Wasteland Echoer.

“I…” Wright felt his voice was stuck in his throat like a lump of cement. No matter how much he struggled, apart from his Adam's apple moving slightly, he could only open and close his mouth, unable to utter a single word.

“Tell me…tell me…tell me! Me!” Ato, who had been calm, suddenly became violent. Then, everyone noticed that the gentle sunlight shining inward from the top of the “magnificent building” had disappeared, replaced by rapidly dense, dark clouds that looked like a giant beast baring its fangs.

Instantly, a sense of drowsiness enveloped the entire underground space, and Ato, standing in front of Wright, stared with eyes that looked like jewels stained with blood. Those tiny "snake hairs" that resembled Medusa's hair suddenly transformed into countless grotesque, writhing octopus tentacles that emitted a sour, putrid smell.

Each tentacle rapidly sprouted equally grotesque eyeballs, all glowing crimson, and they all turned their "gaze" toward Wright's body. As the black raindrops fell, the entire "magnificent megastructure" made of reinforced concrete began to crumble rapidly, covered with a layer of eerie "creatures" resembling moss, adding a touch of gloom to the already dark building.

Soon, the top layer collapsed abruptly along with the spreading dust, and Ato's several octopus tails, which had expanded several times their original size, evolved into strong and powerful "weapons" like vine whips, quickly pressing against Wright's chest, throat, and abdomen, as if urgently forcing him to make a choice.

“Tell me, are you human… or a Lost One?” Ato’s voice became exceptionally hoarse, yet deep and powerful, like a wild beast about to erupt in fury issuing an ultimatum.

After several seconds of silence, Wright took a few deep breaths to calm himself before slowly speaking, responding in an exceptionally calm and clear voice:
"It can be a human, or a lost soul, of course, a magician, or even—a 'monster'."

Seeing that Ato did not make any further statement, Light paused, met Ato's deep, dark eyes with a firm gaze, and said:

"It depends on the Creator's attitude, that is, His attitude towards mankind. Is the evolution advocated by Ivan XXII and Ivanov a blessing or a disaster for mankind? I think even the Creator and the order of gods probably can't tell the difference. Therefore, my identity depends on the 'reason' established by the Creator."

“Your answer…” Yato murmured in a still hoarse voice, but filled with intense anger. Then, he stared intently at Wright with his beast-like eyes, as if he wanted to crush and grind him into dust with his mind.

However, as Ato tightly bound Wright with those "vine tails," and his sharp claws, pressing against his throat, were about to pierce his blood vessels, a melodious, deep, yet exceptionally sorrowful sigh escaped from his bulging throat.

"Alas, yes. Humanity itself will never truly understand the direction of evolution. The so-called 'evolution' is nothing more than a science fiction tragedy built upon endless trial and error and repeated deaths. Without a creator, everything will ultimately be nothing more than a deep illusion in a sea of ​​mist." Ato gazed at Wright's all-too-familiar face and murmured.

It seems that his years of slumber have allowed his mind and spirit to recover, enabling him to connect with the dark energy permeating the universe while maintaining his "monster" body, and to contemplate profound philosophical topics with the help of the Creator's mind.

“Light Socrates.” Athos’s voice regained its monstrous roughness as he spoke:

“When I performed the ‘Singing of the Machine’ ritual, I only thought it was to summon a crude soul for George’s recently deceased son. After all, the red magical energy had already scorched that body beyond recognition, leaving it riddled with holes. But you have truly surprised me. I’m very curious about where you come from.”

“Another world, you know it, Ato. Your rituals are nothing more than randomly summoning souls from another dimension using the ‘unstable divine power’ of the ‘Daughter of the Machine Elements.’ In principle, any creature, any race, could become your puppet. And I am the embodiment of ‘luck’ and ‘misfortune’.” As Wright spoke, his dark eyes suddenly emitted a soft red glow.

Unlike "monsters," the Lost Ones, vampires, and gargoyles, this red light evoked not fear, but a sense of excitement and hope. At this moment, the red demonic energy within Ato, a dense and sinister power of the Lost Ones, was continuously gathering within Wright's body.

Ato knew that Wright had mastered the power of the red magic source, which meant that this power would not harm him in any way; on the contrary, it was a beneficial power that surpassed all others. It would no longer corrupt the human will, nor would it lead humanity into the abyss of "antiquity" and "loss," nor would it turn people into monsters.

If Wright wanted, he could withdraw any power inherited from the "Red Magic Source" at any time and return to a purely human state.

Even though Ato continued to use all his "weapons" to suppress and coerce Wright, a seed of "fear" had already sprouted within him. "That world," Wright paused, clearing his burning throat with a few coughs, and continued:

"There is no magic; it is a world dominated by technology, the new world that Ivan XXII advocated... or rather, 'desperately longed for.' However, the absence of magic means that humanity cannot make prior contact with any gods or the creator of the entire universe. Humanity will be lost in the arrogance and folly of technological creation and will still head towards destruction."

“So, Ato, I can sense that you are not willing to work for those idiots in the Zhrine Empire, nor can you act according to your own will. Everything you are doing now is nothing more than venting the anger of being forced to live as a ‘monster’ for so many years. What do you really want?”

"What do I want? Heh." Ato chuckled coldly, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

Immediately afterwards, crimson eyeballs suddenly appeared on the surface of the writhing octopus tentacles on his head. They rapidly expanded, but after doubling in size, they burst open, turning into "otherworldly flowers" watered with blood.

Then, the "red spider lilies" exploded one after another with a gust of air mixed with the smell of sulfur, continuously spreading blood-red dust outwards.

In less than half a minute, including Dark and Hoshino Shota, along with all the "Nebusk Guard" [warriors] in the underground space of the "Magnificent Tower", all collapsed and fell into a deep sleep.

Both Dimension Wright and Ato remained remarkably clear-headed.

"Your [Seducer] class ability has improved again, Ato." Wright stretched out his right hand, trying to grasp the dust that was constantly drifting in the air, shimmering with seven-colored light, and said in a deep voice:
"Oh, no, it should be [The Deceiver], right? [The Seducer] is just a mid-level class; they can only use magical energy to cast hypnotic-like spells. But you can put them into a permanent slumber on a mental level. Right?"

“There’s an old saying among the Khitans that I think makes a lot of sense,” Yato said, standing up and stretching to relieve the muscle discomfort caused by fighting and squatting. Then, in a didactic tone, he continued:
“Exceptional people are not genetically different from ordinary people; they are simply better at using tools. These seven-colored dust particles are ‘MB-1035-A: Eternal Sleep Infreus Dust’ that I borrowed from my past self by tearing open a rift in spacetime and dimensions through ‘Klein’s Arm’ in just a few seconds.”

"On June 15th, 523rd year of the New Era, I saw a spacetime rift behind the iron gate at the Tenin Sect base in the city of Socrates, which was the one you didn't dare to push open. At that time, a dark and powerful arm forcibly knocked me away and stole the results of my three years of research. Originally, I intended to use it to exchange with George for the chance for those half-lost children to survive in the city."

"But it was used in such a ridiculous moment and scene, wasn't it?" Wright sneered, looking at Ato with a mocking expression.

“If the ‘Eternal Slumbering Involute Powder’ could have been delivered to that power-hungry general, the father of the previous owner of this body, perhaps he could have completed the assassination of John sooner, and there would have been no need to initiate the ‘Mechanical Hymn’ ritual.” Ato paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"The inverted effect inspired the inverted cause, and the inverted cause, in turn, led to the actual effect. All of this could not have been accomplished without the Creator's arrangement. Fate, yes, this is the true fate. We are all pawns used by the Creator to truly transform humanity, forever only able to follow the footsteps of fate. But you are different, Wright... no, 'Hyper,' the power gathered within you is enough to dominate the future world's trajectory. As long as you wish, this world will slowly return to the right track."

“But I don’t have enough power, nor real authority. I can’t accomplish all this. Perhaps, Ato, you’re wrong. I’m just a pawn of creation.” Wright glanced at Ato with slight disappointment, then stared intently at the dark sky above and sobbed.

“No, this is the Creator’s test for you, and our existence is also part of the test. The new world needs a person of unwavering will, who can control his power and manage his anger; he must have an unshakable grand goal and the power of a leader. Most importantly, he cannot doubt himself from the bottom of his heart.” After Ato finished speaking, he quickly walked up to Wright.

Immediately afterwards, wisps of devilish, ribbon-like black smoke emanated from his arms, completely crushing the "Arm of Klein," which had long since lost its energy, and extracting a "gem" from within—a gem whose color, shape, and existence were utterly indescribable. (End of Chapter)