"T-Then... that means you're going to kill everyone here, right?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady. "Including us?"
"That is correct, unfortunately," Mother replied.
The answer came so easily from her lips that it should have felt cold, yet it didn't.
There was sadness in her voice.
A deep sadness.
It wasn't the sadness of someone who enjoyed what they were about to do. It wasn't even the sadness of someone who regretted their decision. It sounded more like the sadness of a person who had already spent countless years searching for another answer and had failed to find one.
It was the voice of someone who had accepted a painful conclusion.
The kind of acceptance that came after exhausting every possibility.
For some reason, that made it hurt even more.
"I-Isn't there another way?" I asked. "Another way for you to accomplish your goal without destroying the world, Mother?"
"There is no other way..." she said quietly.
Then she stopped.
The words hung in the air.
