

The first Term is rejected

…]

'What? Why did Will reject the terms?' Imhotep thought.

Nobody had expected that. The other Kings and the Queen shared the same baffled look. But the worst expression of them all belonged to King Antiochus. Not only was he surprised, but a haunting fear was also creeping on his face. Boudicca could hear the vague muttering of forgiveness all around him.

Imhotep had been thinking hard about what went wrong? When Queen Eluned proposed, "We should not ask for the Initiation of all the Barren Earth. But only of those where life has already evolved to over one-third of their full potential."

Imhotep didn't need to think about this suggestion. He immediately knew that this was the crux of the problem and gave an admiring look to the Daughter of Mana. Following the same procedure, he changed the first term.

[…

Sending New Terms…

Terms are accepted.

…]

*

Milky Way

What is the sound of light and matter being devoured by a Black Hole? If there was a sound, then how could one hear in the vast void?

There was no proper answer to these questions. But some, or it is better to say in the Milky Way, there was only one being who knew about it. When he first heard it, the sound was like the gnawing of a beast. But sometime later, he compared it to the sound of a tremendous earthquake. A sound one could only feel and hear. Today, the sound was exceptionally loud. And unfortunately, there was no one present to appreciate it.

A common fact, even the less knowledgeable person would know, was that the title of fastest speed belongs to the Light. Nothing is faster than light or, as widely known; nothing can reach the speed of light. The theory of some particles being faster than light is out there in many worlds. But they are speculative as their existence would violate the causality. So an effect cannot occur before its cause.

But the saying Light is the fastest is wrong. The speed of light depends on the medium through which it travels. Then it would be logical to say that the vacuum, as we know it, lets the Light travel with a speed of 29,97,92,458 m/s.

But what if there were other mediums through which it could pass? Or does it have to be the 'Light'?

A huge spheroidal wave of Mana originated from the center of the Galaxy. It passed through all the stars, all the comets, asteroids, planets, and even things that didn't belong to any category. Within a few moments, the Mana wave had enveloped the entire galaxy.

The Dream Phase had been Initiated.

*

Earth

The concept of Art and Science has always been fascinating. Should one study them together or not?

One could make thousands of arguments and commentaries on the topic. But none could argue that the paintings, sculptures, and architecture were the true representatives of visual art. Who would have thought that something could use their existence against humanity?

This day and night on earth were ordinary. People were happy with their family, people were sleeping on their nice warm bed. People were also mourning their lost ones. And some people had their back on the cold pavement. But all said almost the same thing the next day. That they had heard a sound before the blackness came.

A sound that was unheard of. A sound that they couldn't be able to describe for the rest of their lives.

That day, a starry veil reigned all the skies of earth.

For it was The Night of Awakening.

And what had awakened was a Nightmare.