"This story... has no ending?"
Stelle subconsciously repeated Ron's words, but her consciousness had already reached its limit. The moment she finished murmuring the phrase, her vision went dark, and she fainted completely.
Although her reaction had been intense, her breathing was exceptionally calm. It seemed she had simply fallen into a deep slumber, her expression as serene as a child sleeping peacefully in its mother's arms.
Kafka caught the limply falling Stelle, her eyes turning to the slowly approaching Ron. He hung a dimly lit lantern at his waist, his expression calm and authoritative. Kafka took a small step back, her right hand reaching into her large, cloak-like coat, grasping the handle of a long blade hidden within its folds.
Beside her, Silver Wolf silently stopped chewing her bubblegum, her grip tightening on her smart weapon, "Prometheus," which now faintly shimmered with a purple-blue, pixelated glow.
Kafka took another half-step back. Her arms, holding Stelle, didn't loosen their grip. She shielded the girl slightly behind her, a hint of coldness tinging her voice.
"Your Excellency... what is the meaning of this?"
"Just as you see... Kafka."
The smile on Ron's face was quite marvelous. "Just doing something that isn't in the script of destiny, that's all."
As he spoke, he lightly tapped his own head.
"What I'm thinking is perhaps no different from what you're thinking... slaves of destiny."
"You interfere with the countless possibilities of the future, attempting to guide this world toward the best [future]... I am the same."
"I am also plucking the strings of fate, guiding this world toward the best [future]—of course, there are some decisive differences between us, which you are not yet aware of."
"However, there's no need for you to know for now..." Ron said, walking gently to stand before Kafka. As she watched him with extreme vigilance, he grabbed Stelle by the collar, lifted the sleeping girl up, and slung her unceremoniously over his shoulder.
—And though Stelle had just been taken from a warm, mother-like embrace and was now being roughly carried like a sack of potatoes, she merely furrowed her brow slightly before continuing to sleep soundly, a faint smile even gracing her lips, as if she were having a pleasant dream.
"Alright, your part in the play is over... I'll give you some time to leave the Herta Space Station."
Ron spoke and snapped his fingers. The Imaginary energy that had enveloped the station immediately dispersed. Its coordinates were no longer under any form of concealment, allowing Silver Wolf to use her Aether Editing skills to erase them from reality and teleport them to their prepared getaway ship.
"Time waits for no one... Just like you, I have to rush to the next scene now that this part of the plot is over."
Ron hinted meaningfully. Hearing his words, Kafka and Silver Wolf couldn't help but frown, their gazes on him growing even more puzzled.
They couldn't understand Ron's motives at all... What did he really want to do?
And what was he hinting at now?
Although Kafka and Silver Wolf were both members of the Stellaron Hunters, unfortunately, the only truly important member was Elio alone—
All the other Stellaron Hunters were merely "executors." And though the executors knew Elio's prophecies, that was the extent of their knowledge.
Everything Ron said, all the subtle hints he dropped, were things they couldn't possibly understand...
Only someone who clearly understood everything about the King of [The End] and this cosmos's so-called "destiny," and who had a firm grasp on what was to come, could possibly comprehend it.
"Time waits for no one. In another ten seconds, I will re-seal the area around the Herta Space Station..."
He said, looking at the unmoving Kafka and Silver Wolf, and teased:
"What, you don't want to leave?"
A slight smile touched Ron's lips. "If you don't want to leave for the time being, the upcoming plot might not be able to find a place for you..."
"How about it? Care to join us for a ride on the Astral Express, Stellaron Hunters?"
Hearing Ron's words, although the slight changes to the script and Ron's actions made Kafka and Silver Wolf hesitate, they knew clearly that according to Elio's script, the Express crew would arrive next to take Stelle with them.
That being the case... they could not wait here any longer.
According to the annotations in Elio's script, they were absolutely not to encounter the Astral Express and its crew during this simulation—
Elio's prophecies had never been wrong, not even by a fraction. The Stellaron Hunters never doubted his plans, and they almost never contradicted his requests.
After all... if they didn't follow Elio's plans in his script, sometimes, it was truly easy to be crushed by the momentum of destiny, to die a complete and utter death under the wheels of fate, unable to even protect their own lives.
So, they were silent for only a moment before taking a few steps back in unison. Just as Ron was about to snap his fingers again, to once more deploy the Imaginary energy to envelop the space station and conceal its coordinates, Silver Wolf's rapid tapping on her Aether screen caused the two of them to begin to "disintegrate."
They began to dissolve into crumbling mosaic particles. But just as they were down to their heads and about to leave this place for good, Ron suddenly seemed to remember something and clapped his hands in realization.
"Oh, right, you two... don't forget to say hello to Elio for me."
As he spoke, a faint coldness crept into his eyes. He squinted slightly, looking at the air around Silver Wolf and Kafka as if he could see something through it, and his tone became strangely distant.
"Ask him for me... next time, will he still be able to see the script of the future?"
"Ask him... is the future still in that one's hands?"
A very obvious confusion appeared on Silver Wolf and Kafka's faces. They clearly didn't quite understand what Ron was saying, but Ron didn't seem to mind.
