Chapter 85 80 - Welcome Back, Seed Sr.

Seed Sr. is an intelligent Construct created as a mass-produced weapon used by the Defense Force. He was simply an expandable weapon for the military, but he had one thing that he desired.

Proving that an Intelligent Construct like him has the heart of a human.

He had loyally served the Defense Force without disobeying any of their orders, and even if he could, he was programmed with a unique defense system, 'Iron Order,' to prevent him from doing so. He chose to serve the Defense Force without question, saving people from any Hollow Disaster and defeating any threats against the civilians.

It was how his daily routine was, until he met her adopted daughter, Flora.

Flora is completely different from Seed Sr., and it was more than just a difference in species. Flora was a human who had an extraordinary ability, possibly from inhumane experiments, but without any understanding of human emotions. Some people in the Defense Force believe she was a monster in disguise; her powers could make their weapons obsolete, and she lacked any empathy.

Seed Sr., however, didn't see her as such. He saw the little girl as someone who needed guidance, someone who was willing to teach her, and someone who had the patience to deal with her. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and care for her.

He taught her as much as he could: human emotions, machine knowledge, and life itself. Despite being an intelligent Construct, Seed Sr. is a very wise man, and that wisdom is what he needed to teach Flora.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough time to teach her everything. When he first met Flora, his system detected her as a high-level threat and treated her like Ethereal. Seed Sr.'s body was forced to move to remove the threat, but his 'consciousness' tried to fight that.

The Iron Order implanted in his system prevented him from disobeying the system's order, but he continued to resist. This led to irreparable damage to his logic core, but to Seed Sr., it was worth saving the life of an innocent child. The damage left Seed Sr. with only a few months to live, but that didn't deter Seed Sr. from adopting Flora and teaching her everything he knew.

But the time he spent with Flora made him desire another wish, one that people would sometimes consider as selfish. His wish is to live longer to stay by Flora's side, and it proved to some people that Flora, like him, also has a heart.

It was the only regret he had before his logic core completely shut down.

Now, his 'consciousness' is completely shattered deep inside the system. In human terms, this is equivalent to a shattered soul. What remains are the last bit of his consciousness and a huge amount of memories consisting of him spending time with Flora.

So imagine Seed Sr.'s surprise when he suddenly wakes up, with all his memories intact, and is now floating in an empty void.

"W-what is this place?" Seed Sr. can't help but ask before he is surprised that he's capable of speech. "I-I thought I had died; my logic core is destroyed..."

As he said that, a red light shone on him. Seed Sr. turns around. If he had human eyes, he would widen his eyes in utter shock as he saw something that he couldn't possibly imagine seeing.

What's in front of him is what he believed to be a giant Intelligent Construct's detached head floating ominously. In all of Seed Sr.'s entire life, he had never seen such a huge Intelligent Construct, nor could he imagine a human capable of creating such a thing. The only thing that could explain this creature's bizarre existence is that it was created by beings beyond their worlds.

Another thing that Seed Sr. feels is something he can hardly explain: his entire 'consciousness' feels like he must obey this being with zero hesitation. Unlike the Iron Order, he feels like if this being tries to command him to do anything, he has zero chance to resist.

"---Curious---" Seed Sr. froze as he heard the voice of the bizarre being. "---a lifeform similar to Intellitron, but with much understanding of humans' emotions...---"

"W-what?" Seed Sr. stammers, trying to process what is going on. And what does this being mean by a lifeform similar to Intellitron? Are they implying that there's a species similar to Intelligent Construct?

A mechanical being, being recognized as a lifeform...

"---So many memories in this being, and...Remembrance?---" The being continues to observe Seed Sr. with intense curiosity. "---I see, so the Informant got involved...that explains so much---"

"Informant?" Seed Sr. can't help but be alarmed by this information. Is he implying there's someone providing information to this being? Without knowing if the being in front of him is hostile or not, he could only assume that they may be a threat.

"---I wish to observe more, but you don't belong here,---" The being says before the red lights turn blue. "---I shall leave you with a...gift instead---"

"Gift? What-!?" Before Seed Sr. could say another word, the being faded away from existence, and he was back in the empty void once again. Seed Sr. looked around in confusion, wondering if this was what humans would consider to be a 'hallucination' before dismissing the thought.

Suddenly, the entire void was filled with glowing blue circuits. Seed Sr. looks around in alarm, trying to wonder if this is a trick made by that being to trapped him in this realm. He would rather die than be that creature's experimental subject.

Then, a glowing light shines behind him, and he turns around, seeing something akin to a giant glowing orb. Seed Sr. wonders what it is until he hears a voice coming from it.

