These were the two hidden trump cards, the Exoshell 4.0 that acted as base in south and north… dual-ringed structures, each over three hundred meters in diameter, their massive bulk representing the absolute limit of what Tier 3 Unified Adaptive Composite Alloy could maintain for stability in this gravity. Eight enormous, unblinking lenses ringed the surface of each shell, the optical eyes of Keon's ultimate sensory and control systems. Below the hundred-thousand-ton mass of each shell, eight gargantuan plasma nozzles glowed with intense, blinding blue plasma.
...
[Massive Spider Exoshell 4.0] (TIER 3)
Core Structure:
Form: Colossal spider behemoth.
Overall Size: 300 meters
Mass: 100,000 tons
Force: 1 Million tons
Core: Carbon Fusion Core
Structure: Unified Adaptive Composite Alloy
Comment on changes from previous panel:
New, massive Exoshell (4.0) designed to reach Level 20 and complete the second task, representing a significant scale jump from the previous 30-meter Exoskeleton 3.0.
...
With a deep, guttural groan that transcended mere sound, leaving abyssal burning craters below, both massive structures, hundred thousand ton shells slowly detached from the bedrock, their immense weight borne aloft by the terrifying upward thrust. The two gargantuan Exoshell 4… the true core of Keon's terrestrial power… began their coordinated, inexorable ascent toward high-orbit.
Keon, safe within his Exoshell 3.0 inside the massive Northern Exoshell 4, observed the scene. The entire infrastructure of Planet UHS1 was now an orbital armada, escaping the violent fate he had just dictated for the planet.
The stage was cleared, now the universal merger will be an inevitable, clean, and irreversible event.
The holographic feed flickered, confirming the status of his upward-bound assets. The massive, cylindrical Ecological Containment Facilities, the Water Reservoir shells, and the various fabrication and research platforms were all accounted for. Only the low-value, easily replicable assets… the deep-drilling mining rigs and subterranean water pumps… had been intentionally left on the surface, marked for assimilation or re-fabrication once the new ecosystem stabilized.
'Asset transfer is 99.9% complete. All critical, high-value infrastructure is secured,' Keon calculated, his focus immediately shifting to the immense variable now looming: time.
'The system has initiated the Universal Merger Protocol. The duration of a cosmic-scale transformation, even under system control, is the only remaining unknown. I hope this universe merger is quick… as prolonged environmental instability will delay the next phase of planetary optimization and core talent progression.'
Even as he finalized this thought, new data streams appeared, indicating the status of the recently captured. The six massive Containment Cells had ceased their violent acceleration, achieving a stable, geosynchronous orbit in a precise, silent formation around the planet. Kai and his subordinates are secured inside.
Keon after seeing their status dismissed it, he didn't care knowing that based on his choice, Kai's demise was inevitable… Before he wanted to experiment on Kai, now he dismissed such thoughts… he already gained more than he was looking forward to.
Meanwhile, inside one of the cells, Kai felt the sharp, sudden stop of the immense acceleration, replaced by a weightless drift that barely registered against the faint, persistent pressure of the high-gravity environment of UHS1. Through the reinforced optical viewport, the outside scenery was a terrifying void. A distant, massive orb of white light… the Sun burned against the absolute, pitch-black darkness. The planet UHS1 below, their temporary prison, was a swirling, cloud-covered yellow golden sphere.
Lilith, pressed against the cold wall of her own cell, watched the dim lights from distant stars through the view port. Her breath hitched, the terror of the physical environment compounded by the sheer, crushing scale of their isolation. They were utterly at the mercy of the enemy's technology, the only thing preventing their bodies from succumbing to vacuum and fatal temperature shifts being the sterile, humming efficiency of the containment cells.
'He has taken us to orbit… he really thinks he has won, this machine,'
Kai's unwilling thoughts echoed, cold and empty in his isolated cell. The metallic scent of the internal atmosphere, purified by the cell's filters, was a constant reminder of his powerlessness.
'Why can't I sense anything with my talent after being captured inside this cell. Did he design it in order to counter my talent… Just who is this guy, how can he think so ahead of me?' Kai thought flickered with confusion and daze as he watched the cold wall of containment cells, then a sigh escaped his lips, "Maybe this is my destiny… There is no life to command, only cold, hard prison and the absolute void.'
