The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Ah, I know, I know! The people from the federal government must have done something improperly. Guinevere must be on your side too. Just ask her to enter the forced stop key. The program I made left one There are two sets of forced stop keys for the invisible backdoor. One is set by the federal military, and the other cannot be changed is the one she learned as a training soldier... What? It's impossible? !

"Wait, wait, wait! I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry. I have also set up a second backdoor. You ask Guinevere to enter the capital letters of "Otto is a fool" in the key field. After clicking Confirm, enter it again, and then enter [Otto is a big idiot] in the pop-up window that pops up for the third time. This time, use the full spell to force all mechas within the control range of the terminal to stop. If this key is still useless, the mecha will be forced to self-destruct.

"Uh... Dr. Tesla, I have to say, your key is really catchy."

Even though Su was used to seeing another person's uniqueness, he could only express his understanding and blessing for Dr. Tesla's special taste in setting the key.

In comparison, Mikael's brows only slightly twitched twice, no surprise at all.

"I understand, I'll tell her right now."

After hanging up the phone and repeating Tesla's words to Guinevere, Mikael breathed a sigh of relief and slowly leaned against the railing of the building.

Su took two steps forward, walked to him, closed his eyes and looked towards the sky, and then put his hands on the railing.

"Seeing this scene, why don't you go and save me, Su?"

Mikael pursued the question relentlessly.

"We can't save everyone."

Every tone of Su's voice was suppressed, probably because of past memories. As soon as Mikael heard this sound, he thought of the wolfberries floating steadily on the tea.

only……

"Dr. Su, this is really not something you would say."

Is the suffix "doctor" deliberately used as a joke, or is it just a reminder of my own mischief? Su, who had the power of spiritual perception, couldn't see through this, and Mikael didn't understand either.

"We can't save everyone. This is not the truth, but a compromise with reality. Of course it can also be an excuse. Just like me, Kevin and Hua, in the past endless time, we have watched human beings behave in various ways. We kill each other in various ways. Most of the time, we have the power to stop it all, but we choose to watch. Unless it involves collapse, in the final analysis, it will take an extremely long time. It changes everyone silently, doesn’t it?”

Mikael closed his eyes and bit his lower lip gently.

"No, maybe it's not a change."

His head shook slightly, and the long black hair that did not belong to [Mikael] fluttered gently, which also brought his thoughts back to a time that was too long to be imagined.

"I thought about it countless times at that time. What if I survived into a new era as a [loser]? Will I really have the courage to save this world and save all mankind? From the beginning Ultimately, I didn’t think I would do it.”

"Why."

This sentence was not a real question for Su, it was just a catalyst needed for the conversation to continue.

"Because this is not our time. Su, I should have asked you this too - suppose the last Neanderthal wakes up and finds himself in a civilization established by Homo sapiens 50,000 years later. Wisdom. People wouldn't notice anything unusual about him, they would just think he was too strong and looked a little weird.

"But for himself, his ethnic group has long been destroyed, he has been abandoned by the past, his words cannot be understood by modern homo sapiens, and he cannot integrate into modern society. So he became a person, mixed in The past and the present, and no longer the future.”

The Neanderthals became extinct, and late Homo sapiens shaped current civilization. This was a victory for mankind, but it was not a victory for the Neanderthals, and the Neanderthals would not be happy about it.

"Or, at this moment, we are like a fish stranded after the river dried up. At the last moment of dying, the dried up river suddenly filled with water again, and there were live fish in the water, but this What does it have to do with us?”

"I understand what you mean, Michail. But I want to know, fifty thousand years later, do you still view humans in this era this way?"

"How cunning, Su. This was originally my question to you."

After saying this, Mikael did not answer immediately.

The streets were filled with noises and screams, as well as the muffled sound of mechas trampling on the ground.

Everything seems to be a repeat of the tragedy that began 50,000 years ago. Perhaps the difference between the two eras is not as big as Mikael said. But maybe it’s just because “there’s nothing new under the sun.”

"Yes, I still think so."

"But that's not what you did."

"..."

Mikael was silent.

After a long time, he sighed, slid his body along the railing, and sat down curled up.

"Is it so easy to guess my thoughts?"

"No, it's quite difficult. It's a little harder than guessing Kevin's thoughts."

"That's a little more difficult than it seems easy to guess."

"You said that yourself."

Su shrugged, but the current scene was really not suitable for laughter.

"But it is undeniable that for a long time, Kevin and I believed that your goal was to save Alicia. That was it."

"Actually, it's not wrong."

"Um?"

"I said that my views on Neanderthals have never changed from 50,000 years ago to now. This era means nothing to me. The reason why I want to make this world a [perfect] The ending is just for Alicia."

"..."

Su said nothing, no correction, no refutation, no questioning, and no agreement. But he was not surprised by this.

"Su, you have spent fifty thousand years observing the truth of the world. You should be quite clear about what [Mikael] is, right?

