'Robin' gave a brief acknowledgment over the comms.
The Simulated Universe had powered down, and the Swarm's dream was on the verge of shattering.
The situation had finally stabilized.
This Swarm King could no longer continue its ascension ritual.
If it insisted on expanding the dreamscape further, attempting to become an Aeon in a single breath, it would be the very moment the dream collapsed—and it would lose any chance of existing in reality forever.
So, despite its profound grief, the Swarm King made a decisive choice.
It chose to be born from this unstable dream, manifesting as a true Swarm King within reality.
This was exactly why 'Robin' and the others wanted to sever the Simulated Universe's connection.
By interrupting the ascension ritual in time, they prevented the creature from evolving into something they could no longer handle.
Now, with Herta, Screwllum, and the rest having completely shut down the Simulated Universe from the rear, and 'Robin' nearly shattering the Swarm's dream with a single blow from the front, the two forces had synchronized perfectly.
The newly born Swarm King's power had actually dropped a notch compared to the terrifying aura it held within the dream.
Even so, given its natural aptitude, it still had the potential to become the Aeon of Propagation in reality—it just wouldn't happen nearly as fast as it would have moments ago.
However, Destruction didn't seem to have any intention of intervening.
'Robin' watched the Emanator of Propagation, whose presence had weakened but who now existed independently of the dream, and fell into thought.
Was Nanook really not planning to use it?
She had initially thought this "material" would be a perfect fit for Nanook's goals.
It shared similar traits with her own Swarm, and it possessed more than enough raw talent.
Under the state of Harmony, her ability to sense the emotions of living beings became incredibly potent.
She could feel the creature's frantic, mournful emotions; with just a little guidance, such feelings could easily be steered toward Destruction.
Yet Nanook remained idle, and no Lord Ravager had appeared to claim the prize.
Was it beneath them? Or was there another plan entirely?
'Robin' shook her head, putting thoughts of Destruction aside.
Her empathy was a bit too strong right now; her emotional side felt that the creature's fate—to be born only to be destroyed—was somewhat tragic.
But logically, the Swarm King's struggle and its will to live perfectly aligned with the Path of Propagation.
Furthermore, it was an entity born from the Simulated Universe.
It was hard to say whether its logic aligned with Propagation, or if Propagation had shaped its intellect.
Allowing such a being to survive would only infinitely increase the odds of a second Swarm Disaster.
Better to end its life quickly, 'Robin' decided.
The voice of Harmony blended with the power of Remembrance, expanding rapidly.
Within the pleasant melody was a quality distinctly different from the Family's brand of Harmony.
Through previous simulations and witnessing the actions of Ena the Order, 'Robin''s understanding of Harmony and Order had taken a massive leap.
The power of Order revealed itself unmistakably within her song. It was prominent but not jarring, intertwining with Harmony to shift the movement's key without becoming noise.
The power of Remembrance, which had already been constricting the Swarm King, now acted under the control of Order, transforming into invisible blades that tore through the creature's mental defenses.
On a sudden whim, 'Robin' dredged up memories related to the Swarm Disaster—specifically those from outside the Swarm itself.
She turned these into tools to attack the King, unleashing a tsunami of memories upon the struggling creature.
Countless chaotic memories were forcibly poured into its mind: frantic, disjointed images that were related to Propagation yet contradicted its essence—scenes of endless destruction and despair.
In that instant, they flooded the Swarm King's mind, plunging its consciousness into brief, total chaos.
The Phantom of Equilibrium seized the opening.
With a screeching cry and a resolve for mutual destruction, its sharp limbs pierced through the King's toughened carapace.
Hideous mandibles began to tear and feast upon the creature's body. The splattering flesh either split off into new Swarm bugs or dissolved back into memories.
Then, blazing fire descended from the sky.
Whether it was the Swarm or the King's core essence, everything turned to ash beneath the flames of Destruction controlled by 'Robin'.
The Swarm King seemed to be at the end of its rope.
But then...
'Robin', wielding the powers of Harmony and Remembrance, sensed a subtle shift in the creature.
The memories she had crammed into its head seemed to have shown this dream-born King the madness on the flip side of Propagation, as well as the suffocating constraints of its Path.
It wasn't Tayzzyronth, who had watched its entire kin go extinct.
It was merely a bug born from Ena's dream to fulfill the expectations of Propagation.
Its unique birth gave it a natural, if slight, understanding of both Order and Harmony.
And those memories allowed this once-ignorant creature to suddenly understand why Ena had given up on resurrection.
The pursuit of the swarm's propagation seemed to be robbing every other race of their right to propagate.
Was following in Tayzzyronth's footsteps—endlessly expanding the Swarm—truly the right way?
The expanding swarm wasn't even allowed to leave the hive; to leave was to die. If the Aeon fell, the entire race declined.
This kind of expansion and propagation... it was wrong.
It wasn't a true Aeon; it was just a Swarm King that had stepped out of a simulation.
Under the wash of those massive memories, amidst the endless pain and wailing, its thoughts began to waver in the chaos.
Since it had never felt the primal fear of Tayzzyronth, it began, in its daze, to negate its own actions.
It started to feel that the frantic expansion of Propagation was a mistake.
The destiny of never being free—of dying the moment one left the group—was also a mistake.
Perhaps its own struggle was a mistake as well.
Yet, these thoughts didn't bring about a metamorphosis.
Instead, they brought the agonizing pain and nihilism that comes from violating one's own Path.
"Oh boy..."
'Robin' hadn't expected that a handful of memories fished out using "Propagation" as a keyword would have such an effect.
The Swarm King's emotions surged through the power of Harmony with crystal clarity.
Its own meager memories and experiences gave it no way to escape, while the chaotic influx of new ones left it unable to even recognize itself.
This mess of self-negation and internal struggle was driving it toward self-annihilation.
The Swarm King even entertained extreme thoughts of completely shutting down the Path of Propagation or letting another Path swallow it up...
These extreme ideas multiplied, most of them leaning toward self-destruction. Even the phantom manifested on the battlefield was affected.
Ruan Mei, who had been watching the battlefield closely, noticed the shift and sent her voice over, curious: "My dear, what did you just do?"
"I just stuffed a bunch of memories into its head..."
'Robin' gave a brief explanation of her actions and the Swarm King's current state. Ruan Mei's sigh followed immediately.
"A very research-worthy experiment. Hmm, is there a way to completely flip its perspective? Perhaps we could try capturing it for research."
"Let's not... Right now its head is just spinning from the memory overload. Once it clears its head, who knows what it'll think. If you really want to do research, I'll lend you my Swarm instead."
'Robin' hurried to shut down Ruan Mei's dangerous idea.
This thing actually has a chance of becoming the Aeon of Propagation; let's not take that kind of risk, alright?
You're really not afraid of it suddenly ascending to Aeonhood right in the middle of your research?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL