The wind kept blowing across the land that was all ashes. Gray dust rolled over the ground that was cracked making waves that disappeared as fast as they appeared.
Aaron stood still in the middle of all this.
He did not move for a time.
Then he heard a voice in his mind that he knew.
"Fortunately… I can still work."
Quanta's voice was softer than usual. It was steady.
Aaron looked at the horizon.
"That's good, " he said quietly.
Quanta made a sound for a second like she was checking something.
"Those supernatural beings can only stop us for a time. They can bother my functions. But, they cannot erase me."
Aaron kicked a piece of burnt wood as he walked.
"So they failed."
"Partially."
Quanta stopped for a moment before she went on.
"Those so-called gods got together to stop systems like me for good."
Her words had a weird mix of being annoyed and not believing it.
"They really went far." Aarion asked.
"Yes."
Her voice was a little colder now.
"They were scared of what we meant."
Aarion frowned.
"What is that now?"
"Balance."
The word just hung there for a moment.
Quanta explained, "Those supernatural beings want to change the world how they like. Systems like me are here to keep things in order and help life. That makes a problem."
Aaron nodded slowly.
"So in simple words…"
"The gods do not like competition."
"Exactly."
The wind blew harder for a moment. Ash went past his legs. Aaron didn't heed to them.
His mind was somewhere else.
He thought of something.
Silver light. A calm voice. A woman with a mask under the moon that was so bright.
Tsukiyara.
His chest felt tight. He did not know when it started.
Maybe it was when she first came down like a guardian. Maybe it was when she talked to him without being mean even though she was on the side of the gods. Maybe it was just because he was lonely in this broken world.
Whatever the reason was…
He had started to care about her.
Now she is gone.
Aaron let out a breath. His steps were heavier now.
Quanta noticed the silence.
"You are thinking about Tsukiyara."
It was not a question. Aarion did not say no.
"…Yeah."
Quanta said, "Tsukiyara sacrificed herself. From a point of view her choice helped humans near her survive."
Aarion stopped walking.
"That's not the point."
Quanta was quiet for a moment.
A few seconds passed before she spoke again.
"…I see."
Aaron ran his hand through his hair.
He was not mad. Just tired.
He said quietly, "This world is messed up."
Gods were fighting each other.
Divine trees were trying to eat the planet.
Apostles were destroying beings against them with just one look.
In the middle of all this…
Humans were just trying to survive.
Quanta spoke again after a silence.
"So."
Aarion looked ahead.
"So?"
"Where should we go now?"
Though the question was simple, the answer would decide what he did next. Aarion started walking. The ash field slowly turned into asphalt.
Cracks were over what used to be a highway and weeds were coming out.
Some old road signs were leaning to the side half melted by heat.
"Neon City, " Aarion said.
Quanta thought about the name quickly.
Before the world ended Neon City was one of the places for technology.
There were factories. Places that made machines. Research labs. Everything about machines was made there. Aarion stepped over a guardrail that had fallen.
"If we want to survive for a while, walking everywhere will not work."
Quanta agreed right away.
"Having a way to move helps us survive thirty-two percent more."
Aaron smiled a little.
"See? Even your super intelligence agrees."
Quanta went on.
"Neon City still has machines that work, tools to fix things and big equipment."
"That's the plan, " Aarion said.
He looked down the highway.
"We go there first."
"Then?" Quanta asked.
Aarion pointed to the horizon.
"After that… the place where they grow food."
Quanta looked at her data quickly.
The part of Neon City where they grew food used to be famous for its ways of farming. There were towers that grew plants in water. Farms who produced food for the entire state's humans. Machines that watered the plants. Whole areas were made to grow food.
Quanta said, "If the systems there still work we will not have to worry about food."
"That's what I'm hoping for."
Aaron kept walking.
The ash went away behind him as the broken highway went on.
The sky was still gray. The air did not smell as burnt.
"So the plan is simple, " he said.
"First go to Neon City, build a vehicle."
Quanta added calmly, "Then the place where they grow food to make sure you have food to eat."
"Exactly."
The silence came back.
Aarion walked for nearly twenty minutes before things started to change.
Old buildings started to appear beside the highway.
Small warehouses. Power stations that had fallen.
A truck was on its side across the road, its windows broken. The end of the world had clearly come through here too.
The highway turned a bit to the right. When Aarion got to the top he could finally see what was ahead.
There it was.
Neon City.
The city went up from the ground like a forest of metal. Many skyscrapers went up into the sky. A lot of windows were broken. Some towers were leaning.
Quanta said softly.
"Neon City."
Aarion stared at it.
The city was like the heart of the state
A place full of machines, factories, technology and power.
Probably…
Things that should not be moving anymore.
He fixed the strap of his bag and started walking again.
The road into the city was long and quiet.