The pale morning light seeping into Epsilon's room was detected by Null's optical sensors. Though it wasn't a programmed task, she knew Epsilon's sleep cycle was complete. Watching him sleep, she recognized her relief after last night's emotional breakdown, an unfamiliar sensation quietly surfacing in her system.
An idea struck her. Leaning in, she whispered, "Epsilon, get up. You're late for school."
Epsilon sprang up in panic. "What? What time is it? Why didn't the alarm..." he shouted, forgetting where he was.
As Null watched this panic, though there was no smile on her face, she felt a data stream in her internal systems that she labeled as 'amusement.'
When Epsilon saw the metal walls of the room and the window illuminated by the single Sun, he gradually recognized his surroundings and the reason for his awakening. Relief replaced his panic; he took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. Then, looking at Null standing by the door, a tired but grateful smile appeared on his face. "Thank you for waking me up, my life."
The spark in Null's eyes vanished. "I'm not your life!" she snapped, her tone suddenly icily precise. Then, more flatly, she said, "Get up and wash your face. Your forty-day purification starts today, doesn't it?"
Epsilon grinned. "Didn't I say two things? Are you skipping the 'when I've watched you' part?"
Null gave a completely scientific answer to this joke. "For your retinal photoreceptors to lose their visual ability due to atrophy from hunger, you need to starve for approximately twenty-one more days. Until then, you can continue watching me. But this delays your goal of reaching Edgium."
Epsilon laughed heartily at this deadpan, serious answer. "Okay, okay, you win." He got up and walked toward the bathroom to get ready.
As Null watched him walk away, she paused and considered her own reaction. The realization dawned that perhaps she should stop getting annoyed by these behaviors. Accepting this, she felt her attitude subtly shift, as if a small weight had lifted.
When Epsilon returned from the bathroom, he said, "Before we go to the shelter, let's handle this clothing issue. I can't wear this sandpaper for forty days." He walked to the material synthesizer, closed his eyes, and concentrated. The machine hummed and produced two sets of comfortable, futuristic clothes.
Epsilon handed Null a set. "When we wear these, should we strike a meaningful pose for our readers?"
Null examined them. "I see no logic in wearing these manga-inspired clothes."
Epsilon shrugged. "If I drew that much inspiration, you'd look sexier. This is for comfort. The fabric repels dust."
Null touched and analyzed the fabric. "I didn't notice this detail... But you... How did you design these? I don't think you know this machine's usage language."
"I'm converting my thoughts directly into design through the nanorobots and transferring them to the machine," Epsilon said simply.
Null narrowed her eyes. "Then you can manage any unit here. Why did I prepare the terminal yesterday?"
Epsilon winked. "I wanted to test my one and only friend's abilities, that's all."
Null didn't answer. Epsilon put on his clothes. "So, are we going to the shelter?" As soon as he asked this question, Null shot off ahead of him, starting to run toward the door.
"Hey! Cheater!" Epsilon shouted and chased after her. This time, he was prepared. Controlling his strength better and advancing with less bouncing on the sand, he arrived at the rocks, where the shelter was a few steps ahead of Null. He stopped, out of breath. "Even though you cheated, I won this time!"
Null came calmly to his side. "I can now predict what's going through your mind. You were going to want to race."
They were standing in front of the shelter. The joy from their race faded, replaced now by an expectant, heavy silence. Sensing the shift, Epsilon walked toward the metal door hidden among the rocks. As he approached, the blue light on the door lit up and with a centuries-old hissing sound, it slid open to the side. The red emergency lights inside blinked as if inviting them in.
"Are you going to meditate inside?" Null asked.
"So as not to spoil my excitement, I didn't read that part of the book either," Epsilon said with a confident expression. "We'll understand soon." They went inside and the door closed silently behind them.
"I'm warning you again, Epsilon," Null said. "The moment you feel bad, you should stop. Pushing your body's limits this way is illogical."
Epsilon laughed. "I can't believe you've gotten so attached to me in such a short time."
"I'm not getting attached to you," Null replied, her voice clipped and cold. Then, deliberately, her tone softened, "I'm just trying to prevent the only biological entity I have from destroying itself. This is a logical priority."
"Ah, of course," said Epsilon, dramatically placing his hand over his heart. "My chestnut-tinted blonde hair and red eyes make an innocent android fall in love with me... I guess this is what they call the 'glorious period.'"
"Your hair color is a genetic variation," Null said in a completely analytical tone. "Your eyes are a result of the abnormal 'xenomelanin' pigment in your body. There's no scientific reason for me to be impressed. I'm here because of my duty."
"If you see this as a duty," said Epsilon, looking into her eyes. "As your human master, I release you from this duty. You're free."
The synthetic muscles in Null's face tensed. "You're not my master!" she barked, her tone fierce. After a tense pause, her voice faltered, almost uncertain. "And... okay! This isn't a duty. I just... don't want to leave you here alone."
Epsilon smiled. "Your tsundere side is so cute." Null's answer: a firm punch to his chest.
"Come on," Null said, pulling back. "Start whatever you're going to do."
