Chapter 1917  -I Am Sorry.-

Many, many years ago...

Inside a dimly lit chamber that hummed with the soft sound of machinery, Queen Ai's supermassive brain was seen encased in a glass container filled with a strange luminescent liquid.

It was connected with countless cables, pulsing with blue light continuously.

Loki sat before her in silence, his sharp eyes scanning the holographic data around him, showing lines of intricate code, graphs measuring cognitive capabilities, and projections of seemingly endless calculations.

His expression was unreadable as he was buried in his thoughts.

For a long moment, neither spoke.

The only sound echoing in the gloomy chamber was Loki's fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest of his chair.

After a short while, he broke the silence.

'How much more?' Loki asked solemnly, 'How much more data do we need before we surpass Unigins' consciousness prowess?'

There was a pause...The lights within Queen Ai's container flickered as she responded with an emotionless voice.

'Based on the current data projections and calculations, the amount of data needed to exceed Unigins' level of consciousness is still...astronomical.'

'Astronomical...' Loki frowned, 'Give me numbers.'

'It's impossible to pinpoint the exact numbers needed.' Queen Ai replied, 'Based on the data about the celestial entities, to reach their level, we will need to acquire significantly more cognitive data in the hundreds of quintillions if not more...'

'Ahhh...'

Loki exhaled softly, leaning back in his chair with a helpless look.

His fingers halted the rhythmic tapping, and he crossed his arms over his chest. He gazed at the glowing container thoughtfully as the weight of her words sank in.

"So we're still far, far, behind," He muttered to himself.

Queen Ai's voice remained steady.

'Correct...The data required to achieve such a leap is not easily obtainable. We will need to access sources of knowledge beyond what we currently have, unconventional methods, or tapping into realms of thought we have yet to explore.'

Loki's lips broke into a bitter smile as he said, 'Unexplored realms, you say? I have already fed you data from every accessible realm.'

Ever since the birth of UVR and Queen Ai, Lord Loki had been feeding her unique data nonstop to enhance her consciousness prowess.

With almost everyone in the universe connected to the UVR, anything they saw or found was being added to her database, strengthening her even further.

In fact, everyone was living under the illusion that they had free choice in what kind of data they could allow Queen Ai access to.

For example, Queen Ai tried many times to buy unique data from Felix like the ancient languages or such. Unbeknownst to him at the time, whether he accepted the trade or not, Queen Ai was still getting the data she wanted since she was operating under Loki's orders first and foremost.

In other words, she could break the laws of the rule book as long as Lord Loki ordered her.

Now, imagine how much data she had access to for millions of years when the AP bracelets served as her eyes and ears across the entire universe!

'I really thought that the new data from the Quantum realm and celestial beings would be enough to make the last push.' Loki sighed, 'I guess I still underestimated the celestials' consciousness level. It's nowhere close to a unigin's level.'

Queen Ai remained silent, hearing to his thought process.

'Is this it? To harvest that much unique information is impossible unless we discovered a whole new universe and handed everyone in it AP bracelets.'

Lord Loki understood that even then, they would need to wait for eons until they could harvest enough for the initial push.

'Is it really impossible without going that far?' Loki murmured, 'Without becoming a monster?'

'...'

Queen Ai stayed silent...But, it was all the confirmation he needed.

Loki stood up and walked to Queen Ai's container. He reached out with his hand and caressed the glass gently.

Then, he inquired with a faint voice, 'My love, are you guaranteed to ascend if we use the forceful protocol?'

'Calculating...Yes.' Queen Ai confirmed monotonously, 'Based on the data, my consciousness will touch upon divinity for a few moments.'

'...' Loki closed his eyes as he placed his forehead in the glass container.

Then, he murmured, 'What are the odds of you surviving the process.'

'Zero percent.' Queen Ai anwsered calmly.

'What about the others...'

'Zero percent.'

'All of this for a brief peek upon divinity, is it even worth it? Will it make any difference?' Loki smiled wryly as he gazed into the ceiling.

