In a fairy tale, a young magician meets a girl burdened with the mission of Deliverance.
"Mr. Magician, you are very powerful. Can you escort me back to my hometown to save the world? I am willing to pay any price."
"...Are you really willing to do anything?"
"I am, even if it means being eaten by you."
"Interesting... Then come with me."
These memory fragments rushed toward him, all merging into Qi Zhimu's body.
In addition, there were many other memories, including parts of hers.
When no more memory fragments could be seen during the descent, a flash of white light appeared at the end of the field of vision, gradually enlarging.
As she was about to fall into the white light, Herta subconsciously closed her eyes.
The next second, she felt her feet stepping on solid ground.
The sensation of embracing Qi Zhimu vanished instantly, and she immediately opened her eyes.
However, the sight before her left her stunned on the spot, tears quickly overflowing from the corners of her eyes.
A familiar figure was lying on a suspended Staff, arms pillowed behind his head, legs crossed casually without any regard for image.
He tilted his head and cast a somewhat complex gaze toward the girl; after a moment, the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Yo, kid. I told you to smile more happily, so why are you still such a crybaby?"
Herta's emotions broke through the dam, and she rushed forward to hug him tightly.
As the small figure crashed into his arms, Qi Zhimu sighed softly in silence. He didn't speak, but simply stroked the top of the girl's head gently.
"It was all you... it was all you, wasn't it..." Herta sobbed.
She should have realized it sooner... she should have known...
There was no doubt that the experiences of Original Human Qi Zhimu with her were absolutely real.
But the experiences of Magician Qi Zhimu with her were not false either.
Simply because...
Magician Qi Zhimu was a Virtual Substance Lifeform born because of her.
It was because she could not accept the ending of Original Human Qi Zhimu and hated her own helplessness, which in turn gave rise to an extreme obsession.
The knowledge of Space-Time Studies that she hadn't mastered in the past was understood thoroughly in a brief instant.
She finally understood why a Virtual Substance Lifeform would be born.
The initial failed jump of Azure Star triggered a chaotic intertwining of time and space. History was confused because of it, and past worldlines disappeared.
Erroneous coordinates transported the Materia Void here, linking it to Azure Star and semi-merging reality with illusion.
For anyone who entered the fog of remembrance, because the history belonging to Azure Star in their minds was all lost in the chaotic space-time, it triggered the worldline to automatically fill in the blanks.
Thus, fictional things that did not belong to historical events and did not exist on the worldline were born under the influence of various factors such as time, space, memory substance, imaginary energy, and human consciousness and obsession.
—Historically known as: Virtual Substance Lifeforms.
And Magician Qi Zhimu was precisely an existence resurrected by her obsession after the original himself had died.
Not just him; from the Life-taking Mirror Shadow to the final several perilous worlds, all were closed Subspaces existing only within the fog of remembrance, born because of Herta.
Initially, the Qi Zhimu who knew no magic came to her side because of Herta's call, promising to take her home.
Using a mortal's tenacious will as the conviction to keep going, he crossed through numerous obstacles and ultimately protected her as she returned to Azure Star.
But in the end, he died in the No-Mans Land.
Under the weight of an unshakeable obsession of grief, the powerful and omnipotent Magician Qi Zhimu appeared, combined with the stories in her memory. He met her consciousness avatar and retraced the difficult path they had once traveled.
All enemies and most of the world levels had their strength and difficulty significantly enhanced.
However, the core setting Herta had deep in her heart for Magician Qi Zhimu was: he has no rival.
No matter the world, no matter how powerful the enemy, as long as it was a Subspace within the fog of remembrance, as long as it was a Virtual Substance Lifeform nurtured within, even if it were an Aeon—
He would kill them all for her.
That Star-Shattering King Beetle, the Emanator of The Propagation, was born as the most powerful final guardian.
Normally, a Virtual Substance Lifeform with a setting that breaks balance cannot be born.
But the creator of the world, and the consciousness avatar of Magician Qi Zhimu's creator, were within the Subspace that nurtured everything.
To put it simply: she was the sovereign of this world who knew nothing of herself.
As for why she couldn't recognize Qi Zhimu, it was because all the sad memories regarding his death had not been brought along.
—They all remained within her main body in the real world.
Magician Qi Zhimu could not recognize her because his settings were entirely written by her.
Besides the vague memories he possessed, this included but was not limited to settings like being duplicitous and having an arrogant personality—traits that did not originally belong to Original Human Qi Zhimu.
Magician Qi Zhimu sending her back to Azure Star was actually her consciousness returning to her main body; she simply wasn't willing to easily touch that regretful period.
She had once asked what Magician Qi Zhimu's destiny was.
He hadn't answered at the time, saying he would tell her when they returned to Azure Star and he was ready to eat her.
Now, she understood everything.
Magician Qi Zhimu's destiny was to return to Azure Star alive with her, which was also the obsession deep in her heart.
She wanted to use this to change Original Human Qi Zhimu's fate, to change the past causality, and to complete the redemption for Qi Zhimu, who died saving her.
The destiny of a Virtual Substance Lifeform could be seen from the very beginning, but Magician Qi Zhimu was different.
Initially, he could only blindly search for the uncertain goal imprinted in his destiny.
It wasn't until he had experienced much together with Herta that he gradually realized something.
On the day they returned to Azure Star, he had suddenly said a sentence out of nowhere: 'Is it a missed connection after all...'
The boy and girl who agreed to save the world together were ultimately unable to walk toward the expected future together.
One person would stay forever at the starting point of rebirth, becoming the guiding lamp that leads toward the end, bringing light to the girl traveling alone.
When the girl passes by the streetlamp, she can reach the finish line.
Only...
Herta looked up, her gaze meeting Qi Zhimu's eyes.
"Brother Mu, we will go back together, right...?"
A smile appeared on Qi Zhimu's face, but he slowly shook his head.
"...My little Herta will surely become someone extraordinary in the history of Azure Star... no, even looking at the entire universe, someone great enough to be called magnificent."
Hearing Qi Zhimu's irrelevant answer, Herta's pupils couldn't help but tremble.
"I don't want that kind of future, I only want you!"
"You little... stubborn girl..."
Qi Zhimu sighed again.
"Stop deceiving yourself. You should know the two causal paradoxes on your body."
Herta's expression and body stiffened instantly, her gaze quickly dimming, the sorrow flowing within it heartbreaking.
Yes... she knew, she knew everything now...
Her ability to survive was built on the irreversible fact of Qi Zhimu's death.
If Original Human Qi Zhimu were alive, let alone saving Azure Star, even the Virtual Substance version of him wouldn't have been born.
A causality that cannot be closed can never become reality.
If her consciousness returned to her main body, the closed world that nurtured Magician Qi Zhimu would all perish because of the loss of its core, including Qi Zhimu.
By not going back, she could indeed be with Qi Zhimu forever, but this also meant: Qi Zhimu could never fulfill his promise to send her back to Azure Star.
That planet... would disappear in the long river of cosmic history.
Qi Zhimu stroked Herta's cheek, looking at her tenderly.
"The invincible magician who actually doesn't eat people is only one step away from completing his promise to the girl, so..."
"Wake up, go save Azure Star, our home, and then live your own life."
"That confident and flamboyant Herta of the United Government is very charming. I like her very much, and I don't want to see her become a cowardly person who is afraid to move forward."
"Don't let me become a dishonest liar, okay?"
End of Chapter 230PreviousNext ChapterAll chapters