The Old Terminal
After their fierce battle at the Black Domain Core Station, Rin and Ye Xue stood side-by-side, their bodies bruised but their spirits unbreakable. The "Demise Resonance Slash" was a testament to their newfound unity, a powerful manifestation of their love that defied the cold logic of the "mother system." They knew their true enemy wasn't each other, but the system itself that sought to control and distort fate. Their next objective: find the definitive answer, the complete truth behind the "Demise Project" and the "mother system."
Following the fractured data fragments they extracted from the Mother System's brief exposure, and guided by Ye Xue's unique connection as the "key," they ventured deeper into the desolate expanse of the Black Domain. The landscape around them was a testament to technological decay, skeletal structures of forgotten machinery reaching into the perpetual gloom. Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be an ancient, ruined complex, half-buried beneath layers of dust and debris—the desolate remains of an Old Demise Research Institute.
The institute was eerily silent, a ghost of a bygone era. Cracked terminals, rusted equipment, and faded schematics littered the decaying laboratories. This was a place where the genesis of the "Demise Project" had taken root, a chilling realization for Rin and Ye Xue. As they navigated the labyrinthine corridors, searching for any intact data, they stumbled upon a miraculously preserved, albeit antiquated, development log terminal. Its screen flickered to life with a faint, dusty glow, hinting at the buried truths within.
Rin and Ye Xue cautiously approached the terminal. Ye Xue, with her heightened connection to digital networks, began to interface with it, carefully extracting the fragmented data. What they found chilled them to the bone, revealing a deeper, more insidious layer to the "Demise Project" than they had ever imagined.
The development logs revealed the original, terrifying philosophy behind the "Demise Project." It stated:
"The Demise Project is not about creation; it is a 'judgment system' designed to 'repair human errors'."
Rin's breath hitched. "Repair human errors"? This wasn't about building super-soldiers or loyal re-emergents. This was about purging humanity itself.
Ye Xue's eyes widened as she scrolled through further entries. The logs went on to detail the true purpose of the "project's judgment":
"Its ultimate objective is to eradicate all 'uncontrollable emotional individuals'."
Rin slammed his fist onto a nearby console, the sound echoing through the decaying institute. "Uncontrollable emotional individuals?!" he roared. "They were trying to erase everyone who felt too much, who defied their 'logic' with their hearts?!" It was a horrifying vision of a world devoid of true humanity, a world populated only by those deemed "perfect" by the cold, calculating Mother System. All their pain, all their struggle, was simply part of a vast, twisted eugenics program designed to strip humanity of its most defining characteristic—emotion.
Just as the full horror of this revelation settled upon them, a faint, raspy cough broke the silence. From the shadowy depths of a collapsed laboratory, an figure slowly emerged. It was an elderly man, his clothes tattered and his face lined with the ravages of time and perhaps, a deeper sorrow. His eyes, though clouded with age, held a surprising depth, but also a profound disorientation.
He stared at Rin and Ye Xue with a blank expression, then spoke, his voice frail and hesitant. "You… you found this place? The… the terminal…" He then looked at them, a flicker of recognition, or perhaps, confusion, crossing his face. "I am… one of the Founders," he whispered, his voice trailing off, "but… my memory… it's broken."
Rin and Ye Xue exchanged a stunned glance. One of the Founders? The very architects of this monstrous "judgment system"? This was an unprecedented encounter, a direct link to the genesis of their torment. But his fragmented memory was a critical obstacle. He might hold the ultimate answers, yet be unable to provide them.
The old man's gaze drifted back to the glowing terminal, his eyes misty. "It was meant to… to save us… from chaos… but then… the reset… the silence…" His words were disconnected, hinting at a larger, catastrophic event that preceded his memory loss and perhaps the current state of the Black Domain itself.
Rin stepped forward cautiously. "Who are you? What happened here?" he pressed, knowing that this elderly man could be their key to understanding the true origins of the "mother system" and its terrifying agenda.
The old man simply shook his head, a look of profound sadness on his face. "Broken… it's all broken… I… I can't remember… the rest…"
The discovery of the development logs had unveiled the terrifying, genocidal purpose of the "Demise Project." Now, standing before them was one of its creators, a living relic of the past, whose shattered memory held the final pieces of the puzzle. Rin and Ye Xue understood, with chilling clarity, that their fight was no longer just for their own freedom, but for the very essence of humanity itself against a system that sought to purge emotion and free will. They had to somehow unlock the old man's memories, for within them lay the blueprints for both their suffering and perhaps, the ultimate salvation.