Tomb of the Sower

Quantum fluid boiled within the pure white void, the gazes of one hundred thousand fluorescent clones piercing Bai Mei's back like steel needles.

His silver ring melted into liquid metal in his palm, and the moment it seeped into the giant tree's roots, Tsukishiro's mechanical head rose from the fluid: "How touching... Do you think breaking the cycle is an act of atonement? You are merely becoming the first link in a new cycle!"

A holographic image suddenly exploded across Bai Mei's retina—it was a vision of the "Sower" in one hundred thousand universes being devoured by his own creations, each Kiyotaka clone repeating the cycle from savior to tyrant.

"Higher civilizations call us the 'Original Sin Bonsai'." Tsukishiro's mechanical fingers plunged into Bai Mei's chest, dragging out the pulsing Stardust Core, "Pruning the branches, burning the defective products... that is the truth of the universe."

Horikita awoke amidst the ruins, her materialized body covered in fluorescent patterns.

She picked up Hirata's Nano-swarm core, and the nano-swarm actually pieced together a star map on its surface—a massive structure beyond the dimensions of human cognition hung above all universes, shaped like an "Eye of the Observer" nested with countless Klein Bottle Totems.

"They are here." Kei's remaining Mechanical Heart issued a final warning, "Tsukishiro is merely a pruner... the true Gardener is coming to harvest the entire nursery."

The barrier of the Seventh Universe shattered with a roar, and the fluorescent clones suddenly knelt in unison.

Seven pillars of light descended from the void, and from each pillar stepped a "Gardener" draped in a Star-patterned Robe, their faces flickering between human and machine, the "Pruning Shears" in their hands forged from black hole matter.

"Experimental subjects γ-000 to γ-99999, recovery progress 98%." The lead Gardener flicked a finger, shattering three universes, "Remaining variables: Bai Mei, Horikita Suzune."

Hirata's swarm core trembled in Horikita's hand. The nano-swarm broke free from its symbiotic state, converging in the air to form his phantom: "Use my core to activate the 'Cannon of Possibilities'... that is the final trump card Kiyotaka hid in the wreckage of the Blue Rose Tree."

Deep within the ruins, the Blue Rose Tree stump, covered in new buds, split open to reveal a massive, rust-covered cannon barrel.

The moment Horikita inserted the core into the energy slot, the one hundred thousand fluorescent clones suddenly screamed—their energy was being forcibly drained and poured into the cannon chamber.

"No!" Bai Mei roared within the quantum fluid, "How is this any different from Tsukishiro?"

"The difference is," Hirata's phantom began to dissipate, "this time, we chose it ourselves..."

The cannon fire tore through dimensions, and the Gardener who took the brunt of the blast dissolved into data residue. The remaining six Gardeners' Star-patterned Robes ignited with black flames, their Pruning Shears crossing to form a cage: "Low-level variables, blooming is forbidden."

The remains of the fluorescent clones suddenly reorganized, constructing a Circular Court in the void. γ-419, sitting on the judge's bench, bled from his eyes as he slammed a wooden gavel onto the cannon barrel: "According to Article 7 of the Codex of Possibilities 2.0: Collective sacrifice in the name of freedom is prohibited!"

Horikita leaped onto the defendant's stand, tearing open her collar to reveal the fluorescent patterns at her heart: "Then judge me! Use my annihilation to trade for..."

"No," Bai Mei's quantum body pierced through the court's barrier, "they are the ones who should be judged."

The Stardust Core reorganized into a blade in his palm, stabbing into the "Eye of the Observer" in the void. All the Gardeners suddenly stiffened, their Star-patterned Robes fading to a pale white—the masks of the higher civilization were pierced, revealing the writhing mechanical tentacles within, identical in origin to Tsukishiro.

"So you are also 'Original Sin Bonsai'..." Bai Mei's blade stirred the core, "Poor wretches pruned by even higher existences!"

The quantum fluid suddenly backflowed, and the pure white void began to collapse. The one hundred thousand fluorescent clones collectively self-destructed, their energy pouring into the Blue Rose cannon.

Horikita grabbed Bai Mei's hand amidst the torrent of energy: "It's time to end this... use me to initiate the Final Protocol."

Her fluorescent patterns spread along the cannon barrel, perishing together with the Gardeners' mechanical tentacles. Bai Mei's Stardust Core shattered, the fragments piercing the new buds in every universe—

All the Klein Bottle Totems began to rotate in reverse, and the "branches" pruned by the Gardeners grew wildly. Tsukishiro's mechanical head dissolved in a fit of hysterical laughter: "Finally... finally, a bonsai has grown out of its cage!"

In the void, the last Gardener removed his star-patterned hood. His face left Bai Mei breathless—it was an elderly version of Kiyotaka, his left eye embedded with the dying embers of the Lantern Keeper.

"You did well," he gently stroked Bai Mei's cracked quantum body, "now it is your turn to do the pruning."

The moment the Pruning Shears pierced Bai Mei's chest, Hirata's swarm core suddenly shot out from the ruins, merging with the Lantern Keeper's embers. Horikita's fluorescent patterns reorganized on the surface of the new buds, transforming into billions of questions:

"Who granted you the authority to prune?"

"Who determines the qualifications for blooming?"

"Who built a larger cage outside the cage?"

