Far across the cosmos, countless conspiracies ensued. Whether it was the pink rabbit who claimed to be an ordinary student, a lost soul ferrying the sea of nothingness with her thin red paper umbrella, or the rebellious diviner who defied the mirror's calls, none escaped the universal reversal pulled off by Shi Tian. However, it did not render a select few helpless.
One was Erudition. THEY are the counterpart of Remembrance in extrapolating this universe's future. It is THEIR way of creating futures that inch closer and closer to anything except the Finality ending.
Another was Remembrance. Shi Tian used THEIR power as a main component of the 'universal reversal'. Though he closely guarded this flaw, four hundred years eroded its original functions, allowing it to slip to the bosom of the said rebellious diviner.
The third was Elation. THEIR instincts to hop onto "fun" could not be quantified by mere words or data. THEIR decisive action to latch onto Vita explained everything.
The fourth was rather unsurprising, the Nihility. THEIR instinct to render everything meaningless drove Shi Tian's power into meaninglessness. THEY rejected all forms of reason. It just so happened that Shi Tian once carried THEIR influence, inadvertently making him a target no matter what.
Finally, there was the no-brainer.
Finality.
"Elio's been taking more catnip than usual."
"Did you check his fur? Are they falling off?"
"Hm… Not really."
The hotel they stayed at was cozy enough for a black-furred cat to fall asleep. Two separate rooms were booked, each with identical interiors. There was a shelf full of books, free to read by the temporary dwellers. There was also a fancy wooden table painted white; its supports being carved into a wave-like shape. Its countertop held a saucer holding a newly-emptied cup. The smashed empty can of an energy drink was a total mismatch to the entire room's ambience—not that it mattered to the two inside the room.
One of them was a girl wearing long sleeves. Her shoulder coat was taken off, lying neatly on the bedside. The other was a short girl with a recognizable hair drill. She had just taken her eyes off the game and looked at the sleeping black cat with a hint of scrutiny.
"Then he's still fine. A few all-nighters won't hurt him."
Silverwolf's dismissive attitude made Firefly speechless. She patted the destiny slave's back as it slept soundly. The recent events made it work harder than usual. After all…
The future is in disarray.
Elio is the Destiny Slave, a special being capable of predicting the future through something known as "scripts". Things were not limited to that, however, as he could accurately see the pasts of the futures, the times that had once come into pass, only to return back from zero.
Roughly four years ago, the scripts he had predicted failed occasionally. It was something that has never happened before, not even once. One has to know that Elio could not predict the complete future. Only by focusing on a specific node of the "story" could they steer it towards the ending they desire. To that, they—the Stellaron Hunters—would not hesitate to commit interstellar crimes.
It hasn't failed once… until now.
Elio did not shy away from these changes. Everyone could see that the black cat… looked forward to it. His expectations towards these uncontrollable changes grew, hence the overwork the poor cat was subjected to. Due to Kafka, its original "caretaker", having to take care of another "baby", the task was relegated to Firefly.
"Hm… You..!"
Not even five minutes after their last talk, Silverwolf was crashing out over her game console. Her grip over the controls beside the screen tightened as frustration welled up inside her heart.
"Why does it feel like I am fighting against a thousand-year-old hag?!"
*****
"What a noob."
Bronya stared at her traditional computer screen before her gaze landed back to Vita. To be more exact, to the noisy mask attached to her waist. She slightly spun her office chair to Vita's position, her head resting on the back of the chair… a gaming chair.
The roughest times were the first hundred years. Everyone had to go full force in managing Earth. But once they found trustworthy successors, everyone gradually lived their retirement lives. Bronya focused full-scale on making her dream come true—running a gaming company.
Aside from the veteran employee surnamed Paycheck as well as the girl reminiscent of Fu Hua's best friend from fifty thousand years ago, the company saw through countless people come and go. Her flopped games turned over when Bronya placed full focus over their creative direction. Later on, one of Shi Tian's students, Griseo, joined to become the art director. Their stacked lineup turned Bronya's company to become one of the biggest in the past five hundred years.
According to Shi Tian's suggestion, she called it…
Mihoyo.
"So it causes small-scale reality distortions. Befitting someone who wants nothing but Elation." She paused before asking, "Is that why you came here?"
"Quite." Vita sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I want to meet him."
The tapping of Bronya's fingers stopped. Her pale silver eyes shot straight to the gray-haired woman.
"There's no need to visit me. He won't refuse anyone knocking at his doorsteps… and if he is busy with something, he would have placed it on his status."
"Alright. Thanks for the time."
Vita did not say anything else and left. Bronya was left slightly confused at her actions.
"It's not in her character…"
Little did she know, her suspicions were right.
Each of Vita's steps brought her elsewhere. The surroundings shifted as swiftly as she moved. Anyone attempting to view her movements would see nothing—literally nothing. Her existence in this real universe is close to nil. Amidst her special state, the annoying high-pitched, gender-neutral voice rang.
"Stalker! Stalker! Aha supports crazy parasocial fans! Haha!"
Vita's fingertips touched the mask's surface before it appeared on her face. It wasn't as comical and creepy as the blockbuster hit "Yellow Mask" starring someone named Jarrey Cim. An air of mysterious elegance surrounded her the moment the mask stuck to her face.
"I want to see… how he acts on others."
A dazzling white light was all she left as her figure turned into a stunning mature woman with a drill-like hairstyle.