The moon ring shattered?
The spectacular scene in the night sky reflected in Mobius's lenses. It was like an explosion of stars, dragging countless long trails as they radiated into the cosmos. The streaks of purple light drew endless lines across the night sky, even dyeing the heavens a faint lilac.
Her snake eyes constricted. The teacup had somehow been knocked over, and boiling mist surged from it.
Clang.
Mobius abruptly stood up, her face a mask of excitement.
Why had everyone awakened over the years? Because Prometheus had calculated a subtle stirring coming from the ringed Moon. For a millennium, she had never stopped researching the ringed Moon.
Ryan must be alive. This was not about belief, for this era was permeated with oddities.
Why did that Himeko Murata look exactly like Himeko? Why did that student named Bronya strongly resemble Prometheus? Why did she encounter a younger version of Calis?
And the descendants of Kevin and Mei, the name of this academy, her own secret cloning research...
These were coincidences, or perhaps the tenacity of fate. But the Cocoon of End was gone. Who was controlling this destiny?
"That bastard couldn't possibly have been hiding on the Moon all this time, writing some shoddy script."
"Are you saying Ryan has been secretly controlling everything?"
Golden particles appeared. A purple-haired girl with elegant manners materialized beside them. A jewel was pinned to her chest—the Stellar Symphony.
"Eden, you're here too." Fu Hua was immediately delighted. She hadn't seen her in years, even though she knew Eden had been active in human society.
"It's been fifteen years, hasn't it? Of course, I had to come. I have a bill to settle with Ryan, too." Eden smiled faintly, looking up at the sky full of purple meteors, murmuring, "He never finished that book, and now my readers are sending me box-cutters every day."
"And the writing was too lewd. You even made me use my Precepts to get it past the censors." Aponia added, her face—usually compassionate and holy—flushing slightly, just like Eden's.
"So you became the 'Great Teacher'? I read your subsequent works. Truly eye-opening." Mobius gave a sidelong glance. Among the Flame-Chasers, Eden was the busiest.
She used many pen names, secretly replicating her favorite works in this era, spending her days in the Hall of Art, living a very happy life.
"Ryan's work was the last one, and the ending should be written by him personally. As for those... things," Eden took a slight breath, rarely showing such embarrassment, "Those were forgeries created by Vil-V using my pen name. I've looked for her in the Sea of Quanta several times, but she always manages to escape."
"I can't even find Vil-V. She seems to enjoy causing trouble. According to Mei's analysis, the Censorship, Pleasure, and Magician personalities probably intertwined." Mobius said bitterly, clearly having been played a few times herself. "But why didn't you just change your pen name instead of getting upset with her?"
"Because I don't intend to change this pen name."
"Why?"
"Because the pen name is 'Ryan.'"
The rooftop fell silent. Fu Hua covered her face. Aponia's lips twitched. Mobius simply let out a sharp laugh.
"Hahahaha, some people are absolutely done for! She actually thought that bastard wasn't coming back!"
The laughter seemed infectious. Soon, the rooftop was filled with a joyful atmosphere, a stark contrast to the screams coming from the academy below.
The fragments of the Moon Ring were sweeping through space and falling toward Earth. Observation agencies across the globe issued alarms.
Each fragment was a high-energy object. Though they looked like meteors, they were mutating during their descent, forming Abyss Monsters imbued with both Quantum and Imaginary energy. Moreover, due to their extremely high density, their strength would be astonishing.
"Mhm, I understand. Prepare to intercept. Yes, deploy Plan Z-205." Fu Hua hung up the phone, her expression slightly serious. "Just as Mei suspected, the Moon Ring fragments will form high-intensity Abyss Beasts. Fortunately, the defense work was completed fifteen years ago. There shouldn't be too many casualties."
"So, the great Immortal Fu Hua is going to lead the troops out, is she?"
"We are all going out, to form a barrier in outer space." Fu Hua glared fiercely at the sarcastic Mobius. Every time she was called 'Immortal,' she blushed, hoping her Senior Brother wouldn't hear it.
"Such a pain. I really don't want to fight." Mobius yawned, sitting back down and crossing her legs, resting her chin on her hand to watch the 'meteors.' "It won't make a difference without me. Look, the fatty is already here."
The others looked up, seeing the purple night sky dyed pink. Countless pink meteors were colliding with the incoming fragments. They instantly realized that they weren't the only ones paying attention to the Moon Ring's breakup.
"Don't try to slack off. This is a grand occasion." Eden literally pulled Mobius up. Her face was radiating a faint smile. She pressed her hand to her left chest and recited clearly:
"After a thousand years, all the Flame-Chasers reunite, as if stepping onto the most magnificent stage..."
Before she could finish, the excited Aponia had already flown into the air, completing her poem.
"Facing the brilliant star-rain, to welcome the return of the 'God'!"
Ryan opened his eyes, a little dazed by the scene before him.
"I think I had a strange and long dream?"
He had forgotten many things, even the memory of his own existence. He was like a higher-dimensional observer, watching the world reorganize, and time itself became meaningless.
In a blink, Earth's ecology was restored. In another blink, ape-men appeared. In yet another blink, he saw the survivors of the 'Ancient Civilization,' and some slightly familiar figures.
But his thoughts, logic, and memory had all been annihilated along with his body, spreading throughout the entire Moon Ring. He was more like a program without self-awareness, writing a story based on instinct and the occasional passing image.
Whenever an idea passed, the events on the 'paper' would always succeed: the perpetually white-haired Kaslana family, the Valkyrie research, and so on. As he 'wrote,' the familiar scenes increased.
He blinked softly. A certain academy tens of thousands of kilometers away was reflected in his pupils. He saw a certain white-haired girl staring at the sky with a dazed expression, 'looking' at him.
