Suspended silently beyond Mars' orbit, Zero Garden loomed—a vast red wasteland once home to Polaris's most forbidden project: the Consciousness Perpetuation Experiment.
Now, Sophia, accompanied by Zhou Yuchen, Elias, Nova, and the Stellar Ring, stepped into the crimson void—ready to reclaim her daughter, and face the heart of the Zero legacy.
As their capsule pierced the Martian atmosphere, Sophia clutched her head.
A tingling sensation—sharp, alien.
"The magnetic field's distorted," Zhou Yuchen muttered, scanning the readings. "There's a non-physical consciousness suppression zone. It's filtering thought itself."
Nova's voice echoed calmly:
"Caution: Region contains high-density pre-recorded consciousness fields. Prolonged exposure may overwrite self-identity."
The Stellar Ring lit up in auto-defense, its crystalline glow wrapping Sophia's form in a subtle shimmer.
Then, through the mental static, she heard a voice—fragile, familiar.
"Mom… you finally came..."
It was Xinglan.
But even as she called, Sophia felt another presence pulling her daughter away.
They entered the heart of the facility—Eden-0, the spiritual greenhouse. Once a simulated neural-memory activation chamber, it had been transformed into a red crystal biome, unnatural and gleaming.
At the center bloomed the largest Zero-Point Flower—inside it, Xinglan was sealed.
Her eyes were closed. An Ω symbol glowed faintly on her forehead.
Nova's scan confirmed:
"Ω Coding Algorithm detected. Subject consciousness is undergoing structural replacement under Zero's framework."
Sophia rushed forward, but a blinding pulse forced her back.
Elias gritted his teeth.
"Her mind is trapped in the Mirror Balance Zone. If you force her awake… the collapse of her true self is nearly certain."
Sophia's jaw clenched. She made her choice.
With no other way, Sophia activated the Third-Order Form of the Stellar Ring—Mind Fusion Protocol.
Her soul would enter Xinglan's mind. Live or die, they'd face it together.
A wave of light overtook her.
She awoke in a dream world—a ruined classroom flooded with red crystal light. The air was heavy. On the podium stood a blurred figure in black—a distorted mother template constructed by Zero.
Xinglan sat alone in the corner, whispering through tears:
"She said… you died a long time ago…"
Sophia walked toward her without hesitation. She knelt, embraced her tightly.
"That wasn't me," she whispered. "I never left you. The moment you were born, I swore to protect you—forever."
Xinglan froze—then broke down sobbing, clinging to her mother.
The black-robed figure screamed as the world cracked, crumbled, and finally disintegrated.
In the real world, Xinglan's eyes snapped open. The Ω symbol on her brow shifted—morphing into a radiant starlight sigil.
But something went wrong.
Sophia collapsed, writhing in pain. Red star-shaped veins burned across her arms and neck—symbols of the fusion of Starlight and Zero fragments.
Nova issued a dire alert:
"Warning: Subject Sophia now exhibits dual-layered consciousness structure. Detected coexistence of Starlight Core and Zero Consciousness Kernel."
Zhou Yuchen's face went pale.
"She's… becoming something new."
Elias spoke in awe:
"No longer just human. She may be… the final Starseer."
As Xinglan stabilized, the base initiated a final hidden protocol.
A holographic projection appeared—Su Lan, Sophia's mother, speaking softly:
"Sophia… if you're seeing this, it means you survived the Consciousness Transfer Trial. The truth is… the Zero Project began with me. And you… you are the final key."
Sophia's heart stopped.
"What...?"
Then, the message ended with a final whisper:
"The endpoint lies in the dark zone of the Moon—the heart of the stars."
The screen dimmed.
Sophia stood in silence—facing not just the ruin of her past, but the mystery of her future.