I originally intended to wait until all the extras were finished before writing this postscript. Structurally, that would have been more aesthetic and provided a relatively complete conclusion. However, for several reasons, I’ve decided to write half of it now.
I am deeply grateful to Liqing and Qingyun. You have been companions who walked alongside this story from the very beginning, leaving comments on almost every single chapter. I read every comment seriously.
I also want to thank the friend who left the very first comment on Chapter 3, as well as every reader who has made it this far. Your love has become a part of this story. If anyone felt a sense of happiness or joy while reading it, then it has succeeded in being a good story.
While writing this piece, my emotional state wasn't particularly stable. Or rather, I was in a state of long-term chronic anxiety. The primary reason was the news this year; almost every day, the headlines added another brick to my stress threshold. When the story was halfway through, a friend of mine happened to go on a long journey. He chose this time to travel from Egypt to Afghanistan and Iraq, finally ending his trip in Pakistan.
During our conversations, I realized once again that different people have vastly different ways of perceiving the world. This friend is a wonderful person. When we spoke and he shared his travel experiences, he described the happiness and efforts of people living in suffering—how they held onto hope for the future regardless of their hardships.
But more often than not, I found myself suffocated by the suffering I heard and saw, finding it difficult to break free from the mire of my own emotions. There is no right or wrong in these diverging viewpoints; they are simply shaped by the differences in our emotions, cognitive styles, identities, genders, and social statuses. Because of this, the colors we see in the world are fundamentally different.
He saw hope, while I saw suffering.
Before defining myself or anyone else as an "-ist," a woman, a man, the strong, the weak, or any other attribute-laden existence, we should share one common attribute: being human. Yet, this fact—which should be beyond dispute—is often difficult to achieve in many circumstances.
This story actually has many points of controversy. As long as it doesn't involve personal attacks or spoilers, every comment has its own validity. They allow me to read the thoughts of every reader interacting with the story while I am writing it. There were a few comments accidentally deleted by the system; I tried to appeal them, but perhaps I used the wrong method, as it didn't seem to work (OTZ).
To me, creating a story is like a journey where I encounter different people. After we part ways, we each continue with our own lives. If you like this story, please focus on the story itself. Perhaps one day in the future, we will meet again in the next story, or the one after that.
There is no need to focus on me as the author. I am not a mere symbol labeled "Author"; I have my own moral flaws and experience the same joys and sorrows as everyone else, so I cannot maintain a perfect image.
Halfway through writing, I discovered that the "Zerg" genre is a very controversial subject. Within this track, I ran into an extremely niche field where I had no fellow travelers. Therefore, if it triggers negative debate in certain aspects, that is entirely normal. Friends would give me feedback and discuss the more controversial points with me.
Sakti’s soul is that of a human male. After reading the regulation stating: "In cases where the protagonist cannot be defined by the binary gender system due to physical reasons: if the protagonist firmly identifies as male and the CP (pairing) is male, the story may remain in the Danmei (BL) channel," I did not make any changes regarding the channel categorization. Furthermore, the Zerg setting in this story uses the human male body as a template due to mimicry, so this classification should be logically consistent.
I hope that everyone who reads this gains the joy of reading itself, rather than negative emotions triggered by other matters; otherwise, it would be putting the cart before the horse. Similarly, those who do not like it can simply close the tab and exit. Please do not let what should be a joyful reading experience become a burden. The original intent of reading is to trigger reflection or resonance, or to serve as a sweetener in life, not to increase stress or sink into bad feelings.
The setting of this story does not need to be forcibly categorized into any existing type of Zerg fiction. Categorization implies frameworks and constraints. Thought and settings are the things that need constraints the least. I hope all creators can experience such unrestricted joy while writing.
I originally wrote this niche story because I loved the hive structures of the *Alien* and *Predator* franchises. If I must be categorized, please put me in the "Ridley Scott" category.
Additionally, by the time the story concluded, the plots of several key characters had actually undergone multiple revisions. Some characters were originally supposed to exit halfway through. I had hoped one character could serve as a contrast; upon his death, he would be like a permanent, stable glacier collapsing into the sea, where every splashing drop of emotion represented the extremes of love and hate.
In my initial outline, I had prepared a tombstone with a name already carved on it. But for various reasons, I took a shovel and dug the tombstone back up myself.
So, this isn't exactly a "realistic" story. It is more like a fairy tale that is far too gentle, having filtered out those of low moral character and the unavoidable miseries of life. With a rather conflicted heart, I discarded some intense emotions and conflicts, choosing a path where every character received a Happy Ending. Because of this, its impact and logical realism decreased significantly.
But... I was quite happy writing it.
When Clark and Kleiman first appeared, they received a mountain of negative reviews—to the point where I can't help but laugh when I look back at them. The comments about Kleiman were particularly hilarious; from the initial "he deserves to be single for life" to later "gradually becoming a friend of the males," I could laugh about it for a year. I am very glad that most readers grew to like these characters during the reading process and witnessed their growth and transformation.
There are no "perfect" character designs here. Every character who appears has more or less their own issues, including Sakti and Gera.
As a side note, the name "Sakti" (Sakedi) was a name I came up with when I was doodling stories as a child. Much later, it became the name of the protagonist in a complete novel. At first, I hesitated about whether to change it because its pronunciation is so similar to the Hindu Goddess Shakti. My work in recent years has involved daily dealings with Indian and Pakistani clients, giving the name a strong sense of déjà vu. But after much hesitation, I didn't change it. After all, Clark also shares a name with Superman.
A name is a symbol, a code. The flesh and blood beneath it, and the personality and story that constitute the character, are far more important than the code itself.
There will be more extras later, as well as some casual talk about book lists. At the end of December, I’ll be on the artist's schedule. Currently, I’ve commissioned a second illustration of Sakti and Gera, as well as one of Clark and Arthur. Perhaps not both will be used for commercial purposes, so that remains to be determined.
I hope everyone reads happily and lives happily.
