Chapter 155: Endless Galaxy

What does it feel like to go back in time?

For the 'current universe' that is flowing backwards in time in the 'translation' dimension, everything is ignorant and unknown.

Because the basic matter that constitutes this universe does not have a higher consciousness to be aware of all this, it is naturally impossible to judge.

Among the intelligent creatures with independent consciousness, most of them are ignorant of how this process occurs from the 'end' to the 'beginning'. It seems that starting the process of life from the end of death is a natural thing, and there is no doubt or surprise.

In the process of time flowing backwards, those ignorant lower life forms such as humans, just as they once believed that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, believe that the beginning of life is an irreversible journey from "death" to "rebirth".

Believe that a person's life journey is to rise from the grave, from an old body with white hair, to the vigor of youth, to the infancy of childhood, and finally to the mother's womb.

Among the billions of creatures in the universe, only a handful are able to "feel" that something is wrong.

But the occurrence of the "collapse" has different impacts on them.

Outside the tomb of Zhou.

As pure energy life forms, the 'Taren' clan was extracted from the current universe at the first moment of the "collapse". The magnificent energy glow, like a flash of fire, merged into the vast galaxy. Above them, many even larger "life forms" have already taken place. A life form of cosmic magnitude is taking shape...

Deep in the nest.

The Queen of the Insect Tribe, who sensed the impending collapse, now curled up in pain... She had already found the "key"! However, the Queen of the Insect Tribe, Doudou, who was born from a golden egg but completely betrayed her tribe because of the feeding of the "Originator", and the deviation of the new human-insect named "Alissa" in the execution of the mission, ultimately made the Queen of the Insect Tribe's entire plan fail completely!

With despair and hatred, the last golden queen had to realize that the glory of the Zerg sweeping across the universe would never happen again. She could only hope that if the universe had a chance to revive again... in Yindu's life fortress, the new tribe she made peace with humans could preserve some of the Zerg's genes...

The first fortress.

The only human who can see that the universe is collapsing is the last generation of Gerard's bloodline, the peak evolver who has merged the genes of the Sun Devourer.

Fitzgerald withdrew his gaze from the transparent dome, and his gaze towards the void was completely blocked.

At this moment, except for his human consciousness, his body had completely changed into a non-human appearance. In the gap of the dimension, all seven chakras of a human being were lit up, and the energy glow like ice and fire shone with the restless swing of the long beast body, emitting beautiful arcs of light one after another.

At this moment, He was independent of the dimension, but His line of sight overlapped with that of "Fitzgerald" who was talking to Collot in the isolation hood of the venue, and He shared all the perceptions of the red-haired alpha in a one-way manner.

Everything that is happening in the higher-dimensional universe is diffracted in his consciousness in a peculiar way.

At this moment, he understood completely.

Why in this interstellar age, no matter how advanced human civilization is, it is still unable to explain where it came from and the true origin of the universe.

Why was he able to gain the recognition of the Sun-Devouring Beast Core during his training as the heir of Zhou Mu, so that his final form was like this?

And why did he meet her after missing her thousands of times?

Everything is probability.

After their initial encounter, Fitzgerald released the small escape pod from the ambush, entrusting it to the interstellar pirates to return to human territory.

It was such a trivial decision, but it made him suffer from repeated choices in the subsequent "worm dream", until he caught her again, and the recurring nightmare gradually dissipated in the passion between the two rooms.

Until this moment, Fitzgerald still thought that such a "nightmare" was only caused by the spirit of the insect core, and was just a negative effect brought about by the insect race's deliberate use of the "insect dream".

But now——

In the void, Fitzgerald, who existed in the form of a sun-devouring beast, suddenly sneered at the stupid human who was now frozen in the four-dimensional image.

That was not just a 'dream', it was a 'real event' that happened 110,000 times in the universe before this collapse, between countless 'collapses and restarts'.

Among those 110,000 times, 'Su Xi', who came from another cosmic ray, only existed in this universe for a short time or forever for 1,200 times.

But just this time, she was his.

He loved her, and she loved her too.

This kind of bond only exists this time. It only exists on this timeline that is riddled with holes. Looking back, they have crossed paths countless times, unable to stay together.

Looking back, this universe has been completely drained of energy by higher dimensions, leaving only remnants, and the future is still a gray mist.

But no matter how many beginnings this universe had in the past, and no matter how many possibilities this universe has in the future, he can only grasp the only possibility at the moment.

Realizing this, the gorgeous arc of light that was originally swaying anxiously gradually calmed down.

The disputes in his consciousness about the higher-dimensional universe and the game between the "gods" gradually became clear.

Like the most patient hunter, Fitzgerald waited.

