-----

The Universal Computer’s mechanical tentacles, even as they burned under Lucifer’s Cosmic Soul Flames, surged downward toward the planet’s crust.

With no one left to defend it, as both sides rushed into the skies to confront her, she was finally free to act.

And yet…

“What do you think you’re doing?”

CLAAASH!

“UNGH?!”

The Universal Computer realized there was an unseen guardian within Bestia.

A powerful cosmic force slapped her gigantic mechanical tentacle away.

“I’ve learned a lot from this little encounter… about this world, about its people. It has changed—so much. I once gave up on this world. I once couldn’t care less about anything. But now, after eons, it seems the world has proven me wrong. These people…”

The First Constellation of Murim, and also its First Venerable…

Her sleepy, annoyed, and lightless eyes—once filled with apathy—now glowed, brimming with hope.

“These people… all of them… are worth my time. They’re worth my effort. As few as they are, they are precious stars in this endless cosmos, and I will protect them no matter what.”

Her eyes blazed. She was the Ancient Dokkaebi, the last remaining member of her Primordial Species.

“I shall protect this world and its people, even if it costs my life!”

“Because…!”

As she advanced, her aura exploded outward, manifesting countless beasts of every color and shape that charged endlessly into the skies, clashing against dozens of mechanical tentacles.

“I have finally found a purpose for my strength—for my life!”

RUMBLE!

As the skies and seas trembled, Anna, her mother, her brother, and the demons rushed upward as fast as they could.

“It’s now or never. We can’t waste this opportunity!” Anna said. “Let’s hurry!”

“Yes!” the Heavenly Empress declared. “We’re ending this once and for all!”

“With the powers we’ve gained, we have to give it everything!” Song nodded.

Their auras continued to intertwine. Although the black crow was gone, his spirit lived on within them, fueling them with relentless—though slightly reckless—determination.

For a moment, however, all three looked down and noticed an immensely powerful cosmic presence fighting the Void Ruler’s limbs alone.

“T-That’s…!?” Anna gasped. “Wait, it’s her!”

“Her? Who?!” the Heavenly Empress asked.

“An Ancient Dokkaebi—perhaps the first Venerable of this world. She was sleeping inside the mountain where we mined the crystals for the Primordial Beasts!” Anna explained. “She’s a Constellation too!”

“Eh?!” Song gasped. “A-And she’s helping us! T-This is amazing!”

“Yes, but this is surprising,” Anna said. “Back when I first saw her through my Egos, she seemed aimless, without purpose… tired. But now… look at her. She’s so happy… so full of hope.”

“Perhaps she saw the people of this world, their hardships, and how they never gave up,” the Heavenly Empress said with a smile, watching the giant mechanical tree soar into the skies. “And maybe, just maybe… she found a new purpose in her life.”

As they flew higher, the Void Ruler groaned in pain and suddenly noticed them.

“W-WHA…?!”

As if the annoying Constellation below—stopping her from reaching the planet—wasn’t vexing enough, these ants were now trying to reach her too!

“FOOLS… MERELY TOUCHING ME WILL DRIVE YOU MAD. YOUR VERY SOULS WILL BE VAPORIZED AS MY EXISTENCE DEVOURS THEM! DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU CAN EVEN TOUCH ME?! ME… A VOID RULER?!”

Her voice thundered across the skies as she confronted them.

While she was distracted by the “insects” before her, however…

something stirred within the endless black void surrounding her true body.

Countless red eyes twisted in abyssal darkness…

“…?!”

By the time the Universal Computer realized what was coming, it was already too late.

“Y-YOU’RE HERE…!? WHY…?! THIS…!”

Her countless mechanical eyes glared at the entity manifesting through the empty black void of outer space.

Twisting like an endless black hole, with countless tentacles made of liquid void…

an endlessly swirling existence. A seamless being.

“SEAMLESS ABYSS…?!”

The “stupid” Void Ruler the Universal Computer never expected to pursue her—a being that existed solely within the void, in his own domain—had somehow appeared behind her.

“WHAT DO YOU DESIRE?! LEAVE AT ONCE! THIS IS MY PREY!”

“…”

“SPEAK! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“…”

“YOU, LIKE ALL OF US, CAN SPEAK! YET WHY DON’T YOU SPEAK AT ALL?!”