Just like Lord Shiva, Loki's dream was always the death of the three rulers after they were told that their birth was meaningless and served nothing but to entertain them.

Ever since then, he held this grudge deeply in his eyes without showing it to anyone, masking it with his playful and unserious persona.

While Lord Shiva desired to destroy the universe and kill everyone in it for the sake of uprooting their entertainment stage, Lord Loki had a much more devious plan.

He wanted to actually harm the three rulers and even sought to kill them...He didn't care if he failed, as long as he harmed them, he was willing to die on that hill.

In his eyes, it was all worth it to touch those gods and show them that they were not invincible.

The method he devised was to utilize the Metal Race's infinite growth potential after realizing that their consciousness prowess was linked to how much data they possessed.

With a target in mind, Loki created the UVR and Queen Ai...With his illusion powers, no one had any chance to find out or do anything to stop it.

After the birth of Queen Ai and UVR, his plan was in full motion and all he needed to do was wait patiently as Queen Ai continued to increase her spiritual prowess.

But, after Felix came into the picture and saw how he was growing much stronger than Queen Ai, he started placing his bets on him.

After Felix ascended to a unigin and a celestial, he even started thinking of completely giving up on his plan.

After all, he found out more about the unigins, and the three rulers, making him understand that his plan was foolish from the very start.

Those three monsters could never be taken down by his beloved creation unless a miracle occurred.

Thus, he cheered on Felix, just like any other primogenitor, desiring his justice, even when he found out later that their birth served a big role in the universe's consciousness rebirth.

Still, the seeds of hatred were already buried deeply and he still desired the erasue of the three rulers.

Just when he thought that his ludicrous plan would be concealed for eternity, he was given a chance to cast light on it...

Although when he knew that the consequences were too much to stomach for anyone, Loki still uttered with a solemn tone, 'It's time my love...Activate The Ascension Protocol.'

The moment the order reached Queen Ai, the blue glow in the chamber flickered and then turned a deep, ominous red.

The blue pulses that had once traveled through the cables connected to Queen Ai's brain shifted in color, morphing into a sinister crimson.

Meanwhile, all across the universe, individuals wearing AP bracelets; scientists, explorers, fighters, civilians, and leaders, felt a vibration on their wrists.

In that instant, a single notification appeared on every bracelet's interface:

-I Am Sorry.-

The message was short, cryptic, and cold, but there was no time to process it.

No time to understand what those three words meant...Before anyone could even react, a wave of overwhelming pressure crashed through their minds.

One by one, the eyes of every person wearing the bracelet rolled back into their heads. Their bodies stiffened as their consciousnesses were forcibly ripped from them, leaving behind nothing but hollow, lifeless shells...

Across entire cities, planets, and star systems, people collapsed, their minds violently severed from their bodies...

Loki was watching those horrific scenes of people of all races, ages, and genders, collapsing into corpses everywhere...

The numbers weren't in the thousands, millions, billions, or even quadrillions...It was a number with so many zeros, that one would need minutes to enunciate all of it.

All of those lives collapsed at once.

This resulted in players within the games dying and so as the viewers in the stands. Fighters within war-ridden battlefields to perish together. Families enjoying a nice dinner to fall face flat on the table.

The SGAlliance's inner and outer leaders collapse in meetings with each other, in their bedrooms, and even during a speech in front of their entire nations.

But, fret not...No one was there to witness it as even the ones without AP bracelets had their consciousness snatched from them as long as they were close to someone wearing it.

In other words, not even babies were spared...

Yet, the shocking part? He showed no mercy to anyone, not even Felix's friends and loved ones, including Olivia, Selphie, Bodidi, Allura, and every one of Felix's subordinates...

As he watched their eyes reflect a soulless and confused gaze while lying on the ground motionlessly, all he could do was tighten his grip on the edge of the control panel.

'I am sorry, I am sorry, but it had to be done...'

Loki bit his lip tightly until blood seeped down his chin. Yet, he felt no pain as his heart died out the moment the order was given.

'It had to be done...It's either them or us...There is no in-between.'

'No in-between...'

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