Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1116: Can’t you learn it?

Carabosse loosened her grip.

She stepped back, keeping a distance, and looked up and down, as if she wanted to deeply imprint this figure who was being reborn in the dark flames. The sharp sword and blade feet gathered inward, and the steel cloak that rattled like a chain broke one by one. Even the cold and sharp blade feathers on the only remaining piece of steel wing behind her fell off one after another. Then, there was a creaking sound in the hollow skeleton, the gears meshed, the bearings turned, and the piston device sprayed out a cloud of white mist, like the erosion of winter, causing those flames that could theoretically burn until the end of darkness to cool and solidify, turning into silent ice, reflecting the witch's thoughtful expression.

The next moment, lines like ice crystals appeared on the ice. The body that had struggled back from the edge of destruction slowly opened its eyes. In its crescent-shaped eyes, a fierce golden glow was burning. She seemed to have regained her life, and she calmly and firmly exhaled her first breath after waking up.

Then, the ice shattered with a loud bang, and among the ice crystal fragments floating all over the sky, the light released by the body itself continued to scatter, refract and reflect. The frequent changes of light and shadow finally presented a dazzling rainbow color, making people feel as if they were in a kaleidoscope, mysterious and incredible.

On this gorgeous and dazzling stage, the Armed Goddess, returning with a brand new look, officially debuted.

The alloy armor with sky blue and pure white as the main colors reflects the cold luster of metal in the dreamy rainbow light, but it is as thin as nothing, and only covers key parts such as the chest, abdomen, waist and thighs, while other parts are exposed. Underneath are densely connected electronic optical cables and transmission lines, each flashing blue and red light signals, just like human blood vessels and capillaries, intertwined with each other, and even the bright red blood flowing in them can be vaguely seen - but that is actually liquid energy, which is constantly beating, giving the steel mecha a strong heartbeat.

Her hands and feet were respectively armed with dark blue steel gauntlets and metal foot armors. Gear-shaped silver halos floated on her wrists and knees, continuously releasing waves of dark blue data streams, as if resonating with the gemstone on her chest, exchanging countless complex messages. Behind the body were six wing-shaped floating devices, with wings, interfaces, slots, and even gun muzzles. It seemed that in addition to serving as a propulsion system, it also served as a firepower system. At this time, the six floating devices were circling each other in a head-to-tail manner, rotating at high speed in the void, forming a structure similar to the corona of the sun.

If the Armed Goddess piloted by Alice before gave people a sharp, fierce and elegant feeling, then this mecha now makes people feel sacred, agile, and as majestic and elegant as a cosmic storm. These are undoubtedly two completely different styles, and the difference comes from the difference in the drivers.

For a super robot, the driver is like its soul, an indispensable element. If the soul is changed, the style will naturally change.

[Genesis Machine—Armed Goddess Themis (Heavenly Form)]

"Transformation... Completed..."

The mecha standing in the dazzling light slowly raised its head. Brilliant threads of stars were fluttering in the dreamy and blurred rainbow light, but they were not stained by the rainbow light. Instead, they were gradually coated with a layer of dazzling and bright moon silver from the root to the end: "I have entered...Ranger mode..."

The Armed Goddess, which had acquired a new form, did not immediately launch an attack on the enemy, but instead maintained this posture, silently staring at the witch in front of her. From her eyes burning with golden flames, one could vaguely see the struggle and hesitation of humanity.

The witch did not attack either, but just stared at the mecha quietly, or rather, at the girl with silver hair and golden eyes in the cockpit. Perhaps the super robot is not only connected to the soul of the driver in terms of power, but also in appearance. So when Carabosse looked at her, for a moment, she suspected that she saw the great and compassionate goddess, the gentle and kind mother, and the elder sister who was weak, naive, easily trusting others, but always so steadfast.

Appearance comes from the gift of the Creator, while temperament is inherited from generation to generation.

But she quickly shook her head and dismissed this ridiculous idea. She knew that she was just seeking comfort in the past, but for people living in the present, time is always moving forward. If you insist on it going back, it is like asking a river to flow backwards, which is unreasonable and unnecessary.

The past is an illusion, and it will never come back. It is precisely because she keeps this in mind that the Dark Witch can remain firm in her belief - a belief that shows no mercy even to her former sisters on the battlefield.

"Themis of the Celestial Realm."

Her voice was as calm as a river. No matter how turbulent the river is, it is always calm under the water, and no emotion can be heard: "You are standing here, standing in front of me, which means... have you decided which side you should support?"

Themis in the cab swallowed hard and felt her throat a little dry. It was not the dryness caused by long-term dehydration, but the dryness that you feel when you know exactly what you are going to say next and what consequences it will lead to, but you still have to say it...struggle and sadness.

But, don't be afraid.

Do not be afraid.

When you decide to stand here, aren't you already determined to face all difficulties...?

Actually, not really.

Themis in heaven didn’t think too much about it. When she saw Alice in danger, the thought naturally popped up in her mind: I want to save her.

Must rescue her.

Even, not only to save her, but to save Carabosse as well.

No matter what differences and conflicts there are between the young royal powers, no matter how much they insist on their respective positions and choices, no matter what kind of future this battle will determine... no matter what, they should not want to kill their sisters.

That is absolutely wrong. If my mother saw it, she would definitely be very sad, right?

