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Description

When the Omega-Gate was finally reopened , it was soon revealed that it led to not just one, but dozens, if not hundreds of different passages, each connected to a different unique place outside of Assembly.

And it was also revealed that the Primordial Kuragoids – direct descendants of the horrific violent being , brought into existence by the people of Assembly at the dawn of time – were unknowingly banished into these distant realms. And so in order to atone for the misdeeds of their world, the forces of the Grand Network, led by Omentus de Stren XII and joined by numerous volunteers, started their expeditions into these realms beyond!

Stepping across the threshold, they anticipated breathtaking new frontiers!

Mesmerizing new worlds, ready to be saved and explored.

And yet, the reality of their discovery turned out to be significantly more... boring.

For the pathways, down to the very last, were all leading to the incredibly similar "Seas of Stars", not unlike the one found immediately upon the initial reopening. Vast and boundless, yet pale, homogeneous and very, very empty. The stars in these Seas were arranged into clumps, not unlike the stellar cluster forming the base of the Assembly, albeit much smaller – but were were no megastructures maintaining them, and they bore no traces of advanced intelligent life. They weren't entirely empty, though, as the planets close to the wormhole exits usually had at least some manner of sapient lifeforms (although most only contained just ruins) – but the closer inspection had revealed that none of it was truly native, and instead it was all seeded from the Assembly when the gateway had opened for the very first time.

But despite this disappointment, the forces of Network had still diligently performed their duties. They tracked and eliminated all the Kuragoids they could find: some residing on the habitable planets and awakening every few thousands of years to terrorize the local populations; some who had already consumed all life in their domains and now shambled aimlessly across the barren wastelands; and even some who drifted freely through the darkness of space, ready to find their next prey. They contacted the locals and provided the means to ascend, as well as the option to migrate into the Assembly. Some had accepted this proposition, some had declined. They even sent the Apostles through the wormholes – in a hope that if there is the native sentient life in these voids after all, then at least they would be able to find and protect it someday.

And then, they went back home.

But that… was not the end of the story!

For many centuries later, a group of scholars had discovered what can be considered a second layer to this whole thing!

At its core, the Omega-Gate was the offshoot of the Primary Portal Web of Assembly, and one of the main features of the Portal Web is its ability to grow. The Network's followers had taken this into account during their expeditions, discovering numerous secondary pathways branching from the exits to the neighboring star systems. But as it turned out, a few of these extra branches managed to grow especially powerful, and form paths not to the mere nearby planets, but to the distant worlds even further beyond! These powerful wormholes had become known as the "Psi-Gates" (one letter below the Omega-Gate), and had completely rekindled the interest in extradimensional exploration!

But there was the catch.

Due to the extra stress put on these wormholes, as well as significantly lower density of exotic matter in the pallid Seas of Stars, the Psi-Gates turned out to be strictly unidirectional. In simpler terms, they were one-way roads, leading into the unknown. Understandably, this turned off many potential explorers – but some of them decided to proceed nonetheless! And these brave individuals, willing to leave everything behind for the sake if uncovering new horizons, came to be known as "Pilgrims".

In the following millennia, the pilgrimage movement had spread across the whole Assembly – with many people bonding together into incredibly close-knit and dedicated communities to prepare for their coming journeys. And indeed, their preparation had yielded some truly excellent fruits!

Once the threshold of a Psi-Gate is crossed, one may never see the Assembly ever again. And clearly understanding this fact, the pilgrims devised very special vessels – vessels meant to carry a fraction of their universe with them. At their cores, they contained Shines that functioned as both Thanatories and Incubators – capable of reviving the pilgrims in case something happen to them, and well as spawning new beings if they’ll ever need a company. The data nuclei integrated into their hulls could produce all manners of biotechnological infrastructures when needed – potentially, even a functional Stellar Engine – while their warp drives could set up their own temporary wormholes. And lastly, the databases of their on-board computers were literally loaded with the archives from the Grand Network and its satellite servers, so they’d never forget where they came from. In some cases, they even brought mental imprints of the people close to them, with the intention of them being reborn in the new world…

And so, they ventured into unknown!

To breach the final border, and to bring the legacy of their home with them.

Becoming the Seeds of the Assembly!

Now, we can only speculate what kinds of strange worlds and unfathomable eldritch realms they could have found and explored, and how many new Assemblies they could have created. The way of the Pilgrim is fundamentally the way of uncertainty – but it’s also a way of awe and wonder! From the times before Creation, the fear of the Unknown is and always was one of the deepest and strongest of all fears – and yet despite everything, time and time again, we venture into Unknown eagerly, and without regret.

For such is our destiny.

