Chapter 330
After Theresa took over the huge mess of Schicksal, she naturally didn't have the extra energy to manage St. Freya Academy, so the responsibility of the headmistress naturally fell on Murata Himeko.
To my surprise, the first thing my trusted friend did after taking office was to come and ask me for money!
I can understand a new broom sweeping clean, but how come you forgot your roots right from the start?
For a fleeting moment, the phrase "entrusted to the wrong person" flashed through Theresa's mind.
Just then, the office door was pushed open again, and Cecilia walked in with a beaming smile, "Theresa, I've come to see you... Oh dear, it seems I've come at the wrong time?"
"No, you've come at the perfect time!" Theresa's eyes lit up the moment she saw Cecilia. "Quick, Cecilia, come and talk to this guy for me!"
Upon seeing Cecilia's appearance, Murata Himeko couldn't help but restrain herself a bit. On one hand, the relationship between the two wasn't close enough for her to be so unrestrained, and on the other hand, as Kiana's teacher, she still had to maintain a certain level of professional conduct in front of Kiana's parents.
"What's going on?" Hearing Theresa's cry for help, Cecilia also curiously came over. "Let me see... the funding application for the St. Freya Academy?"
"That Theresa, she said she'd support my work, but when it comes to money, she changes her tune," Murata Himeko, seizing the opportunity to shift the blame onto Theresa. "Tell me, how can we get started without money?"
"Indeed, after all, the academy is mostly filled with children," Cecilia nodded in agreement. "Besides, the amount doesn't seem that large."
Upon hearing this, Theresa felt a wave of dizziness – she had almost forgotten that Cecilia knew absolutely nothing about these things!
Looking at the two people who had formed a united front and were preparing to put pressure on her, she rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and then turned to look out the window.
It was nearing night, and the moon could already be faintly seen in the sky, far from the sun.
Kiana, hurry up and come down and take these two guys away!
At the same time, Kiana, inside the lunar base, suddenly shuddered, then abruptly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion on her face. "Why do I think I heard my period?"
"The Archbishop is probably still working right now, he probably doesn't have the energy to keep talking about you." Raiden Yae Sakura sat down beside her. "But shouldn't you take a break too?"
"Let's wait a bit longer. I want to master this part first." Kiana let out a sigh of relief, then closed her eyes. "The sooner I master it, the sooner I can see my teacher."
After the Stigmata Project ended, Kiana, who should have been able to relax, instead became even more diligent, to the point that she worked so hard that others were somewhat ashamed of themselves.
Looking at her diligent appearance now, it's hard to connect her with the Kiana who would fall asleep as soon as she opened a book and who would think about how to sneak out to play every day.
All of this was for the purpose of seeing Mr. Ai Yue again.
Raiden Yae Sakura stared at Kiana, lost in thought for a moment.
She recalled that a few days earlier, after dealing with Otto, the three of them met Elysia together in the Cocoon of Finality.
There, Kiana completed the transfer of the Finality power, and there, they bid their final farewell to the heroes of the Pre-Civilization.
Elysia, Hua, Pardofelis, and Ai Yue who did not appear), along with many others, returned to their own world after completing their mission here.
Even though they knew that the exchanges between the two sides would not actually be severed, and even though they knew that this farewell was only a temporary separation, Kiana and the others still felt very reluctant to part.
Kiana, in particular, immediately became aware of many details she had not noticed before after regaining control of the Finality's power, and also vaguely guessed why Ai Yue had not appeared here.
"Don't worry, since you've succeeded, Ai Yue must have succeeded too." Seemingly noticing Kiana's anxiety, Elysia reassured her, "Perhaps he can't show himself right now for some reason, but there will definitely be other opportunities in the future."
Looking back now, it was probably that sentence that changed Kiana.
Perhaps in her view, once she has fully mastered the power of the Cocoon of Finality, Mr. Ai Yue will reappear.
As Raiden Yae Sakura pondered, Kiana finally opened her eyes again. This time, she had emerged from that strange state, clearly having ended her "training."
"How are you feeling?" Raiden Yae Sakura, asked with concern. "You've been working so hard lately, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"
"Don't worry, Yae Sakura, I feel great," Kiana said with a smile, reassuring Raiden Yae Sakura in return. "The knowledge that Teacher Ai Yue taught me is very useful. I feel that it won't be long before I'm able to master the Cocoon of Finality!"
