Collapse Iron: Cosplaying the Near-Death Star, but with a full destiny.

The afternoon sun shone through the translucent dome above the herb garden, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The air was filled with the bitter scent of herbs, and a few butterflies lazily fluttered their wings among the Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms.

Bai Lu squatted next to a ginseng tree that was half a person tall, holding a small shovel in her hand, loosening the soil.

A leaf, seemingly drifted in from nowhere, was pinned to her short purple hair, and her blue eyes were intently focused on the growth of the roots.

Footsteps came from outside the herb garden.

The sound of two people's footsteps.

A steady and powerful rhythm, with the unique sense of rhythm of a swordsman.

Another is light and graceful, like water flowing over a stone surface.

Bai Lu raised her head.

Jingliu walked in front.

Her long, silver-white hair, fading to a blue hue, gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and her red pupils were clear and bright. She wasn't wearing an eye patch today; her entire face was exposed to the sunlight, revealing her cold and sharp features.

She was holding someone's hand with her right hand.

Bai Heng.

The young Vidyad warrior wore a simple white robe, her fox ears fluttering gently in the breeze. Her face was handsome yet gentle, with a soft quality remarkably similar to that of Bai Lu.

Two people—one from the "past" and the other existing in the "present"—appeared simultaneously in the medicine garden of the Dan Ding Si.

Bai Lu put down the shovel.

She stood up, her blue eyes shifting back and forth between Bai Heng and Jing Liu.

Bai Heng was also looking at her.

Her gaze fell on Bai Lu, from her short purple hair to her blue eyes, from her round face to her mud-covered apron.

She stared at it for a long time.

Then she smiled.

That smile was extremely gentle, like a warm spring breeze brushing across an ice surface.

"so--"

She spoke, her voice tinged with emotion.

"Are you my next life?"

Bai Lu blinked.

She tilted her head and looked Bai Heng up and down.

From the fox ears to the hem of the garment, from the face to the temperament.

"Um."

She nodded.

"So you were my past life?"

Her tone was as calm as if she were confirming what to have for lunch.

"He's quite handsome."

Bai Heng paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You're quite cute."

The two stood in the herb garden, about three steps apart, sizing each other up.

Same soul, different bodies, different eras, different memories.

Yet, inexplicably, there was a natural sense of closeness.

Jingliu leaned against the door frame of the herb garden, arms crossed, quietly watching this scene.

In those red pupils, an emotion that had been suppressed for seven hundred years was finally released at this moment.

"to be honest."

She spoke, her voice very soft.

"I still can't figure out how Hoshino did it."

"Let both lives exist simultaneously. Let the past and the present coexist on the same timeline."

She glanced at Bai Heng, then at Bai Lu.

"According to normal causal logic, Bai Heng's existence should preclude Bai Lu's birth. A soul cannot possess two bodies at the same time."

"But she did it."

"The power of the eighteen paths of destiny, coupled with the absolute control of the End Star God over the timeline, forcibly tore a hole in the law of causality, allowing two lives that should not have coexisted to live in this world at the same time."

A very faint smile curved the corners of her lips.

"At least—no one has lost anything."

Bai Heng was not erased.

The White Dew has not disappeared.

Jingliu still has his best friends.

The consequences of that karma were borne by the gray-haired girl alone.

"alright."

Jingliu straightened up from the door frame and reached out his hand to Bailu.

That hand, which had once wielded countless swords and slain countless evil creatures, now faced upwards, its posture as gentle as if inviting a butterfly to alight.

"Little guy."

she says.

"I'll take you out to play."

Bai Lu's eyes lit up.

"Really?! Where to?"

"Jinren Lane. I heard there's a new kebab shop that opened there, and it's three times better than the one you usually eat at."

"Let's go, let's go!"

Bai Lu grabbed Jing Liu's hand with one hand and pulled on Bai Heng's sleeve with the other.

"Let's go together!"

Bai Heng smiled helplessly.

"Okay, okay."

The three figures disappeared outside the gates of the Dan Ding Si (丹鼎司).

Sunlight shines on the Ganoderma lucidum in the herb garden, and the butterfly is still slowly fluttering its wings.

Taibusi (official in charge of divination).

When Bai Er entered the gate of the Tabushi Temple, the first thing he saw was a pink-haired figure leaning against the windowsill in a very indecent posture.

Bluebird.

Her brown pigtails drooped down her sides, and her green eyes seemed to scream "I have no will to live." She clutched a stack of documents in her hands, the ink still wet on them.

