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

The air inside the carriage seemed to solidify, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Even Pam, who is usually the most cheerful, was now huddled in the driver's seat, her long ears drooping, not daring to make a sound.

race.

A race against time.

These words kept echoing in Xing's mind, making her scalp tingle.

She looked down at her hands.

Pale, delicate, and still trembling slightly.

It's hard to imagine that, in just over a hundred hours, these hands would be covered in hard carapaces, grow sharp barbs, and transform into those alien claws that could only tear flesh apart.

Her brain will be replaced by a green paste called "reproduction," which only has the instincts of eating and multiplying.

"I……"

Hoshi opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

The chill that emanated from her very bones made her teeth chatter uncontrollably.

It made a clattering sound.

A warm hand covered the back of her hand.

"Don't be afraid."

March 7th squatted down in front of her, tightly wrapping her hands around Hoshino's icy hand.

The girl's palms were warm and dry, carrying a reassuring power.

"Didn't Nguyen Mai say that's something that only happens if you don't treat it? We've all mobilized to find medicine for you now!"

"Look, we have the genius Black Tower here, the life expert Ruan Mei, the knowledgeable Black Swan, and... and the super amazing me!"

On March 7th, a big smile appeared on his face, though there was still a hint of worry hidden in that smile.

"It'll definitely be no problem! I can absolutely turn you back into that lively, energetic person... well, although you haven't really been lively and energetic lately, but anyway, I'll cure you!"

Danheng walked over, silently picked up the Pam pillow that had just fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and put it back behind Hoshino.

"We will find a way."

He only said this one sentence.

His blue eyes were calm and still.

But it's more effective than any long-winded argument.

"Yeah, yeah!"

Hoshi also came over, plopped down on the armrest of the sofa, and put her arm around Hoshi's shoulder.

"Don't forget, we're the pioneers! What haven't we seen? We've even taken down several Star Gods, what are we afraid of with these little bugs?"

She patted Hoshino on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. If all else fails... I'll tie you to the back of a train, take you back to the space station, and have the Black Tower turn you into a specimen... Ugh! I'll freeze you up and treat you when technology advances!"

Nihoshi looked at the group of people.

The gray in his eyes faded a little.

Although the fear of "insectification" still weighs heavily on my chest, at least...

She was not alone in facing this boulder.

"Um……"

Hoshi nodded.

I forced myself to stop thinking about those images of tentacles and shells.

"I know... everyone is very capable."

"That's more like it!"

Hoshimi's mood eased a little, and then her eyes darted around as if she had come up with a good idea.

She pulled a rather luxurious-looking notebook out of her pocket.

The cover has several large characters written on it: "As I Write".

"Since the journey is still long, sitting here doing nothing is just letting my mind wander."

Xing waved the notebook in her hand, looking like she was showing off a treasure.

"How about... I tell you a story?"

"That was our experience in Onphalos, it was absolutely amazing! Titans, demigods, and all sorts of heroes fighting to save the world..."

She turned to the first page and cleared her throat.

"I guarantee it will get your blood pumping and make you forget all your messy thoughts!"

"Onpharos..."

Mohoshi paused for a moment.

These four words were like a needle, pricking her most sensitive nerve.

Of course she knew that story.

They know even more clearly than the stars.

That wasn't some thrilling, exciting novel.

It was a dirge filled with blood and tears, sacrifice and farewell.

Countless images flashed through my mind in an instant.

Aglaia.

That goddess, as radiant as the morning sun, willingly turned to ashes and vanished just before dawn in order to pave the way for all.

"Please carry my hope... and keep moving forward."

Wind violet.

That taciturn yet more resolute warrior used his own body to support the collapsing sky, leaving himself forever on that lonely high place.

"The sky...will not fall."

Sai Fei'er.

The gentle guardian ignited the last fire in the holy city, using his own life as fuel, just to give others a glimmer of hope.

"This is my...last prayer."

And one after another, the Golden Descendants fell.

They had golden blood flowing through their veins and harbored dreams of saving the world, yet one by one they fell on the road to the new world.

At last.

Only Bai E remained.

Standing alone at the heart of creation.

He held in his hand a spark stained with the blood of his comrades.

Facing a completely new world, where no familiar faces remain.

"No."

Suddenly, Hoshino spoke.

The sound was so loud that it startled even herself.

Xing's hand, which was turning the pages of the book, froze in mid-air.

"Huh? You're not going to listen? This is firsthand information..."

"don't want."

Hoshi closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously.

Her hands gripped the edge of the Pam pillow so tightly that her nails almost dug into the fabric.

I don't want to hear it.

It hurts too much.

Those knives, each one was stuck in his heart.

