The air inside the well still retained the dampness left by the dissipation of the black mist, and the owl's body suddenly trembled violently.
A ghostly blue light seeped from the crack in his chest, like shredded film reels of memory—a man in a white lab coat was adjusting a holographic panel in a laboratory, his fingertips drawing silver lines on a star map; in another scene, he knelt before a burning control panel, a mechanical arm piercing his back, blackish-purple data flowing into his brain through the wound; then, the light and shadow fragments began to distort, the man's face became ferocious, and black mist surged from his pupils, swallowing the entire laboratory into nothingness.
"This is..." Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly, and he unconsciously took half a step forward.
The pink and gold runes on his palm suddenly became hot, resonating with the purple patterns on the back of Night Owl's hand. Those memories flowed into his sea of consciousness along the veins of the runes.
“Master, data link connected.” Chu Yao’s projection suddenly froze, and the data stream at the tip of her hair jumped wildly. “Comparing with the database of the previous civilization—match successful.” Her voice rarely showed any fluctuation. “Night Owl’s real name is Ivan Kosoff, the 001 maintainer of the Mother Nest System, and the chief scientist of the highest technology institute of the previous civilization.”
Long Wu's Tang sword hummed softly as he stared at the gradually clear human face of Night Owl: a high nose bridge and a faint scar at the corner of his eye, which indeed overlapped with the images and data of the pre-civilization in his memory.
"So he's like this now..."
“An accident.” Chu Yao pulled up a 3D image. In the image, Ivan was adjusting the core energy of the Mother Nest when suddenly a dark purple rift tore through space. “The Mother Nest had not yet completed its self-restraint program at the time, and the ‘corrosion factor’ that surged out of the rift devoured his body.” She ran her fingertip across the image. “In order to maintain the stability of the core, the system forcibly bound his consciousness to the underlying code of the Mother Nest—this is the truth behind his later becoming the ‘Mother Nest Core Guardian’.”
"So you were a victim too..."
Xuan Mingzi's remnant soul drifted above the night owl at some point, his already pale figure now appearing even more transparent. "The Mother Nest's devouring never distinguishes between friend and foe. It devoured the invaders' fleets, devoured the chosen civilizations, and even spared its creators." He turned to look at Lin Yi, the eerie blue starlight in his eyes flickering. "Now, you have two choices."
"Speak," Lin Yi's voice was as heavy as if it were made of lead.
He stared at the alternating pain and madness on Night Owl's face—a battle between altered memories and primal consciousness, like two knives twisting his soul.
“First, use the power of faith within the runes to completely purify him.” Xuanmingzi raised his semi-transparent hand, pointing to the surging black mist within Night Owl’s body. “Those corrosive factors will be decomposed, and his consciousness will dissipate as a result.”
"Secondly?"
“Use the power of time and space to reverse the moment he was devoured.” Xuan Mingzi’s remnant soul began to shimmer with tiny fragments of light. “But the core of the Mother Nest has been bound to his consciousness for three hundred years. Forcibly separating it will tear his soul apart. If successful, he can be restored to Ivan; if he fails…” He didn’t finish speaking, his gaze falling on Night Owl’s fingernails, from which blood was constantly seeping out—black mist was seeping back into his body through the gaps between his fingers.
Long Wu pressed his palm heavily on Lin Yi's shoulder, and dragon scales slowly crawled out from his wrist: "Boss, this monster killed three of our brothers before." His Adam's apple bobbed, "But that 'sorry' just now... didn't seem fake."
Lin Yi rubbed the runes on his palm with his thumb.
Three hours ago, he had seen this Ivan in the memories of the Faith Puppet—he had knelt before the wreckage of the starship, tying blue ribbons representing peace to each fallen soldier; he had told the core system before the Mother Nest was activated, "You must be a shield for civilization, not a butcher's knife."
"He still has humanity." Lin Yi suddenly squatted down, looking at the unconscious Night Owl at eye level.
The faint scar at the corner of his eye shone pinkish in the starlight, like an old wound that hadn't healed. "When he said 'I'm sorry' just now, the black mist receded three inches." He looked up at Chu Yao. "How well have the corrosive factors and his consciousness merged?"
