In the underground labyrinth of the "City of Broken Bonds," Rin navigated cautiously, carrying the awakened but self-lost Ye Xue. He urgently needed to find the legendary "Eye of Demise," his only hope to awaken Ye Xue and uncover the organization's ultimate secret. After much effort and through several reliable informants, Rin finally contacted a former organizational defector—"Eye of Demise · Henning."
Henning was hiding in the deepest part of the "City of Broken Bonds" in an abandoned data center, surrounded by complex cables and flickering screens. The air was permeated with a cold and decaying scent. He was once a top engineer in the organization, responsible for analyzing the core data of the "Demise Project," and had defected due to ideological differences. When Rin found him, Henning was sitting amidst mountains of data chips, his eyes showing a trace of weariness from the past, yet containing an indelible wisdom.
"'Blade of Demise,' I didn't expect you to still be alive," Henning spoke hoarsely, his gaze sharply scanning Rin, finally settling on the statue-like, quiet Ye Xue beside him. "And 'Cold Moon'… your appearance is truly unexpected."
Rin wasted no words, directly handing Henning Ye Xue's "neural identifier" report and briefly explaining Ye Xue's current condition and his purpose.
Henning took the report, his fingers tapping lightly on the screen as complex data streams rapidly scrolled before his eyes. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Finally, he slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with an indescribable complex emotion—pity, shock, and a subtle hint of fear.
"You think she was just betrayed by the organization?" Henning's voice was tinged with bitterness. He looked at Rin, shaking his head. "No, 'Blade of Demise,' you know nothing of the organization's power… she is not what you think."
Rin's heart sank, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
"Ye Xue, or rather, 'Cold Moon'…" Henning's gaze returned to Ye Xue, his eyes becoming extraordinarily deep. "She is the second core subject of the 'Demise Experiment.'"
"What?!" Rin's pupils sharply constricted! "Demise Experiment"? Wasn't that an experiment targeting him, to decompose his power? How could Ye Xue be the "second core subject"?
"The purpose of the 'Demise Experiment' is far grander, and more insane, than you imagine," Henning's tone became low and solemn, as if revealing a forbidden truth. "The organization's ultimate goal is to create 'weaponized souls that can die and be reborn, yet remain loyal to command.'"
Rin's heart pounded. Die and be reborn, yet remain loyal to command?!
"They tried to 'retrieve' and 'reconstruct' all the 'Blade of Demise's' power and consciousness through the 'Demise Project,' and then 'infuse' it into new 'vessels'," Henning continued to explain. "This is a blasphemy against life; they vainly attempted to create eternal, absolutely obedient 'perfect weapons'."
"And you, 'Blade of Demise,' were the first core subject of this experiment, and their only 'successfully retrieved' sample. They decomposed your power and consciousness, attempting to reactivate it in a new body." Henning looked at Rin. "The reason you could 'reborn' and retain past life memories is because Ye Xue used special means to reverse part of the plan, forcibly re-converging your power."
"What about Ye Xue? What does it mean for her to be the second core subject?" Rin's voice trembled; he had a premonition that this truth would be even more cruel than he imagined.
Henning sighed deeply, his eyes filled with helplessness and sorrow:
"Ye Xue was their second approach, and the most secretive one. They attempted to directly implant and control 'Demise Power' deep within her mind and soul while she was alive, making her an 'autonomous yet absolutely loyal perfect Terminator.' This is a deeper level of control than 'death and rebirth,' because it means even her will would be completely controlled by the organization."
Rin's body stiffened abruptly. Autonomous, yet absolutely loyal? Wasn't that precisely the nearly instinctive ruthlessness and efficiency he had witnessed from Ye Xue?
"This experiment required completely erasing her 'old personality' and forcibly implanting a 'loyalty module'," Henning's voice grew heavier. "However, Ye Xue's 'old personality'… or rather, her feelings for you, were too strong. It resisted the organization's 'purging,' leaving an unhealable rift deep within her soul."
"She was the only one who, after failing the 'Demise Experiment,' was artificially 'released.'" Henning's eyes turned cold. "Because she lost control. Her 'loyalty module' deviated, unable to completely override her 'old personality.' The organization couldn't fully control her, so they considered her a failed product and chose to 'eliminate' her."
In Rin's mind, Ye Xue's "defection" on the night of the final confrontation, her shielding him from bullets, and the tear that rolled from her eye… all the images, at this moment, received the cruelest explanation.
She wasn't the organization's "Terminator"; she was the organization's "failed product"! She was discarded as an "unstable factor" because she loved him and couldn't be fully controlled!
And he, incredibly, had once misunderstood and hated her!
"So, her 'personality rift'…" Rin asked hoarsely.
"That is a war deep within her soul," Henning nodded. "The 'old personality' is trying to break free from the 're-molding' shackles, while the 'Terminator' personality is executing the organization's residual commands. These two forces are tearing at each other within her, making her life a living hell."
Henning's gaze sharpened. He looked directly into Rin's eyes and issued a stern warning:
"'Blade of Demise,' your current 'rebirth' and Ye Xue's 'personality rift' are both great ironies of the organization's 'Demise Experiment.' You think you've escaped, you think she can still be saved… but the organization's 'Blade of Demise Reclamation' plan is activating. They want to retrieve all your experimental data and completely destroy you 'failed products'."
"And the 'Eye of Demise' is precisely the core data terminal used to monitor and correct the 'Demise Experiment' back then. Theoretically, it can reverse-analyze the operation of 'Demise Power' and perhaps repair Ye Xue's 'personality rift,' or even completely sever the organization's control."
Henning's tone was grave: "But I must warn you, the core of the 'Eye of Demise' is the organization's top secret. It has already gone rogue and is controlled by a hidden faction within the organization—the 'Gravekeepers.' To obtain it, you will face enemies more terrifying than Scarlet Mark; that is… the true power hidden in the organization's shadow."
Rin's heart felt as if it were crushed by a boulder. The cruelty of the truth far surpassed his imagination. He and Ye Xue, from beginning to end, were merely the organization's "experimental subjects," and their pain, their struggles, were all "data" for this insane experiment!
But he looked at the unconscious Ye Xue in his arms, at her pale yet still somewhat defiant face, and his gaze became more resolute than ever.
"Tell me, Henning," Rin's voice was cold and decisive, "Where is the 'Eye of Demise'? I need it."
He was no longer the manipulated "Blade of Demise"; he would, for Ye Xue and for all the sacrificed souls, utterly overthrow this "Demise Experiment"!