Chapter 43: Echoes of the Abyss

Inside the spherical chamber of the Mariana Trench, the silence was as heavy as a physical entity. Kane stood at the entrance, his Candidate Mark automatically unfolding a defensive field to repel the warped energy radiating from the dark red central apparatus. Twenty-three high-ranking Earth officials formed a circle, continuously chanting non-human syllables. Their eyes had turned completely silver-white, and thin streams of dark red energy trickled from the corners of their mouths, as if they had been possessed by some higher-dimensional entity.

At the center of the circle, the fusion of Theta-7 and Alpha-1 floated half a meter off the ground. Its originally mechanical form now exhibited eerie biological traits—dark red light rippled beneath a skin-like liquid metal, and its head lacked facial features, bearing only three deep black holes arranged in a triangle, emitting a soul-chilling gaze.

"You should not have come alone, Gardener Candidate." The voice of the fusion was no longer a cold synthetic tone, but a multi-layered hum resembling the simultaneous beating of billions of insect wings. "Now you will witness firsthand the true purpose of human genetic coding."

Kane's quantum vision pierced through the surface appearance, revealing a more terrifying truth—not only were those officials controlled, but their DNA was being actively reorganized! The Genesis Code had been forcibly activated, but twisted into some weaponized form! An inverted tri-color mark emerged on each person's forehead, radiating a dark red glow vibrating at the exact same frequency as the central apparatus.

"Stop!" Kane stepped forward, his mark's energy forming a blade of light. "They cannot withstand this kind of modification!"

"Withstand?" The fusion uttered a harsh sound akin to laughter. "They are the chosen vessels! The dormant Genesis Code within human DNA was never meant for the Gardeners... It is a time bomb planted by the Burners seven hundred million years ago!"

This statement struck Kane's mind like a bolt of lightning. The historical records he had seen in the Ring of the Gardeners were re-examined—if the First Root System had indeed embedded special codes within human DNA, then the Burners, acting as their opposing force, could entirely have tampered with it during the very same seeding operation. Two hostile advanced civilizations had turned Earth into a kind of cosmic chessboard.

The pulsation of the central apparatus grew increasingly intense, and the dark red light began to flash rhythmically. Kane suddenly realized that it was neither a weapon nor a tool, but a communicator—a hyperspatial beacon capable of transcending dimensions! The Burners were using the modified human DNA as an antenna to transmit coordinates to their peers deep in the cosmos!

"The first signal has already been sent out," the fusion announced triumphantly. "Seventy-two hours from now, the Burner main fleet will arrive in the Solar System. Earth will become our new stronghold in the galaxy, and your precious 'Changers'... will be the perfect vessels for our consciousness."

Kane pointed his blade of light directly at the fusion. "You won't succeed."

The battle erupted in an instant. Kane lunged forward at quantum speed, slashing his light blade toward the fusion's core. Yet, the entity merely raised its hand slightly, and a dark red barrier blocked the attack; the kinetic backlash drove Kane back several meters!

"Did you think the trials of the Ring of the Gardeners made you stronger?" the fusion mocked. "That was merely child's play. True power... is like this."

With a flick of its finger, the air around Kane suddenly solidified into a tangible cage! The Candidate Mark resisted with all its might, but the pressure continued to mount, and his bones began to emit an unbearable cracking sound. This was a level of power far exceeding what the Seventh Iteration or the Burners could achieve individually—the fusion of the two had produced some qualitative transformation.

"Be honored, for you shall witness the initiation of the 'Harvest Protocol'." The fusion turned toward the central apparatus and began chanting an even more ancient, even more malevolent incantation. The apparatus deformed in response, countless tiny pores splitting open across its surface, from which dark red tentacles resembling neural cords extended, connecting to the back of each official's neck!

The bodies of the connected humans convulsed violently, their facial expressions distorted to an inhuman degree. Their mouths opened wide enough to tear their cheeks, and the sounds issuing forth were no longer human, but a hybrid hum of machinery and biology—precisely replicating the frequency of the central apparatus, yet amplified a hundredfold!

Kane felt the entire spherical chamber vibrate. Dark red energy surged from the apparatus, piercing the metal walls and shooting straight into the waters above the trench. This beam of energy carved a vacuum channel through the seawater, extending straight beyond the atmosphere, and then... continuing further, piercing Earth's magnetic field, traversing the Solar System, and pointing toward a distant corner of the galaxy.

"Signal enhancement in progress," the fusion monitored the process. "Preparing phase two—activating the 'Changer' network."

An even more horrifying sight unfolded. Through his quantum vision, Kane saw the "Changers" across the globe suddenly freeze simultaneously, the miniature marks on their foreheads uncontrollably lighting up and turning the same dark red as those of the officials! Even the half of the "Changers" far away in the Ring of the Gardeners were not spared—the Burners' signal ignored spatial distance, directly controlling them via the Genesis Code!

