"Still haven't figured it out?"
For someone like Diwu—someone with such emotional hang-ups—the only thing Karl could do was wait for her to sort it out on her own.
But they couldn't truly avoid each other forever. Otherwise, one side wouldn't resolve anything, while the other would only grow more frustrated.
Karl spent a few hours wandering around the new Avengers base, chatting with Tony and checking on the progress. Three or four hours passed.
Feeling the time was about right, he returned to Kamar-Taj.
He couldn't just listen to Diwu's words and stay away. Her personality was too sensitive—if he really ignored her, she wouldn't say anything.
She'd just keep it all inside.
And let it build up…
Until one day, it exploded.
Karl wasn't about to let that happen. In the previous timeline, he had spent thousands of years with her—he understood her temperament completely. He even enjoyed teasing her from time to time.
When he returned to the room, Diwu was lying there, playing with her phone.
The moment she saw Karl walk in, her expression changed instantly.
"I haven't figured it out yet. And I don't want to see you."
She stared at him. "Why are you back? Didn't everyone tell you I don't want to see you right now?"
Karl walked over and sat down.
"Why are you making things hard for yourself?"
Diwu straightened up and faced him.
"If you think that way, then even if it's not for you now, it will be for you in the future. Time has rewound—yesterday's me was already yours. Are you going to be jealous of your own past self?"
Diwu pushed him away, frustrated.
"I know that! But it still feels wrong! Just give me a little more time. Don't show up in front of me today!"
Karl looked around the room, then back at her.
"Then… where am I supposed to sleep?"
"Ugh!"
Diwu shoved him impatiently. "Go sleep outside! Just let me have some peace tonight!"
Karl raised an eyebrow. "That worked up? Aren't you afraid I might go do something?"
"Exactly. I can't even find a reason to get rid of you," she said coldly.
Karl ignored her, took off his coat, and lay down on the bed.
Diwu didn't stop him.
She just stared at him.
Eyes wide. Expressionless.
Karl stared back.
The two locked eyes.
For a long time.
Nearly half an hour passed in silence.
"…Fine. I'll go sleep outside," Diwu said first.
She got up and reached for her coat.
Karl quickly stood and stopped her.
"Alright, alright—I'll go. But you're only allowed to be like this tonight. No more tomorrow."
Diwu paused, then hung the coat back up.
She glanced at him… and nodded.
Karl picked up his coat and left, casting one last look at her before closing the door.
It was past 10 PM at Kamar-Taj.
The training grounds were empty. Everyone had returned to their rooms for meditation or rest.
Diwu needed to meditate too—but tonight, she couldn't focus at all.
She didn't want to think.
At all.
She changed into comfortable clothes and went into the bathroom, planning to shower and sleep—just to end the day.
Karl didn't leave.
He went up to the rooftop.
He didn't actually need sleep. Sleeping was just a habit Diwu had formed—talking to him every day, making each day feel complete.
Lying on the roof, he looked up at the sky.
Tonight, Kamar-Taj was cloudless.
Unfortunately, it was a lunar eclipse.
The sky was filled with stars. With Karl's eyesight, he could see meteors streaking across the sky, even distant celestial bodies.
Since the timeline reset, he hadn't really taken the time to look at the sky.
Now, he focused.
His vision magnified.
He didn't know how many light-years away he could see—but the universe before him grew brighter, hotter, more vivid.
…Lively?
Karl narrowed his eyes slightly.
Somewhere far beyond Earth, at an unimaginable distance—
A massive space battle was taking place.
Thousands upon thousands of spacecraft exploded in flashes of light.
And that was only a small part of it.
Karl found it fascinating.
He had always thought the only life in this universe was on Earth and Asgard.
But with a casual glance, he had discovered something far greater.
Countless warships were chasing a single vessel.
Karl flipped his hand—
A bag of snacks appeared.
"Crunch…"
"Diwan really is a snack expert."
He sighed in satisfaction as he ate, watching the distant battle.
The fleeing ship darted into an asteroid field, dodging attacks and firing back.
But it was hopeless.
The pursuing forces were overwhelming.
They surrounded it from both sides.
Endless firepower rained down—the ship was on the verge of destruction.
"Huh? Reinforcements?"
"Crunch…"
Karl took another bite.
Then suddenly—
The battle ended.
Tens of thousands of pursuing ships…
Vanished.
Just like that.
Karl saw it clearly.
A white, egg-shaped ship had appeared—and the entire pursuing fleet disappeared instantly.
No need to think—it was definitely that ship.
The fleeing vessel entered a jump point and vanished.
The white ship disappeared as well.
"Crunch…"
Karl kept eating.
It was interesting enough.
Watching the universe like this beat sleeping.
"Can you eat quietly?! Do you even know people are trying to sleep?!"
Diwu's angry voice came from inside.
Karl paused mid-bite.
Then muttered toward the room below:
"If I stop eating, fine—but don't tell me to go back to bed too."
"Why don't you go to a hotel? Or Peachtree City? Anywhere! Do you have to stay here and argue with me?!"
Diwu gritted her teeth.
"Crunch…"
Karl took another bite lazily.
"I'm watching the stars. Go to sleep."
Silence followed.
Neither of them spoke again.
Diwu probably couldn't be bothered anymore.
Karl kept watching.
His vision extended farther and farther.
Then—
He saw something.
A gigantic head.
Inside the skull were countless structures—tiny compared to it, like strands of hair.
Karl thought to himself—
Maybe staying on the rooftop wasn't so bad.
He could watch the universe, see countless things.
Better than sleeping.
Better than being dragged into Diwu's endless demands—storytelling, dancing…
Just thinking about it made him uneasy.
"Creak—"
The door opened.
Diwu stepped out and looked up at him.
"Come inside and sleep."
Karl blinked in surprise. "Didn't you say I couldn't sleep with you tonight?"
Diwu clenched her teeth, forcing herself to stay calm.
"With you crunching up there, how am I supposed to rest?!"
Karl said innocently, "You could eat too."
"Bang!"
She slammed the door shut.
Karl jumped down from the roof, opened the door, and walked back in.
Diwu sat at the edge of the bed, staring at him expressionlessly.
"Go shower," she said angrily.
Karl nodded obediently, stripped down to his pants, grabbed fresh clothes, and went into the bathroom.
Diwu lay on her side, looking exhausted.
She loved him.
And hated him.
She couldn't fully process her jealousy.
Even though she felt suffocated inside, she still couldn't let him spend the whole night on the roof.
If he had gone to a hotel or the Avengers base, she wouldn't have cared.
But he stayed—pretending to be pitiful, eating snacks loudly just to get her attention.
Karl finished his shower in less than five minutes.
He came out, lay on the bed, and instinctively pulled Diwu into his arms.
She pushed him away.
"Don't touch me. Just sleep."
"Then I might as well go back to the roof," Karl said, reaching for her again.
She pushed him again, annoyed.
"You're really going to lie on the roof all night? What would people think of me? It's not like you have nowhere to go—you could just get a hotel!"
Karl stopped and stared at the ceiling.
"All my money is with you. How am I supposed to get a hotel?"
Diwu pulled the blanket over herself and said nothing.
Silence filled the room.
"…I haven't even finished my chips yet," Karl muttered.
That broke it.
Diwu suddenly sat up, climbed onto him, and punched his chest.
"Can you stay quiet for once?!"
"Can't you think about how I feel?!"
"You're still thinking about chips—chips—"
"And you're trying to steal my snacks—"
…
Karl lay there, pretending to be dead, letting her vent.
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