He didn't care about any of this... Asking Silver Wolf and Kafka to pass on a message was just a whim. He just wanted to see if that [slave of destiny] was truly a "slave of destiny."
Ron was actually quite curious—what exactly was Elio's identity?
To be able to predict the future with such accuracy, he was definitely no ordinary Pathstrider of [The End]...
The Omen Vanguards of the Path of [The End] relied on the branch Paths of [The End], hearing the whispers of the King of [The End], and forcibly translating them to predict a very vague future, using it to warn other factions in the sea of stars of coming disasters and impending crises.
This group of cosmic town criers could only manage that much. Their precision was nowhere near the level of the future predicted by the [slave of destiny] Elio.
Elio's predictions of the future were far more accurate than those Fu Xuan could produce with her Matrix of Prescience...
Their level of accuracy had already reached the level of the Life Simulation Game—or was perhaps even higher.
Therefore, Ron actually suspected that Elio was an Emissary of the King of [The End], following its will to modify and anchor fate in this sea of stars, welcoming the ending they desired.
But this matter wasn't particularly important... Although Ron was curious how the King of [The End], in its current state, could find an Emissary to bestow its blessing upon, and whether it even had the self-awareness to do such a thing, the thought that the King of [The End] could create something like the Life Simulation Game made leaving an Emissary as a backup seem normal.
An Emissary of [The End] wouldn't pose much of a threat... Ron didn't care about an Emissary-level enemy.
---o---
Watching Kafka and Silver Wolf dissolve into pixelated particles and vanish, Herta frowned slightly. She tiptoed to pat Ron's shoulder, and as he turned his head in confusion, she took the Stelle he was carrying into her own arms, then casually placed her in a corner of the room, letting her sleep soundly.
"So... what do you want to do, Ron?"
There was a hint of confusion in Herta's eyes. "You don't just want to board the Astral Express and find the route map Akivili left behind, do you? Why did you have to get involved in the Stellaron Hunters' script?"
Ron hadn't told her about this, so she wasn't quite sure if he had come up with a new plan.
"Don't tell me this was just a spur-of-the-moment thing... You definitely have a plan. Don't hide it from me, Ron."
Seeing Herta's serious face, Ron shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to hide anything from her.
"It's nothing special, it's just..."
He thought for a moment, then finally said it plainly.
"It's just that on the way here on the ship, I finally had some time to think, and I figured out a few rather important things... that's all."
Ron said nonchalantly, "You remember, right? I told you before that Belobog isn't actually my hometown... Mythus of [The Enigmata] also believes I'm a factor from outside the stalemate. This situation has arisen precisely because I don't truly belong to this world."
Ron paused for a moment here, looking at Herta's expression seriously. He found her wearing a look of "I knew it," not showing the slightest surprise at his words.
...Herta had long guessed that Ron wasn't from this world. After all, his special nature was obvious to anyone, and Ron himself had basically never tried to hide it. He had said more than once that he wasn't from Belobog and loved to tell strange little stories from his "homeland" that no one had ever heard of.
This sea of stars was very developed... Situations like Ron's were an extremely outdated trope in the Interastral Peace Corporation's entertainment department. It was the kind of story Herta would have seen back in her first life, as a child, before her rejuvenation.
Stories far more bizarre and unimaginable than this were a dime a dozen in this cosmos. Herta could easily accept a situation like Ron's... It didn't make a single ripple.
Seeing Herta's lack of any special reaction, Ron couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He had actually wanted to see this kind of reaction... The identity of a transmigrator was special, but Ron didn't want to be separated from this world, to divide himself from this sea of stars just because he was one.
His past life had been ended by a train on the day he transmigrated. After crossing over to this sea of stars, his new life would naturally begin in this world.
Although Ron would still consider the home of his past life his true home, he could never sever himself from his present life. Therefore, he didn't want Herta to misunderstand him because of this special identity.
But thankfully... Herta was completely unfazed. She even "tsked" with a bit of impatience, as if she couldn't be bothered to listen to Ron's preamble.
This identity of Ron's meant nothing to her. What she cared about was never Ron's identity; she only cared about Ron, the person.
So, Ron relaxed and continued.
"Transmigrator? Reincarnator? Whatever you want to call it, I am an existence from outside this world... one who was fortunate enough to have come into contact with the 'story' of this sea of stars, a 'spectator' who knew its plot."
"Although I am now in the game, tightly bound by this story, wanting to completely shatter this sea of stars' inherent ending... that doesn't mean this 'story' cannot help me."
"It is precisely because of this that I began to consider what kind of relationship this sea of stars has with the 'story' I encountered in my past life..."
As Ron spoke, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
"If the story I saw in my past life is bound to happen, can I consider it the clearest, most fixed destiny in this sea of stars?"
"Extending from that, it's very likely that this sea of stars is that story itself... and the reason the structure of this cosmos is so special is very likely because it is, itself, a world within a story."
"If that's the case... then a very interesting situation arises."
Ron's lips curled into a subtle smile.
"If that's the case—if this is just a world within a story, then the most important main plot, the most important destiny of this story, is the one that is about to begin..."
