The air in Lin Yu's living room was still, carrying the familiar scent of home. He stood there, having just returned. The electronic clock on the wall showed the exact same time as the moment before he had left.
"It's a pity," he murmured to himself, glancing at the time. "I wanted to feed Uncle Wolf some NZT."
Because time was relative, no matter how long his journeys to other universes lasted, it was only a single, frozen moment for this one. To an outside observer, it would have looked like Lin Yu simply stood still for an instant, then flickered, his clothes and expression shifting inexplicably.
"It always feels like I never left. It always feels a little weird," he said, pinching his chin in thought. "However, if I ever have to wait for something in other universes in the future, I can adjust the time ratio, come back here first, and then travel over later. That would save a lot of waiting time."
"Let's release the pyramid first." He went downstairs, erased the transformed stand-in he had left in its place, and returned the real pyramid to its original parking spot.
"Now," he said, back in his room and sitting on the edge of his bed, "let's try my ability as an '(Infinite) Universe Observer'."
This power was different from simply manipulating reality or arbitrary laws. The thinking of a "Universe Observer" could directly affect the very "settings" of the world it inhabited, or create new "settings" outright. He could make beings who manipulated reality simply cease to exist, or "define" into existence beings infinitely stronger than them.
The essential difference was this: a God or a Dao could not create a stone they could not lift. A "Universe Observer" could.
The existence of such an observer was strange. Though they could, with a thought, create or "observe" infinite multiverses and "define" countless beings stronger than any god, their own body might remain that of an ordinary person. Their thoughts and feelings were not changed by this power. Instead, they were shaped by the world they lived in. As long as they thought to, they could grant themselves any power at any time, unless they lived their entire life never knowing what they were.
This new form of existence did not flood Lin Yu's mind with infinite information. The fear of becoming a cold, emotionless entity, like he had nearly experienced as a Quantum Observer, did not come to pass. He let out a sigh of relief. That was why he had hesitated to become such a being, and why he had never used the Quantum Observer state again. A life without feelings, without desire, unable to laugh or cry, ruled only by cold reason… that was not living. Was that even still him?
Lin Yu stretched out his hand. A single, shimmering bubble appeared in his palm. Inside it, a smaller bubble formed. This small bubble quickly split into two. Those two split into four, four into eight, eight into sixteen, and on and on, infinitely and faster than thought. Soon, the larger bubble in his hand held countless smaller ones.
Each tiny bubble was an infinite universe, created by Lin Yu's "observation" and "definition."
As his mind turned, a new layer peeled from the inner wall of the large outer bubble. It shrank inward, wrapping and containing the countless smaller bubbles, compressing them into a single bubble the size of the original ones. This new bubble now held a multiverse within it.
Then, inside the original large bubble, these new composite bubbles began to multiply infinitely themselves, until they too were countless. Again, a layer peeled away and shrank inward, creating a deeper level of complexity. This process repeated, over and over small bubbles combining into composites, composites multiplying infinitely, then combining into greater composites, then super-composites, on into an infinite chain of containment. In his palm, he now held an infinite stack of infinities, each layer deeper than the last.
"Life, the universe, everything… it's so fragile," Lin Yu whispered, watching the infinitely layered construct in his hand. He felt the sheer scale of smallness.
He had just manifested a theory in his palm: an infinite combination of infinite universes with infinite depth. Within it, all possibilities existed simultaneously endless types of universes, endless civilizations blazing with their own glory.
"The systems of life, the structures of power, the laws of physics, the limits of light, the bounds of dimensions, the strength of individuals, the flow of history… I can define it all." He tossed the glowing sphere upward. It floated to the center of his room, shining with a light made of every color, illuminating him and the space around him like a miniature, gentle sun.
"Is this the true face of infinity?" he wondered, gazing at the light. "I wonder who 'observed' the universe I was born into? Maybe my own world began to exist on the very day I obtained the small probability system." For a moment, he teetered on the edge of those ultimate questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why do I exist?
"Thinking about this is meaningless," he said, shaking his head. This time, he pulled his own thoughts back; the system didn't need to intervene. "I don't want to fall into some abyss of endless detachment. Lan Mu's path of ascension isn't for me." He looked at the beautiful light and smiled again. He was immune to these riddles now. With his easygoing nature, he just wanted to live happily. He could ponder the great mysteries after he'd had his fill of fun. Besides, it hadn't even been that long since he gained his powers. It felt like only a little over a month, counting his time away. It was too soon to be bogged down by such heavy thoughts.
He had considered throwing this new infinite construct into the void, letting it become part of the greater infinity Xiao Shuo had spoken of. But on second thought, he decided to keep it here. A reminder.
The universe was infinite. No one was truly invincible. He, and even the system, were not absolute. In an infinite reality, there would always be someone or something stronger.
"Relax, just relax. Just treat it as a special ability," Lin Yu told himself, taking a few deep breaths. With a thought, the radiant light from the sphere gently, condensing into a soft, multi-colored glow. It became a beautiful, delicate orb of light.
"I'll keep it here as decoration," he said happily, admiring it. "Wait, is this thing a containment object? No, if we're talking about things that need containing, Xiao Shui and I are more like SCPs ourselves…"
He didn't worry about the orb's safety. This luminous sphere was a universe of his own observation. No one but Lin Yu could move it. If any other conscious being touched it, they would be instantly drawn inside, traveling to a random universe within its infinite layers.
"Just in case," Lin Yu mused, "I should put a cover on it. If someone really does touch it when I'm not looking, they might get lost forever. I could probably find them with probability manipulation, but still… better safe than sorry." He snapped his fingers.
An invisible, spherical layer of spatial isolation formed around the glowing orb. Any object that touched this layer would simply pass through it, appearing on the opposite side. The orb itself remained untouched and untouchable.
"That should do it," Lin Yu nodded, smiling at the softly glowing sphere now safe in its invisible shell. It floated peacefully in the center of his room, a silent testament to the impossible weight he now held, and chose to simply admire.