"Lockdown."
As the entire Halo Array was recalled and confirmed by 000 Tragic Solitude, at the very instant the slipspace exits closed, Selene clenched her outstretched hand.
Vmmmm—!
In the next moment, a veil woven from imaginary starlight shimmered around Selene's body.
But it lasted only a fleeting instant—so brief one might miss it in a blink.
The starry curtain dissipated. Violet-crimson streams of radiant light coiled around her palm, specks of starlight circling and flowing across the surface of her body.
Within her deep scarlet pupils, a brilliant golden halo emerged, her twin eyes blazing with luminance.
The dim starry sky seemed to awaken in that instant. The hazy galactic river writhed like tentacles, dancing wildly within the eerie light screen.
At last, amid an atmosphere that felt distinctly ominous, a force from Imaginary Space was slowly drawn forth...
The moment it appeared—
Dim, obscure radiance spread outward in an instant, using Installation 00—more precisely, the Ark—as its center, linking the surrounding real universe together.
Even entities as powerful as Mendicant Bias and 000 Tragic Solitude—artificial intelligences created by the Forerunners—could not help but display distinctly recognizable shock.
What haven't I seen before? I've seen scenes like this too! And more than once at that!
There was a reason the Forerunner civilization had been worshiped and revered as gods by the San'Shyuum, the Sangheili, and the countless alien species of the Covenant.
But...
The might of technological constructs and the power of an individual were two entirely different concepts.
On the real-time monitoring screens, beneath that tide of energy like a collapsing firmament, even though it was merely a light brushing of Honkai energy across the inner surface of the ring, the vast majority of Flood spore constructs had no time to react before dying outright.
They began to disintegrate. They began to dissipate.
Plants along lakes, oceans, rivers, and coastlines—plants disguised as Flood neural cells—visibly withered before the naked eye, revealing their true forms beneath.
A writhing mass of earth-green flesh buds.
They resembled muscle fibers and plant tendrils alike, net-like flesh growths carpeting the soil and convulsing violently. From dissolving cavities, murky gas filled with fine particulate matter continuously spewed out, as though they were screaming in agony.
Their disguises corroded away by Honkai energy, and then their true bodies—before long, these Flood spore conglomerations were eroded and broken down, reduced to nothing more than ashen residue.
Watching the Flood, the expressions of the UNSC personnel shifted abruptly.
This... was the Flood? Disgusting. Were they truly lifeforms? They were more like colossal parasitic spores.
There was no need to guess. For even Forerunner AIs to fear them so deeply, their infectivity, transmissibility, reproductive capacity, and destructive power must be horrifying.
If the UNSC ever fought such grotesque creatures, it would likely be worse than the war against the Covenant. Even in death, one's body might be parasitized and used.
A triple torment of flesh, mind, and senses.
And this violet-crimson energy—was it toxic?
They saw clearly: under the backflow of Honkai energy, the Flood were like organisms plunged into concentrated acid.
Then why, on Reach, when this same violet-crimson energy had blanketed the planet, had the UNSC forces suffered no harm?
Thinking of this, the UNSC personnel lowered their heads even further, casting cautious sidelong glances at Selene.
"It truly is the Flood... They were not completely eradicated?"
000 Tragic Solitude's glowing central eye fixed rigidly on the writhing earth-green flesh exposed along the coastline in the display.
"Installation 04—Alpha Halo, 343 Guilty Spark; Installation 05—Delta Halo, 2401 Penitent Tangent. What are they doing?"
The other rings were relatively fine, largely intact and uninfected. But the scenes on Installation 04 and Installation 05 were exaggerated to the extreme.
"Why has the Flood infiltration become so severe?"
"It is the Gravemind," Mendicant Bias replied.
On the screens, under Selene's control, Honkai energy had already begun permeating every aspect of the Halo installations.
Those strange flora and fauna crumbled like fragile ornaments, their flesh and even Precursor neural networks being corroded and rapidly erased.
Under such circumstances, the Gravemind hidden beneath the ring's inner surface—in subterranean depths, beneath lakes and oceans—did not need intelligence to know it could no longer remain.
If it continued hiding here, annihilation was only a matter of time.
Thus, the vast Flood forces slumbering beneath the inner surface of the rings surged upward without hesitation under the Gravemind's command.
