Bai Ming pursed her lips.
She truly couldn't find it in her to empathize with Elio's way of thinking.
When it all came down to it, what did this world look like to Finality, who drifted backward through time?
It was hard for an outsider to even fathom; it was quite possible that no one—save for the Aeon of Finality itself—could ever truly grasp it.
"And how can you guarantee that specific future will be the one you want?"
"I can't guarantee it, but I don't care. I am leaving behind a possibility where Finality does not exist. As for making that possibility a good one... well, that's your responsibility."
Elio spoke with a certain casualness, yet his conviction was unmistakable.
For the followers of Finality, it remained unknown whether Elio would even continue to exist once Finality dissipated.
People like Kafka might fare better, but for someone like Elio, it was hard to say. From the sound of it, he had already braced himself for the worst.
"...Every time, you just write the script, tear it into pieces, and tell us our parts. You never let us see how you actually view the script. Are you intentionally trying to exclude the influence of Finality from us?"
In the past, Bai Ming simply thought Elio was a man of riddles. Now, she began to wonder if he was being cryptic on purpose—to prevent Jingliu and the others from being too deeply affected, only to vanish along with Finality.
"Meow~"
Faced with a difficult question, Elio fell silent again.
Seeing this, Bai Ming already had her answer and stopped pressing him.
She remained neutral toward Elio's perspective. People were still just people; even without Paths, Finality, or Honkai, this world wouldn't necessarily be all that wonderful.
Perhaps once the gap in technological and divine power grew too vast, and the weak lost the external forces that allowed them to rise, they would lose the ability to resist entirely.
Aside from things like the Cocoon of Finality—which simply reset the board whenever it didn't get the 'card' it wanted—or the Swarm and Propagation, which were pure chaos, Bai Ming was quite tolerant of different forms of power.
Despite these thoughts, she didn't offer a rebuttal. Elio's starting point was the despair-inducing Finality. While she couldn't empathize, she could imagine the reasons behind his mindset.
On the other hand, after seeing the differing perspectives of Zandar and Elio, Bai Ming began to reflect on herself—what she could do, or what she needed to do. Although she had done many things to make the world a better place, most of it was done on a whim.
Her true goal?
She'd never had one.
Bai Ming wouldn't necessarily choose to overthrow the rules of Fate, but she could observe more and think more. She understood Zandar's philosophy now, but she still knew too little about Elio's.
And so, Bai Ming didn't mind helping Elio arrange the script.
Of course, Elio was still the lead writer. Even if she used a clone to join the Stellaron Hunters and technically stepped onto the Path of Finality, that sliver of power wasn't enough to see the future.
Strictly speaking, she was merely exploring various possibilities under Elio's guidance. This allowed Elio to observe more futures and filter through them, and in the process, she happened to overhear quite a bit of information about what was to come.
As she had suspected, the future had become incredibly bizarre due to her actions. Eventually, people from Kiana's side even began traveling back and forth between the two worlds. Aside from the familiar faces, the world was almost entirely different from what Bai Ming remembered.
Bai Ming was actually quite satisfied with these changes. After all, things were generally heading in a better direction.
However...
There were certain futures that made Bai Ming feel incredibly awkward and strange.
Even though Elio couldn't see the fine details, the deductions he made from various clues were thrown out as topics to tease her with.
For instance, Bai Ming had always worried that Silver Wolf would discover that Silverwing was actually her persona. In the future, Silver Wolf finally caught on.
Upon realizing that Silverwing was just her "dear sister" in disguise, Silver Wolf was clearly livid. She had been quite reckless and not at all well-behaved when facing Silverwing.
Consequently, Silver Wolf—whose feelings had already become somewhat "warped"—rushed to her door in a fit of humiliation and anger, looking very much like she was about to go through a "darkening" phase.
She used the secret as an excuse to try and cross that final boundary.
The most embarrassing part for Bai Ming was that, according to Elio, her future self actually allowed Silver Wolf's willful behavior out of a mix of guilt and genuine affection.
