Logically,
hearing human speech in this dark, terrifying place should have brought overwhelming relief.
But the twitching of D-14134's facial muscles and the uncontrollable dread in his eyes said otherwise.
In the faint light, the audience finally saw it.
The figure had human proportions:
Normal height and limbs.
Bipedal.
Five fingers on each hand.
Even a "face" with discernible features.
If not for its void-black body—identical to the other monsters—they might've mistaken it for another victim.
Recalling how the shadows had "revered" this creature,
the realization hit:
This was their leader.
The Mirror-World
The silence shattered.
The space convulsed, objects colliding and breaking.
The monsters shrieked, converging toward their center—
Merging like liquid ink, their forms writhing into a single mass.
At the top, a face emerged:
Their true master.
Eyes closed. Smiling.
D-14134 stared, numb.
Too drained for despair.
His mind replayed the past hours—
A dawn of hope, swallowed by deeper night.
The audience's hearts clenched.
"God, what is that?!"
"Like... the embodiment of malice."
"Can humans even fight this?"
"It's... too hopeless."
They'd watched a normal man defy hell itself—
Only to be crushed again.
Despair.
That was all they felt.
Three-Body Universe – Earth
Years of humanity's struggles had hardened Luo Ji.
Even now, he remained analytical.
"As long as he's alive, there's a chance."
Admiring the man on-screen, he wondered:
How would he break free?
The Black Mass Speaks
"Thank you for everything you've done."
D-14134's mind reeled.
Thank me? For what?
The chatroom echoed his confusion.
The shadow's grin widened.
"When you saw monsters emerge from hearts, did you assume they were born from them?"
Its voice dripped with mockery.
"So naturally, you'd think destroying the 'source' would end this."
D-14134 froze.
That first phrase echoed:
"Thank you."
Chest pain spiked. A new, primal fear erupted—
Dwarfing all prior terror.
Sweat drenched his brow.
The audience's minds screamed:
Destroying the hearts didn't kill the monsters.
Luo Ji's Epiphany
His face paled.
If the hearts weren't nests...
But cages?
A bitter smile twisted his lips.
On-screen, the shadow continued:
"You call us monsters, demons, shadows. But this—" (it gestured at its form) "—is humanity's true shape. An evolution."
Its tone was calm, laced with condescension.
"You find it grotesque because you're still trapped in your shell."
D-14134 scoffed audibly.
Unfazed, the shadow pressed on:
"This power was always within us—locked in our hearts."
At "hearts," D-14134 tensed.
"The heart is a prison. While it beats, the cage holds. But if it's destroyed..."
It leaned closer.
"...the power dies with it."
The audience struggled to reconcile this:
Hearts intact? Monsters trapped.
Hearts destroyed? Monsters freed.
Then why say "thank you"?
The shadow's smile turned rapturous.
"Because the Great Lord gave us a key."