Chapter 163: March 7th: I'm Firmly on Himeko's Side
At first, Kafka didn't fully grasp the deep meaning concealed within Elio's words. After all, the man was a walking enigma, his every utterance shrouded in a thick fog of prophecy. Regarding the ultimate fate of the Aeons... Elio could say no more.
But now, having arrived at the Xianzhou Luofu and witnessed the incarnations of those very beings, she felt a sudden, startling clarity.
The original "Four Ends" of the universe, the terminal points of destiny, were Destruction, Remembrance, The Harmony, and Nihility. And now, two of those "Ends" were walking side-by-side with Leon, their attitudes bordering on intimate.
Didn't that mean the future they were supposed to confront head-on had already been irrevocably altered long ago?
"Speaking of which, what exactly is the goal of you Stellaron Hunters?" March 7th, who had naturally overheard Kafka's musings, interjected with a note of indignation. "Is it just to act as some kind of mouthpiece?"
"Goal? No, that isn't our goal," Kafka replied, her lips curving into a faint smile. Her gaze drifted over to Leon, a meaningful depth swimming in her eyes, before returning to the pink-haired girl. "Rather, at this particular moment, our role... truly is something like a mouthpiece."
She paused, her smile remaining perfectly composed. "If we're talking about our original goal... it was, naturally, to let Stelle and Caelus become the heroes of the Xianzhou Luofu."
"Huh?" March 7th's face was a mask of disbelief.
"How is it? Are you surprised?" Kafka seemed unbothered by the girl's small outburst, her tone leisurely. "The notoriously infamous Stellaron Hunters, going through all that trouble just to prop up the Trailblazers as heroes—no one would have ever guessed such a script, would they?"
"Then why don't you tell us what the next 'script' is?" March 7th pressed, her arms crossed.
Kafka, however, simply shook her head. "Elio did not inform me of the key information. The possibilities of the future are infinite; if one learns the right thing at the wrong time, it could cause all our long-term efforts to go to waste."
She let out a soft chuckle and fell silent, offering no more.
In the original script, in those best and worst of futures, Stelle and Caelus were destined to one day stand against Nanook of Destruction. At that time, they would need every possible ally they could muster... for it would be a cruel, brutal battle on the level of Aeons, a conflict far beyond anything the current Astral Express crew could hope to face. In the vast majority of futures, destiny would end at that very moment. But if they followed Elio's script to the letter, they would eventually find a sliver of hope... or at least, that was the original future.
But now... Elio had left them with only a single, simple instruction: "Just have fun."
As long as they didn't anger Leon or cross his bottom line, the future would naturally shift towards the light.
"Tch, you're just a bunch of riddle-makers. You might as well have said nothing at all," March 7th grumbled under her breath.
Kafka wasn't angry. According to the original plan, this was the moment she should have revealed a few more secrets... for instance, the fact that even Aeons can fall. She could have spoken the names of Long, the Aeon of Permanence; Idrila of Beauty; Ena of Order; Tayzzyronth of The Propagation; and... Akivili of the Trailblaze. Names that once echoed throughout the cosmos, now leaving behind only masterless Paths.
She could have explained the three ways known to mortals to make an Aeon fall: the overlap and annexation of conceptual Paths; a war between the gods themselves; and... the obsessive pursuit of mortals.
But at this moment, Kafka didn't say a single extra word. After all, on the current Xianzhou Luofu, there were actual Aeons present. More than one, in fact, and that included the unpredictable Aha of Elation. If she spoke too freely here, there was no guarantee she wouldn't be forcibly cast in some improvised play by that god of mirth. That would be a truly unnecessary complication.
"I really don't get you people... but regardless of what your original goal was, there are five Aeons stationed on the Luofu right now." March 7th's tongue remained as sharp as ever. "Doesn't that make you guys completely useless? And if you're useless, why even bother coming here?"
She was firmly on Himeko's side. Himeko didn't like Kafka, so she didn't like her either. It didn't matter that she used the Kafka character quite often in Leon's game; the game was the game, and reality was reality.
"Have you forgotten..." Kafka let out a soft, melodious laugh. "If I hadn't invaded the Express, your original destination... would not have been the Xianzhou Luofu at all."
Her smile widened slightly. "Although the script has undergone a massive change and our position as Stellaron Hunters has shifted... we still have a 'mission' we must complete. At the very least... we can satisfy the other party, can't we?"
As she spoke, she turned her head back, leaning slightly toward March 7th. With a flourish, she gave a crisp snap of her fingers.
In that same instant, a cold, sharp sword light tore through the air. A dark shadow leaped forth, the wind from its blade slicing through the atmosphere with a vicious hum. A man clad in a tattered black trench coat appeared, his dark blue hair fading to a grim dark red at the tips. His eyes were cold, his body wrapped in bandages, and a cracked, ancient sword was held tightly in his grip. He landed abruptly between Kafka and Dan Heng.
Dan Heng's pupils contracted. In a fluid, instantaneous motion, the Cloud-Piercer was in his hand, his body lowering into a defensive stance.
"Hahahaha... you came!" Blade let out a manic, unhinged laugh, bloodshot veins crawling across the whites of his eyes. "It's time for you to pay the price! Did you think you could escape just by changing your face? Can you escape?!"
According to the original plan, he was supposed to have arrived to save Kafka. But at this moment, his entire world had narrowed to a single point: the man standing before him. Only Dan Heng remained in his eyes.
Leon watched this scene unfold with great interest, curious to see how Kafka would wrap this up. After all, in the game, Dan Heng wasn't supposed to appear at the Divination Commission at this time.
"I have said it many times," Dan Heng's voice was as cold as glacial ice. "I am Dan Heng. I have no connection to your past."
"Dan Heng...?" Blade echoed the name with a soft, pained laugh soaked in mockery. "Hehe... do you think that by changing your name and your identity, your past sins can simply be wiped clean?"
He clutched his head, his body trembling as he took a staggering step toward Dan Heng. "You... you haven't even felt 'death' before."
His voice grew louder, thick with a terrible, brewing storm of agony. "I will make you feel this pain... Dan Heng. I will let you know—the pain of 'death'!"
"Listen to me..."
Kafka let out a soft sigh, and her Power of Words rippled out, silent and unseen.
"Kafka..." Blade's movements stuttered to a halt as he turned his gaze toward her.
"Listen to me, Blade. Now... is not the time yet," her voice was gentle, yet it carried an authority that brooked no disobedience. "You still need to... endure for a while longer."
The Spirit Whisper acted like an invisible net, slowly and carefully suppressing the nearly boiling Mara-Struck state that had consumed him. The manic laughter died down. The blood-red color in Blade's eyes faded bit by bit, receding until only a cold, detached calm remained.
"Let's go, Bladie." Kafka turned, the hem of her coat fluttering lightly in the breeze. "We have elsewhere to be."
As her voice fell, she leaned back gracefully, like a butterfly taking flight in reverse, and jumped from the edge of the Matrix of Prescience into the swirling sea of clouds below.
Blade cast one last, silent glance at Dan Heng before leaping down to follow her without a word.
The Astral Express crew rushed to the edge of the high platform and peered down into the abyss. Amidst the churning mist, just as Kafka's figure was about to be swallowed by the clouds, she tilted her head up. A knowing smile graced her lips as she coolly touched her fingers to her temple in a distant, parting salute.
"Yo," Leon chuckled, an appreciative glint in his eyes. "That was actually pretty cool."
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