Hysilens knew nothing. The Primum Mobile corresponding to her existence, Nihility, is intricately tied to Shi Tian's fate. It was the first proof of his uniqueness—of his ability to retain his sense of self. He was but a mortal when he faced IX. The Newbie Gift handed over to him by the golden orb became his first tribulation.
Nihility was the Path destined to him… had the golden orb not intervened. He was not destined to see the world of immortals, but this universe etched with Trailblazing's rails.
One thought split off countless other variables—possibilities—spawning new trails towards the Immortal Dao.
Hysilens knew nothing about these.
Yet…
Her concern was real.
Looking at the Shi Tian in front of her, she saw a mirror image of herself. She lived a life headed towards self-immolation. Her inability to find purpose in life conformed to her Primum Mobile.
It was destined to be so. Be it in the past, present, or the future.
Shi Tian's arrival altered the gears of fate. It wasn't an exaggeration he ground the entire chess board into dust. He replaced it with his own chess board, one whose pieces lead straight to victory.
No words needed to be said. That same empty look, hidden deep beneath his pupils, reflects his growingly weary soul.
Nobody can perfectly resist the influence of an Aeon as a mortal. Potential is potential until truly actualized.
Fortunately, things were as he had said.
He overcame this.
The momentary lucidity allowed Shi Tian to seal his experiences—and their effects—to the depths of his soul. He bought enough time to grow up. The final confrontation between his World Rendering Sword and IX's fragmentary influence led to another chapter written by his own hands.
Hysilens gritted her teeth.
'How..?'
She knew nothing about him, of his existence.
She sorely regretted not asking him… of not knowing more about him. She and Cerydra chose not to dig into his background out of trust and respect.
Now that he was dead—her trust broken—how could Hysilens still retain her original thoughts?
"...Ah."
The sudden intrusion of an unfamiliar voice jolted her awake.
In Hysilens' blind spot, a foreign figure appeared. Her long white-hair flowed like the ocean's waves. Her eyes are reminiscent of purple stars. The short white gown—battlesuit—she wore exposed her white calves.
The goddess' appearance greatly contradicted the dreary and meaningless space built by Nihility. She was like a firefly in a dark room.
Click.
The world momentarily turned gray before returning to normal. Hysilens never noticed this change, hence she only saw the goddess look at her with widened eyes.
"You are too… similar."
*****
Kiana is the one and only embrace of the Cocoon of Finality. Anything with Finality written in their name, especially one inside the Imaginary Tree, is nothing but simple.
Using its power, she traced back onto Shi Tian's traces. It went from the imaginary space to the real world far beyond the imaginary barrier she had set. She did not do anything that will affect the real world. The imaginary barrier of the solar system is already volatile enough. It is being continuously worn out by the Aeons' occasional gazes. It has long alarmed the rest of the universe as many gathered near the solar system.
It wasn't an exaggeration that Kiana is the pillar maintaining Earth's years of safety.
"One hundred years…"
Kiana glanced at the big blue planet. Countless thoughts flickered in her eyes.
"He shouldn't be in trouble."
She trusted Shi Tian. She knew him well not to worry needlessly. He wouldn't proceed with something if he doesn't have a backup plan. At least, he has something that can let him leave Amphoreus if he wanted to.
Everyone else did not stop improving despite his absence. Earth, for instance, was left for them to manage. They ensured he could settle his things without any worries. That is the best they can do after everything Shi Tian had given to them.
Even the catfight between his disciples and Queen Mei was broken off by Kiana. Her reaction made them not repeat it again, a testament of her terrifying side.
"Ah..?!"
Kiana suddenly sensed a 'channel' appear inside her mind. It was akin to a divine sense fragment—a split consciousness.
She tried to take a peek at it, only for her entire divine mind to be sucked inside.
"Where..?"
Kiana processed everything at a light speed. The replica of Nihility's space was comparable to the force they fought at the Domination Theater. What stunned Kiana was the presence of a mature and elegant woman.
She had seen the 'information' belonging to her—as well as Shi Tian's shenanigans inside Amphoreus.
She felt somewhat helpless at his act of self-sacrifice, though Kiana wasn't worried. They would be the first one to know if he was in danger. For now, he was not.
With his safety guaranteed, Kiana felt extremely bad for Hysilens, and at the same time, startled.
"You are too… similar."
The women Shi Tian flirted with back on Earth have different characters and backgrounds. There might be intersections, but never identical ones. Similarly, nobody had an experience that greatly overlapped with Shi Tian's…
Until Hysilens came.
Kiana can already think of a thousand-chapter-long romantic story about two soulmates who treaded the same path—or a newcomer who is destined to be their 'sister'.
"Who are you?"
Hysilens stared vigilantly at the newcomer.
"I am… someone Tian called forth with memories." She tried her best to summarize everything. "Tian is out there doing something. It's just that, these things… They are the aftereffects."
Shi Tian chose to 'integrate' Remembrance's authority to his stigma space. He does not know how or why it worked. The "Past" and "Future" temporal dimensions haven't been discovered yet, still clouded in the fog of Erudition and Remembrance. Everyone at the Sword Conference concluded that this "fog" must be removed to achieve Formlessness.
Successfully integrating this 'Authority' to his stigma space is completely out of his expectations.
He resolved to settle it for now and save the investigation for later. This action involved him taking in all of Amphoreus' current memories. Those fifteen million cycles are gradually engraved in his divine mind, to be processed by his godly computation speed.
Hiccups aren't unavoidable.
Shi Tian's memory resonated with Hysilens, bringing her inside this recreated memory space, is one of them. Him creating a 'Container' (i.e., Memetic Entity) that caused Kiana's divine mind to resonate is also one of them.
"...So he is alive."
"Mhm. I can assess whether he is in danger or not. I'll definitely come rushing here if he was!"
Hysilens stared silently at Kiana. A sea of questions is already present inside her heart, all boiling down to one:
'Who is she to him?'