Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

The Boros Global Foundation is holding a celebration to declare its continued strength to the entire galaxy and showcase its new identity.

The assembled warship array hovered silently, awaiting orders to unleash fireworks in the shape of the Humboldt Covenant and the Boros Space Foundation emblems using energy weapons and bombs positioned at predetermined locations in the starry sky.

In the airport area, the anti-gravity platform unfolds layer by layer along the central axis, with crystal clusters inlaid on the edges. As energy is input, it changes to the iconic colors of the Consortium and the Foundation, and the interplay of light and shadow envelops the entire celebration in a magnificent atmosphere.

Numerous affiliated civilizations and friendly forces from within the galaxy gathered here, with intelligent races of various forms moving through the corridors. Karen stood at the entrance, her clothes adorned with patterns reserved for members of the board of directors.

His eyes calmly swept over the guests coming and going, his face always bearing a perfectly timed and impeccable diplomatic smile.

Karen was well aware of the thoughts churning beneath that composed exterior.

In Karen's eyes, this celebration, held to mark the eradication of the Star River's public enemy, was nothing more than a self-deceiving farce, akin to banging drums and gongs outside a cage, wantonly provoking others.

But he could say nothing, which accelerated the pace of the rebellion. Meanwhile, the old men on the board were immersed in their illusory glory, eager to use the celebration to declare to the entire galaxy that even if the City of a Thousand Stars were destroyed, the Boros Global Foundation would still be the unshakeable overlord of this spiral arm.

"Your Excellency, the delegation from the Humboldt Consortium has arrived," Karen's personal secretary, Lia, said, interrupting his thoughts.

Karen's smile deepened, but it remained as cool as water seeping from a layer of ice: "Understood. All reception procedures will be carried out according to the plan. Do not make any mistakes."

Before the arrival of the Humboldt Consortium envoy, who had dealt with Karen countless times, the reception area was completely empty; this was the most distinguished guest the Foundation was about to receive.

Karen stepped forward to greet them. "The Boros Cosmic Foundation pays tribute to the Consortium for ending the catastrophe in the galaxy."

The envoy's vertical pupils stared at Karen for a moment, then he slightly raised his chin as a simple return greeting. This was already giving Karen enough face, as the envoy hadn't looked at any other creature directly from beginning to end.

"Envoy Karen, eliminating the destroyers threatening the peace of the galaxy cluster did not require the Humboldt Consortium's intervention. Your Foundation's performance in this operation has been far from satisfactory."

These words carried an undisguised accusation. If it were any other official from the foundation, they would probably have apologized in fear by now, but Karen simply maintained a smile on her face.

"Your Excellency is absolutely right. We have taken many detours and paid a price, which is why we are even more grateful for the assistance of the Covenant in maintaining the peace of the galaxy cluster."

Just then, Karen's grandfather, the current rotating director of the foundation, strode over with a group of board members.

Genetic optimization allowed the rotating board member to maintain a robust physique. When facing the envoy of the Humboldt Consortium, he adopted a very humble posture, even more so than Karen, completely lacking the authority of the board of directors within the foundation.

"On behalf of the entire board of directors of the Boros Universal Foundation and all its affiliated civilizations, I welcome you."

The envoy refused the rotating director's courtesy with gestures and walked straight inside, while the board members looked at each other in bewilderment and could only follow silently behind.

"Your Excellency, how does the Covenant deal with the Undead Dragon? The power of that Leviathan is truly terrifying."

The envoy said with a disdainful arrogance, "You can rest assured, the Black Hole Battleship has arrived at our Homborian Consortium's homeworld, and we have ways to seal and study that Leviathan."

The rotating director let out a sigh of admiration, which Karen heard clearly from behind. Her grandfather kept praising the alliance, claiming that with the alliance in charge, nothing in this star cluster could threaten the safety of the vast civilizations.

Karen listened to every word of the conversation. "Grandfather, Your Excellency the Envoy, the ceremony is about to begin. I need to check the procedures. Please excuse me for a moment," he said, stopping at the opportune moment and finding an impeccable excuse.

The grandfather waved his hand casually: "Go, go, don't make any mistakes." The messenger glanced at Karen indifferently and didn't say anything more.

Karen turned and left the reception corridor, directing the arrangements at the ceremony site while also glancing at the report Captain Rex had sent him. The information about the planet and civilization suspected to be related to the Undead Dragon had been compiled.

Rex discovered numerous space elevators standing on the planet's surface, a space station orbiting the planet above the Earth and Moon, and a ship heading towards the outer planets of the Heng system. All these signs indicate that this civilization has entered the interstellar age.

The real focus of the report was the observations of that celestial satellite, which made Karen gasp; he had finally found what he was looking for.

The satellite orbiting the icy planet in the image is no longer barren. On the side facing the planet, a massive temple complex stands in the center of the crater.

Built entirely of black, unidentified rock, this temple complex enshrines the image of the undead dragon, lifelike in its form. Carved black and red flame patterns entwine its black dragon bones, overlooking the frozen planet below.

Even from such a great distance, Karen could feel an overwhelming pressure emanating from the sculpture; it truly possessed a divine aura.

The report also recorded a grand sacrificial ceremony, in which tens of thousands of beings, resembling those from the Sea of ​​Souls, dressed in black robes, gathered in the square in front of the temple. The concentration of psionic energy detected during their ceremony soared to a level that shocked Captain Rex, so he highlighted it in the report.

At the end of the report was a note written by Rex, in which he stated that although the ship's stealth modules were always running at full power and there was no sign of the signal being detected by the enemy's detection equipment, as a veteran of countless battles, he always had a strong intuition that they had been discovered by this civilization.

Karen could glean from this report the information he had been longing for: that this civilization was a follower of the undead dragons and closely connected to the mysterious Leviathan.

He ordered Captain Rex to remain in the target system to maintain observation, and to focus all subsequent efforts on everything related to this civilization and the Undead Dragons.

Shortly after, Lia, Lia's personal secretary, came through on her phone. "Your Excellency, the celebration is about to begin. The rotating director is looking for you, and all the guests are already seated."

Numerous delegations from various civilizations had gathered here. When Karen approached, the rotating director waved to him with a smile, "Karen, come here."

Karen stepped forward and offered her blessings to her grandfather, "Grandfather, as this celebration marks your approaching birthday, I present you with a gift to wish you a long life and that the glory of the foundation will forever shine upon this galaxy."

As soon as the words were spoken, the pre-arranged gift was displayed in space: a statue carved from a crystalline asteroid, refracting a dazzling light. The theme was the scene of defeating the undead dragon, which was extremely powerful. Even the distorted light at the edge of the black hole's event horizon was perfectly replicated.

The main hall erupted in applause and exclamations. The rotating director beamed with satisfaction and pride, expressing his delight to his grandson. The envoy, following the mood, gave Karen face, nodding slightly and offering an approving smile.

According to the rotating board members, the statue is not only a birthday gift presented by the grandson, but also a symbol of the honor that the Boros Global Foundation has the privilege of joining hands with the Humboldt Consortium to eliminate the great threat to the stars.

No one noticed Karen, who was standing bowing at the front of the stage. Her lowered eyes, besides an outward smile, revealed only a bottomless coldness.