Round 36: Answer

Some unknown entity coalesced and took shape before the two superconstructs. The space dimmed, as if it suddenly changed form, forcing out a writhing, living creature—like a snake of misfortune hatching from an egg. Gradually, the shadows surrounding it stabilized, outlining a vague void. A few gem-like shades of dark green light flickered within the shadow barrier, adding an air of cunning to this demonic ghost.

“That was quite difficult,” the cloud-like mist let out a hissing laugh, like water boiling on hot coals. “You have no idea how amazing it is to detect your energy fluctuations in the Lady’s endless labyrinth. You’re like sharks swimming in the ocean, with the scent of blood from your teeth drifting through the waves…”

A brilliant beam of light pierced through the shadowy form. The energy refracted and focused repeatedly, tearing it to shreds before it was reduced to ashes in the heat and flashes of light.

“What have you done?”

Forty-Seven turned to glare at her. “You kept saying you’d find a way out of here, yet now you just destroyed someone who might have helped us without thinking.”

The steel woman frowned slightly; her metallic face could mimic such subtle expressions remarkably well. “It won’t be destroyed so easily. And I wasn’t…”

“What does it matter if it escapes? You fool! You’re not fit to be a family member. Someone who only knows how to shoot but not how to speak properly isn’t a mafia member—they’re just thugs…”

Forty-Seven’s nonsense was interrupted by a second beam of light. The laser struck his head, creating a massive fireball that rolled and spread. Kari’s spear glowed brightly—but this wasn’t her doing. The majestic and elegant steel archangel spread its wings and flew from the ruined labyrinth, like the bright moonlight suddenly appearing on the calm sea after the clouds cleared.

“Hm?” It was in the blink of an eye from her discovery to facing her head-on. The archangel thrust its spear, drawing brilliant sparks across Kari’s shield formed from folded wings, before diving at her. The dozens-of-feet-tall metal giant moved with agility and speed that even advanced martial monks could hardly match. In the blink of an eye, the two nearly identical figures clashed, creating massive waves of light and sound, ending the first round with a whip-like kick delivered to Kari’s neck from above—the steel angel held back its attack, its blue eyes shining like stars.

“Chaos must be eradicated.”

“Kari Two” uttered this declaration in a emotionless, cold tone, as blue-white lightning split the air. She followed closely behind, diving down almost to merge with her.

“Interesting.” Forty-Seven, whose head was still smoking, climbed up a stone pillar like a statue on the Empire State Building to watch, smirking at the fierce battle below. “The Great Clone War has begun… What?”

He leaped up as a long flame swept beneath him, passing through the whirring components.

“Which bastard dares shoot at me from behind…” Before his shout could fade, that thing drew a half-circle and turned 180 degrees before slamming into 47—before the swirling smoke and flames could fully disperse, four or five more such fire bursts followed, engulfing him in a massive explosion that seemed to create a boiling hell out of thin air. 47 tumbled backward, looking like just another larger fragment in this chaotic maze, in a state of utter disarray. The half-formed Super Flying Dragon disassembled and reassembled itself amidst the smoke, eventually crouching on a platform the size of a square, its heavy cannon raised, with a red light representing destruction visible at its muzzle—yet before it could fire, it suddenly let out a soft exclamation, just like Keri. Do robots dream of electronic sheep? This question had always seemed too complex for 47: first, he never dreamed; second, he never thought he could represent all robots. The creature before him not only continued to prove the second point but also seriously challenged the first. Its appearance was familiar—a relatively small, truncated pyramid-shaped head nestled between its shoulders, bizarre legs equipped with numerous power and servo devices to support its heavy body as it moved swiftly, massive arms made entirely of guns and weapons radiating murderous intent… When attacking enemy ships, space stations, or during landings, it could retract its limbs, protect itself with nearly indestructible armor, activate its thrusters, and charge at its target like a self-propelled battering ram. Once on the ground, it would extend its limbs, stand up, walk, and unleash its deadly weapons to obliterate everything in sight. In fact, this was exactly the standard procedure for 47’s work in his past life—and it also resembled his standard equipment back then. If not for the grotesque Madman symbol on its chest and the blazing flames flowing from the gaps in its shell, 47 might have thought he was trapped in some absurd dream where two lives intertwined. “Go!” There was no time to dwell on nostalgia or identify old acquaintances, as even more fierce attacks were coming. The Vulcan Cannon spun, firing a winding trail of destruction onto the stone platform, which then shattered into two pieces and drifted apart under the terrifying impact. 47 leaped up and fired back, colliding with the swarming missiles in a spectacular display of fireworks, marking the official start of the intense exchange between the two sides, as if they were two tanks twenty steps apart. Thus, the maze became even more chaotic—differently shaped “twin brothers” and “twin sisters” turned everything upside down, fighting in pairs. The two Keris were dueling with swords. Their blades, entwined with lightning, slashed at each other at unimaginable speeds, their razor-sharp energy tearing through everything, distorting space itself, making them look like dancers stepping on countless blades. Both Keris sustained more and more wounds; the battle was so fierce that they had no time to recover. The previous exchanges of fire, fights, and chases had now turned into a war of attrition, with neither side able to hold out much longer.

