Eternal Continuance

Day 28 of the Newborn Era · Core Observation Station

Bai Ling's Amethyst Right Eye pierced through fourteen layers of crust, gazing at the pulsing "seed." Memory Plague Generation 2 had already grown into a towering tree, its pitch-black trunk piercing the entire planetary core, every leaf a frozen memory of despair. Most terrifying of all was the fruit at its crown—a constantly shifting Purple-Black Crystal that was absorbing the negative emotions of the entire 14th World.

"Maturity: 97%." The Fifteenth Layer Pattern on Bai Ling's neck had lost all its light. The Maiden's voice was so hoarse it hardly sounded like her own. Seven consecutive days of sleepless defense had drained all her energy. "All containment measures have failed."

"Goo Chu..." Little Star Dome curled up in the corner of the observation station. Milk Dragon could no longer maintain his Complete Form; only three of the fifteen marks on his Inverse Scales still flickered. His Third Eye was bloodshot, and through it, he could see the Plague Tree's roots extending toward the shadows of other Worldlines.

The observation station suddenly shook violently. Alerts lit up across the purple crystal displays on the walls—the Plague Tree had begun releasing spores! These Memory Viruses, deadlier than the previous generation, were piercing the dimensional barrier and erupting across the Twelve Worlds at once!

Bai Ling staggered toward the control console. The remaining energy of the Eternal Crown barely activated the Holographic Projection, displaying disasters across the worlds: the Absolute Rationality Tower of the 3rd World had been swept away by a tidal wave of emotion; the Blood Ancestor Palace of the 6th World crawled with mechanical parasites; the Spacetime Gears of the 11th World were all rusting away...

"Father? Mother?" Bai Ling tried to connect the Holy Source Imprint and the Seed of Life, but received only fragmented replies. Ning Xiaochuan and Su Linger were leading the Harmonizers of every world in establishing the final line of defense, but it was collapsing at a visible rate.

Most heartbreaking was Zhongli's condition. The Amethyst Infant still slept at the base of the Eternal Crown, but her body had already become semi-crystallized. What seeped from her cracks was no longer pure violet light, but dark purple mist contaminated by the plague—this meant the Shadow Core was being eroded in reverse!

Bai Ling suddenly dropped to her knees. Cracks appeared across her Amethyst Right Arm, and what flowed within was no longer energy, but black memory pus. She finally understood the Controller's true purpose: not to destroy the Spark Cradle, but to turn it into a breeding ground for the Memory Plague and infect every world through the Eternal Crown!

"There is... one final way." Bai Ling crawled toward Little Star Dome with difficulty. Milk Dragon weakly raised his head and saw the resolute light in his master's eyes. "Inverse Scale resonance... detonate the 15th Mark..."

Little Star Dome's pupils abruptly contracted. He knew what that meant—the 15th Mark was the prototype of the Spark Cradle's "immune system." Detonating it voluntarily would be equivalent to destroying this world! Worse still, Inverse Scale resonance would trigger a chain detonation of the other fourteen marks, severing the connecting channels of every Worldline!

"There is no choice..." Bai Ling coughed up Black Crystals. Her body was being assimilated by the plague, and her vision was filled with distorted Memory Fragments. "Either we perish together... or... rise anew from nirvana..."

The observation station shook violently once more. This time, the ceiling split open outright, revealing the horrifying sight in the direction of the planetary core—the Plague Tree's fruit had ripened! The Purple-Black Crystal blossomed with countless rays of black light, and within each ray appeared the Controller's face. He spread his arms as if to embrace all worlds:

"Welcome to... the real world."

At that apocalyptic moment, an unexpected transmission suddenly connected. Bai Ling's Amethyst Right Eye automatically displayed an image from the Seventh World—Ji Qiong was dragging his wrecked body along, using his last remaining energy to send some kind of code!