Though Elio claimed he couldn't see it and was only inferring from cause and effect, it was a high-probability outcome.
Then there was 'Robin'. As she grew up, her feelings for Bai Ming gradually shifted from seeing her as a gentle sister to something more... complicated. Of course, for 'Robin', even if the feelings changed, her initial thought was just to be Bai Ming's "dearest sister."
But because Bai Ming was an exalted Aeon, 'Robin' had always suppressed her thoughts.
Finally, after the necklace Bai Ming gave her saved her life, those long-repressed emotions finally fermented into something else.
If it had ended there, it might have been fine. But once she learned about the situation with Silver Wolf and realized Bai Ming had established a long-term intimate relationship with a mortal, 'Robin' resolutely decided to join the fray!
Given 'Robin's' seemingly gentle but actually stubborn personality, the soft-hearted Bai Ming found her impossible to deal with.
More importantly, as a superstar, 'Robin' was not only good at utilizing her beauty but also fond of using perfectly timed little schemes.
Bai Ming, having never dealt with that type before, had almost no room to resist.
Hearing Elio recount this, Bai Ming found it somewhat hard to believe.
At the same time, she began to wonder what exactly had gone wrong with her—why were all these juniors she looked after harboring such "wicked" intentions?
Yet, it wasn't over. Elio dropped another bombshell.
In the future, Fu Xuan, through her Matrix of Prescience—which had been enhanced by Bai Ming—accidentally captured a certain possibility between her and Bai Ming.
This, in turn, caused that possibility to become fixed, and so... even Bai Ming's well-behaved First Emanator had completely rebelled, becoming a "master-betraying disciple"!
Worse still, because Bai Ming had granted the Matrix too much power, the probability of Fu Xuan observing that specific outcome was remarkably high. In other words, Fu Xuan was destined to "rebel"; it was only a matter of time.
At this point, Bai Ming truly began to question her life choices.
She felt she was acting perfectly normal, so why was her future twisting into such a shape? The only thing worth celebrating was that Reveria and Qingque hadn't had their feelings for her turn "rotten."
Bai Ming suspected Elio was doing this on purpose. She felt the black cat wanted her to fall into a "jealousy war" ahead of schedule. But she had no proof.
In short, to prevent herself from hearing any more names, Bai Ming chose to toss Elio out.
It seemed that prophets were better off being cryptic; if they actually explained the future, it only led to unhappiness.
Bai Ming told no one about Elio's script. She simply continued as before, cooperating with Herta's research, tinkering with strange life forms alongside Ruan Mei, and hanging out with Mei.
Occasionally, she would use her Silverwing identity to deal with challenges from Silver Wolf.
The first person to see through the fact that Silverwing was Bai Ming's disguise was, unsurprisingly, Kiana.
Kiana had long accepted that there were identical-looking people in this world, but using the exact same clothing, weapons, and even armor names was a bit too suspicious. Kiana's first thought was that Bai Ming was messing around with secret identities again.
Kiana quickly tracked down Bai Ming and cornered her in her room. With her hands on her hips and the air of a "Master Detective," she stared Bai Ming down:
"Spill it! That Stellaron Hunter, Silverwing N-EX... that's your alt, isn't it?"
"!?"
Bai Ming looked at Kiana with shock in her eyes. Before she could speak, Kiana was the one who broke first. She jumped forward, grabbed Bai Ming's arm, and said with a flushed face:
"What's with that look? You didn't think I was an idiot, did you?? Why are you looking away! Bai Ming, you big dummy!"
Before her identity was even officially exposed, Bai Ming was already being pestered because she had subconsciously treated Kiana like a fool.
To appease her, Bai Ming had to agree to many of Kiana's demands, including but not limited to: buying her various exotic instant noodles from across the universe, playing games with her when she was bored, and acting as her strategist for the "Operation: Capture Mei."
After a long time of being hassled, Kiana suddenly remembered her original purpose. Her giggling stopped, and she forced a serious expression, leaning in close to Bai Ming:
"Confess and you'll get leniency; resist and you'll get the hammer! That Silverwing is definitely you. Who else could replicate Bronya's appearance one-to-one?"
