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Chapter 283: Inexplicable String
🕑 Added 2025-05-10 15:31:46 +0000 UTCThere was a girl born out of nowhere. She seemingly came down from the sky, like an alien straight out of a novel.
The girl did not have a name. Her purpose was unknown, and all she could do was observe her surroundings.
It did not take long for her to encounter the most sentient life in this planet:
Humans.
They were nuns of an orphanage. Seeing a young girl alone and abandoned, their first thought was to bring her to their orphanage.
Unsurprisingly, the girl garnered a lot of attention.
She was muddy and dirty when the nuns brought her in. Still, one could see a special aura surrounding her. For those kids and other adults, it was the concept of beauty.
There was something within the girl that elicited amicability. Nobody bore ill will to her. She was born to be like that.
That situation did not last long, however.
When the girl encounters people whose malintent exceeds the norm, she will not be absolved from whatever schemes they make. For people whose evil knows no bounds, their evil becomes amplified with the girl’s existence.
Unbeknownst to all, the girl is judgement personified. She will decide on humanity’s fate—on whether it is worth saving or not. She is the bug in the system.
Fortunately, the girl who bore the name of a paradise decided on the former. No matter humanity’s good or bad, it is what makes them, them. It is natural for humans to have flaws—be it selfishness, greed, envy…
There was also the fact that one could not judge everyone based on the few. The brilliance of beautiful people she met far outweighs the so-called ‘malice’.
The girl—Elysia—made that decision after nearly three decades of living on Earth.
Be it in the original or this parallel world, she made the same choice.
Elysia was ready to sacrifice herself in order to create a favorable condition for humanity. Her true identity, the Herrscher of Origin, allowed for one opportunity to ‘hack’ the Cocoon. In the original, she used it to grant Herrschers a chance to retain their humanity—to not become mindless beings who sought nothing but destruction.
It is the second chance she fought for. That decision created the original ending—of Kiana Kaslana’s successful embrace.
Without her, there won’t be a ‘good’ ending.
She knew herself the significance of her role.
But, this time…
‘A parallel world. He did not disappear. It is us who deviated from the norm.’
Elysia gained the opportunity to ‘see’ the truth. Her connection with the Cocoon is special enough to make it happen. She knew the gist of what happened, including Aleph’s supposed disappearance.
It was this world who deviated from the real world; the same entity who ‘erased’ everything related to Aleph. Tokisaki Kurumi, Blank Core, Evolution Cube…
Everything that he brought with him disappeared without a trace.
‘Aleph Ainsworth.’
Elysia knew him from her occasional talks with Mobius and Vill-V. Fire MOTH recruited this sixteen-year-old boy after the third eruption. He wound up becoming the assistant director of the third institute. His theoretical prowess matched MEI.
‘What an odd name.’ She thought. ‘Should I find the chance to meet him?’
Her curiosity steadily grew the more she heard about him. The word ‘rising star’ suited him very well. From his cooperation with the fifth institute, his routine destruction of illegal laboratories, creation of newly-upgraded mechanical robots…
Then, their first meeting occurred.
It was nothing special of sorts. Even their time during the MOTH Night was more of Elysia finding gossip around Aleph, Vill-V, Mei, and Mobius.
The first time they talked properly was during the night of revelation. Aleph revealed his knowledge of the future to others. It laid a foundation for Fire MOTH to deviate from their prior mindset.
It is for such a reason the parallel Earth was still better compared to the original future.
‘Did it start at that time..?’
It was a strange feeling. The reactions of people around Elysia were based on her existence. They could only be amicable or hostile.
Aleph was different.
He remained unaffected by that trait of hers. Still, Aleph treated Elysia well. It was a kind of unconditional trust she did not expect to receive.
‘To have your back on me…’
In the face of these ‘sincere’ feelings, she reciprocated. Whatever ending he may cause, she will trust in him.
Before she knew it, Elysia’s bias began to grow. It is inevitable for her close friends, but it was different with Aleph. She gradually stepped away from her ideal self.
She began being… human.
In the end, she who embraced humanity became human herself.
*****
‘...How ironic.’
Aleph laughed at his realizations. His silent smile caused Elysia to look at him with question marks.
‘A God with a flaw.’ He thought. ‘Elysia’s footsteps parallel mine, but in reverse.’
He fell silent the more he knew about her.
Currently, he is a God desperately fighting to retain his sense of self. He started out as a human and became a God.
It was the opposite with Elysia.
She started out as a god-like being who turned into a human. Her actions and resolve showed him a possibility—that gods can become human too.
Who else is the embodiment of endless possibilities, if not him?
It was that realization that made him laugh.
‘The Fool as a reward suited me well.’
Aleph did not gain a reward this time, though he felt lighter than before.
At this moment, all he wants to do is spend time with others.
Mei’s neverending yap.
Mobius’ venomous tongue.
Kurumi’s mischievous acts.
Hua’s “nonchalance” | Senti’s youthfulness.
Vill-V’s randomness.
“Are you thinking of other girls? Even when there’s a cute girl in front of you?”
In response to that, Aleph raised his right pinky finger. There, five red strings remained tied.
“They are my other halves. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Is that so?”
A scene that made him doubt things happened.
The sixth red string appeared out of nowhere. His mind that could process an unimaginable number of things halted.
When his eyes followed the end of the red string, he saw it was split into two, just like Hua and Senti.
One of them extended into the nothingness while the other…
“..?”
“How..?”
Aleph looked at Elysia who gave an equally confused look. Turns out, she did not understand it either…
The latter was merely planning on teasing him, as always.
For a moment, the two turned completely silent.