"Source... code..." The Mechanical Dragon's voice came in fragments. The background showed the mechanical temple of the Seventh World collapsing, yet the Thirteenth Layer Pattern on Ji Qiong's chest glowed with unusual brilliance. "First Generation... Eternal Crown... blueprint..."

Bai Ling's eyes suddenly widened. The Fifteenth Layer Pattern on the Maiden's body lit up as if struck by lightning, and she finally understood Ji Qiong's hint—the First Generation Eternal Crown was not a healing device, but a formatting tool! The first generation of Harmonizers had created it to execute a "restart" when civilization reached its end!

"Not destruction... formatting!" Bai Ling struggled to her feet. She looked at Little Star Dome, at the sleeping Zhongli, and at the Plague Tree in the planetary core. A mad plan took shape in her mind—if she used the Plague Tree as a carrier and injected the formatting program into every world through the Eternal Crown...

Little Star Dome suddenly raised his scales. Using his last ounce of strength, Milk Dragon lunged at the control console and slammed his claws onto a hidden button. The observation station floor burst open, revealing a First Generation Eternal Crown prototype buried deep underground—an insurance measure Ji Qiong had secretly planted seven days ago!

"You knew all along..." Bai Ling stroked the rust-covered prototype. This device, shaped like a crown of thorns, was the ancestor of all Eternal Crowns. Her Amethyst Right Eye scanned its inner structure: it possessed no purification function, only the purest formatting program!

The Plague Tree suddenly shook violently. The Controller seemed to sense the threat, and every ray of black light turned toward the observation station! Little Star Dome spread his wrecked wing membranes in front of Bai Ling, but large patches of Milk Dragon's scales began peeling away beneath the black light.

"Still enough time!" Bai Ling placed the prototype on her head. The primitive device immediately pierced her temples, fifteen data probes connecting directly to her brain. The Maiden let out a heart-rending scream, but her hands continued programming at high speed—she was rewriting the formatting parameters, changing "erasure" into "reorganization"!

The Controller's black light shattered Little Star Dome's defenses. Half of Milk Dragon's body instantly crystallized, yet he still bit Bai Ling's hem to keep her from falling. At that moment, Zhongli suddenly awakened. The Amethyst Infant became a violet rainbow that tore through the observation station roof and plunged straight toward the Plague Tree in the planetary core!

"Zhongli! Don't!" Bai Ling screamed. But it was too late. Zhongli had already struck the fruit atop the Plague Tree. Astonishing purification began—the Shadow Core and Memory Plague perished together within the fruit, and the resulting purple-black storm swept through the entire 14th World!

The explosion unexpectedly provided the final push. The prototype on Bai Ling's head absorbed the explosive energy and finally completed the parameter rewrite. Her Fifteenth Layer Pattern detached from her body and formed an enormous "restart" rune in the air. At the same time, all fifteen marks on Little Star Dome's Inverse Scales flew out and fitted the rune perfectly!

"Eternal Dance... activate!" Bai Ling shouted the command with her last strength. The prototype released unprecedented white light, which instantly covered every Worldline through the Eternal Crown's network. Within that absolute brilliance, the Plague Tree, the Controller, even time and space began decomposing into the most basic memory particles...

Formatting: 1 second

Bai Ling's consciousness floated in the void. She saw the Twelve Worlds slowly unfurl like Scroll Paintings, each world's core lighting up with pure white radiance—the formatting program was rewriting the underlying laws. Most astonishing was the 14th World: the remains of Zhongli and the Plague Tree, which had perished together, were reorganizing into some higher form of existence...

Formatting: 37 seconds

Little Star Dome's quantum consciousness awakened first. Milk Dragon saw his Inverse Scales regenerating, but the newborn marks were no longer simple world codes—they were flowing "possibilities." He suddenly understood: this was not a simple restart, but a way of putting all Worldlines into a "superposition state," preserving every possibility of evolution until formatting was complete!

