Collapse, survive

He put his arm around his good friend's shoulder and said, "There are indeed some things I need to tell you. Let's start with the gifts. I brought you some small gifts."

Talking to Kiana about going to heaven is indeed the most convenient way for her to understand the current situation, but for the Galactic people, even those from the rural area of ​​Beloberg with a star core, a legion, and messengers causing trouble, it's not the most effective way to explain it.

With his other hand outstretched to Bronya, in this familiar invitation, she opened her arms and embraced Fang Jie's hand.

In a daze, I arrived in a new world.

"This place seems... different."

Bronya remembered the orphanage that left a deep impression on her, but did the starry sky look like this without the cover of rain?

"Don't worry about it, I just added some special effects."

Fang Jie released her, but Xi'er continued to put her arm around his shoulder: "The gift isn't here. Since I'm not sure if it will cause an ecological disaster, I'm going to give you a small batch of kangaroos to try first. I'll process them directly into canned food. If it works, I'll transfer the rest to you."

Look, a kangaroo.

Bronya was immediately drawn to the animal. Bellober rarely saw wild animals, especially those that Fang Jie implied were... alien canned food, which suited her perfectly.

If Bellberg doesn't lack energy, it won't lack food. The technology of artificially synthesized food is the foundation, although it's dry and doesn't contain any essential energy, even the bountiful people dislike it.

It's time for an improvement; this is a nice little gift.

"Then, I will answer your questions about those 'illusions'."

Fang Jie still brought up these topics, carefully choosing his words, to the point that he seemed hesitant.

Seele elbowed him: "Speak up, what are you stammering about?"

She couldn't bear to see him so indecisive.

"You, first of all, make one thing clear: this is not an illusion."

Fang Jie looked at her and Bronya: "You can consider those as 'the past'."

"The past?"

Seele didn't understand, and neither did Bronya.

"After all, it's going back in time, isn't it? It's going back in time even though it doesn't exist... Wouldn't it be more accurate to describe it as the past?"

Fang Jie didn't understand either; he could only describe it as something like Onphalus's retrospection of time.

"Imagine that the threads of time support the past, present, and future of the world, allowing all things to flow, and at this moment, they manifest the past—look up."

The two did as instructed, and the starry sky opened up to them. The universe shimmered with light, a manifestation of their destiny, yet it did not reject visitors from outside.

They held hands and spoke frankly under the starry sky, watching the stars twinkle and turn back and forth.

Fang Jie pointed to a star in the far distance of the universe, "Next to that big fireball is the sun of my hometown. Of course, the one in my hometown isn't as dark as it used to be. I've recreated the appearance of this starry sky based on my memory."

"The foundation here is me, destiny, the star god, the world. Those who can be glimpsed usually possess something extraordinary, and my extraordinary nature is manifested here. Isn't it beautiful?"

Seele and Bronya both nodded, turning their gazes into the distance, looking at the boundless Black Sea behind the beautiful scenery.

Fang Jie continued, "It was an ocean of quasars with extremely high density. Its actual radius was smaller than its gravitational field radius, like a black hole, but it didn't become one. We were right at the boundary of its Schwarzschild radius, just outside the quasar's event horizon. We weren't torn apart by the enormous gravitational tides, nor did we escape its gravitational field..."

This is knowledge that even people in the Milky Way can understand.

What do you mean by saying Belleburg is a rural area where the people are all natives? Actually, if you don't study, Fang Jie is the native one.

"You could say that all of this is me, and my presence here, in front of you, has made your family, friends, and everything familiar from the past unrecognizable, turning them into a new present."

“Those illusions are not illusions, but rather the original state of everything you are familiar with, without me.”

"Why is this happening? I'm sorry, I don't know either. The Milky Way is vast, and anything can happen. It could be a manifestation of our original destiny, reminding you that I am an anomaly; or it could be time itself, with the past rewinding. I haven't figured out what the answer is yet, I can only guess."

Fang Jie also put his arm around Bronya's shoulder, with a friendly smile on his face.

"After experiencing so much, I can't help but wonder why it had to be me, why these things happened, but as I left here, I arrived in your world."

"When I was ignorant and fearless, I could only attribute it all to the power of God, but what is God? He is just another side of man."