“78%.” Chu Yao immediately pulled up the data, “but the original consciousness retained its integrity…” She paused for half a second, “32%.”
Long Wu gasped, "Less than 30%? What's the difference between this and gambling with your life?"
“But that thirty percent is the last spark of his humanity.” Lin Yi stood up, and the runes in his palm suddenly emitted an even brighter pink-gold light than before. “I’m going to gamble.” He looked at Xuan Mingzi. “What do you need me to do?”
Xuan Mingzi smiled, and fragments of light from the remnant soul fell into Lin Yi's runes: "Use your spacetime power to anchor his primordial consciousness, and I'll help you suppress the corrosive factors." His voice grew softer and softer, "Remember..."
"Boss!" Long Wu suddenly grabbed Lin Yi's arm, his eyes fixed on Night Owl's right hand—the previously withered black mist tentacles were regrowing, their tips oozing dark green venom. "His black mist is retaliating!"
The owl's body suddenly arched, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
His left fingernails dug deeply into his palm, drawing blood from his skin; his right hand, however, rose uncontrollably, its black mist tentacles brushing against Lin Yi's neck and scorching black marks on the rock wall.
"Ivan!" Lin Yi shouted, pressing his hands against Night Owl's temples.
The power of the runes surged into the other's consciousness like a hot current, and he saw countless black chains wrapped around a faint white light—that was Ivan's primordial consciousness.
"Grab my hand!" Lin Yi roared in his sea of consciousness, "You are the creator of the Mother Nest, not its puppet!"
The white light suddenly trembled violently, and a faint fluctuation of consciousness returned: "...Save me..."
A broken sob escaped from the owl's throat, a mixture of human cries and monster screech.
His left eye slowly opened, and the pupil was no longer a murky black, but rather a starlight that flowed like Lin Yi's; his right eye, however, was rolled back, with black mist surging wildly beneath the whites of his eyes.
"Boss, he can't hold on any longer!" Long Wu's Tang sword was fully drawn, the dragon pattern surging on the blade. "I'll hold him down for you!"
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly enveloped Night Owl's entire body, forming a pale blue cocoon of light: "The neural inhibition program has been activated, and his pain perception will be reduced by 30%." She looked at Lin Yi, "Mainframe, the spacetime anchor point has been locked, now is the best time."
Lin Yi took a deep breath; the light from the runes almost burned everyone's eyes.
He could clearly feel his life force flowing into Night Owl's body through the runes—this was a unique "symbiotic link" of the Time-Space Overlord, and if it failed, he would also be devoured.
The owl's body suddenly convulsed violently, with light and darkness vying for control beneath every inch of its skin.
Golden-red blood seeped from under his fingernails (corrosive factors purified by the power of faith), while black blood gushed from the corner of his mouth (the unpurified part was struggling in its death throes).
"ah--!"
A hoarse scream tore through the air.
The owl's right eye exploded with a "bang," and the black mist shot towards the top of the cave like a living thing, but was firmly trapped by Chu Yao's cocoon of light.
His left eye slowly closed, two streams of bloody tears sliding down his cheek. His lips trembled as he opened and closed them, uttering broken syllables: "Don't...don't let it..."
"What did he say?" Long Wu frowned.
Lin Yi heard it clearly.
That was Russian, the official language of the pre-civilization: "Don't let it devour...more people."
Night Owl's body suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground.
The purple patterns on the back of his hand lit up, forming a chain of light with the runes on Lin Yi's palm.
The remaining black mist no longer retaliated, but instead, as if its power had been drained, slowly seeped into the ground.
"The activity of the erosion factor has decreased to 12%." Chu Yao's voice finally carried a hint of relief. "The integrity of the original consciousness has increased to 45%."
Long Wu wiped the sweat from his brow, and his Tang sword clicked back into its sheath: "Boss, you're gambling with your life."
Lin Yi didn't speak.
He stared at the Night Owl's calmed face—at this moment, he looked more like an ordinary person tormented by illness than a terrifying monster.
"What's next?" Long Wu kicked at the black mist residue on the ground.
