139: Chapter 139 The Return of the Anomaly

The burning pain of spatial tearing still lingered in his limbs, like countless scorching needles piercing through nerve endings deep into his skull.

Lin Fan held onto his last shred of consciousness as he fell back into the Main Universe from the collapsing spacetime rift; the first thing he felt wasn't the relief of surviving a disaster, but a bone-chilling void.

Beneath his feet was the familiar deck of the Interstellar Mothership, the metallic coldness seeping through his combat boots. Alarms pierced the dead silence sharply, and red warning lights flickered in the cabin, casting a layer of terrified blood-red over everyone's faces.

The aftershocks of the parallel universe's collapse left shattered spots of light on his retina; those broken planets, dissipating dust, and Parallel Kate's final gentle smile... everything was still as clear as if it had just happened.

But as he looked up, before his eyes was the devastated battlefield of the Main Universe.

The fleet wreckage of the shadow of the end lay across the pitch-black universe like dead giant beasts, with fragmented Dark Matter Energy drifting in flocculent clumps, dyeing the distant stars a depressing grayish-black. Around the mothership's perimeter, bottomless black fissures were slowly expanding, like wounds torn into the universe's fabric—the Shadow Rift. These were eternal traumas left in the dimensions of the universe after the shadow of the end was heavily damaged, spreading at a visible speed and swallowing the surrounding spacetime.

Did they win?

At least for now, they had repelled the monster that destroyed everything.

But no one could smile.

Lin Fan slowly stood up straight, immediately looking for that familiar figure.

Kate was not far away, her back to him, her figure so thin it seemed a gust of wind could blow her over. Her white combat suit was covered in stardust debris from the spacetime turbulence, her long hair clung messily to the side of her neck, and the warmth from the birth of the light orb during the parallel universe ritual still lingered on her fingertips.

He instinctively raised his left hand, wanting to step forward and support her, wanting to pull her into his arms as he had done countless times, to tell her we're back, we're safe.

But this time, his movement froze in mid-air.

The moment his gaze fell upon his own left arm, Lin Fan's heart sank sharply, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and even his breathing stopped instantly.

It was no longer a human arm.

Light Orb Energy, interwoven in pale blue and silvery-purple, flowed slowly beneath the skin like a liquid galaxy. The originally solid muscles, clear knuckles, and warm flesh had all disappeared. In their place was a translucent, constantly flowing energy body. When his fingertips trembled slightly, tiny particles of light would dissipate, falling onto the deck and instantly corroding the hard alloy into small holes before turning into void data dust.

Unable to condense into a physical form.

Unable to touch physical objects.

And even more so, unable to hold her again.

Lin Fan's Adam's apple bobbed; his throat was so dry he couldn't make a sound. He tried to clench his fist, but the energy body only distorted slightly, and power leaked uncontrollably, causing the metal patterns on the surrounding floor to glow faintly.

While supporting the ritual and fighting the avatar of the shadow of the end in the parallel universe, he had forcibly absorbed excessive Light Orb Source Energy with his dark matter body. He had noticed the mutation starting then, but he hadn't expected that the moment he returned to the Main Universe, the mutation would fully erupt, becoming irreversible.

"Lin Fan!"

Little Kate's voice came from the direction of the command console, filled with urgent worry. The little girl ran over quickly holding a portable scanner, her black combat suit still stained with dust, her originally lively eyes full of anxiety: "How are you? Your vital signs fluctuated very strangely during the space jump just now..."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Little Kate looked up and saw Lin Fan's completely energy-fied left arm. Her small body shook violently, and the scanner in her hand almost fell to the ground.

"Your arm..." She looked up, her voice trembling, "How did it become like this?"

Lin Fan forced a reassuring smile, but before the curve of his lips could rise, he was pulled back by another, stronger sense of unease. He didn't answer Little Kate's question, his gaze shifting once more to Kate nearby as his feet moved forward uncontrollably.

Every step felt like walking on the edge of a blade.

Kate seemed to hear the movement behind her and slowly turned around.

It was this one look that caused all of Lin Fan's movements, words, and emotions to freeze instantly.

Her face was still that familiar face—exquisite features, a slender nose, a clear lip line—the image etched deep into his soul. But those eyes that once overflowed with starlight, gentle and firm, were now terrifyingly hollow.

No joy, no relief, no sense of peace after a disaster, not even a shred of familiarity with him.

There was only a vast, vacant blankness, like a vessel whose emotions had been completely emptied.

"Kate..." Lin Fan stopped, his voice as light as a breeze, fearing he might startle the person before him. "We're back. We've returned to the Main Universe."

He raised his energy-fied left arm again, his movements gentle and cautious, reaching toward her cheek.

He wanted to touch her silhouette, to feel her temperature, to confirm she was truly safe, to make up for all the pain lost in the parallel universe at this moment.

But just a second before his energy palm could touch her skin—

Kate suddenly took a step back.

Her movement was hasty, carrying an instinctive wariness and detachment, as if she were avoiding a completely strange and threatening presence.

The void energy palm hung in mid-air, unable to descend and unable to be withdrawn.

Red warning lights flashed between the two, stretching this moment of silence into an eternity.

Lin Fan's heart felt as if it had been crushed by that retreating step.

He froze in place, looking at the girl before him, his lips trembling slightly. Only after a long time did he manage to squeeze out: "...What's wrong?"

Kate looked at him, the blankness in her eyes not fading at all. She frowned slightly, as if trying hard to remember something, but her mind was only a chaotic void. The images, sounds, warmth, and emotions related to the man before her... all had vanished without a trace.

She remembered the light orb, she remembered the shadow of the end, she remembered the Sower Civilization, she remembered being the only human experiment of the Light Sphere Race, she remembered the collapse of the parallel universe, she remembered all the truths concerning the survival of the universe.

But she had forgotten her "human" memories.

She forgot when she first smiled, she forgot why she first cried, she forgot the feeling of being hugged, she forgot the warmth of being protected, and she even forgot this man's name, his appearance, and the meaning of his existence.

She looked at Lin Fan's glowing, non-human left arm, and at the shattered pain in his eyes. In her heart, there was no heartache, no bitterness, only a strange emptiness.

Finally, she spoke softly, her voice as calm as a mirror without a ripple, yet it was like the sharpest knife, piercing Lin Fan's heart with precision.

"Who are you?"

Who are you.

Three words, as light as a feather, yet heavy enough to crush the entire universe.

Lin Fan's body swayed, his back pressing against the cold cabin wall before he could barely steady himself. He looked at the familiar yet strange Kate, at those eyes that no longer held his reflection. A metallic taste of blood welled up in his throat, which he forced himself to swallow back down.

He wanted to tell her, I am Lin Fan.

I am the Lin Fan who first took your hand in the interstellar ruins.

I am the Lin Fan who dared to become an enemy of the entire Interstellar Council for you.

I am the Lin Fan who watched another version of you dissipate in the parallel universe and swore to protect you.

I am the Lin Fan who, even if my body turns into energy, only wants to touch you and protect you.

But he opened his mouth and couldn't say a single word.

All the words were stuck in his chest, turning into a scalding urge to cry that reddened his eyes.

Little Kate rushed over and grabbed Kate's arm, her small face full of urgency and panic: "Sister! What's wrong? Don't you recognize Lin Fan? He's Lin Fan! He's the Lin Fan who has always stayed with us and protected us!"

Kate looked down at Little Kate who was pulling her arm. Her eyes moved slightly, and a faint flicker of familiarity seemed to flash by, but it was quickly covered by blankness again. She gently pulled her arm away, her movements still soft but carrying an undeniable sense of distance.

"I remember you," she said to Little Kate, her voice still flat. "I remember we are companions, I remember we have to fight the shadow of the end, and I remember the universe is collapsing."

She paused, looking at Lin Fan again, her gaze falling on that energy-fied arm without any emotion.

"But I don't remember him. I don't remember... what happened between me and him."

It wasn't just forgetting a name or a face, but even the "emotional bond" had been completely erased.

The tenderness, dependence, heartbeat, concern, and reluctance hidden in her heart... all the memories belonging to "humanity" had disappeared.

She still remembered the truth of the universe, the mission, and the responsibility, but she had forgotten why she protected it and for whom she fought.

Franklin walked slowly from behind the damaged command console, leaning on his Modified Cane. This mechanic, who was always cynical, now had no trace of a joke on his face; his gray eyes were full of heaviness. He had been monitoring the mothership's data and the fluctuations of the universe's dimensions—the residual signals of the shadow of the end, the expansion speed of the Shadow Rift, the stability of the spacetime rift... all the data predicted that the crisis was far from over.

