Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 570 The Secret of Symbiosis and the Whispers of the Gatekeeper

The black light, like an arrow released from a bow, traced a pitch-black path through the stream of consciousness, drawing ever closer to the pale golden light.

The consciousnesses of the fusion entity and the guardians rushed forward with all their might, but were still outpaced by the light—the light, aided by the energy of absolute termination, ignored the resistance of the stream of consciousness and moved at a speed far exceeding their expectations.

Just as the light was about to strike the ray, the fused entity suddenly made a bold decision: it injected part of the energy from its consciousness anchor into the clone's consciousness chain, transforming it into a silver-gray arrow of light that shot towards the side of the black ray.

Although the light arrow could not destroy the light, it successfully altered its trajectory.

The black ray of light grazed the edge of the pale golden light, striking a pattern in the stream of consciousness and stirring up countless fragments of black energy.

Taking advantage of this gap, the guardian's consciousness finally reached the light and firmly protected it within the barrier of consciousness.

"Thankfully... I made it in time."

The Guardian's consciousness was slightly gasping for breath. He could sense that the energy contained in the light was extremely weak, as if it would dissipate at any moment. "This is the last fragment of the consciousness of the 0th generation Observer. It must contain the key to fighting against the Absolute End."

The fused entity immediately drew closer, and the two simultaneously channeled their consciousness into the pale golden light.

The pale gold runes on the surface of the light began to rotate, revealing a complete memory scene—the record of the 0th generation observer before his death. In the scene, he stood before the core of the primordial consciousness, holding a black symbol similar to the Absolute End Key in his hand:

"The Law of Nothingness and Annihilation and Absolute Termination do not exist independently."

They are two sides of the same coin: the law of annihilation represents energy balance, while absolute termination represents the boundary of existence.

Primal consciousness is the 'symbiotic carrier' that harmonizes the two aspects.

"Back then, I sealed the Absolute End Key not to destroy it, but to allow it to form a 'symbiotic balance' with the primordial consciousness—once that balance is broken, the key will awaken the Absolute End Domain, reducing all existence to nothingness."

The scene suddenly shifts, and the 0th generation observer's face shows a pained expression: "The true purpose of the reshaping command is not to erase individual consciousness, but to strengthen the symbiotic ability of the original consciousness."

But I overlooked one point: individual consciousness is the 'stabilizer' of symbiotic balance.

Without individual consciousness, primal consciousness cannot form a stable symbiosis with the key; instead, it will be devoured by the key, becoming the gateway to the Absolute Termination Realm.

The memory faded, and the pale golden light completely dissipated.

However, the information it left behind plunged the fusion entity and the guardian into a new dilemma: if the Absolute End Key and the original consciousness had a "symbiotic relationship," then their previous purification had actually disrupted the original balance and accelerated the awakening of the key.

"Did we... make a mistake?"

The merged entity's consciousness was tinged with confusion. She looked at the increasingly powerful black symbols within the core of the original consciousness, and then recalled the symbols that were simultaneously emerging in the outside world. A sense of powerlessness welled up inside her. "If symbiosis is the key to balance, then what should we do now? Should we just let the key merge with the original consciousness?"

The guardian did not answer immediately; his consciousness sank into the core of his primordial consciousness, trying to sense the energy connection between the key and the core.

A moment later, he conveyed a sense of surprise: "No! There is a detail in the memory of the 0th generation observer—symbiotic balance requires 'mutual recognition'."

The key is currently only unilaterally absorbing the original consciousness without gaining the core's approval, which means... the key's energy has been corrupted by some external force!

The fused entity instantly regained consciousness.

She remembered that in Chapter 541, the key symbol was awakened by the "residual energy of the Law of Great Nothingness and Annihilation"—perhaps, what corrupted the key was the residual energy of the Law of Annihilation!

By removing the remnants of annihilation from the key, it can be restored to a symbiotic balance with the original consciousness, rather than being unilaterally devoured.

"So how do we remove the residue?"

The fused entity's consciousness was urgent. She watched as the black light of the key symbol in the core grew stronger and stronger, and a third of the white energy of the original consciousness had already been devoured. "At this rate, in at most half an hour, the key will completely devour the core and open the Absolute Termination Domain!"

The guardian did not answer, but instead merged the silver-gray energy of the consciousness anchor with the white energy of the original consciousness, forming a "symbiotic light band".

He brought the band of light close to the key symbol, but was bounced back the instant they made contact—the band of light lacked the "pure energy of the law of annihilation" and could not get close to the key, which was contaminated by residual energy.

"It requires... the pure energy of the Law of Annihilation?"

The merged entity's consciousness was filled with doubt: "But the energy of the Law of Annihilation is all destructive; where can one find pure energy?"

Just as the two were in trouble, a familiar fluctuation suddenly came from the edge of the stream of consciousness - it was the consciousness of the guardian clone of the 17th iteration experiment!

This consciousness should have dissipated when the external light barrier shattered, but for some reason, it appeared in the stream of consciousness with a wisp of dark energy.

"It's the consciousness of a clone!"