In the gap between dimensions, its cold vertical pupils stared at the gods in conflict. Its tall body shone with magnificent energy, shuttling between dimensions like a fish in water. The abnormal fluctuations caused by violating the migration route attracted the attention of the gods in conflict.

Then, He stopped at a clever spot.

The core of the 'energy tower' on the floating island in the four-dimensional universe began to flicker like a signal light. Under the catalysis of the Sun Devourer's crystal core, the only remaining 'Taren' species in the universe began to grow like crazy, and the remains of the universe that had already been reduced to ashes began to tremble faintly.

Sometimes a final conclusion is often due to the intervention of an irreversible third party.

The conflicts in the higher-dimensional universe have ceased.

The migration of groups between different dimensions in the void is one of the keys to maintaining the energy balance of many 'system universes'.

The 'Observer' entity in the higher-dimensional universe shifted its gaze away from the spirit body of 'Fitzgerald' in the void and left a final word to Su Xi.

"I will give you one last chance to regret it."

"You who are waiting in the tomb of the universe will meet your 'self' on the timeline. It will be a reunion, or it may be a farewell."

As the last word of the speech came to an end, the originally gray space in the void instantly fell into peaceful darkness.

The higher-dimensional observation of the lower-dimensional universe has completely come to an end.

Fitzgerald frowned, and the long beast in the void gradually returned to the image of a red-haired alpha with a stern face. This was a natural change caused by self-perception and expectation.

It's time for him to go back, back to the dimension where she exists.

Across countless parallel cosmic rays, in that cosmic singularity where even the gods could not directly intervene, Fitzgerald's eyes found Su Xi, who was staring blankly at the remains of the universe.

Although I knew it was just a projection, the image she had unconsciously chosen was something I was very familiar with.

With an inexplicable feeling in mind, Fitzgerald secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he then sensed that Su Xi's mental fluctuations began to converge, gradually forming a deep concentration, and the changes in her facial expression also made Fitzgerald very familiar.

It was a look similar to the last time he looked back before being assimilated into the planet.

Fitzgerald gritted his teeth in hatred. His inseparable connection with the Complex Universe allowed him to quickly gather all the remaining hedging energy, break free of the dimensional constraints, and send a signal of dissatisfaction.

*

The remnants of the collapsed universe began to revive little by little after the high-dimensional translation stopped.

Observing from the inside of the cosmic remnant is a state of time going backwards.

The floating island suspended in the sky emerged from the collapsing sand and restored to its most perfect appearance, still magnificent and dazzling.

Then, after a slight tremor and stagnation, it was disassembled in reverse, part by part. The rocks collected from tens of millions of light years away were returned to their original places in the reverse flow of time, and the steel frames formed after smelting were decomposed again into each molecule and particle in the void... until they were transformed into the original constituent elements.

This is a process of recovering from a state of 'total annihilation' to a precise point in time, and is constantly undergoing fine-tuning.

The stars shifted and the sky gradually brightened.

The first fortress.

Time passed from night to day, and the twin-sun star that shone on the First Fortress changed from rising in the west and setting in the east to rising in the east and setting in the west again.

The history of "This Night" goes back to 24 hours before the collapse, which is an imperfect but most appropriate time point.

Early in the morning. The first rays of sunlight penetrate the window curtains.

Su Xi opened her eyes, and the morning light cast a hazy glow on her cheeks.

She blinked in confusion, as if waking up from a long and exhausting dream.

But I felt more relaxed than ever before, as if I had completed an extremely important task and was now in a happy mood to start my own leisure time.

The second hand of the quantum clock just passed 5:03.

There is a peaceful tranquility in the air.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Su Xi felt that she had forgotten many things, and also felt a slight dizziness, as if the whole person, no! The whole world was slowly but rapidly retreating. It was as if she had been on Earth before the time travel, lying on a shabby bus, traveling at night on the oxygen-deficient climbing section of the plateau...

Moreover, it is driving backwards towards the top of the mountain?

Su Xi turned over and sat up, rubbing her forehead. The slight feeling of dizziness still existed.

It’s really strange!

Before she could sort out her thoughts, a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist and pulled her back into the quilt. The familiar smell of Alph came pouring in.

A long, delicate kiss, with hot breath, lingering passionately.

Su Xi responded and hugged him vigorously, completely putting all those concerns aside and focusing on the present moment.

"Suxi." Fitz bit her thin and tender earlobe, and whispered her name in the passionate entanglement, as if too many emotions were concentrated in these whispers.

"I'm here." Su Xi climbed onto his shoulders and felt the strange sensation on his back. A sour touch surged in her heart. Then, where he couldn't see, she quietly blinked away the tears that had accumulated in her eyes.