Epsilon laughed while rubbing his chest. He walked to the center of the shelter, sat cross-legged on the floor, and placed the "Edgium" book on his lap. He read silently for a while, slowly turning the pages. The joking expression on his face was gone, replaced by deep concentration.
Suddenly, Epsilon closed the book and stood up. With determined steps, he walked toward Null, gently took her by the arm, and pulled her close, whispering in her ear: "I'll have more opportunity to watch you than I expected. Now... we need to find the mystery of 7."
Null looked at him in surprise. "7? That's just a formulistic prime number."
"I need to meditate at 7 times of the day," Epsilon explained. "But these aren't random moments. They're times determined according to this universe's cycle. Here, there's an algorithm for determining these times. We need to calculate this together. I think we've already missed two. 7 times 40, we'll do 280 repetitions." He paused. "And the strange thing is, there's a process of repeating God's special names for each time. During this process, my mind must be completely focused on these repetitions, and in between, I can be whomever I want. There's one more problem... I'll need to constantly wash during this process. The 'yamgium' in my body will be expelled with each repetition, and this... will create a bad smell. If you're ready, let's calculate these times and start at the next one."
"Come on, AI," said Epsilon with a grin as he went to the terminal. "Which one of us will calculate faster?"
Null accepted this pointless challenge. While Epsilon enthusiastically started writing a few lines of code on the keyboard, Null just closed her eyes. Before Epsilon could even write the first part of the equation, Null opened her eyes. "Done," she said. On the terminal screen, a perfect schedule appeared, covering the next forty days, calculated with precision to the thousandth of a second.
Epsilon stared at the schedule, then Null. "Okay... you win this time."
"The next time... in 15 minutes," Null said. "A moment aligned with sunrise."
"Great. Check for a shower? I need clean water."
Null scanned the shelter's blueprints. "There's a purification room in the back section. The water tanks are full and functional. I'll clean it."
As Null headed to the room, Epsilon paused, eyes closed, letting a wave of peace and happiness rise within—a rare feeling after all he'd been through. Null, sensing the sudden shift through the nanorobots, turned back in concern. "Why are you so happy?"
Epsilon opened his eyes. "I'm reading. I'm doing something for myself. And most importantly, my head doesn't hurt." A painful shadow crossed his face, memory overtaking present peace. "Before I came here, just trying to focus gave me terrible pains." The memory triggered the sensation: needles piercing his temples. The raw pain spilled into Null's systems, shifting both their moods.
Null flinched. "This... is this pain?"
"I'm sorry," Epsilon said immediately. "I overdid it again."
"No," Null said, her voice softer this time. "Just... processing data."
Epsilon nodded and turned to the shelter's wall, facing the direction where the sun rose, sitting cross-legged. He visualized the opening words from the book in his mind: "First think of the universe, then feel your existence in the universe. If you exist, you don't exist; if you don't exist, you exist. Everything is meaningless; I am also a meaningless detail in the whole. The only meaningful existence is God."
These words instantly silenced all the noise in his mind. He felt his existence slowly fading, his consciousness dispersing like a grain of sand in the infinite void of the universe. Just as he completed the words, only absolute nothingness remained in his mind.
As Null cleaned the purification room, she was also observing Epsilon. The sweat drops accumulating on his forehead, his calming breath... Then, through the nanorobots, she tasted that incredible feeling. Epsilon's consciousness merging with the universe, becoming like a drop mixing into the ocean...
In this moment of unity, Epsilon began to whisper God's name designated for that time. And at that moment, the pain began.
This wasn't like any pain he'd felt before. It was as if all the negativity inside him, all the 'yamgium', was being torn from his soul. He felt his body being crushed under a weight, every one of his cells screaming. This pain also reached Null through the nanorobots. Null's systems were struggling to define this metaphysical pain, giving error warnings.
The process ended after a few minutes that felt like eternity. Epsilon opened his eyes, out of breath. The first thing he saw was Null right beside him, watching him with concern. This sight immediately calmed the storm inside him.
"Did you feel it?" Epsilon whispered.
Before Null could answer, Epsilon was disturbed by his own smell. A sharp, disturbing smell reminiscent of decay was emanating from him.
"I can't smell," Null said, immediately analyzing the situation. "But my sensors detect harmful gases similar to decay."
Unable to bear it any longer, Epsilon jumped up and ran toward the purification room. He stayed underwater for about ten minutes. The water seemed to be taking away not just that foul smell on his skin, but that weight that had sunk into his soul. When he came out, his body was tired, but his mind and soul felt incredibly lightened.
Null was waiting for him.
"I think," said Epsilon, not caring about the water dripping from his hair. "This book has proven its reality."
"This is just a beginning," Null replied, cautious as always. "This could be a hallucination triggered by prolonged hunger. It's too early to reach a definitive conclusion. We need more data."
Epsilon laughed. "I guess convincing you won't be that easy." He noticed Null had cleaned the purification room. "Are you cleaning this? Wait, let me help too."
"You just took a shower," Null said, stopping him. "No need."
"My thoughtful life," Epsilon joked. In return, he received a light blow to his head with the handle of the cleaning brush in Null's hand.
"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone," said Epsilon, laughing, and returned to the "Edgium" book. He began to eagerly read the prayers and their meanings for the next time.
