Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 946: Flowers

The spacious living room where Charles and 005 were standing was transforming; the wall murals and the exquisite furniture around them squirmed, revealing a dark red hue that resembled flesh.

Eventually, everything became flesh, and eyes in a variety of sizes and shapes appeared in the flesh. Every single eye was staring intently at 005 covered in black bandages.

The eyes opened wider, allowing Charles to take in more information. The flesh walls throbbed, becoming something that resembled a heart to provide nourishment to Charles' eyes.

It wasn't Charles' first time seeing 005, but human eyes were too inferior to see through her true appearance, so Charles had only seen what she looked like on the surface.

This time, however, was different—he could see more and deeper than just the surface. The black bandages riddled with bizarre inscriptions were merely a facade—a facade to conceal the tiny spheres that resembled snowflakes behind the bandages.

The snowflakes were interconnected, and they were vibrating at a certain frequency. The trembling of each "snowflake" would affect the surrounding snowflakes, making them tremble as well, and thus reflecting 005's movements.

Just like how the human body was composed of cells, these "snowflakes" were like cells that made up 005. Unlike the human body's cells, however, these "snowflakes" had their own independent consciousness.

Charles could sense emotions from them, and emotions could only come from those with independent consciousness.

However, it turned out that Charles had barely scratched the surface. There were more things to be discovered beneath the pitch-black, intelligent "snowflakes." It was a space completely different from the surface; here, matter was meaningless.

Every single snowflake housed living beings, and Charles even heard their screams, which seemed to be their way of communicating with each other. Each snowflake was a country or even a planet.

005 was a massive galaxy encompassing these planets, and she was moving slowly but steadily.

However, it turned out that even the creatures living on the snowflakes had something more than what met the eye.

Charles could see something within them, but just as he was to take a deeper dive, the part of his brain responsible for warnings forcibly interrupted his observation.

The knowledge that he was inadvertently assimilating during his observation had taken away a huge chunk of his humanity. If he were to continue observing 005, he'd be reborn as a new god in just three minutes.

The eyes all over the flesh walls closed at once, and the alarm bells ringing in Charles' head disappeared at the same time.

Of course, 005 was aware that Charles was observing her, but she couldn't care less about it.

"How does it feel to become a god?" she asked.

Charles's heart sank at that remark. Those words weren't what he wanted to hear from 005.

"Are you really telling the truth? Why did you change your story from before? Just what are you hiding from me, and why are you hiding things from me?" Charles asked.

The corners of 005's bandaged mouth curled up slightly into a smile as she replied, "You think too highly of yourself, Charles. I'm not hiding anything from you, and I have no reason to do so.

"I granted you three wishes simply out of curiosity—I wanted to know if you'll stay firm in your choice even after consummating those wishes.

"If you really want to know what happened a thousand years ago, then you should ask the others instead of me. I wasn't the only one present at the time."

Charles was reminded of the eyes he had seen upon arriving in the Subterranean Sea, but he chose not to believe her immediately.

"Then, why have you been collecting those body parts? I knew you had ulterior motives, but I decided to accept the risk anyway. Now that things have come to this, I think you should just come clean."

If it were merely out of curiosity, there'd be no need for 005 to go to such lengths just to obtain them. Charles believed that 005 was definitely hiding something.

"Charles, those are just mementos, and I have more of them—more than you think. Unfortunately, it's not as deep as you think.

"You've chosen your own path, and it is up to you how you're going to walk it. It is not necessary for you to ask questions. You're afraid of getting caught in someone else's scheme, but you seek guidance from others.

"Don't you think that's contradictory?"

"And I believe you should know that my eyes aren't only on you. I have my eyes on many people out there. Humanity is just a flower garden with many different flowers, and you're just one of the more bizarre flowers.

"A blooming flower is in its most beautiful state, but it is the closest to withering as well. Once a flower has bloomed completely, it is time to move on and appreciate other flowers.

"It's about time I tend to the other flowers. Goodbye."

Charles felt a bit anxious upon seeing that 005 was about to leave. Unwilling to give up, Charles asked, "I thought you hold no malice toward humans? If that's the case, then why won't you answer such a simple question?"

"I do hold no malice toward humans, but I'm talking about humanity as a whole, not individuals. And strictly speaking, you are no longer considered a human."