Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 419: The Mercury Galaxy

Aeons ago, long before the Mercury Galaxy had even come into existence, a beast known as a ’Cosmic Horror’ entered the Zanerth Universe.

This Cosmic Horror was called a ’Harmonic Warden’, a spawn of the Cosmic Force of ORDER.

Now then, one might wonder why something born of ’Order’ was regarded as a ’Horror’.

But the truth is, both Chaos and Order were, as their names implied, Cosmic Forces. They were the original forces of nature, and nature was never truly ’good’ or ’bad’.

In the Void layer beneath reality, there existed the Void god and the Immutable One, the first spawn of the Cosmic Forces of Chaos and Order, born during the Reign of Chaos when the former had sought to dye the Cosmos in its colour.

The spawn of the Void god all had amorphous, grotesque, and disturbing appearances, and looking at them quite literally shattered one’s mind, for they embodied a ’wrongness’ that couldn’t be comprehended.

The spawn of the Immutable One, on the other hand, possessed geometric, hyperstructured shapes, resembling perfect prisms and similar constructs.

Their appearances didn’t drive minds into madness through chaos, but rather through horror born of overwhelming, oppressive perfection.

Witnessing them made one realise how small, disordered, and wrong they were by comparison, to the point where one would start to believe they were unnecessary to the Cosmos, and when it reached that stage, those who ended their own lives could be considered fortunate.

As such, whether it was Chaos or Order, their spawn were all ’Horrors’ of the Cosmos.

One of these Horrors had been slain in the Zanerth Universe, and the Envoy of Chaos who killed it didn’t take its corpse but sealed it away in an empty corner region of the universe.

However, with the universe’s expansion, that ’corner’ region didn’t remain a ’corner’ for long, and it was in that region that the Mercury Galaxy eventually formed.

Billions of years passed, and countless battles between existences within the galaxy, clashes that tore through the fabric of space-time, time and time again, combined with the gradual strain caused by the universe’s continued expansion and countless other factors, began to wear down the seams of that pocket dimension.

And so, the Ordered Cosmic Energy from the corpse of that being began to seep out into the Mercury Galaxy.

It didn’t take long for the Galactic Ruler to discover the presence of this pure cosmic energy of immense concentration, imbued with the power of the Cosmic Force of Order, and the Ruler quickly ensured complete control over the region where the dimensional rifts appeared.

Naturally, this near-infinite source of energy was harnessed for the advancement of interstellar infrastructure across the galaxy, to strengthen the Ruling Class, granting them power and lifespans far beyond what their Existence Realms should permit through the use of ’Mercury Gems’, crystalline cores of ordered cosmic energy which they embedded into their bodies, and for the creation of advanced weaponry.

However, this also disrupted the equilibrium between the Chaotic and Ordered Forces within the galaxy.

This balance existed for a reason, since Order was just as ’Horrible’ as Chaos.

It was a balance maintained across the Cosmos, though it could be tipped on smaller scales, and whenever that happened, Envoys of the opposing Force would be born.

The Mercury Galaxy was no exception.

Beings directly linked to the Cosmic Force of Chaos arose, transformed in countless ways and granted access to powerful Cosmic Authorities.

However, Order had become far too deeply rooted within the Mercury Galaxy, and so the Envoys of Chaos and their battles were ones fought on losing ground.

It was during this period that the ’Witch of Chaos’, who had been away from home for so long, returned to introduce her husband to her parents.

One could only imagine her shock upon discovering that her home galaxy was caught in the midst of a Civil War tied to the powers of the Cosmic Forces.

Her reunion with her family was filled with joy, but a problem soon arose.

Angela was an ’Envoy of Chaos’, and in the Mercury Galaxy, Envoys of Chaos were listed among the most wanted criminals.

She didn’t care about the decrees of the Galactic Ruler, but what did matter to her was that her mere existence as an Envoy of Chaos posed a danger to her family members, who had embedded Mercury Gems within their bodies to strengthen themselves and extend their lifespans.