"And the destiny of this sea of stars is controlled by the King of [The End]—by reverse deduction, why would It want to complete such a destiny?"
Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared in Herta's eyes.
"...You don't know what It wants to do, but you can stop It from doing what It wants to do, right?"
Ron snapped his fingers. "Exactly... I don't know what It wants, but I can throw some wrenches in its plans that it's currently powerless to solve."
"Let the main plot of this story proceed... but introduce some minor details that differ from the original plot."
"Gradually knock this primary destiny off its intended track... and during this period, verify that little hunch of mine."
As Ron spoke, a confident look appeared in his eyes.
"I will board the Astral Express, and then I will find the route map left by Akivili of [The Trailblaze]..."
"If I'm not mistaken, I now know where the trunk of the [Tree of Existence] begins."
"Of course... I still need a little proof, some overwhelming proof..."
"Once I have completely confirmed the location of the [Tree of Existence]'s trunk, I can immediately ignite the sacred fire of [Salvation] and declare my counterattack against the King of [The End]."
Hearing Ron's words, Herta nodded thoughtfully.
She was about to say something when her gaze suddenly shifted to the open door of the curio storage room, from which they had entered. She heard a faint sound from afar...
"Is that... the people from the Astral Express? Should we meet them?"
Ron had also heard the distant voices, but upon hearing Herta's question, he shook his head and said softly:
"No... there's no need to change this part of the plot. Let Stelle and her friends have a memorable beginning. Their story has only just begun. I've already said this story will no longer have an ending; I can't just get it stuck right at the start."
"Let's go, Herta..."
"Stelle has new friends to meet, and we have an old friend who should be rejoining the team... right?"
Herta nodded silently. She said nothing, only leaving the depths of the curio storage room with Ron. Their footsteps were silent. After a moment, hurried footsteps echoed in the now cold and empty room—
A calm male voice came through. "This person's coordinates weren't emitted from the space station..."
Another, slightly more anxious female voice cut him off without hesitation. "Is this really the time to be worrying about that? This living person is right in front of us. They can't be fake, can they?"
The male voice seemed to sigh, then said sullenly:
"...Heartbeat and pulse are very weak. March, prepare to perform CPR."
The previously anxious female voice immediately backed down.
"Huh?! I... I don't have any experience! Dan Heng, you do it!"
The calm male voice couldn't help but sigh again, seemingly frustrated by his unreliable companion.
But fortunately, they didn't have to worry anymore... The noisy voices reached Stelle's ears. The girl, who had been like a blank sheet of paper, slowly stirred from her deep sleep, looking somewhat dazedly at the two people before her—
The seemingly ditzy pink-haired girl immediately noticed the stirring Stelle. Seeing the innocent look in her dazed eyes, it was as if she had found a kindred spirit of the same intelligence level, and she felt an immense sense of closeness to Stelle.
She looked at the girl before her, waved a hand in front of her face, and watched as Stelle's gaze followed her fingers. She let out a small sigh of relief, then asked with a worried expression:
"Are you okay? Can you hear me clearly? Do you remember your name?"
Stelle shook her head dazedly, feeling as if her little brain were completely empty. If she shook it, she could hear the clear sound of sloshing water.
"I... I don't think I remember anything."
The worry on March 7th's face deepened. "...Well, that's a problem. Can you try to remember?"
"Think carefully, your name is..."
Under her gentle coaxing, fragments of memory suddenly jumped out in Stelle's mind—
A woman in a spiderweb-patterned coat, a white shirt, leather shorts, purple thigh-highs, and long boots;
The concise name, "Stelle";
A small hacker girl chewing bubblegum;
And...
That brilliant, dazzling lantern.
"Lantern..."
She murmured to herself, and the two people before her looked at each other, bewildered.
"You're saying your name is... Lantern?"
"Ah... no."
Stelle shook her head lightly, a faint golden light flashing in her eyes.
"I just... remembered some things."
"My name is 'Stelle,' that's my name."
"Stelle... is it?" the calm young man took over. "Hello, I am Dan Heng, and this is March 7th."
"This space station has been attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We were commissioned by Station Master Asta to come to the rescue."
"But let's put our commission aside for now—what did you just remember? Are you here because you fainted during the Antimatter Legion's attack?"
Hearing Dan Heng's words, Stelle thought for a moment, carefully arranging the fragmented memories in her mind, but then shook her head dejectedly.
"I don't remember anything either..."
As she spoke, a deeply impressive phrase suddenly flashed in her mind, and her expression froze for a moment.
"No... that's not right. I remember a sentence."
"What sentence? Can you tell us?"
"It's something a person holding a lantern told me..."
Stelle hesitated for a moment, then said:
"He said—This story has no ending."
"This story has no ending?"
March 7th and Dan Heng looked at each other, momentarily confused as to what Stelle was talking about.
But they didn't dwell on it. Seeing that Stelle was clearly dazed and confused, unable to remember anything, they brought her along, leading her through the Main Control Zone, which was teeming with Voidrangers.
And at the same time, on the other side.
Bronya stood before a group of Voidrangers...
An ominous conflagration stained her body.