Pardofelis stretched out on the wooden floor of the quiet attic and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Finally.
After spending more than fifty thousand years as nothing but data inside the Elysian Realm, she was alive again. She had a real body. She could eat, sleep, and go wherever she wanted. No more being trapped in that endless, lonely space.
Today had been perfect.
She opened portals like it was nothing. Morning coffee in South America, sushi in the Far East for lunch, and skewers in Shenzhou for dinner. She even made a quick stop to "borrow" some money from a few unpleasant people who would never report it. All in all, a very productive day.
Now she was lying here in a random library attic in North America, stomach full, with no one bothering her.
"So comfortable…"
"Meow."
A round, fluffy cat with fur the same color as her own hair was curled up on her stomach. It wore a tiny scarf with cat paw prints on it. The cat, Can, had been with her for a very long time. Longer than most people could even imagine.
Pardofelis smiled and gently poked the cat's ear with her finger.
"Can, where should we go tomorrow?"
"Meow."
"You want to go back to The Sundown Alley?" Her expression immediately changed. She sat up and crossed her arms in a big X. "No no no. Absolutely not!"
She shook her head so hard her hair flew around.
"You know what Boss Ling ke is like. If he finds out we went back there, we're finished. It's too dangerous. We'd be dead for sure…"
The cat on her stomach gave a small shiver, as if it completely agreed.
Pardofelis flopped back down with a groan.
"Forget The Sundown Alley. Let's just stay in this country for a while. We can wander around, eat good food, and sleep as much as we want. That's enough for me."
She stared at the wooden ceiling above her.
She had already decided. This time, she would not get involved in anything troublesome. No more grand schemes. No more risking her life for other people's problems. She finally had a second chance. She was going to enjoy it slowly and quietly.
With that thought, Pardofelis closed her eyes. Can curled up tighter on her stomach. Soon, both of them were fast asleep.
Far away, in the Pure White Great Hall of the Theater of Domination, Ling ke sat alone on his throne.
Dozens of Omniscience screens floated around him. The largest one showed a lone figure dancing deep beneath the dark ocean.
Kali.
She was performing the Dance of Doomsday.
A faint smile appeared on Ling ke's lips as he watched.
"So… this moment has finally arrived."
"Legend says that when the Goddess Kali finishes her dance, the world will meet its end. You've done well, little girl. When your dance ends, the real prelude to destruction will begin."
His gaze moved to the smaller screens around the main one. Each screen showed different people moving across the world.
Kevin. Otto. Seele. Bronya. Mobius. Kiana. Sirin.
Many of them had already revealed their true natures over the past few months.
Ling ke leaned back against his throne, his expression turning cold.
When he first launched Project Broken Branch, he had already seen the problem with the Current Era. It was filled with hypocrites. Even as someone who had done many terrible things himself, their false righteousness and endless hesitation disgusted him.
That was why he asked the question.
Does a true Ego not deserve a future more than a group of Fakes?
Now, the answer was becoming very clear.
"You are not Fakes," Ling ke said quietly. "You have all seen your true selves. But even so… you have performed terribly."
He watched the screens with narrowed eyes.
Kevin and the others had held an overwhelming advantage for the past six months. They could have ended this war between the two Eras long ago. They could have secured enough power to face the coming Great Honkai Eruption.
Instead, they waited.
They waited until public opinion had already destroyed their reputation. They waited until their own people betrayed them and many had died. They waited until their organization was falling apart from within and almost all of their secrets had been exposed. Only then did they finally begin to move.
Ling ke found it almost insulting.
He knew MEI had already prepared Aponia and her Discipline to forcefully unify the leadership of The Moths Who Chase the Flames. Yet they still refused to use such power until it was almost too late.
Even after Fu Hua regained her complete self, with Xiao Shi's experience and the power of the Fenghuang Down, they still chose to act cautiously instead of seizing control.
They were facing the Cocoon of Finality.
An existence that stood far above humanity. Something that should have been treated like a god looking down at ants. And yet they still tried to follow rules. They still worried about morality and reputation at every step.
In the end, their overwhelming advantage had slipped through their fingers.
Even now, with Kali about to make her move, they were still being held back by Otto's schemes involving Seele. They were too afraid to act.
"This is not the Script I wanted to see," Ling ke said.
His voice was calm, but there was clear disappointment in it.
He hated Fakes. What he wanted to see was the true light of civilization, even if it was cold and ruthless. But no matter what form it took, civilization could not be allowed to stagnate.
It had to keep moving forward.
Otherwise, it was already dead.
Ling ke tapped his finger on the armrest.
"I have already given you the stage to obtain Path power. The time to create real heroes has come."
He paused for a moment.
"At the very least… show me some kind of hope. Even if it is only temporary."
"Otherwise…"
His gaze slowly moved to one particular screen that had remained untouched until now.
On it floated a dark purple egg.
It pulsed quietly in the void, as if it was waiting.
Its very existence seemed to declare that this planet no longer had a future.
"Naive children cannot stay in the cradle forever," Ling ke said slowly. "If you cannot even leave this planet… if you cannot even step out of this starting zone, how do you expect to survive in the vast sea of stars?"
His voice grew colder.
"The next Script will be played on a cosmic stage."
"When that time comes…"
"You may no longer even have the right to take part in it."