The once picturesque landscapes churned like a pot of boiling liquid, growing violently restless.
"Although the IsoDidact activated the Halo Array and destroyed all life in the galaxy—including every Flood spore and active neural cell—the protective measures atop Installation 00 preserved the collected species samples. I fear..."
"Some Flood must also have used that opportunity to infiltrate the Ark's Installation, thereby escaping purification after the Halo Array's activation."
The earliest Halos had been constructed by the Master Builder and the Builder caste he led thousands of years after the Forerunners' first encounter with the Flood in the Milky Way. That first encounter had seemingly ended in retreat, thanks in part to the efforts of ancient humanity.
By then, however, the Builders had seized control of the Ecumene Council. They declared that more extreme measures were necessary to safeguard the galaxy and prevent any possible Flood resurgence, proposing the construction of the Array.
Though they faced fierce opposition from the Warrior-Servants led by the Didact, as well as the Promethean legions, after thousands of years the Builders ultimately secured Council approval and began research and construction of the Array.
Forerunner society was divided into multiple occupational castes based on function and social importance.
These included: Builders (social leaders, administrators, governors), Theoreticals (external pathfinders), Lifeworkers (catalogers and preservers of life), Warrior-Servants (military personnel), and Juridicals (historians and legal scholars).
The Halo Array had originally been conceived purely as a weapon. However, the Lifeworker leader—the Librarian—petitioned the Council, emphasizing the faith of the Mantle, arguing that the Halos should also serve as biological preserves: a plan for galactic reseeding after the Array's activation.
Out of devout belief in the Mantle, the Ecumene Council approved the Librarian's request and ordered Lifeworkers to construct a series of natural environments within the Halo installations to safeguard their biological specimens.
The Builders also agreed, as the Halos' biological preservation measures served as an effective counter to the Shield Worlds championed by the Didact and his faction.
However, the Master Builder later altered the original plan. His researchers began establishing laboratories dedicated to Flood experimentation, using the specimens collected by the Lifeworkers to conduct a series of cruel infection trials.
"Or perhaps the leakage of laboratory Flood research samples. Or dormant parasitic spores hidden within the preserved species of the Installation... perhaps all of the above are possible," Mendicant Bias said to Selene.
"Your Majesty, the Halo Array does not merely kill the Flood—it must also eliminate their food. Ancient humanity, the Forerunners, all life within the galaxy—everything is sustenance to them!"
"The only way to prevent the Flood from spreading, escaping, and surviving is to starve them. That is precisely the purpose of the Halos' design: to eradicate all sentient life in the Milky Way!"
Mendicant Bias had already adapted well to its new position, now offering counsel to Selene as an advisor.
"Your Majesty, if even the Halo Installations have been contaminated by the Flood, then the Shield Worlds are highly likely to be compromised as well. The Gravemind is cunning. It may have left dormant spores on multiple barren worlds across the galaxy."
"My recommendation: after purging the Halo Array of contamination, we must conduct another purification of the Shield Worlds—and of the entire galaxy. Only then can the Flood disaster be resolved completely."
Selene's expression did not change in the slightest.
"I have my own considerations regarding this matter."
"For now, recall all Monitors from the rings. 000 Tragic Solitude, contact them. I will seize their coordinates."
"Understood!"
Expand her consciousness to scan the entire Halo Array, then manually investigate flood-infested regions one by one in search of the Monitors? Spare her the trouble. Selene had no interest in closely observing the Flood.
If there were no clever method, she might have endured the strain on her eyes—but since there was, why suffer? It was not as though the Flood were pleasant to look at.
Slime, jagged fangs, thrashing tentacles, disembodied eyeballs—anyone with trypophobia might collapse on the spot after a single glance.
Locking onto the internal communication signals between the Monitors, Selene traced along the "network line" to pinpoint their exact positions—then, with lightning speed, yanked.
"Zzt—System under attack!"
"Signal interrupted!"
"Connection reestablished—location identified—Installation 00?!"
...
Seven spherical Monitors—each a floating metallic orb with a glowing central lens—were forcibly dragged out through spatial portals by Selene.
