The Milky Way, the Cosmos, the Universe—mortals have used a thousand names to describe this boundless sea of stars.
Yet, no matter the name, none can fully capture its majesty and vastness.
This is the cradle where planets are born and the graveyard where civilizations perish.
Here, the Aeons look down upon all creation.
Standing at the pinnacle of the starry sea, their gazes sweep across billions of rotating worlds, watching civilizations rise and fall, witnessing life bloom and wither.
The joys and sorrows of the mortal realm are utterly inconsequential to them.
It is precisely because this Cosmos is so vast that the scale of time feels exceptionally long.
In corners where no one watches, new planets are born every second.
Simultaneously, old planets die.
“Save us…” “The heavens are collapsing!
The earth is splitting!
Who will help us?!” Shattered cries rose and fell amidst the ruins, yet they failed to elicit even a single response from the gods.
The apocalypse had arrived.
Despair flooded the entire planet like a tide.
The once-azure sky had long been torn asunder, with black fissures crawling across the firmament.
Only a suffocating gray remained.
The earth beneath their feet fared even worse; cracks spread from the city center, and each step threatened a fall into a bottomless Abyss.
Organic, inorganic, everything was slowly drifting toward its end, and even the sound of the wind sweeping through the ruins carried the sobbing of despair.
And in the center of this ruined landscape, a group of people in tattered clothes knelt before a statue in devout prayer.
The statue depicted a young girl wearing a veil over her eyes, the folds of her skirt intricately carved, with delicate ornaments seemingly adorning her hair.
Even under such apocalyptic circumstances, it still exuded an indescribable holiness, serving as the final spiritual pillar for this group of people.
The old man at the front of the crowd, his hair long white, had a face etched with the wrinkles of time and calamity.
Mustering all his strength, he cried out desperately toward the statue: “I do not know what sins we have borne to be born into this cruel world…
but if there truly is a God in this world, I beg you, save us!” He coughed violently a few times, yet his eyes shone with startling brightness, staring fixedly at the statue’s face as if pouring all his hope onto it: “If you can truly hear our voices, then please save this world!
For this, we are willing to offer everything we have!” After the shouts subsided, all fell silent.
Everyone bowed their heads low, their shoulders trembling uncontrollably, already resigned to their doom.
They had called out countless times, prayed over and over, but never once had they even glimpsed the shadow of a god.
This time, too, they figured it would be no exception.
These wretched lives were destined to follow their planet into oblivion, eventually turning to stardust in the void of the cosmos.
But just then, someone suddenly sensed a faint glimmer of light.
The radiance carried a gentle warmth, dispelling some of the piercing cold.
“Look…” someone murmured, lifting their head with a voice trembling in disbelief.
In the cracked, ashen sky, a bright moon was slowly rising.
Its silver-white light poured down the fissures like a gentle stream of water.
Wherever the moonlight touched, the raging winds gradually subsided.
The scene was almost exactly as described in the ancient texts left behind by the Pre-Civilization.
When the gentle moon rises, the Moon Goddess dwelling within it shall bring salvation to the sinking world.
“I have heard your wishes.” A soft yet clear voice drifted from the moon, instantly soothing the panic and despair in their hearts.
Then, a figure slowly emerged.
It was the Moon Goddess.
A holy and flawless aura radiated from her entire being, as if even the moonlight actively chose to surround her.
Three pairs of connected feather ornaments adorned her hair, their tips shimmering with a faint silver glow and swaying gently with her movements.
Her long hair, a gradient of purple and red, cascaded from her shoulders all the way down to her calves, its ends gleaming with a soft luster.
A pure white robe wrapped her slender figure, its hem embroidered with delicate moon patterns.
Beneath the robe, her slender, fair ankles were visible, wrapped in light beige bandages from her thighs all the way down.
This added a touch of fragile beauty.
And beneath her feet, she actually stepped upon a crystal-clear water droplet.
The droplet floated in mid-air, supporting her body as she slowly descended.
The most striking feature was her eyes.
A translucent veil covered them, concealing her gaze and leaving only her closed eyelashes visible.
Yet even with her eyes closed and veiled, she seemed to see everything in this world clearly, her gaze sweeping across the ruins and the people.
It carried a faint tenderness and compassion.
“Are you…
a God?” The old man who had been calling out earlier was now covered in tears.
He struggled to stand.
But because he was too overwhelmed, his legs gave way, and he sank back to his knees on the ground.
His voice was so hoarse it was barely audible, yet he still asked the question with persistence.
The Goddess slowly walked to him and came to a stop, her voice still gentle: “A God?
I am no God.” She gently shook her head, the veil over her eyes swaying with the movement.
“I simply…
answered you.
Your wishes, carried by the sea of stars, reached me.
I heard them, and so I answered.” After speaking, she extended her hand, palm upward, and said softly to the old man: “Please, give me your hand.” The old man tremblingly lifted his hand, which was covered in scars, the very act of raising it appearing exceptionally stiff.
When his hand gently touched the Goddess’s hand, a warm power instantly flowed from their palms.
It spread up his arm and through his entire body, dispelling his exhaustion and pain.
And an even more astonishing change quietly occurred at this very moment.
The originally collapsed and cracked earth began to heal at a visible speed, those bottomless fissures gradually shrinking until they finally vanished without a trace.
On the parched land, clear water suddenly gushed forth, flowing along the gullies and nourishing the cracked soil.
Then, tender green sprouts broke through the soil, spreading along the water’s flow until they quickly covered the ruins.
The once-torn sky gradually shed its gray under the nourishment of the moonlight, revealing its original azure.
It was as if everything had been reborn.
The ruins had vanished, replaced by lush green land and a deep blue sky.
The people stood there, stunned for a long time.
They looked up to find the moon that had guided them was gone, and the Moon Goddess who had saved them had departed with it.
Yet, her salvation was forever etched into their hearts.
Centering on the statue of the young woman, the people began the planet’s reconstruction plan.
Every day, countless people came to the statue with devout hearts to worship, retelling the story of the Moon Goddess to future generations over and over again.
In the vastness of the Cosmos, amidst the endless sea of stars…
Columbina stood there, her gaze fixed upon the planet she had just saved.
“Another wish, another salvation…” She murmured softly, her voice dissipating into the vast Cosmos without a single reply.
Columbina—that was her name.
She was no god, yet she constantly answered the wishes scattered across the sea of stars, performing the deeds that some believers believed only a god should do.
[System loading complete.
Intelligent program is booting.
Please wait…] Suddenly, a mechanical electronic voice echoed in her mind.
By the Interastral Peace Corporation’s timekeeping standards, two Amber Eras had passed since she found this “System.” Back then, it had been dormant, leaving only a single sentence in her mind: it required sufficient “Wishpower” to be reactivated.
Columbina was born with an extraordinary sensitivity to “wishes,” as if a special bond existed between her soul and the desires of others.
Throughout her years drifting through the universe, she had always heard the clear, desperate cries of wishes from countless planets.
Thus, even before she found this System, she had already been engaged in the work of “answering wishes.” When she heard the cries of despair, she would rush to save them; when she sensed a faint glimmer of hope, she would help fulfill it.
As for the “Wishpower” the System required, it was merely a byproduct of her actions.
After all, in her endless and monotonous journey through the sea of stars, responding to wishes and saving planets was the only joy she could find.
Now, with a System that needed “Wishpower,” this joy had taken on a new, distinct meaning.
[Scanning host information…
Scan complete.
Host: Columbina.