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

The voice was exactly the same as Hoshino's, but stripped of all emotion, like a tape recorder playing a pre-set voice.

"It's a little later than I expected."

Nihoshi did not speak.

She tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought.

I have a question for you.

she says.

Is this world real?

silence.

"You have come here. You have obtained eighteen paths of destiny and become the God of the End. You have friends, bonds, and an entire universe of adventures and stories."

"But have you ever thought about this—"

Does time travel really exist in reality?

In the void, the question, like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, stirred up ripples upon ripples.

"In your original world, there were no star gods, no destiny, no immortal ships, and no star trains."

"You're just an ordinary person."

"An ordinary person who sits in front of a screen, watches the stories of these characters, and then imagines themselves in their shoes..."

"And now, you've 'traveled through time'."

"You have gained power, you have gained companions, you have gained meaning."

"But all of this..."

She lowered her head slightly, her empty golden pupils staring directly at the star.

Does it really exist?

Or perhaps—

"Are you just having a very, very long dream?"

The grayish-white void began to tremble.

Niji stood still, the patterns on his dragon horns glowing faintly.

Her expression...

Surprisingly calm.

There was no anger, no fear, no struggle.

She even smiled.

"you're right."

She spoke.

"Time travel doesn't exist in reality."

She was stunned for a moment, lost in thought.

Hoshi raised his right hand.

A smiling mask appeared out of thin air in his palm.

The mask was pure white, with an exaggerated, almost comical smile painted on it—curved eyes and upturned corners of the mouth, like a child's scribbles.

A product of a joyful destiny.

The symbol of Aha.

Hoshi held the mask up to his face and looked at himself through the two curved eye holes.

"I think, therefore I am."

she says.

The sound was very soft, yet it was like a heavy hammer blow that struck the very center of the void.

"I cannot prove that this world is real. I also cannot prove that it is fake."

"But I can prove one thing—"

"I'm thinking."

"I am feeling it."

"I am fearful, I am laughing, I am angry, I am sad."

"Every thought I have, every heartbeat, every tear, every sigh—"

"It's all true."

Even if this world is a dream, I, the one dreaming, still exist.

That's enough.

She fell silent, lost in her own emptiness.

For the first time, a certain fluctuation flickered in his empty pupils.

Then--

The void exploded.

Countless images surged in from all directions like shards of glass, filling the entire field of vision of the planet.

She saw stars.

Xing lay amidst the ruins, her silver-gray hair soaked in blood, her golden eyes devoid of light. The Flame Spear was broken in two, and the hand gripping the handle was stiff.

She saw March 7th.

March 7th was encased in a huge amber-colored ice crystal, her face serene as if in a deep sleep. But in her chest, there was a hole running from front to back.

She saw Danheng.

Dan Heng knelt on a patch of scorched earth, with clouds weaving across the ground before him. His body was gradually transforming into cyan light spots, starting from his fingertips, and drifting away in the wind.

She saw Xi Lian.

Xi Lian collapsed amidst a sea of ​​flowers, her long pink hair blending seamlessly with the petals. Her blue eyes remained open, and a smile still lingered on her lips, but that smile was forever frozen in time.

She saw Bai E, Wan Di, Sai Fei'er, Xia Die, Feng Jin, and Na Ke Xia...

everyone.

On each timeline, there are different ways to die and different endings.

Slashed by a knife. Pierced by an arrow. Burned by fire. Frozen. Poisoned. Falling.

In some scenes, their deaths were tragic.

In some scenes, their deaths were utterly meaningless.

In some scenes, they didn't even have time to let out a scream before their very existence was erased.

Hoshino knew what these images meant.

Her own interpretation.

Before becoming "Doraemon," before transmigrating to this world, she had imagined countless fates for these characters. Among those imaginations were heartwarming everyday lives, thrilling battles, and also—

death.

Massive, brutal, and heartbreaking deaths.

As a "reader," she once examined those deaths from the perspective of an observer, shedding tears and sighing for them, but in the end, it was just words.

But now, those words have become images.

The person in the picture has become her real friend.

My stomach churned.

I know perfectly well that these friends have never experienced those things.

