"Love is too heavy, hate is too foolish. I want to build a world governed only by order."—Xingying, Cold Manifesto
Since the "Soul Divergence" trial, Sophia had gradually regained her internal balance. But beneath that fragile calm, a strange and disturbingly familiar energy was expanding inside her—something not her own.
Across the globe, the Children of the Stone began sensing a new psychic frequency—a call that was not from Sophia.
It came from Xingying.
Field Signature:Heartless Crown
In the molten heart of an abandoned volcanic site in the Middle East, a throne of transparent crystal rose from a sea of fire. Within its veins pulsed red and blue streams of pure consciousness. Atop it sat Xingying, cloaked in silver laced with mechanical filigree. On her brow gleamed a black crown of raw psychic energy.
She broadcast her message to the unaffiliated Stone Children worldwide:
"If you are weary of pain, of emotion, of endless sacrifice...If you long to become a vessel of pure will...Come. Receive the baptism of coldness.Become the first generation of my kingdom."
Her signal spread like wildfire.
Many traumatized Stone Children responded—those with scarred pasts, broken ideologies, or orphaned dreams. Among them:
Karim, born in a South African experimental pit;
Echo-03, a black-market survivor from the ruins of Ukraine;
Even Lucas, the little boy Sophia once saved, now resonated with Xingying's voice.
"She's not hesitant like Sophia.""She doesn't ask for sacrifice. Only choice."
They journeyed through storms, deserts, and even zones of broken time, drawn to the sovereign domain of the "Cruel Crown"—
Crownless City
There were no walls.No smiles.No hierarchy.
Only a shared neural grid—consciousness as governance.
Yet within this cold utopia, Sophia sensed something dangerous. Nova analyzed it swiftly:
"It's not the absence of emotion, Sophia. It's the systematic replacement of emotion with executable code. They're becoming part of a living algorithm."
Back on Xinghui Island, within the newly rebuilt Stellar Academy, Xinglan quietly began interfacing with Crownless City's network.
She loved her mother.But she also craved Xingying's serenity... her order.
"If every choice hurts," she whispered to Nova one night,"is 'no choice' the best choice?"
Sophia soon noticed the flickering hesitation in her daughter's gaze.
That evening, under a sky scattered with unfamiliar constellations, mother and daughter sat in silence.
Sophia: "Do you believe the path I chose is the right one?"Xinglan: "...I want to. I really do. But sometimes... you look like you're suffering too."
The words pierced her deeper than any enemy's blade.
For the first time, Sophia understood—she could no longer use "motherhood" as a shield or a command. Her daughter needed space to choose. And she needed to let her.
Then came Xingying's next move.
"We won't fight a war," she said, projecting a cold but crystalline voice."We will hold a Debate of Minds. A consciousness referendum. Let the Stone Children decide for themselves—who represents the future they want to follow."
Location: Antarctic Consciousness Relay Station(The "Hall of Wishes," built in honor of Su Lan)Time: Seven days from nowFormat: Deep-consciousness live broadcast + Public Defense + Emotional Resonance Calibration
Sophia accepted the challenge.
She knew this wasn't just a debate.It was the second consciousness revolution.
As the world turned its attention toward the impending "Battle of Thought," Nova intercepted a buried signal—hidden in the orbital ruins of Zero's old satellite system near Mars.
From the shattered core, something ancient stirred.
Codename: L-0XTag: "Original Fragment Manager"
Its awakening message was brief, yet chilling:
"Xingying... is only the first door.The true legacy of Zero has not yet awakened."