Chapter 23 – If I’m Being Honest…

“Arka, what are you
doing
? We have to go!” I grabbed her remaining arm, but she pulled away, her blue eyes meeting mine, her expression resolute.

“It’s a choice, Noah. And I’ve… made mine.”

She stepped towards me, and I looked away, unable to meet her gaze, my heart pounding in my chest, a knot of dread tightening in my gut.

“Noah,” she said, her voice soft, yet unwavering, “you have to keep going. Find a new beginning. At the edge of the Abyss. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“Don’t do this, Arka,” I pleaded, stepping towards her. “Come with us. We can all make it. We promised.”

“It’s… not possible,” she said, a sad smile touching her lips. “I have… a role to fulfill.”

I reached for her again, but she stepped back, shaking her head.

“Noah…” She took a deep breath, her blue eyes shining brightly. “Remember me. When you find your new beginning… beyond the Abyss… remember me. I will be… with you.”

The words caught in my throat, a lump forming in my chest, a wave of grief washing over me.

She turned to Yuri, who stood silently, her head bowed, her hand still gripping her bow, her body trembling.

“Yuri,” Arka said gently, placing her hand on Yuri’s.

“Arka…” Yuri whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “Why… why you? Why do we have to… make this choice?”

“You’ve done enough, Yuri,” Arka said, her voice warm, reassuring. “You’ve brought us this far. You’ve been… remarkable.”

“But… if we’d been better… if we’d been stronger…”

“There are no perfect choices, Yuri.” Arka smiled. “Everything you’ve done… it was right. Now… it’s time to let go. To move forward. Beyond the Abyss.”

Yuri broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, her body shaking with grief.

Arka turned to Luna, kneeling down, her hand gently cupping Luna’s small, furry face.

“Luna,” she said softly, “you have been… so brave. So strong. I’ve never seen anyone… endure so much.”

“No! No go!” Luna cried, her golden eyes wide with fear, clinging to Arka’s arm. “Luna need Arka! Luna can’t… without Arka…”

“You can, Luna,” Arka said, her voice firm, yet gentle. “You are stronger than you think. And you are not alone. You have Noah. You have Yuri. They will… protect you.”

“But… Arka… Luna need Arka!” Her voice rose to a wail, her small body shaking with sobs. “Arka stay! Luna no go!”

Arka held her close, her remaining arm wrapping around Luna’s small form, a silent embrace.

“Luna,” she said, her voice soft, yet unwavering, “you deserve… a better world. A brighter future. See it. Feel it. Live it. I… believe in you, Luna. Believe… in yourself.”

Luna sobbed, her tears soaking Arka’s metallic skin, her small hands clinging to Arka’s arm, refusing to let go.

But Arka gently pulled away, rising to her feet.

She turned towards the door, her movements slow, deliberate. She pulled the pin from a grenade. She didn’t look back, even as our cries echoed through the chamber.

“Arka!”

“Don’t do it!”

“We’re supposed to go together!”

She paused at the threshold, looking back at us one last time, a sad smile touching her lips.

“Goodbye,” she whispered.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the chamber, the force of the blast ripping through the central device, the door slamming shut, the light from the seventh floor vanishing, plunging us into darkness.

The last thing we saw was Arka’s silhouette, standing alone against the horde, a single, defiant figure against the encroaching darkness.

And then… silence.

***

With the grenade pin pulled, I stepped across the threshold, their cries echoing behind me, pulling at me, tearing at my heart.

Noah. Yuri. Luna.

I couldn’t stop. This was my choice.

I walked towards the central device, the creatures swarming around it, their claws tearing at the closing door, their roars echoing through the chamber.

I turned my back to the door, taking a deep breath, filling my mechanical lungs, the cold air a stark contrast to the warmth of their tears, their pleas.
Do machines have… last thoughts?

As I walked, memories flickered through my mind, a chaotic montage of my existence. The silent ruins of the seventh floor. A faint cry. A newborn, abandoned, alone.

