Blood rain flooded Lei Ting’s vision.
His brow furrowed as he watched the massive figure loom over him. Initially, blood had only seeped from the mottled cracks on the snow-white stone statue, allowing him to discern their origins—they branched out from the 'Lover’s' chest and eyes.
An 'Entity' should, at the very least, appear whole in its outward form. Such cracks symbolized a rupture in the very essence of their existence. Even the 'Gazer' had been forced into a long, unconscious slumber by a single such mark. Yet the cracks upon the 'Lover' were as dense as a spiderweb.
Lei Ting could hardly imagine the agony this super-powered entity endured every moment in such a state. It would be one thing if it lacked self-awareness or consciousness... but it possessed both.
Lei Ting’s expression turned solemn.
A golden sun burned in the starless deep of space—the 'Lover' was not embracing Lei Ting himself, but rather that fiercely blazing, colossal sun of psionic energy. However, compared to the sun, which had now expanded to over ten times its original size, the 'Lover’s' figure seemed far too small.
Before it could truly draw close, the blood falling from its embrace was 'evaporated' completely. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the power it radiated was neutralized by Lei Ting.
This surprised him. As a super-powered entity, the 'Lover’s' energy purity was naturally higher than his, and its total volume was far greater. After all, he was still a human; though he had 'unbound' his limits, he remained a biological organism. The 'Lover’s' energy should not have been so easily offset.
Unless... it harbored no hostility at all.
But if that were the case, what was the cause of Evenheiler’s transformation?
Furthermore, Lei Ting did indeed sense a blurred malice emanating from the 'Lover.' It was chaotic and indistinct, but it was certainly there. Deep within the 'Lover’s' core, there seemed to be an even more profound and terrifying darkness. When Lei Ting merely brushed it with his mental strength, all manner of negative human emotions and poisonous thoughts involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
The sheer volume of that negativity was staggering; the vast positive emotions floating on the surface of the 'Lover’s' core accounted for barely two-thirds of the total.
In that instant, a word flashed through Lei Ting’s mind: *Imbalance.*
As incarnations of specific aspects of humanity, the 'Lover' and the 'Radiant Exemplar' existed in a state of mutual influence with the humans of the material world. The relationship between a super-powered entity and its corresponding race was like two mirrors facing each other. The 'Lover’s' current state proved that the emotions and feedback loops within the human race had long since lost their necessary equilibrium.
Therefore, the 'Lover'...
It was humanity that had turned it into this.
Humanity’s collective unconscious had created it, and it had also destroyed it. Since the moment humans learned to fear, it had known infinite fear; since humans understood hatred, it had known infinite hatred. Correspondingly, every time a new emotional reaction—categorizable or otherwise—emerged within the masses, or whenever a sentimental trend or collective mood took hold, the 'Lover' was influenced on a deeper level.
Because super-powered entities conversely influenced the material world, this impact circulated between the two realms. Every time an event triggered a collective emotional outburst, the influence grew heavier.
Lei Ting’s frown deepened.
His memories from the 'previous time' were incomplete. Very little remained regarding the 'Star' civilization and the super-powered entities. Regarding the 'Lover,' he only knew that its condition was unstable and that it had ties to the Resistance. He had never expected that one of the two 'Aspects' of humanity could be in such a dire state.
The corruption of the 'Ga' in the 'Gah' race had caused their entire species to turn into monsters...
The 'Lover' was shattered and broken, so why did the people of Orion show no signs of abnormality?
Faced with an embrace that felt like the heavens collapsing upon his physical form, Lei Ting’s thoughts raced. Ultimately, having arrived at several hypotheses, he chose not to resist. He stood his ground, gazing at that terrifying, nearly disintegrated face and the energy that poured out continuously, only to be neutralized and scattered the next moment.
"Stop, 'Love People,'" he said softly. "The people of Orion still need your power and mine. You cannot die now, and neither can I."
No one would expect such a sentence to halt a mythic super-powered entity, but the 'Lover'... it actually stopped.
A white dome arched over Lei Ting’s head as the crimson rain fell like a maritime waterfall.
"There are too many people in humanity today who hate me, and so you hate me as well," Lei Ting said, his face impassive. "How surprising."
