316: The edge of the "graveyard" and eerie stardust

"hope" followed the star map provided by Old K, slowly approaching the outer perimeter of the "Stardust Graveyard."

Outside the porthole, the scene of the starry sky began to turn eerie.

The originally deep, dark Universe background was stained with a greyish hue here. Countless tiny specks of dust and debris floated in the Void Realm, some as large as houses, others as small as grains of sand, slowly rotating and drifting, casting a dim glimmer under the illumination of distant stars.

But that was not the strangest part.

What made one's scalp tingle was that this "stardust" seemed to have a consciousness of its own—if you stared at a certain area for too long, you would find that the movement trajectories of the dust were not entirely random. They seemed to be breathing, like cells inside some colossal organism, pulsing to a rhythm that was hard to comprehend.

"This is the 'Stardust Graveyard'?" Zhao Iron Pillar leaned against the porthole, his eyes wide. "It... doesn't look like much, does it? Isn't it just a bit dusty?"

Old K sat in a chair in the corner of the bridge, holding a cup of "starlight tea" specially made by Senior Brother Li—which was actually brewed from several Spiritual Plants and water exposed to star core radiation. The old man almost spat it out after one sip, but he forced himself to take a second, because Wen Youyi said this stuff could "prolong life."

"Young man, don't underestimate this 'dust'." Old K scanned the scene outside with his mechanical eye. "This isn't ordinary cosmic dust, but... destroyed stars, shattered civilizations, and the remains of countless lives. Having drifted here for thousands of years, it has long been saturated by some kind of power."

"What kind of power?" Senior Brother Zhang asked.

"Who knows?" Old K shrugged. "Resentment? Residual energy? Or perhaps the 'memories' of that war from back then? Either way, it's nothing good. If you're brave enough, you can extend your Mental Energy out to try—I guarantee you'll 'hear' some things... that you shouldn't."

Wen Youyi and Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain exchanged a look. Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain was "listening in" on the bridge via a remote connection from the medical pod, her hologram hovering over the communication screen.

[What he says might be true.] Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain's voice sounded in Wen Youyi's mind. [According to our 'Sky Patrol' research, large-scale civilization destruction generates a kind of 'collective consciousness residue.' If the emotions at the time of death were strong enough, these residues can even form entities similar to 'spirits.' At least seven civilizations were destroyed here in the 'Stardust Graveyard'; the concentration of that residue... is likely terrifyingly high.]

Wen Youyi looked at Old K: "You mentioned before that there are 'Graveyard Guardians' here. Do they have any connection to these 'consciousness residues'?"

Old K put down his teacup, his expression turning serious: "Yes, but that's not all. Those guardians... are more like some kind of 'order maintainers.' They ensure this graveyard remains as it is, not allowing anyone to disturb the peace of the dead, nor allowing anyone to take anything from here—including knowledge, technology, or even this 'stardust' itself."

"Then how do we get through?"

"Go around." Old K brought up the star map he had drawn, pointing to a winding route. "Avoid all areas marked as 'dangerous' and 'suspected relics,' and only take the outermost safe passage. It's a detour, but it minimizes the probability of running into guardians. The premise is... don't touch anything, you meddlers."

Wen Youyi nodded: "Understood. Attention all departments, navigate according to Mr. Old K's route. Maintain minimum energy output, and do not proactively detect or scan any anomalous areas. 'Hidden Dragon' will scout ahead, maintain stealth mode."

The order was given, and "hope" began to move slowly along the route marked by Old K.

The voyage was more... oppressive than imagined.

The omnipresent stardust seemed to have a life of its own. When "hope" passed by, they would "avoid" it—not pushed away by the hull, but flowing to the sides as if consciously, making way for a passage. But after the ship passed, they would gather again, as if they had never been disturbed.

Even more eerie was the sound.

Although there was no air to transmit sound, through the conduction of the ship's structure, the crew could "feel" a continuous, low-frequency vibration like a sigh. The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed to drill into the bone marrow, making one feel uncomfortable all over.

"Is this damn thing ghost wailing?" Zhao Iron Pillar rubbed his arms. "It's giving me goosebumps!"

Wang Wu stared at the readings on the detector: "It's not sound waves, it's... some kind of energy resonance. The frequency is very low, but the penetration is extremely strong. And it's changing—listen, just now it sounded like a sigh, now it sounds like something is... talking?"

Everyone listened intently.

Indeed, the pattern of that low-frequency vibration had changed, from a monotonous sigh to a rhythmic undulation, as if someone were truly whispering in a language they couldn't understand.

Old K's face changed: "Turn off all external receivers! Quickly!"

Wen Youyi immediately gave the order. As the external sensors shut down, that eerie "sound" disappeared, but the atmosphere on the bridge became even heavier.

