Chapter 816: Europa and the Home Worlds (1/2)
Chapter 816: Europa and the Home Worlds
There were two beams of purple light, marking the withdrawal of the Violet Prince and Princess.
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The second flash of pink light deposited Lan Jue and the others in a different sector of space. After achieving the Infinite, Luo Xianni’s transference capabilities could send her charges over vast distances. She could teleport between planets without aid, though distance did play a factor.
The moment she sensed the two Infinite-level beings closing in, she gathered the other three and fled.
“We should be near Europa.” She glanced at the map on her communicator.
“Mother,” Lan Jue said, “there are going to be no small amount of aliens nearby. If you wouldn’t mind…” His perception was itching with the presence of many powerful beings.
She nodded. Another flash and they were gone. A few moments later a host of aliens swept into the area after sensing the humans, but found their targets vanished.
Lan Jue and the others arrived at their destination. When they were safely within the bounds of reality again, Star Division’s commander checked his map. However his glance was quick, for out of the corner of his eye the silhouette of Europa caught his attention.
But was it Europa?
As he gaped at the scene, his disbelief was mirrored by Qianlin, the Pharmacist and Luo Xianni. The planet occupied the same space it always had, but that was where the similarities to the Europa they knew ended. It had been a large planet – larger than Skyfire – that boasted the famed city of Reims, its beautiful cathedral, and the Dark Citadel as its opposite. It was the capital of the Western Alliance, replete with resources and citizens to use them. It was considered one of the greatest planets colonized by humans after their stellar migration, second only to Luo.
Evaluating a planet occurred on several levels. These included economic status, political environment, and individual military strength. It was only recently that Skyfire had begun to close the gap between them. Some recent evaluations even put the Eastern capital above Europa, after its recent meteoric rise in strength and influence.
The planet Lan Jue and the others gazed upon now was not that same jewel of the West. Its beauty was gone, and what lay there now was grotesque and uncomfortable to look on.
The entire surface of the world wriggled and squirmed, making it look like some kind of mutated uterus. The planet beneath was hidden from view beneath what could only be described as a placenta that sported large black arteries pulsing along its surface. Some indescribable viscous fluid pumped through the vessels.
At last they were able to confirm the presence of the three home worlds, so long absent from view. They surrounded Europa while tentacles thick as mountains penetrated into the afflicted planet’s surface. Purple light hung over all three of them as they appeared to inject Europa with their energies. The power that radiated from them was intense and seemed to hum through the vacuum of space.
The home worlds were so close to Europa it seems like their atmospheres were shared. It wasn’t as simple as draining Europa of its vital energy this time. They were changing it, somehow.
They’d learned from the spirit of the Pharmacist’s husband that the planets were planning to evolve. But no one knew what that evolution looked like, or how the process worked. Looking on this strange scene the only conclusion they could come to was that their assumptions were correct – they were evolving, and it somehow involved the Western capital.
Their first thought was the human cost. Europa had been one of the most populated planets in human space. Now it seemed all of its population had been sacrificed for alien domination. A stabbing melancholy settled in the hearts of the human scouts. Europa and everything it used to be was gone.