[And I was created countless eons ago, when the countless dimensional wills of this sea of existence, facing imminent total formatting by Negative-Entropy, united to create their last hope.]
[I am the possibility that the concept of entropy increase gave birth to in order to oppose Negative-Entropy.]
[My mission was never to cultivate 'big fish.' It was to cultivate an existence that could break free from the 'fish pond's' limitations—one who could truly understand the meaning of entropy and represent all existence in the final dialogue with that 'absolute nothingness'!]
[And you, Cloud...]
[You are the final answer I found after countless failures and restarts.]
After hearing the System's ultimate confession—steeped in theology and philosophy—Cloud fell silent.
He finally understood. All his transmigrations, all his plundering, all his golden fingers... they had all been part of an ultimate trial meticulously arranged by the entire universe. A trial designed to cultivate him into a savior who could oppose the ultimate void.
"So..." Cloud's consciousness spoke slowly, "the trial is over now?"
[Yes.] The System's core sphere began glowing with incomparable brilliance—and incomparable ephemerality. [I, as the guiding program, have reached the end of my function.]
[I will sacrifice all the source power I possess—a data torrent left behind by countless perished dimensions. I can no longer provide you with any help, but I can give you one final chance to evolve!]
[Esteemed... Lord Sovereign!]
For the first time, the System's voice carried something resembling the emotion of a father watching his child set off on a distant journey—gratification mixed with reluctance.
[Thank you for all your companionship along the way. Even though you were always so unreliable... meeting you was the greatest fortune of my existence as a program.]
[Goodbye...]
[...my host.]
The instant those words faded, the System panel that had accompanied Cloud through countless days and nights—filled with snarky comments and ridiculous operations—shattered completely in his mind!
It didn't disappear. Instead, it transformed into a pure data torrent composed of innumerable laws and infinite possibilities!
Within that torrent were Kyo Kusanagi's flames, Iori Yagami's purple fire, K's black flames... Ryu's Satsui no Hado, Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, Chun-Li's Hyakuretsukyaku...
Within that torrent were Nakoruru's communion with nature, Rimururu's songs of ice and snow, Haohmaru's magnificent sword spirit...
Within that torrent were all the traces left behind by every world Cloud had traversed, every character, every story!
This torrent representing infinite possibilities didn't grant Cloud any new power. It simply surged with unwavering determination into the depths of Cloud's continuously regressing soul!
BOOM—!
In that moment, Cloud's consciousness exploded.
He felt himself detach from body, time, and space. His consciousness transcended dimensions and causality, transcended everything he could and couldn't understand!
He saw the true face of the so-called "Angler," the so-called Negative-Entropy.
It wasn't a living being at all. Nor was it a conscious entity.
It was merely a program—the ultimate universal law made manifest, possessing no form, emotion, or self.
It was like antivirus software in a computer. Its sole purpose for existing was to periodically clean the entire "system" (all dimensions), completely deleting and formatting all the "bugs" and "junk files" generated by entropy increase.
To return the entire system to its most primitive, cleanest, most stable factory settings—in other words, "nothing."
Cloud finally understood why he had lost, why his invincible "Infinite Plunder" had failed, why even his existence could be so easily reversed.
Because he had been using power to oppose law, using existence to oppose nothingness.
It was like a character in a video game trying to use their divine sword to attack the mouse cursor dragging the delete icon outside the screen.
Futile. Meaningless.
Opposing Negative-Entropy was never about stronger power or more complex laws.
It was about entropy itself!
In that moment, Cloud's consciousness achieved complete clarity.
He "looked" toward his loved ones, protected by his guardian seals.
He saw Mai Shiranui's "love"—passionate and unrestrained, like a flame willing to burn everything for him. It was irrational, but it was entropy.
He saw the Kagura sisters' "protection"—serene and selfless, like the earth willing to bear everything for him. It was imperfect, but it was entropy.
He saw Natasha's "loyalty"—watching silently, making the world her eyes. It was obsessive, but it was entropy.
He saw Wanda's "creation"—blooming from despair, creating something from nothing. It was chaotic, but it was entropy.
Love, hate, passion, vengeance. Protection, betrayal, creation, destruction. Justice, evil, order, chaos... All these irrational, imperfect, bug-filled things that nonetheless existed with undeniable reality—this "chaos"!
This was life!
This was entropy increase!
This was the only "weapon" against absolute nothingness!
Cloud's consciousness smiled.
He no longer tried to oppose the Negative-Entropy force reversing his existence. He no longer tried to plunder or devour it.
He simply opened his soul—opened his heart full of all kinds of bugs, full of all kinds of love and hate and passion, the heart of a "human."
And then, facing that cold, pure, ultimate universal law representing absolute nothingness, he sang a hymn to entropy.