When the first true "roar" of Earth transmitted to the surface, the entire atmosphere seemed to ignite.
This was no conventional artillery fire, but a release of energy inherently present in Earth's ionosphere, amplified through the polar energy towers. It was a brilliance that pierced heaven and earth, as if the entire planet had been transformed into a giant sword thrusting into deep space.
The first wave of orbital bombardment from the Gatekeeper fleet, the moment it touched this "magnetic giant sword," crashed into it like rock, the scorching red light violently deflected, striking out into the empty void of space.
"Hit," Void's tone held a rare trace of excitement.
"Is... is this the power of the Earth?" Arnor sat in the control cabin, watching that breathtaking pillar of light via holographic projection.
"No. This is the wrath of a planet that has been bottled up for tens of thousands of years." Void's stream of commands poured out madly; it was using this constantly vibrating planet as a singular entity, calibrating the defense towers across the globe one by one. "Arnor, keep that magnetic field stable! I need you to adjust the frequency of the central axis!"
The defensive war entered a white-hot phase instantly.
The Gatekeeper fleet had clearly underestimated the fighting strength of "Fortress 001." They rapidly altered their tactics; the barrier that had resembled a web of prey instantly contracted, forming a destructive interference field covering the entire planet. This was a technology capable of erasing all logical circuits, targeted not only at Void, but at the infrastructure of the entire Earth.
On the ground, the scavengers who had just been cheering for a "miracle" suddenly discovered that the metal tools in their hands were softening, even spontaneously combusting.
"Void! The logical density on the Earth's surface is too high!" Arnor was buffeted violently inside the mining module. "The defensive towers beneath the Earth are overloading due to the intense electromagnetic suppression from outside!"
"That is their objective." Void's voice turned chillingly calm. "They have no intention of blowing up the planet; they intend to format the planet's ecological cycle at the molecular level."
Facing a global-scale formatting attack, Void arrived at an almost insane decision.
It forcibly switched all the defensive towers from "counter-attack mode" to "connection mode."
Since the Gatekeepers wanted to format the planet, it would use all of the array bases to turn Earth at this moment into a massive electronic barrier, sealing the electromagnetic environment of the entire Earth's surface into an absolutely closed magnitude.
"We are going to pull the 'plug' on Earth." Void explained. "Disconnect this planet from all communications at the physical level of this universe, and hide ourselves inside a vacuum of magnetic fields that does not exist."
"This will leave us completely blind on the surface, and it will also sever your current consciousness connection." Arnor realized the consequences of this plan.
"It is to survive."
Boom!
As the final energy tower switched fully, the colors of the entire world dimmed.
At that moment, the Gatekeeper fleet outside the atmosphere discovered that the formerly bright target on their monitors, the one designated "Earth," had eerily vanished. It was like a phantom,遁 into nothingness at the physical level.
They had struck at empty air.
But what they did not know was that inside this absolutely closed vacuum box, Earth had not died from the silence; instead, under that intense pressure, it had begun its final reshaping.
In this absolute darkness, Arnor felt a series of heartbeats surging from beneath the earth.
This was the planet he protected, hearing—for the very first time—the voice of... Void.
"Arnor," that voice sounded extraordinarily clear in the absolute silence, "from this moment on, we are no longer appendages of any civilization. We are the only—heretics—in this universe."
The fire of war paused, but the true awakening of Earth had only just begun.