When he first proposed it, it was so whimsical that it made even the Old Deus of Doubt stammer. The Old Deus even, for the first time ever, said a long string of words. However, both He and Think fell into silence after a few demonstrative experiments.
To this day, this dream that contained the hopes of all Imanity had become even more real. After an unknown amount of Fiend flesh and blood was put in, one day Su'er suddenly saw everything—everything on this planet. He felt as if he had become the planet itself. With the ubiquitous Spirit Corridor, he had a bird's-eye view of the entire planet.
Rivers, magma, mantle, mountains, atmosphere, Old Deus... This divine sensation was fleeting, but Su'er genuinely felt the pulsation of this planet beneath his feet, its breathing, its rhythm.
Unfortunately, it was only that one time.
Even now, the entire plan had to be paused to proceed to another step. Even though Su'er really wanted to continue this safe and stable process until he truly ascended the throne of the One True God.
But unfortunately, the number of Fiends was not enough.
The inability to control lives without self-intelligence was perhaps the limitation of Su'er's unique ability. Even though the Fiends' intelligence was very low, they were still a race with intelligence. Besides the hatred that was left behind, the huge bodies of many Fiends were also extremely helpful to Su'er's plan. After all, after being fed his flesh and blood, when he could manipulate these low-intelligence guys, the impact their huge bodies brought when they entered the sea of spirit was far greater than that of other races.
Unfortunately, they were almost all used up.
The remaining Fiends that had not yet been captured had also been following their creator, not leaving a single gap, which was truly regrettable.
The clearing of the Fiends on the continent also made Imanity's activities safer. In addition, with the disappearance of the Werebeast and the three-way standoff between the Elf alliance, the Dwarf alliance, and the God of War's camp, the entire continent had, at some point, become a place where Imanity could walk freely—as long as they avoided the battlegrounds.
And besides the factor of the Fiends, another reason why the plan had to be temporarily suspended was that Su'er had a hunch—they were too scattered.
The wills that he had assimilated into a part of his own will and had melted into the sea of spirit were simply too scattered. They needed a strong will to lead and integrate them, and his lifespan, so...
[Let's begin the final plan, Riku. We are not far from victory.]
Su'er's ethereal voice was urging him.
"...Is it starting already?" Riku asked back, unable to help but look at Schwi standing beside him.
[Yeah. There's no point in delaying any further. Besides, you, me, and everyone else have already grown old, haven't we...]
Su'er could clearly see the wrinkles on Riku's face. Both he and Riku could not avoid the sharp blade of time. The older people in the settlement, who were already old, had already started to go downhill physically.
He didn't even need to reach out and touch his own face. Just the process of moving the muscles on his face when he closed his eyes could make Su'er feel what he looked like at this moment... His physical age should have been younger than Riku's, but he looked even older than Riku at this moment. That was the consequence of a drastic loss of his body's most fundamental life force.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered convenient technologies like cloning. However, after Think listened to the concept of cloning and created a clone for Su'er, those poor clones turned into twisted, wriggling lumps of flesh at the moment they were formed due to an unknown force. Even their bones completely disappeared. No matter how many times they tried, this was the result.
In his helplessness, Su'er could only use his own flesh and blood, piece after piece.
At first, he could still use the improved healing incantations of the Elf to recover his wounds and flesh and blood. However, even the power of magic was limited. Even with a large amount of nutrients as a supplement, the constant recovery still eroded Su'er's own life force and lifespan, so much so that he had now become this withered state, only able to survive by relying on plants.
"...I understand," Although he answered this, Riku's tightly furrowed brows never relaxed. He was looking at Schwi with worry, because according to the plan, the most dangerous part of the plan would be carried out by Schwi alone.
At some point, Riku's desire to participate in the battlefield had changed—he wanted to see the smile of the Ex-Machina girl beside him.
A sincere, happy smile.
"...Won't run... Riku," Schwi looked up into Riku's eyes and whispered, holding his right hand, "Riku... loves Imanity. Su'er also loves Imanity. Schwi... also loves Imanity."
"We won't lose... Imanity won't lose. Schwi... wants to see Riku smile happily..."
The words of the vermillion-haired Ex-Machina girl drifted between the caves, but both Su'er and Riku were silent.
[Ah, that's right... We will definitely win.]
After a long time, Su'er said with determination.
There was no need to say too much. Riku looked around at the environment. The slippery and humid air, the glowing grass leaves. Living in such a deep environment could almost drive any normal Imanity mad, but Su'er had stayed here all this time, day after day.
Eleven years.
[How do I look now?]
Seeing that Riku was looking at him, Su'er raised his old face and pulled the corners of his mouth, trying to raise his arm and wave, but he could only tremble weakly due to the lack of muscle. Only his ethereal voice was showing a false sense of health.
[Am I still considered a person like this?]
"Yes, you are," He gave the answer without hesitation. Riku let go of Schwi's hand and took a few steps forward. To Su'er's surprise, he opened his arms and hugged him tightly.
"At least to me, you will always be Imanity, facing the cold world with a human heart, and protecting everyone behind your back...", Riku hugged Su'er tightly and said with gritted teeth next to his ear, "The change in appearance doesn't matter at all, and besides, it's just a tool to maintain life."
[...Is that so?]
Su'er also closed his eyes and said softly.
"Of course."
[...I thought I would have scared you guys. Nonna was really scared... I'm a little disappointed that I didn't scare you guys... Haha.]
The words in his ear were clearly light and happy, but Riku could not say another word. He just kept patting Su'er's back, breathing quickly.