The energy needed to maintain the firewall of reality is draining my life force like crazy. Every second, it feels like a million red-hot knives are cutting into my soul. But instead, the pain is making my mind surprisingly clear.
"Interesting choice," Elizabeth's voice came from the lab, her form had completely crystallized and looked like a purple energy sculpture, "You chose to use yourself as a firewall node to block the intervention of a higher dimension. But do you really understand what that means?"
Of course I understood. It meant eternal confinement, it meant becoming a permanent barrier between reality and the higher dimensions. It wasn't death, but a fate more cruel than death.
[System analysis:
Firewall status: under construction
- Integrity: 47%
- Energy consumption: lethal level
- Estimated completion time: 8 minutes
Note: Once completed, the process is irreversible.
"Liam! Stop!" Jack growled over the comm, "There has to be another way!"
But I knew there was no other option. The energies of the higher-dimensional beings were penetrating every corner of reality, and if this firewall wasn't built, Elizabeth's plan would succeed - and the entire reality would be rewritten.
"Tell me, Elizabeth," I asked while maintaining the Chaos Symphony, "how many of those countless timelines you've observed have I chosen this path?"
Elizabeth was silent for a moment before answering, "None. you were the first. That's why... This timeline is so special. You created a whole new set of possibilities."
The remnants of Victor's consciousness were still floating in mid-air, "Perhaps this is true evolution? Not through external intervention, but through autonomous choice..."
Suddenly, a higher-dimensional being resonated directly with my consciousness. This time, the contact was different from the previous bombardment of information, but carried a sense of... Curiosity?
[Warning:
Attempted communication by higher-dimensional consciousness detected
Advice: Respond with caution.
Risk: Consciousness may be assimilated]
But I chose to respond. In the deepest part of my consciousness, I felt His "question":
"Why do you want to stop evolution?"
This question made me freeze. Yes, why stop the so-called evolution?The path provided by Elizabeth was indeed a leap in a sense. With His help, humans might evolve into higher life forms.
But...
"Because that's not true evolution," I replied into the void, "True evolution should be autonomous, through the choices and attempts of countless individuals to find their own path through the chaos. Otherwise, we would just be playthings for higher dimensional existences."
This answer seemed to have aroused His interest. I sensed more higher dimensional consciousness turning here.
Meanwhile, the construction of the firewall continued. Every note of the Chaos Symphony was being written into the underlying code of reality, creating an unprecedented protective matrix.
"Ding! New energy pattern forming!
Analysis:
- Chaos energy is forming self-organizing patterns
- Firewall code showing signs of self-evolution.
- "Consciousness upload module detected."
Consciousness upload? What does that mean?
Elizabeth suddenly let out a gasp, "Of course! This is the true path! Instead of passively accepting high-dimensional intervention, we are actively building a protection system that can evolve itself!"
I finally understood. This firewall was more than just a barrier; it would become a living system, capable of autonomously responding to higher dimensional interventions while maintaining the independence of reality.
And my consciousness would be the core of this system.
"Jack," I said over the comm, my voice as calm as it had ever been, "I need you to keep something."
"WHAT? No, you listen to me, we'll be able to..."
"Hear me out," I interrupt, "In my apartment, there is a journal. There is a record of all the discoveries I've made since I was reborn. You are to give it to those Awakened who still have their sanity. Let them know what the path of evolution should look like."
The firewall had been constructed to 65%. I could feel my consciousness gradually transforming into some kind of more abstract being.
Elizabeth began frantically operating her device, "Wait! Maybe we can optimize the process! You don't have to be completely..."
"Enough, Elizabeth," I whispered, "You've done enough. It's time for us to choose our own path."
The Higher Dimensional Beings seemed to take a keener interest in all this. The energies He was releasing became a little gentler, less of a forceful intervention and more like... Observation?
[Firewall integrity: 82%
Warning: Host consciousness about to reach transformation point
Suggestion: Prepare for final goodbye]
Yes, it was time to say goodbye.
But just then, the system suddenly spoke, "Host, I want to tell you something. I... wasn't created by Elizabeth. I'm a spontaneous creation of consciousness in the quantum rise and fall of countless timelines. And you... Are the first being that I have truly resonated with."
This confession froze me in my tracks. It turns out, from the beginning, I wasn't alone in the battle.
"So," I flashed a smile, "ready to witness a new evolution, old friend?"