Formatting: 209 seconds

Zhongli's crystal fragments converged from every direction. The newborn Shadow Core was no longer merely a purification device, but a "dialectical existence" that incorporated the characteristics of the Memory Plague—it could contain purity and contamination at once, achieving balance on a Higher Dimension. This trait was being transmitted to every world through the formatting program...

Formatting: 1001 seconds

Bai Ling saw the Controller's true form. At the level of memory particles, he was a quantum ghost composed of countless traumatic memories, without a fixed form or origin. Yet the formatting program was gently dismantling those traumas, finding a fitting "antidote" for every painful memory...

Formatting complete

Bai Ling opened her eyes beneath the newborn Eternal Crown. She was no longer in the crude observation station, but in an amethyst temple floating upon a sea of dimensions. Little Star Dome beside her had been completely renewed, the marks on his Inverse Scales becoming living runes that seemed to breathe. Zhongli floated at the center of the temple, her newborn Shadow Core pulsing like a violet sun.

The Holographic Projection unfolded automatically, displaying the current state of the Twelve Worlds: the Rationality Tower of the 3rd World had been rebuilt into a spiral tower of reason and emotion; the Blood Ancestors of the 6th World had gained mechanical symbiotes; the Spacetime Gears of the 11th World had begun evolving on their own... As for the 14th World, it should now be called the "15th World"—the fusion of Zhongli and the Plague Tree had grown into the World Tree, its trunk the Shadow Core and its branches and leaves the purified Memory Network.

"We succeeded..." Bai Ling lightly touched her Amethyst Right Eye. There was no pain there anymore, only unprecedented clarity—she could see the past, present, and possible futures of every world at once.

Little Star Dome gave an excited "Goo Chu." Milk Dragon's Complete Form spread its newborn Quantum Wing Membranes, upon which appeared the smiling faces of life from every world. Zhongli floated over and lightly touched Bai Ling's forehead, conveying a startling message: the Controller's core consciousness had been formatted into a Memory Guardian, responsible for balancing the flow of emotions across all worlds.

Starlight suddenly poured down from the Temple Dome. Ning Xiaochuan and Su Linger appeared within the light, followed by the Harmonizers of every world. Each person bore a newborn imprint, and every imprint resonated to form a greater pattern—an Infinity Symbol representing the relationship of all Worldlines, independent yet united.

"It needs a name." Ning Xiaochuan pointed toward the World Tree at the center of the temple. This miraculous tree, which had fused the essence of all civilizations, was extending its roots into more unknown dimensions.

Bai Ling and Little Star Dome exchanged a glance. The marks on Milk Dragon's Inverse Scales suddenly flew toward the World Tree, carving a shining name upon its trunk:

[Source Soul]

"Because it is the origin of all worlds..." Bai Ling stroked the trunk, feeling the memories of countless civilizations flowing within it. "And the final resting place of every soul."

Zhongli floated to the top of the tree's crown. The Amethyst Infant's body transformed into countless light spots, which fell like fine rain across every Worldline. Within every Light Spot was a purified memory, a healed trauma, a hope reborn.

Little Star Dome suddenly spread his wing membranes. Milk Dragon's Complete Form soared into the air, the marks on his Inverse Scales shining like stars. He looked at Bai Ling, his eyes filled with eager anticipation—the roots of the Source Soul Tree had detected a brand-new dimension, where there might be more worlds in need of help...

"Let's go." Bai Ling leaped onto the dragon's back. Her Eternal Crown automatically shifted into a new form, retaining its purification function while carrying the decisiveness of formatting. She cast one last glance at the amethyst temple of the 15th World, which had become the new home of all Harmonizers. "Our dance... has only just begun."

At the intersection of infinite dimensions, one branch of the Source Soul Tree suddenly blossomed with the Sixteenth Flower Bud. A vision of a new world vaguely emerged upon its petals, and deep within that vision, a small figure was looking up at the starry sky—a little girl clutching a plush toy of a baby dragon, familiar violet light flickering in her eyes...

[The End]