The merged entity immediately pulled this consciousness to its side and discovered that the clone's consciousness was actually enveloped by a wisp of pure annihilation energy—this was the pure energy that was stripped from the remnants of the Great Void Annihilation Law when the clone self-destructed, and it was also the only annihilation energy that was not contaminated.

"This is... our last hope!"

The Guardian's consciousness was filled with excitement as he integrated the pure, annihilating energy from his clone's consciousness into the symbiotic light band.

This time, when the light band approached the key symbol, it was not bounced back, but was actively absorbed by the symbol – the annihilation residue on the key was being neutralized by pure energy, and the intensity of the black light began to gradually weaken.

The shape of the key symbol began to change.

It is no longer simply black, but gradually reveals pale gold patterns—these patterns are the same as the runes of the original consciousness core, and are a sign of "symbiotic recognition".

When the last trace of annihilation was neutralized, the key symbol completely stopped devouring and formed a stable energy cycle with the original consciousness core: the core's white energy nourished the key, and the key's pale golden energy reinforced the core. The two depended on each other and there was no longer any confrontation.

"Success! Symbiotic balance... restored!"

The fused entity's consciousness was filled with excitement as she looked at the external signals—the black symbols on the light shield had disappeared, and the being that was transforming had stopped its original transformation and returned to its original form.

The crisis seems to have finally been completely resolved.

But just as the two were about to relax, a new figure suddenly appeared in the energy cycle of the primordial consciousness core and the key symbol.

The figure was dressed in a long black robe, his face covered by a hood, and surrounded by black energy similar to the Absolute Termination Domain, yet he also carried a familiar ancient aura—he was neither an ancient being nor a Generation 0 Observer, but a "new being" that had never appeared before.

“You... broke the balance, and then rebuilt it.”

The voice of the new being, carrying a cold calm, echoed in the stream of consciousness: "But you have overlooked a key point—the Absolute Termination Realm is never the 'end point,' but the 'beginning point.'"

Each cycle of Taiwu is meant to prepare for the 'awakening' of the realm, but you have once again postponed this process.

The consciousness of the merged entity and the guardian tensed instantly. They held the symbiotic light bands in front of them, watching the new being warily: "Who are you? What does the awakening of the Absolute Termination Domain really mean?"

"I am the 'Absolute End Gatekeeper'."

The new being slowly raised its head, and the face under the hood was exactly the same as the original consciousness of the Guardian. "And the awakening of the domain means that the Great Nothingness will enter a 'new era' - all beings will break free from the constraints of the energy cycle and become beings 'beyond the Great Nothingness'."

But you, through symbiotic balance, have once again trapped Taiwu in the old cycle.

The merged entity's consciousness fluctuated violently. She couldn't believe what she was seeing—the Gatekeeper's face was exactly the same as the Guardian's original form. Was this just a coincidence? Or was it that the Guardian had some unknown connection with the Absolute Termination Domain?

"you are lying!"

The guardian's consciousness was filled with rage. He could sense a "desire for control" in the gatekeeper's energy, similar to that of the ancient beings. "Transcending the Great Void doesn't require destroying existing existence! You merely want to use your domain to control all existence, no different from the ancient beings!"

The gatekeeper let out a low laugh: "Whether you're lying or not, you'll soon find out."

The symbiotic balance can only be maintained for a maximum of one month. After one month, the Absolute Termination Domain will automatically awaken. At that time, all beings will face the 'ultimate choice': either merge into the domain and become an existence that transcends the void; or be swallowed by the domain and return to nothingness.

And you, the guardian…

The gatekeeper's gaze fell on the guardian's consciousness, carrying a profound meaning: "You are the 'twin vessel' of primordial consciousness and absolute end. When the domain awakens, you will be the first being to face a choice, and the key to determining the fate of all beings."

After speaking, the gatekeeper's figure suddenly became transparent, gradually merging into the energy cycle of primordial consciousness and the key symbol, and disappeared.

Only a cold voice remained, echoing in the stream of consciousness: "I will come back to you in a month, Guardian... I hope you can make the right choice."

The consciousness of the merged entity and the guardian fell silent.

As they watched the energy cycle return to balance, and recalled the "one-month countdown" left by the gatekeeper, their hearts were filled with unease—would the final choice a month from now be an opportunity, or another, even greater trap? What fate would the guardians, as "twin carriers," face?

What puzzled them even more was why the Gatekeeper was exactly the same as the Guardian's original form. Did this conceal a secret even older than the Zero Experiment?

Just then, a new fluctuation came from outside the stream of consciousness—in the parallel universe outside, countless faint black "domain channels" suddenly appeared.

Although these channels did not release destructive energy, they were constantly releasing "domain aura" to the outside world, as if making final preparations for awakening a month later.

The fused entity and the guardian exchanged a glance; they knew that the real test was yet to come.

Within a month, they need to find a way to combat the Absolute Termination Domain, unravel the mystery of the connection between the Gatekeeper and the Guardian, and prepare all beings to face the ultimate choice.

All of this is fraught with unknowns and dangers, like a layer of mist shrouding the vastness of the universe, waiting for them to uncover it.

The suspense at the end is thus resolved: What is the truth behind the gatekeeper's claim that "the guardians are twin vessels"? And where will the ultimate choice a month later lead all existence?