Considering Kiana's personality—if Bai Ming didn't tell her, she might go and tell the entire Express Crew—Bai Ming let out a helpless sigh and nodded.
"It's me. To be precise, it's one of my clones. Bronya was supposed to join the Stellaron Hunters, but she didn't want to go. Since the Hunters are actually quite important, I filled the spot for her."
"...No way. You spoil her way too much, don't you?"
Kiana was dumbfounded.
If she hadn't misread the news, the Stellaron Hunters were a criminal organization, right?! Was that really necessary?? And you said you weren't planning on "raising" her. What kind of normal sister goes to those lengths?
"Don't tell anyone about this. If Bronya finds out, she'll definitely be upset."
"Fine, I promise. But the Stellaron Hunters are criminals, aren't they? You wouldn't..."
"What are you thinking? The goal of the Stellaron Hunters is to save the universe from Finality, and there's no way I'd go around killing innocent people."
"I guess that's fair."
Kiana breathed a sigh of relief. But soon, a mischievous grin spread across her face as she looked at Bai Ming.
"Hehehe, Bai Ming, you wouldn't want—Ow! Why'd you hit me!"
"You're acting out of character. If I don't hit you, who will?"
Bai Ming watched Kiana nurse her forehead, mercilessly critiquing the girl for her weird remarks. Kiana just stuck her tongue out at her.
"Whatever! I'm saying this on behalf of my Bronya, okay? You used her image; shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
"Uh..."
In the past, when she used character skins, it was just a quick one-month thing and then it vanished. But this time, using a Persona to create a clone and borrowing the Silverwing look was a long-term job. It did feel a bit unfair.
"I didn't think it through. Apologize to Bronya for me. As an apology, if she has any requests, she can tell me and I'll do my best."
"Oh~ someone's being sincere! I've already passed the word along. Bronya says she forgives you, but as for the request, she'll tell you the details when you two actually meet."
"Fair enough. Thank her for her generosity for me."
A year passed just like that.
Stelle had become quite well-acquainted with the inner workings of the Stellaron Hunters. Unfortunately, she knew what she had to do. Despite her reluctance, she followed Elio's script, closed her eyes, and entrusted herself to Kafka and Silverwing.
And so, one day, at Herta Space Station.
Silverwing breached the station's firewall just as a small unit of the Antimatter Legion attempted an invasion. The scene, strikingly similar to the opening of a game, unfolded before Silverwing.
"Aren't you worried about the researchers here? I recall you designed this station several centuries ago," Kafka asked curiously over the comms, standing in the elevator and watching the invading Legion and the ensuing chaos.
"I'm not worried. I established the rules of this station myself; I know the caliber of the staff here. Today, only Credit Points will be lost. No one will die."
Silverwing would assist Elio, but she would not cause innocent casualties. She had calculated everything for today, and even if there were any oversights, she would resolve them in silence.
The only heavy losses at the station today would be equipment and currency.
"Instead of me, you should worry about your own timing. AI Herta will regain control soon. You'd better get her inside within five minutes."
"Don't worry, there's time. Even if something goes wrong, you'll save me, won't you, darling?"
Kafka stepped out of the elevator with a smile, heading toward the containment room where the Stellaron was kept.
With Silverwing acting as the "inside man," Kafka's efficiency was incredibly high. Silverwing hadn't expected that she would end up replacing Silver Wolf as Stelle's "aunt" here.
After unlocking the containment device, Silverwing retrieved Stelle's body and handed it to Kafka.
"I'll leave her to you, Kafka. Silver Wolf is attacking again; she's really improving fast lately."
Silverwing smiled, her expression full of pride. She then turned around and pulled up a 3D map of the space station, filled with red and blue dots representing friend and foe, with gold representing the Express Crew.
Two light dots were clearing out Voidrangers with extreme efficiency—most likely Mei and Kiana.
