Chapter 350: S: The Radiant Event (25)

The Sulfur Dwarves have declared war on the Andromeda Consortium civilization!

The Shadow rushed into Charles's office, her voice echoing with Blue Spirit's tone, Green Spike close behind her; Charles was speaking with Wanda and Quicksilver, and at the sound, he turned his head.

Blue slime spread over the Shadow's body, and Blue Spirit's voice emerged, speaking in a deeply somber tone: "Just now, we received a communication from our kin—the Sulfur Dwarves destroyed a planet at the edge of the Great Nebula belonging to the Andromeda Consortium and have assembled their fleet; they are now advancing in full force!"

"What's going on?" Charles frowned. "Why start a war now? Didn't you say the situation was still stable?"

Blue Spirit sighed. "According to my kin, a peculiar force has recently appeared around Klinta, enveloping the entire planet and preventing all symbiotes from leaving. The Sulfur Dwarves likely intend to exploit this vulnerability—striking while the symbiotes are unable to reinforce the Andromeda Consortium."

"A peculiar force?" Charles was baffled; he had never been well-versed in mystical matters. "We'll need to consult Strange. Quicksilver, go fetch Blink. The two of you will take these symbiotes to the Sanctum Sanctorum…"

Wanda raised her hand. "I'll come too. I'll also ask them about the progress on that last issue."

"Next time he comes, tell me—and I guarantee he won't bother you in your dreams again," Charles walked over and patted Wanda's arm. "Don't worry. He can't hurt you."

"Actually, even if he enters my dreams, he can't hurt me—it's just annoying," Wanda sighed. "He's incredibly ugly. Every time I see him in my dreams, I feel like I'm having a nightmare."

"I told you not to get involved with that kind of demon god," Quicksilver shook his head, clearly disapproving. But Wanda replied: "The Chaos power he lent me is genuinely useful, and the price I pay is just running errands for him. It's only recently that he's been pushing too hard—that's why I'm irritated."

"Forget it. Let's go," Wanda pulled Quicksilver's arm.

The group quickly brought the symbiotes to the Sanctum Sanctorum, where everyone was already gathered: Shearer, Nick, Stark, Strange, and Loki—all discussing how to maximize the use of the Radiant Fleet.

Stark's view was that the ships should primarily be unmanned, operated by his intelligent armor to minimize demands on astronauts, with focus on research rather than major modifications to the vessels themselves, while simultaneously beginning independent ship production.

Strange, however, believed the fleet should be magically enhanced, since magical technology was one of humanity's strengths and could effectively counter civilizations relying solely on science.

Loki argued for maximizing firepower, like Asgard's fleet—more is better, bigger is beautiful.

Loki was now closely tied to humans, as she was not only a shareholder of the Sanctum Sanctorum but also its sales representative and a senior partner; the better the Sanctum thrived, the greater her influence in Asgard—truly, their fortunes were intertwined.

Moreover, she got along well with Strange; the two collaborated smoothly, so she was often willing to offer advice.

As the mutants and symbiotes entered, Loki was speaking: "I think you could combine the weapon systems of these ten warships into one massive weapon—not only for attacking enemies, but also for mining minerals on nearby planets."

"Don't underestimate mining and excavation capabilities—it's the foundation of any civilization. Even Asgard's Rainbow Bridge, a powerful weapon, is frequently used to shatter planets and extract rare cosmic metals."

Stark agreed with her, nodding. "Indeed, the galaxy holds so many exploitable resources—it makes no sense to leave them unused. The path to advancing human basic science is long; we should first accumulate resources…"

Strange, however, thought this wasteful. "Honestly, I don't think you need all ten ships. Couldn't you spare us two for experimentation? Science and magic stand on equal footing—we don't even ask for half. That's already generous."

"But you must present a rigorous plan detailing exactly how you intend to modify these ships. It's a necessary procedure."

Strange crossed his arms, helplessly saying: "Do you expect those Grand Masters to draw engineering blueprints? Magic simply can't be described in precise, clear language…"

The two remained at an impasse for a while, until Nick intervened. He told Strange: "Even if you can't produce a complete process, at least tell us the expected outcome."

Then he turned to Stark: "Since we're pursuing a path of science and magic coexisting, refusing to give even one ship is excessive. I'll decide this: I'll allocate one ship to Kamar-Taj for preliminary experiments. If they fail, it becomes yours—modify it however you like. Deal?"

Stark thought for a moment, then nodded.

"What do S. . . . . . and other national security agencies say?" Shearer turned to Nick. Nick sighed. "S. . . . . . informed me that Eastern nations are particularly focused on the ship engines—you know, their research into nuclear fusion is advanced…"

"Several Far Eastern nations have united to crack this technology—they'll likely produce preliminary results within months. Europe, meanwhile, excels in cosmic ecology research and observation tech; they plan to specialize in that area."