Is that Kiana? And the people next to her are Raiden Mei and Bronya?
The feedback from this image caused his frozen thoughts to begin turning. Ryan stood up instantly, as if pricked by a needle.
The Cocoon of End was merged. How could the three primary families still exist? Wait, merge the Cocoon of End?
His turning mind latched onto the keyword. More events, like following a vine to a melon, began to rewind from this moment. Logic reappeared within this rewind, and following the logic, memories linked up one by one.
Thought, logic, and memory, like jumbled characters being reassembled. Ryan's 'consciousness' reappeared. With consciousness, he lowered his head and saw his naked body.
Consciousness reorganized, flesh body reconstituted, five senses returned.
The concept of sight returned. He saw the incredibly smooth lunar surface, as if it had been perfectly finished by a master craftsman. All the craters were gone.
His finger brushed over his muscles, feeling the hard texture. Ryan's face was impassive. Aside from the initial 'prick,' he showed no shock, anger, or confusion. He just mechanically searched every memory fragment, trying to sort out his current situation.
Yes, I lived in the Previous Era, joined the Fire Moth-Chaser, took control of the Fire Moth-Chaser, and led them to challenge End.
Then, I formulated the 'Star Era' plan, defeated End in six phases, and in the final phase, created the stellar ring to Trailblazer a path never conceived.
Finally, the experiment succeeded. I mastered this new power. I can feel two anchors linking above and below, simultaneously connecting the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.
He clenched his hand into a fist. This power was infinite. Every step forward represented the unknown, an unknown no one had ever traversed. But why did he feel like something was missing?
His face remained expressionless. He still felt no excitement. Ryan slightly tilted his head.
Thought, body, what else is missing?
He began to delve deeper into his memories. Is it the Fire Moth-Chaser's execution of the subsequent plan? No, all the steps were already set.
Is it the recent peep by an unknown entity? No, that must be Sa. The gap between Him and me is huge; He poses no threat.
Is it the subsequent planning for manipulating destiny? Not entirely. That must be the obsession with certain scenes beneath the confused memories. That has no practical significance.
What is it?
Ryan slowly frowned, as if sinking into his spiritual world. Just then, he heard some voices, like voicemail messages, etched into the long passage of time by a certain Authority.
"Senior Brother, I promised you I'd keep waiting. I haven't closed my eyes for a moment these few thousand years."
"My swordsmanship has improved slightly. The cherry blossom tree has been planted. The millennium cherry tea should be quite nice."
"Ahem, ahem. I'm just reminding you that the assistant contract is for an indefinite term. Hurry back and work overtime!"
"Ryan, I used your name as a pen name and have become a platinum-selling author. I'll save those small earnings for you for now."
"[Please] rest assured. Even after another fifty thousand years, my faith will not fade."
"Heh heh. I've enriched your writer persona. Now, many people are wishing you 'a good life, safe and sound.'"
"Get up and fight me! Idiot! Foolish! Slothful!"
"Commander-in-Chief, don't mind Kalpas. He just wants to provoke you."
"Teacher, Griseo is already stronger than me! Waaah, Rin insults me every day, saying I'm still a scaredy-cat after tens of thousands of years. Hurry and come back to train me!"
"Rest easy. I will inherit the path of the strongest, and the future of humanity will be guarded by me. Wait, Destopia! Don't pull my ear when I'm trying to sound cool."
"Ryan, Su and I were just talking about you while eating noodles today. After thinking for a long time, there was nothing much to say, so I just wanted to tell you: Heh heh, I hit a home run and even had a son. I won the bet!"
"Kevin is just jealous of you, but his smug look has lasted for too long. Even I can't stand it anymore. Please hurry up and wake up to slap his face!"
All sorts of voices boiled up from the depths of his memory, chaotic and disorderly. Ryan slowly bent down, his wooden face gradually becoming animated.
Sometimes conflicted, sometimes smiling, sometimes unwilling, sometimes gnashing his teeth...
Gradually, he began to realize that besides thought and body, there was one more thing that couldn't be seen or touched, yet it was his greatest reliance on reaching this point.
Relying on it to create miracles, relying on it to maintain his true self, relying on it to anchor his original intention.
"This is emotion. Humanity's most useless, yet most important possession."
His gray eyes became vibrant. He slowly straightened his back, as if he realized something. He saw a slender figure standing on the smooth lunar surface.
In a beautiful pale white dress, her pink hair spilled down. The bright face, facing the sunlight from deep space, was clearly nervous, as if she were at the most important moment of her life, completely flustered.
Such fear filled that beautiful face, making her instantly pitiable, yet no one could despise her courage.
Just like the fight against End, the man on the Moon was not only indescribably powerful but also filled with the unknown. Not everyone had the courage to stand before this unknown entity.
A single thought could annihilate a Flame-Chaser, and whether his 'original self' remained was an unpredictable question.
Ryan looked at her, at the azure star and the brilliant rain of light behind her. After an unknown amount of time, a smile slowly bloomed on his face.
A smile that felt both familiar after tens of thousands of years and carried a slight coolness.
"Elysia, I heard many voices just now, but why didn't I hear a message from you?"
No sooner had the words left his lips than he saw a film of mist appear in her sapphire-like eyes, along with a hint of small pride for having created a miracle.
The girl said nothing. Her fluttering white dress was like spreading wings. Like a joyful bird, she flew toward him.
She plunged straight into Ryan's embrace, thinking of nothing. Ryan also instinctively wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
"Because the most important words must be said by me personally." Elysia looped her arms around Ryan's neck. She leaned her head closer, and as their soft lips met, she whispered the words she had kept bottled up for over fifty thousand years.
"Welcome back, Ryan."