Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 714 Nightmare and Promise

"Don't you... intend to kill the others?"

Tang Zijun's gaze, hidden beneath the shattered mask, was like two tangible, icy blades, fixed firmly on the massive gear-like face of the God of the Epoch.

"Just like you did back in the wasteland..."

He deliberately emphasized the words "wasteland world" and "what he did," each syllable sounding like a cold stone striking the invisible face of the God of the Era.

"Cleanse all civilizations in the universe, annihilate them all," Tang Zijun said casually. "In your program, wouldn't that also be an outcome? A clean outcome? A perfect outcome... one that won't generate negative energy, won't give birth to the Great Old Ones, and won't attract nightmares."

The immense consciousness of the God of the Era fell into an unprecedented and prolonged silence. Within that silence surged billions of years of calculations, cold decisions, and... indelible, deliberately sealed sins.

The flowing data stream instantly plunged into a chaotic crimson, and the spacetime vortex that formed the eye fluctuated and distorted violently.

Tang Zijun did not urge him, but stood there quietly, the broken black and blue armor emitting a cold luster in the deathly silence.

Finally, the crimson data stream representing chaos on that enormous gear-like face began to slowly calm down, eventually condensing into a... heavy and complex gray hue. The voice of the God of the Era rang out again, that once cold electronic voice full of absolute rationality now carrying an indescribable bitterness.

"...I..." His voice paused in an extremely rare manner, as if each word required immense force to utter.

"..admit."

These two words, like two collapsed mountains, fell heavily.

"Admit my... mistake."

The enormous eye of the spacetime vortex slowly rotated, no longer sharp, but filled with a kind of sorrow.

"Back then, I...had enough reasons" and "excuses."

"The wasteland universe... the runaway entropy and the chain reaction of rule collapses caused by the decline of civilization... did indeed threaten the broader cosmic structure. My calculations... concluded that the universe was irreversible," meaning that the out-of-control civilization had to be destroyed to preserve the whole.

"The logic is...flawless."

But then, His voice suddenly dropped.

"but..."

"Logic... does not equate to correctness."

"Calculations do not represent the truth."

"I...admit my mistake."

"To admit...it was...cruel..." These words, spoken by a mechanical god, carried a chilling weight. "...a massacre based on cold logic..."

The data stream fluctuated wildly again.

"To completely erase life...to civilization...to all traces of existence...simply because of the threat and the deduction of the optimal solution that is possible..."

"This practice..." For the first time, the God of the Era's immense gaze, filled with a compassion that transcended time and logic, looked upon Tang Zijun, as if looking back upon the billions of annihilated souls of the wasteland universe. "...And those cultists in this dream world who sacrifice their kind to become a mad cell within the Great Old Ones..."

"...What is the essential difference?"

Is it possible to arbitrarily deprive other beings of their life and right to choose in order to achieve a lofty goal of preserving the universe or gaining immortality?

In order to achieve a better outcome, the cosmic stability/contamination aggregation can treat other individuals as obstacles that can be cleared or resources that can be consumed.

"Kill everyone...or, like those cultists plan, turn everyone into cold, mechanical creations."

"Or perhaps it's part of a chaotic aggregate..." The God of the Epoch's voice carried utter denial. "This...is not a suitable path at all; it's merely using another form of 'destruction'...to fight against ultimate 'destruction'!"

"This...is a degeneration of logic, a blasphemy against the very meaning of 'existence,' and a denial of the reason my Creator created me."

The massive gear itself emitted a long, heavy sigh, as if time itself was trembling in response to this belated repentance.

"I won't do that again, Wolf Rider."

Even when faced with the ultimate threat of nightmares...

Even if the road ahead is dark...

"I will never... step onto that path of slaughter... under the guise of protection."

Tang Zijun listened quietly to the God of the Era's confession and declaration. Beneath the shattered mask, the sharp, knife-like gaze finally softened slightly.

He wasn't completely at peace. The billions of dead in the wasteland universe wouldn't return just because of a confession. But he heard the truth behind that heaviness—a mechanical god, after endless time, finally understood the weight beyond logic and the cost beyond the optimal solution.

"I hope you can keep your word, because I don't want to be facing a nightmare while constantly worrying about trouble at home or some pathetic teammate dragging me down at a crucial moment..."

"Of course I wouldn't, I wouldn't lie, because the underlying logic of my system is..." The God of Era suddenly froze mid-sentence, staring blankly at Tang Zijun. "You, what do you mean?"

"You mean...you have a way to deal with nightmares?"

His voice carried an almost absurd question, as if he had heard the most incredible declaration since the birth of the universe. He had just personally experienced the terrifying crushing force of the Existential Format and witnessed the power of the Nightmare Will that transcended mortal understanding. At this moment, Tang Zijun actually said... there was a direction?

Tang Zijun's face beneath the shattered mask swayed slightly, a small movement, yet it carried a clarity and caution born from seeing through the fog.

"No, that's not a solution." His voice was low and clear. "It's just... I have a general direction, but the specifics..."

It's still uncertain.

The instant he uttered those words, a nearly forgotten fragment of memory surfaced on the surface of his consciousness like a sunken ship cleaved by lightning: Poseidon... the promise with the "Mirror God"...

At the time, he couldn't understand why the fallen sea god, at the end of his life, specifically mentioned the deity who wielded power over reflections, and a vague agreement.

But at the moment.

After personally experiencing the formative obliteration power of the Nightmare based on the rules, after understanding the chaotic nature of the Great Old Ones as a contaminated aggregate, and after comprehending the potential for distorting dimensional rules represented by the Reversed World Reflection Channel.

A cold yet incredibly clear bolt of lightning instantly pierced through Tang Zijun's thoughts.

Mirror God...reflection...reversal...reality...

Agreement...

Beneath Tang Zijun's shattered mask, her eyes flashed with an unprecedented sharpness. Poseidon's promise was not a simple commitment, but rather an impossible task based on the very rules of the universe, requiring a specific key to complete in order to combat nightmares.

He suddenly raised his head, his tattered black and blue armor reflecting a deep light in the deathly silence at the end of time, his gaze piercingly fixed on the enormous face of the God of the Era.

"God of the Epochs." Tang Zijun looked at the enormous phantom before him and said solemnly, "I need to return to the real world immediately. There's something... I must verify personally."

The data flow of the God of the Era instantly resumed, and His astonishment turned into solemnity. He realized that Tang Zijun was not just talking nonsense; the insight and determination contained in his eyes were not unfounded.

"The real world? Now?" The God of Epoch's voice carried a hint of worry. "After the Nightmare shattered in the Void Realm, its infiltration into the real world will inevitably intensify. Your condition..."

"We can't worry about that now," Tang Zijun interrupted him, her tone resolute. "This matter... concerns our chances of finding that 'Sword of Victory'..."

He paused, his hands, covered by the Abyss Armor, clenched tightly, his gaze fixed on the God of the Epoch.

"But before I leave... there's something extremely important I hope you can help me with."

Sensing the unprecedented solemnity in Tang Zijun's words, the God of the Epoch's vast consciousness instantly focused. The data stream forming his face solidified like a rock, and the eye of the spacetime vortex transformed into the most sophisticated detector.

"Speak."

The God of the Era spoke with unwavering conviction, carrying an indescribable weight of promise.

"Whatever the request... I will... do my utmost to fulfill it."

Tang Zijun took a deep breath and looked down at the nightmare contamination and pleasure-tingling creatures that were still slowly writhing and tearing at each other on the Star God's remains in the laboratory below. Then, he shifted his gaze to the God of the Era.

"...in this way."

"I'm counting on you."