She knew perfectly well that those preconceived notions only existed in her mind and had never actually happened on any timeline.

But the discomfort was like swallowing a handful of rusty nails, piercing from the stomach all the way to the heart.

The attack method of Void Fate.

Use "meaninglessness" to undermine "meaningfulness".

Use "your past indifference" to negate "your current sincerity".

Hoshi took a deep breath.

She lifted her foot and walked towards her illusory self.

step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Images fluttered around her like shredded paper, and the "deaths" of her companions swept past her vision frame by frame.

She did not close her eyes.

She looked at each frame.

Then, walk over.

"Is that all the tricks you have?"

She stood before her own emptiness.

The two were less than an arm's length apart.

She did not retreat, her form ethereal. The faint fluctuations in her empty pupils intensified.

Hoshi raised his right hand.

Immortal golden dragon scales covered his entire arm, from his fingertips to his shoulders, each scale radiating an eternal glow.

Joyful, colorful light spilled from between his fingers, like a liquid rainbow, wrapping around the dragon scales and adding a touch of absurd and brilliant color to the deep, rich gold.

Two destinies intertwined on her wrist.

Immortality—eternal existence.

Pleasure—the joy of being itself.

"You ask me if the world is real or fake."

Hoshi looked at the face opposite him that was exactly the same as his own.

The answer is—it doesn't matter.

"Because even if it's fake."

"I will live on with a smile."

Her arm stretched forward.

With fingers spread, palm facing the one directly in the center of the Void Star's chest—

Black hole.

It was exactly like the wound on her own chest, a wound left by the conflict of fate. Only, her black hole had been mostly filled by the power of immortality, but the void of her black hole remained intact—an abyss that devoured all meaning.

A hand pierced into a black hole.

No hesitation.

There was no pause.

The dual light of immortality and joy instantly poured into that abyss.

Golden eternity intertwined with colorful pleasure, like two intertwined vines, growing outward from the inner wall of the black hole, filling that void space inch by inch.

The ethereal star lowered its head.

She stared at the black hole in her chest being swallowed by light, and for the first and last time, something resembling an "expression" appeared in her empty pupils.

Puzzled?

Relief?

still--

envious?

"……I see."

She said in a low voice.

The white robe began to shatter from the edges, turning into countless grayish-white specks of light.

"You chose to... deny 'denial' itself with a smile."

Her body was dissipating.

Starting from the toes, it's like a melting ice sculpture.

"interesting."

The last two words carried an extremely faint... smile.

Then, she disappeared.

Emptiness returns to silence.

The gray-white background began to crumble, like a crumpled canvas. Fragments fell from all directions, revealing the real, vibrant world behind them—

reality.

"ah!!!"

Hoshi suddenly sat up.

Cold sweat soaked his back, his long gray hair clung to his cheeks, and his golden pupils flickered violently in the darkness before gradually returning to normal.

Her right hand was still outstretched, fingers spread, palm trembling slightly.

"Doraemon?!"

On the left, Xi Lian was startled by the scream and jumped out of bed. Her long pink hair was a mess, and her blue pupils were still heavy with sleep, but she had instinctively entered a state of alert. The power of memory flickered at her fingertips, and silver specks of light danced in the dormitory like fireflies.

"What's going on?! Is it an enemy attack?!"

On the right, Xing's reaction was more direct.

She rolled off the bed onto the floor, her left hand already gripping the Flame Spear on the bedside table, its tip glowing a bright orange-red in the darkness. Her short, silver-gray hair was a mess, like a hedgehog's quills, and her eyes were only slightly open.

"Who?! Where?! How many do you want to shoot?!"

Hoshi sat on the bed, panting heavily.

Sweat dripped from his forehead and onto the blanket.

She slowly withdrew her right hand.

A warm sensation came from my chest—the location of the black hole that once devoured everything.

She glanced down.

The black hole disappeared.

It has completely disappeared.

Eighteen rays of destiny converged at her chest, like eighteen stars slowly rotating around a central point.

The void has been filled.

"……fine."

She let out a long breath.

I had a dream.

Xi Lian withdrew the Light of Memory from her hand and tilted her head to look at the star.

