Collapse Iron: Cosplaying the Near-Death Star, but with a full destiny.

The end of the passage was not a dark dead end.

Instead, it was a sudden, breathtaking purity.

As the five crossed that invisible boundary, the decaying aura that had enveloped them vanished instantly.

There is no dust.

There is no musty smell.

Even the somber feeling characteristic of ancient ruins is gone.

This is the center of the ruins.

A huge, circular, empty hall.

The white, metallic ground was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the somewhat disheveled figures of the five people.

There were no unsettling insectoid scratches on the wall; instead, a faint blue glow flowed through it, as if it were breathing.

"This art style..."

On March 7th, she put away her camera and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

"That's a really fast change! It was just a wasteland survival movie, and now it's a sci-fi blockbuster?"

Nguyen Mai squatted down and gently traced her fingers across the ground.

No trace was left.

Not even a speck of dust remained.

"A sterile environment".

Nguyen Mai looked at the testing instrument in her hand; the readings on it were so perfect, it was like a laboratory instrument that had just come out of the factory.

"The air cleanliness here... is even higher than that of the Black Tower space station."

She looked up and glanced around.

"Moreover, this building material... is not in the database of the Intellectual Society. Its molecular structure is extremely stable, one could even say... it is immortal."

In the very center of the hall.

A platform stood there all alone.

It was a cylinder about half a person's height, pure white, with a faint glow at the top.

And in that soft light.

Something is floating.

It was a piece of letter paper.

Or rather, it was a letter.

It wasn't in an envelope; it was just unfolded, floating quietly about ten centimeters above the table.

The surrounding air seemed to form an invisible force field around it, keeping out anything that could potentially contaminate it.

Hoshi looked at the letter.

That pulling sensation from the depths of my soul reached its peak at that moment.

Boom!

My chest suddenly jolted.

It felt like someone had struck that empty heart hard with a hammer.

"It's this one."

Hoshi muttered to himself.

She couldn't take her eyes off the letter.

That thing was calling to her.

It was like a lost ship seeing a lighthouse.

Or perhaps... the moth saw the fire.

The attraction was so strong that it even overwhelmed her fear of the unknown.

"Doriboshi?"

Xing noticed her unusual behavior and reached out to pull her back.

Be careful, don't touch anything.

But the star didn't stop.

As if bewitched, she walked step by step toward the platform.

The footsteps were very light.

But in this extreme tranquility, every footstep seemed to tread on everyone's heartstrings.

step.

Two steps.

Stand still.

Nihoshi stood in front of the platform.

The letter was within her reach.

Upon closer inspection, the paper was not made of ordinary plant fiber; it had a faint pearlescent sheen.

It looks brand new.

It's so new, it looks like it was just placed here a second ago.

It completely lacks the sense of vicissitude that comes from the passage of 30,000 years.

"This is unreasonable."

Nguyen Mai walked over and stood a few steps away, her brows furrowed.

"The rocks outside have been weathered for 30,000 years, but this letter... doesn't even show the slightest oxidation."

Time here... is locked.

Ye Xing ignored Ruan Mei's analysis.

She slowly reached out her hand.

The fingertips of that intact left hand were still trembling slightly.

Just as her fingers were about to touch the halo.

The protective force field suddenly flickered.

There was no rejection.

Instead, as if confirming some kind of permission, the light curtain spread out like ripples on water, making way for her.

pat.

Hoshi caught the letter.

It feels slightly cool to the touch.

It wasn't as heavy as I had imagined; instead, it was as light as a feather.

"What does it say on it?"

March 7th couldn't resist coming closer, sticking its head out as far as it could.

"Is it a treasure map? Or some kind of unparalleled secret manual?"

Xing also walked to the side, her golden eyes fixed on the paper.

"Or perhaps... the antidote formula for 'insect transformation'?"

Hoshi took a deep breath.

Turn the letter over in your hand.

It was displayed to the public.

Everyone was stunned.

blank.

A complete blank.

There were no words on the pearlescent paper.

No symbol.

There is no pattern.

There wasn't a single stain or crease.

It was as clean as the first snow.

"what?"

March 7th was dumbfounded.

"This...this is a wordless book?"

She reached out, waved her hand on the paper, and then turned it over to look at the back.

"Could it be written with invisible ink? Should we heat it with fire? Or maybe wet it?"

"No."

Nguyen Mai shook her head.

"It's not just about the absence of words."

"This piece of paper... doesn't even have the 'intention' to carry information."

"It's just a piece of paper... that hasn't been written on yet."

It has not yet been written down.

These words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Hoshino's mind.

She looked at the blank letter in her hand.

Suddenly I understood the source of that sense of calling.

This is not a letter for her.

It's not information left for the future either.

This is……

An "invitation".

A blank invitation to the "future".

Because it hasn't happened yet.

Because that so-called "prosperous future," that destructive ending, has not yet been observed or confirmed.

Therefore, it is blank.

Hoshi suddenly raised his head.

I happened to look at the stars beside me.

Xing was looking at her.

Those golden eyes reflected Hoshino's pale face and the blank sheet of paper in her hand.

No language is required.

There wasn't any complicated communication.

The moment their eyes met.

A strange connection was established.

That was the resonance between the star core and the vessel of destiny.

It is the intersection of "exploration" and "end".

Xing understood what was in Xing's eyes.

—Go there.

—To that future that has not yet been written down.

—Go and see for yourself.

Xing's lips curled up slightly.

He revealed the kind of smile that one only shows when preparing to do something bad or something big.

"It seems..."

Hoshi reached out and grasped the hand that Hoshi was holding the letter.

My palms are warm.

"We need to fill in a blank."

"Hey, hey, hey! What kind of riddles are you two playing?"

Looking at the strange atmosphere between the two, March 7th suddenly had a bad feeling.

"You guys aren't going to do something dangerous again, are you?!"

"Hold on tight."

Xing ignored the protests of March 7.

The stellar core within her body began to throb violently.

Golden light spilled from her fingertips, flowing down Hoshino's arm and into the blank letter.

at the same time.

No longer suppressing the power within him.

She closed her eyes.

Let that countercurrent called "end" surge within your body.

"The End—"

The stars whisper.

Om-! ! !

The blank sheet of paper suddenly burst forth with a blindingly strong golden light.

The light collapsed inward.

The surrounding space began to distort.

The silvery-white ground, the glowing walls, and even the figures of Nguyen Mai, March 7, and Dan Heng all became blurred at this moment.

time.

It's flowing backwards.

The data on the instrument in Nguyen Mai's hand began to deteriorate rapidly.

March 7th's terrified expression froze on his face, then turned comical as if the rewind button had been pressed.

Dan Heng reached out to stop him, but his movements were so slow it was as if he were stuck in glue.

A tremendous suction force emanated from the letter.

It's not about the physical body.

Rather, it refers to "existence" itself.

"Walk!"

Xing shouted.

Pulling onto Hoshino, they deliberately crashed into the golden light.

boom!

The whole world shattered in that instant.

That pristine tranquility was shattered.

Instead, a torrent of countless voices emerged.

The sound of the wind.

The sound of water.

The sound of insects chirping.

The cry of life...

The light engulfed the five people.

The heritage center has returned to its deathly silence.

Only the empty platform remained, still radiating a soft light.

It seemed to be waiting for the next visitor.