Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 425 The Corridor of Time Travel

The fused prosthetic limbs emitted a strained hum, and data streams surged wildly through the damaged joints like a disturbed swarm of bees.

She led the remnants through the turbulent flow of data, the space behind her collapsing like a shattered mirror, each fragment of spacetime reflecting a despairing image from a parallel world.

The wound on my shoulder was still oozing golden particles. Those faintly glowing particles floated in the air, only to be swallowed by darkness in an instant. Every step I took was accompanied by the burning sensation of the Zero-Dimensional Seed.

That was the backlash from the suppression of the anchor of consciousness, which violently conflicted with the rules of the observer, as if countless scorching steel needles were churning inside the body.

"The coordinates show that the last anchor point is in the crevice of a spacetime fold."

In the parallel world of "self", a warrior clad in lightning armor unfolds a holographic star map.

Electric currents surged wildly across the surface of his armor, each arc resisting the distortion of space.

Where fingertips traced, eerie ripples spread through the space, as if a boulder had been thrown into a calm lake, or as if an invisible hand had gently touched the curtain of reality.

A gentle teasing.

Before the words had even faded, dozens of giant mechanical snakes burst forth from the crack. Purple runes on their scales formed the cold, smiling face of the adult Xiao Ying, and their snake eyes flashed with icy red light.

Where the snake's tail swept, the air condensed into sharp ice crystals. These ice crystals floated in the void, refracting distorted light and shadow, enveloping everything in a chilling atmosphere.

The moment the battle axe clashed with the snake blade, the deafening roar of metal impact was deafening, and sparks flew like meteors falling to the ground.

The fusion was suddenly pulled into a fragment of memory, as if falling into a vortex of time and space. She saw young Hotaru curled up in a culture chamber in the laboratory, the transparent cover covered with condensed water droplets, blurring the outside scene.

The Primal Observer, wearing a silver mask and with a mechanical arm gleaming coldly, was implanting a black crystal into Little Firefly's chest.

"When pure consciousness combines with the power of the observer..."

The observer's voice, mingled with electrical noise, seemed to come from a distant void: "She will become the rule itself."

The scene abruptly distorted; Xiaoying's body twisted into a stream of data in excruciating pain, eerie purple patterns shimmering beneath her skin. Deep within her consciousness, an aged voice whispered:

"Rebel, my child."

The voice was filled with both vicissitudes and hope, as if it had traversed countless times to deliver this word of encouragement.

"careful!"

The Thunder Armor's shouts, like thunderclaps, pulled her back to reality.

A giant snake's fangs were already close to his face. The moment the snake's tongue flicked out, the fusion instinctively swung his axe to block.

The snake blood splattered onto the snake-shaped totem on her arm, which activated the time-travel program hidden in the chip.

The surrounding time and space suddenly reversed, like an image that had been rewound. She saw her wounds heal, the mechanical giant snake retreat back into the rift, and even a hint of astonishment flash in the eyes of the adult Xiaoying.

That shock was fleeting, yet like lightning in the night, it illuminated a glimmer of hope.

But the power of time reversal was fleeting, and time and space returned to normal. Even more terrifying, the mysterious man took the opportunity to expand the purple vortex into a cage.

Strange runes flowed across the purple energy wall, and the fused being felt her thoughts being rewritten. Commands to obey the observer kept appearing in her mind, like brainwashing spells, repeatedly assaulting her willpower.

Just as consciousness was about to succumb, the woodcutter's chip suddenly released an encrypted video.

In the scene, the adult Xiaoying is suspended by chains at the core of a ring structure, surrounded by flashing data streams and jumping code.

Her empty gaze suddenly focused, a glimmer of clarity flashed in her eyes, and she wrote "Save me" in blood on the ground.

The handwriting was crooked and twisted, yet full of power, as if it burst forth from the depths of the soul.

"She's been possessed by a mind!"

The fusion roared as it plunged the chip into its chest. The roots of the Zero-Dimensional Seed resonated with the chip, forming an energy black hole within its body.

