Chapter 312: Correct Assumptions

'I feel irresponsible…'

Aleph felt guilty. What he did was the equivalent of making a confession and disappearing.

As for his claims to settle things later?

It was irresponsible.

"Fu…"

He focused on his current mission. Getting another authority that was as strong as the Lord of the Mysteries matters in his incoming fight.

The ninth candidate he decided on was none other than…

"...Miss Eden."

"You… Sir Aleph?"

He interrupted her night-time break consisting of drinking wine. Being drunk does not affect her ability to play musical masterpieces.

Understandably, Eden thought she was seeing things while drunk.

"You are not drunk."

His words worked like magic. Clarity returned to her mind in an instant. Only then did she realize she wasn't dreaming.

"I thought you were…"

"Seeing aliens? Shooting Stellar Trek?"

Eden nodded as he took the words out of her mouth.

"I am. One of my plans is to let Earth join the wider universe. But that's for later." Aleph explained. "I need your help for now. I will return soon."

It took some time to process everything. She somehow trusted his words despite not confirming whether he was truly "Aleph".

Unlike the other girls who were basically his girlfriends, Eden was on the level of "friends".

Nevertheless, a huge part of her wanted to trust him. It was unexplainable, but it is what it is.

"Tell me what to do."

*****

Aleph succeeded in convincing Eden. The ten positions in his Tree of Life meant ten positions where he will grant 'power'.

It was similar to the position of an "Emanator". The ones who would benefit were those who needed a 'huge boost'.

Everyone on Earth needed that. Metatron's position was automatically designated—the same as Kurumi's.

Thus, these positions were also the people who would fight alongside Aleph.

He did not think much as to who would become the tenth member.

"..."

"I am back… though not fully."

Aponia did not say anything. She was dazed when she saw him.

"...There are no longer any strings."

"I meant what I promised."

"...What should I do?"

She knew Aleph won't return in this state. She saw through his air-like state. He hasn't come back fully.

If he came back looking like this, he was facing a huge problem.

"I will form a connection with you. You will become one of my ten Spirits."

Aponia folded right after. 

Aleph saw she was about to kneel. He stopped her in time by grabbing both of her arms.

"There's no need to do that. We are friends. Comrades. All I am asking for is to have my back."

Her destructive weapons jiggled. Aponia stared dazedly at his face.

'Ah…'

Aleph was blindingly bright. It reminded her of the ray of 'light' she saw. The answer to break the deadlock—to prevent all those threads from being 'cut'.

Now, he has fulfilled his duty. It is he who asked for her help this time.

The fanatic, half-crazed state did not end there. Just because Aleph asked her not to 'worship' him as the savior, Aponia's emotions did not disappear. They were simply hidden.

Seeing it was Aleph who asked "help" this time, it erupted.

She averted her gaze downwards as she leaned closer to him. Her breasts were pressed on him. 

Aleph could not see her face, but he can guess what she was feeling.

'...Another love debt.'

He glanced at his right pinky finger and saw the eighth red string appear.

"I will do as you say."

Aleph did not hesitate. He did not lie to himself. He liked Aponia's company. He also liked what she did now.

The calm and dignified nun showed a bashful side. 

'Who wouldn't be touched by this…'

At this point, he had accepted his fate completely. 

He took the lead in stealing her lips away. As an expert kisser, Aleph's nose did not bump into hers.

He was greeted by Aponia's widened eyes. Both of her hands remained in his chest. She was hugged by Aleph just like that.

In the end, they did not do something deeper than a light kiss.

"Thank you."

Aleph's projection disappeared after he patted her head.

He then reappeared right outside the solar system. 

"Fu… The feeling of being constricted to everything is bad."

Aleph appeared as a projection on Earth. He could not exert an ounce of his true power. He experienced what Mobius, Mei, and Vill-V felt.

"Okay. After I break this damned barrier, I will know the answer."

Only by breaking the imaginary barrier on this Parallel Earth can he use Lord of the Mysteries. The biggest loophole of this Lostbelt was Earth itself. It was the place where Aleph crash-landed—the place he entered the entire honkai universe from.

"I need to use the entire Spirit World… to let it invade the real universe."

In this case, the Spirit World becomes the springboard to the real universe. A 'bridge' of sorts will then be established, thus completing his goal of returning to the real universe.

There wasn't any need to cause further damage on the said Lostbelt. Aleph was not so heartless to disregard the connections he formed here.

"Then… I will begin."

He took out Yamato that was collecting dust for some time. He used the upgrade ticket he got to elevate Yamato's status into a real Divine Weapon. It now held the authority to separate all things.

Shiing-!

Twelve different cuts appeared in the solar system. It formed a perfectly-cut cube.

Crash-!

Shatter-!

The entire solar system was effectively isolated from the rest of the Lostbelt. It now became a world of its own. Even the Imaginary Tree could not reach it.

Without imaginary energy, the barrier was bound to collapse.

Fuzz-!

Gray fog began to wrap around the entire solar system. It did not take long for its entirety to be covered by it.

The sight of an entire star system being wrapped by light-years long gray fog will send shudders to whoever sees it.

Just like that, the imaginary barrier that hindered Aleph greatly was broken.

Click-!

Something came off as a result.

"That…"

Aleph's gaze was no longer on the Parallel Earth. It went farther and beyond.

The familiar tree made of light greeted his eyes. All of its fallen branches fell into the 'sea' beneath it. It caused some ripples, but that was it. 

Nothing happened next.

"The Imaginary Tree. It regulates the entirety of this universe… giving off enough power to the Aeons that manage certain concepts…"

For a long time, Aleph presumed that the Imaginary Tree was similar to the 'Great Dao'. It was very objective. All of its judgements came from instinctive reactions.

He was wrong.

A certain Controller made their way atop the Tree.

Bearing the same appearance as Aleph's missing friend—Bosenmori Mei—their gazes met.

Zoom-!

Millions of colored lines rose up. It was akin to a web. It enveloped the entire Tree, blocking Aleph's sight.

The interference stopped after that.

"...I see."

His previous guesses turned out to be true.

"Equilibrium is being dogged by Finality. That is their last burst of strength."

The implications behind it was crazy.

After that brief fight, Equilibrium will cease to exist.

*****

A/N: Double chapter for today. It'll continue until tomorrow. It's just right that my remaining two chapter debt will be paid off before this fic enters its main story finale.