Colonial Suit

The black stone appeared unremarkable, yet its surface was covered in intricate, dense, dark纹路. When Shadow pulled it from his body, it emitted a powerful black light, as if drawing out his very soul. At the same time, Shadow's body dimmed, becoming no more than a silhouette, seemingly on the verge of dissipating.

But Shadow paid no heed. He never imagined that his conflict with Lia would lead to such consequences, the severity of which nearly drove him mad.

The gap leading directly to the surface was not a chance occurrence, but the result of his years of accumulating spatial rift fragments. It was like an old disk; the more it's used, the more fragmented it becomes. Regular defragmentation can extend its lifespan, but if left unmanaged, it will slow down and eventually fail completely.

Spatial rules are similar. Any given space can only withstand a limited amount of modification and severance. In normal space, time can heal these wounds, but not here. This ruin was almost entirely sealed off by the Krodirian sages, creating a closed space. Here, the inertia of spatial self-repair is reduced to one ten-thousandth of that in a normal universe. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a problem, but the sudden appearance of numerous fissures would be like a deadly plague, instantly causing unimaginable consequences.

Over the long years, Shadow had created countless spatial fragments, some from battles, others out of boredom. Now, their sudden activation was beyond disastrous. Even the creators of the ruin, the Krodirian sages of that time, would never have foreseen this moment. The sealed environment they created for safety had become the culprit for opening the ruin's gates.

But it was too late. The eruption of countless spatial fragments shattered the spatial equilibrium, creating a tunnel directly to the surface. Unless it could be immediately repaired, the ruin would be defenseless, allowing outside intruders to enter at will.

How could Shadow not be anxious?

As a guardian, he had a duty to protect, especially since he was the cause of this disaster. In desperation, he even pulled out his own psionic core.

The psionic core was the concentrated energy of his avatar, and in a sense, it was Shadow's entirety. As soon as it was extracted, it unleashed a powerful force. Wherever the black light spread, the spatial fissures were mended.

But Shadow's body instantly became ethereal, as if about to vanish into thin air. His face was so pale that his features were indistinguishable.

This was the last of Shadow's power, and it was rapidly leading him to his demise. His main body was long dead, and this avatar was the last trace of his existence. But in a few minutes, even that trace would completely disappear, yet he felt surprisingly calm.

Standing in the endless black light, he silently gazed at Lia before him and whispered, "I don't know who you are, but it doesn't matter anymore..."

Shadow's legs blurred and transformed into countless black light particles, scattering and dissipating. He glanced down, a self-deprecating smile on his face. "Your conflict with me has already caused spatial disturbances here. It will likely be a long time before it can be rebalanced. Regardless of what faction you come from, you have achieved your goal."

"I am powerless to stop this process, but I can try my best to mitigate it. In thirty minutes, the spatial tunnel will reopen, exposing our trial grounds to the eyes of onlookers."

As he said this, endless pain flowed from Shadow's eyes, and even his body became more ethereal, almost reduced to a faint layer.

"It's truly tragic... I never thought that I, a traveler of space, would die because of space. It's like the trajectory of fate, always circling around... What makes me even sadder is that I never thought I would become the culprit for opening the gates, failing to fulfill my duty and violating the King's will."

A breeze blew, and Shadow's body continued to blur, his waist transforming into countless black light particles and dissipating, leaving only his chest and above.

The pain in his eyes deepened. He tilted his head slightly, struggling to look out at the vast sky.

He seemed to see the past Krodir, the many sages working diligently, countless conquerors setting foot on the stars, and new colonization embryos being placed into modulation nests. Finally... he saw a man, a man with confident eyes, as strong as a mountain.

"King..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I am ultimately a pawn of fate, unable to carry out your will..."

Shadow's eyes suddenly lit up, as if his whole being was burning. He suddenly shouted with all his might, "But... King, I saw that person!! The one you and Chief Sage Renos mentioned, our future! I saw it..."

"Although he is still weak, he does indeed possess that thing, as you said. We... our race... our future..."

Shadow's voice rose again, tinged with hoarseness, and tears actually flowed from his eyes, which had lost their substance.

"We... are about to no longer be slaves..."

Tears fluttered, as clear as jewels. Shadow's body suddenly exploded in the black light, transforming into endless fluttering black light particles. In the place where he had been, the endless black light continued to spread, continuing to mend the broken space.

A silkworm spins silk until its death.

This world obviously didn't have this ancient saying, but Shadow's actions seemed even more tenacious than a silkworm; even in death, he continued to perform his duty.

He was a guardian.

He was a dominator.

Most importantly, he was a person, an ordinary Krodirian.

A race of slaves, a civilization of slaves.

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A slave who doesn't want to be a slave is naturally not a good slave.

So Shadow was not a good slave, and the entire Krodirian civilization was not a good slave civilization. But regardless, they were all resisting, in their own ways...

Lia stood silently, watching the black light particles flying everywhere. She had witnessed everything Shadow had done, but she showed no reaction.

In fact, she could have acted to make Shadow disappear even faster, but Lia did not move.

It wasn't that she had learned compassion, but in Shadow's final, desperate roar, Lia suddenly thought of something.

It was a dream.

An absurd dream. In that dream, her name wasn't Lia; her name was Maria.

In that dream, she wasn't human; she was a planet.

In that dream, there were many people, roaring desperately like Shadow, ignoring death like Shadow.

Most importantly, in that dream, there was someone named Revol, and his brother...

Was named Renos.

The name Shadow mentioned at the end. rq