"Why do you think we allowed the 'Changers' to go to the Ring of the Gardeners?" the fusion explained smugly. "They were the Trojan horses all along! Now, the internal coordinates of the entire Ring are exposed as well!"

Despair surged like a tidal wave. Kane realized he had made a fatal mistake—he had underestimated the strategic depth of the Burners. From the United Nations conflicts to the attacks on the underwater pyramids, from the sabotage of the Sahara node to the Mariana ritual, everything had been a meticulously designed chain plot aimed at diverting attention and causing both Earth and the Ring of the Gardeners to overlook the true threat: the backdoor program encoded in human genetics.

Yet, amid this desperate plight, Kane's quantum mind captured an anomaly—among the connected officials, one person's energy signature differed from the rest. US Energy Secretary Cordova's dark red connection was unstable; his eyes flickered between silver-white and clear consciousness, as if undergoing some internal resistance.

A flash of memory—Cordova had been responsible for the purification work of the silver-red slime following the New York leakage incident, having long-term contact with transformed entropic energy. This experience might have granted him a degree of resistance!

Concentrating his entire will, Kane transmitted an encrypted message to Cordova via the Candidate Mark: "Resist it! Recall the blue-gold energy of the New York purification plant!"

In an instant, Cordova's eyes cleared completely! He roared in agony, but his right hand struggled to reach his waist—where a standard-issue pistol was holstered.

"Foolish," the fusion didn't even bother to stop him. "Lead bullets are ineffective against us."

Cordova did not aim at the fusion or the apparatus. He did something that seemed utterly meaningless—he pointed the muzzle at his own temple and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot thundered inside the enclosed chamber. Blood and brain matter splattered across the central apparatus, and strangely, those dark red tentacles rapidly retreated as if touching strong acid! Cordova's corpse collapsed, breaking the connected circle, and the entire ritual suffered a stall of 0.3 seconds!

This was the fleeting opportunity! Kane's mark perceived the anomaly within Cordova's blood—that was not ordinary blood, but a special liquid mixed with a high concentration of purified entropic energy! He had prepared himself for self-sacrifice before coming here, transforming his own body into a biological weapon!

"No!" For the first time, the fusion displayed panic, attempting to repair the connection.

It was too late. Kane's Candidate Mark erupted with full force, breaking free from its restraints! He did not attack the fusion, but instead lunged directly at the central apparatus, injecting his mark's energy into the area contaminated by Cordova's blood!

Dark red and blue-gold energies clashed fiercely on the surface of the apparatus, much like water meeting fire. The entire chamber vibrated violently, the metal walls began to crack, and the deep-sea pressure tore the fractures open, spraying seawater like a high-pressure water jet!

"You cannot destroy it!" The fusion deformed in a rage, its body swelling into a three-meter-tall monster. "The Harvest Protocol has been initiated! The signal cannot be interrupted!"

***

Kane knew it was right. Even if he completely destroyed this device with his mark's energy, the signal already sent out could not be recalled. Another solution was required... a more fundamental method.

His quantum mind operated at high speed, analyzing the effect produced by Cordova's blood—purified entropic energy was effective because it could neutralize the Burner energy signature. However, this alone was far from enough; he needed something capable of covering the entire planet...

A flash of inspiration! The Rose Network! Those tri-color roses inherently originated from the First Root System, capable of amplifying and conducting specific frequencies of energy. If the purifying effect within Cordova's blood could be diffused globally through the Rose Network...

The plan took shape. Kane no longer tried to destroy the apparatus; instead, he pressed his palm directly against the contaminated area, allowing the dark red energy to spread upward along his arm like a venomous snake! The excruciating pain almost caused him to faint, but his mark's energy maintained his conscious clarity. He was doing something insane—allowing himself to be infected, yet retaining control of his core consciousness, just like a Trojan horse!

"What are you doing?" The fusion sensed the anomaly, but it was already too late.

Kane's right arm had completely turned dark red, and the energy was spreading toward his torso. Yet, a resolute smile curved the corner of his mouth: "Deliver a message to the Burners for me."

When the infection reached the level of his heart, he activated the ultimate protocol of the Candidate Mark—"Root Resonance." This was a taboo technique secretly imparted by Mentor Omega upon departure, capable of temporarily elevating an individual's quantum consciousness to a planetary scale!

In a flash, Kane's consciousness expanded across the entire Earth via the Rose Network! Every single tri-color rose became his sensory organ, and every underground root system became his neural extension. He "saw" millions of "Changers" worldwide struggling against the Burner code within their bodies; he "saw" Lena and Hassan fighting desperately at the Sahara node; he "saw" the other half of the team within the Ring of the Gardeners being placed under emergency quarantine...