"That's good." Hearing this, Raiden Yae Sakura couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "So, shall we go back now?"
The Earth is not currently ravaged by the "Stigmata Project," and Elysia's control over the Cocoon of Finality prevents it from posing a threat to Earth. Therefore, Kiana no longer needs to stay on the Moon for extended periods as in the original timeline. She can even use the powers of the Herrscher of Void to travel freely between the Earth and the Moon, just like going to work.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that it would be easier to "make contact" with the Cocoon of Finality on the moon, Kiana wouldn't need to stay here at all.
However, upon hearing Raiden Yae Sakura's question, Kiana shook her head. "I want to stay a little longer."
She walked to the window and looked out at the view outside the lunar base. What came into view was the huge stone statue that Ai Yue had left on the moon.
Kiana had a feeling that if she couldn't stay here, she might miss Ai Yue's return.
Just then, she suddenly paused.
Just now, did a flash of light appear on the surface of the stone statue?
Chapter 42 At this moment, time has closed its loop.
In fact, even now, Kiana still feels a bit unreal.
This long yet short journey of salvation was all part of Ai Yue's plan from beginning to end. He calculated every step meticulously, so much so that even the most dangerous situations could be described as "walking on flat ground" when actually encountered, without the slightest sense of tension.
Rather than saying Kiana participated in this massive plan to save the world, it would be more accurate to say that she merely played the role of the protagonist in a movie called "The Journey to Salvation." The people who truly sacrificed for this civilization were not her, but the busy behind-the-scenes staff who followed behind the scenes.
For example, heroes from another civilization, or, for example, Ai Yue.
Kiana had thought that when everything was over, she would find a way to let the whole world know who had saved this civilization, but she never expected that after everything returned to normal, those true heroes had already quietly left.
Only this giant stone statue left on the moon can be considered evidence that they once came here.
Upon noticing a flash of light on the statue, Kiana used Flash to leave the lunar base and arrive in front of the statue.
But once she arrived, she discovered that the stone statue seemed no different from usual. Undeterred, the girl reached out and pressed her hand on the statue, but after Ai Yue left, the statue no longer showed any of its usual energy, and this time was no exception.
Kiana!
Raiden Yae Sakura quickly chased after Kiana from the base. Seeing Kiana gazing at the statue, she couldn't help but show a hint of worry. "Are you alright?"
"Yae Sakura..." Kiana turned her head and looked at her with a very frustrated expression. "Am I too weak? Is that why Teacher Ai Yue left so easily?"
Kiana has now basically mastered the powers of the Herrscher of the End, but it is precisely because of this that she is increasingly aware of the gap between herself and Ai Yue.
She had thought that after mastering the power of the Cocoon of Finality, she might have a chance to repay Ai Yue's kindness, but only now did she realize that what she could do, Ai Yue might have already been able to do long ago.
"Don't overthink it, Kiana. Is that really the kind of person you think of Mr. Ai Yue?" Raiden Yae Sakura stepped forward, trying to calm her down. "I think maybe something else happened that caused him to leave without saying goodbye. Perhaps he'll come back in a while."
"Mm." Kiana nodded, then quickly smiled. "Yae Sakura, you go back first. I want to... try a little harder."
"I understand." Raiden Yae Sakura hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Then you'd better come back soon, tonight's dishes are all your favorites."
Kiana's condition was somewhat worrying, but Raiden Yae Sakura understood that at this time, leaving her alone might be the best option.
Perfect timing! Let's take this opportunity to discuss it with Mr. Siegfried and the others. Having family by Kiana's side might make Kiana feel better.
After Raiden Yae Sakura left, Kiana began to study the power she could currently control once again. This time, she did not choose to return to the base, but instead simply studied in front of the stone statue.
Perhaps because the stone statue represents Ai Yue, Kiana felt more at ease here.
However, she soon felt that fleeting light again, and because it was very close this time, Kiana was certain that it was not her imagination.
She even captured the entire process of that light flashing across the stone statue.
That's why Kiana subconsciously reached out, trying to "catch" that light.
The bad news is that she failed; the light disappeared the instant Kiana reached out to touch the statue.
The good news is that Kiana successfully detected a unique energy fluctuation within the statue this time.
Without time to think too much, Kiana immediately locked onto her opponent and then tried to lure them out.
But this action brought about an unexpected consequence.