"I am a person without a past, but since I was born, I have been pursuing ways to save the world all the time. Why is this? Most of you have your own reasons for wanting to save the world, because you have a past. You have more things, and you want to protect those things from the bottom of your heart, and you are also angry about losing those things from the bottom of your heart, but for me, I have nothing, and saving the world has no clear meaning to me. , just like an impulse of unknown origin.

"But we all know that the desire to save the world cannot arise out of thin air. It must be dependent on something, so that it can still be persisted across 50,000 years. Perhaps, the only thing I have is one thing, and that is relying on quantum A story obtained through entanglement, and the emotion towards Alicia in the memory. Since the wish must be based on something, it could only be because of this.

"Yes, the reason why Mikael wants to save the world is simply because the person he loves wants to save the world. The reason why Mikael wants to give mankind a happy ending in their fight against Honkai is simply because The person he loves likes to see this ending. From the beginning to the end, the existence named Mikael is not a hero, but a sinner who manipulates the fate of the entire world for his own selfish gain."

"These words...hehe, Kevin also said similar words to me."

"Kevin and I are fundamentally different after all."

"..."

"His feelings for Mei were gradually formed in the process of getting along with each other, and even my feelings for Alicia... can hardly be said to be rootless duckweeds. And, for this world, Kevin will eventually find it. With that sense of belonging, he understood that he was not fighting just because of Mei's orders. Perhaps he had already understood that. Therefore, even if Mei really died in our era, as the executor of the Stigmata Project, he would definitely do it. You can carry out your heroic beliefs until the end.”

"What about you, Mikael? You went to great lengths to sneak into the Salt Lake City base, and then you appeared in front of me without any disguise...why?"

"It's just a simple test. In fact, I have achieved my goal."

It was unimaginable that Mikael was hugging his knees with his arms and saying such horrible words in a weak, pitiful and helpless posture.

Yes, whether it is to test or to achieve a goal, it would only make people feel uncomfortable when placed on normal people.

But if this person holds the ultimate power...

Su's brows twitched, and he quickly grasped the meaning that Mikael wanted to convey.

"So that's it. I didn't show much hostility when I first discovered you, and I didn't show much surprise from the beginning to the end. And you have already verified your guess from these reactions."

"That's right. Su - you have actually seen the final result."

Without giving the other party time to answer, Mikael chased after him and asked:

"You did not take any hostile action against me, nor did you try to change what was going to happen, not even a word of condemnation. Even before, you pretended to [misunderstand] me and took Mei and the others out of the paradise. That is to say... in your observation, what happened today, and even before and in the future, is the only way to the best ending that you can observe. Dr. Su, I am. After all, I don’t want to believe that you are such a cold-blooded person. This explanation is more logical than your self-deception.”

"Really...I can't hide anything from you."

Su smiled bitterly for the first time.

Mikael shook his head nonchalantly.

"Let's talk to each other, don't you also guess my purpose?"

“The two cannot be generalized.”

Su opened his eyes. In addition to fatigue, there was also a trace of numbness and emptiness in his eyes.

But in the end, all these outward emotions were restrained by him.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The conversation seemed to be over, Mikael had achieved his goal, and Su had no reservations. In the following time, the two of them maintained a long silence. Even if they occasionally looked at each other, they would look away for a very short period of time until the order under their feet began to be restored... And the person who broke the silence was Su:

"Time is running out. When they come back, you will have to return to your identity as Kruger, and you won't be able to communicate too much with me, right?"

“It’s not that I can’t, it’s that it’s not necessary.”

Mikael's attitude became cold again, just like his movements, as if he would never be hurt as long as he remained so exaggeratedly lonely.

"real?"

Su's rhetorical question was very calm. His hands left the cold railing and slowly folded their arms in front of his chest. He closed his eyes again, looking confident.

"My goal has been achieved, there is no need to say anything more."

"..."

"..."

Silence returned.

Su sighed and suddenly brought the topic to another direction.

"With the power of time, you should be able to see the future other than that ending, Mikael."

"Um."

"What you have to do tomorrow night... Cang Xuan will die."

"Um."

"Imer will die too."

"Um."

"..."

Su was speechless for a moment, even though he had already seen this scene in his "observation"...well, let's call it "observation".

But he still couldn't help but ask:

"Why don't you go and meet Yimer? I remember back then, except for Qianjie, he had the best relationship with you."

"Yeah, he was using my striped boxers as a chat profile picture right up until the end."

"..."

"But there is no need to meet again. We will meet again, all of us, but not now, not here, not even—"

"Not even in this world, right?"

Su made a mistake.

But after the words fell, he slowly came to his senses, and a wry smile appeared on his face again.

"Really, I got caught by you again."

A proud smile finally appeared on Mikael's face——

"Su, it seems that the best result you observed is exactly the same as what I want to achieve. Eh? Is it a coincidence?"

