Michael Flees Overnight

"Mobius, you..."

Michael quickly pulled his hand away and instinctively retreated, but his tailbone hit the steps by the bed, causing his face to contort in pain.

"Mobius, don't joke around!"

"I'm not joking!"

Perhaps, at this moment, taking advantage of Michael's retreat, stepping forward to form a pressing posture would be more appropriate, and more in line with "Mobius's" usual style.

But this time, she didn't.

"Michael, I'm really not joking." She took two steps back and then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. "Actually, I've had this idea since Eve's time... unfortunately, her bloodline comes from the woman I hate the most..."

"Then isn't Mei okay? I'm Mei's guardian now, you can also... you can be Mei's mother..." Michael's words lacked confidence, but besides that, he didn't know what to say to change this damned atmosphere.

"You mean adoption? That's completely different! Michael, do you really understand the purpose of human reproduction?"

"I... isn't the purpose of human reproduction to continue civilization? In that case, as long as you pass on what you've learned in your life to the next generation, what's the difference whether that next generation is biological or adopted?"

"Hmm? Hehe... hehehehe... hahahahahaha..." Hearing his words, Mobius slowly turned her head, laughing as she turned, until the laughter became more and more frantic, and more and more creepy.

"Michael, you really... are not human."

"!"

"What you said is just an idealistic explanation of the act of 'continuation.' But in the most direct terms—all of a creature's actions stem from the instinct of 'survival,' and reproduction is the same."

"What does that mean? If it's for survival, shouldn't humans find a way to escape the shackles of lifespan, instead of using reproduction, which is similar to 'metabolism,' to continue civilization, right?" Michael opened the window a crack, and the cold night wind whimpered in, gradually taking away the ambiguous warmth in the room.

"You're right, but this world has never been one where humans can do whatever they want. On the contrary, if humans really did escape the shackles of lifespan, that would be the beginning of real trouble—look at us 'humans' who have lived until now. Because we've lived for too long, the hormones in our bodies that stimulate the will to live are secreted less and less. By now, if it weren't for that final goal supporting us, there would probably be no need to live on." Mobius raised her right hand, and Michael held her palm, gently pressing it against his red and hot cheek.

"And for most humans, the limitation of a few decades of life is neither too much nor too little, and it cannot be broken. So reproduction, continuing one's existence in the form of bloodline, is their only means of survival. Therefore, a child is not an object that must be educated for a human, nor is it an object to which one must entrust everything one has gained in one's life. Stripping away all embellishments, it is just a 'second life' produced by the union of two humans."

"I... I..."

"So, this kind of bloodline inheritance is something that 'adoption' cannot achieve. And Michael, you don't understand this at all. The Schariac in your eyes is not your second life, but just a souvenir."

"So, what does this have to do with you... wanting a child? Mobius, I don't believe this is what you really mean. Or rather, this is definitely not something the Mobius I know, who is constantly pursuing immortality and evolution, would say!"

"Tsk!" Mobius shook her head, pulled her hand back, and her voice suddenly became hoarse and low, as if she had turned into an old woman. "Not to mention I've said before that people change... Michael, are your memories also blurred?"

"Hmm?"

"Let me give you a little hint—it was the first time we took the Fire Moth One, on the day we went to R'lyeh."

"!"

"Don't you remember? But you have the power of Sentience, you just don't want to remember, right—what I said then was not a joke!"

"Ha... haha..." Michael laughed dryly. That memory was clearly very distant, yet in his eyes, it was as clear as yesterday.

That time, Mobius had secretly snuck onto the Fire Moth One and into his room. She bit her finger, clumsily imitating someone else's seductive gaze, and said something shocking, "Hey, by the way, why don't you give me some deoxyribose? I'll try to make a test tube and see what the difference is between a Herrscher's offspring and a normal human. Hmm, don't you want to know?"

So all the evil had begun at the latest then, much earlier than Michael had imagined.

