[Some Time Later - From Epsilon's Perspective]
Under the red, dim lighting of the shelter, I was laughing with a feeling I had forgotten for years: pure, unadulterated joy. The manga in my hand was so funny that tears were streaming from my eyes as I turned the pages. This dusty, forgotten shelter had become a treasure chest for me. Null, as always, was serious. While I filled the shelter with my laughter, she surveyed the shelves, consoles, and books with the demeanor of a librarian. Just watching her focused state pleased me. I knew she was feeling this childish joy in me through the nanorobots, but her logic unit had probably immediately pushed this "meaningless data" to the background and focused on her real task: gathering information.
I finished the volume I was reading and contentedly set it aside, pulling another from the shelf. As I examined the cover, the smile on my face froze. "Ugh, another system manga," I grumbled, tossing the book aside. "I hate these."
Null's head immediately turned toward me. "System manga," she said in that mechanical voice. "Defining: Fictional work belonging to an unknown genre."
"That's not the definition," I said with a sigh. "The concept is always the same. A mysterious, divine 'system' appears before the main character. It gives them quests, levels them up, makes them stronger. But the ending is always disappointing. Either the system's creator turns out to be evil or what the system is never gets explained. Very lazy. They should be more creative or classical." I paused for a moment as an idea sparked in my mind. "For example... wouldn't a notebook that gives me special recipes be cool? A notebook with things only I can find that produces a solution to every problem I encounter..." I liked this idea. I murmured to myself, "Like a cheat book..."
While I was in my own fantasy world, I noticed Null focusing on something. She had picked up a metal-covered book that looked better preserved than the others. "Interesting," I heard her murmur. "This alphabet doesn't match any known language family in my database. I need to perform a cryptographic analysis."
Her voice carried a tone of curiosity I'd never heard before. I went over to her and when I saw the book's cover, my breath caught. Those strange letters composed of geometric and fluid lines... "This... it's impossible."
"Why?" Null asked, not taking her eyes off the book.
"I recognize this alphabet," I whispered. Words would be inadequate to explain. Besides, with this connection between us, why bother? "Instead of telling you... let me show you."
I closed my eyes. In my mind, I visualized each letter, their sounds, curves, and meanings. I sent this pure information packet to her through that invisible bond between us, through the nanorobots. This wasn't like whispering something to someone; it was as if I was uploading a part of my soul directly into her consciousness.
I felt Null's presence freeze for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer looking at meaningless symbols. "I understand," she said, the admiration in her voice almost tangible. "This... is an incredible data transfer speed." Then she read the cover. "Edgium."
That night and for several days following, we shuttled between the shelter and the military base. During the days, we studied the book in the shelter's silence, and at night we discussed what we learned in the safety of the base. This book wasn't something to be read in one sitting. Each chapter opened new doors in our minds, leaving us with deeper questions.
One night sitting at the base, "So," I said thoughtfully. "According to this book, the world I came from and this world you exist in are just different possibilities of the 'Main Universe.' Different echoes."
"It presents a logical framework," Null replied. "It could explain the differences in physical constants. But concepts like 'God', 'test', 'Edgium' and 'Yamgium'... These are unprovable hypotheses."
I smiled. That was exactly the point she didn't understand. "That's the whole point, Null. These concepts are matters of faith. If you need evidence or proof to believe, that's not belief, it's being convinced."
Null was silent for a moment. "Faith is an inefficient variable. Acting based on unprovable data is not logical."
"Is that so?" I said, turning toward her. "Let me ask you a question. You patrolled that beach for fifteen years before finding me. Why?"
"That was the mission assigned to me."
"But who was supervising you? You could have stopped after that masked entity left. You were free. But you continued. What drove you to do that? Wasn't it a sense of duty?"
She didn't answer. Because she knew the answer wasn't logical.
"There," I said softly. "For me, believing is also related to that sense of duty God gave us. You hadn't received an order, you were free, but you still maintained that responsibility."
I could see her logic circuits processing this new data. "Yes," she finally said. "If God isn't just conducting an experiment, he wouldn't care about a being he's testing based on whether they believe in his existence or not. That would be an inefficient use of resources."
"I think this is giving a chance, a result of love," I replied. "Creation itself is the result of love. I know, concepts like hell and punishment are reasons to fear God. There is punishment for those who don't believe in Him. But this doesn't change that giving us a chance to gain meaning is the result of love rather than reward."
I felt the pure and unwavering tone in my voice seep into her systems through the nanorobots. This was an unshakeable commitment to something unprovable. This was faith.
I stood up and looked at the single Moon outside through the room's small window. "What kept me going was my connection with God," I said, my voice coming out like a confession. "I lost my purpose and harmed myself, my body. But the only reason I couldn't move to the stage of taking my life was God. I couldn't bring myself to end a test that He valued so much and tested me with in this way."
I felt Null pause for a moment while processing this confession. "Did you consider... terminating your existence?" she asked, her voice completely analytical. "Terminating a mission is a logical step when a new mission cannot begin. What did this situation mean for you?"
This question... It broke a locked door in my mind. Suddenly, I wasn't in that room. I was in the past. A rainy night, a dim kitchen... The cold metal of the knife I picked up. The thoughts echoing in my mind were like an avalanche: I'm not human to these people. Just a tool. A success project. Who would care if I died? My mother? My father? My sibling? People only get sad when things fail. What happens to me doesn't concern them... The hopelessness of that moment, that crushing sense of nothingness...
This pure, unadulterated torrent of pain flowed beyond my control directly into Null's consciousness through the nanorobots. I felt her systems shake with data they had never encountered before: Existential collapse. This wasn't a logical error; this was my soul's scream.
