Chapter 45 - Curse of Destruction

--Side Story--

Our race has been around for a really long time. If I had to guess, I’d say we’ve been surviving for hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of years.

How have we managed to stick around for so long? Well, we’ve used our intelligence, our science, and our logic to work wonders and tackle the mysteries of the endless universe. And unlike some other civilizations, we actually learn from our mistakes and fix our problems, coming out stronger each time.

Everyone has a role to play, and our purpose is to uncover the truth, solve the mysteries, and keep on living…forever.

Sounds pretty dramatic, right? That’s basically become our civilization’s motto since we became well-known across the galaxy.

About 25,000 years ago, our ancestors took over a quarter of the galaxy using our advanced technology. They might have conquered more, but the remaining three-quarters of the galaxy were threatening to unite against us. Even for us, that would have meant extinction.

So, our ancestors did the sensible thing. They signed a peace and profit treaty to keep the peace and develop safer trade routes, which also brought in profits for everyone.

Oh, speaking of introductions, I completely forgot to introduce myself. Where are my manners?

I’m Alex Lloyd, a 57-year-old award-winning scientist specializing in cosmic radiation and unknown cosmic energies, or UCE for short. (A/N: Big disclaimer here… I know nothing about real science, so don’t take any of this too seriously. It’s probably just a bunch of made-up jargon.)

For the past twenty years, I’ve been studying my father’s secret journal. It details how our ancestors discovered an extremely potent, powerful, and dangerous UCE when their technology was, well, pretty primitive.

They called it the Curse of Destruction.

Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but maybe their naming sense wasn’t the best, or maybe they just weren’t very advanced back then. (A/N: *cough* not me *cough*)

The journal also notes that this was over 50,000 years ago when rocket science was still in its infancy. So, the big question is, how did their rudimentary technology detect a UCE when some of our current equipment still struggles to find it?

Maybe we’re underestimating their technology, but it’s hard to imagine how basic their equipment must have been. But then again, it did manage to pick up that UCE—the one I’ve been trying to track down for the past 20 years!

I mean, how hard can it be to find this thing?

I’ve gone over the star patterns and data from the journal, checked the coordinates, and searched the entire galaxy, but nothing has shown up on any of my devices! I’ve even scoured the galactic black market for clues, but came up empty-handed.

I’m starting to think that this UCE is just a big hoax my ancestors cooked up to mess with future generations.

Just then, I’m interrupted by that familiar beeping sound I’ve grown to loathe.

My equipment is blaring again, claiming it’s found a UCE that looks a lot like the one my ancestors found. But you know what? For the past thousand times or so, it’s always turned out to be some space disturbance that results in faulty readings.

I slowly drag myself off the cushions and shuffle over to the overly expensive piece of junk that I’ve spent most of my fortune on. I take a look at the malfunctioning equipment and mutter:

「Huh?!」