He didn't look surprised in the least.
When a person cannot see a thing clearly, or when they find that another’s behavior has exceeded their understanding, they naturally use familiar, reliant paths to speculate about them. But Lei Ting was different from most; he rarely did that. He preferred the method of 'bold hypothesis, cautious verification.'
Yet at this moment, his bold hypothesis made even his own heart tremble.
"Respected 'Love People'..." Lei Ting looked up and asked, "You actually want to help Evenheiler Kang, don't you?"
The 'Lover' wept in silent stillness, making no further move. Unable to speak, it used this silence as its admission.
...*Tsk.*
It wanted to help, but because of its uncontrollable nature, it had only made things worse?
Lei Ting glanced at Shane, who was still frozen in stasis.
Traits as 'uncontrollable' as the 'Lover’s' were common among the Omega population in Orion. Because most Omegas were sensitive to emotional responses, this group shared a tighter link with the 'Lover' than Alphas or Betas. This was why he had sought out Shane—as the most powerful Omega currently in Orion, this man undoubtedly possessed a profound connection to the 'Lover.' Lei Ting simply hadn't expected the 'Lover' to manifest personally after only a few words.
Conversely, looking at the Alphas—a group that included Lei Ting himself—they possessed a higher average level of super-powered strength, a greater desire for power and control, and the ability to view events through a cold, rational lens at critical moments. This linked them closely to the 'Radiant Exemplar.'
Both groups, due to these links, were more likely to produce powerful super-powered individuals.
Seen this way... it might not be a complete coincidence that the Orion people moved toward a hexagender system when genetic modification caused their sexes to change. No, perhaps it *was* a coincidence initially, but the people of the following centuries had gradually established and deepened that connection step by step.
"How do I lift the interference you’ve placed on Evenheiler?" Lei Ting asked calmly. "He is now a part of me; I need to strip away all external factors that might interfere with myself." This was a lie, of course; he had merely bound that soul and severed all internal and external connections.
...'*Merely*.'
Heh, how interesting. When had he become the sort of person who would use such a word for an act that combined 'murder,' 'mind control,' and 'unlawful imprisonment'?
Lei Ting tilted his head, his heart untroubled.
Soon, from the 'Lover’s' thoughts—which seemed to be in a permanent state of chaos, swinging from extreme manic excitement one second to suicidal despair the next—he received a fragmented, illusory response.
"The... Paragon...?" Lei Ting murmured, speaking the meaning contained within those thoughts.
In the next moment, he felt the descent of light.
It was more powerful than the 'Lover,' purer than time and space, more stable than Lei Ting, and more rational than a machine...
Lei Ting turned back, looking into the distance from within his own corona.
The light arrived; it was a dazzling golden star.
The 'Radiant Exemplar' had come to his side.
In an instant, the 'Lover' dissipated into the darkness. The sliver of sensibility that had just been stirred within Lei Ting by the 'Lover' seemed to vanish without a sound. His usual state of pure stability, coolness, and rationality returned to his heart...
No. Lei Ting realized, after testing himself with a few questions, that he was now *more* rational than usual—to the point where he could unhesitatingly make a decision to 'sacrifice a certain person or thing in exchange for a greater benefit.' And this sacrificeable target included himself.
Fine.
This was humanity’s way of survival. This was the 'Radiant Exemplar.'
This golden star possessed no self-awareness. It was human rationality—a complete, self-consistent system, a set of rules, a standard. It represented 'never thinking, only judging,' and the drive to reach the final goal directly.
Combined with the 'Lover,' it formed the very foundation of the vast, chaotic system known as 'Humanity.'
Lei Ting watched the golden star, which never occupied the same environment as the 'Lover,' and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Rationality and sensibility were like 'Yin' and 'Yang,' opposing yet interdependent. That was what it meant to be human. But now, as the 'sensible' side, the 'Lover' had lost its internal balance...
...How much longer could this interdependence last?
***
A long time later, Shane snapped back to his senses and found himself standing in the corridor.
He remembered what he had been doing—anger, anxiety, confusion. His mind had been a mess because of everything that had happened, so he had come here to find some peace...
And then?
And then he had just stood here spacing out for ages.
Shane... Shane scratched his head.
