It was not just messages—every aspect of her life was the same. Before she left the abnormal gravitational environment, every month Leslie experienced would cost far more time in the outside world.
If Rocky was living atop the anchor point of [the present], then comparatively speaking, Leslie...
She was already living in the future!
As they listened to Bernard's explanation, the viewers gradually came to understand this cruel reality.
"Huh? So even if Rocky spent ten, twenty, or even more years looking for Leslie, when he found her, only two or three days might have passed for her?"
"Holy crap, that's insane! How could something this absurd exist?!"
"What are they supposed to do? Why make two people in love go through something like this? It's too cruel!"
"Waaah, dev team, I hate you!"
"I think it's not that bad, though? As long as Rocky goes to the region where the Stellar Quake happened, or Leslie comes out of that starfield, won't they be reunited?"
"After the Stellar Quake, the starfield coordinates have been thrown into chaos. In the vast universe, trying to locate a starfield again is harder than climbing to heaven!"
"Exactly, and Rocky is just a Short-Lived Species! Even if he devoted his entire life to it, he probably wouldn't find it!"
"There's no problem with Leslie coming out, but if it takes her a few days to leave the starfield, decades will probably have passed outside!"
"If Leslie comes out and finds Rocky still waiting for her with a head full of white hair..."
"If Leslie knew that would happen, she probably wouldn't want Rocky to wait for her either!"
"It hurts. It hurts so much!"
"It feels like knives are stabbing my eyes!"
"Why are you doing this to me in the middle of the night? (crying)"
Watching two people in love be separated by time, Lao Mu felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. He had only wanted to pick up a side quest for some experience—who knew this side quest would hit so hard?!
After Bernard revealed everything in the story, he continued speaking.
Bernard: [...I was once a young man too. I think that compared to being rejected, being unable to be with someone whose feelings are mutual is far crueler.]
[Perhaps when he becomes old and frail, an old man like me, Leslie will finally return.]
[But so little time will have passed for her. Perhaps she will still be the same age she is now.]
[At that point, how can they be together?]
[Space can be crossed, but time is beyond reach!]
[Now that you have lifted this veil, you should make the decision.]
I'm Going to Chase Time!
Bernard slowly laid out the whole story, and now, he chose to let the viewers make the decision.
Bernard held two Signal Translation Records copied from the relay, one red and one blue.
The red record contained Leslie's true reply, but it also included the truth about the Stellar Quake!
Once Rocky learned the truth, even Bernard did not know what impulsive thing he might do, given his personality.
The blue record was forged by Bernard. In it, Leslie would reject Rocky's confession, so Rocky would no longer have to wait for her.
And now, between the Red Truth and the Blue Lie, which record should be given to Rocky? The choice had been handed to the viewers.
Bernard: [Take them. Think carefully. Rocky is still waiting for your news.]
"Damn, how am I supposed to choose?! I don't want to give Rocky either one!"
Watching the gut-wrenching development of the story, Lao Mu could not bear to tell Rocky the cruel truth, nor was he willing to deceive him. So he simply looked at the Barrage.
"The red one! It has to be red! Leslie accepted him!"
"Is that really okay? These two aren't even from the same time anymore. They should give up sooner rather than later—the blue one is better!"
"Why not put them in a box and let Rocky draw lots? Let fate decide. That would definitely be fun!"
"What the hell do you mean, draw lots? You drama addicts can go die!"
"This is way too agonizing. Has any well-endowed brother picked one before? Tell us what ending you got!"
"Pick red, then Rocky will shout and ascend into the Pure Love Star God!"
"That's freaking ridiculous!"
"This is such garbage!"
"Definitely blue. I've already thought up the later plot: Rocky gets married and becomes a father, then Leslie unexpectedly returns! Seeing the lover who confessed to her just days ago become someone else's husband and father... just imagining it gets me so hyped!"
"Holy crap, that's way too melodramatic. Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt!"
"That stench is overwhelming. What kind of warped 8 p.m. soap opera is this?!"
"Red Truth is better. I feel like Rocky would become a Self-Annihilator while waiting with a sliver of hope, sustained only by his belief that Leslie would return. Then when the still-young Leslie finally comes back, she sees seventy- or eighty-year-old Rocky fulfill his wish and end himself!"
"Holy crap, what kind of sick taste is that? My stomach already hurts!"
"Stop it! You're not allowed to say any more! (crying)"
"You demons! Are you even human?!"
"Compared to those endings, I'd rather believe in the one where he ascends into the Pure Love Star God!"
"Dev team, you have no heart!"
"It's fine, I guess. This story is pretty average. (puts on sunglasses)"
"Hand over those sunglasses!"
Seeing that the Barrage had become a complete mess as well, Lao Mu could only make the choice himself.
Looking at the two options before him, Lao Mu recalled what Bernard had said earlier.
Compared to being rejected, being unable to be with someone whose feelings were mutual was far crueler.
