In 2105, an explosion rocked the Dunhuang Laboratory. A-Chao had just shoved Mudan into an escape pod when he turned and saw himself holding a bronze sword. This was his 79th reincarnation.
The Tomb Keeper said that when civilization reached the quantum singularity, it had to be reset to zero, and only a "pure" civilization could survive. The Observer said all 79 resets were predetermined, and no one could change the script. But A-Chao refused to accept that. The mysterious sigil on his chest burned hot. Clutching the bronze gear A-Ping had left behind, he fixed his gaze on the violet brand on the back of Mudan's neck. It was the sacrificial mark the Tomb Keeper had carved, and the one thing he had clung to through all 79 cycles.
From the dark zone beneath the Martian pyramids to the closed loop of the time amber, A-Chao stopped being an Observer who merely recorded civilization. He smashed the terminal at the observation station and burned the code for the reset protocol. Even if the universe fell apart, he would save Dunhuang's apricot blossoms, the street-side braised noodles, and Mudan's unfinished words: "I choose you."
This time, he wouldn't write an observation log. He would write the path civilization chose for itself.