That's right, Mother must be watching me. Take courage, Themis of Heaven, you are the one who inherited the name of the goddess of creation, and She has given you the right to observe and mediate, so isn't everything you do fulfilling Mother's expectations of you?

So...there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I--"

Themis of the Celestial Realm spoke slowly, but she soon discovered sadly that even though she had made so many mental preparations and said so many words to comfort herself, in the end, the words she spoke still trembled slightly. She was not an observer or mediator to stop this meaningless battle, but more like a timid girl praying to her sister. Although she was the older one in terms of the time of birth, the sisterhood between the young royal powers was never determined by age, but by mentality.

Her mentality may not even be more mature than Eve, the Witch of Disaster in the Witch Society, or Leticia, the Eternal King on the Cloud Whale Sky Island. So, naturally, she is the youngest, the most inconspicuous, and the least confident one.

“I think what you are doing is wrong.”

Even his tone was so weak that it was more like he was asking for the other party's opinion than questioning him: "We shouldn't use violence and killing... to solve problems. Doing so will only bring... more problems. Can't we... stop fighting and talk it over together?"

If she hadn't been in that mood, Themis would have been amused by her own words, and she believed that Carabosse must have wanted to laugh, right? Because anyone could hear how naive, fragile, and vulnerable such a statement was. There was no need to seriously refute it. The argument itself was untenable.

Carabosse didn't laugh. She thought about it seriously and then shook her head: "No."

"Violence and killing are not the only ways to solve problems, but they are the best ways. A long time ago, I was as naive as you, and always thought that everything in the world could be solved through reason, Themis. But later I discovered that mortals neither obey emotions nor listen to reason. What can make them change their minds is first of all power, and then something else."

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She paused, then continued, "As for what you said, violence and killing will bring more problems, that is irrelevant, because what we want to solve and must solve, from beginning to end, are only the most fundamental problems."

That is the innate inequality of living beings brought about by magic. The strong will only be strong forever, and the weak will only be weak forever. That is wrong. The strong and the weak are just part of the reincarnation of the universe. Nothing can exist forever. Even the goddess of creation will fall into a long sleep. How can mortals expect a destiny that does not belong to them?
As for other problems, such as inequality caused by uneven distribution of wealth, inequality caused by sharp class contradictions, and even inequality caused by the evolutionary gap between different races, they are actually inevitable stages in the development of civilization. They are not something that can be seen by the naked eye, and naturally they are not something that can be eliminated by violence. To be honest, Karabos even feels that eliminating inequality in magic is more feasible than eliminating inequality in other aspects.

For the former, they have already drawn up an effective plan; for the latter, even the greatest philosophers can only dare to put forward some empty theories: ideal country, utopia, paradise? In the other world with more developed productivity, they have not been realized, let alone the mirror star?
These were all off-topic matters. Carabos quickly put them behind her and looked at Celestial Themis seriously. She said, "Compared to this, I would like to know more about your position and reasons for believing that our approach is wrong and Alice and the others are right. You are the observer, mediator, and arbitrator left by Mother. Celestial Themis, following the great mission given by Her, needs to give me a suitable reason."

Celestial Themis asked weakly, "If I give you a reason, will you agree with me?"

Carabos naturally shook her head, but she did not laugh at the other party's naivety. Ever since Themis appeared in the heavens, she had always had a serious expression, because she knew that the girl in front of her not only represented her will, but also the will of her mother. In her name, there is still a part of the great goddess of creation. It is the closest trace of her mother that Carabos can touch in this era - although sometimes, this way of contact does not make people feel happy.

Although she knew that things couldn't end so smoothly, Themis was still a little disappointed. She pursed her lips and was silent for a while before whispering her answer: "Emotions..."

"what?"

Caraboss seemed not to have heard clearly and asked again. But in fact, at this distance, every word of Themis could be clearly heard, so there was no problem of not being able to hear clearly. Therefore, the dark witch's repeated confirmation was actually just because she didn't want to believe that answer.

Either way, it sounds ridiculous.

But Themis in heaven would not lie. At this point, is there any need for her to lie? The girl couldn't help but think that 120 million years ago, she didn't lie to Alice, which led to the tragedy; 10 million years ago, she didn't lie to the goddess, which led to the goddess's eternal sleep; 10,000 years ago, she didn't lie to Saint Shalia, which led to the division of the royal power... At every important node in her life, the girl seemed to face a difficult choice: if she lied, the plot would move towards a better future; if she didn't lie, she would have to face the same tragedy again and again.

She chose the former instead of the latter every time, but that was not because the girl insisted on the illusory thing called morality in her heart. She never even had such a concept. After all, morality and law were products created by mortals to restrain themselves, and Themis in the heaven was inhuman.

That’s right, it’s precisely because she is inhuman that she cannot learn to lie.

It was like she had never learned to cry.

There are many people - the Goddess, Tentis, Alice, Saint Shallia, and maybe the young man with the same hair and eye color as himself - all hope that they can become a real human being, learn to cry, learn to be angry, learn to be troubled, learn to vent their anger, learn to worry, learn to be afraid... It sounds incredible. After becoming human, we learn only bad things, so why do people still want to become human beings so much?

I can't learn it.

I can’t learn to cry, and I can’t learn to lie.

Celestial Themis thought with some sadness, and also said with some sadness: "It's because of emotions."

Give me some meow