Two other gold dots were approaching their location—likely March 7th and Dan Heng. Razalina was staying in the Master Control Zone with Himeko.
Mr. Yang was watching the train, while Void Archives had already left the Express.
Then, there was a signal attempting to join the fray remotely and lock onto them from the Simulated Universe station. It was Silver Wolf's ID.
Although she hadn't joined the Stellaron Hunters, she had become a bounty hunter specifically hunting them down, and thanks to Pearl, she was on good terms with the Strategic Investment Department.
Silver Wolf had improved rapidly, reaching level 99 in just a year; she'd likely hit 100 in another few months.
Silverwing dealt with Silver Wolf while keeping an eye on Kafka as she left a Spirit Whisper for the unconscious Stelle. She didn't know what Kafka was thinking, but Silverwing felt a bit of pity.
A year's worth of relationship was being reset to zero. This lively girl would soon become a dear companion and comrade to the Express Crew. Silverwing could still get to know her in her true form, but Kafka wouldn't be able to do the same.
"March 7th and Dan Heng are almost here. Want to say hi?"
"No need, Silverwing. Let's go. We'll meet again."
Kafka withdrew her gaze from Stelle, took Silverwing's hand, and they stepped through a wormhole, leaving the station.
Moments after Silverwing left, AI Herta retook control of the space station.
All the transforming autonomous robots reconnected to the public network, shifting from chaos to high efficiency in an instant.
"Not a single death? Thank goodness. At least they remembered to take over a few robots for protection; that safety drill wasn't a waste," AI Herta sighed in relief.
The enemy's cyberattack had been sudden and terrifying. She hadn't been able to block it at all; her vision had been cut off almost instantly. As expected of someone who could breach the firewalls of Planet Screwllum, it was truly frightening.
"Hmm? An extra person? The Stellaron is... inside her? Hah, where'd this superhuman come from? Swallowing a Stellaron whole without worrying about choking. Better contact Madam Herta; she'll definitely be interested."
Silverwing led Kafka away from The Blue.
[Damn it! Cheater! Shameless! Silverwing, get back here! You can't just run away mid-fight!!]
Messages from Silver Wolf flooded Silverwing's screen.
Judging by the constant notifications, Silver Wolf was clearly furious about her running away again. The earlier melancholy was partially dispelled. Silverwing immediately replied:
[You care about me so much, do you like me, little Silver Wolf~? If you're a good girl and call me "big sister," I might just stay.]
[DROP DEAD!!!!]
Silverwing laughed out loud. Teasing Silver Wolf was always the best. However, the laughing Silverwing didn't notice the look Elio was giving her—a look that seemed to say "You asked for it."
Elio really wanted to complain. This woman claimed she didn't understand why Silver Wolf's feelings had become "warped," yet every time she taunted her, she said all sorts of suggestive things.
At least eighty percent of why Silver Wolf would become so "aggressive" in the future was because of this woman's provocations.
Was she doing it on purpose or was it subconscious? What a terrifying woman.
Elio just shook his head at the thought of all the "romantic debts" belonging to Bai Ming that he had seen.
It seemed his warnings were completely useless. There was no saving her; she might as well just wait for the end.
This new "prologue" followed the core plot, despite the changes in the cast. It took a bit of a push from Silverwing for the Doomsday Beast to fire a breath strong enough to trigger Stelle's awakening of the Path of Destruction. After that, it was promptly hammered into dust by the space station.
Then came Herta's appearance, her desire to research Stelle, and Stelle's decision to join the Astral Express.
As Bai Ming watched the Herta Space Station from afar, she pondered another question. If her "Silverwing" persona was exposed in the future, would Herta come to settle the score?
But things were as they were. For now, she would look forward to this new Trailblazer's journey of adventure.
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(End of Book)
Author's Note: And that's where it ends! The story is complete.
Thank you to every reader for watching (bows).
My inspiration has run a bit dry, and continuing further might have strayed too far from the theme and felt like filler, which I didn't want. So, until we meet again!
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T/N: New HI3 fic on this acc(technically a reupload).
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL