Chapter 316: Goodbye, Finality

A universe.

It is a place considered as a whole. It has a certain 'system' governing it. It is responsible for the rise and fall of numerous 'worlds'. It nurtures its inhabitants, gives them a chance, and points out the way upwards.

In the honkai world, the Imaginary Tree serves as the 'system'.

Its trunk serves as the basis for its branches, stems, and leaves. Imaginary energy is constantly supplied to them to sustain their operations and grant 'chances'. Aeons are the hired 'keepers' of the Imaginary Tree. They feed off imaginary energy, thus existing in all branches. They are omnipresent.

The one balancing the Imaginary Tree out is the Sea of Quanta. It is the one responsible for taking in stems and leaves that fall. Most of them will be drowned to nothingness, while a portion of them becomes the known 'bubble worlds'.

The scale of the rivalry between the 'Tree' and 'Sea' was so huge they could not co-exist with one another. 

Yet…

Yet..!

"..."

Herta fell silent. She saw the entirety of this 'mess' from the beginning to the end.

She picked up a disturbance from 'somewhere', with that place being the Spirit World. 

Gray fog could be seen in every place of the universe. It appears to have enveloped everything…

Everything.

{"Madam Herta. The established devices within the Sea of Quanta are going haywire. Detecting instability in the imaginary space…"}

One by one, her mirrors reported something every now and then. They were all about the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.

Its gist was simple: They are in chaos.

The reason?

She stared at the gray fog across the milky way.

"He went radio silent. I should have expected this."

Herta felt similarities with Aleph. Both of them are people who will stir up trouble. 

All these times, he did not contact her much. Except for the time she visited the Spirit World and saw its wonders, she did not hear from Aleph.

Turns out, he was busy cooking something big.

Hum-!

A strange feeling appeared on her. It forced Herta to look at the gray fog again.

It emitted a blinding light.

She did not lose her composure. Her eyes began analyzing it.

It wasn't just her. Every single living being was forced to look at it. No matter how far they were, they saw it.

*****

Luofu, Divination Commission.

"...I can't see it."

The future escaped Fu Xuan's grasp. It was not just her. 

At this exact moment, all diviners lost the ability to see the future.

All she could think of was that blinding light that came before…

*****

Right outside Xianzhou Fanghu.

The renowned Lord Ravager fell silent amidst the flames. It burned everything. Body, mind, soul, memories, existence…

He looked at the Borisins' warlord. He turned completely silent ages ago. He merely stood still. His huge stature was automatically ignored by the weaker Borisins. They looked at the women bathed in flames.

This operation can be considered a complete failure.

"For all the destruction you inflicted…"

The sword in Hua's hands glimmered with a deadly light. Her steps drew closer to the Lord Ravager. She ignored the lack of gravity and footsteps. Every footstep made a ripple in the void.

Soon, she drew it against him. 

One slash.

That was all it took to form a sea of flames. Bright crimson light illuminated the void. The enemies it went through turned into nothingness. 

It cackled amidst everything. It could not be extinguished easily.

"Clean up, done."

Senti appeared behind her. Xianzhou's crisis was easily resolved by them. It was completely different from how Aleph treated Abundance once. Hua and Senti's flames burned everything that should be burned.

Just then, they saw a blinding light appear in the sky. It disappeared as soon as it came.

"...He did something big."

Hua did not speak. She knew what that light meant.

It is the sign he started fighting a battle even they could not see. It is far beyond their current level.

The best thing they could do is to act as Aleph's unbreakable anchors. The connection between him and them exists. They could sense it despite whatever Aleph is fighting now.

"He promised us. After it's over…"

"..."

A visible reaction appeared on Hua's face. Her face reddened crazily.

After all, Aleph promised the two to have children once it's over. A crazy death flag, yes, but Aleph treaded this path without complaints.

"...We can return to the real Earth."

"Ah!"

Senti was so caught up with the 'children' part. She did not notice the pathway between this 'Lostbelt' and the real universe appearing. All they had to do is to step inside the Spirit World and return through it.

"What about the others?"

"Hm?"

"They will want one too, right? Children."

Senti opened up a brand new case to worry about.

*****

An unknown amount of time passed.

It did not matter. It was tampered… or rather, chaotic. It is not certain whether it is the past, present, or future. Perhaps millions of years had passed? Maybe none at all.

Time did not matter.

Everything did not matter.

The Imaginary Space fell into an eerie silence. Only Wanderer, who was copy-pasted by Finality, remained still. He did not have the capability to know what was happening.

At some point in time, someone returned into this space.

Seeing his look-alike appear out of nowhere, Wanderer's eyes returned to calm.

"You're not surprised to see me?"

"I don't care."

"As expected."

Aleph shrugged him off. He then presented his shorter look-alike with a choice.

"Do you want to remember this meeting? I can erase it like it never happened."

"...No."

Wanderer longed for the power of an 'all-knowing god'. His very being is based on this mission.

Meeting not one, but two Gods felt like a wild dream. Wanderer will pay anything to remember this experience.

"Finality no longer has grasp in this world."

Aleph did not mind telling the things that transpired outside the narrative.

"...You hold their power now?"

"Yep."

Aleph…

I am still staring in irony at my [Achievement Hunter]. One of the rewards I gained back then allowed me to usurp the authority of an Aeon I killed.

I ended up not using it on Voracity. Not on Abundance. Not on Erudition.

I used it on Finality.

There is also the [Void Renormalization] reward. It turns 'infinite' into 'finite'. 

It can make the strong weak; and the weak strong.

That bridged the gap between the current me and Finality.

"Congrats, I guess."

"Thanks."

Snap-!

Just like that, I sent my short friend away.

I looked at the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta one last time. The presence I once dreaded was gone. I inherited their purpose and power. The [Finality] authority I had is no longer the one from the Cocoon of Finality.

It did not take long for me to organize my thoughts. It is time to fix all the mess Finality made. That, and to tell everyone…

"It's time to go out."

…this entire universe has a new Controller.