Deamlike Final Journey——The Last Page of AltaleIn this era where technology gallops ahead like a runaway horse, human ingenuity has pushed science and technology to staggering heights. They can now implant thoughts into robots at will, controlling every move of these creations.

Humans have divided the vast land into numerous zones. Factories stand like colossal beasts, while highways, waterways and air routes crisscross, achieving hundred-fold ultra-high-speed transportation. Transport vehicles shuttle like meteors, the wind they stir strong enough to send clouds rolling thunderously.

Yet within this seemingly extravagant world, there exists a robot unlike any other: Altale. He is like a lone star, standing apart amongst the multitude of robots forcibly implanted with thoughts. His unique personality wasn't derived from human programming; it grew slowly over time, like tenacious wild grass.

His brain and chips have weathered wind and rain, bearing corrosive scars like the marks of time, but this has never hindered his love and pursuit of life.
One tranquil night, Altale came to the lighthouse as usual, yearning for peace. The surroundings were empty and silent, with only the bottomless ocean beneath his feet seeming to whisper endless secrets.

The night air was so fresh it seemed able to cleanse the soul, yet there wasn't a single star in the sky, filling his heart with disappointment.

In fact, stars had long vanished from this sky. Modern technology, like a violent storm, had brought pollution akin to thick clouds, completely blotting out the true stars, erasing them without a trace.

He could only stand beneath the lighthouse pier, trying to conjure a starry spectacle in his mind, but it remained ultimately an illusory fantasy.

"Ah"

A startled cry cut through the night's silence as a figure suddenly came running from afar, crashing squarely into Altale and knocking him over.

Altale whipped his head around, anger instantly flooding his features. "Hey you Don't you have eyes when you walk"

But when he looked closely, he was astonished to find that this wasn't a human, but a robot roughly his own height. This robot's build was strikingly similar to Altale's.

"You...who are you"

Altale's voice trembled as his hand shakily pointed at the mysterious robot. Yet the robot remained as still as if frozen in place.

"What's wrong with you" Altale waved a hand in front of its eyes.
But the robot seemed deactivated, utterly motionless, as if time had stopped for it.

"Sigh. I suppose I'll forgive you." Altale sighed helplessly, his figure sitting back down on the edge of the pier.

The calm sea stretched out like a giant mirror, without a single ripple. The two robots, one standing, one sitting, at the lighthouse pier, seemed like forgotten existences at the world's edge.

The night grew increasingly lonely, everything around seemingly swallowed by silence. Although waves occasionally lapped against the reefs and wooden bridge, the sound was as faint as the breath of a dying man, seemingly smothered by the heavy solitude of the night.

Enveloped in the pitch-black darkness, the two robots were shrouded in boundless loneliness.

Suddenly, the silent robot gently patted Altale's shoulder.

"What is it" Altale turned puzzled.

"Fo llow me."

The robot struggled to utter the two words.

"Where are you taking me" Altale asked full of confusion, completely unable to guess this strange one's intentions.

"F o l l o w m e . " the robot still spoke tersely.

For some reason, a flicker of emotion stirred deep within Altale. In this cold era, it had been so long since he'd encountered a robot without implanted thoughts.

"Alright, I'll accompany you on this journey." Altale agreed softly, a trace of hesitation in his voice.

The two small robots walked slowly along the shore, their steps so light it seemed they were gliding through clouds rather than walking.

"Why did you come for a walk" Altale couldn't help but ask.

The robot was silent, as if its world contained only stillness.

"I mean... why do you like coming for walks"

Still met with despairing silence.

"Why walk"

Only the sound of the night wind answered him.

Just then, they stopped. Both screens looked into the distance.

The sky had miraculously brightened.

The two robots now found themselves in an open grassland. Dark green grass swayed like waves, vibrant red flowers burned like flames, crowding around them. Fresh air danced around them like lively spirits, the feeling like a soft lullaby echoing gently in their ears.

The beauty was indescribable.

The strange robot suddenly sprinted towards the other end of the grassland. Without hesitation, Altale followed closely behind.

They ran wildly, fast as lightning across the night sky, crossing steep, rugged hills, traversing turbulent, rushing rivers until they finally reached the foot of a towering peak.

They stopped and began to climb the mountain slowly.

However, an accident occurred. The strange robot tripped over a protruding stone. Instantly, it fell from the bridge into the turbulent river, tightly grabbing Altale's hand and pulling him down into the water as well.

But Altale's heart was unusually calm. Unafraid, the rushing river seemed as light as nothing to him, like ethereal mist.

The two robots fell into the river, reaching the bottom.

The water wasn't very deep, but it was clear as the purest crystal, reflecting the sky's colors. Colorful fish swam freely around them.

Altale fully immersed himself in the tranquility and joy bestowed by nature. He enjoyed the feeling of the cool river water gently flowing through his body.

But when he suddenly turned around, he was horrified to find that the other robot had vanished.

He searched anxiously, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any trace.

"How could it disappear" Altale wondered, his voice filled with anxiety.

He was about to dive deeper to continue the search when he noticed something strange. He stopped immediately and turned back.

The river had miraculously vanished. They were back on the vast grassland.