The daylight is getting brighter.

The red-haired alpha raised his upper body slightly after clinging to her desperately. The rising sunlight in the early morning shone through the gaps between the curtains, clearly outlining the dark blue scales from the chin to the chest and back. He frankly showed his abnormality, and the cold tail under the messy bedding wrapped around her ankles more tightly.

"I love you." This is the universal language.

"I love you." This is the language Su Xi used on Earth.

"I love you." This was a language that Su Xi felt strangely familiar with, but she had never heard it before.

Fitzgerald fixed his eyes on her, and his slender fingers gently stroked her eyebrows, eyes, and her red lips that were slightly opened in surprise, as if remembering her with his eyes was not enough, he had to remember her with a passionate kiss, with his fingers, and with his entire soul.

"I know." Su Xi replied hoarsely.

Then there was silence.

"Huh?" The expectant red-haired alpha raised his brows slightly, with an unhappy expression on his face, and looked at her from top to bottom.

Su Xi suddenly burst into laughter: "Do you know that your expression now is like a child asking for candy..."

Then her laughter gradually stopped, and her restless right hand was grabbed by a big warm hand, and then a dark ring was forcibly put on her ring finger.

Exactly the same as the one he had in his hand.

To be honest, it wasn't very pretty, but she knew that this material was a royal tradition passed down in the human empire for thousands of years, and the style and meaning of the ring were the same as the engagement ring she had seen deep in her memory.

She looked up at his expression again, holding back her laughter, and used her bare arms to pull his stiff head down. She gently touched his forehead, and the two looked into each other's eyes. Su Xi smiled deeply and replied softly:

"I love you, too."

Fitzgerald was satisfied after getting the answer he wanted.

He hugged her and opened all the curtains in the house. Su Xi, whose memory of time was still stuck on the eve of the alliance meeting, was surprised to find that the window to the east was shining brightly with the rising sun, while the window to the west was in the deep night with stars all over the sky...

"This is——"

"We are now on the floating island, leading the entire First Fortress to the Tomb of the Universe. The collapse of the universe has already occurred," Fitz gently rubbed his chin against her soft hair, called up the event model built by the AI ​​Life Form Alliance, showed it to her and briefly explained: "Now is the 'collapse and retraction' period after the universe is reset. We must reach the core of the Tomb of the Universe for refuge before the entire event is completed."

Su Xi was completely stunned.

Fitz took her right hand with the ring on it, clasped it in his palm, and said, "It's too hasty to hold a ceremony now. After the incident is over..."

"No!"

Hearing this, Fitzgerald was stunned.

However, Su Xi suddenly raised her head from her trance and said something else: "The 'collapse event' you mentioned, I... seem to have experienced it in my dream?"

Fitzgerald breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had not rejected his proposal. He took her right hand, which was wearing the ring, and kissed it again and again, then said:

“It’s not a dream.”

"Um?"

Fitz held her hand tightly and said, "Come on, let's go to the observatory on the energy tower. It's the only place on the floating island that can block the time difference that makes you dizzy."

"There is the entire sequence of events that was lost in your memory."

In the observatory, Su Xi saw Kolot at work and also saw the entire real-time model of the "collapse event" process.

She also saw the various AIs of the AI ​​Life Alliance, but Xiguang was not among them. Fitzgerald noticed her gaze and was about to explain.

Because she had a vague impression in her dream, Su Xi shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

She focused on observing the process of events simulated by the holographic projection. It was a magnificent scene of nebulae galloping and brilliant stars converging into a long river. But in reality, every flash was a cycle of death and rebirth.

Shocked by this scene, Su Xi couldn't help but recall the first time she inquired about the past on the Sun Swallow.

Su Xi smiled at the alpha, but found that his eyes never left her. The two held hands tightly, fingers intertwined. The stars in the sky shuttled through their clasped hands.

"I'm happy," she tiptoed, trying to get close to his ear and whispered, "As long as you are here, nothing else matters."

The tall man bent slightly and tried to accommodate her approach. After he couldn't help laughing, he whispered, "Me too."

Kolot, who was far away, looked at the couple whispering to each other with their heads close together, and couldn't help but smile, and drove away the curious glances of the young assistants.

In this infinite yet finite universe composed of time and space, the flow of stars seems eternal and endless, but every ray of light that has actually been seen is the only proof of its existence.

These flowing galaxies drifted from billions of light years away, passed through this world, and then drifted towards a future that is both fixed and vague.

But no matter how uncertain the future is, there is always something that guides each other's direction of belonging.

That is——

The most sincere love among human beings.