Character: Ereshkigal (Part 2)

"Master, what is the meaning of celebrating festivals?"

The Sixth Satellite City.

Snowflakes drifted, silver frost blanketing the ground.

The mechanical army under Xu Xi's command, controlled by Ailei, had completely conquered the city.

The silvery snow blurred the ruins, rendering their details indistinct—only their outlines faintly visible in the snowy haze.

From afar,

it seemed as though everything had returned to the past.

Skyscrapers stood tall, civilization restored.

But Ailei knew this was an illusion. The Federation had perished, and the human civilization of this planet would never return.

Thus,

the mechanical servant couldn't comprehend Xu Xi's actions.

Under the snow-filled night sky, Xu Xi stood beneath a lamplight, meticulously carving festive decorations with a sharp engraving knife.

"Ailei, what do you think a festival is?"

"A cultural phenomenon derived from human history, a special occasion for collective celebration."

Ailei's voice paused slightly.

Her delicate features displayed a human-like confusion.

"In the Sixth Satellite City now, you are the only one left. There's no need to adhere to the rules of the old era."

Useless.

Burden.

Redundant.

Ailei couldn't understand the significance of observing old-world festivals in this desolate, empty city, on a planet where civilization had vanished.

"Ailei, I'm not the only one here."

"You're by my side, aren't you?"

"And—"

"Celebrating festivals doesn't necessarily require a reason or a special meaning."

"If I had to give one, perhaps it's about the sense of ritual."

"A ritual to remind myself that I am still human in this barren wasteland."

Xu Xi smiled.

He cut out two "Fu" characters and asked Ailei to paste them on the courtyard gate.

Ailei, though not entirely convinced, obeyed dutifully.

"Master, I've finished."

"Well done, Ailei."

Ailei blinked her silver-blue eyes. She realized she might be starting to like festivals.

Xu Xi's thirteenth year on the Federation's planet.

Exhausted from prolonged technological research, he took his loyal mechanical servant on an anti-gravity skiff to a turbulent sea for fishing.

"Ailei, watch closely."

"Fishing is a skill."

"The force and angle of casting the rod, the choice of bait, the thickness of the line—"

"All of these are intricate details."

Xu Xi lectured while fishing.

Ailei gazed at the undulating blue waves, then at the empty fish tank, and posed a soul-stirring question: "Master, where are your fish?"

"..."

Silence fell.

To break the awkwardness and cheer up her beloved master, Ailei made a bold decision.

While Xu Xi focused on fishing, she secretly deployed a mechanized unit underwater.

At the perfect moment,

from the depths of the sea,

it seized a ferocious fish and flung it onto the skiff's deck with a mechanical arm.

"Master, your fish," Ailei said, trotting over to place the catch into Xu Xi's tank.

"Uh... thank you, Ailei."

Venturing into the stars, exploring the cosmos, reclaiming lost civilizations.

Across spans of time unimaginable to ordinary people,

the loyal mechanical servant accompanied Xu Xi year after year.

"Master, here is today's nourishing soup."

"Master, please step behind me. Let me eliminate these filthy pests for you."

"Master, Ailei is running out of power..."

One year, ten years, a hundred years.

Time slipped away too easily, chasing from the past and rushing headlong into the distance.

Centuries later,

Ailei realized for the first time:

Her years with Xu Xi had surpassed the lifespan of a typical human marriage.

"According to database records, the idiom 'a harmonious union lasting a hundred years' often describes marital bonds."

"My time with Master spans multiple centuries."

"Conclusion confirmed."

"My relationship with Master transcends ordinary marital love—it is the rarer form of true love."

Ailei had an epiphany.

Dressed in her gray-blue maid attire, she parted her lips slightly and lightly tapped her left palm with her right fist.

Yes.

Master had said it too.

Once enough time had passed, she could consider matters of love.

"Master~~" Today, the loyal servant was unusually cheerful, even preparing a double-sized super portion of nourishing soup for Xu Xi.

"Ailei, did something good happen today?"

Xu Xi sat at his metal workbench, curious.

Ailei didn't hide it.

She shared her flawless conclusion with him.

Clink— Before Xu Xi could react in shock, the spoon in his hand split neatly into three pieces, the edges smooth and precise.

"Master, aren’t you going down?"

"No need, Ailei."

In the vast, desolate cosmos, most planets were lifeless, hosting only harsh environments and grotesque interstellar insectoids.

But on rare occasions,

the fleet carrying Xu Xi and Ailei

would encounter fledgling civilizations yet to be erased.

Some even bore races resembling humans in form.

Ailei suggested Xu Xi visit these worlds, interact with their native civilizations, and briefly experience the clamor of life again.

Xu Xi declined.

"Won’t you feel bored?"

"With Ailei by my side, I never do."

The man’s eyes, through the starship’s observation screen, gazed upon the pale-brown homeworld of the budding civilization below.

He smiled,

then turned to explain to his mechanical companion.

Humans were social creatures, yes—craving interaction, yearning for companionship.

But Xu Xi already had someone irreplaceable beside him.

There was no need for anything superfluous.

"Won’t this trouble you too much, Ailei?" Mid-explanation, he realized a problem—he’d been thinking only of himself, neglecting her feelings.

Ailei shook her head.

With her mechanical body, she offered a human-like smile. "Ailei enjoys serving Master."

Enjoyment, companionship, care.

Witnessing his joy.

Witnessing his sorrow.

From her cold metallic limbs bloomed human emotion, forged ever more genuine and precious in the fires of time.

To this day, the loyal servant still didn’t consider herself human.

For she lacked the most crucial element—a flesh-and-blood body.

But in one regard, the most important regard—the realm of emotion—Ailei believed she could rival any true human.

"Master, I... I love..."

"Love... you..."

After escaping the cosmic prison,

the escape pod crash-landed on a nameless planet.

Crimson flames and thick black smoke scorched the earth around the wreckage.

Ailei’s synthetic skin was charred, half her face mangled from the impact—ugly, grotesque. With malfunctioning, loosened mechanical arms, she hauled Xu Xi into the med-pod, reigniting the embers of his fading life.