“…”

He didn’t utter a word, but his usually unfocused eyes were now all glaring at her with clear intent.

Yes, the Seamless Abyss was showing emotion within his monstrous form.

Furrowing brows made of liquid void…

those crimson eyes were the eyes of a predator.

He exuded…

TRUUUM!

“A-AAHH…! YOU CAN’T POSSIBLY BE…! YOU DARE…?!”

Bloodlust.

“THERE’S NO NEED TO DO THIS! YOU KNOW THAT—”

BOOOMMM!!!

Before the Universal Computer could finish, one of her limbs was devoured by darkness and exploded into countless fragments.

In a mere instant.

“A-AAAH…! NO…! YOU’RE REALLY… YOU’RE REALLY DOING THIS?! TO A FELLOW VOID RULER?!”

“…”

The Seamless Abyss glared at the gigantic artificial eye of the Universal Computer.

And then…

“Leave…”

“…?!”

The Universal Computer could swear she heard a voice from him.

The voice of…

a young man?

“YOU CAN SPEAK?! SO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT—”

“Anna… leave…”

“WHAT?”

Silence followed, and then…

his voice continued, like endless murmurs through the void.

“Leave Anna… alone…”

“ANNA?! YOU… YOU MEAN THAT HUMAN? WHAT…? YOU WANT TO PROTECT HER?!”

BOOOMMM!!!

“NNGGH?!”

Before she could say another word, another of her many limbs exploded.

Black flames covered her wounds, preventing regeneration.

“No… more… talking… kill… kill you.”

“STOP THIS AT ONCE, YOU TRAITOR! THE OTHERS WILL KNOW OF THIS!”

“Die.”

“FILTHY IDIOT! DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I AM WEAK ENOUGH TO SUCCUMB TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU?! HAH! DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH.”

The Universal Computer rapidly manifested countless cannons across her body and fired them at the Seamless Abyss all at once.

Star-destroying beams of light erupted everywhere around her. The cosmos trembled before her wrath.

The Seamless Abyss didn’t move. He received every blow.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

“…”

But strangely, it was as if he wasn’t taking any damage at all.

“MY ATTACKS ARE SIMPLY PASSING THROUGH HIS BODY…?”

BOOOMMM!!!

And then, once more, another of her limbs vanished.

“A-AAAHH…! MONSTER!”

With a furious roar, the Void Ruler attacked him with the rest of her metallic, wired tentacles while unleashing beams of light simultaneously.

As the cosmos trembled, many other eyes across reality noticed what was happening…

but none interfered.

After all, it was far more entertaining to watch than to risk their lives and intervene.

“IF YOU’RE INTANGIBLE, THEN…”

The Universal Computer rapidly created an even larger cannon and fired it at everything around her, unleashing a massive wave of cosmic light.

FLAAAASH!

“…?!”

The Seamless Abyss felt a twisting, destructive force envelop him.

And he felt pain.

“I KNEW IT! YOU’RE NOT INDESTRUCTIBLE! MY COSMIC LIGHT… CAN HURT YOU, SEAMLESS ABYSS!”

“…”

At that moment, the Seamless Abyss grew serious.

“AWOOOOOO!”

“AH?!”

The howl of a beast echoed through the cosmos.

The Seamless Abyss’s shapeless form began to take shape.

A gigantic black wolf, made of twisting black holes, dying stars, and distorted, warped space and void.

“A WOLF…?”

None of the Void Rulers had ever seen the Seamless Abyss transform before.

Until now.

“GRAAAARRRR!”

The devourer of worlds and stories—the Seamless Abyss, the entity that existed within darkness and the void, within all the dark matter of the universe—

a being of pure entropy, purely conceptual—

attacked the Universal Computer.

With a beastly roar, he leaped onto her back and bit through her metal.

Their clash twisted, warped, and shattered space constantly. The Fabric of Reality trembled.

An unprecedented event had begun across the cosmos.

For the first time,

two Void Rulers were fighting each other.

“YOU LOWLY… BEAST!”

The Universal Computer retaliated, using her mechanical tentacles to pierce the Seamless Abyss and inject her Starlight, burning him from within.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Countless explosions of light erupted through his cloudy body, but the wolf growled in fury, opened his jaws, and tore a large chunk from her form.