"What was that?" Wen Youyi asked Old K.

"The 'memories' of the graveyard are trying to communicate with you." Old K's mechanical eye flashed with red light. "But believe me, you don't want to know what they are saying—they are all death wails, curses, and hatred toward the destroyers from before they died. Listen for too long, and a normal person will go insane."

Senior Brother Zhang was thoughtful: "So those people who went crazy, was it actually their minds being polluted by these 'memories'?"

"Pretty much." Old K nodded. "Every grain of dust here carries a memory of death. A single grain is nothing, but billions and billions together... that mental impact, even the strongest psychic couldn't withstand it."

The voyage continued.

Six hours later, "hope" had ventured several hundred miles into the outer perimeter of the "Stardust Graveyard." The scenery along the way became increasingly desolate—besides the eerie stardust, one could see some huge, twisted metal remains, like fragments of some giant starship, floating in the Void Realm, their surfaces covered in thick dust.

"Look at that!" Zhao Iron Pillar pointed to a particularly large piece of debris outside the porthole. "Is there writing on that?"

Everyone looked. It was a curved metal plate the size of a small hill, with jagged edges, as if torn off by some immense force. On the plate, a line of huge inscriptions was carved in some ancient script; although mostly covered by dust, the general outline could still be made out.

Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain scanned the text via the remote System, and a few seconds later, her voice sounded:

[It translates to... 'Stars never perish, civilization lives forever—the Seventh Fleet flagship of the starlight Federation, "Watcher," falls here, remember us.']

"starlight Federation..." Wen Youyi murmured. "Another destroyed civilization."

Old K sighed: "The 'starlight Federation,' a mid-level civilization destroyed by the Star Devourers thirteen hundred years ago. Their fleet was once very strong, but they still couldn't stop the onslaught of those monsters. It's said the final battle was right here. To cover the evacuation of civilians, the 'Watcher' held off three Star Devourer hunting fleets alone, and was eventually torn to pieces."

He looked at the wreckage, his expression complex: "I didn't expect that after so many years, this fragment would still be floating here."

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

The wreckage of the "Watcher" suddenly began to glow! It wasn't reflecting starlight, but emanating a soft, silvery-white light from within! The light grew brighter and brighter, finally condensing into a blurry human-shaped phantom above the wreckage!

It was a phantom of a soldier wearing the starlight Federation uniform. He "looked" toward the direction of "hope," his lips moving as if saying something.

But this time, without needing external receivers, everyone "heard" his voice directly in their minds—it was a direct communication on a mental level!

"Latecomers... leave this place... run quickly... 'They' are coming... the guardians have been disturbed... run quickly!!!"

Before the words faded, the phantom suddenly flickered violently, then exploded, dissipating into countless points of light. And that piece of wreckage dimmed again, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

The bridge was deathly silent.

After several seconds, Old K cursed: "Damn it! That was a 'remnant of obsession'! It used its last bit of energy to warn us!"

"Warn us of what?" Wen Youyi asked.

"Guardians! Those ghostly things have been disturbed!" Old K rushed to the console. "The mental fluctuation of that phantom just now was too strong; it definitely disturbed the nearby guardians! We must leave this area immediately!"

Before he finished, the detector emitted a piercing alarm!

[High-energy reaction detected! Direction: directly ahead and left and right flanks! Quantity: three! Approaching rapidly!]

Outside the porthole, an eerie scene appeared in three directions simultaneously—

The originally calm stardust began to spin crazily, forming three huge vortices. From the center of the vortices, three masses of constantly shifting darkness slowly "floated" out. They had no fixed shape, sometimes looking like twisted human figures, sometimes like ferocious monsters, and sometimes simply a mass of pure nothingness. The only commonality was that wherever they went, the surrounding stardust, light, and even space itself seemed to be "devoured," leaving behind absolute darkness.

"The 'Graveyard Guardians'..." Old K's voice was dry. "And three of them at once... it's over."

Wen Youyi, however, was exceptionally calm: "All-ship combat readiness! Engine power increased to 60%, prepare to maneuver! Weapon Systems preheat, but do not fire without my order!"

"Boss! Fight these things?" Zhao Iron Pillar's hand gripping his heavy sword was trembling—not from fear, but from excitement.

"Not necessarily." Wen Youyi stared at the three approaching masses of darkness. "Old K, you said before that these guardians don't allow anyone to 'take away' things from here, right?"

"Right... they will destroy any intruder who tries to 'plunder' the graveyard."

"Then we aren't here to plunder." Wen Youyi hooked the corner of his mouth. "We are here to... 'pay respects'."