But compared to the external crisis, the mutations in the two people before him made his heart sink even further.

"The attack of the shadow of the end has never been purely about physical destruction." Franklin spoke, his voice deep. "When it intervened in the parallel universe ritual, it had already planted a backup plan. The price you paid for forcibly reversing causality and repairing space-time far exceeds our expectations."

He looked at Lin Fan's left arm: "Your dark matter body has completely fused with the Light Orb Energy, and your human flesh has been consumed by the energy. Unless we find the Sower's original technology, you will never be able to regain a physical form. Simply put—you can no longer touch any physical object, including those you wish to protect."

Lin Fan didn't speak; he just stared fixedly at Kate, as if to carve her image into his eyes once more.

So what if he couldn't touch her?

As long as she was still alive, as long as the universe still existed, he could keep watch over her forever.

But now, she didn't remember him.

Franklin turned back to Kate, his brow furrowing deeper: "As for you... the preliminary scan just now shows that your brain's neural bundles are undamaged, and there are no signs of loss or necrosis in the memory area."

This sentence caused everyone present to startle slightly.

No loss?

Then why would she forget?

Little Kate reacted immediately, grabbing the detector that had just fallen. Her fingers moved rapidly across the screen, her small face full of seriousness, her pupils reflecting the radiance of the data stream. She was the person who understood Kate's body and memory structure best; from the light orb's origin to the brain's memory zones, she knew it all like the back of her hand.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

On the detector's screen, dense lines of code and brainwave images flashed by, finally stopping on a memory block that was locked behind layer upon layer of security.

Little Kate's movements stopped abruptly, her face instantly turning deathly pale.

"It's not gone..." She looked up, her voice trembling with disbelief as she looked at everyone, saying each word clearly, "Sister's memories haven't disappeared!"

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on her.

Lin Fan's heart leaped into his throat, and he almost blurted out, "Then why?!"

Little Kate took a deep breath and pointed to the area on the detector's screen that was wrapped in layers of golden patterns and completely locked, her voice trembling:

"It's encryption."

"Sister's human memories have been completely encrypted and locked by a Law of Highest Authority that we've never seen before."

Encryption.

Not forgotten, not damaged, not devoured by the shadow of the end.

Instead, they were forcibly locked and sealed in the deepest layer of the brain, untouchable, unreadable, and unable to be awakened.

Franklin stepped forward quickly, staring at the detector screen, his pupils contracting slightly. As someone who had modified memory weapons and studied the ruins of the Sower Civilization, he could tell at a glance that the layer of encryption patterns definitely didn't belong to the dark matter technology of the shadow of the end, nor did it belong to the energy system of the Light Sphere Race, or any known civilization in the interstellar space.

It was a lock that transcended all civilizations, belonging to the level of the universal origin.

"The shadow of the end cannot do this," Franklin said in a heavy voice, his tone absolutely certain. "It only destroys, devours, and erases; it never 'encrypts'. This kind of precise memory lock requires a level of absolute mastery over consciousness, the soul, and the laws of space-time to achieve."

"If it's not the shadow of the end..." Little Kate bit her lip, her eyes filled with confusion and fear, "then who could it be?"

Who?

Who had quietly locked away Kate's human memories the moment they returned to the Main Universe?

Who?

Who had stepped in to sever her most precious emotional connection after the Causal Loop of the parallel universe was completed?

No one knew the answer.

The cabin fell into a deathly silence once more, with only the red warning lights continuing to flash incessantly. The alarm sound echoed sharply in every corner, as if mocking their helplessness.

Lin Fan slowly lowered his energized arm that was suspended in mid-air. The light particles at his fingertips trembled slightly, scattering into the air and vanishing soundlessly.

He looked at the Kate before him; she still stood in place, her eyes hollow and her face calm, like a perfect vessel devoid of emotion.

She had forgotten how to smile, how to cry, how to feel warmth, and she had forgotten him.

She had forgotten everything that made her "Kate" rather than just a cold light orb test subject.

Lin Fan's heart felt as if it were being repeatedly pierced by countless fine needles, the pain making it hard to breathe.

He remembered being in the parallel universe, holding the cold remains of Parallel Kate and weeping on the shattered planet; he remembered how Parallel Kate, before dissipating, had pressed the chip containing memories into his hand and whispered, "Tell her, don't become me"; he remembered how he had sworn that he would make sure the Kate of the Main Universe would always have vivid emotions and never become a cold shell without memory or warmth.