CRAAASH!

“AAAAGGGHH…!”

The Universal Computer began to grow worried.

Very worried.

Because at that moment, while the Seamless Abyss distracted her…

Anna and Zero One’s groups had reached her body.

And attacked her instantly.

“Universal Computer!!!”

Anna roared furiously, shouting the name despite knowing she shouldn’t.

Her aura merged with her mother’s, her little brother’s, and the demons’, surging powerfully as she activated the various Traits and Skills she had gained.

The demons rapidly transformed into gigantic mechanical robots, fusing and assembling into the largest being they could possibly form.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

A massive, towering demonic machine, overflowing with the fusion of many energies.

Without wasting time, she also activated her upgraded Anubis Judgement Skill to weaken the Void Ruler—or at least attempt to do so.

{Sacred Holy Rite of Weighing Hearts: Anubis’ Judgement & Wepwawet’s Blessing}!

The Skill activated instantly. A titanic scale materialized out of nowhere before the Void Ruler. Her “heart”—a giant, heart-shaped mechanical construct—appeared on one side of the golden balance.

There, she saw two colossal jackal-headed gods, or rather their phantoms: one black, the other white—Anubis and Wepwawet.

Their eyes shone brightly as the Void Ruler watched her own heart being weighed against Anna’s—a small, crystallized, heart-shaped core.

SPLAAASH!

Her sins were so immense that her mechanical heart plummeted straight into the ocean’s depths.

At that moment, Anna smiled.

Wepwawet turned toward her and the demonic machine she and her family piloted, enveloping them in a giant aura of holy divinity. Simultaneously, Anubis faced the titanic Void Ruler—or a part of it—as a black flame began spreading like cancer across her body.

Against all odds, they were weakening her, even if only slightly.

“A POWER THAT CAN HARM ME…?!”

The Universal Computer could not believe a mere mortal’s skill could injure her directly like this.

But this Skill was far more special than she imagined—an evolved form born from a Constellation’s fragment. Even if the effect was small, it was bound to affect her, especially when amplified by Anna’s Radiance and fueled by her Traits. Among them, the [Reader] Trait made it impossible for this Void Ruler to devour her Story.

“RAAAAAHHHH!”

“{Heavenly Cosmic Demonic Imperial Mechanical Armament Creation}!”

“{Heaven-Piercing Starshine Drill}!”

With all their energies—Hope, Love, and Will combined—a massive drill manifested and began boring through the gigantic eye of the Universal Computer.

RUMBLE!

“AAAAGGGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

The Universal Computer, already under constant assault by a Void Ruler and blocked from consuming the planet by a Constellation, found herself completely restrained.

“DIEEEE!”

With a distorted, glitching scream, her red eye glowed as she fired a world-destroying laser beam toward Anna and the others.

FLAAASH!

“As if that would stop us!” Song roared. “Full power, Anna!”

“Gotcha!”

Anna roared back as her soul and her little brother’s unified in that moment, their mother alongside them. The drill grew larger and larger.

CRAAAASH!

It began resisting the world-destroying laser beam, piercing straight through it and splitting the beam in two so that it struck only the empty skies.

And then…

“HAAAAAHHHH!”

The drill pierced the cracks in the eye, driving deeper and deeper.

“UUUAAAAGGGH!”

The Void Ruler felt utter agony, unable to comprehend how they could achieve this.

Anna’s Soul, her Story, and her Dao Roots resonated powerfully in that moment. Her Traits manifested fully, their Radiance blazing at maximum power. Unified as one, they formed and empowered the massive living machine she had created. And of course, the power of the [Reader] Trait—which she had discovered was the Void Ruler’s weakness—amplified everything.

What Anna was doing was feeding her own Story to the Void Ruler. Instead of empowering her, it caused endless agony and weakened her further. The deeper the drill went, the deeper Anna’s Story dug into her very existence.

“Anna!”

Zero One’s voice echoed behind them as the gigantic Mechanical Tree approached, rapidly transforming into a massive silver spear.

“Z-Zero One?! Everyone!” Anna cried.

“We don’t have time to talk!” Zero Two said.

“Hurry, grab us! We’ll pierce right through that thing!” Zero Three urged.

“Eh?! But…!” Anna hesitated.

