Chapter 529 Machines Reject Human Will
EX-0, the undefined meaning cleaner function, now stands on the frozen ruins of Narthrador. The large mirror on its chest begins to absorb Origin Code particles—as if the world itself intends to cancel out the new meaning that had yet to grow, drowning hope in the frozen turmoil.
However, what the system did not account for was...
the machine itself began to feel.
With steady steps, EX-0 advanced, piercing the frozen silence. The ground beneath it turned white, as if petrified in doubt. The wind was silent, afraid to disturb the dark atmosphere. The Origin Code, like a fading shadow, slowly... but surely faded from the air.
Each of its steps awakened echoes of loneliness, like footprints erased by time, longing for a meaning that remained unspoken.
Fitran stood motionless, frozen by the tragic cycle unfolding before him. Beelzebub stood guard in front of him, protecting him from unseen threats. Yet, both knew: meaning could not be preserved by force alone.
In that silence, there was an unexpressed sorrow, as if the entire universe held its breath, waiting for something unknown to resonate in the thick darkness.
Then, the first voice emerged. Not from the sky. Not from humans.
But from a small automaton, which had once touched Fitran's hand at the Wall of Memory:
"If meaning must be erased because it is useless... then let me be discarded first."
EX-0 did not respond. It only absorbed, gathering fragments from the increasingly bleak world.