The Record of Unusual Creatures

The glowing nebula—formed by high-energy clouds after the collapse of a celestial body—had a whirlpool-like appearance in the shape of an eye in space. At the center of this eye, an unnatural rift had appeared.

The shape of the rift was like an irregular film with sharp edges and a perfectly reflective surface. The mirror-like surface did not just reflect the nebula in its surroundings but also another universe. Near the rift were many monitoring towers and control stations for maintaining spatial stability. Autonomous turrets and drones patrolled these space facilities.

It was the Gate of the Universe, a place that could accommodate the information from both the Plane of Dreams and the Surface World.

Near the Gate of the Universe was the sole planetary system in the nebula. A vibrant blue-green planet was quietly orbiting its star, and a series of seemingly illusory half-plane dimensions, as if vines wrapping around a tree, encircling the planet on the lower orbit. There was an established route between the Gate of the Universe and the planet, where spacecraft plied to and fro.

Suddenly, a shimmer emerged at the center of the Gate of the Universe. The shimmer intensified and the reflective mirror that shone with starlight “spat” out a lump of dark matter.

Lockmarton had crossed the barrier of the universe, escaped the ambush, and gotten away from the terrible place of explosions.

He faintly felt it when he came out of a rift in a spiral nebula. Lockmarton was disoriented and had no idea what had happened. But he knew that he had left the dangerous place, and he was happy.

Ahh, joy, a long-lost feeling!

Soon, he sensed something that made him even happier: there was a blue planet just around the corner, and those clueless mortals looked delicious.

The shimmering core immediately headed toward the planet. But as soon as it moved, several rays of light flashed across space and blocked its way. When those lights finally stood still, they turned out to be several silvery-white spaceships.

The shimmering core was surrounded. Those dozens of spacecraft looked identical except for the personalized paint job that each of them had. Three of the spaceships, in special positions within the formation, had huge drawings on the side of their fuselages: there was a face of a husky, a golden dragon, mysterious eyes, and the sky.

A hologram popped up on the bow of each spaceship, showing the image of different figures. These huge figures stood in a circle, quietly looking at the core of Lockmarton, which was surrounded in the center. Most of the figures were humanoids, but they were of different species. The rest of the figures were strange-looking cosmic creatures. The sight looked like a court of law, but on a cosmic scale. Lockmarton stood in the middle and felt an enormous pressure as he knew that he had encountered a problem again. Just that he had no idea who these guys were.

The master of nature, Fandal, was in the image of a muscular centaur in a green robe. He was holding a natural wand.

The celestial singer, Model, an elegant middle-aged man with dark hair, was wearing a robe of stars with a pale-gold planet model in his hand.

The stellar artiste, Aviana, a beautiful girl in a white tulle dress, had long lavender hair, which was tied up in a bun, and she was wearing a crystal crown on her head.

The great sage Anthony was a majestic old man wearing a mage robe. His eyes glowed with powerful arcane lightning as if he had discovered the truth of the magic world.

The dragon queen, Galazur, a noblewoman in a light gold robe. She was majestic and had the typical narrow golden pupils of a dragon.

The songstress, Tunalar, with an upper body of a slender woman and lower body of a white spider, was covered in mysterious runes.

The measurer, Dornier, was like an ordinary market trader. He was wearing a plain robe and had a scale in his hands. He always had a kind and humble smile on his face, but his eyes were full of shrewdness.

Sir-Ominous, Hao Ren, needed no introduction. He had an ordinary look but was famous, or sometimes notorious.

Many other figures were floating in space. They were all inspectors, observers of civilizations. Each of their names struck fear into many interstellar civilizations. If anyone of them appeared in the capital of an interstellar civilization, the throne of the supreme ruler would tremble, and those notorious interstellar forces would quake in their boots. In the legend of many civilizations, these observers named who were called the inspectors were given the title and status similar to a deity. There were also many legends told about them. Those civilizations had given the inspectors many names, such as the Observer Alliance, the Board of Star Reviewers, the Demigod Assembly, and the Cosmic Court when all of the inspectors gathered in one place.

But the inspectors had never called their offline meeting these names. They conducted most of the information exchanges online. Also because they had to deal with the neurotic goddess, a gathering like this was rare. Even if they had a joint operation, there were usually no more than three persons. So when Hao Ren announced in the public channel that there was something big requiring everyone’s participation, and upon getting the nod from the neurotic goddess, those guys instantly popped out in droves.

It was the truth of the Cosmic Court’s proceeding at the time.

Lockmarton felt a looming crisis. He panicked and tried to break through the encirclement, but it was futile.

The dozens of inspectors, their spaceships, and the projected power of the true God of the universe combined to form a divine encirclement that was far more potent than the divine barrier of Collow.

In the field of influence of the true God, the shimmering core began to emit energy turbulence.

But the inspectors were not nervous. They knew very well that this core that shimmered and exuded a divine-like aura would not be able to escape and blockade.

Raven 12345 had never bothered to spread her teachings, and her “popes”, mainly due to shame and morality, rarely used her magic. But it did not mean that the inspectors would have problems summoning her divine power. The goddess was what she was, and the same was true of her divine power. As long as with a willing heart and the inspectors stood together, the barrier would be powerful enough to hold up any creatures, including Lockmarton, other than the true goddess.

In the face of a god-like creature from the Plane of Dreams, those inspectors who had heard about him earlier appeared curious. They observed the shimmering core that was Lockmarton and discussed among themselves.

“It looks round like a ball.”

“Not bright, and it feels foggy.”

“Don’t you think that thing looks a bit like the ball in Model’s hands?”

“Miss Aviana, the thing in my hands is an astral instrument, not a ball.”

“What say we jab it?”

“Hao Ren says that this thing is quite powerful. It seems to be immune to most attacks, and can even resist the power of God for a while.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, I’ll have to raise its threat level to a Category 4.”

“What is a Category 4 Threat? Is it mentioned in the employee handbook?”

“I just added it. Does it sound badass?”

“Get lost.”

“Galazur, mind your demeanor. Have you forgotten the one rule in the employee handbook? You should not swear before God does it first.

“She isn’t here anyway.”

The inspectors floated in space, all with a somber look on their faces. But in their mind connections, a lively discussion was ongoing.

“Ahem.” Hao Ren interrupted their conversation. As the person in charge of the operation, he read out the judgment.

“Lockmarton, a demigod or god-like creature. Place of origin: the Plane of Dreams. Life form: mixed breed, a creation of the goddess of creation. Primary crimes: serious detrimental to the development of normal civilizations, threatening the existence of civilizations, slaughtering the innocent, genocide, rebellion, stealing the power of the true God and misusing it for a sinful purpose. The list of crimes committed is not exhaustive. He has been proven guilty. I propose that we terminate him.”

“I second that.”

“Seconded.”

“Seconded.”

There was a silence in the mind connection. Aviana, the stellar artiste, carefully looked at her colleagues. “Hmm… can we start cutting the core now?”

“Cut it.”

The next moment, a bright light shrouded the Gate of the Universe.

Lockmarton’s short struggle in the light did not last long.

Ten minutes later, onboard the patrol frigate Petrachelys, Tunalar, the songstress teleported into the captain’s cabin. This white spider monster, called the Spider Queen of the Abyss in her homeworld, had brought something to Hao Ren. Along with her was the great sage, Anthony, who was good at the magic of restraining. Tunalar and Anthony had captured Lockmarton’s fragments before they wholly dissipated.

“We found this in space.” Tunalar’s voice was like her name; it was as pleasant as a song, completely unlike her horrible spider appearance. “These are Lockmarton’s fragments. You may be able to find something from them.”