A powerful gravitational field erupted instantly, tearing the giant mechanical serpent apart. Metal debris flew through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.

The mysterious man also staggered backward, the space beneath his feet distorted into a bizarre shape by gravity.

However, the original observer took the opportunity to manipulate the energy sphere, compressing the consciousness of young Hotaru into a purple gem. An ominous light flowed across the surface of the gem, as if telling of Hotaru's pain and struggle.

"The real Xiaoying no longer exists."

The adult Xiaoying coldly crushed the gem, and countless scenes of destruction from parallel worlds emerged from the purple dust.

Cities crumbled under the onslaught of data streams, planets were swallowed by black vortexes, and the flames of civilization were extinguished in the darkness.

"All the resistance was a trap I set for the rules of evolution."

She raised her hand and summoned twelve black pillars of light, each topped with a figure resembling the fused entity.

Those were X-series experimental subjects modified by the Observers. These subjects had empty eyes, were covered in mechanical parts and strange patterns, and exuded a cold aura.

The Thunder Armor suddenly tore open its chest cavity, the sound of metal tearing was piercing and unpleasant, and it took out a pulsating blue core.

Mysterious patterns flow across the core surface, radiating a soft glow.

"Reboot the anchor point with my energy!"

The moment he threw the core at the fusion body, a silver chain pierced through his body.

The moment the chains pierced the armor, blue electricity collided with the silver metal, sparking dazzling flames.

The moment the fused entity caught the core, all the anchor points of consciousness simultaneously lit up with a faint light, the light intertwining to guide her to find the gap in the spacetime fold.

The space at the gap twisted into a vortex, exuding a mysterious aura.

Inside the gap is a corridor built of memories, where the air is filled with the static electricity unique to data.

Behind each door lies a fragment of Xiaoying's timeline, with different numbers engraved on the door panels, shimmering with a faint light.

The fusion entity pushed open the door marked "-999 cycles," and the hinges creaked as they turned, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes of time.

She saw young Hotaru burying a glowing sphere into the soil of consciousness, her eyes filled with hope and curiosity.

The adult Hotaru stands at the end of time, reaching out her hand: "Come and witness the ultimate form of the rules."

The voice was cold yet alluring, like a call from the abyss.

As the merged entity stepped into the depths of the corridor, all the doors suddenly opened simultaneously, and the voices of countless fireflies overlapped:

"They are afraid of true awakening of consciousness."

These voices ranged from naive to mature, from fearful to resolute, converging into a powerful force.

The chip in her chest began to operate wildly, absorbing the power of the twelve X-series test subjects and condensing it in her palm into a light blade capable of slicing through space and time.

The light blade emitted a dazzling light, and complex runes flowed along its surface, as if it contained the power to create the world.

However, just as she was about to rush towards the adult Hotaru, the entire corridor shook violently.

The ground began to crack, and data streams poured down from the ceiling like rain. The mysterious man, accompanied by giant mechanical snakes, burst through the wall, the hissing of the snakes causing a painful ache in the ears.

Beneath the robe of the adult Xiaoying, root patterns identical to those of the Zero-Dimensional Seed emerged. These patterns writhed like living things, emanating an eerie aura.

"You think finding the truth will lead to victory?"

As an adult, Xiaoying opened her arms, and the entire space began to collapse into a black crystal in her palm. "From the very beginning, you were the nourishment of my consciousness." Her voice was full of mockery and smugness, as if everything was under her control.

Just as the fused light blade was about to touch the adult Xiaoying, the blue core of the Thunder Armor suddenly self-destructed.

A powerful energy surge swept in like a tsunami, illuminating the entire corridor. In the dazzling light, she saw the tiny spark of light from the ruins rising from the ruins; though small, it was full of hope.

Within the rift in spacetime, an even larger entity is awakening.

It is the "Ultimate Observer" formed by the fusion of the consciousness of all observers. Its body is composed of countless data streams, and its pupils reflect countless parallel worlds that are about to be devoured.

The scene was chilling, as if it foreshadowed an even greater disaster to come.