As the pitch-black blade of the Scythe of Entropy ripped through space, the double helix on Lin Yue's neck suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue light. Those fragments of childhood memories once read by the guards—the trails of ants moving by the stream, the faint glow of reagent bottles in the laboratory—transformed into fluorescent chains, entwining the teeth of the scythe. "They're afraid of our memories resonating!" she roared, and countless light webs woven from memory fragments flickered from her fingertips.
Xia Zichen's star-patterned sword suddenly revealed a complete star map, never before revealed by the black-robed man. Eggs of possibility hovered and swirled above the blade, each crack emitting the nascent light of a different universe. When the Entropy Scythe's "Law of Void" touched these radiances, a crisp sound like shattering glass emanated. "Look at those chains!" Ah Fu's oracle-inscribed sword cleaved through the shadows, pointing to the severed golden chains—the Authority's emblem was melting into liquid form in the light of everyone's faith. "They imprison possibility with fear, and our memories... are the fuel for resistance!"
Old Zhang threw out the last candy wrapper bomb, but a sly smile flashed through the blast. What flew through the air wasn't fragments, but her "Collection of Unsolved Problems," written in ink. Each equation grew into a towering tree within the realm of the Scythe of Entropy, its roots entwined with golden question marks like "why," "if," and "maybe." "The end of logic is the beginning of possibility!" She leaped onto the Scythe's gauntlet, stepping on the floating pages. The black cat, Raven, had unknowingly transformed into a quill, and the ink dripping from the tip of the pen wrote a glowing paradoxical formula in the void.
The bearer of the Scythe of Entropy finally revealed himself—unbelievably a mirror image of the man in black robes, now entwined with chains composed of characters like "certainty," "necessity," and "order." "Do you think memories are disordered fragments?" the mirror image swung its scythe down, only to be stopped by Xia Zichen's blade. "Every memory is a love letter from the universe to life," the young man thrust the Egg of Possibility into the core of the scythe. As the eggshell shattered, the memories of all the protagonists erupted like fireworks: Lin Yue's back as he salvaged his memories at the recycling station, the glimmer of Ah Fu repairing the oracle-bone sword in the ruins, Lao Zhang's sly smile as he traded puzzles for information at the black market...
When the beam of memory from Lin Yue's childhood observation of ants struck the mirror image between its brows, the remaining fragments of the black-robed figure's memory suddenly reassembled in Xia Zichen's mind—it turned out that the so-called "Administration" was nothing more than an ancient consciousness terrified of change, imprisoning the universe's fetal movement within the cocoon of "order." "True protection isn't about imprisoning possibilities, but about becoming the soil for them!" He roared, drawing his sword. The star pattern mingled with the light of everyone's memories, carving a crack across the surface of the Scythe of Entropy, a crack composed of "courage," "curiosity," and "hope."
Space began to tremble violently, and all the liberated eggs of possibility hatched simultaneously. Some transformed into arks bearing dreams, others into rainbow bridges connecting different time and space. The most dazzling of them all blossomed into a world tree composed of memories, its roots absorbing everyone's faith, its branches gleaming with countless untold stories. The mirror roared in despair, and the Scythe of Entropy shattered into a million fragments, each reflecting a different expression from the protagonists: Xia Zichen's determination, Lin Yue's tears, Ah Fu's smile, Lao Zhang's raised eyebrow.
"You win... for now." Before the mirror turned into black smoke and dissipated, it threw down a warning, "But when the first 'possibility' begins to devour other possibilities, you will understand the necessity of order..." Before the words had faded, the roots of the World Tree suddenly vibrated - a distant egg of possibility was rapidly expanding, and patterns similar to the emblem of the Administration appeared on its surface, except that the center was a clenched fist, and the flame of knowledge burned in the palm of the fist.
Lin Yue picked up a fragment of the Scythe of Entropy, and within it, a glimpse of the future: a parallel universe, her self repairing a shattered timeline with a double helix; another time and space, Xia Zichen, standing atop the ruins, planting seeds of possibility. "We created the freedom of choice," she said, throwing the fragment toward the World Tree, where it instantly transformed into dewdrops protecting new buds. "But freedom itself is a possibility that needs to be protected."
Ah Fu stroked the newly emerged lines on the oracle-bone sword—a pattern woven from everyone's memories. Lao Zhang's black cat suddenly leaped onto his shoulder, clutching half a pocket watch in its mouth. The time on the dial was ticking counterclockwise, but a colorful rubber band tied to the end of the second hand imbued the reversal of time with a sense of resilience and hope.
Xia Zichen gazed at the dancing fluorescent lights of memory, clutching the remaining fragments of eggshell in his hand. In the distance, from the depths of the embryo bank, a heartbeat roared, incubating countless new possibilities. He knew that this war over "existence" had only just begun, but at this moment, the sounds of his companions breathing, the rustling of the World Tree, and the boiling blood in his chest—these real sensations were more worth protecting than any "absolute order."
"Next stop, it's time to visit those newly born universes." As he turned, the star pattern on his back unfolded into the shape of wings. "But first... who has the map?"
Old Zhang smiled and shook the notebook in her hand. It was covered with a star map made of question marks and exclamation points. "Isn't the road made by walking?" She flipped a coin, and when it landed, it showed both sides. "For example, right now—walk left and you'll see a talking nebula; walk right and you'll see a black hole writing its autobiography. Which one do you choose?"
Lin Yue picked up the coin, which had a moving ant pattern printed on both sides. "Why choose? We can... look at both."
The branches of the World Tree rustled softly in the breeze, like nature's whisper, as if acknowledging and responding to this answer. Though faint, the sound was remarkably clear in the silence, as if the World Tree were engaging in a mysterious conversation with the people.
At the same time, in a dark corner outside the embryo bank, a faint light quietly lit up. It was an eye made of data, which slowly opened, emitting a cold and eerie aura. Within its pupil, the protagonists' receding figures were clearly reflected, along with the World Tree behind them, bearing the "impossible" into fruit.
The eye quietly watched the protagonists depart, without the slightest emotion, only a cold observation. It seemed to be contemplating something, or perhaps simply recording the scene at this moment. As the protagonists gradually disappeared from view, the eye slowly closed and merged back into the darkness, as if it had never appeared.
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