Udona paced back and forth in her office, looking at the various reports that she had on her desk. Over the last three days, there had been increasing spikes in dimensium activity within Deckan. Simultaneously, the dimensium within the realm belonging to the March and Metong were disappearing at the same intervals.
The first time that it happened, the change lasted for only two seconds. After that, it lasted for ten seconds, then a minute. By the fifth time that the spike occurred, dimensium activity was altered in both realms for a full ten minutes.
Projected on the wall of her office were the images of both the High Mother and the March King. Although the March King was naturally expressionless, his face too rigid to convey emotions, the High Mother looked incredibly worried. “Is there anything that you know about this, as a member of the Greater Pantheon?” She asked, though Udona could only shake her head.
“Nothing. We’ve never had anything like this before. Can you think of anything that has happened in either of your worlds that could have led to this, most likely within the week prior to the first activity?”
When they were asked this, the two each looked at the other’s projection, seeing clear uncertainty in their eyes. “There has been no new research projects regarding dimensium within the March systems.” The king said in an electronic tone.
“While the Metong are always studying dimensium, nothing that we’ve done lately should have any kind of universal impact. At least, none of the logged projects. There’s always the chance that somebody in one of our races is doing a research project without informing the higher ups.”
Udona gave a short nod. It was impossible for anyone to try to monitor every secret project. She closed her eyes, sending out a distress message. Terra? Can you tell me anything about this?
Normally, Udona didn’t like to rely on Terra for things like this, as she preferred to take care of her own problems. More importantly, it felt like she was taking advantage of her sister’s position as a part of the system.
After a few moments, Terra responded somberly. I can tell you that this isn’t a response to any mortal projects…
Are you able to tell me what is causing it? Or any kind of solution? If this continues, won’t that realm completely lose its dimensium?
Terra fell silent again, before speaking in a soft, almost comforting tone. It’s not just the dimensium, Udona…
Udona’s eyes widened, her ears standing on end. Don’t tell me…
That’s right. Terra confirmed Udona’s inner thoughts. That realm is collapsing. The dimensium is merely the first symptom.
Udona’s pace back and forth in her office immediately quickened, the two royals watching her as she held a silent conversation with Terra. But why? Why now, of all times? And what could have caused it?
Have you forgotten how that realm was made? Terra asked, and Udona had to think back to recall.
The world of the golems was not actually made through the system. In an attempt to cut costs, Ryone had created a cut in the fabric of space, cloning Deckan and attaching the second world to it. That was how the Geer had originally made it to Deckan, by finding regions of destabilized space that they could slip through.
But… why is it only happening now? That world has been around for so long at this point!
This time, Terra couldn’t quickly answer. All I can say is that it is likely because of V-Day. The disturbance caused by those void monsters was immense, and could have disrupted the balance between the two worlds. In fact, it’s possible that these instabilities have been occurring for quite some time, but they only just got to the point where they became noticeable.
Udona bit her lip, trying to think. Can… can you tell me which world is going to fall? Is it theirs, or Deckan?
Terra let out a long sigh. Deckan was created by the system, and has the highest stability. The world created by Ryone is merely a soap bubble clinging to the side of it, getting ready to finally pop.
This was not the answer that Udona wanted to hear, though it was what she expected. If it was Deckan that was doomed to failure, they would only need to evacuate a few worlds, and there was plenty of space among the other realms. However, even after the events of V-Day, the sheer number of worlds governed by both the March and the Metong was staggering. Maybe only one in every hundred planets could have their population saved, especially now that they couldn’t reliably explore outside of the Hyperlane Network.
With a solemn look on her face, Udona turned to face the two royals. There was no good way to put this. “I just consulted with my sister, and she has identified the cause of the disturbance.”
Initially, the High Mother looked as if she wanted to be hopeful, but seeing Udona’s serious expression, her face fell further. “There’s no fixing it, is there?”
Udona shook her head. “According to what she has discovered, your realm is going to collapse. The dimensium is only the first sign. I don’t know how much time your world has left, but it will probably not be long. A year, a month, maybe even only a week.”
Numbers could be seen flashing through the eyes of the March King before he spoke. “If a mandatory evacuation takes place, given the current resources, it is estimated that we can preserve zero-point-zero-zero-zero-one percent of our empire’s collective populations every day, taking into account the traffic of inter-universal gateways.”
