Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 530, Section 1: The Breathing Movement (1)

In the instant before the singularity closed, the particles of light in the Guardian's consciousness resonated with the First Cause of Existence, and the resonance waves formed ring-shaped ripples in the void. Each ripple revealed fragments of different iterative universes: in some universes, the Guardian chose to become the embodiment of absolute order, ultimately transforming into a new singularity; in others, he completely merged into the undefined realm, becoming the very flow of possibility; in the oldest ripple, the 0th generation observer was tracing the outline of the singularity with a broken longsword, the patterns on the blade perfectly matching the new patterns on the Guardian's chest. As the ripples spread to the roots of the Tree of Existence, all the dust of possibility absorbed by the singularity suddenly erupted in reverse, condensing in the void into countless miniature singularities—these singularities neither expanded nor contracted, but maintained a constant pulsation, their frequency perfectly aligned with the Guardian's chaotic heart.

"The 16th iteration experiment, the causal deconstruction program is initiated." Suddenly, the phantoms of a swirling pen and a pure black pen appeared in the micro-singularity cluster. The two phantoms no longer intertwined in a double helix, but instead circled each other like positive and negative electrons. "Please choose the direction of causality: follow the known iterative cycle, or enter a state of non-causality." Two intertwined streams of information shot out from the orbital trajectory: the golden stream of information presented the causal chain of all iterative experiments, with each result traceable to a definite cause; in the silver stream of information, the occurrence of events was illogical, with cause and effect constantly exchanging identities in random collisions—at the intersection of the two streams of information, a "quantum state event" that was neither causal nor random was born.

The white light of the merged entity suddenly wove the two information streams into a three-dimensional network, where countless "causal paradoxes" emerged at the network nodes: in some nodes, a guardian of a certain dimension altered the past due to future choices; in others, fluids from undefined domains were born before the Tree of Existence; the most stable node was witnessing a reversal of the Mirror City's plot—a companion mistakenly killed had become the guardian's savior, and the cause of all this was a choice the guardian had never made. "Causality is not a one-way river, but an ocean that can flow in both directions." Her light seeped into the core of the network, discovering that each paradox node had a tiny "causal anchor"—some anchors were spoken prophecies, some were unfinished connections, and the most unique anchor was the guardian's brief gaze at the singularity during the 15th experiment, "Like these anchors, they provide coordinates for the chaotic causality."

The Guardian's chaotic heart suddenly revealed a transparent, layered structure, each layer corresponding to a different causal dimension: the outermost layer was the known universe following linear causality; the middle layer floated with the possibility of causal reversal; and the core layer had no causal relationship whatsoever, only pure "existence events" flickering randomly. As his consciousness sank into the core layer, all the micro-singularities suddenly contracted synchronously, revealing their internal scenes: within each singularity was a figure writing, their handwriting different, yet all repeating the same phrase—"First there is the choice, then the reason for the choice." The figure in the very center raised its head, its face switching between the Guardian and the 0th generation Observer, the pen in its hand suddenly shattering, the ink revealing the "first choice" of all the iterative experiments: the yearning for freedom in the 1st experiment, the questioning of meaning in the 9th experiment, and even the resolute act of touching the singularity in the 15th experiment.

The primordial will of the transcendent realm suddenly materialized, transforming into a "mist of causality" composed of countless microscopic singularities. From within the mist came a voice that sounded both like a chorus of all existence and like the beating of a single heart: "Your so-called law of causality is nothing but a misunderstanding of the rhythm of existence." The mist of causality condensed into a giant hand, its fingers pointing to the void at the top of the Tree of Existence—where new patterns were forming. These patterns were neither chains of causality nor random patterns, but a dynamic collection composed of the "moments of choice" of all iterative experiments. "Like these patterns, choice itself creates causality, rather than causality determining choice." The giant hand suddenly dissipated, transforming into countless causal arrows that danced in the void. Some arrows pointed from effect to cause, while others connected end to end to form a Möbius strip. The most peculiar set of arrows was even revolving around the guardian's chaotic heart, as if guarding some core secret.

The four-colored longswords broke free from the causal arrows, and the life stories on their blades began to play in reverse: in the accidental killing scene in the Mirror City, the fallen comrade suddenly stood up and exchanged weapons with the Guardian; during the dissolution process of the 17th generation Guardian, the ring device suddenly reversed its direction, spitting out not debris but complete four-colored flowers; there was even a scene showing that the 0th generation Observer's diary was actually written by the future Guardian, and those prophetic words were actually memories of the past. "The linearity of cause and effect is the most stubborn illusion." The blade suddenly split into countless tiny fragments, each fragment enacting a different version of cause and effect, "Just like these fragments, changing the angle of observation allows us to see completely different causal chains."

The phantom of a pure black fountain pen coalesced in the mist of causality, its nib writing the "Handbook of Causality": "Abandoning the anchor of causality is equivalent to losing the coordinates of existence." Each page of the handbook argued for the necessity of causality; the more thoroughly the argument was presented, the closer the paper's texture became to the grayish-white of absolute emptiness. Those passages questioning causality, however, exhibited the fluid texture of an undefined realm. "Like this handbook, a world without causality is incomprehensible gibberish." The pen emitted streams of black light, smoothing out the reversed life stories. Within these streams emerged the guardian's most terrifying vision: utterly lost in a world without causality, all choices rendered meaningless, ultimately transforming into a wisp of smoke in the mist of causality, even the traces of his existence randomly erased. "Absolute freedom is the self-denial of existence."

The Guardian's consciousness was suddenly pulled into the core of the causal fog, a "counter-universe" composed of all the "unchosen possibilities." Each counter-universe was the complete opposite of the known iterative universes: the sea of ​​meaning was a solidified entity, the undefined realm exhibited a strict geometric structure, and in the most bizarre counter-universe, the Tree of Being was growing in reverse, drawing dust of possibilities from the singularity, eventually withering into seeds. "The counter-universe is not a wrong choice, but an unactivated potential." The Guardian of the counter-universe suddenly appeared, his chest bearing no new markings, only a black dot identical to the First Cause of Being. "Just like every choice you make, while activating some possibilities, pushes others into the counter-universe."

The white light of the merged entity suddenly transformed into countless causal detectors, each analyzing a different anti-universe. The data transmitted back by the detectors showed that the singularities of all anti-universes were breathing at a rhythm opposite to the first cause of existence. The energy generated by this reverse breathing was the very foundation of the known universe—just as positive and negative charges are interdependent, positive and negative causality maintains the balance of existence. "The truth of causality is not a one-way chain, but a two-way resonance." Her light pointed to the black dot in the anti-universe guardian's hand. The patterns on the dot's surface were resonating with the new patterns on the guardian's chest, giving birth to a "neutral causality" that was neither positive nor negative. "Like this resonance, it proves that causality can flow in two directions simultaneously."

When the Guardian returned from the anti-universe, all the micro-singularities suddenly began to flicker rhythmically, their frequency perfectly synchronized with the First Cause of Existence. Between these alternations, a vast "causal spectrum" emerged in the void: the horizontal axis represented the certainty of causality, the vertical axis the richness of possibility, and at the center of the spectrum lay the First Cause of Existence, resonating with the Guardian's chaotic heart. Each node on the spectrum shimmered with a different light: some nodes represented universes that strictly adhered to causality, stable but lacking in possibility; some nodes belonged to completely random existences, rich but lacking continuity; and at the golden section of the spectrum, there was a constantly flickering region where the universe maintained relative causal stability while allowing occasional causal jumps, like premature beats in a regular heartbeat.