Story Reader / Main Story / 33 Wither to Shine / Story
Chaotic threads swirl around <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> like tangled hemp, floating in the boundless cosmic void. Her M.I.N.D., having endured countless tears and healings, has become nothing but a blank slate.
Information from an entire civilization floods into her memory. Languidly, she cradles the planet wrapped in layers of threads, gazing bewildered into the darkness of time.
A faint will flickers like a dying spark in her murky M.I.N.D.
<phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> stares blankly at this strange universe, where streams of stars revolve amidst omnipresent cosmic dust.
Is this... the... final... turning point?
Her M.I.N.D. continuously collapses and reconstructs, containing all the wrong information from the Hetero Tower, holding all the wrong paths.
But... what is truly wrong?
The string called sanity is nearly severed, teetering on the edge of collapse—
Should she continue absorbing the wrong "time"?
Or perhaps, maybe she should take a short break...
Pause for a moment, retain sanity, think about the next steps carefully...
No... can't stop...
Within her M.I.N.D., wails and laughter of countless lives urge her to continue forward.
Her pupils dilate to the verge of splitting, crimson veins branching across her eyelids.
Fingers plunged deep into the crimson threads, <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> struggles with all her might, desperately trying to restore the strands of time to their original state.
Like a small beast in despair yet still refusing to surrender to the rules' grip, she lets out a primal howl, struggling to drag her beloved world to its rightful orbit.
The threads clash with metallic clangs, while the eyes upon her wings tremble, emitting cries of agony.
<phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> is so close to success—
But <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> is, after all, still just a "living being".
A living being who possesses one and only one M.I.N.D. that is capable of containing information. Even after evolving into a higher-dimensional being, she remains unable to contain an entire civilization's "wrong" time.
What's worse, that "time" continues to diffract, generating endless streams of new information.
Throughout the universe, all galaxies perish one by one.
In the wake of a violent explosion, cosmic particles collide, giving birth to dazzling arcs of light.
In the universe at -273.15 degrees Celsius, the final remnants of matter, known as the Punishing Virus, gradually vanish into the vacuum... or rather, gradually being "recycled".
Perhaps, after millions of years, a blue-green planet will once more be born here, restarting this "closed loop" anew.
...
There is no longer any place to set foot here. Ishmael hovers in deep space, watching the end of this civilization.
Chaos cannot withstand the impact of excessive information. She arrives one step too late.
The information recorded by the Punishing Virus overflows, annihilating the entire Earth. Afterward, Chaos, having lost all sanity, detonates herself—
She vanishes from this spacetime. Even Ishmael is unable to ascertain whether she has truly ceased to exist or has simply been propelled elsewhere by the shockwave of the explosion.
The universe will ultimately succumb to heat death. Even stars will eventually die out.
She speaks up softly, addressing a civilization that no longer exists.
Everything will return to dust. Regardless of the struggle, the ending remains all the same...
On the far side of distant galaxies, with the commandant's disappearance, Nanami, having lost her anchor, will never be able to return to her rightful place. The mechanoid girl will be forever lost in the long river of time, never able to return to the correct time and space. The civilization of machines will, before long, also fade into the universe.
The crimson-gold text flashes violently before eventually fading away.
...
Ishmael lets out a sigh and gently closes the book.
The remaining embers burst into a final afterglow, while human civilization has already died out here.
Humanity's Ending: "Annihilation". Here, human civilization fades away.
Commandant...
A familiar call traverses the darkness of countless light-years, blasting within her M.I.N.D.
On the verge of madness, <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic>, slowly and stiffly, stops her hands that are still arranging the threads of time.
Following that sound, <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> rapidly traces backward, yet fails to find any remnants of the voice.
In the dark, boundless void, there is only a single person's voice.
Suddenly unsure how to continue, <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> sits there bewildered, cradling the glowing planet wrapped in threads.
Where... am I...
Should I... continue?
The string called sanity is nearly burned through by the excess of information. What... should be the next step?
The space trembles, stirring up subtle ripples, as a familiar rift cuts through the dark cosmic void.
Ishmael hurriedly arrives through the rift.
...
Her silver-white pupils betray a look of disbelief as Ishmael gazes in astonishment at Chaos, who remains frozen in place, teetering on the brink of madness.
...You have maintained your sanity.
This ending shouldn't be like this.
In the ending she has witnessed, Chaos descends into madness from the overwhelming influx of information, the Punishing Virus envelops Earth in a state of limbo, and Chaos detonates herself. Following the violent explosion, human civilization fades into oblivion.
She has no clue about what altered the predestined ending, but given the circumstances...
Gray Raven?
Tentatively, Ishmael calls out to <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> by that title once more.
Her M.I.N.D. can no longer accept any more information. <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> gazes in bewilderment at the pink-haired woman before her, the sound around her a chaotic mess, unable to make out the woman's uttered words.
...
It seems this is the answer given by the die.
She opens the book in her hand. On the final page, crimson-gold curves spiral and form into new words.
Is that... so?
She flips through the pages of the book, letting out a soft sigh as a realization dawns in her silver-white pupils.
So... doom isn't truly predestined after all.
A tinge of sadness creeps up her spine and into her M.I.N.D. as Ishmael presses her lips together.
She thought she had lost most of her "emotions" during her wanderings through time.
But at this very moment, she still genuinely feels "sorrow".
It turns out that... preservation is really not the only solution. There does indeed exist a path that leads to what is "correct".
<phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic> is already on the verge of madness, beyond salvation, but most of the wrong "time" accumulated within the Hetero Tower has been completely absorbed.
Meanwhile, the mechanoid girl also continues her efforts to converge the threads of causality...
All wills on the planet are working toward it—they will ultimately usher in a brand new miracle.
...I get it now.
Please allow me to pay my respects to you, and to your civilization.
For the magnificent story you've presented, and for truly showing me another kind of "future".
She offers a gentle smile, standing before Chaos as she bows slightly.
From here on... leave it to me.
Putting away the book representing human civilization, the pink-haired woman gently touches the forehead of <phonetic=Commandant>Chaos</phonetic>.
