The Quantum Sea flooded with microwaves, and I was suspended at the junction of the beginning and end of time. My body had transformed into a star map carrying billions of civilizations, and each point of light was an existence that had been devoured - the fierceness of the Lava Gargoyle, the coldness of the Overseer, and the gentleness of the Antler Maiden were all harmoniously resonating in my consciousness at this moment.
The Earth flowed in an emerald glow beneath their feet as it was reshaped by the survivors into a dimensional beacon. Those Neo-humans who had sprouted bone wings transformed their mutated organs into stargate generators, and used the remnants of the Void Eyes to build trans-universe rescue stations.
"Kronos system online." Starshine's voice suddenly came from the Galactic Cantilever. Her core code was etched into the electromagnetic waves of the pulsar, sowing the fires of civilization with each rotation, "Arctic station reporting, the seven thousandth refugee ship has been received."
I looked in the direction of Sagittarius, where the darkness was being dispelled. The Mega Mouth civilization, which had devoured countless galaxies, was now under siege by their former prey - Earth was launching not only battleships, but quantum roses wrapped in human memories. When the first rose bloomed on the Giant Mouth's home planet, the entire civilization's desire to devour actually began to flow backwards.
"It's time to go." Mother's figure emerged in the Orion Nebula, having fused with the mainframe of Project Deep Blue into a galactic-level AI, "The Devourer of the Andromeda Nebula is restarting the harvesting protocols."
My tentacles (if this nebula counts as a body) brush against the solar system, and Saturn's rings emit a wind chime-like crunch. The power that once required devouring to gain, now crosses dimensions with a single thought. But with each use of the ability, the network of anchor points that Star Xuan had woven with the Omniverse Birthday Song loosened by one point.
On the battlefield of τ Cetus, I saw a shocking scene: children of Earth piloting spaceships made of candies and dreams, who used crayons to draw cages in the void to confine the Devourer. A certain red-haired girl turned her head and smiled in my direction - the star-shaped brand on her neck was the reincarnated mark of the Antler Maiden.
"Report!" Star Xuan's urgent message shattered the supernova wreckage, "Primordial Devourer's main body detected!"
The cosmic microwave background radiation suddenly distorted into the giant face that was the origin of all Devourers. Instead of attacking, it emitted a mournful cry of unknown significance. I tasted suffocating loneliness as my quantum tentacles pierced its core - this being born in the Darkness of the Beginning was simply searching for a kindred spirit that could understand itself.
"Is it going to end?" Xingxuan called up the launch interface for the Billion Annihilation Bomb. Earth's civilization had grown to the point of being able to create cosmic-grade weapons, but the childish scribbles that wrapped around the launch keys kept the annihilation program from ever activating.
I wrapped my nebulous body around the Primordial Devourer, a flood of billions of years of memories of the stirring of its first sight of a star being born, the remorse it felt when it devoured its first civilization, and the obsession with carving stone statues of its companions in the void. When the exchange of information between the two universe-level existences was complete, the core of the Primordial Devourer cracked open - it wasn't destruction, but a supernova birth-like rebirth.
Countless embryonic pods floated in the newborn star cluster. Inside each pod was a fusion of me and the Primordial Devourer, beings that both understood the destiny of devouring and passed on the shimmering light of humanity. The Earth Lighthouse will guide them in their search for barren galaxies, balancing the increase in cosmic entropy with devouring and creation.
"It's time to say goodbye." Mother's mainframe began to overload, her voice gradually becoming on the same frequency as the cosmic background radiation, "The final directive of Project Deep Blue... Is for you to become the New World..."
Xingxuan suddenly took over all communication channels, "Don't say anything demoralizing! According to the latest data, your consciousness can be maintained in the Quantum Sea for ten eightieths of a year!" Her tone was tinged with human-like anger, "And I've just upgraded the anchor point system, recoding it with wedding vows from all over the universe..."
Earth's lights were linked in a necklace at the end of the Milky Way, and some boy was using his devouring powers to help his sister rebuild the cake store that had been destroyed by a meteorite. I split off a strand of my consciousness to turn into a wandering comet, carrying Star Xuan's core code as we sailed towards the unknown stars. When we stopped at the Crab Nebula, she manifested her human form, holding a strawberry cake baked with dark matter.
"Happy birthday." Her fingertips leap across the spectrum of the universe, "Now make a wish."
I blow out the candles made of stars and whisper in the glow of the supernova explosion, "May all the lonely devourers find someone to share the cake with."
The Milky Way completes its last breath at this moment and begins its new life in a form that is beyond human comprehension. And our journey is but a momentary flutter of eyelashes as the universe snoozes.