The Cocoon of End drills a hole in the Imaginary Space, allowing the internal energy of the Imaginary to continuously squeeze into this world—this is known as Honkai.
It is essentially a valve, allowing endless energy to pour into reality and infuse the Apostle of End.
Therefore, the intensity is secondary. The crucial point is that the Apostle of End has virtually infinite energy. Even if Ryan uses all his strength to breach the defense, any severe damage will instantly regenerate as long as It's not instantly killed.
Thus, charging in with blind passion and attacking wildly is meaningless. To win, they must strike at the root.
"The Cocoon is connected to End at one end and the Imaginary Tree at the other. From the beginning, there was no possibility of destroying It. Kevin and the others were merely posturing."
Mei stood in the deepest part of the Sea of the Abyss City. Seawater and the brilliant azure energy filled the space, causing the dozens of Honkai Beasts surrounding her to freeze collectively.
They could dive to the bottom of the ten-thousand-meter deep sea, but they were helpless against the impact of the Sea of Quanta's energy. It should be said that any Imaginary-side creature would be affected by this fundamentally opposite energy. Even Mei herself lost control over her mental barrier but entered a ghost-like state, impervious to the pressure of the deep sea.
She looked up, her gaze piercing through the deep sea and the sky to the lunar surface. At this moment, Elysia's 'link' had been severed. Mei could see nothing, relying only on imagination.
"But End itself lacks the ability to 'trust.' Probabilistically, It cannot tolerate the threat posed by people like Kevin. When the Fire Moth-Chaser truly presents a possibility, It will divert Its attention."
As for why they didn't use this method from the start?
Mei initially shared the same question as End. Ryan's reason was simple.
There was only one chance. He had to guarantee the success rate, because when End discovered the trick, It would risk self-destructing to stop him.
This wasn't about overcoming End and passing a trial; this was about destroying the 'Cocoon' itself. If End went all out, Ryan wasn't confident he could survive for ten seconds, and it was doubtful if Earth and the Moon could survive ten seconds either.
"Many heroes died to fulfill their great ambition, daring to teach the Sun and Moon to change the sky."
Mei murmured, recalling Ryan's words at the time. End was thinking too complexly. This operation was actually very simple.
Step One: Force the Cocoon of End to descend in an incomplete state, even if that incompleteness was relative.
Step Two: Get the Cocoon into the real world, initiate the restart program, and give birth to the Apostle of End without time to prepare, truly raising the curtain.
Step Three: Use the Fire Moth-Chaser as bait to draw the attention of the Apostle of End. This was inevitably accompanied by heavy casualties, because in the 'Cocoon's' calculation, their weight wasn't enough.
How to draw attention? By fighting with all their might, constantly creating 'miracles,' causing the calculation to repeatedly err, leading the 'Cocoon' to doubt Itself. Only then would It shift Its gaze away from Ryan.
Of course, this was still far from enough. Even if the Fire Moth-Chaser triggered a tsunami, the success rate was not high in Prometheus's calculation, because Venus had used this tactic, and after tens of thousands of years, the Cocoon was bound to be prepared.
Mei didn't believe End was completely ignorant of what humanity was doing in the Sea of the Abyss City. It was merely a mental inertia, like the notion that the same trick wouldn't work twice, perhaps even allowing it to proceed.
"I apologize, but compared to you, he is the true unknown." Mei took a slight breath, feeling the seawater engulf her, her thoughts gradually slowing.
"You never expected it, did you? The seawater isn't pouring out from the Sea of the Abyss City—this is just a node. The true valve is on Ryan."
Mei vanished from the real world, like a fading ghost. She spread her arms, as if to float in the endless Sea of Quanta, but found she couldn't control herself. She felt like she could be drowned at any moment.
At this moment, she slightly turned her head and saw a figure appear in the hazy seawater. Unlike her own disheveled state, the figure seemed completely at ease.
"Miss Vita, finished watching the show?"
The grey-haired, red-eyed girl pursed her lips, her gaze complex, even tinged with jealousy.
"Don't envy me, what I can do is nothing compared to you. I couldn't have found a way without the data you provided, and without the tsunami plan, Earth couldn't possibly defeat End." Mei rallied her spirits. She felt a sense of suffocation but tried to remain calm, unlike a drowning person desperately waiting to be rescued.
