"That ti, let alone mory data… even the Elysian Realm didn't exist yet. How could I possibly have left a ssage for myself?"
The Mobius in the image replied: "Because it's interesting, isn't it?"
"…?" Mobius was stunned.
The Mobius in the image continued: "Looking back at your past self from an outsider's perspective… such an opportunity doesn't co often. You should thank properly, my other self."
"…" Mobius fell silent.
The Mobius in the image went on: "If it were … I probably would've already said everything worth refuting by now, right?"
"Of course, by the ti you see this recording, you might have changed a lot and beco quite talkative."
"But no matter what… this is the last ti. Be patient and let finish speaking… okay? My other self?"
"…" Sure enough, Mobius didn't refute anymore.
The Mobius in the image continued: "Mm… Although I wanted to seize this last chance, I actually don't know what I should say."
"You know? Actually, a long ti ago, I had already made this decision. The arrival of Finality was just an excuse I pretended to have no choice about."
"Absurd!"
As soon as Mobius said it aloud—
The other replied: "I know, it sounds absurd, right?"
"In many people's eyes, Mobius is immortal—a monster who can co back to life no matter what kind of death she experiences."
"But you… you must know that I… we… are actually more afraid of death than anyone else… afraid of the unknowns born from death."
"Will I die if I'm killed? No, not really… I can still revive."
"It's just a bit painful, just shrinking a little, just shedding a layer of skin…"
"When I first beca a MANTIS, I didn't think it was sothing particularly terrifying."
"At that ti, I even felt joy in my ability—it gave infinite life, allowing to explore all possibilities of human evolution…"
"Until…"
In the TV screen, Mobius's figure shrank, completely becoming the current Mobius.
"…I beca like this."
"It was only then that I finally realized one thing."
"Coming back to life is not the sa as infinite life."
"I will still die… truly die. But when will that be?"
"After dying ten tis? A hundred tis? A thousand tis??"
"Will it be when I regress to childhood? To infancy? To embryo? Or even just a single cell?"
"I don't know… I know nothing."
"I only rember… that was the first ti I felt the fear of the unknown. And that fear… soon crushed ."
"So, while pursuing evolution, I began frantically searching for a way to achieve true immortality… to make the shadow of death never catch up to my steps."
"Enough!" Mobius shouted.
But the voice didn't stop because of it.
"But… what's the point of it all?"
"I still rember that early morning… the experint failed again, Danzhu was lying on the floor, without even the strength to get back up."
"At that ti, she asked … Doctor, what exactly is the pursuit of immortality for?"
"At the ti, I searched through every word in my mind, but still couldn't piece together a complete answer."
"Yeah, what exactly is it for? People are ant to die anyway, aren't they? So what is my obsession even for?"
"For the first ti, I began to doubt myself."
"…Stupid." Mobius muttered instinctively.
But she was once again preempted.
"It sounds stupid, right? But that's not even the stupidest part…"
"I never imagined that what would finally wake up would be Elysia's death… the person I once hated the most."
"Her death finally made understand one thing."
"Those people driven by fear to act, yet unaware of where they're heading—I mocked them, but never realized I was one of them too."
"I never discovered that I myself was also a…"
"Failure."
"At that mont, I finally heard another voice in my heart—only death is eternal and unchanging!"
"You must understand it too, right?"
"The past never imagined that the word 'dying monts' would one day apply to myself."
"Of course, if I wanted… the Herrscher of Finality might not necessarily be able to kill completely."
"It's not very convincing, right? When I'm already in this dying state…"
"But you are my other self—I don't need to explain to you… that I'm not lying."
"Even if civilization ends, even if the ground beneath my feet ceases to exist… as long as ti hasn't reached its end, I still have the possibility of revival."
"It's just that now… I don't want to do it that way anymore."
"For Mobius, this death will be the last one."
"…"
Mobius looked at the figure in the image and said: "What, realizing everything you said is nonsense?"
Indeed, things took a turn.
She began to guess what the image-self was thinking.
Sure enough, the other said: "Goodness… why did I suddenly start talking about all this?"
"Is it because I finally feel that I'm about to die? But this is clearly the ssage I wanted to leave for you… Mobius."
"Before my eyes, infinite possibilities are converging toward a predetermined endpoint."
"The descent of Finality will soon turn everything in this era into an ignorant desert…"
"Although I don't care, I still feel… before that happens, I should convey these words to you."
"Whether it's Gray Serpent or Klein—they've both heard these words, and I believe… they must understand my intentions."
"But for you… for my other self, I'm a little worried."
"The situation you and I face is not the sa—infinite paths still stretch endlessly into the distance before your eyes…"
"No one can interfere with you, and no one has the right to choose for you… not even —your creator."
"Of course, you are still Mobius after all."
"If in the end, you still walk the path that belongs to Mobius, still choose to beco …"
"Then that too is… a choice you made of your own will among infinite possibilities."
"No matter what, you are free."
And in this recording, the forr Klein also reminded Mobius that the hibernation pod was about to activate, telling her to prepare for hibernation.
The forr Mobius responded with an acknowledgnt.
Then continued: "It seems… saying I failed completely might not be entirely accurate."
"Infinite possibilities… after I discovered my own fallacy, I indeed can no longer possess them."
"But I created them with my own hands, didn't I? Through Gray Serpent, through Klein, through…"
"You."
"The choices you all can make… are my infinity."
"I wonder how much ti has passed by the ti you see this recording? Thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Or… even longer?"
"Everything I know, everything in our mories… by the ti you see this, it should have long beco dust scattered at a breath."
"But for you, everything is just beginning."
"You are my most perfect creation, the most special existence."