"They even have so much free time that they add a 'no exit' buff to a pipe."

"I think that the real God may not exist. It is because we depict God in our own image that we personify, label, and philosophicalize God, making it easier to understand him, using his totems, turning him into a tool for education, and turning him into a weapon for conquest."

Fang Jie rants about the unreliable Star God on his own turf, his mind at ease.

"So regarding your confusion and bewilderment about hallucinations, I can only say, face them squarely, don't reject them. They are also your past, things that have happened. Write them down; it's a part of life."

"It's just that you have me in your lives, and everything has changed. Only memories can bring back the original appearance of things."

"After all, memory is a backup of the universe's restart. It has no past and no future, and the present is an ambiguous ongoing process—the light we see may not be light, and the reality we touch may not be real. They are all electrical signals fed back to the brain by neurons."

It's like standing here looking at the sun, which is the sun from eight minutes ago. The me you see, the you I see, every moment is also the past.

So don't be confused, lift your head and look at the stars, just as I look at you, look at me carefully.

Fang Jie released them, pointing one finger to the sky and the other to the earth, amidst the stars that resembled his hometown.

"Let's just consider myself a 'miracle' that can travel and switch between different times and spaces, bringing about all these changes."

Bronya still didn't quite understand: "So, it's like the power of a star god, I understand."

Seele understood.

"Anyway, just ignore it. You said these gifts are called kangaroos, right? How are we supposed to eat them?"

She glanced at me sideways, paying more attention to this.

She wouldn't rack her brains to think about things that don't exist. After all, it was just one of the many things Fang Jie and she rambled on about. Speculation, without verification, is no more worthy of consideration than the past that March 7th imagined and fabricated for herself.

"Process it into canned goods. This stuff isn't actually a good ingredient, but there's a lot of it."

Fang Jie simply teleported them, and in the specially arranged open-air snow and ice, they saw a herd of kangaroos stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Indeed... there are many."

Seele had never seen anything like this before. She only had vague impressions of the ocean and forests recently, and this herd of beasts...

"How did you get it?"

"Hunting? I go hunting in another world."

Wow, they're really good at hunting!

Seele silently learned new knowledge, ignoring those 'illusions,' and trusted Fang Jie.

There's no need to use words like "go to heaven" to describe it, nor is there any need to carefully consider the words to speculate that the world has already been destroyed once by the random selection of the star core, and that the solution is to go back and restart.

that's not important.

In any case, everyone is like a kangaroo to the world; it doesn't matter if we're alive or dead.

.

P.S.: Phew, all long chapters! (?o?o)

That's all for the bonus chapter. Have a great day everyone!

Chapter Seventy: Memory is the opening act of a dream.

"...Yes, yes, I understand, Theresa. I'll be careful. But instead of refusing to submit samples, you should really think about how to deal with His Holiness the Bishop. My suggestion is to defect..."

"Shut up, Bomb Girl, I'm hanging up!"

St. Freya Academy, Valkyrie Dormitory, Himeko's Room.

"Wow~"

On her rare day off, Himeko had been soaking in a bubble bath for a long time, the sound of water splashing as she crossed her legs. She looked at the disconnected communication, which was a video call, so Theresa had been humiliated and made angry.

"What? You're allowed to act young all the time, but I can't look young too? You have such great skin."

Feeling pleased, Himeko gracefully stood up from the bath.

Yes, her room has a bathtub, which can also be considered a larger bathtub.

With each movement, droplets of water slid down her fair, jade-like skin, sparkling like pearls inside a seashell.

Himeko stepped out of the bathtub and walked to where the towels were hanging. A full-length mirror hung on the wall, reflecting a hazy, beautiful scene.

It's not just the rising water vapor that creates the hazy effect; a light mist also covers the mirror surface.

She raised her left hand to wipe away the fog, revealing a delicate oval face with a high nose bridge, thin and pink lips, and a pair of almond-shaped eyes that exuded a touch of charm.

She continued wiping downwards with her right hand, clearing away all the fog and reflecting her beautiful body onto the mirror.

She practically hugged the mirror, scrutinizing her body from the front and back with the same eye one would use to examine a work of art.

