"There are no backups in the Elysian Realm…"
My sharp hearing heard Mobius' mutterings.
"Ah~? Did you miss me~?"
Elysia ran off to hug Mobius. The latter was still dazed to the point she did not visibly struggle against Elysia's clutches.
It wasn't until some time did she finally react.
Mobius' first reaction was to push her buried face away from the Pink Elf's useless baggage.
"A digital lifeform… you brought her back?"
"Yes, in a way." Shi Tian answered. "I can, to some extent, manipulate the flow of time. She is the digital Elysia whom you knew."
It wasn't a true revival as it was limited by his current capabilities. It is more apt to call it as a temporary reversal of time, tugging forth the karma tying Shi Tian and Elysia together to bring her back from the dead.
Back then, he thought he had to 'fix' this world's "flawed" temporal dimension to be able to master Formlessness and resurrect the others. He was proven wrong again and again by the turn of events.
First, he managed to enter Formlessness and anchor Remembrance to his stigma space without fixing the flawed temporal dimension.
Second, he managed to ramp the progress up to 60% despite the said flaw existing.
Finally, he had succeeded with the Remembrance System. It wasn't just designed to summon memories and the likes. Its biggest function is to aid in time reversal and resurrection. It is the "hack" Shi Tian made to resurrect people at the Void Refinement Realm!
'A temporal dimension filled with flaws…'
If it was flawed, all he had to do is to fill in the holes in its body. That was what he did during all three instances.
His immortal cultivator power, the heavy karma of a guaranteed Dao Integration Realm expert, and his ultimate-grade spirit root filled in the gaps. His future projection's unusually "strong" influence was a sign of it.
'Others failed to do it… so it needs THEIR proactive cooperation.'
The rest weren't idle in the last four hundred years. They tried to replicate Shi Tian's process in attaining Formlessness, but to no avail. They could fill in the gaps, but someone has to take the initiative and shoulder a good part of it.
Shi Tian thought of the Fuli he interacted with from the beginning. It wasn't Cyrene, nor was it any other Pure Child of Anasrava. It was Fuli THEMSELVES—the real Fuli who appears at every ending of this universe's cycle.
In short, he lucked out from Fuli's cooperation.
"I can't breathe..!"
After escaping from the devil's clutches, Mobius sat right next to Shi Tian. The latter sent him a sympathetic look.
"I can understand."
"..."
She was speechless upon hearing his words.
"Understand what~?"
"The fact that comfort zones mean nothing to the Miss Pink Elf."
Elysia paused before sitting to his left. A mischievous look appeared on her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his.
Shi Tian's mouth twitched as he saw all of this.
'I shouldn't have spoken…'
He thought the tricks he learned back in Amphoreus could help him. The years he spent as the frivolous court mage amounted to nothing in the face of Mihoyo's greatest social terrorist.
Ignoring the soft and somewhat heavy sensation in his right arm, he turned to look at Mobius. The latter sported a shocked look as she met his gaze.
"I would love to talk with you about your findings…"
The sudden switch to professional mode left Mobius speechless once more. She reacted not long after, catching on to his flow.
Elysia, upon seeing her failed teasing attempts, temporarily stopped. She let go of Shi Tian's arm and listened intently to their conversation.
Unfortunately, she did not have the background for immortal cultivation nor "rocket physics". She would rather eat "paltry" desserts instead of thinking about all these complex things!
'Spirit Root improvement through gradual exposure to imaginary elements…'
Only when Shi Tian talked personally to Mobius did he realize how huge their findings were.
The most significant one was the utilization of imaginary energy to gradually improve one's Spirit Roots. Imaginary energy contains 'chaotic' information of the real universe. They converge back and forth within the imaginary space, turning it into a special place where all eleven dimensions collide.
There are also other findings such as the polished spatial displacement via the Sea of Quanta as well as the capability to touch the Imaginary Tree.
He looked at the small and petite snake woman. The cold tone coming out of her cherry pink lips matched the profile he knew from the game.
The Mobius right before the battle against the Herrscher of the End is an "unhinged" scientist who breached dozens, if not hundreds of ethical conduct. Shi Tian did not forget about this fact, though he was not one to judge others. The Previous Era pushed her descent towards madness.
One look at the simulated Mobius was all it takes. She pushed the real Mobius to her death.
It wasn't just her. Nearly everyone did.
Everyone except Elysia.
Just as they continued talking, the other presence they were waiting for arrived.
"Hm..? Whose work is this?"
A bewildered voice cut through the lounge.
At the entrance was a gray-haired woman with steampunk clothes. Her strong presence tilted everyone's attention towards her.
She moved in a flash, examining Elysia closely.
"Hm… She is undoubtedly the simulated Eli. Is this your work, Sect Master?"
"That's right."
"How interesting."
Vill-V began pinching Elysia's cheeks with her fingertip.
"Itws bween a lwong twime, Vwi~"
She was about to reply when her cheeks got counter-attacked… or rather, counter-pinched. This skillful maneuver made Vill-V stop the act. She crossed her arms and muttered:
"It's like pulling a bunny out of a magician's hat…"
'That's exactly it..?'
Shi Tian heard her accurate descriptions and retorted mentally. This caused Vill-V to jolt and look at him.
"I feel like someone's bad-mouthing me… Could it be you, Mobius?"
"...Leave me out of your charades."
Mobius remained silent up until now. The somewhat "lively" atmosphere somewhat threw her off.
But…
She is not totally against it.
'Your feelings… my feelings… is it the same..?'