OBS I don't know what to title Chapter 253.
I don't know what to title Chapter 253.
“Sam?” Xing looked at Liu Ying and said, “Is this what you wanted to tell me?”
"I guess so," Liu Ying nodded.
"So you really aren't from the Iris family?"
"Yes, and I was the stowaway they were looking for. But for some reason, the hound family didn't expose me; instead, they helped me out."
“It seems you’ve been through quite a bit yourself,” Walter said, adjusting his glasses. “But now’s not the time to talk about that, is it?”
"Yes, I know you're in a hurry. Elio also mentioned that someone named Kiana in Pinocchio would come to me asking for the script, and he said he'd give it to her if she asked. But before that, could you give me a little time to explain the current situation to Hoshino?"
Indeed, as Firefly said, Xing was filled with confusion, and Firefly had promised Xing an explanation. Considering there was still plenty of time, Kiana decided to let Firefly decide for herself.
Over the next period of time, Firefly also told Xing about her background in general terms, including her being the last member of the Grammer Riders, without reservation.
“There’s something I don’t understand,” Walter interrupted.
“Mr. Walter, please speak.”
"Is there another reason why you've always appeared in the world as that mecha named Sam? Of course, I won't force you to say if you feel uncomfortable about it."
"Mr. Walter, you are overthinking it. This is also something I'm going to talk about next, so I'll take this opportunity to say it all at once. Entropy loss, I don't know if any of you are familiar with this disease."
Firefly continued, "It's a disease that causes the body to gradually disintegrate. People who suffer from this disease usually die in a slow disintegration process, a process that is difficult even for the person to perceive. They only know that their body becomes weaker day by day, and eventually they can only survive by lying in a specific medical pod. Sam, that mech known to the world, is both my combat armor and my medical pod."
In reality, I can barely perceive the world with my own body. If I'm away from the mecha for too long, my body can't keep up and I gradually lose my mobility. That's why I love the feeling in this dream world; only here can I truly feel alive. Perhaps this is the answer to the question in *The Watchmaker's Legacy*: "Why does life slumber?"
"Wait, you also have that music box from the watchmaker's legacy? And why don't I know the saying 'Why does life fall asleep'?"
“This was our mistake,” Walter said. “Himeko spoke in a hurry and forgot to say that sentence. There was indeed such a sentence in the watchmaker’s legacy or last words.”
"You tricked me!" Xing shouted.
"How can you call this forgotten detail a trap?"
Then Walter said something like, "If you forget, you forget," and "I won't cheat anyone," and the rooftop was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
In the end, it was Kiana who spoke up and interrupted the two of them from farming for loot.
"So, in reality, you only appear in a mecha form because of that so-called entropy disorder, right, Liu Ying?"
"That's not entirely true," Liu Ying shook her head and said, "After all, when carrying out a mission, using the power of a mech is more efficient than going up and killing enemies one by one yourself."
"Speaking of which, didn't you say something like that baseball bat was too inefficient before?" Xing recalled, stroking his chin.
"Um, I did say that. After all, no matter how powerful a baseball bat is, it can only knock down one person at a time, right? If I had to choose, I'd probably pick something like a rocket launcher."
"There's no need for that. After all, I was just helping my friend out of a difficult situation. What if I accidentally hurt someone?"
"That seems so. I didn't think that through. But enough of this small talk. Ms. Kiana, how would you like me to hand over the script?"
After saying that, Firefly looked at Kiana beside her. After thinking for a while, Kiana said, "You can just recite it in your mind. You must have already memorized Eriol's script by now, right?"
"Don't we need to let anyone else know?" Firefly asked, somewhat puzzled.
Walter also expressed his confusion about this, and indeed, as Firefly said, if you don't want others to know, you don't have to let him come along.
"To be precise, I didn't want Xing to know, mainly because I didn't expect you to bring Xing with you."
"What do you mean I can't know?" Xing frowned and said unhappily.
“You are the person chosen in Elio’s script. Letting you know some things in advance will only disrupt Elio’s plans. Although it may seem like I’m speaking up for the Star Core Hunter, it would be beneficial for everyone if things went according to Elio’s script, especially when it comes to the survival of the entire universe.”
"To receive such a high evaluation from you, can you tell me just what kind of person this Elio is?" Walter asked.
“I can’t say for sure what kind of person Elio is, but I can tell you that he is the one who walks the path of the final destiny. The so-called script is very likely the future he summarized after interpreting the whispers of the Last King.”
"So that's how it is. A destined traveler from the end times? No wonder the Star Core Hunters trust Elio's script so much. Since he is a destined traveler from the end times, it's not surprising at all."
"Uncle Yang, is this final fate really that powerful?"
"The so-called End of Destiny, or End of the Star God, is said to be a star god born from the end of time. He set off from the end of time to the beginning of time. For him, the future we know is his past, and our past is his future."
“That’s right,” Kiana said. “He was born at the time of the universe’s destruction. In order to reverse the destruction, he chose to travel to the past. During this time, he would whisper the future he knew to everyone in the universe.”
However, not everyone can hear these whispers; even if they can, they are merely meaningless sounds to the average person. Only a few can decipher the meaning within these whispers through specific means, and Elio is one of them.
"In other words, I'm the protagonist he chose?" Xing asked.
"That's understandable."
"That's alright!" Xing said, hands on her hips. "Since I'm the main character, I really shouldn't be spoiled beforehand."
Seeing that Xing seemed to be in a strange state, Kiana stopped paying attention and instructed Liuying to silently recite the script in her mind. At the same time, Kiana connected Welt's consciousness with her, so that Welt could know part of the script.