At times like this, you should say, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me..."

How could that be? These aren't sunglasses.

"Hmm, the bad marks have healed. My body... its recovery ability is amazing. My skin is much more elastic and has recovered to its best condition."

This is what Himeko discovered after her recent physical exam; it's clear to the naked eye, though.

It's simply a work of art!

I used to envy Theresa for being forever young, but now I can finally show off. Aside from the fact that I still can't use the artificial stigmata, my vacation has been extended indefinitely. It's really great.

Having changed her posture, Himeko admired herself.

For women, including Valkyries, a younger body is a work of art that needs to be maintained through various means, including facial cleansers, skin-care shower gels, skincare products, yoga, and so on.

Everything is about keeping your body in its best condition.

Even at the youngest age, Valkyries usually have to die, and it's best to die beautifully. This is a concept passed down from their predecessors, and Himeko deeply agrees with it.

And now, it is still the case.

She picked up a white bath towel, dried herself off, and changed into a light pink silk nightgown.

It suits her current skin perfectly. According to her medical examination, as long as she stops using artificial stigmata, she can live to old age like an ordinary person and remain youthful and beautiful forever.

When the research results came out, the researchers' eyes practically burned with rage.

Unaware of the existence of the 'Godslayer Spear', the Valkyries had only one known way to escape the corruption of artificial stigmata: Holy Blood. With Cecilia's passing, Holy Blood, as a precious resource, could not possibly be available to all Valkyries and could only be the privilege of a few.

This minority is not categorized into A, B, or S grades, but rather depends on Otto's mood.

At least Himeko is not qualified to access that knowledge, nor are the researchers of the various branches. Honkai disease is an incurable disease, and any healing is a miracle of God. There is no known cure.

"Ah."

Himeko shook her head, trying not to think about those things. She always got a lot of valuable information from Theresa, and she was always trying to find solutions for herself and everyone else, such as the 'Innate Stigmata'.

Unfortunately, that is a miracle within a miracle, and can only be explored and excavated from the ruins of an ancient civilization—which is strictly forbidden by the Mandate of Heaven, and violators will be punished.

She didn't wear a bra, but habitually wore dark pink nipple covers, which contrasted sharply with her thin nightgown.

Yes, and C-string underwear too.

Himeko never hesitates to make herself beautiful and stay at the forefront of fashion, which is also for practical reasons.

If needed, an A-rank Valkyrie's skin is harder than steel, so she doesn't need the defense provided by her clothes. In high-speed combat, any discomfort or hindrance will affect her combat power.

Therefore, the less fabric used, the smoother the feel, and the less restriction it places on the body, the more suitable the clothing is. Some researchers have even suggested that wearing only a combat suit would be sufficient.

However, this proposal was only accepted by a few Valkyries, and even for Himeko, there was still a big difference between wearing less clothing and not wearing anything at all.

In this way, keeping herself in her best condition, Himeko hummed a song as she walked out of the bathroom and did yoga, exercise, or rather, relax her body in the newly renovated room.

She is very happy with her body, but if possible, she hopes that everyone can grow up healthy.

Although last night... she quietly destroyed the bodily fluids that the researchers thought were more effective, for safety's sake, she didn't want everyone on the planet to turn into monkeys in the future.

Yes, that's it. It's not that I'm worried about those heartless guys using it for weird experiments.

Even though Fang Jie seemed completely unconcerned and trusted her implicitly, not afraid of the future emergence of clone Fang Jie's army that would "use aliens to fight aliens."

The thought of it makes me feel like there's no future in it.

"Theresa, you have to withstand the pressure. Maintaining the current friendly relationship is already a huge help. Don't make any mistakes."

Himeko couldn't help but think the worst, but whether it was from the beginning or now, their interactions had shown that friendship could beget more friendship, while hostility...

She distanced herself from that camp, and Theresa had long since severed ties with Destiny; everyone was very mature.

While this thinking may be somewhat pragmatic, for adults, reaching a comfortable level of compromise is already the ideal state.

I'm going to tell you a story about porcupines here.jpg

In Himeko's opinion, aside from the fact that Agumon has once again undergone 'ultimate evolution' and transformed into WarGreymon, Fang Jie is still just a... young man.