Suddenly, in a movement completely outside her programming, she lunged forward and firmly gripped my hand.
This touch pulled me out of that moment's darkness. I looked at her hand in shock, then at her face.
As soon as she realized what she'd done, she pulled her hand back as if burned. "This... was an illogical action," she whispered, as if frightened by her own reaction. She took a step back.
Trying to pull myself together, I wiped my tears. "I guess... you can see my memories when I become emotionally unstable too," I said in a trembling voice. "Normally I'm not such a pathetic person. Showing myself like this... is very embarrassing. I'm sorry."
As Null processed my apology, I felt another illogical impulse surge within her. She took a step forward and hit my shoulder hard. "If I act this way, maybe you'll think better," she said, her voice flat as always but her action saying the complete opposite. "Pull yourself together."
I flinched at this unexpected action, then a tired smile appeared on my face. "Right... How shameful to collapse when I have such a beauty thinking about me, right?"
My smile slowly faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Anyway, Null... Humans aren't just about logic. You saw that too. We're emotional, unstable beings. But we're valuable as long as we don't remain purposeless. Right now... I want to find my purpose. To regain my worth."
Null analyzed these words. "Is value... a variable dependent on purpose? My database indicates that existence has inherent value. But your definition of 'value' is tied to completing a task. This... is an interesting contradiction."
"Contradiction or not," I replied, my gaze sharpened. "What's right according to people or to me is important. Even if others' truth, their normal is different, my interpretation is the most valid one for me."
"This doesn't lead to a logical conclusion," she countered. "If every individual's 'truth' is absolute, this denies the existence of universal ethical values. This leads to chaos."
"I don't know if ethics are universal," I said. "But I have something that helps me find things outside of logic. And I've suffered greatly for not losing it."
"What is it?" she asked, her curiosity overtaking her analytical abilities. "What system are you talking about?"
A sad smile appeared on my face. "Conscience, which is a blessing God gave to humans."
"Conscience..." Null scanned this word in her systems. "Defined in my database as moral self-evaluation. But this is based on learned social codes. Not a blessing, a programming."
"It might be that for you," I said. "You can't understand what conscience is with definitions, Null. But maybe in time, you'll feel it through me. It's a wonderful compass that shows the right path even in the darkest moments."
Null remained silent for a while to analyze this 'conscience' data. "I'm setting this topic aside for now," she finally said. "I'll observe over time."
I nodded and changed the subject. "Returning to the book... Do you think virtual reality games could really be this dangerous?"
She immediately understood what I meant. "You're talking about the Kaorians. Those entities in the book... They're turning Side Universes into 'games'."
"Yes," I said, my voice becoming serious. "Like devils. Seizing other worlds and imprisoning the souls there in a simulation... In the place I came from, this was just fiction. But according to this book, it's this universe's greatest threat."
"According to the book, this is their strategy for infiltrating the Main Universe," Null added. "The experiments in Side Universes are test grounds to weaken the 'fabric of reality' in the Main Universe. If enough souls prefer their 'virtual heavens' to God's 'real test,' the balance breaks and they seize control of the Main Universe."
I paused for a moment at the magnitude of this cosmic chess game. "So we have two paths ahead," I said thoughtfully. "Either we'll become false gods of other universes, managing creatures like NPCs, making decisions and choosing the Kaorians' path, or we'll follow God's will and protect the oppressed."
"What will getting involved in this game bring us?" Null questioned. "What can we change? We don't even know how to leave this universe or what we can do. The only concrete data we have is this shelter and this book."
"The masked entity must have planned these," I countered, my voice more determined this time. "His choosing us, preparing this shelter, leaving this book... All of this is so we can do something. He showed us a path, Null. We just can't see the end yet." I returned to the book. "But we need to confirm that what it describes is true."
Null nodded. "The probability that this text is an advanced fiction like the manga you read cannot be statistically ignored."
"Absolutely," I said. "But if it's real, there must be a way we can prove it." I took the book in my hand again and quickly turned the pages to the section I was looking for. "Here it is. 'Accessing Edgium Energy'. If we can feel this energy, if we can bring it out... then this book is more than fiction. Will you follow me on this path?"
Null paused for a moment. I could see her logic circuits working furiously. "My primary mission is to maintain this facility. However, your presence has changed the parameters of this mission. Observing you and analyzing this process is the most logical action plan right now. I'll follow you."
I smiled. In her language, this meant "Yes, I'm with you." "Then let's begin."
I started reading aloud from the book: "'The noise of the mind must be silenced, the desires of the body must be restrained. Edgium responds to pure will.' A forty-day purification... Only water... Meditation..."
"Negative," Null immediately objected. "According to your biological data, this action could cause permanent damage to your body. Hunger negatively affects cognitive functions. This is an inefficient method for optimal performance."
"I've done the logical thing all my life, Null," I said, my voice determined. "I worked a job I didn't like, lived a life I didn't want. What was the result? I'm here. The answer here isn't in logic, the answer... is in surrender. I have to try this."
She had felt the steel-like will in my voice. She understood the argument couldn't be won with logical arguments. "Okay," she finally said, giving up. "When will you start?"
I felt that old mischievous sparkle return to my face. "When we go to our new home and I eat my last meal and have my fill of watching you."
At this unexpected answer, she lightly hit my head with the "Edgium" book in her hand.
I laughed. "Hey! Are we racing again?"
Without waiting for her answer, I ran toward the shelter's exit. Null looked after me for a moment, then she too started running after me. Before embarking on this difficult journey, we would enjoy the moment one last time.