"Bluebird?"

Bai E walked over.

"What's wrong with you?"

Qingque looked up and saw Bai E; her eyes almost welled up with tears.

"Brother Bai'e".

Her voice trembled with the shock of someone who had survived a disaster.

"Your sister... your dear sister..."

"What happened to Xi Lian?"

"She's a monster!"

Qingque sat up abruptly and pounded on the windowsill in protest.

"Do you know what? Ever since the Grand Diviner arranged for her to 'intern' at the Divination Bureau, I haven't had a single day of peace!"

"In the past, when I slacked off, at least I had a buffer—the Grand Diviner was busy and couldn't keep an eye on me all the time. I just had to pretend during her inspection periods, and the rest of the time I could play cards or take a nap."

"But now!"

She punched the windowsill.

"Your sister's Memory Star God ability is practically made to counter me!"

"She can sense the 'behavioral memories' of everyone in the Taipusi! That is to say, she knows everything—when I put down my pen, when I took out the Imperial Jade Token, and when I closed my eyes!"

"They catch us every time!"

"The day before yesterday, during my lunch break, I secretly played two rounds of cards under the table. She rushed over from across three walls, stood in front of me with a smile, and said—"

Qingque mimicked Xilian's tone, using a high-pitched voice to imitate:

"Miss Qingque, the tile you just drew looks like a 3 of Wan♪ Would you like to change it? I think a 5 of Tong would suit you better♪"

"Listen to this! Listen to this!"

Qingque's expression twisted.

"She even knows what cards I drew!!!"

Bai E's lips twitched a few times.

"Uh... this..."

"I am now the most efficient person in Tabuan."

Qingque slumped on the windowsill, her voice weak.

"Because I simply don't have a chance to slack off."

"She appears behind me every time my hand leaves the document for more than thirty seconds. Every single time. Right on time."

"She has now officially replaced the Grand Diviner and become the person I hate most in my life."

Bai E coughed lightly.

"Um... I'll go check on her."

He strode towards the inner hall of the Grand Diviner's Office.

After passing through several corridors, he found Fu Xuan and Xi Lian in a spacious hall.

Fu Xuan sat in the main seat, a rare...pleasure in his golden pupils.

There was a cup of tea on the table in front of her, the tea still steaming.

"White Calamity".

She looked up and saw the person who had come.

"You've come to see your sister?"

"Um."

Bai E walked in and glanced around the hall.

Xi Lian sat on a low stool next to Fu Xuan.

Her long pink hair cascaded over her shoulders, the blue-purple gradient at the ends appearing especially dreamy in the indoor lighting. Her blue eyes held her signature gentle smile.

She was using the power of her memories to weave a small sphere of light—within which real-time images of various parts of Tabusi appeared, like a miniature surveillance system.

"Little White♪"

When Xi Lian saw Bai E, she immediately stood up and waved to him with a smile.

"You're here♪"

Bai E walked up to her and glanced at the ball of light.

Inside the sphere of light, in a corner of the screen, Qingque is writing furiously with a pained expression.

"...You really made Qingque suffer."

"toss?"

Xi Lian tilted her head, her expression innocent.

"I was just helping her 'remember' her job responsibilities♪"

"After all, every moment that is wasted is worth remembering♪"

"So I memorized the time, place, and method of every time she slacked off, and then appeared in front of her before she was about to slack off again♪"

"It's working really well♪ The fortune teller said that Qingque's work efficiency has increased by 300% recently♪"

Bai E looked at Fu Xuan.

Fu Xuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Xi Lian is indeed an interesting guy."

Her tone carried an undisguised sense of satisfaction.

"Since she came to the Taipusi, Qingque's slacking off frequency has dropped from seven times a day to zero. The completion rate of monthly reports has increased from 40% to 100%."

"The problem that I couldn't solve for hundreds of years, she solved in three days."

Fu Xuan put down his teacup, a glint of light flashing in his golden pupils.

"I am very satisfied."

Bai E's lips twitched.

"But Qingque seems to be on the verge of collapse..."

"Work should be taken seriously, right?♪"

Xi Lian put away the ball of light, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Miss Aozora just hasn't gotten used to being 'attention' yet♪ Once she gets used to it, she might come to like this fulfilling life♪"

Bai E: ......

He was quite certain that Qingque would never like this kind of life.

"Oh, right."

