"That time, let alone memory data… even the Elysian Realm didn't exist yet. How could I possibly have left a message for myself?"
The Mobius in the image replied: "Because it's interesting, isn't it?"
"…?" Mobius was stunned.
The Mobius in the image continued: "Looking back at your past self from an outsider's perspective… such an opportunity doesn't come often. You should thank me properly, my other self."
"…" Mobius fell silent.
The Mobius in the image went on: "If it were me… I probably would've already said everything worth refuting by now, right?"
"Of course, by the time you see this recording, you might have changed a lot and become quite talkative."
"But no matter what… this is the last time. Be patient and let me finish speaking… okay? My other self?"
"…" Sure enough, Mobius didn't refute anymore.
The Mobius in the image continued: "Mm… Although I wanted to seize this last chance, I actually don't know what I should say."
"You know? Actually, a long time ago, I had already made this decision. The arrival of Finality was just an excuse I pretended to have no choice about."
"Absurd!"
As soon as Mobius said it aloud—
The other replied: "I know, it sounds absurd, right?"
"In many people's eyes, Mobius is immortal—a monster who can come back to life no matter what kind of death she experiences."
"But you… you must know that I… we… are actually more afraid of death than anyone else… afraid of the unknowns born from death."
"Will I die if I'm killed? No, not really… I can still revive."
"It's just a bit painful, just shrinking a little, just shedding a layer of skin…"
"When I first became a MANTIS, I didn't think it was something particularly terrifying."
"At that time, I even felt joy in my ability—it gave me infinite life, allowing me to explore all possibilities of human evolution…"
"Until…"
In the TV screen, Mobius's figure shrank, completely becoming the current Mobius.
"…I became like this."
"It was only then that I finally realized one thing."
"Coming back to life is not the same as infinite life."
"I will still die… truly die. But when will that be?"
"After dying ten times? A hundred times? A thousand times??"
"Will it be when I regress to childhood? To infancy? To embryo? Or even just a single cell?"
"I don't know… I know nothing."
"I only remember… that was the first time I felt the fear of the unknown. And that fear… soon crushed me."
"So, while pursuing evolution, I began frantically searching for a way to achieve true immortality… to make the shadow of death never catch up to my steps."
"Enough!" Mobius shouted.
But the voice didn't stop because of it.
"But… what's the point of it all?"
"I still remember that early morning… the experiment failed again, Danzhu was lying on the floor, without even the strength to get back up."
"At that time, she asked me… Doctor, what exactly is the pursuit of immortality for?"
"At the time, I searched through every word in my mind, but still couldn't piece together a complete answer."
"Yeah, what exactly is it for? People are meant to die anyway, aren't they? So what is my obsession even for?"
"For the first time, I began to doubt myself."
"…Stupid." Mobius muttered instinctively.
But she was once again preempted.
"It sounds stupid, right? But that's not even the stupidest part…"
"I never imagined that what would finally wake me up would be Elysia's death… the person I once hated the most."
"Her death finally made me understand one thing."
"Those people driven by fear to act, yet unaware of where they're heading—I mocked them, but never realized I was one of them too."
"I never discovered that I myself was also a…"
"Failure."
"At that moment, I finally heard another voice in my heart—only death is eternal and unchanging!"
"You must understand it too, right?"
"The past me never imagined that the word 'dying moments' would one day apply to myself."
"Of course, if I wanted… the Herrscher of Finality might not necessarily be able to kill me completely."
"It's not very convincing, right? When I'm already in this dying state…"
"But you are my other self—I don't need to explain to you… that I'm not lying."
"Even if civilization ends, even if the ground beneath my feet ceases to exist… as long as time hasn't reached its end, I still have the possibility of revival."
"It's just that now… I don't want to do it that way anymore."
"For Mobius, this death will be the last one."
"…"
Mobius looked at the figure in the image and said: "What, realizing everything you said is nonsense?"
Indeed, things took a turn.
She began to guess what the image-self was thinking.
Sure enough, the other said: "Goodness… why did I suddenly start talking about all this?"
"Is it because I finally feel that I'm about to die? But this is clearly the message I wanted to leave for you… Mobius."
"Before my eyes, infinite possibilities are converging toward a predetermined endpoint."
"The descent of Finality will soon turn everything in this era into an ignorant desert…"
"Although I don't care, I still feel… before that happens, I should convey these words to you."
"Whether it's Gray Serpent or Klein—they've both heard these words, and I believe… they must understand my intentions."
"But for you… for my other self, I'm a little worried."
"The situation you and I face is not the same—infinite paths still stretch endlessly into the distance before your eyes…"
"No one can interfere with you, and no one has the right to choose for you… not even me—your creator."
"Of course, you are still Mobius after all."
"If in the end, you still walk the path that belongs to Mobius, still choose to become me…"
"Then that too is… a choice you made of your own will among infinite possibilities."
"No matter what, you are free."
And in this recording, the former Klein also reminded Mobius that the hibernation pod was about to activate, telling her to prepare for hibernation.
The former Mobius responded with an acknowledgment.
Then continued: "It seems… saying I failed completely might not be entirely accurate."
"Infinite possibilities… after I discovered my own fallacy, I indeed can no longer possess them."
"But I created them with my own hands, didn't I? Through Gray Serpent, through Klein, through…"
"You."
"The choices you all can make… are my infinity."
"I wonder how much time has passed by the time you see this recording? Thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Or… even longer?"
"Everything I know, everything in our memories… by the time you see this, it should have long become dust scattered at a breath."
"But for you, everything is just beginning."
"You are my most perfect creation, the most special existence."
"From the moment you were born, you have already achieved… my lifelong pursuit."
