"Your condition is very simple to treat. Empty your mind, retire immediately, find a small house on some remote planet, and take a vacation."
"Stop thinking about all that unnecessary nonsense. Stop trying to foresee the future and write bizarre scripts. Eat, sleep, sleep, eat. Play some games when you have nothing to do. Just be a happy little green guy."
After learning about Elio's situation, the nanobot quickly provided a treatment plan.
"Huh?"
Silver Wolf looked confused but impressed.
"So... is Elio's problem caused by the Starsea Empire arriving in this world and disturbing the worldlines?"
"Probably."
Grey shrugged.
"When Nous predicts the future, They include everything in the universe within Their calculations, using data to simulate and compute outcomes. When They accidentally factored in Nyarlathotep, They nearly crashed."
"I don't know the mechanism behind Elio's precognition, but his ability to write scripts to alter the future? He won't be able to do that anymore. Whether Finality even exists is uncertain now."
"When you try to calculate or predict the influence Nyarlathotep, Kuuko, and the others have on the universe, there's only one possible result—chaos."
The act of foreseeing the future cannot be separated from observing individuals within this universe.
Nous relies on calculation to simulate what will happen. The Aeon of Finality was born at the end and walks against time.
But no matter what, those who attempt to foresee the future cannot escape one fact: the interference of Outer Gods in this universe.
The Outer Gods are precisely the ones who cannot be predicted or observed. Their influence on the universe and its future is an unknown variable.
From the moment They stepped into this universe, any attempt to predict the future would inevitably be disturbed.
Perhaps small-scale divination remains unaffected. Fu Xuan can still accurately drag Qingque out of the card parlor.
But once it involves deducing the fate of the cosmos, the Outer Gods will inevitably be included in the calculations—and the result will be nothing but a mass of chaos.
"...I will consider your suggestion."
Elio gave up trying to think about anything else.
Strangely, he felt a sense of relief. The future was a blur of chaos. Any prediction was meaningless, any script revision pointless.
No matter what he did, it would change nothing. Instead, he felt as though he had been freed from the cage of fate.
"..."
After the communication ended.
Kafka rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought, while Silver Wolf sank into unprecedented confusion.
"So Elio crashed and logged off? We don't have a guide anymore."
The hacker girl sat on the ground and blew a bubble.
"Uh... a game without a guide might actually be more fun?"
She saw the entire universe as a game. Elio's scripts were essentially strategy guides.
Following them step by step would guarantee the desired outcome and maximum profit—but it inevitably lacked a certain thrill.
"Free will, huh."
Kafka gazed at the sky with a faint smile.
She had joined the Stellaron Hunters because Elio promised her change. Now even Elio himself did not know what he would become.
She found the situation absurd in a strangely surreal way.
Pfft—
She let out a self-mocking laugh.
"If you don't know what to do next, you can come visit the Starsea Empire first."
Grey handed her a bottle of drink.
"Here, you can witness the true future of this universe—the future determined by the Starsea Empire."
"And of course, based on your personal abilities, you'll enjoy the Empire's standard welfare benefits."
"You mean I can customize my bank account balance?"
Silver Wolf blinked.
She had originally planned to request enough money to clear the Interastral Peace Corporation's bounty on her head. Then she remembered—the IPC was already finished.
The Starsea Empire had no grudge against her or Kafka. There was no reason for them to inherit the IPC's wanted notices.
"If you want money, take as much as you like. Fill in however many Credits you want."
The nanobot tossed a holographic interface toward Silver Wolf.
"But we have better arrangements for you. If you're interested, you can check out the Information Department."
"Hmm..."
Kafka pondered for a moment.
If she were to live according to her own "free will," then what intrigued her most right now was this otherworldly civilization that had thrown the future into chaos.
She smiled faintly.
"Alright. I accept."
"Listen to me. Right now, I want to meet your Commander—"
"Stop!!!"
Grey jumped in alarm.
"Absolutely no casually using Spirit Whisper or similar mind-control abilities on Starsea Empire members! And that trick doesn't work on me anyway!"
"Since it's your first offense, I'll let it slide."
"If you want to meet the Commander, stay on the Xianzhou for a while first. It won't take long."
...
Within the Starsea Empire's homeland, the capital.
The colossal hull of the Eternal Snowfall maintained synchronous orbit above Earth.
As a planetary-class warship, it was already enormous. From a higher dimensional perspective, vast and boundless universes had been segmented and embedded within its structure.
A total of sixteen miniature universes had been fixed and fused into its hull, becoming part of the starship itself.
Countless Bulins and Angeloids bustled back and forth within those miniature universes.
They were constructing astronomical megastructures on stars and planets. Those massive Galactic Wonders, through small-universe technology, had achieved the miraculous concept of ship-mounted megastructures.
Of course, all construction took place within the miniature universes. From the outside, the starship itself appeared unchanged.
Most people could not even tell that the Eternal Snowfall was undergoing an internal transformation of staggering scale.
"Mm... ah..."
Inside the topmost bridge of the starship.