Description

When the Omega-Gate was finally reopened , it was soon revealed that it led to not just one, but dozens, if not hundreds of different passages, each connected to a different unique place outside of Assembly.

And it was also revealed that the Primordial Kuragoids – direct descendants of the horrific violent being , brought into existence by the people of Assembly at the dawn of time – were unknowingly banished into these distant realms. And so in order to atone for the misdeeds of their world, the forces of the Grand Network, led by Omentus de Stren XII and joined by numerous volunteers, started their expeditions into these realms beyond!

Stepping across the threshold, they anticipated breathtaking new frontiers!

Mesmerizing new worlds, ready to be saved and explored.

And yet, the reality of their discovery turned out to be significantly more... boring.

For the pathways, down to the very last, were all leading to the incredibly similar "Seas of Stars", not unlike the one found immediately upon the initial reopening. Vast and boundless, yet pale, homogeneous and very, very empty. The stars in these Seas were arranged into clumps, not unlike the stellar cluster forming the base of the Assembly, albeit much smaller – but were were no megastructures maintaining them, and they bore no traces of advanced intelligent life. They weren't entirely empty, though, as the planets close to the wormhole exits usually had at least some manner of sapient lifeforms (although most only contained just ruins) – but the closer inspection had revealed that none of it was truly native, and instead it was all seeded from the Assembly when the gateway had opened for the very first time.

But despite this disappointment, the forces of Network had still diligently performed their duties. They tracked and eliminated all the Kuragoids they could find: some residing on the habitable planets and awakening every few thousands of years to terrorize the local populations; some who had already consumed all life in their domains and now shambled aimlessly across the barren wastelands; and even some who drifted freely through the darkness of space, ready to find their next prey. They contacted the locals and provided the means to ascend, as well as the option to migrate into the Assembly. Some had accepted this proposition, some had declined. They even sent the Apostles through the wormholes – in a hope that if there is the native sentient life in these voids after all, then at least they would be able to find and protect it someday.

And then, they went back home.

But that… was not the end of the story!

For many centuries later, a group of scholars had discovered what can be considered a second layer to this whole thing!

At its core, the Omega-Gate was the offshoot of the Primary Portal Web of Assembly, and one of the main features of the Portal Web is its ability to grow. The Network's followers had taken this into account during their expeditions, discovering numerous secondary pathways branching from the exits to the neighboring star systems. But as it turned out, a few of these extra branches managed to grow especially powerful, and form paths not to the mere nearby planets, but to the distant worlds even further beyond! These powerful wormholes had become known as the "Psi-Gates" (one letter below the Omega-Gate), and had completely rekindled the interest in extradimensional exploration!

But there was the catch.

Due to the extra stress put on these wormholes, as well as significantly lower density of exotic matter in the pallid Seas of Stars, the Psi-Gates turned out to be strictly unidirectional. In simpler terms, they were one-way roads, leading into the unknown. Understandably, this turned off many potential explorers – but some of them decided to proceed nonetheless! And these brave individuals, willing to leave everything behind for the sake if uncovering new horizons, came to be known as "Pilgrims".

In the following millennia, the pilgrimage movement had spread across the whole Assembly – with many people bonding together into incredibly close-knit and dedicated communities to prepare for their coming journeys. And indeed, their preparation had yielded some truly excellent fruits!

Once the threshold of a Psi-Gate is crossed, one may never see the Assembly ever again. And clearly understanding this fact, the pilgrims devised very special vessels – vessels meant to carry a fraction of their universe with them. At their cores, they contained Shines that functioned as both Thanatories and Incubators – capable of reviving the pilgrims in case something happen to them, and well as spawning new beings if they’ll ever need a company. The data nuclei integrated into their hulls could produce all manners of biotechnological infrastructures when needed – potentially, even a functional Stellar Engine – while their warp drives could set up their own temporary wormholes. And lastly, the databases of their on-board computers were literally loaded with the archives from the Grand Network and its satellite servers, so they’d never forget where they came from. In some cases, they even brought mental imprints of the people close to them, with the intention of them being reborn in the new world…

And so, they ventured into unknown!

To breach the final border, and to bring the legacy of their home with them.

Becoming the Seeds of the Assembly!

Now, we can only speculate what kinds of strange worlds and unfathomable eldritch realms they could have found and explored, and how many new Assemblies they could have created. The way of the Pilgrim is fundamentally the way of uncertainty – but it’s also a way of awe and wonder! From the times before Creation, the fear of the Unknown is and always was one of the deepest and strongest of all fears – and yet despite everything, time and time again, we venture into Unknown eagerly, and without regret.

For such is our destiny.