"Maybe I really do need some rest," he muttered, walking toward his quarters. Halfway there, he suddenly spun around and activated his pre-warmed 'Auxiliary Eye,' scanning the corridor twenty-eight times in one second in a combat-ready state.
Nothing.
Aside from maintenance hours, this place was usually deserted; otherwise, he wouldn't have come here to calm his emotions.
Shane: "..."
Shane: "."
The blonde youth’s expression didn't change as he stood up and stretched. "Right, looks like I’ve stayed up late too many times."
He turned to leave... only to pop his head back around the corner thirty seconds later, darting back to check the surroundings a dozen more times for the energy signatures of super-powered individuals—especially those with mental specializations.
Only after he was absolutely certain that his momentary lapse had no external factors and that the time shown on the chronometer was accurate did he finally depart in silence.
***
While Shane was pitting his wits against thin air, Lei Ting was traversing the dark void of space.
Beneath the corona of the psionic sun, a golden star shone brightly.
His communication with the 'Radiant Exemplar' had begun blandly, proceeded mechanically, and ended with a... well, it wasn't exactly a pleasing result.
That massive system, which automatically maintained the basic order of the entire Orion race, was human rationality itself. Lei Ting’s own rationality was a part of it. Or rather, because Lei Ting’s rationality was so prominent, his weight within this system was extremely high. Consequently, the 'Radiant Exemplar' had automatically assigned him a task and the corresponding support.
This task was perfectly aligned with the purpose of his journey. It could be said that Lei Ting had assigned it to himself, or that all of humanity had collectively issued it to him.
Perhaps this could be considered as his upcoming actions receiving the permission of humanity’s collective unconscious, but Lei Ting felt no joy because of it.
He recalled the question he had posed to the 'Radiant Exemplar' earlier, under the baptism of that extreme rationality.
—"So... my judgment was correct. This is indeed the only way left to us, isn't it?"
A streak of golden light cut through the deep space. It passed stars, planets, asteroid belts, and desolate sectors...
A short while later, it came to a sudden halt, its kinetic energy diverted by powerful forces and dissipated into the void.
Below it was a beautiful, blue, near-primitive planet—one of the most beautiful tourism worlds in the Human Union.
In this time of war, there were naturally no tourists here... but the humans who had taken root there over the last three or four centuries still numbered in the millions.
Lei Ting watched the planet, and he watched them. That question echoed repeatedly in his mind.
—"So... my judgment was correct. This is indeed the only way left to us, isn't it?"
He could see the thing that had long been rooted within this planet... it was 'pollution,' originating from a race that had failed to fully transcend biological life, a race that had failed to fully reach the spiritual level...
And those people—his compatriots.
Men, women, old and young—his innocent, victimized compatriots.
What had they done wrong? They had lived here for generations. Who could have known that they were mutating further with every passing day? Who could have known that this mutation existed within their bloodline, and that the twisted agony destined to erupt one day would be passed down through the generations?
Lei Ting’s heart was heavier than ever before.
He had always known that from the moment he killed Evenheiler—or perhaps even earlier, when he decided to become the decision-maker—there was no going back. He could never go back.
But even so, he found it difficult to feel at peace with it. Even after being dampened by 'Stillness,' this near-depressive weight began to gnaw at his soul.
Ultimately, however, he slowly raised his hand.
At this moment, the answer that had flashed through the 'Radiant Exemplar’s' vast system resurfaced quietly in his memory.
【Command confirmed. Question verified. Answer: Yes.】
A pair of mutually orbiting golden cubes appeared.
Amidst a heavy guilt that made him want to retch, Lei Ting closed his eyes.
Radiance exploded.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 爱人 / 爱世人 | Lover / Love People | The super-powered entity representing human sensibility/emotion. |
| 光辉典范 | Radiant Exemplar / Paragon | The super-powered entity representing human rationality/logic. |
| 辅眼 | Auxiliary Eye | A piece of equipment or cybernetic enhancement used for scanning/detection. |
| 不动 | Stillness / Immovability | Likely a mental technique or state used by Lei Ting to suppress emotions or maintain focus. |
| 六元性别 | Hexagender | Referring to the Alpha/Beta/Omega system combined with male/female biological sexes. |