"What kind of dream? Your heart is pounding like a drum♪"

Xing got up from the floor, leaned the Flame Spear back against the headboard, and rubbed his eyes.

"A dream that could scare you like that..."

She glanced at Hoshino, whose silver-gray hair still had a feather hanging from the pillow.

How outrageous does it have to be?

Star looked at the two of them—one a memory star goddess with a bird's nest hairstyle, and the other a pioneer with feathers hanging from her head.

A slow smile curved her lips.

"Not outrageous."

"It's like... I fought with myself."

"We won."

Xi Lian blinked, her blue pupils filled with confusion.

Xing yawned, brushed the feathers off her hair, and rolled over back onto the pillow.

"It's good that you won. Don't scare people in the middle of the night. I'm so sleepy."

Her voice quickly became muffled, and three seconds later, her even breathing resumed.

Xi Lian hesitated for a moment, then finally lay back down.

Goodnight♪

She spoke softly, her long pink hair spreading out again on the pillow.

The dormitory returned to quiet.

Outside the window, the sea of ​​stars continues to flow slowly.

Shihoshi leaned against the headboard, her right hand pressed against her chest.

The light from the eighteen stars shone through her fingers, casting a ring of shimmering light in the dark bedroom, landing on Xi Lian's disheveled hair and on Xing's arm peeking out from under the covers.

early morning.

The morning light streamed through the observation dome on the east side of Luofu Immortal Boat, bathing the streets of Changletian in a warm, pale golden glow. The air was filled with the aromas of soy milk, fried dough sticks, and various pastries, mingling with the shouts of vendors selling tea eggs, creating a unique symphony of daily life on Immortal Boat in the morning.

"Aren't you going to drink Himeko-nee's coffee?"

Pam stood at the door of the Star Train, holding a cup of steaming black liquid in her furry little paws.

The liquid was as thick as melted asphalt, with a few unfiltered coffee grounds floating on the surface, emitting a bitter aroma that could awaken one from the depths of their soul.

Both Hoshi and Hoshi shook their heads.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed.

"Let's go to Luofu for breakfast."

Xing answered crisply and decisively.

"Yes. To Luofu."

㳉星 added a sentence.

Pam's ears drooped.

"Pam, it's always like this..."

The two walked off the train with remorse but firm steps.

In an alley near the dock in Changletian, there is a breakfast shop called "Yunlaiji". The shop is not big, with a few wooden tables set up at the entrance, the tabletops of which are polished to a shine. The proprietress is a middle-aged woman with a round face, wearing a blue apron, and she moves nimbly between the steamers and the stove.

Hoshi ordered a basket of soup dumplings, two fried dough sticks, and a bowl of savory soy milk.

Xing ordered three baskets—one each of xiaolongbao, shrimp dumplings, and siu mai, plus a bowl of congee.

"You're eating more and more."

Hoshi looked at the pile of steamers in front of Hoshi.

"High training volume. Rapid burnout."

Xingmian repeated Wan Di's classic quote without changing his expression.

Hoshi chuckled and unpacked the chopsticks.

The lid of the steamer had just been lifted when a fragrant aroma of white steam carrying delicious broth wafted out. Hoshino picked up a small steamed bun, just about to put it in her mouth—

A slender, black-gloved hand reached out from the side and deftly snatched the xiaolongbao from her chopsticks.

"It looks delicious."

A lazy, slightly teasing female voice rang in my ears.

The chopsticks of the star are suspended in mid-air.

She turned her head.

Kafka.

Her long, deep purple hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her pink eyes gleamed with a bewitching light in the morning light. She wore her signature long shawl coat, her sunglasses pushed up to her forehead, and a smile that never revealed her thoughts played on her lips.

She was using Hoshino's chopsticks to elegantly put the xiaolongbao into her mouth.

"Hmm...not bad. Thin skin, lots of filling, and the broth is sweet and delicious."

She squinted her eyes, revealing a satisfied expression.

"Luofu's breakfast truly lives up to its reputation."

Xing's hand had already touched the Flame Spear at his waist.

"you--"

"take it easy."

Kafka raised a hand, and Asahi made a "calm down" gesture.

"I have no hostility whatsoever today."

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