Silkall?
At last, the magnificent theatre stood between heaven and earth.
Majestic. Grand. Overwhelming.
The Grand Theatre of All Sounds — Constantina, now filled with more than ten million insects, had reached its peak form.
Solemn. Powerful. Monumental.
Yet ten million was merely the limit of the Smart Insects—not the limit of Constantina.
Because of their racial traits, when the conductors and choir were all Smart Insects, the one leading the ritual could effectively be considered an exceptionally high-level tuner. Within the swarm itself, discordant notes were almost nonexistent.
Even so, lacking the Family's systematic training, this was already close to the insects' maximum potential.
Amid the steady rhythm of beating wings, the Grand Theatre began to come apart.
Walls, roof, and foundations separated from the structure and fused with the colossal stone giant that had supported the hall.
Its chest cavity opened into a hollow platform, where the insect audience remained seated.
Boss Phase Two—
true activation.
The giant moved in time with the wingbeats.
A beautiful Gospel resonated from its body.
Anyone who heard the hymn felt as though they had been tuned anew—their body lighter, their mind refreshed.
The Harbinger of Calamity said nothing.
He had no chance to resist.
The Gospel Giant — Constantina swatted him to death like a fly.
The remaining soldiers of the Antimatter Legion gradually laid down their weapons beneath the influence of the Gospel.
They embraced Harmony.
And joined the Family.
The Gospel Giant then walked a full circuit around the planet.
Its pace was slow—
but each step spanned vast distances.
When it completed one full lap, the giant collapsed.
Its stone body crumbled into mud and rock, returning to Kasbelinyat VIII.
The material used to form the divine body had come from the world itself, so naturally it returned to the world.
When the Grand Theatre descended, the planet had resonated with it.
When Constantina departed, that harmony returned once more.
Even with only ten million singers, Constantina had displayed terrifying divine power.
By comparison, the Dominicus manifestation that once covered the entire Asdena Star Region had nearly been split apart by Acheron with a single slash.
Truly terrifying.
After Constantina vanished, the phenomenon of Harmonic Resonance finally ended.
Only a small, delicate theatre remained where it had stood.
So this was the true meaning behind the old saying:
The theatre of a thousand faces never stops performing.
Eternal stages remain forever connected.
At this point, Kasbelinyat VIII had gathered two of the universe's Three Great Disasters:
The Swarm.
The Antimatter Legion.
Without question, it had become an extraordinarily unique Planet of Harmony.
Only one question remained.
Could Harmony someday collect all three disasters—
and make them perform in chorus together?
Elsewhere, Lin Yi stared in shock.
"What?"
"Stephen, you're joking… right?"
"You're saying the will interfering with my Phase Walker comes from Silkall?"
"Silkall died countless Amber Eras ago!"
Stephen Lloyd fell silent for a moment.
"…I know it sounds unbelievable."
"But the Phase Walker really does contain conscious interference from Silkall."
"These are my research results and comparison data."
"You can examine them yourself."
Usually shy and soft-spoken, Stephen completely forgot his social anxiety the moment research was involved.
Lin Yi remained stunned.
"…Thank you, Stephen."
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Maybe… we should test whether Silkall is still alive."
The news shocked Lin Yi, but it did not feel impossible.
For a Genius, extending one's lifespan was trivial.
If a Genius died of old age, it was usually because they no longer wished to live.
Like another member of the Genius Society—
the complete opposite of Stephen.
Elias Salas.
A man with an exceptionally sociable personality.
Herta had once described him as:
"A strange but kind old man."
His life's goal had been to help Geniuses communicate more easily with one another.
To achieve that, he created the Synesthesia Beacon.
Ironically, the Geniuses still refused to communicate.
Instead, the beacon ended up revolutionizing communication between civilizations across the stars.
It even played a major role in expanding the Interastral Peace Corporation's economic network.
Of course, Elias Salas never promoted the invention himself.
A Genius was still a Genius.
He was no corporate executive.
The beacon spread only because a scholar from the Intelligentsia Guild reproduced it from his manuscripts.
When Elias finally grew old, he refused life-extension medicine.
He accepted eternal rest in peace.
If a Genius truly wished to keep living, lifespan was almost never an obstacle.
Even one focused on an absurdly narrow field of study—someone incapable of inventing immortality personally—would have life-extension technology delivered to their doorstep by the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Even the Xianzhou Alliance might bend ancient tradition to help.
Back on Kasbelinyat VIII, after the Antimatter Legion crisis, three groups had forged bonds in battle:
The planet's natives.
The Family's envoys.
The Smart Insect swarm.
Soon after, the planet formally joined the Family.
The Smart Insects received the Family's protection.
They could finally emerge beneath the sunlight without being hunted.
At least within Family territory.
But the insects soon discovered an awkward truth.
They had grown too used to underground life.
Living on the surface felt strange.
And even with population control, their numbers were still far too great.
The planet's surface could not sustain them.
So they returned to the core, continuing to live below ground.
Quietly refining their genes.
Developing biotechnology.
Until—
an unexpected visitor arrived.
Inside a vast hollow chamber carved by insects, ripples of quantum light spread through the air.
From them emerged a silver-haired girl with an icy expression.
"Shh—ha."
(Benefactor.)
The girl answered calmly.
"Your species' talent exceeded my expectations."
"You performed even better than I predicted."
Her tone was indifferent, as though she were not speaking to intelligent beings at all.
Only to possessions that belonged to her.
The insects replied at once.
"This is all thanks to your wisdom."
"Without your guidance, we could never have achieved this peace."
She cut them off.
"I have no interest in unnecessary words."
"You have reached—and surpassed—my expectations."
"My name is Silkall."
"Genius Club #29… or #30."
"You should know that name."
As she spoke, her figure flickered.
To the insects' senses, the silver-haired girl briefly became a spider—
then returned to human form.
Why these ancient beings enjoyed appearing like this remained a mystery.
The swarm erupted.
"Silkall?!"
"You're Silkall?!"
"The legendary Genius?!"
Silkall remained calm.
"Now it is time for you to repay me."
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