"Um... um..." Michael moved towards the door step by step, as if plugging his ears to not hear a thief.

"What are you trying to do? Escape?" Mobius tilted her head, her eyes and the corners of her mouth rising together.

This expression, which seemed to finally have a bit of the old Mobius, was also the last straw that broke Michael's back—he no longer moved towards the door, but directly leaped backward, shattering the glass behind him and flying out.

"Ahahahaha... I suddenly remembered I have something to do. I'll be back to talk later, Mobius..."

"Tch, idiot!" Mobius lowered her head and cursed softly. A moment later, the door was pushed open急促ly. First, the girl named Bronya with two silver-gray drills poked her head in to make sure it was safe, then Mei walked in, clutching her chest.

"What happened? The window... eh? Where's Michael?"

"Well! Isn't the answer obvious? He ran away!"

"Eh... but, why would he run away from home without saying anything? And he could have used the door, why did he have to break the window..." Mei lowered her head and kept muttering, as if she were simply venting her confusion, and also as if she were nagging someone.

"Heh..." Mobius sighed, the sound of her bare feet on the floor a little滞涩. By the time Mei reacted, Mobius was already in front of her, and then her forehead was flicked again.

"Eh!"

"Sigh... that idiot... you child, you have a serious problem..."

"Eh? What problem?" When Mei looked up and asked, Mobius had already walked past her. Hearing Mei's voice, she said without turning her head, "Nothing, just wanted to ask if there's any dinner left. I'm hungry."

After saying that, Mobius no longer paid any attention to the bewildered Mei behind her and walked down the stairs step by step.

"What an idiot, Michael..." Mobius poured hot water into the chocolate-flavored tonkotsu noodle cup, her thoughts drifting with the white steam.

"My former dream... to ascend to godhood with my own hands... hehe... hehehe, how ridiculous..."

She had indeed succeeded. With her help, a "human" had successfully ascended to godhood.

But she had also achieved nothing. On the contrary, she had lost everything except him because of it. And because he had become a god, if things continued like this, even "he" would be leaving her.

Yes, she, Mobius, was the person closest to Michael, besides that annoying woman. What Hua could guess five hundred years ago, how could she not guess?

But she knew that since he had already become a god, using force to stop him like Hua did was the worst method, and also a method that would have no effect.

As a god who could integrate all the powers of the imaginary and the quantum, as long as His mind was made up, as long as His steps were firm, then no one could stop Him. And the so-called victory that was not a victory that humans had once obtained against Him, the preservation and survival of fifty thousand years ago, the sealing and stripping of powers of five hundred years ago... were actually only allowed because they fit His plan.

These were just victories that He had bestowed. Only those who couldn't see the situation clearly would call them victories, but...

But Mobius was sure she had a way to change Him, to change everything.

That was her current wish, the complete opposite of her former wish—formerly, she wanted to make humans into gods. And now, she wanted to make a god, back into a human, a real human.

"This is the result you want to see too, right... tch, what a pain! Elysia!!!"

---||---

"Ah... ah... how did Mobius suddenly become so scary!" Walking on the bustling streets of Nagazora City, Michael couldn't stop sighing.

"Generally speaking, given your relationship has reached this point, such words can't be considered scary, can they?" Such a rigid tone, one didn't have to think to know it came from Prometheus No. 17.

Just as Mobius had thought, the Stigmata plan set by MEI was a necessary part of the ending Michael wanted to achieve. For this reason, although Pardofelis's mission had been stopped by Michael, after asking MEI to temporarily withdraw, No. 17's program was brought back to the imaginary side by Michael as planned.

Considering that imaginary renormalization would cause No. 17's consciousness to gradually disintegrate, it was not until five hundred years ago that Michael activated No. 17 following Kevin's train of thought, and let her take over the power of Finality that had been stripped from him.

