Chapter 5: In Pursuit of Freedom
"In other words, I can help save Agard, but in return, you have to do something for me."
After Wan Zuzan Zhekalla's patient explanation, Beichen finally understood that the other party wanted to make a deal with her.
"Yeah, no problem."
Beichen nodded happily at the ball of light.
"You can tell me anything I can do."
"……are you sure? "
"Although it's not impossible with your abilities, it might give you a headache for a while."
"Since this is my request, you must be prepared to risk your life for it."
"Even so, are you going to agree right away?"
“…”
This time, Wan Zu slowed down his speech and blurted out what he wanted to say one sentence after another, but Beichen still had no chance to speak. It was not until Wan Zu finished what he wanted to say that she spoke with a dry smile.
"Well, as long as Yagad can come back, I will do it even if my life is in danger."
"Why? "
"...When he was alive, you didn't have much attachment to him. If you did this for that 'Xiang Ying', I can understand."
"Or do you feel guilty towards the other person?"
"...But that's not my concern. Anyway, it's a good thing for me that you're willing to make a deal."
"It's because I didn't cherish him enough when he was alive that I regretted it so much after he died. Humans are so annoying. We don't realize how important someone is until we lose them."
"Is that so? I really don't understand why humans always behave in ways that contradict their deeper consciousness, masking their emotional tendencies. They seem to find it shameful and humiliating to expose their feelings. This condition is defined as 'tsundere' syndrome... and there are indeed many similar cases."
"Uh, I'm not being 'tsundere'... I'm just being subtle..."
"Is it the bad nature deep within the human soul that we don't value what we have, but instead covet what we can't obtain?"
“…”
"At least you're aware of it and trying to correct it, which means it's not hopeless."
"...So, should we get down to business?"
"Although it's been many years, it's nice to occasionally communicate with humans, but I haven't forgotten the shame of that year, so let's keep the small talk to a minimum."
Well, it was you, Wanzu, who changed the subject.
──Although Beichen wanted to complain like this, she would not say it out loud even if she had ten times the courage.
"The problem is that I can perform a direct mind scan on you, so I've heard your complaints."
“…”
"I do talk a lot. ...It's called loneliness, you don't have to worry about it."
"Oh, oh... Ahem, so, what do you want me to help you with?"
"I would like you to completely eradicate the toxins that have been implanted in my body."
"...It's called a toxin, but it's actually an unpleasant artificial control device."
"It lies deep underground beneath my foundation, possessing an immensely complex system. It has transformed my constitution, causing disgusting mutations from the very root."
"What I want you to do is completely destroy this massive underground transformation facility."
"Is that okay?"
"Hmm..." Beichen was a little confused, then he scratched his head with an embarrassed laugh, "Um, can you explain in detail what the toxin and transformation are?"
The ball of light was silent for a second, then sighed again.
Are you calling humans idiots? You are definitely calling humans idiots, aren't you, Master Wanzu?
"Isn't explaining it with words enough? Well, I'll let you see it with your own eyes. Close your eyes, miko, and I'll let you enter my body."
"—Huh? Ah, okay."
Beichen closed her eyes obediently upon hearing this, and the next second, she felt a sudden surge of weightlessness. Her body seemed to fall rapidly for a short while, and then suddenly stopped under the support of the airflow.
She clearly felt the breeze brushing against her cheek, and heard some pleasant, elf-like whispers in her ears.
She opened her eyes, and when she saw the scene in front of her, she gasped and held her breath.
She is now inside the giant tree that reaches into the clouds.
She was a thousand meters in the air, looking down at the ground beneath her feet in the wind.
In her ears, spirit particles of various colors intertwined and collided, softly singing an unknown ancient ballad.
Around her, a light fluorescent-colored wind swirled and danced, gently caressing the huge and majestic tree trunk.
Her breath was exhaling from her powerful torso like thin golden threads, sucking in various colored spirit particles, exchanging them rhythmically.
Under her feet, the root veins with golden veins woven into a huge net, extending in all directions.
It was a huge net with no end in sight.
Starting from the roots of the trees beneath your feet, the golden threads split into two, two into four, and four into sixteen, interweaving into dazzling irregular lines that spread across all the land beneath your feet and extended and expanded infinitely into the distance.
Farther, farther, farther.
Even to the end of the curved horizon, you can still see the layers of interwoven gold, which are beating slowly like the peripheral nerves and blood vessels in the human body.
——Yes, it’s beating.
Boom, boom, boom.