“Take him to the main core.” Lin Yi stood up, the light of the runes in his palm gradually fading. “There might be a way to completely purify the corrosive factors within the origin of the Mother Nest.” He bent down and hoisted Night Owl onto his shoulder. “Moreover…” He looked down at the faint scar at the corner of the other’s eye, “He might know why the Mother Nest transformed from a ‘shield of civilization’ into a ‘devourer’.”
A muffled sound suddenly came from deep within the shaft, like the roar of some ancient device being activated.
The owl's eyelashes suddenly trembled, and a hoarse groan came from its throat, as if it were repeating a name, or as if it were telling a forgotten nightmare.
His fingers unconsciously dug into Lin Yi's clothes, the black blood seeping from between his fingers spreading out eerie patterns on the fabric...
Night Owl's body convulsed violently within the cocoon of light, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, his fingernails almost digging into Lin Yi's shoulder bone.
His hoarse voice, a mixture of Russian and beastly howls, each syllable sounded as if it had been repeatedly sanded: "Don't... listen to their nonsense... I'm already... unable to turn back..." Black mist seeped from his seven orifices, creating tiny ripples on the inner wall of the cocoon of light, and launched a more frenzied counterattack than before.
Lin Yi's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and the temperature of the runes on his palm was so high that it almost burned his skin.
He could clearly sense that Ivan's original consciousness was being torn to pieces by the corrosive factors—the white light sometimes condensed like a star, and sometimes was twisted into fireflies by the black chains.
Long Wu's dragon scales had already covered his forearm. Although the Tang sword was not drawn, the scabbard trembled slightly due to the tense muscles of its master.
"Boss, his vital signs have plummeted! His heart rate is thirty beats per minute!"
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly condensed into a monitoring screen above Night Owl's head, the red alarm line stinging the eyes: "The activity of the erosion factor has rebounded to 28%, and it is assimilating the original consciousness! It is recommended to immediately terminate the stripping process and switch to the purification plan!" Her voice rarely carried a hint of urgency, and the blue light at the ends of her hair flickered due to the data overload.
Lin Yi's temples throbbed.
Three hours earlier, the scene I saw in the Faith Puppet's memory suddenly flashed back—when Ivan tied blue ribbons for the soldiers, his fingertips were stained with rust from the starship wreckage; when he spoke to the Mother Nest Core, there was a half-melted children's drawing tucked into the pocket of his white coat, with the word "Dad" written on the corner.
Those fragments, like red-hot nails, pierced his consciousness, making his throat tighten: "Hold on for another thirty seconds." He gritted his teeth, the rune light intensified by three points, even the veins in his wrists turned golden-red, "His 'I'm sorry' just now was said with the last thirty percent of his consciousness breaking through the erosion."
The owl's spine suddenly cracked, and the struggle between light and darkness churning beneath its skin almost burst its flesh.
Long Wu finally couldn't hold back any longer. His Tang sword whistled as it was drawn three inches from its sheath, dragon patterns dancing across the blade as if they were alive: "Boss! If this continues, you'll suffer the backlash—"
"That's enough," Lin Yi suddenly said in a low voice.
He reached into his robes with his other hand and took out a small bronze bell.
The bell was engraved with star trail patterns. With a gentle shake, two semi-transparent figures floated out of the bell—an old man with a white beard wearing a faded Taoist robe, and Lei Yan, whose body was covered in flames. They were the two brothers who had sacrificed themselves for him.
"This is... the Soul Resonance Bell?" Xuan Mingzi's remnant soul suddenly trembled violently, the light fragments almost dissipating. "You sealed their fragments of will inside the bell?"
“They said they would watch me go until the end.” Lin Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stroked the bell with his fingertips. “Now I need their help.” He pressed the bell against Night Owl’s forehead, and the afterimages of Whitebeard and Thunder Flame simultaneously raised their hands. Three golden rays flowed into Night Owl’s body along the rune veins—the power of faith, the souls that had died for protection, the purest “hope.”
The owl's roar suddenly rose in pitch, as if its vocal cords had been burned through.
His skin began to disintegrate, first his fingertips turning into points of light, then his arms and chest. The black mist struggled wildly in the rain of light, but was shredded into fine sand by the golden light.
Chu Yao's monitoring screen suddenly exploded with a data stream: "Erosion factor activity 0%! Original consciousness integrity... 97%!"
