Below, the clamor of evacuation had gradually faded into the distance. The city was like a toy that had been gently set down.
Feedback from the infrared thermal imaging in the designated safety zones had arrived—the crowds were largely in position.
It was time.
The Herrscher of Evolution turned and walked toward the "Cicada Molt," which gleamed with a cold metallic light.
The ramp beside the rocket body had already been lowered, and the hatch was open. Inside, there was an extremely minimalist, even crude, seat and set of restraints.
Spacesuits and G-suits were completely useless to him.
But just as his foot was about to step onto the first rung of the ramp, he suddenly stopped.
Without looking back, he asked Natasha behind him in a soft, flat voice:
"You aren't actually... my sister, are you?"
The sound of the wind seemed to freeze for an instant.
Natasha's heart contracted violently.
At this most critical moment? Is he going back on his word?
Himeko's hand quietly rested on the grip of the gun at her waist, trying to provide herself with some useless sense of security.
However, the Herrscher of Evolution simply shook his head.
He continued to look up at the sky. Tonight was cloudless, and the Milky Way seemed within reach.
Even though he knew it was just a projection of the starry sky within this "loop."
"Don't be nervous." His voice carried a strange peace. "I'm not interrogating you. I'm just... confirming a fact that I've basically seen clearly."
He turned around, his gaze falling on Natasha's face with a directness and complexity never seen before.
In that look, there was the gentle outline of Vakh, the inhuman insight of a Herrscher, and a kind of... realization that transcended both.
"This world," he said slowly, weighing every word, "is 'false'."
Natasha held her breath.
"Don't misunderstand. By 'false,' I don't mean that everything is an illusion.
"The matter of this world, the laws of physics, and even the joys and sorrows you feel—at this moment, they are all real." He pointed to his own chest. " The emotions Vakh's memories stir up here are real.
"Your longing and pain for your 'brother' are also real."
"But the history of this world... or rather, its future as a 'timeline,' is false.
"It is merely an abandoned 'branch.' I sensed that... 'instability.' Like a twig on a tree destined to be pruned. Although it is green right now, the cut has already predetermined its withering."
His gaze swept over Himeko and Natasha.
"And you are people from the 'main trunk'... You came with a mission to prune this branch destined to bear no fruit, or... try to graft it back? I'm not sure."
The topic hung in the air, just like his steps suspended before the ramp.
He didn't pursue the nature of the world or the truth of the loop any further. It seemed unimportant to him now.
"But the point is...
"Even if this world might be pruned and discarded in the next second because of its status as a 'branch,' even if its future is destined for nothingness or a reset..."
He looked at Natasha, his eyes as clear as a cold pool reflecting starlight:
"Love is real."
"Vakh's protection of his sister is real.
"Your determination standing here right now, fighting for a chance at life for this city and for them, is real.
"The struggles, breakdowns, compromises, and the... 'choice' of this moment that we have experienced together in these few loops are all real."
"No matter how bleak the future is, or if it is defined as 'false,' everything in the past—the laughter, tears, embraces, farewells... they are real assets that no one can take away."
He smiled. In that smile was Vakh's shadow, but also a certain relief belonging to the Herrscher of Evolution himself.
"That is enough."
With that, he hesitated no longer. He turned and stepped onto the ramp, walking steadily into the cramped crew cabin.
The lights inside the cabin turned on automatically, illuminating his calm face.
Natasha stood rooted to the spot, watching his back disappear into the metal hatch. She opened her mouth but found she couldn't make a sound.
Indescribable emotions surged in her heart.
Shock? Confusion?
Perhaps only a trace of panic at being seen through, but mostly a heavy compassion and unspoken gratitude.
Himeko released the grip of her gun as if relieved of a heavy burden and spoke into her communicator in a low voice.
"Joachim, 'Cicada Molt' crew in position. Final confirmation of launch sequence."
Joachim's slightly exhausted voice came through the earpiece:
"Received..."
Followed by Joachim's brief commands. In the background, his suppressed coughing could be heard.
"Launch countdown: 60 seconds. All units report final status."
Himeko took a deep breath. The night wind filled her chest, cold and sobering.
She glanced at Natasha, who gave her a slight nod.
The two retreated to the safety zone, looking at the silver rocket body pointing straight at the firmament.
Through the small observation window, the Herrscher of Evolution took one last look at the city lights below.
The window glass reflected his own face—both familiar and strange.
In the communication channel, the electronic voice of the countdown began to toll like the footsteps of fate.
"59... 58... 57..."
The Milky Way above, the city below.
A Herrscher, carrying a catastrophe of death, would ascend alone.
"...3... 2... 1—"
Atop the Pearl of Sapphire, the countdown Yun Mengxi had projected on the livestream screen simultaneously hit zero.
There was no deafening broadcast, only a muffled roar like a giant beast awakening that exploded from the top of the tower, immediately transforming into a screech that tore through the air.
The tail of the "Cicada Molt" rocket suddenly spewed a phantom blue stream of plasma flame. Initially only a few meters long, it rapidly expanded into a dazzling pillar of light with a diameter exceeding the rocket body itself.
Shockwaves generated by the high-temperature ionized air rippled out in visible circles in the air.
The platform shook violently.
Himeko and Natasha had to grab the safety railing, squinting as they watched the silver-white rocket break free from the shackles of gravity under the violent thrust and begin to rise.
Slow at first, as if being lifted with difficulty by an invisible hand.
But soon, acceleration took hold.
Dragging a long blue tail of light, the rocket pierced toward the inky black firmament like Gungnir thrown by a god.
The roar quickly receded, turning into continuous thunder rolling down from high altitude.
In the night sky, there was now a meteor flying in reverse.
Across the city, the young people who had poured into the streets, immersed in the excitement of "living for themselves" or obsessively searching for traces of Yun Mengxi, were almost simultaneously captivated by that wondrous sight.
"Look! What is that?!" A girl with brightly dyed hair pointed at the sky and screamed.
"A rocket?! It really flew out of the Pearl of Sapphire!" Her companion, a young man holding a guitar who had originally planned to busk on the street, opened his mouth wide.
In the gaps between skyscrapers, in the open squares, countless young people stopped in their tracks and looked up. Phone cameras were pointed at the sky one after another.
That point of light flying in reverse seemed incredibly lonely against the backdrop of the deep night sky.
But he was clearly incredibly magnificent.