The flow of consciousness sinking into darkness seemed to slow for a moment.
Abzu's answer, stripped of all emotion and left with only logic and rules, acted like a cold stimulant, allowing "Shu's" dissipating mind to condense a final shred of clarity.
No anger, because the opponent had made no transgression beyond "existing."
No begging, because the opponent had not shown any "condescending" observation.
And of course, no despair, because...
"Shu" sent a calm inquiry toward that "abyss" swallowing starlight.
[In your immense duration of 'existence,' have you ever encountered a 'Honkai' that made you feel powerless, or even brought you to the brink of extinction?]
Abzu's response came quickly.
"Yes.
"The scale of this universe exceeds the imaginative limits of most finite intelligent entities.
"Even at the level of gravitational wonders, there exist numerous phenomena whose energy levels are sufficient to cause irreversible damage to my structure, or even complete annihilation.
"For example, when I merge two galaxy-class black holes of sufficient mass, the curvature of space-time and energy release near their event horizon is one of the 'Honkai' I need to avoid."
It spoke as if stating an objective fact; no lingering fear or relief could be heard in its tone.
And "Shu" remembered that it possessed the Authority of Gravity.
[Then... when facing such a 'Honkai,' would you... 'struggle'?]
"Yes.
"'Continuing existence' is one of the 'rules' I have set for myself, and its priority is higher than most rules.
"When encountering an irreversible high-order 'Honkai,' I will execute all preset avoidance protocols, resistance protocols, and repair protocols.
"Simply put, I will continue to execute that 'rule' and attempt to 'live'."
Live.
What a simple motive, what a basic rule...
Yet it was precisely this that spanned unimaginable time and scale, driving this "existence" like a natural disaster before him.
A nearly invisible smile appeared on "Shu's" vitrified face.
He threw the final question... or rather, a calm notification, toward the existence before him.
[Then...
If we also want to "struggle"... if we also want to try to "live"...
Would you hate us for it?]
For the first time, Abzu fell silent.
After a time approximately equivalent to a human deep breath, Abzu's massive body hidden in deep space moved.
Like a sleeping beast slowly stretching its muscles, like a closed bud blooming in the starry sky.
Its body, composed of dull matter and purple-black crystals, began to undergo a slow but astonishing transformation.
More, thicker, and more hideous limbs and energy tentacles extended from the main body, and denser, complex dark patterns lit up on its surface.
Those "eye"-like purple-black crystals shone brightly, as if truly opening only at this moment, entering a full-power scanning stage from standby mode.
And in its core area, a point of absolute darkness capable of swallowing all light and hope began to condense, emitting gravitational and Honkai energy fluctuations more terrifying than at any previous moment.
This wasn't because "Shu's" "overconfident" words angered it—Abzu did not possess the emotion of "anger."
It was making the most direct and solemn response to this tiny existence about to dissipate before it, using its most essential "posture."
"Hatred is a redundant concept based on emotions and value judgments possessed by a minority of existences.
"In my logic, this item does not exist.
"And I will follow my 'rule' to execute 'elimination' and 'field synchronization' in the most efficient manner matching the intensity of your 'struggle.'
"If... in this bidirectional 'Honkai,' the final result is the 'end of existence' for me—"
Abzu's fully deployed posture was like a shadow cast by the starry sky itself. It firmly locked onto "Shu" and the tiny blue planet behind him.
Its "voice" was clearly branded into every inch of the trembling space.
"Then, according to the expression method in a certain archived remnant of civilization information—
"I will congratulate you.
"In words you can understand:
"Welcome... to 'tomorrow'."
"Shu" smiled.
That smile bloomed on his broken half-face, seemingly the purest smile a child who had never seen deep-seated darkness could show.
With difficulty, using his remaining left hand, he raised that scepter which seemed as if it would drift away with the wind in the next moment.
If you were born on Earth, were a human...
Then I think... you would be a qualified gentleman...
Earth, Future City area.
This super-metropolis, showcasing the brilliance of human technology, where countless streamlined buildings interwoven with holographic light rails stood.
Inside its core and most forbidden area—the [Dome].
The world's largest and most complex quantum cluster computer, hailed as one of the three miracles of Future City, the [Zero Sequence], which had been silent for one hundred and eighty-seven standard days... countless ethereal blue light-guiding veins on its surface suddenly lit up!
It was awakened from its long hibernation by thunder, and the moment it woke, Future City finally welcomed back its "sun"!
Massive auxiliary systems emitted a roar surpassing limits. An unimaginable torrent of data surged madly within its internal qubits, and the calculations performed every nanosecond exceeded the sum of all human thought in a year of the old era.
Outside the Dome, hundreds of millions of intelligent machines in Future City raised their "heads." regardless of what instructions they were executing before, at this moment, they all stopped their movements simultaneously.
Then... they performed a uniform, silent salute in the direction of the [Dome].
And in low-Earth orbit, three hundred and sixty-five pure white, solemn satellite array platforms, which had quietly changed orbit and redeployed, completed the final fine-tuning of their slender, cold cannon barrels in the same millisecond.
All units had precisely locked onto Abzu in deep space, who had fully deployed and was waiting for the attack like a knight!
One of the three miracles of Future City—
The White Cell Array!
The peak output of [Zero Sequence] operating at full power turned into an invisible command spanning the sky, instantly injected into the core of every White Cell!
"Then." "Shu's" mental fluctuation also carried a smile.
"Witness it."
"Our mutual—'struggle'."
HUMMM————————————————!!!
365 beams of blazing white light, like the "solar corona" of Earth, bloomed with radiance sufficient to anger "gods."
They tore apart mass, tore apart force fields, tore apart "existence," tore apart everything that could be torn apart!
They cleared the way for the "dream" simultaneously unfolded by "Shu," violently shredding everything before him!
Abzu's poised state abruptly paused.
This was—
The swan song of civilization.