Xi Lian suddenly moved closer to Bai E, her blue pupils sparkling with curiosity.

"Xiao Bai, have you been learning to fly a star raft lately? How's Senior Bai Heng's teaching going♪"

"It's alright."

Bai E scratched the back of his head.

"I can already complete basic flights independently. It's just that I'm still a bit unstable when making high-speed turns."

"Good luck!♪"

Xi Lian reached out and ruffled Bai E's hair.

"Once you've learned it, I'll take you for a drive through the starry sky♪"

Bai'er's ears turned slightly red.

"......knew."

Fu Xuan watched the interaction between the siblings, a faint smile curving his lips.

From the other end of the corridor came Qingque's suppressed wail.

"My Lord, the Diviner! Xi Lian is spying on me again!!!"

Xi Lian turned around and winked in the direction of the corridor.

"We've been discovered♪"

She stuck out her tongue.

Fu Xuan picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and reflected the floating clouds outside the window in his golden pupils.

A week later.

Wearing a new outfit custom-made by Aglaia, Hoshi entered the observation cabin of the Starry Sky Train.

The "Corona Weave" fabric clung to her body, its white-gold hue shimmering softly under the train's interior lights. The gold thread embroidery on the hem and cuffs shimmered subtly with her movements, each step feeling as if she were walking on a galaxy.

Due to the interaction of the factors of the eighteen paths of destiny, the surface of the fabric is always covered with a very faint color change—sometimes gold, sometimes ice blue, sometimes dark purple, like the aurora spreading on the fabric.

"Wow--"

March 7th jumped up from the sofa.

"You look so good, Hoshino!"

Xing looked up, glanced at it, and nodded.

"Indeed. It's much better than the old one."

Hoshi twirled in front of the mirror, her long gray hair sweeping over her shoulders.

"Aglaia's cooking skills are impeccable."

She touched the gold thread pattern on her cuff, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

night.

The Starry Sky Train travels at a steady speed through the sea of ​​stars, and the nebulae outside the window resemble a slowly flowing Milky Way, enveloping the entire observation cabin in a faint blue light.

Hoshi lay on his bed in the train's dormitory.

On the left, Xi Lian lay curled up on her side, her long pink hair scattered on the pillow, her breathing even and deep. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, as if she were having a sweet dream.

On the right, Xing lay face down on the pillow, her short, silver-gray hair disheveled and obscuring half her face, her posture utterly unseemly. She was fast asleep, occasionally mumbling incoherently in her sleep.

Mohoshi's eyes were open.

Golden pupils gleamed faintly in the darkness, like two lamps that never go out.

She stared at the ceiling for a long time.

Then, she closed her eyes.

Consciousness sank deep into the body.

Like a pebble falling into a bottomless abyss.

When Hoshino "opened" her eyes again, she was standing in a void.

There was no ground beneath my feet. There was no sky above my head. All around me was endless gray and white, like a canvas stripped of all its colors.

She looked down at herself.

The power of immortal destiny was the first to respond to her call.

Golden dragon scales began to spread from the back of her hands, climbing up her arms and covering her shoulders and back. The scales were like armor, each engraved with ancient dragon runes, radiating a calm and heavy light in the void.

Two dragon horns pierced from above her temples, curving backward. They were dark gold in color, and the patterns on the horns resembled tree rings, recording the ancient history of the dragon race.

A dragon's tail extends from its tailbone, with scales at the end resembling sword blades, swaying slowly in the void.

Hoshi clenched his fist.

The dragon scales made a soft rubbing sound at the knuckles.

"The last hurdle."

She said in a low voice.

nothingness.

Of the eighteen paths of destiny, this is the most difficult to tame.

Preservation can be upheld with willpower. Destruction can be unleashed with power. Hunting can be pursued with speed. Exploration can be filled with curiosity.

What about nothingness?

The essence of nothingness is the denial of the meaning of all existence.

This includes denying the very idea of ​​"taming nothingness."

The grayish-white void began to distort before her.

Like a mirror slowly emerging from the water.

In the mirror, a figure gradually takes shape.

Long gray hair. Golden eyes. Same height, same face, same features.

The only difference is that "she" has no dragon scales, no dragon horns, and no dragon tail.

She wore a pure white robe, so white that she almost blended into the background. Her face was calm, like a stagnant pool.

There was no light in its golden pupils.

empty.

Utter emptiness.

The void-bound star raised its head and looked at the dragon-transformed star.

"You've arrived."

She spoke.

....................................