Rebirth of the Interstellar Pope <Mecha>

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

[Anno: There is a secret between Kai and me. This secret stretches back many years, to a time before I became the Pope, when An Shuo and I were just two ordinary students in Jerusalem.

At that time, interstellar wars raged across the cosmos, with warriors and religious zealots yearning for the glory of battle. During a field exercise, An Shuo lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

That's when I encountered Kai.

In truth, Kai was already dead at that point. He existed in the universe as a free consciousness, appearing only as ethereal ripples in the air.

I struck a deal with him.

He agreed to help me revive An Shuo, and in return, I offered my own original consciousness as a support.

Kai revealed that he traversed the past, present, and future of four-dimensional spacetime. He foresaw the inevitable destruction of this star system and attempted various methods to fracture and reconnect four-dimensional space at a specific point in time, allowing humanity to develop in a new direction. However, the consciousness of the stars obstructed him and ultimately led to his demise.

Even now, the stars have not released their grip on him.

His desires are audacious-he seeks to alter the future. I cannot inherit his will, so my only option is to use my consciousness to support him and evade the stars' control.

He never tried to persuade me, and I understood that he was mentally navigating through the past, present, and future. He must have known that I would one day seek something from him.

Now, in order to give Rufeite a new body, I have awakened his original consciousness.

Kai saved An Shuo, the stars restored my life, and Rufeite is not truly dead. Has the past, then, changed the future?

At this moment, the consciousness of the stars and Kai's thoughts seem to align.

Everything is hurtling toward a future that remains unfathomable.

What will this universe look like next year? Or ten, twenty years from now?

Kai said he didn't know; he hadn't traveled to the future beyond this year. Perhaps there is no future to contemplate.

Rufeite, I cannot burden you with too many details or my current predicament, nor can I offload the responsibilities of an era on the brink of collapse onto your shoulders.

Trust me, as long as I am alive, I will share the weight of this responsibility with you.]**

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Anno sat quietly before the platform, his eyes closed. Kai's ethereal white figure bent down slightly, wrapping Anno in a gentle embrace. "Oh, the free consciousness can perceive every corner of the galaxy, provided you possess enough strength. You have supported me with your consciousness for many years, and now I will take you to Jerusalem to see An Shuo. I fear the stars are already aware of his intentions, and I do not know what actions he may take."

A white chaos enveloped Anno's mind. Unlike the mecha's jump through the cosmos, there was no starlit expanse here. Anno understood that Kai sought to evade the scrutiny of the stars.

As he lost his sense of gravity, a vivid image materialized in Anno's mind: the marble bricks covered with white saints' carpets in the silver-gray hall.

In that hall, An Shuo sat quietly, adorned in his papal robes, at the spot where they had once forged a blood pact. A sphere of white light hovered silently at the center of the altar.

Anno could distinctly sense that this was the consciousness taken by Rufeite.

Kai observed, "Oh, your consciousness has lingered in the Silver Palace all this time. Your brother is truly perplexing. He obviously doesn't want you involved, yet he has stolen your consciousness and confined it here instead of utilizing it properly. What could he possibly intend? Does he wish to maintain a friendship with you after everything is said and done?"

Anno remained silent, fixated on the ball of white light at the altar's center.

Thousands of years prior, in that very spot, he and An Shuo had formed a blood pact, their palms pressed together in a vivid memory.

They were brothers, sharing the same appearance, status, and responsibilities.

Yet during the rebellion, An Shuo had abruptly changed sides and now sought to annihilate the world. Why? What fueled An Shuo's beliefs?

Before Anno could ponder further, Kai's consciousness whisked him away from the Silver Palace.

The next scene unfolded in Anno's mind: a high-level meeting of nineteen ministers at the Jialan Administrative Center.

The ionization shield was activated at full capacity. Through a layer of light blue haze, Anno observed the ministers engaged in a serious discussion around the long table of the parliament.

Kai commented, "Oh, it's impolite to eavesdrop on others, but whether you listen or not makes little difference. The military's original purpose has long been distorted. When the United Nations divided military power, it was inevitable that such a result would follow. Every effect has its cause. If Liu Yian does not rebel, then Kewei will."

"Where is Liu Yian now?" Anno inquired.

"Oh, he could be in Lolita, within the military, or perhaps he has become one of Covey's subordinates. He is a capable general-very clever, though a bit impulsive. But these matters are not our concern right now. Rufeite is not our focus either. As long as we dismantle the row of particles, I believe everything will come to an end."

Napoleon surged through the gap between the fifth dimension and thought, continuing to leap along the star belt outside the light land.

Their destination was the location of the row of particles. Anno was uncertain how many people besides An Shuo were aware of its existence.

The row of particles was created by embedding particle bombs into multi-dimensional space through spatial compression. A specific consciousness code could activate these particles. When detonated in multi-dimensional space, the bomb would trigger a reverse compression of space, subsequently drawing everything nearby in the four-dimensional realm into the multi-dimensional void. The spaces beyond the fifth dimension are devoid of fertility; entering them is akin to stepping into a dead end.

The embedding of row particles adhered to the laws of space. Once activated, the explosion could potentially consume the entire four-dimensional space into the multi-dimensional realm.

Anno recalled the coordinates of the linked particles vividly, yet he couldn't ascertain whether An Shuo was aware of them. During his time, such secrets were known only to the religious leaders. Although An Shuo had ultimately been imprisoned by him, he had once held a position as a member of the Tianjiao. It had been too long, and Anno had nearly forgotten everything.

Napoleon locked onto the coordinates, the first destination set at a forty-degree angle between the four-dimensional space and the nearest galaxy.

Perhaps due to the particles being embedded in multiple dimensions, the nearby starry sky appeared distorted, and the gravitational field of the stars had been disrupted.

Without consciousness to guide him, Anno communicated the particle activation code for this coordinate to Kai. Kai utilized his consciousness to activate the particle self-destruction program-if the row of particles were to lose their effect, they had to self-destruct in the multi-dimensional realm.

There are a total of six linked particles, and only six are needed to erase all intelligent life forms in this galaxy.

The second, third, fourth, and fifth linked particles initiated their self-destruction procedures.

However, when Napoleon transported Anno and Kai to the vicinity of the last particle, Anno spotted a red combat-form mecha standing silently outside the starry sky gate.

[Rufeite: Anno, have you forgotten? I once said that your footsteps are the direction I follow.]