They were: Monitor 001—Administrator of Installation 01; 007—Administrator of Installation 02; 049 Abject Testament—Administrator of Installation 03; 343 Guilty Spark—Administrator of Installation 04; 2401 Penitent Tangent—Administrator of Installation 05; 16807 Abashed Eulogy—Administrator of Installation 06; and 117649 Despondent Pyre—Administrator of Installation 07.
They surveyed their surroundings—Selene within the central control chamber, the UNSC personnel, 000 Tragic Solitude, Mendicant Bias—and for a moment seemed to freeze, their photoreceptors flashing violently as their processing struggled to keep pace.
"Humans? Reclaimers inheriting the Mantle?"
Before they could process further—
"343 Guilty Spark! 2401 Penitent Tangent—what is the meaning of this?!"
000 Tragic Solitude's luminous lens shifted from blue to red as it went straight to the point. "Why has a Flood outbreak occurred within the Halo Installation? At this scale, a Gravemind must have formed! How have you maintained your installations?"
"000 Tragic Solitude, you contacted us and transferred us here? These are Reclaimers? Has the protocol been activated?"
"Answer my question first!"
As the administrator of Installation 00—the Ark, the Forge World—000 Tragic Solitude appeared to hold slightly higher authority than the other Monitors, despite being of the same model.
"It is irrelevant. I will resolve the Flood outbreak," Selene interjected, halting 000 Tragic Solitude's interrogation.
"Ancillas, I require all stored data in your possession—galactic coordinates, Shield World locations, Forerunner city positions."
343 Guilty Spark hesitated briefly. "I possess only partial coordinates."
Since humanity had already reached this place, and 000 Tragic Solitude had recalled them, the inheritance protocol must have begun. 343 Guilty Spark had no grounds to refuse.
"Certain information was removed prior to my arrival here. A precautionary measure. The resulting data discontinuity is... regrettable."
Selene had anticipated as much. After dispersing the Halo Array throughout the galaxy, the last Forerunners had deleted or suppressed portions of the Monitors' databases as a safeguard.
Each Monitor likely possessed only fragments of the complete stellar charts.
"Builder, I will upload the data available to me," 343 Guilty Spark said.
Selene nodded, then commanded the others, "Upload your star maps and stored data. I will aggregate them to determine whether anything is missing."
"Understood." ×6
With 343 Guilty Spark taking the lead in accordance with protocol, the remaining Monitors approached, linking themselves to the control console and uploading their onboard databases into Installation 00's central core.
Mendicant Bias immediately began consolidating the information through the Ark's control nexus.
Meanwhile, having completed its upload first, 343 Guilty Spark drifted to Selene's side.
"Builder, forgive my impertinence. Bound by protocol to Installation 04, I have been unable to learn whether the galaxy we destroyed has truly been saved. I was denied the opportunity to judge the cost of those lives lost."
It glanced at Selene, who floated serenely in midair, and could not help but ask:
"For sixty thousand years within the Array, I have received no external updates. Please tell me—has the galaxy recovered from its silence?"
"The answer lies in humanity's return to the stars. At present, interstellar war burns fiercely."
"Speaking of which," Selene added lightly, "that reminds me—Konrad's conquest of the Solar System will require your assistance."
343 Guilty Spark's blue photoreceptor flickered rapidly, as though stunned by the statement. Selene found it faintly amusing and smiled.
"A promise fulfilled. It is time to send you back to the galaxy."
Your usefulness here has been fully extracted. You are no longer needed. Dispose of the donkey once the millstone is turned?—ah, no.
Better to say—return you to the Solar System so you may continue to shine and contribute.
"Ah?"
Dr. Halsey, who had been fully immersed in recording data, looked up at once. Her blue eyes lowered slightly, revealing a trace of regret—she clearly had not yet had her fill.
"I will teleport you to the flagship of the Eighth Legion—the Nightfall. By my estimation, Konrad's campaign for the Solar System has already begun. Earth's fate now rests in your hands. Seize the opportunity well."
"Konrad will not grant you much time." As she spoke, Selene pressed two fingers together with a sharp snap.
Crackle—!
With a transmission beacon already present aboard the Nightfall, opening a spatial transfer corridor was far simpler.
With a wave of her hand, Selene sent the still-reluctant Halsey and the others away. Straightening, she turned her gaze upon her "palace."
Everything worth taking had already been secured.
What remained was to relocate the Shield Worlds here as well—package everything together—and bring it all home.