Kaylee parried her opponent’s thrust, stepped aside to regroup, only to be struck by a bizarre reverse sweep that cut from her chin to her forehead. She seemed unharmed by this heavy blow and instead swiftly turned her head to bite down on the sword’s blade. This reaction defied her opponent’s mechanically precise expectations—was she trying to prevent her from drawing her sword for defense? Then, just as well, apply force to sever her head outright—but this wasn’t the beginning of the battle, and she was already severely injured and exhausted. The severed tendons and joints failed to instantly translate her will into physical death, delaying things by a fraction of a second.

As the sword blade grazed her teeth, Kaylee quickly severed her opponent’s hand. She immediately followed up with another strike, cutting off her other arm. At the same time, she took the sword still in her mouth with her left hand and struck twice with both blades, moving at lightning speed. In just a few seconds, she had struck her opponent countless times; half a finger was the largest piece of debris—her efficiency was greater than that of an automatic meat grinder.

The shattered Kaylee exploded in a dazzling burst of light, turning into countless specks of starlight. The victor stood there, though battered and with only one blue eye shining, still exuding grace, like a goddess of victory.

Then, she sheathed her sword and returned to normal size, her eyes gleaming once more. It was unclear how far this battle had taken place in the labyrinth, and there was no sign of that freak, Forty-Seven, in sight. He must have suffered the same attacks… Kaylee hesitated briefly—should she go look for him?

But she quickly dismissed that thought—the same mysterious shadow that had caused her to miss its target appeared again.

“Hehe, how does it feel to fight your own mirror image… Calm down! You’ve already killed me once!” The edges of the shadow rippled, like ink dissolving in water, contaminating the surrounding space. “And I have no ill intentions!”

“Who are you?” Kaylee asked coldly.

“I? I’m just a scholar and traveler who’s very interested in you all,” the shadow chuckled. “I’ve witnessed the birth of the multiverse and will also witness its destruction. I study everything in the multiverse, searching for the ultimate mysteries that govern it… I believe you would be of great help to my research. After all, you are the most outstanding creations of the rulers, and that race is unparalleled in controlling matter and energy, which is why you possess such immense power—power enough to even rival the ancient gods… and us, who hate to fight.”

It vanished with a whoosh and reformed further away, seemingly trying to avoid the killing intent radiating from Kaylee after hearing its self-revelation.

“Don’t be nervous. Impulse is the devil… Observe carefully, think seriously. You should realize I’m fundamentally different from those idiotic brutes like ZuxxZuxxKer -> Zuxx Ker. Why not wait for your companion? He’ll probably finish off his own mirror image soon… Speaking of which, his mirror image is strange—kind of… I don’t know, it seems like something went wrong with the magic.”

Just as they spoke of Cao Cao, he appeared. A thunderous roar grew louder as battle robots descended from the sky and crashed near them, the dust and smoke rising like a massive wave of black. The robots unfolded their armor and straightened up; their huge engine nozzles hadn’t yet cooled from steam and hot air, while weapons such as shoulder cannons, arm cannons, assault guns, rockets, and ion cannons were all ready, aimed at Shadow, Kari—and that symbol of the Mad Faction that seemed to smirk forever.
“Was he killed? What bad luck…” Shadow said, somewhat unconvinced. “Or was he driven away? Anyway, the mirror copy should have disappeared. I think I can…”
The robot first fired a barrage in all directions, then opened its head just as Kari was about to draw her sword in retaliation. The mechanisms loosened, the faceplate lifted, and Forty-Seven sat inside, smug.
“That’s impossible!” Shadow reacted violently. It spiraled upward like a column of smoke, hissing as it stared at the metal man sitting calmly in the command tent. “It’s just a fake mirror image I summoned from a temporal chaos! How could you control it? And give it substance?”
“Shut up,” Forty-Seven ordered, using the robot to raise an arm and shoo Shadow aside like a fly. “Have you ever seen such a stunning robot? Either explain seriously who you are and why you’re here, or bring out Numbers One to Forty-Six to play with me.”
“How easy is that? Summoning temporal mirrors of powerful beings like you… Ahha, amazing! I knew it! Exactly as I predicted!” Shadow suddenly became extremely excited, contracting and gathering, its dark green eyes flickering irregularly. “The Dominators can restrain and transform the omnipresent forces of chaos to create ‘Divine Armaments,’ the epitome of order. They think this proves that order surpasses chaos, that moving from disorder to order is an inevitable trend in the multiverse’s development… But in the end, chaos can never be completely eradicated! You’re wrong, the Dominators are wrong! A being born from error! Proof that chaos defeats order! This alone proves that chaos is everything, the very foundation! No matter how they try to hide it, the multiverse begins in chaos and will end in chaos!”
“Introduce yourself again,” Shadow said, spinning around a few times and taking on the appearance of a black humanoid in a tuxedo, then bowing theatrically. “My name is Feani. By bloodline, I am part of Hatred, one of the Divine Abominations… I urge you both to calm down. I’ve never done anything evil, nor have I ever intended to be an enemy of the ancient Dominator race. Think carefully—do you really have any impression of me? That’s right. As I said before, I’m a scholar, and my only desire is to explore the ultimate mysteries of the multiverse. Time and space mean nothing to me. The ‘past’ that has passed, the ‘present’ I’m in now, and the ‘future’ to come—are all just landscapes on the same canvas to me.”

