Chapter 26: Unknown Information
Alicia had just finished examining the changes brought by her advancement to Primitive Planet when the system suddenly rang out again.
Ding!
A blue screen appeared in front of her without warning.
[Unknown Planetary Information Available]
Alicia froze.
Then stared at the screen.
For a moment, she genuinely wondered if she had read it wrong.
"…Unknown what?"
She read it again.
No.
She had not read it wrong.
It very clearly said:
Unknown Planetary Information Available
Alicia remained silent for a few seconds.
Then thought:
"…That sounds deeply suspicious."
And unfortunately, her instincts were usually correct whenever the system decided to phrase something in a way that felt ominous for no reason.
Still, it was not as if she could just ignore it.
If the system had hidden information about planets until now, then it was probably something important.
Possibly extremely important.
And Alicia had already learned that in a universe where planets cultivated and space itself had energy, "important" usually meant one of two things:
useful
dangerous
And often both.
Alicia mentally reached toward the screen.
Then, with very little confidence in the wisdom of her own actions, she pressed:
[Claim]
The moment she did—
everything changed.
A violent wave of foreign information exploded into her consciousness.
There was no warning.
No preparation.
No polite "loading" message.
Just pain.
Alicia's awareness shook violently as countless unfamiliar fragments, images, concepts, and pieces of knowledge flooded directly into her mind.
It felt as if her very core had been torn open and forcefully filled with things it had no right to understand so quickly.
If Alicia had still possessed a human body, she would have screamed.
Instead, all she could do was endure.
The pain was unbearable.
Not sharp.
Not physical.
But crushing.
A suffocating, overwhelming pressure as information was hammered into her existence without mercy.
For one long minute—
she could do nothing.
And then, slowly…
the pain began to fade.
The pressure weakened.
The flood of foreign memories stopped.
Silence returned.
Alicia remained still for a while.
Very still.
Then, after a long pause, she thought weakly:
"…I would like to file a complaint."
The system, of course, did not respond.
As usual.
Alicia was starting to feel that her suffering was being taken for granted.
Still, once the pain fully subsided, she forced herself to focus.
The information was there now.
Clear.
Organized.
And once she began piecing it together—
the cold reality of it made her go completely silent.
This universe was far larger—and far crueler—than she had realized.
There were creatures in the void.
Creatures that did not belong to any normal world.
Creatures that drifted through the endless darkness between planets like predators stalking prey.
They were called:
Void Eaters
And they were exactly as horrifying as the name suggested.
These creatures fed on planets.
Not metaphorically.
Not symbolically.
Literally.
They sought out weaker planets, especially younger ones with vulnerable planetary cores, and devoured them to grow stronger.
Alicia's thoughts slowed.
Then stopped.
For a few moments, she simply processed the meaning of that.
Planets.
Being hunted.
Being eaten.
Planetary cores destroyed and consumed as food.
Alicia felt a strange chill run through her awareness.
Until now, she had always treated danger in a more distant way.
Meteors.
Energy instability.
Growth risks.
System costs.
But this?
This was different.
This was not some natural obstacle.
This was predation.
And the prey—
was her.
Alicia stayed quiet for a long time.
Then, very slowly, she thought:
"…That is… extremely rude."
It was not the most profound reaction.
But under the circumstances, Alicia felt it was fair.
She continued sorting through the implanted information.
The Void Eaters were not mindless.
That was the most dangerous part.
They were living creatures of the void, capable of growing stronger by consuming planetary essence and core energy.
The more planets they devoured, the more dangerous they became.
Some remained only beast-like predators.
Others evolved into something far worse.
And over the countless ages of this universe, they had become one of the greatest threats to planetary life itself.
That alone would have been horrifying enough.
But the next part was even worse.
Because the strongest planet cores had not simply chosen to hide from them.
No.
They had created a solution.
A ruthless one.
Long ago, the most powerful and influential planet cores in the universe had joined together and formed an organization.
A planetary authority.
A force meant to protect the greater balance of the stars.
Their name was:
The Stars
Alicia quietly repeated it in her thoughts.
"…The Stars."
It sounded noble.
Impressive, even.
Which would have been nice—
if the next part of the information had not immediately ruined that impression.
Because the Stars had made a horrifying conclusion.
Young, weak planet cores—
especially those below a certain level—
were considered the greatest risk.
Not because they were evil.
Not because they were corrupted.
But because they were vulnerable.
And vulnerable planets were exactly what the Void Eaters fed on to grow stronger.
So the Stars came to a brutal decision:
If a weak planet core was too likely to become prey, it would be destroyed before a Void Eater could consume it.
Alicia went completely still.
Then reread that part of the implanted memory in disbelief.
Then again.
And again.
No matter how many times she went over it, the meaning remained the same.
They were killing weak planets.
On purpose.
Not to punish them.
Not because they had done anything wrong.
But simply because their existence was considered a future risk.
Alicia's thoughts became blank for several seconds.
Then, finally:
"…Excuse me?"
She almost admired the sheer cruelty of the logic.
Almost.
Because in a cold, strategic sense…
it made a terrifying kind of sense.