At this moment, she was still proud.
"You're kidding, Dr. Mei. By deciphering the data in such a short time, you are already no less capable than 'me,' and you are far ahead in the development of artificial intelligence." Vita finally smiled. There was truly no need to envy this woman.
Was the deciphering a test?
Mei stared at her, her glasses flashing with a faint blue light. "But it's still far from enough. Even standing on your shoulders, what I can achieve is less than what the Venusians did. Using the same trick a second time would surely end badly."
"Indeed. I also didn't expect Ryan to use himself as the coordinate, injecting the energy directly into the 'Cocoon' at point-blank range. That method was certainly not in Its calculation." Vita showed an expression of admiration.
"It is truly a path never conceived. But did you truly not conceive of it?" Mei stared at her coldly, her tone filled with rationality. "In this gamble for freedom, you bet correctly. Do you stop now, or increase the stakes further?"
"Don't rush. This merely weakens End. The outcome is still hard to predict."
"But the most difficult step has already been taken. Just as Ryan believes in the Fire Moth-Chaser, we absolutely believe in him." Mei met her gaze without flinching, stating plainly, "Taking action when the outcome is already decided wouldn't count as a gamble."
With the clash of rational gazes, Vita lowered her eyes and looked away.
"Hmph. I hate the feeling of being manipulated the most. Besides, if he knew doing this would lead to death, why take such a dangerous approach? I thought he had become 'Sa,' willing to solve End at any cost."
"Perhaps Ryan is simply too greedy. Or perhaps he hates being alone. But for you, isn't that a virtue?"
The surging seawater would destroy civilization and all Imaginary-side creatures. Except for extremely powerful Honkai energy entities, no one could survive for long. That's why this tactic was dubbed a self-destruct forbidden art.
The backup plan was for those researchers sent into the World Bubbles. They speak highly of me, but they didn't place all their hope in me.
Vita was clearly not easy to deceive, but for a machine that only knew its objective, she preferred Ryan's foolish kindness.
As an 'individual' yearning for freedom, she naturally felt a greater affinity for another 'individual.' At the very least, it provided a slight sense of security.
She extended her hand, like a strong swimmer, pulling Mei out of the turbulent water. "You won't be much help in the next phase."
Mei nodded slightly, not showing much excitement. Vita's rescue was an inevitability, an inevitability born from Ryan's persistence in humanity.
Mei felt her mind return to normal and pulled out several intricate mechanical devices.
"What are these?"
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"The embers. With your help, I don't need to worry about this anymore." Mei watched the devices drift away like message in a bottle, a faint smile spreading across her face. "With this, our battle is over. My work ends here."
"Infusing the Sea of Quanta—even in the best-case scenario—will require a long time to clean up. Can you survive in the World Bubbles for that long? Also, there's the 'Sa' problem. Ryan had already triggered Him before. With your remaining strength, the odds of victory are very low." Vita reminded her.
"So we will enter hibernation. When the time comes, we will once again give rise to the brilliant flower of civilization. Of course, the prerequisite is that he can overcome End. Do you believe that?"
Vita pursed her lips again. The feeling of being controlled was highly unpleasant. After a moment, she finally gave a slight nod.
"I believe it."
This is impossible.
When the energy of the Sea of Quanta poured down, sweeping over everything like a tsunami, reality became blurred. From a visual perspective, space seemed to be dyed a brilliant azure.
This blue light was faintly colored, like looking through a mosaic window—weak, vibrant, yet magnificent. But reaching out to touch it, it remained tantalizingly out of reach.
The surging tsunami first washed over the Cocoon, then scoured the lunar surface, passed through End, and headed toward Earth.
He can't control this power either.
End understood, and It also had a realization: The connection with the Imaginary Space was severed. The endless internal energy of the Imaginary tried to pass through the hole but was met by the Sea of Quanta. Like Entropy and Anti-Entropy, the two fundamentally opposite energies began to neutralize each other.
This was catastrophic. It was like having the external power source cut off. Not only did It lose its energy supply, but Its own power was also being scoured by the 'seawater,' leading to a rapid consumption. Compared to the faint light of the Fire Moth-Chaser, It was the brightest torch, and naturally the first to suffer.
