Overturned Tower

"—I lost my name a long time ago."

Tokifat whispered: "My parents, my life...my past, my future. My everything.

"When I was chosen to become Tokifat, I separated from those things."

His voice was filled with unspeakable pain, like rancid and sour wine.

"[Lillian]."

A name came out of the young man's mouth without any warning: "I regard her as my bloodless sister."

There was sweet love in his voice. But from his words, only hatred as filthy as mud could seep out...and jealousy as burning as poisonous fire.

"I'm not the only one... we all love her. Not just because she's cute, smart and lovable. But because she's the most lustful of us all.

"We all call each other 'what number'. Not only do we call ourselves, but we also call others. According to the education we received, when we are selected as candidates to bear the name of the elves, it means that we Give up your past life and your future possibilities.

"One of us will become a 'Tokifat'. We will learn some knowledge in advance for this world and build our own body until it is perfect... until we inherit that sacred name in the future.

"Our daily diet is strictly restricted, and we also need to maintain targeted exercise under the guidance of experts. This includes physical exercise and maintenance of body shape. It also includes the maintenance of skin, teeth and vision, and sleep strictly according to the given table every day. I have the ability to learn a lot of knowledge and hone my expertise under the guidance of experts.”

"...It must be very hard."

There was pity in Kübler's voice.

Like a mother who loves her child...if she had a soft and warm body, she might hold him in her arms.

But unfortunately, she is just an AI.

"It was very hard, but also very happy. Even though I later became a 'big lord' and a high-ranking elf director... But I still think that it was the best period of my life. I was surrounded by like-minded good friends. , have the girl you want to pursue, maintain a healthy and regular fulfilling life every day, and be better than the day before every day, polishing your body like a gem. We are thinking about the future, secretly in the dormitory before going to bed Chatting about worries and ideals.

"We made a joke-like agreement that no matter who becomes 'Tokifat', he will carry others along with him. What he carries is not just one person's ideal, but everyone's ideal. Dreams of the future.

"But we all know that there is only one person who can realize our wishes. In order to make ourselves closer to 'perfection', we obey all orders from our superiors. Of course, this also includes 'forgetting your own name'.

"...Looking back now, I actually had a foreshadowing at that time."

The corners of Tokifat's mouth raised slightly.

He smiled self-deprecatingly: "Why do you want us to forget the name? Maybe they are actually implying that no one can return to society from the moment they enter the facility. Those who leave just disappear... They just need to leave , it is possible to leak the secrets of the Mother Tree facility.”

His smile was hollow and cold. It's like mocking the migratory birds in winter.

"Number 7, Lilian. She always emphasizes her name to each of us... She claims that even if she becomes Tokifat, she will never forget her past and origin.

"'That is the first reason why I am who I am, the reason why I can stand here proudly, and the answer to why I am so good.' Not only did she disobey the administrator's instructions, but she also secretly reminded me of her own Name, remember your dream now, don’t throw it away in the future.”

She was so bright then. It's natural to be loved by people.

She is like a diamond under the sun, deflecting into colorful lights under the brilliance of the sun. Everyone can find the color in their heart from her.

"She is good enough, and can even be called a genius. She became an extremely good mage in her teens, mastering more than twenty kinds of spells; she also became a double bachelor in engineering mechanics and mechanical design, and she is also particularly good at Running and jumping. She ranks third among us in long-distance running, but I can only run fourteenth with all my strength; and she ranks first in sprinting and jumping ability, and her petite body has extremely strong explosive power. .

"So even though she was a little rebellious, she still became Tokifat. And the seven people who reached the final step were all convinced and gave their blessings.

"Because of her excellence and cuteness, we have actually given up on our ideal of becoming Tokifat a long time ago, so we don't feel any sense of loss. We have long been discussing what to do after we go out... "

"And you?"

Kübler asked softly: "What did you originally want to do?"

"me……"

Having said this, Tokifat was stunned for a moment.

He was silent for a while and smiled sadly: "It has been so long that I have forgotten it.

