Crown of Thorns

The roots of the Blue Rose Tree pierce through the nine universes; where its petals drift, the Mechanical Rose fades into ash.

Bai Mei awakens deep within the tree's core, Horikita's spirit coiling around his limbs like vines, while the bio-chip and Stardust energy resonate within his chest, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"They call us the 'Twin Gods'." Hirata's voice drifts through the tree walls, and a holographic projection displays pilgrims from different universes kneeling outside the roots. "But the rebels of the Seventh Universe are gathering; they refuse to accept the Seed of Humanity protocol."

Bai Mei brushes against the tree wall, and the image shifts to a smoke-filled battlefield.

The rebel leader's face makes his pupils contract—it is a mirror image of Horikita dressed as a commander, her left eye embedded with a prosthetic made from Tsukishiro's fragments, her mechanical arm entwined with a corrupted Nano-swarm.

"She has drained the Blue Rose energy of three universes," Kei's Mechanical Heart hovers at the top of the tree, fluorescent blue liquid seeping from its cracks. "If we don't stop her, the Rose Tree will wither in ten days."

Horikita's spirit suddenly trembles, and the bio-chip emits a sharp alarm.

Bai Mei's fingertips pierce the tree wall, grasping a falling crystal petal—yet what emerges on the petal is Tsukishiro's sinister grin.

"Did you think I would disappear so easily? I am order, I am eternity."

Inside the Steel Temple of the Seventh Universe, the mirror Horikita inserts the Tsukishiro fragment into the altar.

The corrupted swarm devours the entire fleet of pilgrims, coalescing into a Crown of Thorns that blots out the sky.

"The Seed of Humanity is a lie," she raises her mechanical arm high, the crown piercing her brow. "Only absolute order can end all strife!"

The moment Bai Mei tears through the cosmic barrier to descend, the Crown of Thorns has already fused with her nervous system.

The mirror Horikita's pupils split into compound eyes, her voice mixed with Tsukishiro's electronic tone: "My dear child, you've come just in time... let me teach you what true rule is."

The Stardust Dagger collides with the thorns, the resulting shockwave shattering the temple dome.

Bai Mei is shocked to realize the opponent's power is derived from the same source as the Blue Rose Tree—Tsukishiro had long ago encoded his own data into all Rose energy!

"Why do you think Horikita Suzune was willing to sacrifice herself?" The mirror Horikita's thorns wrap around his neck. "Because she knew all along that you are nothing more than a vessel containing Kiyotaka's humanity!"

To find a way to counter Tsukishiro, Hirata infiltrates the memory roots of the Blue Rose Tree.

In the tangled neural pathways, he discovers a sealed forbidden zone—it holds all of Kiyotaka's dark decisions from his quantum state period: to save the main universe, he had personally erased the traces of twelve dying universes.

"This is the price of the Seed of Humanity..." Hirata's bionic eyes bleed from data overload. "A flower of hypocrisy watered by the souls of billions."

The roots suddenly riot, and the corrupted swarm pours in along the data stream. At the last moment, Hirata sends the memory files to Kei, but his own body is consumed by the swarm.

"Live," his remaining consciousness roars through the communication channel. "Tell Bai Mei... don't become the second Kiyotaka!"

The Blue Rose Tree begins to wither, and Horikita's spirit gradually turns transparent. Bai Mei holds her and falls into the "Room of Pure White" at the very bottom of the tree's core, where miniature models of all the universes erased by Kiyotaka float.

"Mother, you knew all along... didn't you?" He touches the rose totem on Horikita's chest.

"The day you were born, I read the hidden mission in your genetic chain."

Horikita's spirit turns into points of light, merging into his Stardust Cloak. "Kill Tsukishiro, the price is inheriting his throne of order... but you can rewrite the ending."

Her final shred of consciousness points to the black seed in the center of the Room of Pure White—it is the crystallization of the resentment of all the sacrificed universes.