Though he was reluctant to face that reality, compared to life itself, love was merely a seasoning.
Just as Lao Mu's choice began leaning toward the Blue Lie, the scene from before—when he had chosen whether to board the train or remain at the Space Station—appeared in his mind.
He had been swept along by the Barrage into choosing to stay at the Space Station, and he still remembered the regret he felt when he watched the Star Rail Express depart.
Yet now, he was thinking of making someone else choose according to his own wishes!
"His fate should be decided by himself. I've made up my mind—I choose the Red Truth!"
Lao Mu went to find Rocky with his decision. The instant he chose the Red Truth, every viewer's heart rose into their throat!
What would Rocky do after learning the truth?
The screen flickered, and Rocky carefully read through the record. Its contents left him deeply shaken.
Rocky: [How could this be... Leslie accepted my confession, but the part about the Stellar Quake... I-I can't process it all at once...]
Only after quite a while did Rocky recover from his shock and carefully analyze the current situation.
Rocky: [It seems... because of the Stellar Quake's gravitational effects, every month that passes for her means decades pass for me. Doesn't that mean that when she comes back, I'll be as old as Master?]
Still unable to believe it, he turned to Himeko for confirmation and received a definite answer.
Rocky: [She went to the future. And I remained in the present... is that right? Then all the long time I spend missing her would be nothing more than an insignificant instant to her? I never thought even time could be unfair to people.]
Some viewers' eyes were already wet when they saw this. Yes—who could have imagined that even time could be unfair to people?
Rocky in the story seemed to have accepted it, and his tone became much lighter.
Rocky: [So hoping for her to come back is unrealistic. Even if she travels for months and crosses light-years, I'll already be a decrepit old man in my own time coordinate.]
[Spend a lifetime waiting for someone, enduring endless longing and loneliness... honestly, buddy, you don't really think I'm that naïve, do you?]
Seeing this, Lao Mu and the viewers felt terrible.
"Looks like Rocky is going to give up?"
"That's normal, isn't it? Who could endure a wait that might have no result for decades?"
"Waaah, I'll never believe in love again!"
"Crying? That counts as time too!"
"It's all the world's fault!"
"The world: What did I do wrong this time?"
Yet just as everyone thought this relationship, which had never even begun, was about to end, Rocky's words grew firm.
Rocky: [Haha! Of course I won't wait for her! I won't wait!]
[I won't wait...]
[But I'll go after her. I'm going to chase time!]
[Since the curve of her space-time has become a vast canyon, instead of hoping she comes out, why don't I go cross that canyon myself?]
[Maybe it will take me ten years to find her after she has only lived through one month, but from then on, our time flows can be synchronized. That's better than sitting here and waiting to die!]
No one had expected Rocky to choose to chase time!
"Holy crap, that's awesome!"
"That's so cool! I'm going to chase time!"
"What a blinding light! The Path of Pure Love has opened—welcome the Pure Love Star God Rocky!"
"This is love!"
"Waaah, this story is making me cry so hard! The dev team really knows what they're doing!"
"I wonder whether there are any real-life Rockys and Leslies. I really want to know what happened to them afterward!"
"May all lovers in the world be united!"
"Please, those two have to end up together! I still need to be their bridesmaid!"
"You have to be happy!.jpg"
In the following story, Rocky resolved to leave Herta Space Station and head into the universe, leaving behind one final poem.
[Darkness lined up in the distance.]
[Dissecting time in an almost cruel manner.]
[The petals asking after love had fallen, like the ticking of a clock in infinite space-time.]
[We had no choice but to slide into the universe's ominous tremor, like sliding down the slope of a twilight.]
[And so, the stars still enjoyed their music overhead, their elegant weary faces waiting along the way.]
To: Dim Star — End
None of the viewers had expected Rocky's choice to be this, and all of them prayed for and blessed the lovers in their hearts.
One blogger had also witnessed this scene. Their online ID was A Leng QAQ, and they usually liked making fan-made videos about game stories. However, since most people were not very interested in game plots, their videos did not get many views.
They had only come to casually check out the stream, yet they had unexpectedly found such a romantic game side quest!
Thinking back to the words, "I'm going to chase time," A Leng lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The emotional turbulence after finishing the story continued to surge through him.
An idea emerged in A Leng's heart.
I'm going to write a song for this story!
I'm going to let more people see this romantic side quest!
Incentive Program
By the time the To the Dim Star side quest ended, it was already past three in the morning. Lao Mu said goodbye to the viewers and prepared to end the stream.
"See you tomorrow, streamer!"
"Bye-bye, streamer!"
"Bye-bye, my ass!"
After ending the stream, Lao Mu checked his earnings for the day. Around ten million popularity had brought him nearly 500,000 Credits in revenue!
Under normal circumstances, he probably would not have earned that much even from streaming for a month. It was all thanks to riding the launch traffic of Honkai: Star Rail!
Before you continue