The Iron Golem practically roared these words out. His voice was very loud, loud enough for all the Iron Golems present to hear him.
Hearing this Iron Golem's speech, all the Iron Golems' gazes turned toward this side at the same time, as if pulled by some invisible force.
The eyes of the Iron Golems were all complicated, impossible to describe with words.
In their eyes there was surprise, shock, terror, but the one thing missing was doubt.
Because he had spoken out the thoughts hidden deep in the hearts of all the Iron Golems.
If they had never seen sunlight, perhaps they would have accepted their situation, continuing to live in darkness.
However, reality was cruel. From the moment they were born, they had always been able to see sunlight, and could feel the warmth and brightness of the sun.
But because of their fear of the Void, they had no choice but to act like they couldn't see it, and pretend they couldn't feel it.
This helplessness and suppression had already been carved deeply into the heart of every Iron Golem.
It had already become a pain in their hearts that they could never get rid of.
———
At this moment, when he saw all the Iron Golems' gazes gathered on him, that emotional Iron Golem suddenly froze.
Only now did he suddenly realize that he had just said some things he should not have said.
Thinking of this, a chill rose up his spine, instantly flooding his entire body, throwing him into endless fear.
His face turned pale, and even began to twist and distort.
Almost purely out of instinct, he fell to his knees with a thud, raised his head toward the sky, and kowtowed devoutly.
"I..."
"Please forgive me... please forgive me..."
"Please forgive my slip of tongue... please forgive my wrongdoing..."
Seeing him so terrified, the leading Void Iron Golem walked to him, crouched down, and tried to help him up.
However, the moment the leading Void Iron Golem touched his arm, he was violently flung off.
Right now he seemed to have lost all reason, his whole body trembling nonstop, muttering "forgive me... forgive me..." over and over, as if only this could ease the fear in his heart.
Seeing this, the leading Void Iron Golem felt only bitterness and helplessness.
In just these few minutes, a single question had triggered a deep reflection on self and freedom, and behind this was the portrayal of the fate of the entire Iron Golem group.
In the beginning, they were just a group of hollow, soulless tools, absolutely loyal to the Void, carrying out every order without complaint.
However, as time passed and their contact with the outside world increased, various thoughts began to sprout.
These thoughts were like seeds, buried deep in their hearts, but because of fear, they never dared to show them.
This habit of burying them deep caused these thoughts to continue accumulating, sprouting, growing, and in the end, snowballing into something larger and larger, placing a heavy psychological burden on the Iron Golems.
As the thoughts in their hearts increased, the pressure they bore grew heavier and heavier, and eventually, because of some event or some words, their emotions might erupt.
When the suppressed emotions finally found an outlet, they burst out like a breached flood.
Once their emotions went out of control, they would fall into endless fear.
After all, their long-suppressed emotions were almost entirely dissatisfaction and complaints toward the Void. If these negative emotions were released, then what awaited them would inevitably be punishment from the Void.
To be reborn meant death, this was the true portrayal of the Iron Golems' entire lives.
They were created without their own thoughts or consciousness. They could only obey orders, carry out missions, and ultimately head toward destruction.
It was precisely because the leading Void Iron Golem had seen through this that he developed the courage to break free from the Void's control.
He wanted to shake off this shackle and search for true freedom and meaning.
However, the other Iron Golems did not have such awareness. They were still immersed in their fear and obedience toward the Void.
Seeing the Iron Golem in front of him behaving so crazily, the leading Void Iron Golem grabbed him and hauled him up.
"You think he's watching us?!!"
The leading Void Iron Golem glared at the Iron Golem he was gripping, anger bursting from his eyes.
"You think he pays attention to us?!"
"We are nothing in his eyes!"
The leading Void Iron Golem stared straight into his eyes, gripping his shoulders tightly as he roared.
"Even if he is watching us, wouldn't the result still be death?!"
Saying this, the leading Void Iron Golem paused. He swept his gaze around at the others and asked loudly, "Are we afraid of death?!"
"Every time we go on a mission we face death, have we ever been afraid?!"
"When have we ever carried out a mission without the resolve to die?!"
The leading Void Iron Golem's voice grew more and more powerful, like a roar before a volcanic eruption, as if he wanted to release all his strength.
His gaze burned as it swept across each Iron Golem, filled with firmness and determination.
"I'm not afraid of death!"
"But I'm afraid of never having truly lived!"
These words were like thunder, shocking everyone present.
"From the moment we were born until now, have we truly lived?"
The leading Void Iron Golem paused again, then continued.
"We are just mechanical executors, with no self-awareness, no emotions, no free will. Our existence is only to carry out missions and complete tasks, but that's not the life we truly want."
Saying this, the leading Void Iron Golem patted his own chest, a bitter smile appearing on his face, laughing at himself.
"Who am I?... I am Iron Golem No. 4496."
His tone carried deep helplessness and sorrow. His gaze swept over the Iron Golems again and he asked, "And you? Who are all of you?..."
But before the Iron Golems present could answer, the leading Iron Golem continued on his own.
"We can't even have names, let alone our own lives..."
His voice slowly sank, filled with endless sadness.
"I don't want to repeat these days anymore. I'm done with it!"
"And those seniors who devoted everything to the Void, what did they get?"
"Didn't they still end up dead?"
"Their deaths were unclear, meaningless deaths. Are we really going to follow in their footsteps?!"
"We're going to die in the end anyway, so why can't we fight once for ourselves?! Why can't we fight once for a new life?!"
Saying this, the leading Void Iron Golem's eyes were slightly red. After calming his emotions, he looked once more at the rest and said, "Before, we never had the right to choose."
"But now we do."
"The chance for rebirth is right in front of us..."
"This time, I want to fight once for myself!"
"This time, I want to live once for myself!"
[T/N: New novel is up—🔥I Became a Character in Honkai: Star Rail🔥. Enjoy~]