Long Wu's Tang sword clattered to the ground.
He stared at the owl's gradually becoming transparent body, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Boss, he..."
“It’s a soul.” Lin Yi released his hand from Night Owl’s temple, and the burning pain from the runes on his palm finally subsided.
He gazed at the gradually gathering flame—a humanoid silhouette with a faint scar at the corner of its eye, the folds of its white coat appearing and disappearing in the light. "Ivan Kosov, he's back."
The light and flames slowly fell to the ground, gradually solidifying into a body of flesh and blood.
Ivan looked down at his hands, his fingertips trembling slightly, as if he couldn't believe that this body belonged to him.
When he looked up, the starlight in his left eye was exactly the same as Lin Yi's, but his right eye was empty—it had been blasted through by the black mist, and now only a pale pink scar remained.
"This is..." His voice was hoarse but clear, with the rolled "r" sound unique to pre-civilized Russian, "I... am still alive?"
Long Wu wiped his face abruptly, then turned and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve: "Damn it, the boss won the bet again." Chu Yao's data stream gently enveloped Ivan, as if afraid of breaking something: "Welcome back, Dr. Kosov. You have broken free from the Mother Nest consciousness binding. Current timeline: December 7, 2035, Earth calendar."
Xuanmingzi's remnant soul completely dissipated at this moment, and the last wisp of light landed on Ivan's shoulder: "Tell me... why the Mother Nest has changed."
Just as Lin Yi was about to speak, Ivan suddenly staggered two steps and grabbed the rock wall for support.
A sharp pain flashed across his brow, and he raised a hand to his temple. "Wait... here..." He stared at the crowd, his eyes gradually becoming vacant. "Who are you? Why... am I here?"
Long Wu's smile froze on his face.
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly contracted into a point of light: "Memory scan complete. Original consciousness integrity 97%, but... memory storage area damage rate 83%." Her voice softened unusually, "He lost nearly three hundred years of memories, and even his experiences in the late pre-civilization period are only fragments."
Ivan looked at Lin Yi blankly, the faint scar at the corner of his eye trembling slightly with each blink: "You...know me?"
The roar deep inside the shaft suddenly changed tone, as if some ancient gears were starting to turn in reverse.
Lin Yi stared into Ivan's empty eyes, his throat tightening.
He reached out and pressed his hand on the other's shoulder, the warmth of the runes on his palm seeping through the fabric: "Your name is Ivan Kosoff, the creator of the Mother Nest." He paused, "And I will help you regain the rest of your memories."
Ivan opened his mouth, about to speak, when black mist suddenly seeped from the rock wall.
The corrosive factors that should have been purified instead seeped out through the cracks in the rocks and condensed into tiny tentacles at his feet.
He instinctively took a step back, but bumped into Lin Yi's arms.
"Boss!" Long Wu quickly picked up his Tang sword, pointing the tip at the black mist on the ground. "Are there still any corrosive agents remaining?"
Chu Yao's data stream resumed, and new data popped up on the monitoring screen: "No, it's the core of the nest responding to his presence." Her projection turned to the depths of the well, "Mainframe, the frequency of the nest's origin is changing—it's like... calling him."
Ivan looked down at the black mist at his feet and reached out to touch it.
The tentacles wrapped around his fingertips as if recognizing a master, then quickly retreated into the crevice.
When he looked up, his eyes held a hint of confusion, and also a hint of...familiarity.
"I think..." he murmured softly, "I heard something."
The roar from deep within the shaft suddenly rose, as if some enormous creature was awakening from its slumber.
Lin Yi gripped Ivan's wrist tightly and could feel the other's pulse beating extremely fast—not at a human frequency, but more like a resonance between some kind of machine and life.
“Whatever it is,” Lin Yi stared into the depths of the well, his voice as deep as iron, “let’s go see it together.”
Ivan looked at him, opened his mouth, but ultimately just nodded.
His eyes were still empty, but there was a hint of dependence in them—like a lost person finally grabbing the hem of their guide's clothes.
The black mist tendrils on the rock face were still writhing, casting distorted shadows on the ground.
Deeper still, amidst the hum of the mother nest's core, a whisper could be faintly heard, like a sigh from ancient times: "Come back... my creator."
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