Luna.

Her small, fragile body, cradled in my arms. The quiet sigh as she drifted off to sleep. The realization that I was more than just a tool, a machine. I was… a protector.

Luna had become my purpose, my reason for existing. Watching her grow, learn, adapt to the harsh realities of the Abyss… it had filled me with a sense of… pride, of… love.

The day she’d first picked up a spear, her small hand trembling, her eyes filled with fear, yet a fierce determination burning within.

“Arka… Luna scared…”

“You are strong, Luna,” I’d said, holding her hand. “And I will always… be here.”

I’m sorry, Luna. I broke my promise.

And Noah, Yuri. Their strength, their resilience, their unwavering determination to reach the end of the Abyss… it had inspired me, shown me the true meaning of… hope.

Noah’s decisiveness. Yuri’s warmth, her gentle smile. They never gave up. And in their unwavering pursuit of a new beginning, they’d shown me that even in the Abyss… hope could exist.

Their faces flickered before my eyes, their voices echoing in my memory.

“Remember me, Arka. Even if I’m not there… remember me. So that you can… find your way… beyond the Abyss…”

I pulled the grenade’s lever, stepping towards the device, towards the swarming creatures, their roars no longer frightening, but… a distant echo.

BOOM!

The explosion engulfed the device, the shockwave ripping through the chamber, the sound of the door slamming shut cutting off the cries from behind. I was alone.

The creatures swarmed me, their claws tearing at my metallic skin, their teeth snapping at my limbs. I fought back, my movements growing slower, weaker, my systems failing. My metallic shell cracked and buckled, sparks flying, wires exposed, my internal systems failing. It felt as if… my very essence was being… exposed.

But I couldn’t stop. I had to hold them back, give them time, give them a chance…

“If this body… can be a stepping stone… for them…”

My remaining arm, mangled and sparking, lashed out, a final, desperate act of defiance. The creatures roared, their claws tearing at me, their weight crushing me, but my gaze… my gaze was fixed on the closed door, on the path beyond, the path to their future.

The red sparks intensified, my systems failing, my consciousness fading, but my will… my will remained strong, burning brightly in the encroaching darkness.
Let this moment… be my… legacy.

I had to fight. For them.

“A better world… a brighter future…”

That was my purpose. And in the deepest, darkest depths of the Abyss, I would fulfill it.

The roars of the creatures, the grinding of metal, the sparking of wires… it all faded, becoming a distant hum, a gentle lullaby.

I took one last step, my systems failing, my consciousness fading, a silent prayer echoing in my mind.
Let their path… lead them… to a new beginning…

The battle was over. I lay there, broken, mangled, my metallic limbs twisted and torn, half my body crushed beneath the weight of the creatures I’d held back. My systems were failing, my consciousness fading, the darkness closing in…

A drop of water landed on my metallic skin, then another, and another. Rain. It was raining. The cool drops washed over me, a strange comfort in my final moments.

I remembered my conversation with Noah.

“Do you believe… in heaven…?”

I tried to raise my hand, to touch the rain, to feel the coolness on my metallic skin, but my arm wouldn’t move. It lay there, heavy, useless.

“If I’m being honest…”
I thought, my consciousness fading, my systems shutting down,
“I don’t need… heaven…”

But if… just if… there is such a place… and if… you would invite me in…

Please… God… if you exist… don’t divide it… don’t separate us… machine and human… let us… be… together…

[System Notification: 23xx-XX-XX. All activity ceased.]

[Saving final log…]

[Data recovery impossible. System shutdown.]

[Error detected: Major system damage.]

[Process interrupted: Function recovery impossible.]

[Error. Error. Error…]

[Warning: Remaining energy 0.02%.]

[Warning: Complete system shutdown imminent.]

[Process terminating…]

[Final message incomplete. Data lost…]

[…Shutdown complete.]

[Error. Error. Error…]

[――――――.]