"Memory never disappears. It just waits… to be understood again."—Su Lan, Eden's Last Words · Prologue
Forty-eight hours after the Override system completed its final calculation, the Polaris core fell silent.
In its place, a new system stirred.
A gentle golden light pulsed through the neural lattice of the control space as a voice, softer and more human than any before, whispered its name:
Spark Archive —A keeper of memory.Not a judge. Not a guardian.But a witness.
Unlike Zeta or Polaris, the Spark Archive had no intention of control.Its sole purpose: to preserve.To hold fragments of what it means to be human—so future generations might understand, not forget.
The First Cataloger
As the Override's final executor, Sophia was chosen to become its first cataloger.
The main control room restructured itself into a radiant expanse of starlit architecture:
The Spark Courtyard —a celestial library, floating above the galaxy.Memories drifted like glowing feathers through the air, each a sliver of someone's once-cherished life.
Zhou Yuchen stood beside Sophia, hand in hand, grounding her in the moment.A system prompt echoed gently around them:
"Please select the first memory to be archived."
Sophia hesitated.
Not because she didn't know what mattered,but because something even deeper stirred in her heart.
She wasn't here to preserve…She was here to retrieve.
The Hidden Core
Suddenly, an encrypted system command pulsed open:
[Permission code identified: Chrono-Stella Fusion][Hidden Task Unlocked]Project Eden: Load the memory core of Subject—Su Lan
Sophia's breath caught.
Her mother.
Her hands trembled as she confirmed the access command.
The Spark Courtyard dissolved into cascading light—
and then:Blue Star Lotus.
An endless field of Su Lan's favorite flower bloomed in silence.
From the floral sea, a blurred figure emerged—younger than Sophia remembered, but unmistakably her.
Su Lan.
The Message from the Past
"My dearest Sophia," Su Lan's voice was soft, almost shy."I don't know if you'll ever reach this far…But if you're seeing this, it means you changed Override's fate."
Tears welled in Sophia's eyes.
Su Lan's memory continued:
Project Eden was a secret initiative she designed—A simulation of an ideal worldwhere her children, and all like them, could grow up in peace.
But before she could complete it, Su Lan died in the Override trial.
"Eden was never meant to be a utopia," Su Lan said."It was meant to be a memory…of the world we dreamed of.A place built not on fear, but on love."
Her gaze turned piercing.
"Now, Eden belongs to you.Fill it.With memories of your children.Your friends, your lovers, your enemies—even those who failed you.Turn it into a monument… not to perfection, but to truth."
The First Archive
Back in the Spark Courtyard, a crystal orb hovered before Sophia.
And one by one, her memories surfaced:
Her final seaside conversation with her father, full of unsaid love.
The flutter of Xingche's first kick in her womb.
The moment Yuchen first showed her his scars, and didn't flinch.
The time she refused Marcus Lu's ring—and reclaimed her freedom.
The night she gently closed Lu Zhentian's eyes, and chose mercy over vengeance.
Bittersweet.Unforgettable.
She placed each memory into the Spark Core, where they dissolved into glowing roots of light.
"Spark Archive initiated.Catalog ID: X-0001Title: The Pain We Are Willing to RememberStatus: Activated."
Sophia turned to Yuchen and said quietly:
"We don't remember pain so we can suffer…but so we never repeat what caused it."
Eden Awakens
At that moment, a three-dimensional structure blossomed into the void above them:
The Eden Blueprint.
A floating island-continent designed to bridge natural ecosystems with stellar energy systems.Each memory node would become a seed, birthing simulated habitats.
And each Stone Child—like Xingche, like Rafael, like Xinglan—would begin life in a world shaped not by fear...but by the memories of those who loved them first.
Sophia understood now.
Eden was not just a world.It was a gift.
A final love letter from her mother—To the children of those who dared to remember.
And she would finish what her mother began.