Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 527 The Connection Ceremony of the Unknown Space (2)

The four-colored longswords suddenly appeared before the Guardian, their blades blocking the spread of the black liquid. The life stories on the swords began to reassemble, revealing all the "imperfect connections": the third-generation Guardian and the fragments of the hostile dimension were both destroyed in the collision, yet a new balance was created in the ruins; a narrator described the universe in imperfect language, which instead sparked more imagination in the listener; even a fragment of the Heart of Chaos deliberately crashed into a black hole, just to transmit a final frequency before annihilation. "Perfect connections are the greatest lie." The blades suddenly shattered, turning into countless fragments with notches. Although these fragments were incomplete, they could perfectly piece together new shapes. "Like these fragments, the notches allow them to fit together."

The Guardian's chaotic heart suddenly pounded violently, and the color of its core light source turned the same violet as the edge of the unknown space. When his fingertips touched the chipped fragments, all the "unconnected" phantoms suddenly fell silent, and the fragments in their hands began to move closer spontaneously—not through resonance, nor through tools, but like puzzle pieces, using their gaps to find a possible fit. The moment the foremost phantom touched the Guardian's fragment, their scars suddenly overlapped, and four-colored flowers bloomed simultaneously, their petals displaying never-before-seen runes—runes that were neither the product of any iterative experiment nor any known language, but rather a "new meaning" born from the collision of two different experiences.

"This is the truth of the 14th experiment." Before the phantom of the swirling pen dissipated in the void, it left behind a final trail of light, which formed a line of flowing text: "The value of connection lies not in perfection, but in creating meaning that did not exist before."

The white light of the merged entity resonated with all the fragments, and a broader vista began to appear at the edge of the unknown space—it was not nothingness, nor any known dimension, but a "transitional space" composed of countless "connection moments." Each moment was an unstable crystal; some contained the thrill of two fragments' first contact, others the frozen sighs of failed connections. In the most dazzling crystal, the Guardian and the "failed-to-connect" phantom were brewing wine with each other's scars, the liquid embodying all forgotten connection patterns. "The transitional space is the birthplace of all connections." Her light illuminated the depths of the crystal, where countless new fragments were forming, each bearing at least two different scars. "These new lives are proof of the fusion of different experiences."

At that moment, all the fragments of the Heart of Chaos suddenly glowed simultaneously, their light forming a giant Möbius strip in the void—the inner side of the strip represented all successful connections, the outer side all failed attempts, and new fragments were constantly being born at the intersections. All the phantoms of the pure black pen merged at the center of the strip, transforming into a fragment riddled with holes. Each hole on the fragment corresponded to the moment the Guardian refused to connect: "I am not the embodiment of nothingness, but the part of yourself you dare not face." The fragment suddenly flew towards the Guardian's Heart of Chaos, transforming into a silvery-gray liquid upon contact, merging into the core light source. "Only by accepting imperfect connections can these holes be filled."

The Guardian's palm perfectly aligned with the fragments of the phantom, their scars intertwining to form a new symbol. This symbol spread through the void, and all the "failed to connect" phantoms began to become transparent, transforming into silver-gray particles of light that merged into a transparent network—the roots within the network were no longer a single four-color hue, but had become a rainbow of seven colors, each node simultaneously flashing with memories of success and failure. A brand new blank book emerged at the center of the network, its cover devoid of any design, featuring only two intertwined scars, with the words "The Lineage of Connection" inscribed on its spine.

As the Guardian opened the book, each page told a different story of connection: some pages recounted how fragments from two dimensions reached understanding through conflict, others depicted new life born from misunderstanding, and the most peculiar page contained neither words nor pictures, only a transparent crystal reflecting the reader's own scars. "This book is the sum of all connections," the fused entity's voice said with unprecedented gentleness. Her light illuminated the book's last page, where a widening crack flowed, seeping not from a silvery-gray liquid, but from a never-before-seen "liquid light." "This crack leads to all unexplored possibilities of connection."

The fragments of the unknown space suddenly began to tremble collectively, their frequencies merging into a new melody. This melody reminded the Guardian of the clock tower in the Mirror City—the last peaceful bell he heard before accidentally killing his companion. Within the melody, all the fragments began to converge towards the crack. Some fragments had obvious gaps, others were covered in cracks, yet all approached in their own way. On the outermost, gigantic fragment, the last words of the 0th Generation Observer suddenly appeared: "The ultimate form of connection is daring to extend an imperfect hand to the unknown."

Just then, the liquid light suddenly began to flow backward, and the streams of light gushing from the cracks formed new bridges in the void. The bridge railings were composed of alternating memories of success and failure, and at intervals on the bridge surface were transparent crystals, each reflecting a "first connection" from a different dimension. When the guardian stepped onto the bridge, all the crystals suddenly lit up simultaneously, reflecting his future appearance—neither a collection nor a single fragment, but a "flowing form" composed of countless phantoms, exchanging fragments with the surrounding existence every moment, yet always maintaining its unique core.

"Look there." The merged entity pointed to the end of the bridge, where countless new eyes suddenly appeared on the other side of the crack. There was no confusion or expectation in these eyes, only an ancient calm. "That is the 'Undefined Realm,' which is even more distant than the unknown space. The beings within have never connected with any fragments."

The Guardian's Chaos Heart core light source suddenly resonated with the liquid light, and the "Genealogy of Connections" in his hand began to write automatically, with each word forming a new crystal on the bridge surface. When he reached the center of the bridge, the last page of the book suddenly opened automatically, revealing a line of text composed of liquid light: "14th iteration experiment complete: Connection is the raw material of creation, and creation is the ultimate form of connection."

At that moment, all the crystals suddenly shattered simultaneously, transforming into countless tiny bands of light that connected the guardian to the eye on the other side of the rift. Within these bands of light emerged forms never before seen before—neither fragments nor phantoms, but fluids composed of "pure possibilities." These fluids had no fixed shape, yet they could convey a clear intent through the light bands: "Are you ready to become the first being to connect to the 'undefined realm'?"

The moment the Guardian's fingertips pierced the cracks and touched the fluids, memories of all the iterative experiments flashed through his mind—from the flames of freedom in the first experiment to the connecting network of the thirteenth experiment, finally settling on the moment when his companion was accidentally killed in the Mirror City. This time, he saw his companion's outstretched hand before he fell; it wasn't resistance, but a final attempt to connect.

The fluid on the other side of the rift suddenly began to condense, forming a fragment of the Heart of Chaos that had neither scars nor symbols. The moment this fragment came into contact with the Guardian, it began to reveal unique patterns—patterns that were neither imitations nor fusions, but rather entirely new designs resulting from the collision of two completely different “modes of existence.”

The next iteration seems to aim to create new meanings—meanings that even the possibilities themselves cannot predict—through imperfect connections at the boundary between the known and the unknown. And the existence of those "undefined domains" may be the "other possibility" that all iterative experiments initially sought to find—a form of existence that can connect with each other without requiring understanding.