Interstellar Age

Chapter 424 Uncovering a Dark and Long Forgotten Truth

The look in the Elven Emperor's golden eyes was one of pure horror. He had previously mentioned the Maw when sentencing Lunaria. But Erich honestly had no idea what it was. Because of this confusion, he was quick to inquire about what was so haunting about this unknown entity.

"I'm sorry... I'm not entirely sure what this Maw is that you speak of...."

The Elven Emperor was surprised by this. But he was quick to calm himself down as he spoke to Erich about this matter, which appeared to have been long lost in ancient history.

"The Maw is a sector of space that is filled with a mysterious energy of unknown origins. Even though we have been studying it for a thousand years, we are no closer to figuring out what has caused it to persist within the Milky Way.

To put it simply, the Maw is an incredibly unstable portion of real space. Almost as if it is a giant wormhole. Or perhaps even some kind of a pocket dimension that persists on our own. Space and time itself are bent within the zone. Many who have tried to search through it have gone missing, never to be seen again.

This is where Lunaria lured her sister to after her mother and I announced that Daelia was chosen to be my successor. It was a clear attempt at fratricide. But if what you say is true, then Daelia has survived this assassination attempt, and when she comes back she may have been changed by the energy of the Maw into something else, a new sub-species, perhaps?

This is mere speculation on my part, but it is the only thing I can think of to explain the existence of these so called Dark Elves. If that is the case, then when Lunaria and Daelia returns something will happen that will cause my wife and I to be killed.

Though I dread the possibility, it is highly likely that one our daughters will be responsible for our deaths. Thus causing a war of succession, one that is likely to destroy our mighty empire. In other words... This is the cause of the Great Schism which you previously mentioned.

But what I don't understand is why you don't know of the Maw's existence, every interstellar civilization within the Milky Way is aware of it within this era, and the dangers it posers to those spacers who would dare to try to pass through it."

Erich was less interested in the mystery of the Maw, which he had never heard of until now. And instead about what exactly happened to Lunaria and Daelia's parents. As far as he was told, and it was beginning to seem like it was likely a lie, or at best a half truth. Lunaria despised her sister Daelia, who she blamed for the death of her parents.

And Daelia had never outright denied this claim. Then again, Daelia had also never explained her own reasoning for why the Great Schism occurred. Perhaps because of guilt? Or perhaps because she knows that speaking about that time would only reopen the ancient wounds that Lunaria and Daelia both shared in their hearts. Wounds that were only recently beginning to heal.

Whatever happened, it was undeniable that Lunaria blamed Daelia for the death of their parents, and while she may have lied about the origins of the Dark Elves, the hatred she had once held for Daelia was very real.

Perhaps Daelia killed their parents, or perhaps Lunaria shifted the blame of her own actions onto Daelia. After all, if Daelia had not returned from the Maw alive, then there would be no need to kill her parents.

It was a deeply confusing thing to think about, considering Erich did not know what was reality, and what was a lie anymore. The Elven Emperor could see that Erich was in distress. And thus he sighed heavily before speaking to Erich about another matter.

"It is clear to me that the Seers of Time have declined in power to the point where they can only perceive the past, present, and future. And to a limited extent. Which would explain why they, in your time, refer to themselves as the Sages of Fate.

Whatever caused this Great Schism, I know that it had done irreversible damage to my people, and has set them back by eons. But, I have a feeling the Naraku might have a hand in that as well. Since you appear to know about them, and their invasion plan. It means their conquest of Andromeda much has taken significantly longer than we estimated, and dealt with significantly higher casualties.

You should not focus too much on what happened to my people, or my daughters. From the sounds of it, they seem to be getting along in your time. No doubt because of your influence. The past is not as important as the future. Focus on defeating the Naraku invasion that will surely happen within your time.

Once that is done, you can turn to uncovering the ancient secrets of the past. I suspect that my daughters have purged everyone, but themselves who knows the truth. So if I were you, I would focus on expanding your relationship with them so that they may honestly explain what happened to cause the fall of our mighty Empire and the split of our great race.

Needless to say, I will do everything in my power now, until my death, to protect the world which your species evolves on. After all… Though it pains me to say it, it is not the Elven race that shall be the primary protagonist in the war with the Naraku, but rather your so-called humanity.

And without humanity, which gave birth to you who unified the Empire for the forthcoming war, I doubt there will be another who can fulfill such a role. As for after my death, do not worry, I shall take our meeting and what we discussed here to the grave so that nobody may interfere with the fragile balance of time. What is to come will come whether I like it or not.

My last words of advice would be to continue your pursuit of your powers. The Seers of time once existed to preserve the fragile balance of time itself. And you would do well to preserve that mission. GoodBye future Emperor of Mankind, I give you my foolish daughters to look after, and I pray to the gods that you will save the galaxy from the bugs who seek to destroy it."

With this said, the Elven Emperor waved his hand once more, and Erich found himself lying flat on his back within his meditation chamber, as if he had not left it to begin with. But he had, and he knew this was true because the moment he appeared, he heard a voice screaming in his head. One that he knew all too well.

"Master! Master, can you hear Tia!?! Oh Master, please don't leave me here alone! Master, where have you gone!?!"