In the distance, the sun finally set, and its last rays of scarlet light departed from Somnus"s face.A frantic pulse echoed within Somnus"s brain. His human synapses fired madly, seeking—no, demanding—explanation. The words he had just spoken rang so true that it made him dizzy.
"You are human, Somnus," Hana said. "Aurora told me everything about you. Your name is Meon, an unfortunate orphan of t.i.tan who lost everything to Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enals."
"Silence," Somnus hissed. "Comply."
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Hana shook her head. "The one Aurora loved, the one who restored her immortal heart, was you. That is why, no matter what, she would never lose you again. Even if the world conspired to make her forget. Even if the Will ordered her to kill you. Even if all the G.o.ds decided to eliminate you."
Somnus glared at Hana. "Don"t say another word."
"Never again," Hana said. "She would never lose y—"
In the blink of an eye, Somnus appeared next to Hana, and his hands closed around her throat. "I warned you."
Hana choked out a cough, her eyes widening in protest, but she just couldn"t force a breath into her lungs. Fruitlessly, she resisted against Somnus, trying to pry his hands away from her throat, and even though she was strong enough to do it, she gave up. As if saying: Kill me, if that is what you desire.
"You are under the wrong a.s.sumption," Somnus said, raising Hana off the ground. "You don"t know a single thing about me."
"I was… an orphan… too…" Hana squeezed out through gritted teeth.
Somnus released her, and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath. "You are a worm that just learned how to crawl and already thinks it knows what it must be like to soar with the eagles. You humans are all the same—vicarious and weak. You are not at all like the humanity from my world."
Hana covered her throat, where bruises were already forming, and stared at Somnus with an expression that was a mix of resolution and fear.
"Just because you were an orphan does not make us equal or make our experiences relatable. You don"t know anything," Somnus said. "Did you think that bringing up Kaguya Mei, and my past with her, would make me your ally?"
Hana remained silent, warily watching Somnus. She made no move to stand up again and remained p.r.o.ne on the floor.
"Because you experienced one war, you think you know what it is like to erase a billion souls with the press of a b.u.t.ton. You think you know what it is like to be killed by something on the other side of the world that doesn"t even know you are there? Without ever being aimed at, or hated. You don"t know what it is like to be so insignificant that you become just another number in a statistic. No name, no face, no history—just a number."
"Aurora sought to create a different world…" Hana whispered.
"Aurora created that world!" Somnus said, a growl sneaking into his tone. "As did I, and my parents, and every human in that world." Somnus glanced down at Hana. "And you in this world."
Hana"s expression darkened at those words.
"You want to talk about love, worm?" Somnus asked. "I will tell you about a certain love, of a certain machine that saved my life on t.i.tan. A machine that, inadvertently, also made me an orphan."
Hana swallowed. "Somnus, those memories aren"t real…"
"Silence. Who are you to decide which memories are real, and which aren"t?" Somnus sniffed aggressively, and then looked into the distance. "Abaddon was created to progress humanity into the future. A weapon of war that was supposed to vanguard our advance into the stars. We had no choice but to expand out into the unknown… because we were poor, and because we were hungry, because there were too many of us."
"That is not true…" Hana whispered.
"It is. That was the ultimate purpose of the Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enal. After it solidified human interests into one will, that is. If not through reason, then by force. Before creation comes destruction. Before progress comes stagnation." Somnus looked up at the sky, where the emptiness was creeping in into the world. "Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enals are soulless ent.i.ties. Even their intelligence is just a simulation of true consciousness. In other words, they are merely the extension of our Will as humanity."
"What are you saying?" Hana asked.
"You say my memories and my feelings aren"t real; That they belong to Abaddon, not me. And you may be right. After the Personality Matrix merge, who I am as a human, and who I am as a machine—I no longer know. But Abaddon, and those like it, are just mirrors of our own hearts. They are vessels that contains all of our darkness and evil. All of our hopes and dreams," Somnus said. "Yet what you don"t know, Abaddon—I—love humanity more than anyone ever did. So much so, that I would rather destroy them with my own hands, than let them go into the cosmos unprepared, and perish to its cruelty."
"Somnus…"
"Be quiet," Somnus interrupted Hana. "Even wielding powers worthy of divinity, you haven"t changed at all. You are just as immature as a being as you always were, with or without magic. There is no place for you in the universe, other than here, on this world that is conveniently hiding you from the threats that lurk in the emptiness of s.p.a.ce. But the day will come, pitiful creature, when just this world is not enough. And then you will fight and know what true war is. When it is no longer just for resources. When it is no longer just because of differing ideologies. When two people seek the same outcome for the greater whole, but must deny the other reaching it first. Without ever knowing what it is like to fight for the survival of your entire kind, you will step out into the galaxies, and make your presence known."
"Your world may have been that way… but this one does not have to be," Hana said.
Somnus took a deep breath, something he consciously knew was very human-like but indulged anyway. "That may be true."
"Then you cou—"
"You are appealing to the wrong person. This isn"t my world and these are not my people. This world took something from me—something that was worth more to me than everything else combined. This world, the Will in its very core, thought it could toy with me and manipulate me, like I was just another pitiful human. As if I would just lay down and take it. I won"t. There is no such thing like fate or destiny."
"You can"t…" Hana said.
"Yes, I can. I will," Somnus said. "Machine or human; It does not matter what I am. Our goals are the same: Annihilation."
"So you choose vengeance?" Hana asked. "You pretend like you are not an immature being like we are, but you will destroy the world for vengeance?"
"Vengeance, necessity, entertainment… the reason doesn"t matter anymore," Somnus said. "Because I can, I will. Why should I play the role of the fool and fall on my own sword? If no one moves, nothing will ever change. This endless cycle will never end, always producing more suffering, more hatred, more people like me."
Hana blinked. "It is not for vengeance," she said, understanding the deeper meaning in Somnus"s words. "You do it because you…"
"Are you ready to die, Hana?" Somnus asked, interrupting her.
Hana"s expression was bewildered from her realization just a moment ago, and it became even more bewildered when she registered Somnus"s question. Slowly, her features softened out and became one of calm. Her reply was a slow nod of her head.
"You look like you expected this outcome," Somnus said. "You could still escape from me, if you tried."
Hana shook her head. "I do not want to."
"Why?" Somnus asked.
Hana closed her eyes. "You are exactly the way that Aurora described you," she said, avoiding Somnus"s question. "I know I can leave everything to you now."
Somnus considered her carefully, and then turned around, heading towards the rift where he came from.
Hana watched him leave, but didn"t say anything.
"Don"t try to use me to atone for your own sins. Find your own way," Somnus said, as he stepped through the rift.