If a weak planet was likely to be devoured later, and that devouring would strengthen a Void Eater enough to threaten countless other planets…
Then eliminating the weak one early would reduce future disaster.
It was monstrous.
But rational.
And Alicia hated that it was rational.
That made it worse.
Far worse.
She forced herself to continue processing the information.
Every two million years, the Stars held a large-scale planetary purge.
An event known across hidden planetary records as:
The Annihilation Ceremony
During this event, planet cores below Level 20 would be targeted for destruction.
The justification was simple:
Weak planets should not be allowed to become food for Void Eaters.
Alicia's mind went silent again.
Then, very slowly—
she checked her current level.
And immediately regretted it.
Because she already knew the answer.
She was still far below Level 20.
Much, much too far below it.
And then—
the final part of the implanted information surfaced.
The piece that made everything truly real.
Alicia's awareness tightened.
Because according to the planetary records embedded in the information—
the next Annihilation Ceremony was approaching.
Not in some impossibly distant future.
Not millions of years away.
Not even thousands.
No.
The next ceremony would begin in:
500 years
Alicia stopped thinking.
Completely.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then—
"…What?"
She checked the memory again.
Five hundred years.
That was it.
That was all the time she had left before the Stars would begin erasing weak planet cores.
Alicia felt something heavy settle into her thoughts.
Not panic.
Not yet.
But a sharp, cold pressure.
Because five hundred years sounded like a long time—
until she remembered what she actually was.
A planet core.
A newly advanced Primitive Planet.
Still young.
Still weak compared to whatever monstrous beings existed beyond her tiny world.
And Level 20?
That was not remotely close.
That was an enormous distance away.
Her usual calm wavered slightly.
Not shattered.
Just… shaken.
For the first time in a while, Alicia truly felt small.
Not as a person.
Not as a planet.
But as a being in a universe far bigger and more dangerous than she had ever imagined.
Until now, her greatest concerns had been:
life energy
race growth
skill costs
meteor crashes
annoying system prices
Now?
Now the scale had changed.
Completely.
Now the question was no longer:
How do I grow my world well?
Now it had become:
How do I survive at all?
Alicia quietly looked over her planet.
The forests.
The rivers.
The plains.
The highlands.
The humans.
The beasts.
Everything she had built.
Everything she had protected.
Everything that had slowly begun to feel like hers.
And suddenly—
the idea of something devouring it all, or some distant planetary organization deciding it should be erased "for the greater good," made something in Alicia harden.
Her fear remained.
But underneath it—
something else appeared.
Resolve.
Slow.
Quiet.
But very real.
Alicia stayed silent for a long while.
Then finally thought:
"…No."
Very simple.
Very calm.
Very firm.
"No."
She had worked too hard for this world.
She had built too much.
Watched too much.
Learned too much.
There was no way she was going to quietly accept becoming "acceptable collateral" in someone else's cosmic logic.
Absolutely not.
If the Stars wanted to erase weak planets—
then she would become strong enough that they couldn't touch her.
If Void Eaters devoured weak worlds—
then she would become a world that could never be prey.
And if this universe only respected strength—
then she would grow until even the stars had to acknowledge her.
Alicia remained silent after that thought.
Then, after a few seconds, added:
"…Also, I'm definitely still angry about the brain pain."
That part was still valid.
She refused to be noble about it.
The system chimed softly.
Ding!
A new screen appeared.
[Hidden Planetary Main Objective Updated]
Survive the Annihilation Ceremony
Current Time Remaining:
500 Years
Suggested Direction:
accelerate planetary growth
strengthen planetary defenses
improve race development
increase world survival potential
Alicia stared at the screen.
Then slowly thought:
"…That is the worst quest I've ever received."
And unfortunately—
also the most important one.
Her gaze shifted across her world once more.
Everything looked peaceful.
Calm.
Safe.
Too safe.
Because now she knew the truth.
This peace was temporary.
The universe outside her world was not peaceful.
It was merciless.
And if she stayed weak—
this world would not survive it.
Alicia slowly focused inward.
Her thoughts became clearer.
More serious.
The next phase of her growth could no longer be casual.
She could still guide life.
Still shape the world.
Still develop humans and beasts.
But now every choice mattered more.
Every upgrade mattered more.
Every year mattered more.
She no longer had endless time.
She had a deadline.
And that changed everything.
Far below, the silver fox quietly stepped onto a rock and looked toward the sky again.
Alicia noticed.
Then narrowed her awareness slightly.
"…Why do you keep doing that?"
The fox, naturally, gave no answer.
Which somehow made it worse.
Alicia stared at it for a few moments.
Then thought:
"…You'd better become useful later."
Because at this point, if that fox turned out to be mysterious for no reason, Alicia was going to be deeply offended.
The wind moved softly through the forests.
The rivers continued to flow.
Life carried on, unaware of the shadow hanging far beyond the sky.
But Alicia knew now.
And because she knew—
everything had changed.
Five hundred years.
That was all.
Five hundred years to become strong enough to survive.
Five hundred years to raise her world.
Five hundred years before the universe came to test whether she deserved to continue existing.
Alicia looked into the endless darkness beyond her world.
And for the first time—
the void no longer felt empty.
It felt like something was waiting.
Author Note
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