But now, she had become like this anyway.

It made him feel more despair than the ending of the parallel universe.

"Kate..." Lin Fan spoke again, his voice rasping beyond recognition. He tried to make his tone a little gentler, and then gentler still. "I don't care who locked your memories, and I don't care if you remember me right now."

"I will wait."

"I will wait forever."

"Until the day you remember me."

He raised his energized arm and reached toward her cheek again. This time, he didn't get close, stopping just an inch from her skin, faintly tracing her silhouette.

The faint glow of energy fell softly on her face—warm, yet unable to touch her.

Kate looked at him, her gaze still vacant, offering no response.

She didn't know why this man was looking at her with such painful eyes, why he was using a non-human arm to make such a gentle gesture toward her, and even less did she know what kind of turmoil should have been surging in the depths of her heart.

She just stood there quietly, like a statue that had lost its soul.

Little Kate turned her head away, tears falling silently as her small shoulders trembled slightly. She clenched her fists tightly, with only one thought in her mind:

She had to break Sister's memory encryption; she had to make Sister remember everything.

Franklin looked out the mothership's window at the continuously expanding Shadow Rifts, which looked like demon eyes in the pitch-black universe, quietly watching them. Although the aura of the shadow of the end was weak, it had never truly disappeared; instead, it was slowly condensing in the depths of the Shadow Rifts, as if waiting for something.

He gripped the Modified Cane in his hand, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

The sacrifice of the parallel universe was only the beginning.

The memory encryption was only a prelude.

The shadow of the end's purpose, Kate's identity, the summons of the sound of origin, the truth of the Sower Civilization... all the foreshadowing and mysteries were racing toward an irreversible endgame.

And now, Lin Fan had lost the ability to touch, and Kate had lost her emotional memories.

Their most powerful weapon had never been the Light Orb Energy, the dark matter body, or memory weapons; it was each other.

It was Lin Fan's desperate protection, Kate's unhesitating trust, and the emotion between them that spanned space-time and shared life and death.

But now, this connection had been forcibly severed.

"The Shadow Rifts are still expanding," Franklin broke the silence, his voice heavy. "The shadow of the end has only been heavily wounded, not destroyed. It is waiting—waiting for us to completely collapse, for Kate's memories to sleep forever, and for the universe's defenses to completely disintegrate."

"We don't have time to wallow in pain."

Lin Fan slowly withdrew his arm, the light on the surface of his energy body dimming slightly, the pain in his eyes overlaid by a layer of firm determination.

He looked at Franklin, then at Little Kate, and finally, his gaze fell on Kate once more.

"I know."

His voice was no longer raspy or fragile; it had regained its former steadiness, carrying a strength that would go against the current even if he lost everything.

"I will find her memories."

"The shadow of the end, I will completely destroy."

"The Shadow Rift, I will mend with my own hands."

"All those who hurt her, all the existences that destroyed our memories—I will settle every account one by one."

He looked into Kate's hollow eyes and said each word softly yet with absolute solemnity:

"No matter how many times you forget me, no matter how long you treat me as a stranger."

"I will walk before you again and tell you—"

"I am Lin Fan."

"The Lin Fan who will never leave you."

Kate still gave no reaction, just looking at him quietly as if listening to words that had nothing to do with her.

But no one noticed that in the deepest part of her pupils, an extremely faint starlight-colored shimmer flashed and vanished.

It was like the locked memories responding soundlessly.

Like sleeping emotions struggling weakly.

Like the sound of origin, calling softly from the depths of the universe.

The mothership's alarm was still ringing, the Shadow Rifts were still expanding, and the shadow of the shadow of the end was still lurking in the universe.

They had returned to the Main Universe, only to be met with an anomaly more terrifying than the collapse of the parallel universe.

Lin Fan had lost the ability to touch, and Kate had lost the warmth of her memories.

But their battle was far from over.

The maze of memories had already quietly opened in the darkness.

And the key to unlocking everything was hidden deep within Kate's locked soul.

This time, even if he burns through all his energy, even if he turns into cosmic dust, Lin Fan will break in and bring his Kate back, whole and complete.

Outside the window, the stars were dim, and the Shadow Rifts stained the starry sky like ink.

Inside the cabin, one with lost memories, one turned to light, companions side by side, the road ahead uncertain.

The redemption of return has long since become a new abyss.

And the true endgame has only just risen.