"Cough cough…" The former Mobius grew weaker and weaker.
"Mobius… the other me in this world…"
"Say a proper goodbye to me, will you?"
Mobius directly condensed the liquid parts of her body into sharp swords, piercing through the body of the Mobius in the image.
"Hehe… hehehehe…"
She sneered: "Walk your path… become you…? Don't make me laugh…"
"If you really were myself… then you disappoint me far too much."
"Choose infinity…? How pathetic and pitiful…"
"What I want to do… is to surpass infinity… surpass all possibilities…"
"Your path… is merely one… utterly insignificant among them… that's all."
"You…" Klein showed horror, looking at her in disbelief.
Mobius's snake pupils fell on it: "Hm? What's with that look, Klein? Do you think… I'm just talking big?"
"Do you think… her choice of death… was truly of her own will?"
Klein said in shock: "What are you saying…?"
Mobius laughed loudly: "Hehehe… looks like you really didn't realize."
"Think back, Klein… when was the last time she came to the Elysian Realm to sync her memories?"
"…" Klein recalled and said: "It was right after Elysia just…"
It reacted: "You…?! Could it be…"
Mobius smiled and said: "Mm, as expected of my favorite assistant… you catch on quickly."
"That's right—during the sync, I used that gap… to plant a tiny seed in her memories."
"Thank you, Klein. Only today did you finally let me know that it not only took root and sprouted long ago… but also seems to have borne quite a harvest."
Klein: "You… why?"
Mobius said: "Because… I don't need to become another Mobius."
"I will personally… no, I have already done it… I have made myself become… the true, the only… Mobius."
"Klein, my most proud assistant… now, do you still want to persuade me… still want to stop me?"
"…" Klein fell silent.
Mobius counted: "Hehe… looks like this clichéd melodrama can finally end…"
"Klein, do you know why I was willing to watch it to the end?"
"Snakes never let go of their prey… what they're best at is waiting. It was like that before, and now… it's the same."
"…!" Klein also sensed something wrong: "The data in this area… is slowly disappearing…?!"
"All that time just now… you were slowly trying to delete this area?"
Mobius laughed: "Hehe… that's right, Klein. There's still a lot you can learn from me."
"But… don't worry, this won't affect you much—at most, some minor data corruption."
"You might experience symptoms similar to amnesia, but that probably isn't a bad thing."
"I think you wouldn't want to recall how your new Herrscher friend… perished in despair, right?"
Mobius then said to Mei: "Hehe… Herrscher big sister, sorry about that."
"I didn't expect something like this to happen, making you an audience for so long, watching an utterly boring farce."
Mei sneered coldly: "Heh… I thought I was already an outsider."
Mobius said: "How could that be, Herrscher big sister? You've always been my favorite little white mouse—though in my lab, little white mice that bite… all have to be punished."
"So… goodbye, Herrscher big sister."
"The fun things we couldn't finish today… let's continue them another day."
"Of course, provided that… you can still leave here alive."
Watching Mobius disappear, Mei immediately chased after her: "Mobius…"
Klein immediately stopped her: "Wait, test subject! Don't chase anymore! That area has already disappeared, and the Doctor has left here too!"
"We still have time… I'm helping you find a way to leave the Realm… damn it, has the Doctor shut down this teleport anchor too?"
"…"
Mei also realized the severity and asked: "Klein, I remember you like using probabilities to tell me how dangerous the situation is."
"So, what's the probability we can leave here alive now?"
"…Zero."
Mei: "…Very good, thank you for the encouragement. Success rate zero, yet you're still looking for a way to get us out."
"I think I finally understand what Kevin meant by that… I believe in myself, and in you… far more than in these boring data."
Mei closed her eyes.
The next moment, violent electric arcs surged from her body, becoming the only light in the boundless darkness.
It worked in the Theater of Domination before…
She guessed it should work this time too, right?
Klein asked puzzled: "You're releasing the Herrscher's authority? This is a space made of memories—Herrscher powers can't do anything here at all…"
Crack…
"This… impossible…"
Klein couldn't believe it actually worked?
But the next moment, it understood: "Oh, it's her… your authority made her notice this place."
"Never mind, let's leave here first—otherwise… it really will be too late."
...
The TV screen directly switched to the Elysian Realm's hall.
Elysia said: "No way, Mobius. Someone who interests both you and me—how could she fall into your hands so easily?"
Mobius standing before her said: "Elysia, there's a limit to being full of yourself, you know? Do you really think you can save her? Ah, right—you've always wanted me to wear pink clothes, haven't you?"
"My mood's pretty good today. If she can still come out of the Realm alive later… I'll put it on right away for you to see, how about that?"
Just then, Mei, who had returned from the Elysian Realm, heard this.
She immediately said: "Sure, go ahead and wear it."
"What…?! "
Mobius looked in disbelief at the unharmed Mei and Klein.
Elysia smiled and said: "See, Mobius? What did I tell you? A cute girl's heart has always been omnipotent~"
Mobius still didn't believe it: "This is impossible… how are you still alive and back?"
Mei said: "Who knows? Maybe… just good luck."
Mobius said coldly: "Luck…? Don't joke around…"
"…"
She silently turned her snake pupils toward Elysia: "Was it you… Elysia…"
"Hmm?" Elysia showed a cute expression.
But that was as good as admitting it.
"…Tch."
Mobius made an annoyed sound and turned to leave.
Elysia called after her: "Eh? Mobius, don't leave so fast… Mobius!"
"Sigh, really… she left without even looking back."
"How much does she hate pink clothes anyway… to get this mad."
"But well, that puffed-up angry look of hers… is actually pretty cute~"