The Gardener's body disintegrated under the weight of the questions, and the Pruning Shears fell into the quantum fluid. Bai Mei grabbed the god-killing weapon and thrust it into his own Stardust Core—

"This time," his quantum state began to annihilate, "let all things grow wild."

Three months later, Horikita awoke on the grasslands of a newborn universe.

There were no Star Rings, no Mechanical Roses, only wildflowers swaying in the wind. A child ran over, holding a fluorescent sprout: "Auntie, we dug up something strange in the ground!"

It was a charred piece of Pruning Shears, with Kiyotaka's handwriting carved into the blade:

"To those who come after:

I have pruned a million universes, yet I never learned, how to appreciate the rebellion of a flower."

At the edge of the horizon, the Lantern Keeper's embers flickered. The silhouette of a boy, formed by a quantum disturbance, was busy sowing seeds of wildflowers that bore no totems.

"Experimental subjects γ-000 to γ-99999, recovery progress 98%." The lead Gardener flicked his finger, shattering three universes, "Remaining variables: Bai Mei, Horikita Suzune."

Hirata's Nano-swarm core trembled in Horikita's hand. The Nano-swarm broke free from its symbiotic state, converging in the air to form his phantom: "Use my core to activate the Cannon of Possibilities... That is the final trump card Kiyotaka hid within the wreckage of the Blue Rose Tree."

Deep within the ruins, the stump of the Blue Rose Tree, covered in new sprouts, split open to reveal a massive, rust-covered cannon barrel.

The moment Horikita inserted the core into the energy slot, one hundred thousand fluorescent clones suddenly screamed—their energy was being forcibly drained and pumped into the cannon's chamber.

"No!" Bai Mei roared within the quantum slurry, "How is this any different from Tsukishiro?"

"The difference is," Hirata's phantom began to dissipate, "this time, we chose it ourselves..."

The cannon fire tore through the dimensions, and the Gardener who bore the brunt of it turned into data residue. The remaining six Gardeners' Star-patterned Robes ignited with black flames, and their Pruning Shears crossed to form a cage: "Inferior variables, blooming is prohibited."

The remains of the fluorescent clones suddenly reorganized, constructing a Circular Court in the void. γ-419, sitting on the judge's bench, had blood streaming from his eyes as he slammed his gavel onto the cannon barrel: "According to Article 7 of the Codex of Possibilities 2.0: Collective sacrifice in the name of freedom is prohibited!"

Horikita leaped onto the defendant's bench, tearing open her collar to reveal the fluorescent markings on her heart: "Then judge me! Use my annihilation to trade for..."

"No," Bai Mei's quantum body pierced through the court's barrier, "it is they who should be judged."

The Stardust Core in his palm reorganized into a blade, stabbing into the Eye of the Observer in the void. All the Gardeners suddenly stiffened, their Star-patterned Robes fading to a pale color—the masks of the higher civilization were pierced, revealing the writhing mechanical tentacles within, which shared the same origin as Tsukishiro.

"So you are also part of the 'Original Sin Bonsai'..." Bai Mei's blade stirred the core, "Poor wretches pruned by an even higher existence!"

The quantum slurry suddenly backflowed, and the pure white space began to collapse. The one hundred thousand fluorescent clones self-destructed in unison, their energy pouring into the Blue Rose Tree cannon.

Horikita grabbed Bai Mei's hand amidst the torrent of energy: "It's time to end this... Use me to initiate the Final Protocol."

Her fluorescent markings spread along the cannon barrel, perishing together with the Gardeners' mechanical tentacles. Bai Mei's Stardust Core shattered, its fragments piercing into the new sprouts of every universe—

All the Klein Bottle Totems began to rotate in reverse, and the "branches" pruned by the Gardeners grew wildly. Tsukishiro's mechanical head dissolved in a fit of manic laughter: "Finally... finally a bonsai has grown out of its cage!"

In the void, the last Gardener removed his star-patterned hood. His face made Bai Mei gasp—it was an elderly version of Kiyotaka, with the remnant fire of the Lantern Keeper embedded in his left eye.

"You did well," he gently stroked Bai Mei's cracking quantum body, "now it is your turn to prune."

The moment the Pruning Shears pierced Bai Mei's chest, Hirata's Nano-swarm core suddenly shot out from the ruins, merging with the remnant fire of the Lantern Keeper. Horikita's fluorescent markings reorganized on the surface of the new sprouts, transforming into billions of questions:

"Who granted you the authority to prune?"

"Who determines the qualifications for blooming?"

"Who built a larger cage outside the cage?"

The Gardener's body disintegrated amidst the questioning, and the Pruning Shears fell into the quantum slurry. Bai Mei grabbed this god-slaying weapon and stabbed it into his own Stardust Core—

"This time," his quantum state began to annihilate, "let all things grow wild."

Three months later, Horikita woke up on the grasslands of a newborn universe.

There were no Star Rings, no Mechanical Roses, only wildflowers swaying in the wind. A child ran over holding a fluorescent sprout: "Auntie, we dug up something strange in the ground!"

It was a charred piece of Pruning Shears, with Kiyotaka's handwriting carved into the blade:

"To those who come after:

I have pruned a million universes, Yet I could never learn, How to appreciate the rebellion of a flower."

At the edge of the horizon, the remnant fire of the Lantern Keeper flickered on and off. The back of a young boy, formed by a quantum disturbance, was busy sowing wildflower seeds that bore no totems.