“I shouldn’t have any doubts left. Look, even the labyrinth of that supreme ruler in Seal City couldn’t trap me, because I can traverse the interdimensional labyrinths you’d spend a lifetime trying to explore in an instant. As long as I look, I’ll surely find the only path left by that great lady out of kindness, because before a life that transcends time, there’s only one answer—no choices at all.”
“But I can’t know everything. Before discovering you, I was studying that lady. Yet what I saw was that ruler of Seal City—nothing at all! She exists only when seen, and the only concrete evidence is this very paradox! What is this? The past, present, future—everything is pitch black. So I deliberately entered her labyrinth to see if I could find some clues. Also, I’m convinced I’ve seen the moment the multiverse perished, but how can I be sure? When I reach that moment, I’ll perish along with the world, because once dead, I can’t tell the living me, so the living me can never know what happened at that moment of destruction! Do you understand this pain? By the way, about you—”
Feani stared at the lofty Forty-Seven: “Where did this mirror of yours come from? I can summon it, but I have no idea how. If I could summon it again now, I would do so without hesitation, but I simply don’t have the power. If I use another time, you won’t exist in reality, because you’re trapped in time—only ‘now’ is certain… But why can you still sit there now? You clearly belong to different times! But where is that time? Why can’t I find it? It’s insane! Look, I wield the most powerful force in the multiverse—I should know everything! Yet it only brings me more unsolvable puzzles!”
“What kind of scholar are you? If you think chaos is the essence of the universe, then you should understand its most prominent feature—its inherent unknowability. That’s why thinking without learning leads to your fate,” Forty-Seven said, smirking as he watched Feani screaming wildly and flickering in and out of existence.
“But scholars aren’t stumped. My life is infinite, and whether the multiverse is infinite remains unknown. I’m convinced that one day I’ll be able to see through all secrets and find the ultimate answer.” Feani finally calmed down. “From now on, you’re one of my research subjects… Don’t get angry. In return, I’ll show you the way out of that lady’s labyrinth. Also, do you want to know about the fate of the ruler’s race? I can provide clues too. The rulers’ power can even shield spacetime… Thankfully, their era has passed.”
Kerry’s blue eyes lit up. Perhaps killing a more paranoid version of herself finally made her learn to speak properly: “Why? You hate us; we’re enemies.”
“Once again, I’m a scholar,” Feani said unhappily. “I’m not at war with anyone. Helping comes from value—there’s no harm in telling you directly. This is a product of chaos—”

“He pointed at the forty-seven pairs and said to Keli, ‘You know it too, you just haven’t admitted it yet. So there’s no doubt that chaotic elements exist within you as well. Think about it—what will you bring back when you go home? Obviously, an exception. And what does an exception represent? Naturally, the collapse of a tiny bit of order!’”
“We will eventually restore order,” Keli retorted immediately.
“Let’s end this boring philosophical discussion—I’m tired,” said Forty-Seven with a yawn.
If he were human, he would indeed be tired—Feani’s subsequent explanation was long and incoherent, filled with numerous half-baked theories. Thankfully, these words didn’t possess the ability to transcend time like him, and it finally came to an end.
“The path ahead is open for you! Go and see where the power of the realm itself will take you! If you’re still apostles of the rulers, you should go home! Hehe, I don’t see any hope for you… It’s strange—how did you turn it into this? This power is special! I’ll make it my research topic!”
“You have too many research topics,” said Forty-Seven, sitting in an eight-wheeled convertible—its surreal design paired with that symbol he thought was famous far and wide.
“Hold on tight!” He prepared to step on the accelerator. “If you want to know the ultimate mysteries of the universe, everything about everything, I can tell you.”
“You? You know?” Feani clearly didn’t believe it. “How could you possibly know? But I can sense you’re not lying to me. Why?… It’s incredible! Tell me, what is it?”
“Of course I’m not lying to you.” The wheels spun wildly, the exhaust began to spew fire, and half a second later, it vanished in a flash, leaving behind the answer to the great question—about life, the universe, and everything.
“42.”