Ch62: The Truth Left Behind
The beautiful illusion world remained silent.
Soft wind moved across the lake while glowing spiritual particles drifted slowly through the air. The giant tree above them released silver leaves one after another, each leaf dissolving into light before touching the water.
Alicia stayed silent for a long time.
Her glowing green spiritual body floated quietly near the lake as she tried to process everything she had just heard.
Other Planet Cores existed.
Worlds could die.
Void Eaters were real.
She already knew these from the system.
the terrifying Annihilation Ceremony… was only the beginning.
She started to realize it now.
The former core simply sat beneath the giant tree calmly. Sitting on a tree trunk, Swinging her legs. They did not rush Alicia.
The silence itself almost felt heavy.
Finally, Alicia spoke softly.
"…So worlds really can disappear completely."
The former core looked toward the lake.
"Yes."
Their answer was calm. Too calm.
That somehow made it feel even crueler.
Alicia stared at the reflection in the water.
She could see the auroras above the sky reflecting clearly within it. Beautiful. Peaceful. Yet now she knew this place was nothing more than a memory.
A dead memory.
"…The Stars." Alicia spoke again.Alicia knew about the stars, stars is a organization made by the strongest planet core together to stop the void eaters. But thats all.Alicia wanted to know more about this "Stars".So she asked, "What exactly are they?"
The former core remained quiet for a few moments before answering.
"A gathering of surviving worlds."
"Some are weak."
"Some are unimaginably ancient."
"Some have existed for millions of years."
The giant tree rustled softly behind them.
"The Stars exchange knowledge."
"Resources."
"Techniques."
"And protection."
Alicia immediately caught the final word.
"Protection?"
The former core nodded slightly.
"The universe is not peaceful."
"Without strength, worlds eventually become prey."
Alicia became thoughtful.
"…Void Eaters?"
The lake suddenly rippled.
Dark images appeared briefly across the surface. Massive distorted creatures drifting through space. Their bodies looked unstable, almost like broken shadows stitched together by darkness. Some were larger than entire mountains. Others resembled endless black mouths consuming light itself.
Alicia instinctively trembled slightly.
"Yes."
The former core's voice became colder.
"Void Eaters consume worlds."
"They devour Life Energy."
"Soul Power."
"Spiritual Veins."
"And even planetary consciousness."
Alicia suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Her spiritual veins.
Her world.
Everything she spent centuries nurturing… could be eaten.
The former core quietly continued.
"But Void Eaters are not the only danger."
"Greedy worlds exist too."
Alicia blinked.
"…Worlds attack other worlds?"
The former core gave a faint smile.
"You think all worlds are kind?"
Alicia froze slightly.
"…No."
"Good."
The former core looked toward the aurora-filled night sky.
"The universe favors survival."
"Mercy is rare."
The atmosphere became quiet again.
Alicia slowly lowered herself closer to the lake.
"…Then why help me?"
This time, the former core did not answer immediately.
For the first time since Alicia arrived here—emotion appeared in their expression.
A faint sadness.
"I failed."
The answer was simple.
But heavy.
The illusion world trembled slightly.
The peaceful lake suddenly showed another image.
A burning world.
Massive cracks splitting continents apart.
Spiritual veins collapsing one after another.
Creatures screaming while darkness swallowed the sky.
Alicia's consciousness shook violently.
The former core quietly watched the scene reflected in the water.
"My world fought until the end."
"We were not weak."
"At Level 45, my world was already considered strong among younger Stars."
The giant tree above them released more glowing leaves.
"But strength alone was not enough."
"The Void Eater that attacked us…"
"…was ancient."
The former core slowly closed their eyes.
"It consumed four nearby worlds before reaching mine."
Alicia stayed silent.
The destruction inside the lake felt horrifying.
Entire oceans disappeared into darkness.
Mountains shattered.
Even the sky itself looked like it was breaking apart.
"I could not protect them."
The former core's voice remained calm, but Alicia could still feel the hidden grief beneath it.
"My people."
"My beasts."
"My spiritual veins."
"My world tree."
"Everything died."
For the first time, Alicia truly understood something.
Planet Cores were not emotionless beings.
Their worlds were not just territory.
The forests.
The oceans.
The humans.
The beasts.
Those things were part of them.
Just like Alicia already felt attached to her own world.
The former core slowly opened their eyes again.
"When my world collapsed…"
"I abandoned almost everything."
"I severed my own core."
"Destroyed my cultivation."
"And used forbidden techniques to preserve a fragment of consciousness."
The lake finally became calm again.
Only soft auroras reflected across the water now.
"…That fragment became me."
Alicia quietly stared at the former core.
For some reason… they suddenly looked lonelier than before.
"…How long have you been underground?"
"A very long time."
"…That doesn't answer anything."
Alicia said thinking," why does this woman... I mean core spirit not answer fully."
The former core gave a small laugh.
"A million years."
Alicia immediately became stunned.
"…WHAT!?"
Her glowing spiritual body flickered wildly in shock.
The former core actually smiled slightly this time.
"Yes."
"You are quite young by planetary standards."
Alicia suddenly felt tiny.
Very tiny.
She had thought her hundreds of years were already a lot.
Apparently not.
Then suddenly, the former core spoke again.
"Alicia."
Her attention returned immediately.
"You have already begun walking the correct path."
"…Self cultivation?"
"Yes."
The former core nodded.
"System-created strength is unstable."
"A true world must understand itself."
Alicia became thoughtful.
That actually matched what the Self-Improving System had been forcing her to do recently.
The former core slowly raised one hand.
The lake rippled again.
This time, Alicia saw enormous worlds connected by rivers of light across space itself.
Some worlds glowed blue.
Some golden.
Some carried massive rings around them.
Others were completely covered in forests or oceans.
Alicia stared silently.
"…Beautiful…"
The former core quietly nodded.
"These are Stars."
"Living worlds."
"Growing worlds."
"Cultivating worlds."
Alicia suddenly noticed something strange.
Some worlds in the distance looked damaged.
Broken.
"…Not all of them survived," she whispered.
"No."
The former core's voice became quieter.
"Many have already disappeared."
Then suddenly—
their expression changed slightly.
The atmosphere became heavier.
"Alicia."
"…Your world has already been noticed."
Alicia froze instantly.
"…What?"
The auroras above the sky dimmed slightly.
"The moment you awakened true self cultivation…"
"…your world's presence became clearer."
Alicia immediately became serious.
"By who?"
The former core looked toward the endless night sky beyond the illusion.
"…I do not know yet."
That answer somehow felt worse.
Then the former core slowly stood up beneath the giant tree.
For the first time—their overwhelming presence spread outward fully.
The lake trembled violently.
The auroras shook.
Even the illusion world itself distorted slightly.
"But there is something even more dangerous."
Alicia felt uneasy immediately.
The former core slowly turned toward her.
Silver eyes glowing faintly.
"…The thing beneath your world."
Alicia's consciousness trembled slightly.
"…You know about it?"
"Yes."
The former core's expression became serious for the first time.
"And even now…"
"…I still cannot fully understand what it is."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Then suddenly—
CRACK.
A massive crack spread across the illusion sky itself.
The beautiful world around them flickered violently.
The former core looked upward calmly.
"…It seems our time is running out."
The illusion began collapsing into countless particles of light.
Before Alicia could react—
the former core spoke one final sentence.
"Grow stronger quickly, little world."
"Because the universe…"
"…is beginning to look at you."
Author: also lets pretend the annihilation ceremony is held every 5 million years,alicia still only has 1 years left bcz she was awakened in the later times