This is very familiar. Tens of thousands of years ago, End had a similar feeling. The hysterical strike of the Venusians instantly paralyzed the Cocoon. After all, the program didn't account for someone using the Sea of Quanta to counterattack.
Because reality itself belonged to the Imaginary side, this was no different from self-destruction. End still remembered every detail of Venus's demise.
The tsunami would sweep away all life on the Imaginary side, washing them into the boundless Sea of Quanta. There, lacking the Honkai energy they needed to survive, they would become floating debris after their internal energy was exhausted.
Take the people in front of It, for example. Except for a few, no one could survive for a thousand years. Even the strongest humans would be trapped at the bottom of the sea, gradually turning into garbage.
Therefore, End knew about Ryan's relationship with the Sea of Quanta but always considered the probability of him doing this to be very low. The importance of these people to Ryan had been repeatedly verified; he couldn't possibly re-enact the story of Venus.
If he truly intended to be ruthless, he would have left this world at the beginning, without having to bear the sin of slaughtering his comrades.
It makes no sense. It truly makes no sense.
End felt the calculation was too absurd, causing a paradox in Its thinking. This was an unexpected approach, and it was also an incredibly effective one.
The Venusian tsunami was long written into the program, and an 'antibody' had been generated. If Mei and Ryan had replicated it, they would have likely died miserably, but the current approach also exceeded End's calculation.
"Even if he changed his mind and became ruthless for the sake of victory, the effect is real."
The antibody failed to work. The tsunami created by the Venusians was completely different from the current one. It had never imagined that an Imaginary-side human, a powerful being with multiple Authorities, would transform into a breach for the sea, even acquiring some of the 'Cocoon's' functions.
Injected at point-blank range, It was engulfed by the tsunami. Feeling Its energy rapidly dissipating and seeing the white-haired youth being washed away in front of It, End suddenly felt it was reasonable again.
"To surpass me, sacrifice is necessary. At least he preserved human civilization, and these people are the price."
"Bullshit! Ryan would never use us as stepping stones!"
A slightly sharp voice rang out. End turned its head and saw the green-haired, snake-eyed woman struggling in the 'seawater.' Her hair was messy, and she looked quite disheveled.
Before the tsunami subsided, the turbulent Quantum energy would greatly weaken the attack. End didn't punish her insolence but was rather curious.
"Don't you understand? This stone heart of mine cannot be washed away. But you are different. You will be utterly lost in the vast Sea of Quanta. Given your Honkai energy intensity, you will be exhausted in about five hundred years. Oh, that human girl next to you might last about a hundred years longer."
"At that time, every second will be despair, and every minute will be solitude. Of course, if you're lucky, you might be thrown into a World Bubble to linger."
It politely described the desperate future to Mobius. The territories occupied by the Wandering Humanity Plan were not even a bubble in the Sea of Quanta, let alone capable of rescuing their comrades.
Why does this wooden stake get to live a hundred years longer than me? I'm the one who's supposed to be immortal!
Mobius's snake eyes glared. In perhaps the most commanding moment of her life, she said, "You don't understand anything! If he wanted to be ruthless, he wouldn't be fighting you at all!"
"I genuinely don't understand this contradictory action," End admitted honestly, then gently shook its head. "But human nature is complex. Different environments give rise to different thoughts. He felt despair. Paying some price is understandable, and you are that price."
Human nature? Choice? Price?
Mobius and Hua were speechless simultaneously. Ryan was indeed utilizing End's experience. It was his certainty of their importance that caused It to spare those ten seconds.
In that case, he should have a chance to defeat End and reclaim the embers of civilization, right?
Both looked up at the azure helix above the 'Cocoon.' The helix was slowly ceasing its rotation. Even submerged in the sea, with the distance stretching across dimensions, Hua still extended her index finger, pointing into the distance.
"Senior Brother, I'll wait for you!"
"He can't hear you. Save your strength. Wait, Fatty, tell me clearly, who does he like the most?!"
The voices faded. The human bodies, like foam, were diluted by the tsunami. End instinctively took half a step forward to pursue, then abruptly stopped.
It realized this was a waste of effort, a waste of time. When Ryan had calculated to this moment, he wouldn't give It a chance to track them. Or rather, the real battle was just beginning.
The tsunami subsided. The helix dissipated.
And a man's footsteps, like the hands of fate, were close at hand.