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"Have you found anything abnormal?"
Tiny Yama stood on her tiptoes to lock the door, then turned back to watch Lin stand on the bed to close the window and draw the curtains tight.
"...Everything is abnormal," Lin replied gloomily, making Yama already poor expression even worse.
"When I say abnormal, I mean phenomena that transcend common knowledge," Yama leaned her ear against the door to listen to the sounds outside. "Not a phenomenon where someone from your memory has been resurrected or enemies have become friends, but truly 'abstract' things."
"..."
"Civilizations and worlds in a Bubble Universe are anomalies in themselvesâno beginning, no end. It's entirely possible for situations to occur that go against your original world. Even parallel worlds can't guarantee a general consistency in the timeline."
Yama tone was full of sarcasm toward Lin, showing her disdain for his momentarily surging emotions.
The atmosphere between them remained tense. Lin didn't doubt for a second that if things returned to normal, Yama would already be charging at him with a blade.
"Weren't you curious why I've been hunting you down?"
At that moment, Yama shifted to the topic that had always puzzled Lin. Her words made him perk up slightly, and he questioned her with his gaze.
"Emotions."
"..."
"I know you better than you know yourself. I have seen you in countless parallel worlds, and your figure is not lacking in Bubble Universes. Except for a few timelines with massive differences, in most worlds, you start as a command-executing machine without emotions."
"Disciplined, restrained, and rational, yet possessing a unique and absolute protection for humanity. You are like an AI with a physical body, adhering to a new 'Three Laws of Robotics': altruism, the principle of humility, and setting machine preferences based on human behavior."
She stared at Lin with terrifying eyes that didn't match her cute appearance, speaking in a soft yet emotionally charged tone. "In some parallel worlds, you die during the Fifth or Sixth Eruption. At that time, you haven't yet undergone the changes that lead to later catastrophic consequences."
"But when you survive past the Sixth Eruption, you gradually become like a real human. Your emotional richness jumps, and you stop focusing solely on the broad concept of 'humanity'."
Unknowingly, a shadow had fallen over Lin face.
Yama grabbed his head, making it impossible for him to avoid eye contact with her.
"It is because you became more and more human, possessing more humanity and emotion, that during the Tenth Eruption, you made an absolutely wrong decision."
"And the consequences of that decision led to the extinction of humanity... and..."
A gloomy silence climbed onto Yama face. Even after countless days and nightsâcenturies, millenniaâshe still remembered what happened then.
A catastrophe triggered by ignorant pity.
Time does not make the past dissipate; it only lets the unforgettable pain ferment in the heart.
Lin gazed at her: "Tell me."
"..."
"Tell me the cause and the result, then tell me the method to solve it."
"...There is no method."
"You've seen countless parallel worlds, and you reside in that future, youâ"
Lin suddenly cut out. He realized the problem was in what he had just said.
"Since I have seen the same things happen countless times and reside in that future, do you think I haven't done what you're thinking of?" Yama voice grew colder. "I have lost count of how many times I told a version of you about the future and the solutions I devised. But no matter which time, the result is exactly the same. As long as you live to the Tenth Eruption, you will meet that end."
"You are a person who should not exist. From the very beginning, you were the anomaly in the story."
"Even these words... I have already told them to many versions of you."
...
"Have you found out what happened?"
Mobius had little goodwill toward this sisterâshe might even say she detested her. After completing the Project Soldier surgery, Aponia had subconsciously used her ability, causing an accident, and Mobius, who was right beside her, took the brunt of it.
That feeling still made Mobius feel nauseous.
However, the only person most likely to know what happened to Lin consciousness was this sole Psychic-Perception type MANTIS.
But whether it was a hallucination or not, Mobius felt Aponia hands were placed in a very wrong position while checking Lin. It gave her the odd sensation that Aponia was groping the unconscious Lin, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to be a major issue, so she could only grit her teeth and stay silent.
Aponia removed her hands from Lin forehead, her crimson pupils closing and opening to return to their original sapphire blue.
"Lin consciousness... is not here..."
"What do you mean?" Mobius gaze pressed hard against Aponia. "His physiological state and brain waves are normal. Are you trying to suggest the concept of substance dualism?"
If the consciousness isn't in the body, isn't that death? How was that possible?
"...I do not know what substance dualism is." Aponia hand gently brushed past Lin cheek, her fingers resting on the cross hanging from his neck. "But his consciousness has indeed left his body... it has even left this world... I cannot sense the anchor I left in Lin consciousness..."
Mobius expression flickered. She couldn't help but think of what Lin had said beforeâthat his consciousness had entered a place that might be the Sea of Quanta. At the time, she had simply dismissed it as a side effect of the Project Soldier surgery for which there was no cure.
But now, what if Lin consciousness remained in the Sea of Quanta permanently? Compared to the Sea of Quanta, which had no borders in countless conjectures, could a single consciousness, smaller than a grain of sand, find a way back?
"There is no need to worry..."
"I wasn't worrying about this fellow," Mobius said, a look of disgust appearing on her face as she turned away. "He's a stubborn lab rat. Every time I think he's going to die, he somehow manages to survive. Truly a creature with more tenacious vitality than a planarian."
"His fate is preordained... he will not pass away here..."
"See the path of fate?" Mobius sneered. "Mitra doesn't have that ability. It's better if you don't use your own lies to deceive me."
"...I have never deceived anyone."
"Then I think Lin would be quite disappointed in you."
She pointed to the person with tightly closed eyes, meeting Aponia cold gaze.
"Because this guy has never believed in fate."