He turned to Wang Wu: "Broadcast the following on the general frequency: 'To the heroic spirits of the starlight Federation, we, the latecomers, are passing through this place. Seeing the wreckage of the "Watcher," we feel the great deeds of the martyrs, and pay our respects. We have no intention of offending, nor will we take anything from here, only asking for passage. We hope you will let us pass.'"

Wang Wu was stunned: "This... is it useful?"

"Try it." Wen Youyi said. "By the way, send out the 'Watcher' inscription we just recorded and the image data of that phantom. Also, open the ship's external lighting and display our ship emblem—use the one designed before, the 'flame surrounded by stars' logo."

Soon, the external lights of "hope" lit up softly, and a huge emblem was projected from the bow: a burning flame surrounded by seven stars. At the same time, Wen Youyi's message and image data were repeatedly broadcast on the general frequency and in the languages of several ancient civilizations.

The three dark guardians had already approached within ten miles. They seemed to have heard the broadcast, and their speed slowed significantly.

They were hesitating.

"It's working! They've stopped!" Senior Brother Li said pleasantly.

But Old K's face turned even paler: "No... that's not right... They are 'observing' us. If they judge that we are lying, or that our 'respect' is not 'sincere' enough, the attack will only be more violent!"

Wen Youyi took a deep breath and did something that surprised everyone.

He opened the holographic communication of the captain's seat and projected his image outside the ship—so the three guardians could directly "see" him.

Then, he made a strange gesture—right hand over his chest, bowing slightly.

It was a ritual he saw in Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain's database, the highest respect the "Sky Patrol" civilization paid to the deceased.

The three guardians stopped completely.

They floated in the Void Realm, their dark bodies constantly twisting and changing, as if "scrutinizing" Wen Youyi and "hope."

Time passed second by second, each second feeling as long as a year.

Finally, one of the guardians slowly "raised its hand"—if that shifting mass of darkness could be called a hand—and made a similar hand-over-chest gesture toward the direction of the "Watcher" wreckage.

Then, the three guardians began to retreat slowly, merging back into the stardust vortex and disappearing.

Alarm cleared.

On the bridge, everyone let out a long breath, and many collapsed into their chairs.

Old K stared at Wen Youyi, his eyes complex: "You... how did you know that etiquette?"

"Guessed it." Wen Youyi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Since these guardians maintain 'order' and 'respect,' we just showed the utmost respect. Seems the gamble paid off."

[It wasn't just a gamble.] Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain's voice came, filled with admiration. [That etiquette you just used is used by more than seven civilizations in the star sea, all emphasizing the meaning of 'respecting the deceased.' And you displayed our ship emblem—that design itself has the symbolic meaning of 'passing on the spark.' These guardians have high intelligence; they could understand.]

Wen Youyi smiled and said nothing. In fact, his hands, which were behind his back, were covered in sweat.

"Continue forward." He ordered. "However... slow down the speed even more. Since we are 'paying respects,' let's be serious about it. When passing all visible civilization wreckage, stop for three breaths, pay respects, and then leave."

Old K looked at Wen Youyi and suddenly grinned: "Kid, you're interesting. I'm starting to think that hanging out with you lot, we might actually make it out of this graveyard alive."

The voyage continued.

"hope" moved like a pilgrimage ship slowly moving through a cemetery, stopping briefly at every piece of civilization wreckage, projecting the "flame surrounded by stars" emblem, and then performing the hand-over-chest salute.

And strangely, the rest of the journey was exceptionally smooth. Not only did they not encounter any more guardians, even the eerie stardust seemed much more "friendly"—they no longer tried to "whisper," but rather seemed to be clearing a wider path for this ship that showed respect.

Once, when passing through a particularly dense debris area, the stardust spontaneously formed a shimmering band of light, guiding the way for "hope."

"Are they... welcoming us?" Zhao Iron Pillar felt his worldview had been impacted.

"Not welcoming, but acknowledging." Old K's mechanical eye flashed with data streams. "This graveyard hasn't encountered visitors who 'know how to respect' for too long. Most who come are either scavengers or looters; people like you... might be the first."

Wen Youyi stood in front of the porthole, looking at the stardust outside that carried the memories of countless civilizations, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

These civilizations, these lives, these glories and destructions... all had turned into dust.

And they, the "livestock" who escaped from the Ranch, had to carry the memories of these deceased and continue forward.

"Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain," he asked in a low voice, "Do you think... if one day we fail, will we also become like this? Become a grain of dust in the star sea, waiting for the 'paying of respects' of some latecomer?"

[No.] Aila Xinghen - Deputy Captain's answer was categorical. [Because we will win.]

Wen Youyi smiled.

That's right.

They must win.

For those civilizations that have turned into stardust, and for themselves who have not yet turned into stardust.

(End of chapter)