By the end of 4005 AD, the Milky Way was in chaos, and the flames of war spread everywhere.
Against the backdrop of an era where the Star-net was partitioned and disconnected, more than one race experienced internal turmoil. Protestations surged around the Galactic Core, but given that the Assembly held the lifelines of the major races within the Ringworld, no armed conflicts had yet broken out.
Even so, the originally fragile illusion of peace within the Assembly appeared as precarious as floating ice upon a wave.
Such chaos was not built in a day; it was the result of contradictions accumulated over centuries. The collapse of the Galactic Empire back then had been too abrupt, and the establishment of the Assembly too hasty. Later, the Galactic Star-net became excessively disorganized. Now, the collective rebellion of the races in the Perseus Arm merely served as the spark that ignited a long-buried detonator.
"Have you been infected by that 'rare talent' boyfriend of yours?" Morgan looked at Evenheiler with a gaze full of affected concern. "'Detonator'... to use such an ancient term while reading a report, are you a retro-enthusiast too?"
"..." Evenheiler remained silent.
A moment later, he lowered the oversized data pad that had almost completely obscured his face. His features slowly emerged from beneath the distorted polarized light of the screen.
Blond hair and blue eyes, peerlessly handsome, possessed of a tall stature, an elegant bearing, and a composed, confident air...
If one could ignore the lingering and deepening exhaustion between his brows these past few days, as well as the shadows beneath his eyes that should never have appeared on an 'S-rank,' anyone who saw him would sigh in admiration: *What a magnificent figure.*
But now, this handsome and outstanding figure raised his hand and directed a brilliant middle finger at the Resistance leader across the table.
*Always making jokes about my relationship... these terrible friends... will they ever stop!!*
Morgan laughed heartily and tapped the porthole beside him. He watched a giant rock passing by their ship and mused, "Looks like a planetary fragment... how many years do you think it's been drifting here?"
"Four hundred years," Evenheiler answered without looking up.
"?" Morgan was stunned. "You're that certain, man?"
"Four hundred years ago, a war broke out in this sector. it was an internal revolt. A planet attempted to declare independence, banking on the fact that the sky was high and the Assembly was far away. But in less than five years, the Federation's army arrived."
Evenheiler also turned his head to look at the fragment. The deep blue of his eyes reflected the scene before him, along with the golden light of his own hair.
"Logically, they should have destroyed the stargate first," Morgan said, looking at the giant rock. He could still see some steel structures on it, remnants of the technology and civilization that people had once carefully inscribed there. "A decision-maker capable of leading an entire planet to independence wouldn't be that stupid. So... were there other secret passages?"
"No." Evenheiler withdrew his gaze and flicked his finger against the half-empty glass of water before him.
A crisp sound rang out, and a slender mechanical arm extended from the ceiling. Before long, a steaming glass of fresh water was placed in front of him.
"At that time, the Assembly didn't have so many designs on its subordinate planets," the legendary, erudite esper warrior said. "They simply spent four and a half years repairing the stargate."
"..." Morgan turned to look at him, leaning back into his chair with a contemplative hum.
"You're speaking in riddles, Even," he said, his green prosthetic eye flickering with a small red light. "Let me guess... you're trying to tell me that a stargate could be repaired in just four years? What were those people thinking when they damaged it?"
"They were thinking about future transportation and commerce," Evenheiler said, picking up the glass of water with a posture that wasn't quite upright.
His sharply defined arm rested on the table. As the clear, sweet, warm water touched his beautiful lips, those deep blue eyes scanned everything before him through the hazy steam.
From the red-and-green prosthetic eye to the floating rock fragments.
"'Seyi-1,' a habitable planet where a regime was established by a long-range fleet during the early war years. They were adamant about their choice, yet they still hesitated about the future," he said. "When they decided to break ties with the Assembly, they realized that not only were the military resources required to completely destroy the stargate too vast, but the mere act of cutting off their outward path would be enough to leave them in a dire state..."
"Then why did they declare independence..." Morgan was shocked. "Flipping the table without even the ability to handle the consequences—did they think their lives were too long?"
"It was a trend, my friend," Evenheiler said, swirling the water in his glass. "Look, I've swirled it into a vortex. Guess how many water molecules can leap out of this vortex on their own and fly into its sky under simulated gravity?"
"..."
Morgan let out a long sigh. He knew the answer, of course: not a single one.
As for the rest of the message, it went without saying.
"I know what you're trying to say," the tall, handsome leader of the Resistance whispered. He gazed into the distance, his eyes somewhat wistful. "Consider the consequences before acting, do not hesitate once a decision is made, and never look back once you've moved forward..."
"More than that, Solo," Evenheiler said. "Did you know? The decision for 'Seyi-1' not to thoroughly destroy the stargate was decided by a total vote of their people. At the time, the support rate was approximately 77.63%—"
"—Even at a time like that, there were still more than one-fifth of sensible people on that planet running about and calling for caution. But the 'majority' had already made their choice. Thus, they ultimately reaped a devastating result."
