"Who is it?!"
Whether it was the monster wearing the guise of a handsome youth or the sudden presence appearing behind him, Evanheiler’s reflex was to evade.
However, even after a burst of starlight erupted from him, he found himself rooted to the spot. The person behind him had effortlessly tucked him into a firm embrace, sweeping a broad cloak around him and shrouding his vision in darkness.
Evanheiler: ...
Evanheiler: ?
This extraordinary turn of events left him dazed for a moment. Then, he felt a jolt through his body; it seemed the man holding him had just intercepted something of immense weight and force.
A strange sensation kept him from taking further action. Instead, he pulled back the cloak and poked his head out.
He saw a warm golden glow reflecting off matte black armor, which was emblazoned with an emblem that looked vaguely familiar.
The shimmering golden lines of the armor made him squint. Following the trail of pitch-black hair draped over the breastplate, he looked up to see the cold, hard silhouette of a jawline framed by neck-guard armor, and half of a sharp, handsome face.
Only the lower half was visible, as the upper half was covered by a visored eye-shield. At the moment, the visor seemed to be one-way—or at least, its light-transmitting function had been deactivated.
This was a tall, imposing man of magnificent martial bearing. The moment Evanheiler looked up, he realized this was the master of this realm, the same person he had encountered in the shallower layers of the illusion.
At the same time, the intimate posture between them left him slightly stunned.
—Wait, what exactly was their relationship?
His mind turned to mush for a second. From his own perspective, he couldn't imagine himself establishing such an intimate relationship with anyone.
Yet, simultaneously, he felt an extraordinary sense of security.
It was as if, as long as he stayed close to this man and they fought side-by-side, every problem could be solved.
...Though, given the current situation, that sentiment felt a bit like saying, "The two of us are a killing machine; he does the killing, and I do the quacking."
Evanheiler’s eyes flickered. He turned his head, looking past the man’s arm.
He saw a pair of eyes—dark and hollow, yet lit by two golden rings. They were stubborn, sharp, piercing, and young. They didn't seem arrogant, but in this darkness, they felt as heavy as a block of iron hidden in cotton.
Right now, that familiar yet strange young monster was being held aloft, its neck gripped by the hand of the man embracing Evanheiler.
Then, it was tossed aside like trash.
The Xenobeast born from the depths of Lei Ting’s psyche stumbled and tumbled through the darkness for a moment before coming to a halt nearby, floating with a dim golden light.
"You really do love him... 'Me'."
It laughed, rubbing its nearly snapped neck like a human would, allowing its deformed internal structures to return to normal.
"I can feel it... your feelings for him. Even the current you cannot ignore them," it said softly, its voice echoing in the darkness. "And when those feelings enter my heart, guess... what will they become?"
"..." Lei Ting tilted his head slightly.
"You have no heart," he said flatly. "And you are not 'me'."
—No matter the time, there was only one 'Lei Ting'.
He was the sole, absolute, and usurpless mental subject; the sole, absolute, and usurpless 'Lei Ting' himself.
The nameless Xenobeast smiled, a look highly similar to the young Lei Ting yet fundamentally different.
"Fine. What I mean is, all these years, you never came here in this form..." Its words were heavy with meaning. "An explosion, a weapon, a light that annihilates everything—you usually descend in those forms rather than a human shape."
It tapped its own chest, which produced a hollow echo.
"The first time I rebelled against you, your sword fell from the sky and pinned me in this lonely darkness for an entire year."
"You don't need to complain to me, nor do you need to pretend you are normal, or just a 'less serious' version of me," Lei Ting said indifferently. "Don't worry. You are still useful."
He kept his arm around Evanheiler’s waist, turning to walk into a patch of light.
Evanheiler had remained silent, but at the last moment, sensing a gaze that made his skin crawl, he looked back. He found the humanoid monster staring intently at him.
When their eyes met, the Xenobeast laughed brightly.
"...Wait." Evanheiler suddenly gripped Lei Ting’s arm, even though he couldn't fully wrap his hand around the armored forearm.
Lei Ting stopped and looked down at him, expressionless.
Evanheiler struggled twice, but finding the arm immovable, he frowned. "Let go of me."
"No," Lei Ting answered curtly.
"I don't know you, Mr... " Evanheiler paused, his gaze falling on the chestplate. "...Legion Commander."
"It's 'Speaker'," the Xenobeast laughed playfully. It knew exactly how to provoke the deepest negative emotions in a person's 'Psionic Thought'. "Do you remember? The reason you first rebelled against your homeland, the authority that gave you that reason... This man is its Supreme Speaker!"
