Chapter 79: The Voice of the Stars

The miniature form of the blue giant vanished, replaced by a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. His gaze was dim, unfocused, making it difficult to discern whether he was simply distracted or caught in some negative state, his consciousness scattered.

"Is this your human form?"

"No, it's a mimicry."

"It would be easier to find a human host," Saku suggested, though his tone lacked any real enthusiasm for convincing Tregia to adopt his viewpoint. "Even a mimicry must consume quite a bit of energy, right?"

"I don't lack energy. This is fine," Tregia shook his head. Letting him imitate Tyro and Taiga by searching for a human host? That was something he'd never even considered, nor did he have the incentive or motivation to do so.

"In this mimicry, my name is Kiri."

"Alright, Kiri. I am Saku, Saku Shinji."

Saku pointed to the nameplate at the corner of the table. It was double-sided, displaying his name and position on this planet.

In truth, even if Tregia hadn't said so, Saku already knew the name of his human mimicry—and much more, details Tregia himself might not know or remember.

All of that information came courtesy of Yuki.

The fragments of "information" in his mind were scattered, bits and pieces, large matters and small, all seemingly within his grasp. He even knew about the minor incident where Tregia secretly wrote poetry, only for Tyro to unexpectedly discover it—details so trivial the parties involved might have forgotten them.

Having confirmed their names, Saku had no intention of letting Kiri leave, even though the latter seemed to be already scheming how to make his escape.

"Take a look at this."

With that, Saku turned the monitor slightly toward Kiri, so he could see its contents.

"...You're investigating Yuki?"

"Yes. See if there's anything missing that needs to be added."

Kiri leaned forward, approaching the screen. He didn't touch the mouse or keyboard; instead, using his control over electronics, he input signals remotely, causing the interface to scroll downward.

His reading speed was astonishing, scanning ten lines at a glance, and soon the scrollbar reached the bottom.

"...There's nothing to add," Kiri summarized.

The information before him was all "objective" basic data—birthdate, educational history—and Yuki's life trajectory was clear. Any basic information could easily be dug up by the authorities.

"Why are you investigating him?"

"Aren't you curious about him?"

Upon hearing this, Kiri couldn't help but glance at Saku, completely forgetting his earlier self-admonition to avoid making eye contact.

"...Why should I be curious about him? He's just an ordinary human."

Even if, due to Taiga, he paid some attention to Yuki, his attitude was no more than "finding him interesting," certainly not enough to warrant digging up his entire history.

Yet Saku wore an expression of disappointment.

"...?"

Kiri could only feel perplexed. He didn't hold back and asked directly, "Does he have something special about him?"

Saku lowered his gaze, as if considering how to explain.

He was silent for a long time, but Kiri wasn't impatient; he simply sat there. The silence of this distinguished figure only piqued Kiri's curiosity further.

After a while, Saku finally spoke. "Do you remember our research project—the Nebula Particle System?"

"...I remember," Kiri admitted, feeling a bit guilty.

Yes, Saku said "our" research project.

Although the project was officially named the "Nebula Particle System," its final product came to be popularly known as the "Taiga Spark."

Let me briefly introduce the "Taiga Spark": the system comprises the "Nebula Particle Converter" and the "Light Key." The converter can transform a Giant of Light into nebula particles, which are stored inside the Light Key. The converter can then extract the nebula particles from the Light Key, reverse the transformation, and reconstruct the Giant of Light.

Such operations are feasible only for beings like the Giants of Light, who are composed almost entirely of light particles and lack most physical form.

Otherwise, one would run into ethical issues.

In some human science fiction films and shows, similar technology is depicted, enabling instantaneous teleportation. The basic operating principle is as follows: First, the teleportation device analyzes the person or object at the subatomic level, recording the exact position and energy state of every subatomic particle. Second, the subject is converted into an energy stream—"energized"—broken down into a flow of subatomic matter. Third, this matter stream is stored in a "pattern buffer," with computers compensating for the relative velocity difference between the teleportation chamber and the destination. Fourth, the matter stream is transmitted to the teleportation emitter and reassembled at the target location.

This raises the question: after being disassembled and reassembled, is the person at the destination still the same as before? Is it possible that the original person dies at the moment of disassembly, and the reassembled body is simply a new person?

However, for the Giants of Light, who are accustomed to abandoning physical form and moving through the universe as streams of light, they can confidently assert, "I am still myself, because 'I' am light."

For light, no matter how its physical shape or structure changes, its essence remains unchanged, just as water poured into containers of different shapes is still water—it is not "cylindrical water" simply because it's poured into a round-bottomed cup.

Yet such details are unimportant and unnecessary for the device's users to know. Taiga, for instance, has no understanding of the principles and technical details behind the Taiga Spark. Perhaps for Taiga, it's merely a convenient device for Yuki to carry, allowing him to read particle data and assist in battles.

In reality, the "Taiga Spark" is merely a byproduct of the Nebula Particle System.

The Nebula Particle System was a massive, long-term project, spanning over fifteen thousand years. It underwent one restart and two freezes—a project plagued by misfortune.

The project was roughly divided into two phases—nebula particle conversion, and nebula particle storage and retrieval, each led by a different scientist.

After the first phase ended, with no further progress or output, the project was frozen once the documentation was organized and archived.

Two thousand years later, another scientist restarted the project, pushing it forward a great deal. Then, just as the nebula particle storage and retrieval system was about to enter miniaturization and mass production, that scientist suddenly disappeared from the Land of Light, and the project was frozen again soon afterward.

It seemed the project was cursed; every lead scientist eventually abandoned ship, and freezing was inevitable.

Incidentally, the lead scientist of the first phase was Zoffy.

Yes, in that distant past, before the formation of the Space Defense Force and before Zoffy became a warrior, he was a scientist.

But why Zoffy?

Because the Nebula Particle System originated from Zoffy's research into a mysterious force.

That force was not rare. Across the universe, many planetary civilizations existed, and in their vast records, traces of that mysterious force could be found.

Such power only appeared on planets showing signs of life.

Only when a certain number of creatures on a planet prayed, cried out, and struggled for the same wish—a wish with a clear object or vessel—did their collective will coalesce into a torrent, guiding the planet's own power and channeling it into the "vessel."

At that moment, the "planet" ceased to be a mere chunk of earth drifting and obeying cosmic laws. Activated by their will, it became a vast reactor, unleashing unimaginable power through the "vessel."

This phenomenon was called planetary will.

Or the world’s soul.

Or the voice of the stars.