Now, many cute animals appeared around them, most pure white like snow - wolves, foxes, rabbits.

But they didn't bare ferocious fangs at the robots. Instead, docile like domesticated pets, they obediently followed behind the pair, strolling leisurely across the endless grassland. This brought Altale an unprecedented sense of comfort.

The animals' eyes were full of kindness and peace, as if this grassland was their endless paradise. Altale looked up at the sky, and through the sunset's glow, he actually saw a pure white whale floating lightly on the distant horizon.

Its eyes held infinite tenderness, like an elderly mother gazing at her young child.

Altale realized with amazement that these animals weren't man-made, but living beings born of nature itself.

He had never been treated so kindly before, never felt such warmth and peace.

Altale continued forward as the sky over the grassland gradually darkened.

The strange robot suddenly stopped. Darkness surged around them like a tide.

Electrical waves flickered across the robot's screen. It seemed to want to confide something important to Altale.

Yet, in the end, it didn't voice the thoughts in its heart.

It simply stopped quietly, gazing deeply at Altale, its kindred spirit.

Altale gazed back just as deeply.
The air seemed to freeze...
The two robots simply stared at each other in silence.

After what felt like an eternity, the strange robot suddenly displayed a smiling expression on its screen. Though the screen was cold and unfeeling, the warmth conveyed in that smile seemed capable of melting millennia of glaciers...

Its smile was like a spring breeze sweeping over frozen earth, reviving all things, bringing spring's warmth and blooming flowers.

Altale was deeply moved within, as if struck by a warm current.
Just as that brilliant smile bloomed...

In an instant, from the deep, gem-like sky, a mass of blazing, dazzling flame leaped forth like a runaway steed, like a meteor tearing through the quiet night, carving a brilliant arc, bursting into stunning golden radiance.

The flame trailed an extremely bright beam, like a beautiful ribbon, setting the countless stars in the magnificent firmament abuzz.

A few large, bright stars hung in the night sky, as if celestial beings were patrolling the vast cosmos holding lanterns. The starry sky reflected on the turbulent sea surface, dancing up and down with the waves, appearing and disappearing. The starlight was like sparkling pearls scattered across the vast sky. And the sky itself resembled a boundless ocean, shimmering with millions of silver lights.

Stars, what are you doing Chasing each other
Stars, do you know what you are doing

Altale was already deeply captivated by the dazzling starry sky. A sudden, irresistible impulse surged within him: to play among the stars, to watch their performance - how blissful that would be...

So the two robots mounted a glowing white whale and flew towards the blue sky.

The scene became even more marvelous: the once plain white stars now swirled like flying blossoms, radiant with color. The night instantly turned into a golden dawn, and the white whales transformed into streams of light weave through the nebulae.

Together they flew towards the boundless horizon, soaring freely under the brilliant night sky weaving through the endless sea of stars. How magnificent and glorious it was

The two robots journeyed joyfully...

They flew tirelessly, their wings shaking violently, as if struggling to break free from all the world's restraints...

In that moment, they seemed to turn into stars themselves, merging into this boundless starry expanse.

Hand in hand, they gently waved in the ocean of starlight.

They traveled, enjoying the brief, beautiful journey...

……

After who knows how long, Altale slowly awoke from his dream.

By now, day had broken, and he was still by the empty lighthouse.

His fingers touched the cold fishing rod. As if waking from a dream, he realized with a start it had all been just a dream.

He looked at the familiar yet strange scene before him, his heart filled with awe and loss.

"Was that... really just a dream"
He looked up at the sky once more.

His feet were numb, as if eroded by millennia of ice, yet he remained steadfast, unwilling to leave. Because in his mind, those dreamlike, utterly stunning images surged back repeatedly like a tidal wave.

Altale remained silent, like a sculpture forgotten by time.

He lowered his head, looking at the fishing rod, sadness welling up inside him like a bursting dam.

He pondered whether to leave this memory-filled place.

But in the end, he decided to stay, because deep down, he always had an indescribable feeling.

Just like he had once met that robot in his dream...
He firmly believed that perhaps fate would bring them together again...

Hidden deep within his heart was a faint yet steadfast hope...

On the other side, the familiar vast grassland remained beside that robot, but unfortunately, Altale was no longer by its side.

From the start of this fantastical journey to the end, it had never spoken a single word, and now it was even less capable of uttering a single syllable.

A "Low Battery" warning appeared on its screen, the flashing red light like a countdown to its fading life, but it paid no heed.

The dawn's light was fleeting.

The animals, the flowers and grass, the rivers, the starry skies... all vanished like bubbles, disappearing into the endless darkness, leaving it standing alone.

But it was already satisfied. At the very least, it had conveyed its final wish in this world.

It slowly crouched down, its body growing heavier, as if it could never return to the sky again.

Everything would no longer be recorded.


It waited alone on this vast, boundless grassland, harboring a distant, seemingly impossible dream — that one day, it could once again step into the sky, onto the path leading to the paradise.

It knew it could never achieve this, so it could only pray that its soul would not perish here.

After a moment of longing, it was silently swallowed by the darkness.

——THE END

BY 2ndCrance
Thanks for reading(*/ω＼*)