In the field of vision, the golden veins in the tree trunk flickered in rhythm, like the beating of a heart.
Boom, boom, boom.
In response to this powerful agitation, the earth emitted a low, pleasant and long echo.
Boom, boom, boom.
The crisscrossing blood vessels connected to the "heart" of Senagard, which stretches to the end of the world, drive the life force of all things, flickering powerfully.
Boom, boom, boom.
Even the beating of one's own heart seemed to join in this most primitive and beautiful rhythm.
This is how everything looks in the eyes of Wanzuzan Zhekalla.
Senagade—the entire planet is covered by the roots of the Ten Thousand Ancestors.
The whole world is beating with its heartbeat.
Every inch of land beneath my feet, every wisp of wind blowing past my face, every breath of air I breathed in, was filled with its overflowing spiritual energy, carrying the energy it released—
——The power called "life".
"...Heh."
Wan Zu's slightly sarcastic yet exceptionally gentle and neutral voice rang in my ears.
"Your body is weeping. It seems this beauty is beyond the reach of a mere human like you. Take this opportunity to gaze greedily upon it. This will be a sight you will never forget."
The words sounded a bit arrogant, but at this moment, Beichen only felt a sense of powerless agreement.
Wan Zu was right. The scenery was too magnificent, too dazzling. The holiness and beauty superimposed to the extreme became an indescribable demonic quality that almost shocked people to the point of losing any ability to think. If Wan Zu had not spoken, she might have continued to stare blankly like this, even forgetting who she was and why she was inside Wan Zu's body.
"It is indeed... a sight that will be unforgettable for a lifetime."
She answered the other person so excitedly in her mind.
"Then you can watch it."
"...When you are able to calm down and accept this scene, please take a closer look at what is wrong with it."
"This is the problem I need you to solve."
"I believe that you, right now, also don't want this picture to be flawed... I can be sure of that."
"...You like me very much, Miko."
"Um, yeah. I love it."
Beichen answered Wanzu seriously, and then she forced herself to calm down slowly.
She stared intently at the ground beneath her feet, observing it carefully—and then, a few minutes later, she discovered a purple-black stain hidden among the golden veins at the roots of the trees near the horizon.
Looking more closely, these stains are actually all over the place, but because the golden veins are too dazzling, they are hidden in the light and are not easily discovered.
"Are these black spots...toxins?"
"Yes. It was the poison implanted into my body by the humans of the past. Because of this, all the Astral Minerals connected to my roots were used up, resulting in a deformed child like 'Warrior'."
"Warrior... is a deformed child?!"
"I don't want to use that word to describe my own children, but they are indeed a modified, artificial race, simply using me as their breeding ground."
"...Then, if your body is not transformed, what will the astral mineral connected to your roots create?"
"It's a shapeshifting weapon."
"But, isn't the body structure of a transforming weapon similar to that of a mechanical creature?"
"Ahh—yes. They are mechanical creatures created from minerals and organic matter from the mountains, blended with the power of the stars. They were originally my gift to humanity, living weapons that can transform into whatever form the wielder desires."
“—What…”
"With the help and protection of the transformed weapons, humans can defeat the possessed Moon Envoy and survive."
"However, humans are not satisfied with the gift I gave them. In their eyes, since this weapon can understand the wishes of its owner, it can be developed into more important functions."
"...They repeatedly conveyed their demands to me. At first, I agreed, but later, sensing their greed and pushiness, I stopped responding. But having tasted the sweetness of transforming weapons, they refused to give up. At the cost of enormous manpower and countless lives, they buried a device deep within the base of my tree to transform and control my body."
"...Through this device, they can modify and adjust the creatures I produce. Thus, the shapeshifting weapons developed distinct subjective minds, then the ability to transform into humans. Then, to prevent them from rebelling against their master, they were imposed with contractual restrictions. When these restrictions weren't enough, they were also defined as 'unable to feed independently.'"
In order to make them fall in love with their owners, they were even defined as "a perfect match, with both good looks and excellent sexual abilities"—a perfect match to replace the human opposite sex. Then, when it was discovered that weapons could also fall in love with each other, humans imposed the restriction that they could only fall in love with humans.
"Finally, they were renamed 'War Machines' and became a subordinate race completely subordinate to humans, living for their desires."
“…”
Beichen was completely shocked by the truth and was unable to recover for a long time.
After a long while, she slowly exhaled and asked in a trembling voice:
"Then why don't you consider stopping the production of war machines?"