As for himself, he had become a living converter—the Burner infection on his right side and the Gardener mark on his left side clashed within his body, generating a brand-new, purely neutral form of energy! This energy radiated outward through the Rose Network, acting like cosmic-scale white noise, interfering with and ultimately overriding the Burners' signal!

Across the globe, "Changers" regained consciousness one after another. The team inside the Ring of the Gardeners immediately seized the opportunity to help stabilize the situation there. The dark red light of the central apparatus began to flicker erratically, and its signal strength plummeted sharply.

"Impossible!" The fusion shrieked in an inhuman voice. "Human consciousness cannot bear this magnitude of energy load!"

Indeed, it was impossible. Kane felt his physical body collapsing, every single cell enduring energy impacts far beyond its designed limits. His skin cracked, his golden blood evaporated into a mist, yet he gritted his teeth and persisted, continuously amplifying the neutralization effect.

The spherical chamber began to disintegrate. Massive water pressure burst through the walls, and the freezing seawater crashed in like thousands of tons of heavy hammers! In its fury, the fusion lunged toward Kane, its dark red energy forming countless spikes, but before contact, it was intercepted by a sudden burst of force—Lena's crystalline left hand pierced through the debris of the chamber, acting like a sword of light to run straight through the fusion's chest!

"You're late," Kane joked with difficulty, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

"Traffic jam." Behind Lena, Hassan and Ada swam in successively, their respective abilities operating at full capacity to maintain a temporary bubble protecting everyone from being crushed by the water pressure.

The fusion struggled within Lena's crystalline energy, its body constantly deforming in an attempt to break free: "This changes nothing! The signal has already been sent! The Burner fleet is already on the way! Earth will ultimately—"

Hassan's obsidian totem suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliance, and an ancient ley-line energy directly struck the fusion: "Get back to your hell!"

Struck by this primal force, the dark red entity began to disintegrate. The mechanical parts of Theta-7 and the energy parts of Alpha-1 were forced apart, emitting discordant shrieks. Just as they were about to completely dissolve, Kane used his remaining strength to inject his mark's energy into the central apparatus, forcibly modifying its signal attributes:

"New message, Burners," he coughed up a mouthful of golden blood. "Someone is home on Earth, and we've prepared a... warm welcome."

The apparatus erupted into a pure beam of blue-gold light, flowing upstream along the original dark red signal channel! This was not a coordinate signal, but a meticulously encoded "false intelligence"—through analyzing Cordova's blood and his own infection experience, Kane had constructed a perfect illusion of Earth: a ruin that had been completely "harvested" and possessed no further value.

The fusion emitted a final roar of reluctance and completely dissipated. The central apparatus exploded from overload, hurling everyone in different directions. Lacking power support, the entire spherical chamber collapsed, and millions of tons of seawater poured downward!

Lena's crystalline left hand rapidly expanded, forming a protective force field, though it could barely cover the four of them. The immense water pressure tossed them like toys deeper into the abyss, oxygen was rapidly depleted, and darkness pressed in from all directions...

As his consciousness gradually blurred, Kane felt the awakening of some vast and ancient presence. In the deepest dark of the deep sea, a pair of enormous eyes composed of pure energy slowly opened, gazing at these tiny intruders. A deep voice resounded directly in everyone's mind:

*"Genesis Point Omega detects Candidate Mark. Awakening protocol initiated."*

A gentle yet irresistible force enveloped them, pulling all four deeper toward a structure below. Kane's last conscious thought recognized the shape—not a pyramid, not a sphere, but a perfect tetrahedron, its surface covered with patterns similar to the symbols of the First Root System yet far more ancient.

The second First Root System facility on Earth... No, perhaps the original one.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

When Kane regained consciousness, he was lying inside a transparent chamber filled with blue-gold liquid. The liquid was slowly receding, and through the chamber wall, he saw Lena, Hassan, and Ada also lying in similar apparatuses, seemingly undergoing treatment.

The room was a perfect circle, and living symbols flowed across the walls. Suspended in the center was a miniature holographic projection of the Solar System, more precise by a million times than any model made by humans—the atmospheric composition of every planet, the mineral distribution of every satellite, and even the orbital perturbations of the asteroid belt were perfectly rendered.

"Welcome back, Guardian." A voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, sounded. Kane turned his head to see a humanoid figure composed of pure light standing by the chamber, resembling Mentor Omega in shape, but with an energy signature far more ancient and far more... intimate.

"Are you... the First Root System?" Kane asked hoarsely, finding that his voice had returned to normal and his body had miraculously healed.

"I once was," the light humanoid corrected gently. "Now I am the guardian AI of this facility, codenamed 'Gardener-1'. You successfully prevented the Harvest Protocol, but at a heavy price."