"As for us, naturally, structure and materials. Oh, by the way, Wakanda's representative is planning to compete with us in materials—they've got a massive advantage. Our specialists recommend we avoid direct confrontation for now…"

"So we focus on structure?"

"Exactly. That's our strength. Also, the ship's intelligent systems—we have Stark, after all. Our advantage in engineering and mechanics is unmatched. Of course, we can't neglect biotechnology—Osborn already has ideas…"

As they spoke, the mutants and symbiotes entered. Blue Spirit explained the current situation to them. The group exchanged glances, as if all had realized something. Strange looked at Blue Spirit. "Can you describe this peculiar force surrounding your planet in more detail?"

"Simply put, it's black mist—but extremely dense, highly concentrated, and carrying a familiar aura. Preliminary analysis suggests it's one of the universe's primordial forces…"

As Blue Spirit described the force, Wanda's brow furrowed deeper. She turned to Blue Spirit. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? This sounds exactly like Chaos energy."

"No doubt about it. That's Chaos energy—and specifically, the Chaos energy of the Great Shadow Siseon," Strange declared firmly.

The symbiotes looked at each other. "The Great Shadow Siseon? That name sounds familiar, but we've never encountered him. Who is he? Why is he surrounding our homeworld?"

Strange gazed up at the ceiling. Shearer stared at the wood grain on the table. Nick searched for dust on the window. Loki tilted her head, studying the metal armrest. Only Stark shook his head—clearly, his moral threshold was still higher than the others'.

To understand why the Great Shadow Siseon surrounded Klinta, we must begin with the Nul incident.

As is well known, Nul is one of the oldest beings in the universe, wielding Chaos energy—the primordial force of the cosmos. Though he uses Chaos energy, he does not own it. Other demon gods also wield it, such as the Great Shadow Siseon.

Though Siseon has suffered many defeats in battle, he was once called a "cancer" by Eternity, one of the Five Cosmic Gods, indicating his life tier is exceedingly high.

Nul and Siseon are the universe's two greatest users of Chaos energy. But Siseon surpasses Nul in one key way—he's smarter. That's why he chose the Scarlet Witch as his earthly emissary.

Previously, Siseon had been asleep. But as he slept, he felt his mattress sinking. Normally, that wouldn't wake him. Then, one day—*crack*—his house collapsed.

Siseon awoke to find a corner of his home had been dug out.

He had been sleeping peacefully, only to wake and discover his house had been undermined. Naturally, he was furious. He circled his home, determined to find the bastard who'd dug under his walls.

But when he looked, he realized something far worse: the culprit hadn't just dug out a corner—he'd stolen an entire wall overnight. When Siseon awoke, he found the universe's Chaos energy had significantly diminished. He was utterly baffled.

Here, we must explain the nature of the universe's primordial forces. There are many types, each with distinct properties. Some are active, widely used. Others are inert—difficult to harness unless one is born with innate control.

ahzww.

The prime example of inert cosmic force is the Crimson Force within the Crimson Dimension, where Setrak resides. It generates and changes extremely slowly. Though immensely powerful, it's inactive—so Setrak spends most of his time sleeping.

Chaos energy is also an inert force, but less dormant than the Crimson Force. Some beings can use it. Yet precisely because it's inert, it rarely suffers sudden, massive depletion—few users mean minimal loss.

Yet Siseon's wall had vanished without warning. He was utterly confused. He hadn't slept long—last time he woke was when he granted the Scarlet Witch Chaos energy. Only days had passed? His house was already demolished? Even a bulldozer isn't that fast?!

Siseon's first move was to ask neighboring demon gods what had happened in the universe. That's how he heard the name "Sanctum Sanctorum."

The Sanctum Sanctorum happened to be located in the Scarlet Witch's homeland. So he entered her dreams, demanding she come immediately to investigate where his wall had gone.

The Scarlet Witch dreamed of Siseon's face daily—she was driven mad by him. Reluctantly, she went. Then she arrived at the Sanctum Sanctorum and asked Strange that question.

Of course, in the spirit of gentlemanly conduct, Strange thought it too burdensome to make the Scarlet Witch travel back and forth. So the Sanctum sent a mage to deliver Siseon a cellphone.

As for how Siseon ultimately traced the theft back to Nul, Strange didn't know. Perhaps Siseon had a natural detective talent—or perhaps desperation had unlocked extraordinary wisdom…

But it certainly wasn't Strange who instructed the operator to blab.