The reason it's only "partial" is because Eriol will only distribute the relevant scripts to the appropriate people, maximizing the script's secrecy. Of course, Kafka might not be included in this arrangement, since Eriol is only responsible for distributing the scripts to others; the actual execution is handled by Kafka. Without a complete script, it's difficult to orchestrate the entire operation.
"That's all I know. If there's anything else you want to know, you'll probably have to go to Silver Wolf. After all, she was in charge of the script this time, and she has more information."
Kiana separated her consciousness from Welt's and said, "No need, what you have is enough. If you don't have anything to ask me, I'll take Mr. Welt and leave now. You can come find me after this is over. I might have a way to solve your entropy disorder."
"Really?" Liu Ying asked excitedly.
After all, entropy loss had plagued her for a long time; the symptom had accompanied her throughout her life since birth. Or perhaps it was simply an inevitable part of being a member of the Grammer Knights, a congenital condition that had accompanied them since the moment they were designed.
Because of the locust plague, the Grammer Empire selected an empress as its model, created artificial humans like Fireflies based on her, and equipped them with various types of mechs as combat gear.
To prevent the Iron Cavalry from escaping and to prevent them from staging a coup, the Empire's scientists not only instilled the innate disease of entropy loss during the early stages of their creation, but also adopted the characteristics of a hive of consciousness to deeply bind all the Iron Cavalry to the Empress.
Even at the end of the war, when the Grammer Empire and later the Republic were no more, and even the empress who bound them was no more, this ideological imprint etched into their genes continued to exert its influence, driving the surviving soldiers to fight day and night against their offspring.
In the end, only Firefly survived. For some unknown reason, Firefly, the sole survivor in that final battle, was no longer affected by the commands in her mind and awakened a new power. This allowed her to wipe out the remaining insects and the planet along with them.
It was around that time that the Star Core Hunters, consisting of only Kafka and Elio, found her adrift in the universe. At Kafka's invitation, she joined the Star Core Hunters organization in order to find the meaning of her own life.
Elio said he would experience three deaths in Pinocchio, after which she would find the meaning of her life. This is why Firefly is here; not only because Elio's script needs her, but more importantly, because she can find and affirm the meaning of her existence here.
"If you really have a way, I will visit you. I hope you can keep your promise."
"Of course, don't worry!"
After saying that, Kiana took Welt and left first, leaving the rest to the two of them. After all, Xing probably still had many questions waiting for Liuying to answer.
If the answer cannot be given here, Xingxin will likely harbor some resentment later on.
"Now that you know the future, does Mr. Walter have anything to say?"
After returning to the Golden Hour, Kiana asked Welt a question.
"I'm quite surprised. I never expected that a grand music festival would involve a battle between two star gods."
"Should we continue this pioneering journey?"
"Although you have no room for regret, Kiana silently added in her heart."
"Giving up on this journey just because of this would be contrary to the meaning of pioneering. For the Nameless One, the unknown is the most terrifying thing. If we back down because of this little thing, those predecessors who have walked the path of pioneering would probably laugh their heads off. Besides, aren't you here? With your current strength, you don't need to worry about this level of struggle, right?"
Kiana could only shake her head helplessly: "It seems that Mr. Welt's mindset has become younger and younger since he joined the Star Train. Okay, I promise you that even if something unexpected happens in the future, I will do my best to change that imperfect future into the future we look forward to!"
"I've checked the time, and it's almost time to meet up. Should I talk to Himeko about the script beforehand?"
"Let's not do it," Kiana shook her head. "The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. I'll tell Xing not to make a fuss about it. Mr. Welt, don't waste your breath."
After thinking about it, Walter realized that Kiana's words made some sense.
"That's true. It's better to know less about the future. First, if we know in advance, we lose some of the fun in the exploration process. Second, no one knows if the future will definitely go in the predetermined direction. Knowing will only add more trouble. I will keep this in mind."
"That's good. There's still some time. I have some things to take care of and I'll be back later."
After saying that, Kiana turned around, waved, and left Clockwork Boy Plaza.
After a while, Kiana arrived at an unknown place, where a huge figure stood in front of her.
"Miss Kiana, is what you're doing really going to work? I still haven't seen anyone wake up from this [unclear], does that mean I've won this battle?"
"Don't be in such a hurry, ■■■. You can't tell anything from just this little bit of time. After a while, you'll understand why I'm so confident that they will succeed in stopping your plan."
He remained silent, recalling how a spaceship had suddenly appeared above Pinocene a few days earlier.
Strangely, even though the [unclear] system had been successfully activated, and logically all humans passing through the Asdna system should have fallen asleep, not a single person on this ship fell asleep.
Then he understood why; he had heard the name Kiana Kaslana before.
As the messenger of an unknown star god who suddenly appeared recently, he shone brightly during the star core crisis of the Immortal Ship.
Not only did she successfully thwart the plot of the Extinction Lord, but she also defeated a projection of the Extinction Lord head-on, thus making Kiana Kaslana's name resound throughout the entire universe.
However, the power of the envoy alone should not be able to help others break free from the power of ■■■■, otherwise Huang Quan, who is still struggling in vain, would have already led his people to attack again.
Then Kiana unleashed a power that completely shocked him. It was a power that was no less than that of the Star God. Only then did he realize that perhaps everyone in the universe had underestimated Kiana's power.
Fortunately, Kiana did not directly stop his plan; instead, she made a bet with him.
He bet that with Kiana's help, someone would awaken from their impending doom and stop his plans, and now it seems he won that bet.