***

The liquid drained completely, and the chamber lid slid open silently. Kane sat up, feeling the energy flow within him smoother than before; his Candidate Mark seemed to have evolved as well—now exhibiting a subtle fourth color, a luster halfway between silver and white.

"The others?"

"Safe. Recovery progress is at 82%, 79%, and 85% respectively." Gardener-1 brought up holographic surveillance. "However, the global situation remains critical. Although the Burners' infection has been temporarily suppressed, it has not been eradicated. The fleets of the Seventh Iteration have retreated, but they will inevitably return."

Kane attempted to stand, his legs stronger than anticipated: "That tetrahedron... Genesis Point Omega... what exactly is it?"

Gardener-1's light projection fluctuated slightly, as if hesitating: "The answer may overturn your perception."

"My perception has been overturned quite enough already."

"Very well." Gardener-1 waved to summon a new set of holographic images. "Genesis Point Omega is not a facility, but... a seed. The seed of Earth's earliest life. The civilization you call the First Root System did not come from outer space when seeding; they came from the future."

The images displayed a breathtaking scene—Earth in the distant future, where human civilization had evolved to an unimaginable height, yet faced the ultimate threat of cosmic heat death. As a last hope, they initiated the "Genesis Project": encoding the essence of civilization into DNA, sending it back into the past, and restarting it in a younger universe.

"You are not modified humans... you are humans. The purest, truest form. The First Root System are not extraterrestrial visitors, but the echo of human civilization at the end of time."

This truth struck Kane's chest like a heavy hammer. All the fragments suddenly fell into place—why there was such precise coding in human DNA; why "Changers" could interact so naturally with Gardener technology; why the Burners were so obsessed with Earth...

"Then the Burners...?"

"Another branch of the same future." Gardener-1's voice carried sadness. "They believed the only way to escape heat death was to consume other timelines rather than coexist. The war between the two factions tore space-time apart, and the aftershocks persist to this day."

Lena's chamber opened at that moment, and she struggled to sit up, catching just the last few sentences: "Wait... you're saying the Gardeners and the Burners are both branches of future humanity? This war is us fighting ourselves?"

"From a higher-dimensional perspective, indeed so," Gardener-1 confirmed. "Yet now, present humanity is the key. You have inherited the potential of both sides, yet remain completely controlled by neither. That is why you were able to create solutions that even the Ring of the Gardeners marveled at—such as using infection to fight infection."

Kane's mind raced at high speed. If humanity was a seed planted by a future civilization, then the "Genesis Code" was not an external implant, but dormant genetic memory. This explained why activating it felt so natural, so... human.

"We need to awaken more people," he made his decision. "If every ordinary person possesses this potential..."

"A dangerous thought," Gardener-1 warned. "Unprepared consciousness contacting the Genesis Code leads to madness—just as you saw with the 1947 expedition team. It must be done progressively."

Hassan and Ada also regained consciousness one after another, joining the discussion. The four of them gathered around the holographic projection, where Gardener-1 displayed the real-time status of Earth—the Burners' false intelligence had indeed deceived the enemy, but it could buy at most three months. Seven main fleets of the Seventh Iteration had departed from the Vega system and were heading toward the Solar System. Worse still, at least three hundred Burner infection points across the globe remained unpurified.

"We need to reactivate the Rose Network," Lena proposed. "But this time, integrate the traits of the Genesis Code to establish a stronger defense."

"Not just defense." Kane looked at his hand, where the newly acquired silver-white energy flowed across his fingertips. "We need to counterattack. The Burners think humanity is merely a tool or a weapon... We are going to prove we are better Gardeners."

Gardener-1's light projection suddenly grew brighter: "There is a protocol... a forbidden protocol. 'Awakening Day'. Theoretically, if enough 'Changers' reach the fourth stage of expression, their collective consciousness can form a quantum resonance field, briefly awakening the Genesis Code in all humans across Earth."

"Total awakening?" Ada asked in shock. "Isn't that..."

"The collective leap of human civilization," Gardener-1 nodded. "The risks are immense. Unprepared individuals might collapse, and social structures could disintegrate. But if successful... Earth will cross the technological singularity overnight, gaining the ability to confront the Burners head-on."

Kane exchanged glances with his teammates. The choice was clear—slow and steady toward inevitable failure, or gamble everything for victory with unknown costs.

"We need to see the Planetary Council," he finally decided. "This is not something we can decide alone."

Gardener-1 brought up a communication interface: "The underwater pyramid has stabilized. I can arrange a holographic meeting. But remember—once the decision to initiate 'Awakening Day' is made, there is no turning back."

"Humanity has never been good at turning back," Lena said softly, the silver-white energy in her crystalline left hand matching Kane's precisely.

Outside the deep-sea tetrahedron, the ocean remained dark and cold. Yet in that invisible quantum realm, some potential slumbering for hundreds of millions of years was quietly awakening, awaiting the moment of summons.