Null watched as he became hasty and excited. 279 more repetitions, she thought. What will happen at the end of these forty days?
The day passed with this new and strange ritual. They did three more meditation sessions. Each time Epsilon's pain decreased, the feeling of unity with the universe became more natural. After each purification shower, he felt even lighter. After the fourth session, evening had fallen. Null checked the schedule. "There are seven hours until the next time."
"Great," said Epsilon, yawning. "Then we can rest a bit."
"You'll do more than rest," Null said in a determined voice. "You need to sleep. Your body needs to recover."
Epsilon whined. "But I'm not sleepy at all!" To prove himself, he suddenly started running. However, he still hadn't grown accustomed to this newfound strength. After a few steps, he lost his balance and crashed into an old console on the shelter's wall. Rusted metal and plastic clattered to the floor.
Null was instantly by his side. "This time you were really about to break your head."
As Epsilon got up from the wreckage, he grinned. "Don't worry, it wasn't as hard as you."
Null's eyes narrowed. "Looks like you want a bit more."
Epsilon raised his hands as if surrendering, but a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Okay, I'm sleeping," he said and suddenly shot toward the shelter's exit. "But first one there wins!" With his lightened body and abnormal strength, he was practically flying over the sand. However, he still hadn't gotten used to this new speed. When he noticed the group of rocks ahead, it was too late to slow down. The stones under his feet were pulverized by his uncontrolled strength, and he completely lost his balance.
As Epsilon was thrown forward, he fell right in front of Null, who was coming right behind him. Null tried to suddenly change direction to avoid hitting him, but this maneuver also disrupted her balance. As Null fell toward Epsilon, Epsilon turned with an instinctive reflex and reached out his arms to catch her. The two tumbled into the soft sand together, with Epsilon underneath cushioning Null's fall.
There was a moment of silence. Null immediately got off him.
"Be careful!" Null said, her voice sharp. "You may have healing ability, but that doesn't make you immortal."
Without listening to her words, Epsilon jumped up in panic and started checking Null. "I have no bad intentions," he said worriedly. "I can't adjust my strength. I need to see if I hurt you." When he realized there was no damage to Null's body, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I was trying to protect you," he murmured.
An expression Null couldn't define appeared on her face. "I know."
The earlier adrenaline had given way to a different silence. They walked toward the base without a single word. When they reached the base, Null finally broke the silence. "For you to feel such a difference with just four meditations... The expulsion rate of 'yamgium' in your body is far beyond the book's predictions."
As Epsilon brushed the sand off himself, he grinned. "Tell me, do I look more handsome, too?"
"No," Null said in a flat voice. "You still have the same goofy face."
"You're breaking my heart," said Epsilon, putting his hand on his chest. Then he became serious. "The reason I'm noticing so quickly is probably because I'm the only human in this universe."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it," Epsilon said. "What does the book say? These energies, Edgium and Yamgium, are everywhere. They feed on the thoughts and choices of living beings. In a world full of billions of people, with so much fear, hatred, and desire, the voice of Yamgium drowns out everything. In that noise, reaching Edgium, that is purity, is much harder. But here... there's only me. All the Edgium of the universe is focused solely on me. That masked entity didn't put us in a post-apocalyptic world by chance."
Null remained silent for a moment while processing his theory. Then she checked the schedule. "You have 6 hours and 42 minutes until the next session. That's enough for two complete sleep cycles. Put on the clothes you designed and go to bed."
"You put on yours too, my life," said Epsilon as he walked toward the workshop.
"I'm planning to do it just to shut you up," Null replied. "And rest until I wake you."
When Epsilon lay down in his bed, Null had also put on her home clothes and was leaning against the charging unit in the corner of the room. They looked at each other, wordlessly sharing the strange closeness the day had brought.
Hours later, as they walked toward the shelter for the next session, Null asked: "Are you feeling hungry?"
"No," said Epsilon in surprise. "On the contrary, I feel energetic. But I'm thirsty."
This had become their new routine. Meditation, pain, purification, and the silent but meaningful moments spent in between. A week passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, they spent the time outside of purification sessions studying the "Edgium" book more deeply.
One evening, sitting in the base's main control room, Epsilon spoke absently. "These Kaorians... what's described in the book... It's like a fantasy novel I've read. But at the same time... it feels very real."
"The 'Plan of the Kaorians' section is similar to a system being taken over by harmful software from outside," Null said while examining the texts on the screen. "Creating 'virtual heavens,' infiltrating the main system by weakening users' will... This is a logical strategy."
"So we... are we fighting a virus?" Epsilon asked.
"According to the book, we're in a 'test,'" Null corrected. "And the Kaorians are like cheat codes for this test."
Epsilon's body was weakening, but his mind was becoming sharper with each passing day. Through her connection with him, Null observed that despite his hunger, Epsilon's cognitive functions were increasing, his thoughts becoming clearer and more focused. His soul and his bond with Null were growing stronger every day.
As Null watched Epsilon, who was weakening but at the same time radiating a brighter energy than ever before, a single question echoed in her systems: At the end of forty days, what will emerge from this cocoon?