Five hundred years was not a short time, but compared to fifty thousand years, it was not long either. At least until now, Prometheus No. 17's consciousness had not had any problems due to imaginary renormalization. She was still that mechanical, stiff, but occasionally surprising... artificial intelligence.

Yes, although under Michael's observation with the power of Sentience, Prometheus No. 17 had already developed a "consciousness" close to that of a human, artificial intelligence was still artificial intelligence. There were some complex human emotions that she could never understand.

"Yes, yes, I don't understand, so can you explain? I don't think you have any reason to refuse Mobius. If you are avoiding a relationship with her, then this has happened many times before, and you have not refused. As for the issue of children, I don't understand human emotions, so I won't comment on Dr. Mobius's words, but from my observation, you are not averse to children. I can't understand why you would refuse, and in such an extreme way."

"It's simple, just to escape." Michael didn't explain too much, and there was no need to explain too much... of course, the most important thing was that even if he explained, as an artificial intelligence, No. 17 probably wouldn't understand.

The so-called escape, of course, was not escaping from "having children." Prometheus's analysis was very correct. On this point alone, he had no reason to refuse, nor the right to refuse.

What he wanted to escape from was everything that was making him deviate more and more from the cold and ruthless state he wanted.

Admittedly, he would not give up everything he had already planned, everything he had already promised, because of those boring emotions. It was just that "if possible," he didn't want these, even if they were the most precious things Elysia had left him.

People are selfish. Even "love," the most complex human emotion, can never escape the shackles of selfishness. The decisions made unilaterally time and time again under the name of "for his/her own good," isn't that also a kind of selfish wishful thinking?

Just like fifty thousand years ago, both of them were vying for the qualification to sacrifice under the name of "for your own good," completely disregarding that the other might not be able to bear such a result.

Alright, this kind of thing... actually can't be said to be selfish. It's hard to say clearly whether the so-called intention of being good for the other party is just for the other party's good, or just to make oneself more acceptable.

After all, human emotions are such complex things... but no matter what, the evaluation of "wishful thinking" is inescapable.

But Michael would not blame Elysia for this. Perhaps the path Elysia wanted him to take was the right one, and he had no right to blame her—because the ending he wanted to present to her was also full of his own wishful thinking...

Even the so-called "promise" he had always believed in was also a product of his own wishful thinking...

"No. 17, are you still there?"

"I am. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing, you can go now."

"You—" Before Prometheus No. 17 could finish, Michael cut her off directly.

So what if she was the "Will of the Honkai"? So what if she controlled the power of Finality?

There was only one god in this world, and that was Michael himself, whose body was the Cocoon of Finality.

Even without this relationship, the thirteen powers he possessed and the power of Origin that could connect them were enough for him to become Finality again at any time, in any place.

"But now is not the time." Michael looked up, straightened his back, and tried to determine his location among the dazzling lights of the entire street and the ambiguous signs of the bars.

On a global scale, Nagazora City was not a particularly large city in terms of either population or size. Its permanent population was only three million, not a small number, but not a large one either. For a long time, this city had not had many special features, and had always existed as a vassal of the capital region of the Far East, until both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy set up their Far East branches here...

Uh, wait a minute...

What was the name of Schicksal's Far East Branch again?

"Schicksal St. Freya High School, 3KM ahead from here..."

The white characters on the road sign perfectly reflected the colorful lights of the bar. Michael rubbed his eyes and read out the words one by one.

"What a coincidence..." Michael swore, he really didn't mean it...

"Hey! Turn around!" This voice was a little familiar. Before Michael could recall, he was slapped heavily on the shoulder. He didn't want to bother with the drunkards on this street, but the woman actually held his shoulder and forced his whole body to turn around.

"Eh? You're actually a handsome guy!" In the dim light, the woman gently rubbed Michael's cheek, but in the latter's vision, he only saw a flame that was constantly beating in the dark night.

A torch that he had once seen burn out with his own eyes, but was rekindled in this era.