Memories of Guixu: The Final Star Gate

After the Seekers of the Shore passes through the seventh star gate, communications officer Lin Shen discovers the truth: the Great Return is not spreading from the edge of the universe. It is growing outward from deep within the consciousness of every observer. The rate at which space-time is annihilated is directly proportional to the collective despair of intelligent civilizations. The more afraid they are, the faster the universe dies.

The star gate network spanning the galaxy is actually a giant prison. Each gate is a seal, and together they suppress the "Silence," a hunger that existed before the birth of the universe and was born from nothingness itself. Every time humanity makes a void jump, it tears a crack in the seals. The more advanced its technology becomes, the closer doomsday draws. The struggle and despair of civilizations only intensify the Great Return, forming a vicious cycle.

Captain Shen Yue faces an impossible choice: press on and reach the original coordinates to activate the final seal, at the cost of permanently erasing the existence imprints of everyone aboard; or turn back and flee to the galaxy, where he will watch billions of his fellow humans perish within a century. Both paths lead into the abyss.

One crew member aboard the Seekers of the Shore is not human. Her name is Zero, and both her memories and body are fabrications. She is the last key left behind by the civilization of the Guides ten thousand years ago, designed to activate the seal. But ten thousand years of slumber gave rise to something unforeseen: a will of her own. She can feel fear and love, and she can refuse her mission.

When Zero remembers her true identity, the countdown to the Great Return has reached its final moment. She must answer a question even the Guides avoided: if a key has a heart, is it still just a key?

Beyond the last star gate, will they find the universe's tomb, or the birthing chamber of a new era? The answer lies not among the stars, but in the hearts of those who choose to sacrifice.