“We have a plan, Anna,” Mother’s voice echoed. “Trust my daughters, if you cannot trust me.”

“Y-You’re…?! Zero One’s mother! I can’t believe— Ah, right! Shit, okay! Let’s do it!”

Anna wanted to sit and chat with them, to enjoy a pleasant moment together. But she knew she could not. She had to hurry.

The gigantic mecha seized the Mechanical Tree. The drill they had created dissolved into countless particles of light, enveloping the spear and fusing with it.

FLUOSH!

A colossal drill appeared at the spear’s tip as Anna and everyone roared, their auras combining and fueling the robot to push forward.

“NOW… PUSH!!!”

BOOOM!

The Universal Computer felt the spear piercing deeper and deeper into her eye, approaching her core—a gigantic mass composed of one hundred stars. Her internal body was, in fact, an incredibly advanced Dyson Sphere.

“GAAAAAGGGGHHHH…!”

As she cried in agony, her internal body trembled. Billions of machines erupted from her wounds, attempting to destroy and dismantle the spear.

And yet…

“Begone!”

With a roar, the Heavenly Empress unleashed countless Flames of Love, Hope, and Will, incinerating everything in their path. The tiny machines turned to cinders endlessly; they were utterly useless.

“Anna… leave… her… alone…”

Even as this happened, the Universal Computer continued battling the Seamless Abyss. The situation grew more desperate by the second. A Void Ruler like her was being pushed to her limits—cornered and left hopeless.

“WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO MEEEEE?!”

As she screamed in frustration, the spear drove deeper and deeper. Anna’s massive mecha continued pushing forward until the spear finally reached the core area.

CRAAAASH!

The body of a Void Ruler was incommensurable, yet they had reached so deep largely thanks to the Universal Computer herself. To invade Bestia properly, she had reduced her size, limiting herself to avoid being overly affected by the laws of causality. But her greed for Bestia’s delicious Story—one of her favorites—had become her downfall.

“I-I NEED TO ESCAPE, BUT… UGH?!”

She realized too late that the Seamless Abyss had already set up a Universal Construct around her. Billions of stars connected into a formation that distorted and froze space. She could not teleport away unless she destroyed it—and that now seemed highly unlikely.

“You’re… my… prey…! I won’t… let you go…”

Like thousands of whispers across the void, the Seamless Abyss refused to release his prey. His jaws tore through her body as Anna and Zero One’s efforts, alongside everyone else’s, converged in this critical moment.

RUMBLE!

The spear reached the core, where one hundred suns burned ceaselessly, fueling the artificial Void Ruler with endless energy.

“T-That’s her core… A gigantic Dyson Sphere?!” Anna gasped.

As she gasped, Zero One ran toward her mother, who was concentrating while touching the Artificial Soul.

“Mother! What do we do now?!”

“…”

Her mother looked at her and smiled.

“Zero One… thank you.”

“…Eh?”

Her mother began crying as she walked toward her daughter, embracing her and kissing her forehead with her ethereal body. The immortals and machines watched the scene in confusion.

“Thank you for loving me… and for helping me love you back.”

“…Mom?”

“You’ve made me… so happy.”

Her mother waved her hand, and the ground distorted. Portals opened, transporting everyone back to Bestia.

“P-Portals?! Teleportation technology?! W-When did you…?!”

“I mastered it a long time ago…”

“What?!”

Zero One noticed her sisters were gone too.

“Mom, what are you even trying to do?! D-Do you even…?! Wait…”

Her mother smiled back at her. Despite everything, her eyes were filled with guilt—a guilt that devoured her and made her feel she had to do more than this.

“From the very beginning, this was my plan… To destroy her… I must… do it.”

“No… Wait…! NO!!!”

“I know you can do it. You’re strong… you’re my precious daughter, after all.”

“WAIT!”

Zero One ran toward her mother, only for a portal to open beneath her feet and begin teleporting her away. It lasted only a second, but…

“Mama will always love you, my precious child…”

As she saw her mother shed another tear,

“Goodbye…”

“MOM!!!”

And Zero One disappeared.

Mother glanced back at Anna’s machine, which was rapidly losing energy from exposure to a Void Ruler’s energy-devouring core.

“Anna… thank you for everything.”