"At that time, we felt something was wrong when we watched the inheritance ceremony last for so long. According to Lilian's level of excellence, she should be able to complete the inheritance smoothly, receive the knowledge and name of the sage, and become the new 'Tokifat' That's right.

"I found out later - because she was resisting. She tried her best to keep her personality from being erased. If she resisted to death, she would die with a headshot during the ceremony. We, the eliminated, would be left behind. Being a 'spare tire' is just for this.

"And if she can't resist Tokifat's consciousness and still completes the ritual, then we will all lose value and be frozen... If Tokifat dies within a few years, then we can be activated. If After more than ten years have passed, we will all be destroyed - because times have progressed, and we who were excellent more than ten years ago are no longer the 'optimal' choice. The 'facility' will start preparing new sacrifices. .

"However, her struggle is still valuable. It is precisely because of her tenacious resistance that part of Tokifat's consciousness was torn apart when the ceremony was interrupted; and it was precisely because of the damage to the instrument that it Didn't erase my consciousness.

"——Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived."

Tokifat said, his expression returning to tranquility: "In other words, it was precisely because the church sent angels to bomb the 'Rebirth Facility' that I had hope of surviving.

“The church didn’t just save my life; it didn’t just save me for me.

"Just as we promised at the time -

“No matter who becomes Tokifat, he must move forward with everyone’s dreams.

"I couldn't fulfill their dreams. Because I was just an inferior product from beginning to end... My inheritance was not even complete. I did not get the destiny and power that belonged to Tokifat. I was never the best. That, not even the top three.

"——But I can avenge them. What killed them, the church's bombing? I don't think so... Rather, it was the church that liberated them. Liberating Lillian and I from that destined fate Come out. Without the church, they will also die, and their death will be unclear...

"This is just a resurrection facility. There should be eighty-three such facilities.

"Hundreds of children have been sacrificed, and their futures have been taken away by tampered inheritance rituals. And many more people are not even worthy of knowing the truth, and they have completely disappeared in confusion.

“They are all so outstanding—far better than most people in this society!

"Why! Why can those who don't even know why they live live comfortably, but we - have to die?!"

"Tokifat"'s words were filled with resentment and anger.

He casually took off the crimson halo from the head of an angel behind him. While the angel fell to the ground, he placed the halo squarely on the base.

But Kubler just watched all this and said softly: "So, you actually don't just want revenge on the mother tree system."

"Because this is the only step I can truly complete. Speaking of ridicule... I only recently learned that Lilian did not die, but became the leader of the Tower of Babel. And they have been using such viruses to destroy The name-bearing elf’s ability to reincarnate—even the thought of revenge came a little later than her.”

While waiting for the data to be uploaded, Tokifat raised his head and looked at Kubler's body, sighing softly: "I'm still not as good as her.

"But after all, she and I are completely different..."

"What?"

"She was always a good person."

Tokifat stared at Kübler: “But I’m not.

"...At least, not anymore."

The next moment, all the dark yellow lights in the room suddenly turned on as red warning lights.

That golden wall was instantly covered with dark red warnings!

All the networks on the entire Happy Island were suddenly cut off. All screens turned into "No signal" and all web pages turned into "Connection failed". All means of communication disappeared, all intelligent operating systems failed, and various car accidents and accidents occurred all over the island.

People looked at each other, panicked and confused.

And the eyes of the "mecha" that was hung high in the sky like a suffering saint suddenly lit up with two red lights. It's like the casing that has been sleeping for a long time finally wakes up.

"You're doing great."

A young man's voice came from it.

Calm and confident. Never hesitate, I am the only one.

It was different from the old voice that the Pope showed him in front of Russell at the beginning. It sounds like the voice is only 20 or 30 years old, which is the period when a man's creativity, physical strength, intelligence and other comprehensive levels are at their peak.

This is exactly the "perfect self" that Andrew restored through AI calculations!

Tokifat knelt down on one knee very naturally.

"Hail, my Pope."

He said respectfully: "We don't have much time. Bad days and bad guys may come back at any time - please just start."