"If we cease producing weapons, the world will be devoured by the possessed Moon Angels, decimating not only humanity but all other creatures as well. Perhaps in your eyes, other creatures are inferior, their lives meaningless. There was a time when I cared for you because of your complexity and diversity, but since then, in my eyes, all flora and fauna of Senagard are equal. Every blade of grass, every tree, every jumping colt, every grass-backed tortoise, is no less inferior than a human. I must protect them."
"...So I could only watch helplessly as my transformed child was bullied and exploited by humans."
"Furthermore, even without human modification, the instinctive desire of transformed weapons to be wielded and killed by humans still exists. This wasn't my intention in creating them, but rather an inherent characteristic of life itself. They are weapons, and so they desire wielders, just as trees desire to grow lush and birds desire to fly high and fast."
"So even if they are unwilling, even if they are transformed children, I cannot completely ignore their wishes. No matter how hateful humans are, they do need humans."
"...Now you know why this bothers me."
"Ah... yeah. I see. You want me to remove these restrictions placed on humans as weapons, right?"
"……yes. "
"Of course, I also know some recent developments. Ragnarl told me. The war machines seem to be slowly regaining their status as equals to humans, and have found a way to hunt independently of humans."
"However, this is not a fundamental solution."
"I understand. Remove the restriction of 'must be able to humanize,' remove the restriction of 'contract,' remove the restriction of 'inability to hunt independently,' remove the restriction of 'appearance and sexual ability' and allow the products to have the same randomness and diversity as humans, remove the restriction of 'only falling in love with humans'—only then will they become a truly 'free' species."
"You do understand what I mean, so you need to remove the transformation device."
"...But, Miko, you think too purely."
"Even if I remove the device, I don't think I can take back some of its characteristics."
“…Huh?”
"In a world like this, it's absolutely necessary for weapons to possess clear intelligence. I think you understand this; it will help them survive better."
"Similarly, weapons can be humanoid. While this is a human desire, they themselves are clearly quite content with it. After all, they are intelligent creatures like humans. If they have a human-like appearance, they can communicate more smoothly with each other."
"Similarly, the contract creates a bond between humans and weapons. I think I have to retract the weapon's absolute obedience to the contract, but the bond created by the contract itself is indeed something worth cherishing."
Wan Zu paused here.
"...Especially after scanning your memories, I believe this. The contract between you and your war machines doesn't give off any sense of hierarchy or unpleasantness. It's more like a precious bond between you. If there wasn't a telepathic communication channel, you would definitely curse me to death from where I can't see."
"Uh, well... not really. At most I'll just complain."
"...So, now, I just hope that my children can eat independently, have diverse appearances and physical abilities like real creatures, and that they can also fall in love with each other within the same species."
"While this doesn't change the fact that the weapons can't produce offspring, it does mean they can finally become a truly living species."
"Yes, I understand."
Beichen closed her eyes and concentrated, and when she opened them again, she had returned to the warm yellow light.
She nodded vigorously at the ball of light in front of her.
"Liberating the War Machines is also my wish. Although my love is not as deep and broad as yours, I do love the War Machine race very much, and I also hope that they can gain true freedom."
"...Then the deal is done. I should be clear, however, that I'm not human, so I can't offer any good advice on how to remove that device."
"But to show my support for you, after this conversation, you can give me the crystal core of your knight's dormant transformed weapon."
"Although I advocate for biological diversity and randomness, I will recreate him according to the original biological data, without the slightest deviation. However, there is a difference between a transformed weapon and a war machine. The one born from my original body is a pure transformed weapon. I can give 517ζ the same human form as before, but the other form is not necessarily a weapon. When recreating him, I will consult Agard's own opinion and proceed according to his wishes. Is that alright?"
"Yes, no problem! Thank you, Master Wanzu!"
"Perhaps I should be the one to say thank you."
"You should go back. It's dangerous to stay inside me for too long."
"...Come, return to your body."
Bang!!
The cables were pulled away from the body, the light faded, and the conversation was cut off.
Beichen's body fell backward weakly, and was caught by Xiang Ying behind him.
She smiled weakly at Xiang Ying, then took out the crystal core of Yagard from the storage space and handed it to the tree in front of her.
Then the crystal emitted a faint light and sank into the translucent tree trunk with golden veins.
A deep and gentle voice seemed to be heard in the air.
"Don't forget our promise, Miko. On the next Blade Crying Night, I will bring your knight back to you."
Beichen sniffed and nodded vigorously.
"...Yes. I will. ...Thank you so much."
"My ancestors──Lord Zanjakarla."
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