News of the Psionic Awakening swept across the globe like a storm, completely altering the trajectory of human civilization.
At first, it was just sporadic anomalies appearing among newborns.
A floating baby bottle.
A cry piercing through walls.
But soon, this awakening showed explosive growth.
A hundred years later, they had completely transformed into a brand-new species.
A powerful psionic race.
The third century after the end of the Trisolaran War.
Imperium of Man, Capital, *All Tomorrows* Space Station.
Two researchers wearing Imperial Academy of Sciences uniforms were "sitting" face-to-face in a virtual cafe. Their bodies were clearly separated by several sectors, but their minds communicated without delay through the ubiquitous mental network—the Psionic Network.
"Try the new Europa special blend coffee?" one of the younger researchers asked, pushing a cup of coffee over.
"No thanks." The researcher opposite him waved his hand, his thoughts carrying a hint of exhaustion. "I just got back from the [Psionic Well]. My brain is buzzing from the energy of that thing, and right now I just want some pure water."
In Jupiter's orbit, the former gas giant had long since disappeared. In its place was a magnificent artificial celestial body—the [Psionic Well].
It acted like a massive mental amplifier, gathering, purifying, and amplifying the psionic energy dissipated by all of humanity, then feeding it back to everyone.
With its enhancement, humanity's technology and psionics perfectly merged, and the civilization's development advanced by leaps and bounds once again.
"Still worrying about those Higher-Dimensional Remains?" The younger researcher's thoughts carried a hint of confusion.
Not long ago, during a psionic-assisted experiment on cosmic string theory, scientists accidentally "touched" something strange.
A higher-dimensional world attached to the main material universe, completely dead and compressed.
It was like an air-dried corpse, devoid of matter and energy, leaving only a dilapidated dimensional structure.
"It's not worry." The older researcher's thought fluctuations grew serious. "It's fear. The Chairman actually ordered it to be activated! That's a higher-dimensional universe that's been dead for who knows how many billions of years! Who knows what kind of monstrosities are inside? What if we activate it and some powerful civilization comes running out? Aren't we humans living well right now? An empire spanning a thousand light-years, having absolute authority in the Milky Way—is it worth poking this hornet's nest?"
His concerns represented the thoughts of a large portion of the Academy of Sciences.
However, Luo Ji's will was unquestionable.
At that supreme council meeting, facing everyone's doubts, the imperial ruler who had lived for nearly a millennium simply said one sentence calmly.
"Activate it, at all costs."
Thus, over the next century, the resources of the entire human civilization were tilted toward this insane project.
Using the [Psionic Well], they continuously injected unimaginable amounts of energy into those higher-dimensional remains.
Finally.
After consuming enough energy to create hundreds of galaxies.
The withered dimension finally reacted.
The activated dimension did not behave as expected. Instead, like a black hole that had been starved for billions of years, it began frantically extracting void energy from the Void outside the universe, converting it into an unknown energy.
Humanity named it Aether.
Another century passed.
Humanity finally conquered the technology to stably convert Aether into usable energy for the material universe.
The *All Tomorrows* Space Station, Supreme Council Room.
All the high-ranking officials of the Imperium held their breath, staring at the holographic projection of the completed blueprint for the ultimate creation, a true cosmic miracle.
[Aetherophasic Engine].
Luo Ji's figure appeared in the main seat. He looked no different than he did hundreds of years ago, except the dead silence in his eyes was even deeper.
He swept his gaze over the crowd, his voice echoing directly in everyone's minds through the Psionic Network.
"Initiate the construction project for the [Aetherophasic Engine]."
His tone lacked any emotional fluctuation, yet it ignited a fanaticism in everyone's hearts.
Because everyone knew that once this engine was built and fully charged, it would allow the life level of the entire human race to undergo an ultimate leap.
Allowing every human soul and body to break free from the shackles of the material universe and ascend to a higher plane of existence.
Achieving true, universal ascension!
...
At the center of the Dyson Sphere, the former sun had long been transformed into a massive engine base.
At this moment, a colossal engine, whose magnificence defied description, floated quietly there.
It was the [Aetherophasic Engine].
Under the gaze of all humanity, and upon Luo Ji's personal command, the engine was slowly activated.
"Hum—"
In that instant.
The shattered dimension connected to the engine was completely activated!
Endless Aether energy, like a bursting cosmic flood, instantly surged into the engine's core!
And surged into the minds of every human.
On an uninhabited planet in a remote star system.
A young man, scratching his head in frustration over his graduation thesis, suddenly froze.
The confusion and bewilderment on his face rapidly faded in the next second. In its place was an unprecedented clarity and lucidity.
Those formulas that once seemed like incomprehensible gibberish became incredibly simple in this moment.
Dimensions, space-time, causality, the origin of the universe...
All the ultimate mysteries were like pre-installed knowledge packages, unzipping directly in his brain.
"Holy shit..." the young man muttered to himself.
"I understand!"
"I fucking understand everything!"
He abruptly stood up, rushed to his writing board, picked up a pen, and almost instinctively, at a frantic speed, wrote down lines of complex formulas that would have driven the greatest scientists of the old era mad.
...
At this moment, what was happening to him was simultaneously happening to every human being.
Whether it was a sleeping infant, a soldier serving in the interstellar fleet, or a scientist painstakingly researching in a lab.
All human brains had seemingly been connected to a higher-dimensional sea of wisdom.
Humanity's collective intelligence completed an unimaginable leap.
Immediately after.
A brand-new type of knowledge formed simultaneously in everyone's minds.
It was a technology regarding the manipulation of dimensions.
A completely new theory of dimensional weapons.
"Ascension! We are going to ascend!"
"We are about to become gods!"
"The universe! It will grovel at our feet!"
Fanatical waves of thought surged through the Psionic Network.
However.
On the bridge of the *All Tomorrows*, Luo Ji stood alone before the massive viewport, gazing at the extremely dazzling cluster of light at the engine's core, which continuously extracted higher-dimensional energy.
He automatically tuned out the cheers around him.
Deep within his heart, the sense of crisis brought by the hellish memories left behind by the Qu had not diminished in the slightest due to this technological breakthrough.
Instead, it had become stronger than ever before.