On the left is a silver flag woven with metallic fibers, its surface flowing with the geometric patterns unique to a mechanical civilization;
On the right is a rainbow-colored flag composed purely of energy constructs, constantly shifting through dizzying colors;
The most unsettling are the flags at the bottom, surprisingly woven out of living tissue, their surfaces gently writhing, as if still maintaining some type of life characteristic.
"Each flag is the elegy of a civilization."
Ron felt the faint energy fluctuations emanating from those flags, a complex emotion rising in his heart.
As a rational researcher, he certainly understood the value of conquest and plunder.
But witnessing this act of reducing entire civilizations to mere decorations still made him frown slightly.
Cassandra appeared right after, not maintaining a human form, but manifesting in the state of a Void Remains structure.
It was a continually expanding radiant energy body, with a diameter of hundreds of meters.
The interior of the Void Remains consisted of countless tiny energy particles composing a complex three-dimensional structure, each particle flickering with different frequencies of light, together forming a dizzying multidimensional image.
The entire Void Remains was like a miniature purple sun, emanating a majestic radiance too intense to look at directly.
The moment the Void Remains structure appeared, an immense mental pressure swept through the entire hall.
Even Official Wizards, faced with the oppressive might of such a Great Wizard Level presence, had to exert every effort to maintain their Spiritual Protection.
Ron felt a wave of dizziness, all his magic power autonomously activating within him, trying to resist this pressure that transcended understanding.
But what caught his attention more was the reaction of the observatory members.
Those researchers and explorers long subjected to Abyss corrosion, upon contact with Cassandra’s Void Remains radiance, displayed clear relief on their faces.
Wayne’s petrified half-face started regaining color, Mary’s artificial eyes steadied their flicker, and even Martin’s keratinized fingers temporarily ceased further deterioration.
"Her Void Remains structure... can, to some extent, suppress Abyss corrosion?"
Ron keenly detected this critical piece of information:
"No, more accurately, it can produce some form of coordination effect with Abyssal Energy. This implies..."
His thoughts were interrupted by Cassandra’s transformation.
The radiant Void Remains began to contract, reforming into a human shape.
When the radiance dissipated, what appeared before everyone was a young woman looking in her twenties.
She resembled a fully matured Eve, with deep black hair like the night sky, delicate yet sharp features, and an impressive figure.
But the most striking were the witch’s eyes, which were like two slowly rotating purple vortices.
"Fellow colleagues."
Cassandra’s voice echoed through the hall, her gentle tone forming a stark contrast to the oppressive might she had just displayed:
"After decades of intermittent transdimensional conquests, I’ve brought a precious gift back for the School Alliance."
She lightly waved her right hand, and a variety of awe-inspiring entities began to pour out from the Teleportation Gate.
First showcased were spoils from the "Crystal Mind Civilization."
Six crystal giants, tens of meters tall, were slowly pushed out, their bodies entirely composed of some living crystal.
Inside, numerous flickering light points could be clearly seen, the manifestation of their thought processes.
Each light point represented a thought fragment, while the entire network of light points constituted a complete intellectual system.
"These are the ’Cognitive Vessels,’ from the fourth quadrant’s Crystal Civilization."
Cassandra’s voice carried evident satisfaction:
"They were originally the philosophers and scientists of that civilization, possessing space theory and energy manipulation technology beyond our reach. Now, all their knowledge belongs to us."
As she spoke, one of the crystal giants began a "performance."
Its body flickered with complex light patterns, countless energy threads interweaving within the crystal body.
Subsequently, a precise three-dimensional model of a galaxy floated in the air, showcasing the Crystal Civilization’s unique understanding of the cosmos’ structure.
The model included not only conventional stars and planets but also the distribution of various hidden dimensions and energy fields.
This knowledge held immeasurable value for wizards, especially those specializing in Space Magic.
Ron closely observed the internal structure of the crystal giants, using "Extraordinary Recognition" to discern the essence of these entities.
They used to be intelligent life forms with independent consciousness, but now they had been thoroughly enslaved, transformed into living knowledge repositories.
"Forced memory extraction and consciousness reconstruction..."
He analyzed the principles of this technology in his mind:
"Through special modulation methods, the target life form’s brain structure is completely remodeled, retaining knowledge and memory but eradicating personal will. This method, though cruel, is indeed the most direct way to acquire Otherworld knowledge."
What followed was even more astonishing, as dozens of "synthetic hounds" marched out of the Teleportation Gate in orderly rows.
They appeared to be perfect fusions of machinery and flesh, their bones and internal organs replaced by precise mechanical structures, but their skin and muscle tissues still maintained biological characteristics.
Each hound possessed a streamlined body, with hydraulic drive devices installed at their joint areas, and energy wings that could be deployed from their backs.
The eeriest aspect was their eyes, one a blood-red biological eyeball, the other a mechanical detector glowing blue.