Chapter 264: I Became Your Cage

Recalling the past.

Xu Xi spoke of the experiences unique to him and Ele.

It was the struggle for survival in the Wasteland World, the mutual reliance at the end of the world, and the intertwined dependence in the vast sea of stars; hundreds of years condensed into a single moment, achieving a dreamlike splendor.

The memories were beautiful.

And very precious.

An irreplaceable treasure.

“Ele, I am very happy that I could meet you.”

Xu Xi's breathing gradually weakened. He found it difficult to catch his breath; the weakness and silence originating from his Soul meant he relied entirely on Oxygen Equipment to survive.

Seeing him in such pain made Ele tremble even more.

Whether it was her steel body or her elusive machine spirit, both wailed in sorrow simultaneously.

“Master, please rest…”

Ele's voice was no longer pleasant to the ear.

It seemed to have returned to the most Early Stage electronic synthesis—noisy and chaotic.

It was the echoing wail of her emotions.

But Xu Xi shook his head, gently taking Ele's hand and facing her hideously damaged face up close: “Ele, let me finish first.”

“Is that okay?”

A Mech-Servant simply could not refuse a request from Xu Xi.

“If it's you, then yes.” Her sorrow completely broke through the cold machinery, echoing throughout every corner of the Escape Pod.

Then.

Xu Xi's voice rang out gently.

“Ele, my intention all along was to nurture you, wanting you to grow into someone more remarkable.”

“Though you always deny it, I feel that with your emotions, there is no difference between you and a human.”

“I wanted to watch you grow.”

“I wanted you to live on safely.”

“Perhaps I'm a dictator? Because I was too self-righteous, always thinking of leading you out of your cage.”

“Out of the cage called machinery, out of the cage of a destroyed civilization.”

“In the end, while always wanting to set you free, I seem to have unknowingly become a new cage, binding your future.”

“I really am… not very good at teaching others.”

Xu Xi gazed at Ele tenderly, holding her mechanical hand, which had lost its Synthetic Skin and exposed its alloy core.

Guilt.

Regret.

His voice was saturated with so many emotions that they tore at the Mech-Servant's heart, an invisible pain reaching her very core.

It wasn't like that; it wasn't like that at all.

“You haven't bound my future,” Ele denied with a trembling voice, all her sorrow pouring out through her eyes, which were flickering and dim.

“My birth, my existence, my everything.”

“They are all because of you…”

“Master, you are my future.”

“I don't need freedom; I only need you.”

The sorrow surging in her heart was like an uncontrollable tide, drowning the Mech-Servant's absolute rationality.

She needed nothing.

Everything was meaningless.

Only you, she only wanted him.

“You didn't become my cage… it was me, I was the one who bound you,” the Mech-Servant's voice broke into tremors; like a drowning person struggling in water, she could only cling tightly to the support before her.

Which was Xu Xi's hand.

The familiar warmth was gone.

All she felt as she held it was cold ash.

The Mech-Servant realized that compared to Xu Xi, who had always worried about her and looked out for her, her own actions were the true shackles, imprisoning the increasingly pained Xu Xi.

The strings of her heart, taut with despair, snapped at this moment.

The pod was silent, the lights bright, clearly revealing Xu Xi's overtaxed and haggard face.

The Mech-Servant could no longer convince herself to believe in false hope, to sit by as Xu Xi suffered, and to perform one useless treatment after another.

“Master…”

“Please… command me.”

Amidst Xu Xi's stunned surprise, Ele slowly lifted her face and, with a sorrowful expression forced into a smile, spoke her request.

She didn't say what the command should be.

But Xu Xi could understand the underlying meaning.

First came bewilderment, then surprise, and finally a soft, gratified gaze.

“Is it okay, Ele?”

“…It is.”

Her Vocal Module was completely damaged; though there was no external attack, her internals were burning hot, and some components were emitting scorched smoke.

Ele's voice was hoarse and distorted as she affirmed her answer once more.

“Then, I'm counting on you, Ele.”

It wasn't a command, nor a requirement.

It was a plea.

Under that gentle gaze, the Mech-Servant rose and walked toward the Medical Machines, her form trembling even more.

Shutting down programs, flipping switches, extinguishing everything.

Something that should have been closed with a single thought.

The Mech-Servant chose to do it manually, shutting down every machine one by one in order, as if performing a delayed farewell.

“Thud—”

Soon.

As all the machines shut down, the tubes on Xu Xi's body detached automatically.

The last bit of fuel sustaining the flame was gone.

His life began to reach its natural end.

But Xu Xi's expression was more relaxed than ever before; his withered body, exhausted for many days, could finally move on to the next step.

“I didn't expect…”

“…that there would come a day when I felt death was a good thing.”

A surging sleepiness struck with force.

Without the Medical Machines, the sensation of nothingness became more pronounced. Xu Xi felt his vision blur even more, even starting to turn pitch black.

A burnt-out torch.

About to fall into eternal sleep.

“Ele…”

“Yes, I am here.”

After shutting down all the machines, Ele returned to the bedside, her silver-blue mechanical eyes thick with sorrow as she watched the Xu Xi who was about to leave her.

He was the first light in her life.

And the only light.

Ending the continuation of that light with her own hands meant the Mech-Servant could never forgive herself.

“Don't be sad for me, Ele.”

“This time is the same as before; I will still be resurrected after I die, it's just… the resurrection time will be a bit longer.”

On the bed,

Xu Xi gradually lost his strength.

The blinking of eyes, the parting of lips, the twitching of fingers.

Things that were once effortless were now all as heavy as a thousand catties, difficult to perform.

He showed a smile to the Mech-Servant before the bed.

It was his final smile.

The burnt-out torch wanted to use its last bit of warmth to do something for the loyal Mech-Servant, to let that heat be of some use.

So, he requested softly: “Ele, can you let me touch your face?”

“…Yes, Ele is at your service.”

Inside the quiet Escape Pod, surrounded by silver-white walls, Ele nodded with a wail, gently lifting Xu Xi's right hand and pressing the weak palm against her damaged cheek.

The next second.

A faint halo erupted from his palm.

It was Mechanical Force.

Xu Xi mobilized his body and used Mechanical Force for the last time.

Using the deactivated Medical Machines nearby as Materials, he repaired Ele's damaged body, restoring her exquisite face and her shattered form.

“This way, you look much better…”

His fingertips fell from the Mech-Servant's face, no longer able to touch her; the continuously burning torch met eternal darkness at this moment.

[You died]

[Simulation ended]