A beam of sunlight filtered through the holographic dome, falling gently across Cecilia's face.
"Mm..."
She groggily opened her eyes, brushing back her hair as she sat up and forced herself awake.
Turning her head, she saw a certain orange-haired Beast of Humanity sprawled beside her.
Her sleeping posture was utterly disgraceful. She clung to Setsuna's arm, occasionally rubbing against it, giggling foolishly even in her dreams.
"Still not awake? Time to get up and work."
Setsuna pinched her cheek.
"Guh..."
Gudako puffed her cheeks, sluggishly processing what was happening before punching him lightly.
"No! It's all your fault. I want to sleep."
The miniature universes were linked to the Eternal Snowfall, and the Eternal Snowfall was one with Setsuna.
As large-scale development and creation filled the miniature universes, the result was that Gudako noticed Setsuna had grown stronger again.
Cecilia felt her legs weaken slightly as well.
So she simply leaned against Setsuna's chest and rested a little longer.
"I wonder what Kiana is doing right now..."
She suddenly felt like a mother worrying about her daughter who had gone traveling far away.
"From the reports I've received, they've been staying on the Xianzhou for quite some time. They also made a trip to Pier Point and Herta Space Station."
"As for their next destination... they probably haven't decided yet. They're still playing around with the train crew over there."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
"So playful."
Cecilia huffed softly.
"She keeps saying she wants to become the strongest Valkyrie. Looking at her now, she's still far from catching up to me."
"...Why are you competing with Kiana?"
Setsuna asked curiously.
"Because she's been eyeing you all day long, obviously. Tsk."
Cecilia pinched him.
Just as they were messing around—
Bzz—
A communication request from the nanobot came through.
"Yo, throwing a party?"
Grey popped her head into the holographic interface, then immediately looked indignant.
"And you didn't invite me again?!"
"Next time for sure."
Setsuna yawned.
"So, what's up?"
"Mm-hm, just a routine work report."
Grey scratched her head.
While operating away from home, the expedition fleet needed to maintain regular contact with the homeland and report the results they had achieved.
"Overall, we've fully taken over the vast majority of the IPC's business operations. The useless branches have been cut entirely. We now control most of the cosmos' trade, finance, and media industries."
"Both people at Herta Space Station agreed to join the Starsea Empire. We also ran into the original train crew and two Stellaron Hunters along the way."
She carefully summarized the expedition fleet's actions.
Despite her usual lackadaisical attitude, Grey's efficiency in handling affairs far surpassed most others.
"Oh, right. The Stellaron Spirit has been born too. As compensation for maxing out her bank account, she's currently being thoroughly studied by Herta."
"From what I've seen, this person possesses bravery no less than Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"What?"
Gudako popped up with a startled expression.
"What part of her compares to me? Magecraft? Mobile suit piloting skills? Swordsmanship? Honkai energy control? Or Spirit magic?"
"Shamelessness."
"A hero indeed! Let me meet her sometime."
Gudako gave a thumbs-up.
"Mm..."
Setsuna glanced over Grey's report. They had recruited quite a few new people. He nodded.
"What's your next plan?"
"Hmm..."
The nanobot thought for a moment.
"Now that the IPC has been dealt with and the situation fully stabilized, our next target is the Aeons."
"We're exploring methods to create new Paths and achieve ascension. Ereshkigal has already begun demonstrating her authority on the Xianzhou and has become a new deity to its people."
"But as for how to ascend further, we'll need to figure something out. We plan to analyze the power of the Aeons and carve out several new Paths."
"And then... the existing Paths should be brought under our control as well. That way, certain Aeons won't get any funny ideas."
Defeating the Interastral Peace Corporation meant that, in terms of conventional civilization, the Starsea Empire now held a dominant position.
Any civilization with a functioning brain would think twice before causing trouble.
Naturally, the remaining targets shifted to the Aeons.
To pioneer new Paths, inherit ownerless Paths, dethrone certain Aeons, and incorporate the higher power structure of this world into their own dominion.
"Do you think I could become an Aeon?"
Gudako looked eager, slightly regretting that she hadn't signed up for the expedition immediately.
"You could consider teaming up with Stelle to kick Aha off the throne. The two of you could rule together—dual emperors."
Grey answered casually.
"Or add Sparkle too. Three branches of power."
"???"
"Or you join as well. Four-way balance of power?"
"..."
Setsuna truly did not dare imagine what would happen if four chaos-loving troublemakers gathered together.
"No thanks. I have greater ambitions."
Grey refused to descend into degeneracy.
"..."
"Ascend to Aeonhood..."
Setsuna pondered for a while and slowly sat up in bed.
Ever since the expedition fleet departed, he had remained in the capital.
While the days of constant parties were pleasant, after a while he felt the urge to do something more meaningful.
Handling small fry like the IPC had not required his personal involvement. But now that they were talking about pioneering Paths and achieving ascension, it was finally time to move.
And, conveniently, to see the scenery of this other universe and the expedition fleet's accomplishments with his own eyes.
He put on his coat and cleared his throat.
"Prepare the fleet. Ready it for departure with me."