Sacre-D: Reborn as the Swarm's Apex | Chapter 173 | Reflections on the Stars | Novela.app

This is the second half of the afterword, and it serves as the formal conclusion and farewell to this story. I chose to finish it on the last day of the year; tomorrow will be a new year and a brand new day. I began writing this story in mid-June, and it has successfully concluded in less than six months. During the process, I went through periods where I wasn't in the best state, but I suffer from "must-write syndrome." Its clinical manifestations are: if I haven't replied to all my work emails, I will crawl out of bed at midnight to do so; if I think of a plot point to add while half-asleep, I will sit up immediately and grab my phone to record it. So, even though I exceeded my estimated deadline slightly, I still finished it smoothly. My thanks to everyone who has read this far. As mentioned before, this story was originally just a brief record in the timeline of another novel. However, for various reasons, it was written out. If someone reads it, then it is as if a tiny, lonely universe has welcomed travelers willing to stop for a while. For me personally, this is a very happy thing. The creative predicament faced by women is a very heavy topic. I typed a lot, but in the end, I deleted it all, bit by bit. I hope every female creator is free and light, just as I hope every life is solid and close to the earth. One of the weights of life lies in morality and responsibility. These two cause pain because they are meant for an individual's self-measurement and self-restraint, rather than being used in a condescending manner to judge others. Regarding books, the novel that left a deep impression on me these past few years is *The Southern Reach Trilogy*. A magical point is that before looking up the author's information, I once thought the author was a woman. With multiple female team members as protagonists, each with a very complete story, almost no "gaze" in the perspective or fanservice-oriented plots, quite delicate and sensitive emotional expressions, and a vast, deep sense of loneliness between the lines—these are traits I almost exclusively see in certain female writers. As it turns out, I checked and found the fellow is a man. So, I myself sometimes fall into specific gender-based thinking traps. Excellent qualities have no gender; there is no need to label them, nor is there a need to label those who possess these qualities. "Thinking like a woman" or "thinking like a man" are vague and strange propositions. They should have a more reasonable designation: "Thinking like a human being." Sakti is the protagonist of this story. If readers can come to like such a character, it is not simply because his background identity is male, but because he displays the qualities a normal human should have, such as morality, empathy, and respect (except when he's yanking on Kleeman's tail). Under such a premise, small flaws make a character appear vivid and full of life. Another novel that left a deep impression is *Kirinyaga*—specifically, the most famous first story in the book. "I know why the caged bird dies." "—For I have touched the sky." That is why Gra tells Kleeman that what is kept in a glass jar is not love; he does not want that kind of love. The *Alien* film series has influenced me deeply, especially the polarizing *Prometheus*. H.R. Giger's art fits the film perfectly, and the religious metaphors are very interesting. The most interesting point is that in a matriarchal social structure like the Xenomorphs', their reproductive mode breaks human preconceptions, adopting a form of invasion and plunder with more direct aggression. So, I made a similar setting at the beginning of the story. Letting the female Zerg wield unshakable power and the authority of procreation, while shifting all the accompanying costs outward—such a background was a rather interesting experiment for me. This journey is about to end here. Once again, thank you to everyone who read this novel. Perhaps we will meet again in another story in the future. Lives have their own trajectories; I am glad that at this moment, ours have intersected. I hope everyone possesses the ability to love and be loved, and I hope every soul remains forever free and abundant.