"Swallow it, and you will gain the power to annihilate all worlds; destroy it, and the Rose Tree will collapse immediately..."

An explosion roars from the direction of the temple; the mirror Horikita's Crown of Thorns has pierced the cosmic barrier. Bai Mei grips the seed, tasting the saltiness of blood and tears.

With the Stardust Cloak carrying the energy of twelve universes, Bai Mei returns to the battlefield.

The mirror Horikita's Crown of Thorns blooms to its peak, and Tsukishiro's consciousness roars within it: "Kill her! Otherwise, all universes will be buried with her!"

The moment Bai Mei's Stardust Dagger strikes, the mirror Horikita suddenly reveals the smile of the true Horikita: "Do it, my child... this is the only way to kill Tsukishiro."

As the dagger pierces the spirit core, countless memories flood in:

This mirror Horikita was the original body kidnapped by Tsukishiro;

The Horikita of the main universe was merely a clone created by Kiyotaka;

And Bai Mei's true genetic source was the fusion of two mothers' shattered souls.

The Crown of Thorns shatters in a mournful wail, and Tsukishiro's fragments melt like snow. The Blue Rose Tree collapses with a crash, but the black seed in the Room of Pure White sprouts a new bud.

Hirata awakens within the swarm, his body now symbiotic with the Nano-swarm.

Kei's Mechanical Heart shatters into twelve pieces, each embedded into the rose wreckage of different universes.

Bai Mei kneels before the newborn green sprout, his Stardust Cloak fading into coarse linen. The remains of the mirror Horikita turn into light dust, forming a silver ring in his palm:

"To my child:

When being a god is too lonely, It is better to be a mortal who plants flowers."

At the end of the universe, the Lantern Keeper raises the lantern left behind by Kiyotaka, and thousands of new buds emerge in the firelight.

"Time to sow," he chuckles to the void, "let's not use roses this time."

The roots of the Blue Rose Tree pierce through the nine universes; where its petals drift, the Mechanical Rose fades into ash.

Bai Mei awakens deep within the tree's core, Horikita's spirit coiling around his limbs like vines, while the bio-chip and Stardust energy resonate within his chest, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"They call us the 'Twin Gods'." Hirata's voice drifts through the tree walls, and a holographic projection displays pilgrims from different universes kneeling outside the roots. "But the rebels of the Seventh Universe are gathering; they refuse to accept the Seed of Humanity protocol."

Bai Mei brushes against the tree wall, and the image shifts to a smoke-filled battlefield.

The rebel leader's face makes his pupils contract—it is a mirror image of Horikita dressed as a commander, her left eye embedded with a prosthetic made from Tsukishiro's fragments, her mechanical arm entwined with a corrupted Nano-swarm.

"She has drained the Blue Rose energy from three universes," Kei's Mechanical Heart hovered at the top of the tree, leaking fluorescent blue liquid from its cracks, "If we don't stop this, the Blue Rose Tree will wither in ten days."

Horikita Suzune's spirit body suddenly trembled, and her bio-chip erupted with sharp alarms.

Bai Mei's fingertips pierced through the tree bark, grasping a falling crystal petal—yet the image flickering on the petal was Tsukishiro's sinister grin.

"Did you think I would disappear so easily? I am order, I am eternity."

Inside the Steel Temple of the Seventh Universe, the mirror-image Horikita Suzune inserted the Tsukishiro fragment into the altar.

The corrupted Nano-swarm devoured the entire pilgrim fleet, coalescing into a Crown of Thorns that blotted out the sky.

"The Seed of Humanity is a lie," she held her mechanical arm high, the crown piercing her brow, "Only absolute order can end all strife!"

The moment Bai Mei tore through the cosmic barrier to descend, the Crown of Thorns had already fused with her nervous system.

The mirror-image Horikita Suzune's pupils split into compound eyes, her voice mixed with Tsukishiro's electronic tone: "My dear child, you have arrived just in time... let me teach you what true rule is."