He could feel the containment field pressing against him, silent and immense. The technology he was exposed to in this world, finally made him realize that Keon was already prepared for everything and he was not.
Back in the Northern Exoshell 4's command hub, Keon's attention returned to the holographic display, which still presented the two final options for the merger. The moment for contemplation was over. All assets were secured, and the system was waiting for the final, absolute command.
Keon's lens fixed on the first option: Complete Universe Fusion.
The cold, mechanical affirmation of his core processor was sent.
[Confirmed.]
[Complete Universe Fusion in Progress.]
Keon immediately issued a torrent of final sensor commands. His full Neural Nexus Imprint extended across his orbital network. The massive Exoshell 4 optical lenses, thousands of Scopes of GSAs, and high-resolution telescopes embedded in his orbiting assets swung into position toward the UHS1, current origin star system, initiating the live feedback of the entire cosmic map.
Targets were acquired with flawless, terrifying speed: the immense, cloud-covered surface of Planet UHS1 below, the primary merged star system, and the vast, surrounding emptiness of deep space. Keon's consciousness splintered, processing countless simultaneous data streams, prepared for the immense event.
The change was instantaneous and absolute.
In the holographic projection of the cosmic map, the velvety darkness of the void exploded with light. Countless distant, pre-existing stars in the surrounding galaxy… previously only faint pinpricks… lit up with the magnified brilliance of an impossible proximity and countless more starlight positions filling the gaps in the darkness, almost doubling the visual density and quantity and reshaping the cosmic map in a single, silent instant. The sheer, terrifying scale of the annexed space was a physical presence.
Simultaneously, the merged sun star, previously a distant orange orb, visibly swelled. It now possessed a palpable, enhanced presence, its thermal output immediately spiking and stabilizing at a new, higher baseline. Across all his orbital sensors, the recorded temperature and energy signatures instantly doubled, a clean, numerical confirmation of the stellar merger's success.
Meanwhile, the previous six main planets in this star system increased to nine planets and hundreds of moons… his UHS1 which was a moonless planet also gained a moon orbiting around at a considerable distance.
Yet, the most profound transformation was on the surface of Planet UHS1 below.
Keon's visual feeds… a thousand different high-definition views from the descending orbital infrastructure… converged into a single, awe-inspiring display of geological and atmospheric metamorphosis. The very geography of his world began to writhe.
The colossal size of the planet was visibly expanding, its core mass integrating the planetary volume of Kai's world. The gravitational signature, the very foundation of his environment, spiked with a final, massive surge, then began to gradually settle at a new equilibrium.
The southern hemisphere, a vast, unbroken expanse of sand and buried metal, began a violent, fluid change. A colossal volume of water, expelled from the merging core and atmosphere, rapidly covered the desert terrain.
Within seconds, as if the whole process of years was fast forward in his display, a massive, turbulent ocean—a sprawling, deep blue expanse… stretched across half the southern landmass. This new sea immediately birthed immense, torrential river networks that snaked and branched, carving deep, permanent channels through the arid sand dunes, pushing water relentlessly toward the north.
Then, a second, more profound surprise registered in Keon's processors.
The long-dormant, subterranean continents of ice on UHS1… vast, pre-merger reserves that Keon had deemed strategically secondary… were physically lifted by the core's upheaval. They rose from beneath the desert crust in the north, merging into a single, massive, new ice continental structure. This enormous, nascent landmass contained an overwhelming volume of water, now revealed to be even larger than the newly formed ocean in the south, decisively surpassing the total 92% water volume of Kai's annihilated world.
A cold, thoughtful breath was drawn through Keon's internal core system. He had known of the subterranean ice continents and he was pumping water resources from them, but the true scale… the vastness of his own world's hidden assets… was unexpectedly gratifying. The planet was now a massive, self-regulating engine of water and metal.
The rate of planetary transformation began to slow, but still fast as if each minute was like a passing year… the chaotic, violent phase of the merger concluding. However, a new, subtle layer of change was emerging near the newly formed river networks. The sand itself, bordering the flowing water, was beginning to chemically bond and solidify, transforming into stable, fertile soil.
…