The High-Level Engineer stared coldly at the two "Ancient Mechanical Consciousnesses" extracted from the wreckage, still flickering with streams of ancient data.
They were like undying ghosts, carrying the final obsessions and technological imprints of civilizations long vanished. Even after their hosts had collapsed, they still sought new vessels or tried to merge into this mechanical world.
"There's no need for the remnants of the Ancient Machines to continue existing."
With a thought, the still-unsettled torrent of Fusion Ascension behind him split off a stream of purification energy and precisely scoured the two Ancient Mechanical Consciousnesses.
"Bzzzt—!!!"
The instant the ascension radiance touched the ancient streams of data, it produced a dense, shrill sound, as if billions of lines of code were being forcibly overwritten.
Under the effects of two forces powerful enough to rewrite reality, the Ancient Mechanical Consciousnesses' stubborn structures began to irreversibly melt and disintegrate.
The data chains composing them snapped apart. Their ancient energy imprints were assimilated, while the fluctuations of their final obsessions were forcibly scoured and diluted by the wills of "fusion" and "evolution" contained within the ascension radiance.
At the same time, two brief notification sounds rang out clearly from the system interface in the High-Level Engineer's mind:
[Beep beep—"Ancient Mechanical Consciousness (Differential Engine Variant)" has been completely purified] [Beep beep—Relevant conceptual remnants have been absorbed. Fragments of the "Ancient Mechanical Technology Tree" have been partially archived] [Obtained Ancient Mechanical Tree Fragment *2]
Yet there was not the slightest hint of relief or accomplishment on the High-Level Engineer's face.
Instead, his brows drew together slightly. His senses rose to their limit as he used the perception of the Space-Time Astral Spirit to "touch" the deepest pulse of this mechanical Great Wall.
At the exact instant those two