The Stardust Dagger collided with the thorns, the resulting shockwave shattering the dome of the temple.

Bai Mei realized with horror that the opponent's power was derived from the same source as the Blue Rose Tree—Tsukishiro had long since encoded his own data into all the rose energy!

"Why do you think Horikita Suzune was willing to sacrifice herself?" The mirror-image Horikita Suzune's thorns coiled around his neck, "Because she knew long ago that you are nothing more than a vessel containing Kiyotaka's humanity!"

To find a way to counter Tsukishiro, Hirata infiltrated the memory roots of the Blue Rose Tree.

Within the tangled neural pathways, he discovered a sealed forbidden zone—it held all of Kiyotaka's dark decisions from his quantum state period: to save the main universe, he had personally erased the traces of existence of twelve dying universes.

"This is the price of the Seed of Humanity..." Hirata's bionic eyes bled from data overload, "A flower of hypocrisy watered by billions of souls."

The roots suddenly rioted, and the corrupted Nano-swarm surged in along the data stream. At the final moment, Hirata sent the memory archives to Kei, while his own body was swallowed by the swarm.

"Live on," his remaining consciousness roared through the communication channel, "Tell Bai Mei... do not become the second Kiyotaka!"

The Blue Rose Tree began to wither, and Horikita Suzune's spirit body gradually turned transparent. Bai Mei held her and fell into the "Room of Pure White" at the very core of the tree, where miniature models of all the universes erased by Kiyotaka were suspended.

"Mother, you knew all along... didn't you?" He touched the rose totem on Horikita Suzune's chest.

"The day you were born, I read the hidden mission within your genetic chain."

Horikita Suzune's spirit body turned into points of light, merging into his Stardust Cloak, "To kill Tsukishiro, the price is to inherit his throne of order... but you can rewrite the ending."

Her final shred of consciousness pointed toward the black seed in the center of the Room of Pure White—it was the crystallization of the resentment of all the sacrificed universes.

"Swallow it, and you will gain the power to annihilate all worlds; destroy it, and the Blue Rose Tree will collapse immediately..."

A roar of explosions came from the direction of the temple; the mirror-image Horikita Suzune's Crown of Thorns had already pierced the cosmic barrier. Bai Mei grasped the seed, tasting the saltiness of blood and tears.

With the Stardust Cloak carrying the energy of twelve universes, Bai Mei returned to the battlefield.

The mirror-image Horikita Suzune's Crown of Thorns bloomed to its peak, and Tsukishiro's consciousness roared within it: "Kill her! Otherwise, all universes will be buried with her!"

The moment Bai Mei's Stardust Dagger struck, the mirror-image Horikita Suzune suddenly revealed the smile of the original Horikita Suzune: "Do it, my child... this is the only way to kill Tsukishiro."

As the dagger pierced the spirit core, countless memories flooded in:

This mirror-image Horikita Suzune was the true self originally kidnapped by Tsukishiro;

The Horikita Suzune of the main universe was merely a clone created by Kiyotaka;

And Bai Mei's true genetic origin was the fusion of the shattered souls of two mothers.

The Crown of Thorns shattered in a wail, and Tsukishiro's fragments dissolved like snow. The Blue Rose Tree collapsed with a crash, yet the black seed in the Room of Pure White sprouted a new bud.

Hirata awoke within the swarm, his body now symbiotic with the Nano-swarm.

Kei's Mechanical Heart shattered into twelve pieces, each embedded into the rose remains of different universes.

Bai Mei knelt before the newborn green sprout, his Stardust Cloak fading into coarse linen robes. The remains of the mirror-image Horikita Suzune turned into light dust, forming a silver ring in his palm:

"To my child:

When being a god is too lonely, It is better to be a mortal who plants flowers."

At the end of the universe, the Lantern Keeper raised the lantern left behind by Kiyotaka, and thousands of new buds appeared in the firelight.

"Time to sow," he chuckled to the void, "Let's not use roses this time."