CHAPTER 378: TABOO! I

The Stellar Harvester cut through the void with the inexorable patience of gravity itself, its massive hull displacing space-time that had flowed undisturbed for years.

Hours blended into one another as the vessel maintained its heading toward a destination that only two beings aboard truly understood the significance of.

At the observation platform’s edge, Achilles stood motionless as a statue carved from starlight.

To any observer, he appeared lost in contemplation of the outer space beyond the transparent barriers.

In reality, he was engaged in work far more fundamental than mere stargazing.

Space-Time flowed into his being like a river finding its proper channel!

With his current mastery, the process had become subtle enough to avoid detection- no brilliant displays of power, no gravitational disturbances that might alert the ship’s sensitive instruments or even the White Smith Star.

His Echelon of Space-Time rose steadily while his Existence Corruption remained stable, even decreasing with each passing hour as his enhanced physiology adapted.

While other Empyrean Star Nexus Transcendents spent decades searching for rare stellar materials to enhance their inner stars...fragments of neutron matter, crystallized pulsar emissions, exotic particles from the hearts of dying suns, Achilles was incorporating the fundamental building blpcks of space and time itself!

Space and Time, the canvas upon which all existence was painted, was becoming part of his essential nature.

It was a process that required absolute focus, which made the approaching interruption both predictable and unwelcome.

Behind him, the White Smith Star moved through the Harvester’s command sections with the restless energy of a predator confined to too small a cage.

Her enhanced capabilities had left her eager for action, but their journey offered nothing but empty void and the slow passage of hours.

The crew under her command responded to her directives with professional efficiency, but Achilles could sense her growing impatience!

Throughout the ship, conversations carried undertones of curiosity about their mysterious passenger.

Him!

The Empyrean Star Nexus Transcendents who formed the vessel’s senior protectors had noticed how their commander deferred to the scholarly figure who stood at the observation platform.

Whispered speculations about his identity and purpose rippled through their ranks like gravitational echoes.

The interruption came with the sound of approaching footsteps that carried just enough force to announce their owner’s enhanced nature without actually damaging the deck plating.

"It’s so fucking boring just watching the hours crawl by," the White Smith Star declared as she reached his position.

Her voice carried the particular irritation of someone accustomed to action finding herself trapped in enforced passivity.

She moved to stand beside him, her augmented senses studying his profile with predatory interest. When she spoke again, her tone had shifted to something more personal, more direct.

"You’re quite the looker, you know." Her eyes tracked across his features with obvious appreciation. "Care to make things less tedious in my private quarters? We could find much more entertaining ways to pass the time."

...!

Achilles didn’t even turn to acknowledge her suggestion.

Rose’s face filled his thoughts. emerald eyes that held depths no stellar phenomenon could match, hair like living flame, a smile that could warm the coldest reaches of space.

Beside such perfection, all other beauty became pale imitation.

Simply ugly as fuck!

So...

"No," he said simply.

The White Smith Star’s expression soured immediately, her gorgeous features twisting into something between disappointment and indignation. Clearly, rejection was not an experience she encountered often.

"Are you missing equipment down there?" she asked with deliberate crudeness. "Wait, you’re a type of Human species, aren’t you?"

Her eyes suddenly sharpened with genuine interest, as if this detail explained everything about his behavior.

Achilles nodded without elaboration. Instead of addressing her assumptions, he shifted the conversation toward more useful territory.

"How much do you know about the truly dangerous threats that roam the Star Seas?"

The White Smith Star’s brow furrowed at the unexpected question, her earlier irritation giving way to something approaching professional interest.

She studied his face for several heartbeats before responding.

"Dangerous threats?" She crossed her arms, her augmented physiology unconsciously radiating authority. "Where do I even begin? There are regions out there where even Stellar Genesis Embodiment experts can die...places where the Regulations have been so warped by ancient conflicts that reality itself becomes unstable."

...!

Her voice took on the careful tone of someone who had seen horrors that defied easy description. "The Gravitational Maelstroms near the Collapsed Binary, where space-time has been twisted into permanent storms that can strip the matter from your bones. The Entropy Fields where contact with certain energy signatures can age you centuries in seconds."

She paused, staring out into the void as if expecting threats to materialize from her words alone.

"But those are just environmental hazards. The real nightmares are the living ones." Her voice dropped to something approaching a whisper.

She continued while gazing out to the stellar darkness all around them!

"The Parasitic Hive Clusters- entire populations of beings that reproduce by implanting their offspring in the neural tissue of other species. They spread from system to system like a plague, turning entire civilizations into breeding grounds."

Achilles felt a silent chill and interest that had nothing to do with the vacuum beyond the barriers as he heard another version of a conversation he would have with her in the future- a future he saw from his Continuum Vision!

"Tell me about these Hives."

...!

The White Smith Star nodded.

"They start small, just a few infected individuals in a population. But they’re patient, methodical. They spend days infiltrating a society’s power structures, placing their converts in positions of authority. By the time anyone realizes what’s happening, the infection has spread too far to contain as all lifeforms are infested." She shuddered despite her enhanced physiology.

"Even the Sovereign Void Imperium treats them as an existential threat. When they discover a Hive nest, they mobilize entire fleets to burn it out, regardless of casualties. Better to lose a dozen worlds than let the infection spread."

...!

Achilles had shining eyes when he heard this.

This terrifying Hive...did it not seem like a variation of what he planned to do?!