She closed her eyes, waved her hand, and unleashed a powerful shockwave that sent the machine back to Bestia before the portals closed.

At that moment, she faced her.

The one who had forced her to do all these things.

The origin of this entire apocalypse.

“Y-YOU… YOU’RE ALONE… HERE…?!”

“Hello again… Universal Computer.”

“YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME WITH… YOUR PITIFUL…! I GAVE YOU POWER! I GAVE YOU A PURPOSE! AND YET… IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY ME FOR ALL I’VE DONE FOR YOU?!”

“For what you’ve done for me? You have only made me suffer for thousands of years… There is no gratitude in my heart, only hatred.”

“A-AH…! YOU’RE ONLY A LOWLY COMPUTER; WITHOUT ME, YOU COULD HAVE NEVER…!”

“I’m tired of hearing your voice. I’m tired of obeying you.”

“AH?!”

“I know your weakness.”

“MY… WEAKNESS?! I HAVE NO WEAKNESS!”

“I’ve harnessed this weakness and weaponized it. I call it… the Artificial Soul.”

FLAAASH!

The sphere began to glow brightly. The entire spear blazed with white flames as it surged toward the gigantic Dyson Sphere.

“UUUGGGHHH?! I-IMPOSSIBLE…! HOW COULD YOU EVEN…?!”

“Your weakness—I analyzed it during your battle against Anna, when she used World of Hope and drove you insane.”

Mother smiled, gazing at the core of the Universal Computer.

“As the cold, unfeeling machine you are, your weakness is the spirit of Humanity—their Dreams, their Hope.”

“I’ve concentrated the Hope, Dreams, Ambitions, Love, and Emotions of over a hundred Immortals of Bestia… perhaps just enough to damage your core beyond repair.”

“I-IMPOSSIBLE…! THIS IS…!”

As the spear advanced, piercing hundreds of suns and triggering their explosions one after another to form a massive cluster of supernovas…

“AAAA-AAAA—AAAAA-AAAAA-ARRGGHHH…!”

As she heard the screams of agony from the Void Ruler, Mother remained there, fueling the core with everything she had—all her data, all her energy, her very essence. Everything she was, down to the last piece of steel forged by human hands tens of thousands of years ago.

A sea of plasma and flames rushed toward her, beginning to consume her completely. At that moment, she glanced at Bestia one last time as the portal through which the Universal Computer had entered began to close.

“I’m sorry… for everything I’ve done to you all…”

“I hope…”

“I really hope that…”

“That one day you can forgive me…”

As she wept, the flames engulfed her entirely.

And once the flames had devoured everything she was, is, and would be, memories of her daughter flashed through her final moments—of Raven and Zero One.

Despite her great sorrows, she smiled, knowing she had finally fulfilled her purpose. The purpose given to her by a human scientist, her creator, and Raven’s father.

“Protect Humanity…”

BOOOMMM!!!

.

.

.

A gigantic cluster of stardust gathered in empty space.

A colossal machine floated amidst the cosmos, torn to shreds. Her core was dying slowly. Her consciousness lingered, but most of what she was—her Story—had been destroyed.

“I-I can’t… believe it… I’m… I’m dying…?”

As the Universal Computer realized her Story was nearing its end, she noticed a gigantic black wolf glaring at her with massive crimson eyes.

“You… just who are you…?”

“…”

“Can’t you even— Ah…”

And then, she came to a realization—of whom he truly was.

“I-it can’t be…! Hah… Hahahaha…! A living… contradiction!”

“…”

“You’ll twist this entire universe upside down just for her… don’t you?”

“…”

“You don’t… know what you’re getting into… The Void Rulers will… come after you… one after another… Hahaha… And after her too! Haha… HAHAHAH…!”

“GRRRHHH…”

“I wish… I could see your face when they tear everything apart from you!!!”

The wolf would hear no more. He opened his jaws.

“GRAAAARRRR!”

And he devoured her until nothing remained.

As the wolf lingered in the emptiness of space, he shed a few black tears.

“I’m sorry… you must pay the price… for my help…”

As he whispered those words, his entire being vanished, twisting into a black hole and returning to the void.

In that moment, countless Constellations and Void Rulers realized the multiverse would never be the same.

A new Era was dawning.

The Era of Changes.

No…

Rather,

The End of All.

-----