The Earth's surface really hadn't been affected; it was still the same world he'd lived in for over a decade. Tuba and 005 had told him the same truth, making Charles realize that the one thing he had once risked everything to find was right there, up above. Compared to the Abyss-Sea, a place of constant danger where human extinction was always a heartbeat away, the Earth's surface was like paradise.
Tuba looked at the family photo in Charles's hand. "You don't want the Foundation's mantle because you've always wanted to go home, haven't you?"
"Home?" Charles chuckled and put the photo away. "The surface is my home, but the Abyss-Sea is my home now, too. Which one is the real one?"
"The Earth's surface and the Abyss-Sea are separated only by an ocean. Everyone is in the same place. With the Foundation gone, the Earth's surface and the Abyss-Sea no longer have that buffer. If no one takes their place, the peaceful life on the surface won't last long."