Now, she can't even save her own life, so where would she find the strength to bear that heavy tragedy?

Hearing those heroes die one by one, while he can only lie here like a useless person waiting to die?

This is double torture.

Seeing her pained expression, Xing, though puzzled, wisely put the notebook away.

"Fine, fine, I won't listen."

She scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed.

"Let's talk about something else...like what to eat tonight?"

But Hoshino was no longer listening.

The memory that was stirred up did not dissipate with the rejection; instead, it burned like a fire in her heart.

Although she was a time traveler, she had written a "dead end" script for herself.

But regarding the original storyline, and those characters she once genuinely liked...

She is obsessed with something.

If I don't die...

If I can actually survive this...

If one were to master the power of the seventeen destinies within this body… (Because one destiny has already been fully mastered, but I won't say which one it is.)

Nihoshi opened her eyes.

Deep within his eyes, beneath that deathly gray despair, a faint but resolute light suddenly shone.

The fate of Onphalus.

That regrettable ending, where everyone sacrificed themselves and only one person survived.

Is it possible to change this?

I possess the power of "immortality" to restore myself.

I possess the proliferative power of "reproduction".

I even possess the power of "the end" to reverse cause and effect.

As long as I don't die.

As long as I can control even one ten-thousandth of its power.

Then I'll have a chance to go back.

Return to that battlefield.

Bring Aglaia back.

Replace the violet.

Smash that damn Sky Titan.

I want to save them.

We must save them.

Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like weeds.

It even overshadowed the fear of "insectification".

For this goal.

In order to change that damned tragedy.

I absolutely cannot turn into an insect now.

We must not die here.

"I will live."

Suddenly, Hoshino said in a low voice.

It's as if I'm talking to myself, and also as if I'm talking to everyone.

On March 7th, he tightened his grip on her hand.

"Of course! Definitely!"

There was no explanation from the star.

She simply gripped March 7's hand even tighter in return.

He buried that budding determination called "protection" deep in his heart.

……

This idea provided support.

The ensuing wait seemed less unbearable.

But it's only "seemingly".

Objective time is both fair and cold.

When there are three or four systems.

More than two hundred minutes.

More than 10,000 seconds.

In the monotonous stream of light of the jump channel.

Every second was stretched out infinitely.

Hoshi watched as the blood-red countdown ticked away.

From 159:40:00

It becomes 158:00:00

Then it becomes 156:00:00

The phantom itching sensation on my body became more and more pronounced.

Sometimes it's the arm, sometimes it's the back.

It feels like countless ants are crawling under your skin.

She dared not scratch, for fear that if she broke the skin, what would be exposed underneath would not be flesh and blood, but a hard green carapace.

She could only bite her lip tightly.

Staring out the window.

Staring at March 7's worried face.

Trying to distract oneself in this way.

A century.

This is what it feels like to be a star.

She felt like she had been sitting on that sofa for a century.

So long that she even began to doubt whether the train would ever reach its destination.

until--

"About to leave the leap channel."

Pam's voice came through the radio.

With a sense of relief.

"Arrived at target system... Tremy IV Pa!"

hum-

The low hum of the engine that had lasted for several hours suddenly changed frequency.

The streaks of light outside the window suddenly abruptly broke.

It was like a string that had been stretched to its limit and snapped.

Vision returned to normal.

The immense inertia caused everyone's bodies to lean slightly forward.

"arrive!"

March 7th was the first to jump up and lean against the window.

Hoshino also raised her head.

Look out the window.

That instant.

The entire carriage was dyed a chilling dark red.

It was a huge, dim red dwarf star.

It hangs against the dark backdrop of the universe.

It's like an eye that has just closed and is still bleeding.

The light was very dim.

So weak that it couldn't even illuminate the surrounding stardust.

The entire star field was shrouded in a oppressive, gloomy atmosphere, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

And in the near-Earth orbit of that red dwarf star.

A grayish planet floats in the air.

Tremy IV.

From space.

It is not filled with water as described by the Black Swan.

The surface is covered with a thick layer of grayish-brown ice and rocks.

It was like a dried-up corpse.

"Is this...the place?"

Xing's voice was somewhat low.

Looking at this desolate starry sky, even the most optimistic person felt a strange chill.

Nguyen Mai looked at the data panel in her hand.

"Coordinates match."

"But what about the life response on this planet..."

She frowned.

"Very faint."

"So faint as to be almost negligible."

The star looked at that planet.

The "nothingness" mark on his chest suddenly throbbed violently.

at the same time.

The countdown number in my field of vision.

155:59:59

It suddenly turned into a flashing, blood-red state.

This is not just the end.

It is also the starting point.