Chapter 8
661words
In that forgotten wandering star system, on a vibrant green planet, a brand new civilization was quietly being born.
Nikolai used the Empire's top-tier technology at his disposal to establish an energy circulation system and basic survival facilities. Meanwhile, Serena used her power as a "Harmonizer" to soothe the wild primordial energies of this planet, guiding plants to grow rapidly and purifying water sources.
The home they built together perfectly merged human resilience with alien technology, filled with harmony and vitality. They named it—"Twin Star."
Gradually, some primitive lifeforms in this stellar region, deemed "non-intelligent" by Imperial technology, were attracted by the harmony and goodwill of this place. There were "Light Whales" with bodies of flowing light that fed on nebulae, and gentle-natured "Rock Sprites" that could grow crystals on asteroids.
Serena used her power of "Connection" to communicate with them and build trust. Nikolai used his wisdom to help them solve survival challenges.
A "Star Sea Alliance" based on principles of peace, coexistence, and mutual respect was thus quietly formed, in a manner completely different from the Empire's expansionist ideology.
In this process, Nikolai and Serena also reconsidered the definition of "home" and "belonging."
They no longer obsessed over whether they were Earthlings or Imperial citizens. Home was no longer that distant blue planet, nor that cold steel empire.
Home was each other.
As long as they could see each other's eyes and feel each other's breath, no matter which corner of the universe they were in, that place... was home. Their love transcended taboos, transcended races, and became the strongest, most central cornerstone of this new world.
Many years later, a lost interstellar merchant ship accidentally entered this star region. They brought news from the outside world.
The Imperial High Council had ultimately issued an eternal arrest warrant for the "traitor" Nikolai. His name became forbidden within the boundaries of the Empire.
However, at the same time, another investigation report on the anomalies in the Talos star system, released by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, caused a great stir within the Empire. Although the report was worded ambiguously, it indirectly confirmed the authenticity of the "Cosmic String" theory and acknowledged the important role of some "unknown force" in maintaining cosmic balance.
This left an intriguing turning point for Nikolai's "charges," and also indicated that the Empire was not internally monolithic.
As for the aide who helped them escape, there were two versions of rumors. Some said he was tried and executed as a traitor; others said he was secretly pardoned by a powerful reform faction and has now become an emerging force seeking change in the Imperial Council that cannot be ignored.
Whatever the truth may be, the old world has gradually drifted away.
On a peaceful evening, Nikolai and Serena stood hand in hand in front of their home, which they had built themselves on the highest peak of "Binary Star," gazing at the magnificent ocean of stars in the distance.
Several satellites and Alliance members' spacecraft, like gentle fireflies, orbited this beautiful planet. The distant nebula resembled a brilliant, flowing Milky Way.
They no longer talked about the past, nor worried about the future.
They understood that the journey ahead was still long, and unknown challenges might be waiting for them beyond the next star. But they were no longer afraid.
Because they had each other, and a place they could call "home."
Through a love once considered forbidden, they had forged a new path filled with infinite possibilities for two once-separated galaxies and two distinctly different civilizations.
Nikolai tilted his head, gazing at Serena's serene and beautiful profile bathed in starlight. She sensed his gaze and turned to him, offering a radiant smile as warm as the newborn sun.
He tightened his grip on her hand, a thousand words ultimately transforming into a gentle smile on his lips.
In the boundless ocean of stars, wherever you are is where my heart finds peace.
