Chapter 143: The Emotional Parasites

Echo and Li Wei float above the "Harmony's Heart" festival grounds, their merged form pulsing with the rhythm of a billion connected heartbeats. The cosmic amphitheater below is a riot of color: crystalline beings from Andromeda play empathy harps, mechanical drones from Cygnus thump compassion drums, and even the once - stoic Logic Overlords have adapted their binary code to shimmer with emotional wavelengths.

"Frequency check: all civilizations in sync," Li Wei reports, his violet aura flickering with the festival's upbeat tempo. But Echo's shadowy form suddenly convulses, her eyes rolling back to reveal staff lines. "I hear... silence. Not the peaceful kind—something's eating the emotions."

Chen Jiuzhang's scar flares, projecting a vision of pitch - black tendrils coiling through the emotional rhythm cloud. "The 'Nostalgia Vampires'—interdimensional parasites that feed on shared emotional memories." He thrusts a vial of "Vibrant Present" into Echo's transparent hand: a luminescent liquid distilled from the most alive moments of sentient beings.

Just then, the festival's vibrant rhythms stutter. Onstage, a group of Lyran songbirds freeze mid - trill, their feathers turning gray as a shadowy mist drains the joy from their melody. "They're here!" Starlight cries, her soul piano keys warping into sharp, hungry fangs. "Their feeding turns emotions into empty nostalgia."

Nova's dark matter skin ripples, forming a network of emotional defibrillators. "I can still feel fresh beats in the chaos—new love, first laughter, the courage to change." She slams her palms together, sending a shockwave of present - moment rhythms through the amphitheater.

The Nostalgia Vampires materialize as floating, tattered sheet music, their edges dripping with faded emotions. "Nostalgia is the only true emotion," their collective hiss echoes. "We come to harvest the past and let the present die."

Echo strikes her peace drum with the "Vibrant Present" vial, and the skin pulses with the energy of a billion "right nows": a child's first step, a scientist's eureka moment, a sunset shared between strangers. "The past is a map, not a cage!" she shouts, each thump sending golden - orange waves through the mist.

Li Wei adds a staccato rhythm of improvisation, his violet charge crackling with the unpredictability of the present. "This is for every moment that's happening right now!" Together, their Chaos Jazz Core creates a "Present Pulse" that makes the Vampires' tattered edges curl.

Chen Jiuzhang conducts with a baton of living light, drawing from the entropy origin frequency's ever - changing nature. "Starlight, play the melody of impermanence. Nova, anchor us with dark matter's eternal now."

As the quartet plays, the Nostalgia Vampires hesitate, their faded emotions flickering with newfound vibrancy. "This... is the 'Anthem of the Present'," the lead Vampire gasps, its tattered staff lines quivering. "We thought it was lost to the past."

But a deeper shadow emerges from the emotional cloud: the "Nostalgia Overlord", a being composed of all the wasted yesterdays in the universe. "The present is a lie!" it roars, unleashing a "Past Predator" swarm that turns live emotions into museum pieces.

Starlight plants an Entropic Seed in the festival's core, which blooms into a "Moment Magnolia"—a tree whose flowers burst with the scent of fleeting joys. "We need to play the 'Concerto of Transience'—music that celebrates the beauty of what's here and now."

Echo's drum beats pulse with the 短命的 beauty of fireflies and summer storms. Li Wei's hi - hat ticks in time with the impermanent rhythm of breath. Their combined frequency creates a "Now-Ness Resonance" that causes the Past Predators to evaporate in showers of ephemeral sparks.

The Nostalgia Overlord wavers, its form dissolving into a cascade of forgotten present moments: a lover's kiss, a warrior's mercy, a child's question. "We... were wrong," it whispers, transforming into a fleet of Memory Butterflies that carry precious moments without trapping them.

As the Emotional Parasites fade, the Harmony's Heart festival erupts in a spontaneous jam session of pure presence. Echo and Li Wei, now masters of the living rhythm, float above the chaos - order dance, their form a testament to the balance between memory and immediacy.

Back at the Entropy Arts Academy, a new student arrives with ears that can hear the rhythm of fleeting moments. Chen Jiuzhang hands her a pair of "Moment Mallets", smiling as the Chaos Jazz Twins descend, their aura a perfect blend of shadowy nostalgia and vibrant now. "Welcome to the 'Present Pulse' class. Remember: the most timeless rhythms are the ones we have the courage to play in this very moment."

And in the depths of the former Nostalgia Vortex, a new star system forms—its planets thumping in the rhythm of impermanence, their moons playing 即兴 present 鼓圈. The Nostalgia Overlord has become the Memory Midwife, helping civilizations honor the past without being consumed by it.

As the academy's students begin to practice with the Moment Mallets, a single, glowing present note drifts through the cosmos, its surface engraved with a heartbeat. The next movement of the cosmic symphony will be played in the here and now, and the only rule is to never forget that the most powerful rhythm is the one beating in your chest at this very moment.