The High Mother bit her lip, her silver body tensing. “There’s got to be something. What if we deployed Fallen Gods to help stabilize the world barrier?”
Udona shook her head. “You can delay the problem like that, but I don’t know if there is a way to fix the damage that’s been done. At best, I can suggest getting in contact with the Another World Research Group. They are working on a world creation project, after all. If they are able to get even a temporary realm created for you, there is a chance to save more people.”
“But even then, we can’t save everyone.” The High Mother said in a tone of solemn understanding. “Additionally, if this is due to the collapse of the world barrier, then any large-scale traffic could accelerate the degradation.”
She lowered her head in thought, before looking at the March King. “My good sir, I have a proposal. For now, we must completely cease all travel in and out of our universe. Additionally, we need to close all existing portals, including those for communication networks. This will buy the most time from our end.”
“After that, we can have Fallen Gods sent from other worlds to try and slow the progress of the world’s destruction. While this happens, our two empires must try to create a new project for rapid research and development. We need to create a device capable of storing an entire planet and its inhabitants safely in a space no more than three centimeters cubed. If we do that, and can mass produce this device, we can go to each world to package it, and then move to a new realm created by this research foundation.”
“There is one more problem.” Udona interjected while the March King was deliberating the idea. “The Digital Conversion system may accelerate the problem. Any production methods you use for this plan have to be carried out conventionally.”
The High Mother’s silver face showed reluctance, but she firmly nodded her head. “If that’s the case… it’s unlikely we’ll be able to make enough in time… but we have to try. We need to put the combined power of both of our empires behind this one project. I’m sorry, Udona, but I do not believe that we will be in any position to help with breaching the Hyperlane Network until this problem is dealt with.”
Udona nodded her head, fully understanding that. Although the March and Metong were the best researchers she knew, due to each of their kind being an advanced supercomputer, there was no way that their help could be expected when they couldn’t even help themselves.
“I wish you both the best of luck. If you need any help, remember to pray. A prayer to the Greater Pantheon should have no influence on the world barrier in the slightest.” The High Mother looked relieved when she heard that, glad that there was at least some method of communicating with the outside world that could be preserved.
“Very well.” The March King nodded his acceptance of the plan. “I will begin enacting the initial stages immediately. Udona, I shall leave it to you and the others to ensure that no traveler attempts to cross into our land.”
Udona smiled reassuringly. “I’ll make sure that they know your realm is under lockdown.” After she said that, she cut the call with the two, immediately changing to call Chelsea.
“Yo, Udona, what’s with the serious face?” Chelsea asked when the call connected, a smudge of grease on her cheek.
“How quickly can you get a stable world generated? It can have a simple copy of another world’s laws, and it doesn’t need to be permanent.”
Hearing Udona’s tone, Chelsea’s face became serious. “If I get a full scan of the four cores for the world that I’m copying, I can have a module ready in… three weeks? It will take a little time for simulations and testing, why?”
“The world of Tubrock’s golems is collapsing.” Chelsea’s eyes widened when she heard that, before narrowing in focus.
“Give me two weeks, and I can have a temporary shelter. I’ll say this now, if the world is collapsing because of a law instability, I can’t use their current realm as the basis, nor Deckan. I’ll need to use the cores from the A.W.R.G. universe. This means that they won’t have access to naturally occurring dimensium anymore.”
“That’s fine.” Udona agreed without hesitation. “It’s a far cry better than doing nothing. Do you have any idea how long the shelter will last?”
“Not without testing. However, we don’t have the technology to do a universal time acceleration yet. I can make the space, but they’ll need to bring the landmass.”
When Chelsea said that, Udona gave a firm nod. “They’re researching that right now. They won’t leave behind all of the different races that they are governing.”
“I’m sure.” Chelsea smiled. “Though… why are you bringing this to me? If you need a new world, couldn’t Dale make a complete copy of Deckan for them?”
Udona… paused. She had been so focused on solving things from a mortal standpoint that she had forgotten about such a simple solution. “Let’s… try our way first. If you can’t get the temporary shelter established in time, we will use the system to create a complete world. Either way, it won’t be possible to move everyone from their empires until they finish their current research, so we have time.”
Chelsea nodded her head, chuckling faintly. “I suppose. For now, I’ll use the scans of our cores to begin constructing a clone universe. Once I have all of the materials I need, and we can construct a void defense around the new world, I’ll let you know.”
