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Chapter 284: Acceptance Stage
🕑 Added 2025-05-11 08:38:57 +0000 UTCThe [Red Strings] is a reward granted to Aleph by the Achievement Hunter. Its first appearance showed its ability to “tie” him with other girls who ‘love’ him romantically. It possessed numerous abilities such as location tracking, mind connection, and the likes.
With the upgrades, it evolved to be able to ‘store’ a copy of Aleph’s ability. That, and the improvement in ‘life’ every time he does ‘that’ with them. It also gave him the ability to alter the taste of his body. It is more than certain it is used for unserious purposes.
In short, it is an exclusive ability for romantic purposes.
‘Since when did I..?’
Aleph looked at the red string connecting him and Elysia with utter disbelief. It was the first time something went out of his expectations.
‘Did she also… No.’ He retracted his thoughts. ‘She’s even more surprised than I am.’
Aleph wanted to laugh. The utter confusion in Elysia’s eyes was something memorable.
‘How… How did this happen..?’
Aleph did not forget to tease her.
“Hum? I treated you as a friend. I never thought…”
“Maybe it’s a friendship token?”
“...Pfft..!”
He laughed at her words.
“Anyways, let’s meet up next time~!”
She did not wait for Aleph’s reply and disappeared out of thin air.
‘But, why..?’
He became busy reviewing his memories with Elysia. He trusted her as a best friend, but that was all.
It was undeniable that romancing Elysia was tempting. Aleph chose not to do it at that time because he thought it was impossible. Either way, he was already fine with the things going on between them. Having the status of a trusted friend is enough.
But, the red string between them now…
‘Ugh, this is killing me.’
He pushed aside his confusion and inner conflict. He let his serious side do the work.
‘Elysia. Cocoon of Finality. My authority, Finality..!’
It did not take long before he found a lead.
‘She is the Herrscher of Origin. A bug that appeared within the Cocoon. I have the authority of Finality. Was it the result of a conceptual overlap?’
Despite this answer being slightly far-fetched, Aleph accepted it as the case now. He would not be able to explain it, after all. He became closer with Elysia without any intent aside from friendship.
…at least, that’s what he thought.
‘I am really a scumbag…’
When he thought of his ‘wives’ waiting for him somewhere while he went and became closer with another girl…
Speaking of girls…
‘Sakura.’
Aleph taught her swordsmanship via Sasaki Koujiro. He wanted her to inherit Sasaki’s style. Along with that was Vergil’s swordsmanship.
In the process of employing her, doing missions and likes…
{Notice. The appearance of the seventh string is foreseeable.}
At this moment, Metatron broke her silence. Her matter-of-fact voice similar to Bronya made Aleph recall something—he can use her as an advisor!
‘Metatron. Do you have any idea why it happened?
{Answer. Your connection with the entity known as [Elysia] surpasses traditional friendship. On her side is her willingness to sacrifice to help you. On your side is the willingness to die saving Earth. It is stored in the subconscious…}
Metatron pointed out a lot of things he noticed but placed at the back of his mind.
Ever since he encountered some troubles, Aleph had the habit of pushing them at the back of his mind. As time passed, they were gradually buried atop countless other ‘troubles’.
Metatron only had to point it out once for Aleph to understand. It caused the latter to facepalm himself.
‘Can I receive The Fool twice..?’
{Conclusion. The subject is prone to turn friendships into romantic connections.}
The moment that verdict came, Aleph knew he had to face his choices.
As a result…
‘Well, being a scumbag doesn’t matter much in universe’s standards. I mean, there’s a bunch of ethical dilemmas over here…’
…he began coping.
‘Whatever the consequences, I’ll just face it. If I get chained by Mobius or locked into a room by Vill-V… That’s it.’
Fortunately, he hasn’t fallen so low as to not take it seriously.
With an answer in hand, his attention returned to Earth. To be exact, in the endless dark blue world.
He could not exert any power on the level of complex information before. The best he could do was bring his strongest version prior to his ascension. Admittedly, that made things more complicated.
With the solar system’s imaginary barrier punctured with numerous holes from Aleph’s authority, it was only a matter of time before its literal collapse. This allowed him to see things he could not see back then.
Bzzut-!
Akin to a rewound cassette tape, Aleph’s surroundings turned dark blue. He is now in front of a pure white slate. It is a translucent mirror which reflects the other side—the real Earth.
As soon as Aleph touched it, its surface rippled. Contrary to his expectations, he felt… nothing.
It’s as if…
‘I can break this. Was this the end of Finality's test?’
He felt complex.
It is the same as seeing an easy question with an easy answer during his college examination. He could not help but feel there was something wrong with it.
Unfortunately, he could not find any oddities.
‘I can use this parallel Earth as an anchor. Set it up as a checkpoint to find the real Earth within the Imaginary Tree.’
After some time, Aleph figured out his general plan:
First, meet the Stellaron Hunters.
‘Finality’s influence. It’s either on them or the one in Penacony.’
His previous experience on Finality traumatized him. He unknowingly stepped into a trap and got his thoughts affected subconsciously.
Second, meet Fuli, the Remembrance.
‘They should know something about Equilibrium’s disappearance. If they are really held by Finality at a gunpoint…’
Remembrance is a special Aeon. Their fascination towards ‘memories’ and their purpose to ‘preserve’ them after the universe’s destruction made everyone speculate about them.
Third, find the Astral Express.
‘I need to confirm things… If Akivili is truly killed by Finality…’
The Astral Express was originally in his plans. Due to Finality’s effect, he subconsciously put them onto shelves for months. There was still the death of Akivili waiting to be confirmed.
Then there was Bosenmori Mei.
Her existence was confirmed alongside the Astral Express.
‘Three nodes. Three things…’
