Myriad Faces and Forms forced a scan with their last remaining mirror, despair in their voice. "Development progress... seventy-five percent. It's accelerating. The First Awakened was its brake. Now that they're gone, it's spiraling out of control."
The Iron Curtain Sovereign went deathly pale. "Can we sever the umbilical cord?"
"The cord connects directly to the Definition Mother. Severing it would be the same as attacking the Definition Mother." Myriad Faces and Forms paused. "The Definition Mother would define the attacker as a 'virus,' then eliminate them."
Everyone fell silent.
Harmonic Leaping Note looked at Lin Ye and saw the colors in his iridescent pupils shifting rapidly-he was thinking at tremendous speed, but not in panic. He was searching for the optimal solution.
Lin Ye spoke. "The Devouring Progeny isn't evil."
Everyone froze.
He continued, his voice calm. "The Definition Mother created it, but never gave it a definition for 'feeding.' It has been hungry for endless eras. The First Awakened exploited that hunger, guiding it to devour the Definition Mother. But it doesn't know what it's doing."
Harmonic Leaping Note frowned. "Are you saying... it's innocent?"
"It isn't innocent. It's 'undefined.' It doesn't know what it is or what it should do. It has only one instinct-hunger."
Lin Ye started walking toward the embryo.
Harmonic Leaping Note seized his arm. "Tuner! You can't go near it! It'll eat you!"
Lin Ye gently moved her hand aside. "Then let it eat."
He walked up to the embryo, stopping less than ten meters away. It was thousands of times his size, and every pulse stirred a storm on the level of definitions. The stars on Lin Ye's cloak flickered violently in the gale, but his steps never faltered.
He reached out with his right hand and pressed his palm against the