Mikael's tone was somewhat offended, but Su didn't feel unhappy or angry at all.

Rather, he was happy to still see such a childish side in Mikael at this time.

That's great.

"Okay, okay. Su, I win this round, and I can take revenge for you all being able to guess my thoughts, right?"

"So this is what you care about..."

"Don't say any more unnecessary words."

Suddenly, Mikael's expression became serious and cold again.

Su's expression became a little gloomy - [Is this moment finally coming? 】

It's not that this moment is important enough to change the course of the future, it's just that... when he thinks that every moment he moves forward, he is one step closer to the final outcome, he feels sad from the bottom of his heart.

"Su, I do need your help with something. In other words, it's something that only you can help me with."

"I [saw] it, it's okay if you say so."

"Now that you've seen it... why don't you just tell me the result..."

"Well……"

Su was stumped by Mikael's words, but when he saw Mikael's sly smile, he also smiled heartlessly.

"It's better to say every word, Mikael. What I observed is not the real future after all, it can only be used as a reference. Just like just now, I did observe your general problem and the possibility of this happening. But I didn’t expect you to give me so much trouble.”

"Well, let me tell you the truth - five hundred years ago, I deliberately intervened in the fate of Kallen Kaslana. She had to experience a death, just like Himeko, because if this didn't happen, The entire world line will change, and that change is beyond the scope of ultimate control. As an observer, you should understand—at least now.”

"Um……"

"But what I really care about is not Kallen's fate, but the fate of Otto Apokalis. Although I am very sorry for this descendant, I must let him live up to the [story] in my memory. , to get in touch with the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, and try to leverage the rules of this world.

"From the moment I obtained the authority of the End, I discovered that the power in the End is not omnipotent. Above the End, there are still rules of the tree of imaginary numbers. For example, I have never been able to completely liberate the End on the earth. The power cannot even be reversed for too long. Once it is done, the space of the earth will collapse because it cannot bear the power of the end. Although the cocoon of the end is slowly assimilating with the tree, it may even completely cover the entire tree and sea one day. It's not impossible, but I obviously can't wait until that day.

"I have a conjecture - since it is the final law that has formulated the laws of collapse for the earth, is there also a higher-dimensional existence that has formulated the laws of the tree of imaginary numbers and the sea of ​​quantum? Maybe the dimension is as high as yours There is an existence that cannot be touched by observation, and I only have one chance. I must confirm what attitude that existence has towards what I am doing.

"So, I need Otto Apokalis to use his destiny to illuminate the way forward for me. According to the plan, I should have guided him to attack the Tree of Imaginary Numbers and then observe the existence of higher dimensions, but now None of this could have happened. Five hundred years ago, someone did something unnecessary. Of course, I can't blame her, because she is someone I cannot and am not qualified to blame no matter what she does. But I must. Face the problems brought about by this matter. Only you can answer this question. Although I didn't hold out hope at first, I knew that there was a higher dimension of existence the moment you urged me to ask the question. , you did observe something, right?"

"I wish I could help you."

The answer is self-evident.

"I have indeed encountered it, but you don't have to worry about the existence of higher dimensions. Everything has a price. The higher the dimension, the more omniscient and omnipotent it appears, the farther away it is from the original world, and the harder it is to interfere. I just happened to observe When I get to the other party, dialogue becomes possible only when I realize His existence. Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is, Mikael, don’t you feel that His relationship with you is just like you. Yukiana, Mei, Bronya, what you are trying to do may be a part of the fate planned by the other party."

"Destiny, what a beautiful word."

Mikael smiled, but this time his smile was a little complicated.

Su originally thought he would be happy, and his smile was indeed filled with relief, but there was just a touch of irresolvable sadness.

"Su, you know. From the moment I was born, I have been thinking about the fate of the people around me and the fate of the entire world. No matter what my original intention was, during those twelve happy and painful years, I have been Fighting against such a fate, every time I win and every time I celebrate, I feel more and more desperate, because nothing can escape the shackles of fate.”

Su opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort her, but she didn't feel it was appropriate.

Perhaps, for Mikael, what he needs is not comfort at all.

This man who is almost omnipotent, all he needs is to listen.

"I have collapsed, hesitated, hesitated, and been decadent, but I never gave up fighting or resisting. Even that time, I still chose to fight in the end... because the more desperate I am, the more everything becomes impossible. As I move forward closely towards the guidance of fate, I am less and less willing to end like this. But in the end, I still have to follow fate in order to gain the power to change my destiny, at least that's what I have thought for a long time.

"I didn't expect that there is fate above fate, and from beginning to end, I am just a slave bound by the loops of fate."

"..."

"But, that's fine. As long as it can bring you a happy ending, as long as she can see this happy ending, that's enough. Being a slave to fate, if just this can be exchanged for all this, then I willingly accept this choice.”