Being too close to them for too long affected them like radiation poisoning due to the Chaotic Cosmic Energy that emanated from her.

Her control was ’near-perfect’, not ’perfect’, so faint traces of chaotic power still leaked out, and with the immense gap in power between her and her family, what seemed ’little’ to her was a wave strong enough to drown them if she wasn’t careful.

Because of this, she didn’t stay with her family on their home planet but instead created an isolated pocket dimension for herself in a distant region of the galaxy where she lived with her husband.

It was a recreation of his home world, and she’d put extra effort into the forest where they’d first met.

Worried for her family’s safety because of the ongoing civil war, but having no desire to take part in it, Angela crafted special weapons and equipment for them to use in battle.

This increased their strength, allowed her siblings to gain more merits, and expanded their influence, but it also made the Galactic Ruler, who was already cautious of the Cathedrals due to their immense power, even more wary.

The Galactic Ruler began plotting in secret, seeking ways to weaken their influence while they remained unaware.

Years passed, and the Envoys of Chaos, ever persistent, continued their struggle against the ’Order’ of the Mercury Galaxy, while Angela, within her secluded pocket dimension, had children with her husband.

Due to her own Existence Realm, their children were born at the ’Peak of Mortality’, each possessing strength far beyond what their father had during his Hero days, something Angela always teased him about.

But while Angela’s life appeared peaceful, old problems she’d long forgotten began to surface once more.

The combination of the Ordered Cosmic power within the Mercury Galaxy, stimulating her chaotic energy, along with the temporary lapse in her control and mental defences when she gave birth to her last daughter, created an opening for Chaos to start tormenting her again.

It wanted her to unleash its power upon the Mercury Galaxy’s ’Order’.

To let loose.

To wreak havoc.

She didn’t allow it to do as it pleased, but it became more persistent with every passing day.

Once, it attempted to forcefully invade her mind, and in response, she destroyed her ’Envoy of Chaos’ title by force.

That act released a burst of energy that destabilised her pocket dimension, and a passing Envoy from the Mercury Galaxy sensed this as the expelled energy strengthened them.

Curious, they began to study the seemingly empty region, and when Chaos forced its title back upon her, they detected the presence of another ’Envoy’ like themselves, one of immense power hidden deep within layers of space they couldn’t reach.

Unfortunately, this was the worst possible Envoy that could have discovered her existence.

They were an Envoy who had made a geass, a restriction in exchange for power.

Their restriction was the inability to consciously lie.

If they knew what they intended to say was a lie, they wouldn’t be able to speak it. Only if they didn’t truly believe it to be false could they say it, even if it wasn’t true.

This flaw of theirs was well known, as they’d once held a position within the judicial system of the Mercury Galaxy before becoming an Envoy of Chaos.

The Mercury Galaxy had 12 Envoys, a number that showed just how serious the imbalance had become, and the one who discovered Angela’s location intended to make contact with her after consulting the other 11.

However, before that could happen, a major battle took place, and during the chaos of that conflict, the Envoy made a declaration on behalf of their faction, partly to raise morale and weaken the resolve of their enemies.

Unfortunately, that declaration unintentionally revealed Angela’s existence, even if only indirectly, to the Ordered side of the Civil War.

For in their statement, they’d said, ’The other 12 Envoys of Chaos and I.’

That line implied the presence of 13 Envoys and the higher authorities of the Mercury Galaxy, who were aware of this Chaotic Envoy’s inability to consciously lie, immediately realised there was a 13th Envoy hidden somewhere.

They plotted and planned, carrying out an operation that didn’t involve the Cathedrals, as the Galactic Ruler was attempting to exclude them from key affairs in order to weaken their influence.

They launched a mission aimed at capturing the Envoy of ’Truth’, and when it succeeded, they interrogated them, going as far as to search their soul, and through that, they uncovered Angela’s presumed location.