"From the mont you were born, you have already achieved… my lifelong pursuit."
"Cough cough…" The forr Mobius grew weaker and weaker.
"Mobius… the other in this world…"
"Say a proper goodbye to , will you?"
Mobius directly condensed the liquid parts of her body into sharp swords, piercing through the body of the Mobius in the image.
"Hehe… hehehehe…"
She sneered: "Walk your path… beco you…? Don't make laugh…"
"If you really were myself… then you disappoint far too much."
"Choose infinity…? How pathetic and pitiful…"
"What I want to do… is to surpass infinity… surpass all possibilities…"
"Your path… is rely one… utterly insignificant among them… that's all."
"You…" Klein showed horror, looking at her in disbelief.
Mobius's snake pupils fell on it: "Hm? What's with that look, Klein? Do you think… I'm just talking big?"
"Do you think… her choice of death… was truly of her own will?"
Klein said in shock: "What are you saying…?"
Mobius laughed loudly: "Hehehe… looks like you really didn't realize."
"Think back, Klein… when was the last ti she ca to the Elysian Realm to sync her mories?"
"…" Klein recalled and said: "It was right after Elysia just…"
It reacted: "You…?! Could it be…"
Mobius smiled and said: "Mm, as expected of my favorite assistant… you catch on quickly."
"That's right—during the sync, I used that gap… to plant a tiny seed in her mories."
"Thank you, Klein. Only today did you finally let know that it not only took root and sprouted long ago… but also seems to have borne quite a harvest."
Klein: "You… why?"
Mobius said: "Because… I don't need to beco another Mobius."
"I will personally… no, I have already done it… I have made myself beco… the true, the only… Mobius."
"Klein, my most proud assistant… now, do you still want to persuade … still want to stop ?"
"…" Klein fell silent.
Mobius counted: "Hehe… looks like this clichéd lodrama can finally end…"
"Klein, do you know why I was willing to watch it to the end?"
"Snakes never let go of their prey… what they're best at is waiting. It was like that before, and now… it's the sa."
"…!" Klein also sensed sothing wrong: "The data in this area… is slowly disappearing…?!"
"All that ti just now… you were slowly trying to delete this area?"
Mobius laughed: "Hehe… that's right, Klein. There's still a lot you can learn from ."
"But… don't worry, this won't affect you much—at most, so minor data corruption."
"You might experience symptoms similar to amnesia, but that probably isn't a bad thing."
"I think you wouldn't want to recall how your new Herrscher friend… perished in despair, right?"
Mobius then said to i: "Hehe… Herrscher big sister, sorry about that."
"I didn't expect sothing like this to happen, making you an audience for so long, watching an utterly boring farce."
i sneered coldly: "Heh… I thought I was already an outsider."
Mobius said: "How could that be, Herrscher big sister? You've always been my favorite little white mouse—though in my lab, little white mice that bite… all have to be punished."
"So… goodbye, Herrscher big sister."
"The fun things we couldn't finish today… let's continue them another day."
"Of course, provided that… you can still leave here alive."
Watching Mobius disappear, i imdiately chased after her: "Mobius…"
Klein imdiately stopped her: "Wait, test subject! Don't chase anymore! That area has already disappeared, and the Doctor has left here too!"
"We still have ti… I'm helping you find a way to leave the Realm… damn it, has the Doctor shut down this teleport anchor too?"
"…"
i also realized the severity and asked: "Klein, I rember you like using probabilities to tell how dangerous the situation is."
"So, what's the probability we can leave here alive now?"
"…Zero."
i: "…Very good, thank you for the encouragent. Success rate zero, yet you're still looking for a way to get us out."
"I think I finally understand what Kevin ant by that… I believe in myself, and in you… far more than in these boring data."
i closed her eyes.
The next mont, violent electric arcs surged from her body, becoming the only light in the boundless darkness.
It worked in the Theater of Domination before…
She guessed it should work this ti too, right?
Klein asked puzzled: "You're releasing the Herrscher's authority? This is a space made of mories—Herrscher powers can't do anything here at all…"
Crack…
"This… impossible…"
Klein couldn't believe it actually worked?
But the next mont, it understood: "Oh, it's her… your authority made her notice this place."
"Never mind, let's leave here first—otherwise… it really will be too late."
...
The TV screen directly switched to the Elysian Realm's hall.
Elysia said: "No way, Mobius. Soone who interests both you and —how could she fall into your hands so easily?"
Mobius standing before her said: "Elysia, there's a limit to being full of yourself, you know? Do you really think you can save her? Ah, right—you've always wanted to wear pink clothes, haven't you?"
"My mood's pretty good today. If she can still co out of the Realm alive later… I'll put it on right away for you to see, how about that?"
Just then, i, who had returned from the Elysian Realm, heard this.
She imdiately said: "Sure, go ahead and wear it."
"What…?! "
Mobius looked in disbelief at the unhard i and Klein.
Elysia smiled and said: "See, Mobius? What did I tell you? A cute girl's heart has always been omnipotent~"
Mobius still didn't believe it: "This is impossible… how are you still alive and back?"
i said: "Who knows? Maybe… just good luck."
Mobius said coldly: "Luck…? Don't joke around…"
"…"
She silently turned her snake pupils toward Elysia: "Was it you… Elysia…"
"Hmm?" Elysia showed a cute expression.
But that was as good as admitting it.
"…Tch."
Mobius made an annoyed sound and turned to leave.
Elysia called after her: "Eh? Mobius, don't leave so fast… Mobius!"
"Sigh, really… she left without even looking back."
"How much does she hate pink clothes anyway… to get this mad."
"But well, that puffed-up angry look of hers… is actually pretty cute~"
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