Cyber Chronicles 2: Prime Voyage

Chapter 47: Obsune

"A week? Seriously?" Lincoln asked, his tone colored with genuine surprise, his voice echoing slightly in the vast black void.

"Alvanian had fewer life forms than Earth. Titans and spiritual beasts were the main inhabitants across all the planets we've been to. That's why Alvanian is smaller compared to Earth. Earth's ecosystem is vast, with organisms on the surface, underground, and even undiscovered in the sea. Considering the massive scale of Earth's past ecosystem, wiping it out with the Core Emerald would take at least a week," Obsune explained.

Lincoln struggled to grasp the magnitude of Obsune's actions—erasing countless lives from a planet much larger than his own. The weight of the burden, the pain, and the guilt that Obsune must have carried, all stirred sympathy within Lincoln. 

Especially because Lincoln couldn't imagine doing it any differently if he were in Obsune's shoes. 

However, lingering questions nagged at Lincoln's mind, hinting at potential holes in the story Obsune had shared.

"There's something that's puzzling me," Lincoln mused. "After the extinction event, there were still some creatures that managed to survive, especially in the seas. If we consider a scenario where a meteor struck Earth and natural disasters followed, it's possible that some creatures found a way to survive. However, if we attribute the event to the act of a magical entity, like the Core Emerald, wiping out every creature, it's harder to imagine how any could have escaped."

"The Earthbound sacrificed themselves, pooling their energy to seal Earth's core and protect their planet. It was their plan the moment they realized what I was about to do. They aimed to make Earth incompatible with Alvanian, keeping it out of the Cryptic System and ensuring some life on Earth endured. Obsidian assured me that Earth would remain untouched and only upon my return did I grasp the depth of what he meant. Humans, relying on scientific explanations, remained unaware of the thousands of lives staked on preserving Earth's ecosystem. Without their sacrifice, humans would be the sole lifeform on Earth today," Obsune explained somberly.

"That's a lot to process," Lincoln admitted.

"As Emese said, they were a beautiful species. Their love for their home and family was amazing," Obsune reflected.

"Indeed," Lincoln acknowledged, "but one thing still bothers me. How did the Guardians, who emerged hundreds of years after the last Titan king, send ModCytron to crash on Earth at the same time that you used the Core Emerald?" Lincoln questioned.

"The only explanation is that time disparity was vast, and due to Alvanian's irregular orbit, we can never tell exactly how many years had passed while I was on Earth. A day on Earth could well be ten to fifty years on Alvanian, or perhaps vice versa. I've been on Earth for a week; that could've been centuries on Alvanian. The Guardians sent ModCytron, and it coincided with my use of the Core Emerald. At the time, I assumed it was just a regular meteor hitting Earth's atmosphere. While it did kill many creatures, it wasn't the cause of extinction," Obsune clarified.

"And because of your space titan ability, you returned to the Alvanian aligned with the time you were on Earth, hence unaware of what the Guardians did?" Lincoln sought clarification.

"Exactly. As I was out of Alvanian for a week, I returned to the Alvanian a week after I left, regardless of the centuries that may have passed," Obsune explained.

"So, as Obsidian had put it, you returned to Alvanian in the past," Lincoln summarized.

"Perhaps. But I'm unaware of the future; I'm just put into the timeline I belong to," Obsune added.

"Hence why time cannot be explained with science," Lincoln pondered.

"Time can be observed to an extent, but not my space titan ability. Its restrictions defy the laws of the universe. I can't return to the past or the future of a planet, just the timeline I belong to. Leaving Alvanian for a week means returning to the Alvanian which is a week after I left," Obsune clarified.