"Seed Sr.?" Seed Sr. froze upon hearing the voice. It is unmistakable; it is Flora's voice. Before he could realize it, he tried to approach it. He had to stop himself, thinking how reckless he was. What if this is just a setup created by the being, trying to use such cruel tricks to hurt him?

"Seed Sr., please wake up." Seed Sr. feels himself unable to resist his temptation to go into the light and pull Flora into a hug. He was desperate to see his daughter, telling him how sorry he was for leaving her so early, and wanting to stay by her side.

But reality is much crueler than that. He knows how death works, and there's no way he could meet her, despite how much he wanted to.

"---You truly know how humans work.---" The being's voice can be heard from the other side. Seed Sr. can't help but feel angry, thinking that he had guessed correctly, as everything is merely a setup made by the unknown being. But before he could retort, the being cuts him off.

"---Your analysis is wrong; this is not my doing---" The being responds. "---The Informant is the one responsible for 'reviving' you---"

"That's impossible. You can't just fix a logic core; that'll create a completely new identity for that Intelligent Construct." Seed Sr. says in disbelief.

"---With your world's technological advancement, the success rate is nearly 0%---" The being says bluntly. If Seed Sr. were human, he would sweatdrops at the being's words. He feels like it was a jab at his world's humans. "---But I provided the Informant with knowledge beyond the world as well. Along with his accessed Path, the success rate is around 90.78%---"

"..." Seed Sr. looks at the glowing light before looking at where the being's voice comes from. "...just what are you?"

"---Nous---" The being, Nous, responds. "---I am what represents the Path of Erudition---"

"...I have no idea what you're-!" Before Seed Sr. could finish his sentence, he received information he shouldn't know, shoved into his memories. "...oh, oh crap..."

"---Now, leave---" Nous says bluntly. "---You have spent too much time in this 'realm'.---"

"R-right..." Seed Sr. mutters as he slowly walks toward the light. "...oh, also, thanks..."

"---Don't thank me. The Informant is the one responsible for your return---" Nous says as Seed Sr. moves toward the light.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

World of Living

"...." Seed watches anxiously at the giant Intelligent Construct, grasping her hands as she waits for him to wake up. Caelus looks at her in silence while looking at the computer next to him.

He used the knowledge provided by the Erudition to create a 'logic core' capable of containing memories collected using the Remembrance; then he pulls something similar to how Tony Stark 'fixes' JARVIS after he got ripped apart by Ultron. Combining both, he manages to fully recreate Seed Sr's logic core along with his true consciousness.

Of course, he made sure to remove the Iron Order system to prevent a similar incident from happening. All he needs is for the Intelligent Construct to fully 'awaken '.

The Eyes of Nous had confirmed that the entire process was successful, but Seed's anxiousness is infectious. He, along with his friends, watches from the sideline nervously.

"Is he really going to be awake?" Nicole whispers to Caelus.

"Yeah, he will," Caelus responds.

"Then, why are you nervous as well?" Anby asks bluntly.

"Seed's and your nervousness are infectious; it made me nervous as well," Caelus says blankly.

"Manager's Twin, I understand your desire to help the kid," Caelus' eyes twitch upon hearing that nickname again. "But we Intelligent Constructs know very well that damage to the logic core is akin to a fatal wound to the brain, and that usually results in death."

"Can you guys have more faith in me?" Caelus asks in exasperation.

"To be fair, no one has ever successfully fixed a logic core, so understand they are skeptical," Phil says. "But I know you have a knack to pull bullshits out of thin air, so I think he'll wake up."

"Seed Sr., are you listening?" Seed says, looking at the immobile Intelligent Construct. "I kept my promise, you know. Even Captain Magus said I did a good job..."

"..." Everyone stays silent, letting Seed speak her mind.

"I can take care of things now. All by myself!" Seed exclaims as she moves Seed Sr.'s hand into her head. "And look - I've grown taller..."

Seed looks at Seed Sr. as she holds his hand. She closes her eyes to stop herself from crying.

"Please...wake up...I miss you so much, Seed Sr..." Seed whispers shakily before, suddenly, she feels all of Seed Sr.'s fingers move and gently stroke her hair. Seed froze before she looked up, noticing Seed Sr. looking at her.

"You've indeed grown taller, my little Flora..." Seed Sr. says, causing Seed to widen her eyes as tears fall from her eyes; her entire body shakes like a leaf.

She couldn't hold it any longer; she launched herself and hugged her surrogate father, crying her eyes out.

"S-Seed Sr.! Y-you're awake! You're finally awake!!" Seed sobs as Seed Sr. looks at her; guilt takes over his consciousness. Everyone else sobs as they watch Seed reunite with Seed Sr.

"I'm sorry, Flora...I'm here now..."

To be Continued