*Vroom!*
A blinding golden light flashed and vanished; the Xenobeast was nearly vaporized on the spot.
In this darkness, the connection between it and Lei Ting allowed the agony—which could be described as 'the mind being ground into dust'—to be transmitted without reservation. Yet, the latter didn't even flinch.
"Come out with me," he said. "We'll talk once we're out."
The cold, hard man paused for a moment before adding, "...Evan."
He spoke the name—'Evan', 'E-V-A-N'—two short syllables, each wrapped in something heavy and dark.
Something deep and sharp that should have exploded but instead froze in place, appearing incredibly cold and rigid.
But from his light, what Evanheiler felt was not coldness.
The light carried a perfectly measured, gentle warmth. Hidden beneath the cold exterior, it was so mild, like a thick, soft cushion laid at the base of a high cliff to catch everyone who fell from above.
"So, who exactly are you? You shouldn't be like this."
Evanheiler spoke suddenly. He had finally found the trick; a golden light flashed in his eyes, and he dissolved into fine, pale-gold stardust, reforming in the darkness a short distance away.
"The world of the mind reflects everything... Your 'Psionic Thought' tells me you aren't as indifferent as you appear," he said. "And it seems you both know me... or rather, *you* know me. I need to figure out what's going on."
"............"
Evanheiler could swear on his own stardust that for a split second, these two mental entities—one large, one small, clearly not entirely independent—reacted with 'unwillingness to answer' in different ways.
The smaller one instinctively turned its head away, while the larger one stood frozen like a statue.
After a few breaths, the latter said, "Return to my side, and I will tell you."
"You won't," the Xenobeast muttered. "Of course you won't. You aren't like the old you—which is to say, me. You're as reliable as can be in war, combat, and future policy-making, but you're just as cruel in everything else. Only the biggest fool would believe you at a time like this, Lei Ting. Even if I don't fully understand you, I understand 'me'..."
It let out a strange laugh.
"If I became like you—a biological machine that has to rely on personality simulation just to determine its few remaining emotions," it said, "I wouldn't do what you claim. Evan, don't believe him. No matter how good he makes you feel, he is no longer the person you knew before you came in... no, I should say, the person you knew 'back then'."
As it spoke, it slowly flew closer to Evanheiler.
Evanheiler narrowed his eyes, his azure orbs shimmering with flecks of gold.
Those were the traces left behind after the golden light of unknown origin had permeated his starlight. It was like thin sunlight filtering through the shadows of trees in the morning—not possessing great power, but ever-present and unavoidable.
"Get lost," he said composedly.
The Xenobeast blinked. "...?"
"...You little brat."
Evanheiler’s lips moved as he spat out that familiar yet strange epithet. At this moment, even he didn't know why he suddenly felt the urge to scold. "Explain what's happening," he said, staring at Lei Ting. "Don't hide things from me... if you and I are truly in an, uh... intimate relationship."
Lei Ting remained frozen.
Lei Ting was silent for a moment.
Lei Ting flicked his hand, releasing two golden metal cubes that began to orbit each other.
"It seems you aren't planning to cooperate," he said calmly. "I can understand that. But it doesn't matter... you must come with me."
...
...
...
In the distant starry sky, on a frontier planet of the Human Federation.
Sitting upright in a prison cell, Morgan suddenly snapped his eyes open. A flash of crimson flickered deep within his emerald eyes.
Then, his brow furrowed. He slowly lowered his head and clutched it with his hand, gritting his teeth and gasping for air.
The spacious, brightly lit cell was silent, save for him. Only by leaning in close could one see the cold sweat on his forehead.
A faint sound of static came from somewhere, followed by a synthesized mechanical voice: [Prisoner 01, report your status.]
"...Just an old ailment acting up," Morgan lowered his head and chuckled softly. "A migraine or something."
[Lie. Your genome inherited optimizations from the second to the fifth generation. Such issues should have been eradicated long ago.]
"But before hitting a problem, who knows what they'll experience or encounter? I didn't become like this because of my bloodline..."
Morgan seemed to have recovered by now. He lay back with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling of his prisoner-grade hibernation pod.
"But honestly, I've confirmed a few things... and that puts me in a good mood," he said.
The administrators behind the monitors grew tense at those words.
Amidst the comprehensive security measures—and even the quiet hum of machinery activating within the walls—Morgan took a deep breath, smiled, stood up, and stretched.
"Thank you for the 'care' all these years."
His smile was practically radiant as he gave a slight, casual bow in an arbitrary direction.
"The intersection between this super-powered avatar of mine and all of you probably ends here. —It's time for us to go home. 'Gaia', guide the beacon!"
***
