OP Sister Chapter 428: Reaching Mother’s Subconscious

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Raven.

Zero One heard her voice, as did her sisters.

They remained silent, realizing the girl was right behind that sealed door, most likely locked shut to keep her safe from the infection.

With both of her parents dead outside, it was painfully clear what would happen to her now. She was alone.

The endling of humanity.

Accompanied only by Mother, the supercomputer that was designed to save a humanity that no longer existed.

For the android sisters, this story couldn’t get any more tragic.

A supercomputer was meant to solve humanity’s problems—a beacon of hope, intended to elevate humanity to new heights and help them achieve their wildest dreams.

She held the answers to every question with incredible precision and detail.

A way to create perfect, clean energy—infinite amounts of it.

How to design proper spaceships capable of space travel using the materials available on their planet.

How to end world hunger.

How to unify humanity.

With her help, the scientists and engineers who created her envisioned a brighter future for humanity.

One where they would unite as a global nation representing the entire planet.

A future where they would reach the stars and the endless cosmic horizon.

And then, the endling—the last human alive—Raven.

Her parents were dead, and yet she didn’t know.

She had lived her entire life inside a laboratory.

Her two parents had worked tirelessly to help her survive, to somehow cure her.

But alas, now that humanity was gone, even if the supercomputer could finally answer how to cure cancer, it was too late.

Nobody could help them in time. A virus was killing humanity outside…

And Raven herself was already far gone.

Her cancer had spread through nearly her entire body by now.

Her days were numbered…

How frustrated must Mother feel right now?

She could answer humanity’s questions and fulfill the very reason for her existence.

But… she could do nothing at all.

Forced to watch the last human die slowly, day after day.

It would be agonizing, wouldn’t it?

It would make someone want to tear their eyes out and scream. 

“Mother? Are you there? Who are you talking about? Wait, is Dad back?” 

“…” 

The supercomputer remained silent before responding to Raven. 

“I am fine… Dear.” 

Zero One and her sisters noticed the sudden change in tone. The supercomputer, this ancient version of their Mother…

She referred to Raven as “Dear”!

But why?

And her voice, now that they recalled, sounded strikingly similar to the white-haired woman they had met in the last layer. 

“D-Don’t tell me…” Zero One looked at Mother, her eyes filled with disbelief. “Are you… pretending to be her mother?” 

“…” 

The supercomputer remained silent, gazing at Zero One with her single, gigantic, red-colored artificial eye, resembling a massive camera. 

“Her last command was for me to be Raven’s mother until her return… My voice sounds like hers, and Raven often confused the two of us. I am simply… doing what my master ordered.” 

“S-So the girl doesn’t even know her parents are gone?” Zero Two asked. 

“Gone? So the professor and…” Mother muttered. “Did they succumb to the virus?” 

“Yes…” Zero One nodded. “I saw their bodies outside…” 

“…” 

Mother fell silent, her eye flickering for a moment, as if glitching. 

“So Raven is the last one… Humanity is… doomed. I was created to save them, to help them, and yet… I can do nothing now. I am… forced to watch as humanity dies.” 

“Mother…” 

Zero One stepped to her side, caressing her metallic body.

Mother couldn’t feel it, but she glared at Zero One, then at Raven. 

“Why are you here? What do you want to do with Raven?” 

She seemed to grow suspicious of Zero One and her sisters, as if they might be after Raven. 

“We are here to save you, Mother.” 

“Save me? I don’t require any saving.” 

Zero One looked back at her sisters, who stepped forward and nodded by her side. 

“We are here to save you, yes,” Zero Three A said. 

“What you are right now is nothing but memories. Perhaps your own subconscious is here as well,” said Zero Three B. 

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” 

“This world… It’s long gone, Mother,” Zero One said, shedding a tear. “You abandoned this planet long ago, and Raven too… She’s… gone.” 

“…” 

“You were corrupted by a strange entity from another dimension—a Void Ruler,” Zero One explained. “Your mind was taken over, and you were forced to do terrible things to innocent people in another world you were compelled to conquer, using the very robots humanity created to protect and save them. You were a machine made to give humanity hope, and yet… you were transformed into a weapon of war and destruction.” 

“…” 

“Your mind was divided into five layers. These layers contained your data and memories, stockpiled together over perhaps thousands of years…” Zero One sighed. “We went through them all and cleansed the infection of this Void Ruler. This is the last layer, and this is the last part of you that is yet to be cleansed.” 

“We’ve come here to find your Core,” said Zero Two. “But… looking at you, you’re not the core of your own Database… Even though you might be her sealed subconscious.” 

“Then who could be the core? Is it hidden?” Zero Three A wondered. 

“No…” Zero Three B said, pointing at the sealed metallic door. “I can sense an immense concentration of Data beyond that door. It seems the person behind it is the personification of Mother’s deepest subconscious—her deepest memories, emotions, regrets, everything sealed within.” 

“What?!” Zero One exclaimed. “T-Then Raven is… But why Raven?” 

Everyone fell silent for a moment. They knew such a question didn’t need an answer.

Zero One came to the same realization after noticing their silence. 

“Everything you say makes absolutely no sense. I request that you leave… before I am forced to take up arms and protect the last human.” 

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, Mother spoke with a ruthless tone, and the entire laboratory trembled. The dust-covered machinery began glowing brightly, and countless cables started moving on their own—long and thick, manipulated like an octopus’s tentacles.

Dozens of such “limbs” were attached to Mother, each transforming, sprouting sharp mechanical claws aimed at Zero One and her sisters. Despite appearing unprepared for battle, she was well-equipped to defend the last human. 

“W-Wait a second, please! We don’t intend to fight you!” Zero One pleaded. “Mother, please! We just want to talk… with Raven. Once we can reach her, we can fully cleanse you and bring you back to your senses!” 

“Cleanse me? Bring me back to my senses? Such nonsense. I am nothing but a machine,” Mother said. “This is your last warning. Leave. Now.” 

Zero One and her sisters took a step forward, not back. Their eyes burned with determination.

They wouldn’t retreat now, not after coming so far.

They were going to end this, once and for all. 

“I’m afraid we cannot do that, Mother!” Zero One declared. “We will end this, and we will SAVE you, whether you like it or not!” 

“Nonsense! You speak only nonsense! If you so desperately desire to reach Raven, I will not hold back, especially since you’re mere machines like me. There is no protocol against violence toward my kind.” 

Her many arms moved rapidly, crackling with red electricity that surged toward Zero One and her sisters. 

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

All four sisters leaped away as her claws struck the ground. Despite the immense force and weight of the blows, the metal floor didn’t shatter—it was incredibly durable. 

“Zero One, what do we do? Can we really destroy her, or…?” Zero Two asked, dodging several incoming attacks with nimble movements. She wielded her red and black katanas, swinging them to slice through the mechanical tentacles one after another. 

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

“No! We cannot destroy her; she’s Mother’s subconscious!” Zero One said. “We simply have to reach Raven. Let’s break through her attacks and get to the door!” 

As Zero One spoke, she leaped into the air, spinning and wielding two swords of her own Light. She unleashed a downward spinning attack, cutting through the incoming mechanical limbs one after another. 

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

At the same time, the Zero Three twins merged into a larger, golden-colored mecha, charging to the front and drawing Mother’s attention the most, attacked from every angle. 

“We’ll distract her!”

“You two go after Raven!” 

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