"..."
The conversation had reached a point where the underlying meaning was quite dangerous. Solo’s expression gradually grew solemn. He stared into Evenheiler’s deep blue eyes, looking at that sunlit sea and the surging waves beneath the surface.
He was waiting for the thing beneath the sea to pounce out and bite the target this man was truly locked onto.
Evenheiler stood up with his glass. As he passed Solo, he lightly patted his shoulder.
"I know you've grown accustomed to seeking the opinions of almost all of us for everything. But Solo, when a force needs to be twisted into a single rope, it cannot have multiple ends," he said. "Don't be locked in a moral trap. The Assembly cannot give humanity a better future. Commanding, contending, and destroying are things you *must* do. Solo Morgan, you must get used to weighing all of this..."
"...And what if, for that sake, I have to destroy things that shouldn't be destroyed?" Solo’s voice seemed to tremble slightly, revealing the massive psychological pressure he had hidden until now. "You know, 'capturing is harder than killing.' Do we really possess the power to selectively destroy at the critical moment?"
"If you are hesitating, then do not choose." Evenheiler placed his empty glass into the cleaner, his voice indifferent. "Deliberation breeds the seeds of defeat. Life and the future are not a zero-sum game, Solo, but if you fear inflicting harm before you achieve results, it will only feed back even greater harm to you."
*Is that so?* Solo Morgan thought. *Am I afraid? Am I in terror?*
The time he spent thinking was quite long for a high-level esper, but finally, he replied, "No, I am not afraid. Nor will I spare the city for the sake of the righteous..."
"You seem to be comparing yourself to some ancient Earth religious deities?" Evenheiler turned back, his eyebrows arching high. At the same time, fragments of starlight began to dissipate from his eyes.
"Don't be so quick to give me a 'sobering punch'; it's just a vintage metaphor," Morgan said with some helplessness. "Or did I use the allusion wrong?"
"..." Evenheiler thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "No, you didn't. You truly must 'Love All People.'"
Simultaneously, within the deep, dark, starless reaches of space-time, the figure of an ancient, massive white angel statue moved slightly, diffusing a snow-white, holy radiance.
That was 'The Lover,' one of the two esper entities naturally formed by humanity.
Originally named 'Love All People,' it was created by the irrational side of the Orion people. It was the one among the four Guardians that appeared most frequently, and the only human esper entity that would reach out to rescue traitors.
However, over the years, no one knew whether it was merely a collection of conceptual thoughts from the human collective or an existence with a 'self-awareness' in the true sense. And for some reason, it had never personally appeared to meet Lei Ting.
But Evenheiler knew that 'The Lover' was on the side of the Resistance.
Because that single crimson point within Solo Morgan’s prosthetic eye—which looked like bloodlight yet contained infinite tolerance and philanthropic love—was precisely the power derived from 'The Lover'!
"Because of its power, you became an artificial 'Double S,' Solo." He sighed and shook his head. "But your mental strength cannot bear this power that doesn't belong to you. From the moment I met you, you have been suffering in infinite agony every single day...
"What made you choose to do this?"
"I don't know." Solo Morgan shrugged and laughed, his demeanor very relaxed, as if he weren't currently experiencing a headache so splitting he wanted to chop his own head off. "Maybe I'm just crazy?"
"You're still like this. Clearly possessing such powerful 'Love,' yet you can never utter the word." Evenheiler shook his head by the door, looking at Morgan as if he were a stubborn, foolish child. "Truly beyond saving."
"Look at you talking," Morgan sneered. "Does 'Solar Star' know?"
Evenheiler slammed the door... or rather, he couldn't slam an airtight door—he simply swept away.
Solo Morgan watched his departing back and let out a simple, honest laugh, though his expression soon turned solemn again.
"...You mean," he murmured, as if conversing with someone, the blood-red color deep within his eyes darkening slightly, "you sense that he is in great pain? That he has deviated from the path toward his ideal life? ...Wait, you... just pass what he said directly to me."
In the darkness, the angel statue with folded wings bowed its head deeply.
A faint, heart-stirring sob seemed to echo in the void. It clutched an object tightly in its arms, its white stone sleeves concealing the item completely. Beneath the curled white stone hair, its closed eyes twitched, and terrifying tears of blood flowed from beneath eyelashes that looked like polished stalactites.
—*"This is the last chance. You have no right to maneuver."* A low, cold, indifferent voice spoke. *"Lay down your disputes and obey me, or die. Make your choice, now."*—
That voice was transmitted through the massive and extremely unstable energy of the esper entity, echoing magnificently in Solo’s mind. The intense pain made his head throb as if it were exploding. His entire being went numb; in an instant, blood gushed from his nose and mouth, and he nearly slid out of his chair.
At the same time, the Resistance leader gasped for breath, barely recovering from that declaration—which had even included honorifics—and pressed the emergency call button on his light-brain.
When Evenheiler returned in an instant, clad in armor and crossing nearly a hundred meters, he saw