When Kiana tried to draw the energy fluctuation out of the statue, the energy fluctuation began to expand violently. At first, it was just a faint fluctuation, but soon it transformed into a huge energy reaction as dazzling as the sun.
At the same time, ripples of light appeared on the surface of the stone statue, spreading outwards from the point where Kiana's palm touched it, with increasing frequency and brightness.
The feeling was as if some powerful being was awakening from within the stone statue.
Seeing this, Kiana should have stopped the energy reaction and become alert, since no one could guarantee whether the owner of this energy reaction was friend or foe.
However, instead of doing so, she intensified her efforts because the girl could sense a familiar aura from that energy reaction. Even if the other party was not Ai Yue himself, it must be someone she knew very well.
Sure enough, almost the instant the energy reaction began to expand, a figure gradually reappeared from the spot where Kiana touched the statue.
"Class monitor?" Kiana was taken aback when she saw who it was, then her face lit up with joy. "Great!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, she hugged him tightly.
Before Hua could even regain her footing, she felt a familiar figure rush into her arms. She instinctively caught the person and quickly realized what was happening. "Kiana, were you guiding me just now?"
"It's me, but I didn't expect it to be you," Kiana, now a goddess, quickly calmed down. She took two steps back and scrutinized Hua's appearance. "Class monitor, who is this?"
Kiana has now realized that, based on the current situation, the energy reaction just now was clearly not some being gradually awakening, but rather Hua entering this world in some way.
Without Kiana's timely intervention, Hua's attempt would likely have ended in failure—just like the fleeting light she had seen earlier.
"Well, actually, I've been training." Hua also showed a somewhat subtle expression when Kiana brought up this topic. "Mr. Ai Yue said that I need to master the ability to travel between the two worlds on my own, so that I can shoulder the important responsibility of being an ambassador for exchange. So I have been learning this skill recently."
"I see," Kiana stroked her chin, then realized, "Wait, an exchange ambassador?"
"Yes," Hua nodded, then realized something, "Oh, Mr. Ai Yue probably hasn't told you yet?"
She had barely finished speaking when she saw Kiana's resentful gaze, and then she remembered that Ai Yue hadn't appeared in front of Kiana and the others for a long time before they started the Stigmata Project.
Moreover, it is quite obvious that Ai Yue did not say goodbye to Kiana and the others when he left.
Most importantly, Hua was actually one of the people in the know, but she kept quiet about it from Kiana and the others as Ai Yue had asked her to. Now, seeing the girl's resentful eyes, she was indeed a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, Kiana didn't embarrass Hua too much and quickly shifted the topic to the "exchange ambassador" matter. Only after Hua explained did she understand Ai Yue's intentions.
"Simply put, Mr. Ai Yue intends to establish contact between the two human civilizations," Hua explained. "He is currently researching how to bypass the Imaginary Tree through the Cocoon of Finality and establish a stable and reliable passage between the two worlds, allowing ordinary people to travel between them."
The reason she wanted to master this skill on her own was that she wanted to learn how to travel between the two sides as soon as possible and bring more information to Kiana.
"I see." Hearing that Ai Yue was still concerned about her situation, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly. "How is Teacher Ai Yue now?"
"Uh..." Hua's expression turned subtle. Her eyes darted around, as if she didn't dare to meet Kiana's gaze. "How should I put it?"
The only word Hua could imagine to describe Ai Yue's current life was "decadent".
For most people who know anything about Ai Yue, it's hard to imagine that this word would be associated with him. After all, everyone knows Ai Yue's personality; he perfectly fits the title of savior. How could such a person lead a "decadent" life?
But the truth is, after completing this extremely difficult plan, Ai Yue naturally needed to relax—and incidentally appease Mobius and the others who were feeling resentful because of the long separation.
Although Hua didn't know much about this part, even just a glimpse was enough for her to draw the above conclusions.
Even so, Hua was well aware that after completing such a massive project that far exceeded what could be described as a "miracle," Ai Yue could have asked for more. Under such circumstances, neither civilization could refuse his request.
From this perspective, Ai Yue's current level of "indulgence" is so low that it can even be described as "morally noble."
While Hua and Kiana were talking, Ai Yue also woke up from his "indulgence" that had lasted for who knows how long.
He sat up in bed, looked at the figures lying around him, and couldn't help but show a slightly subtle expression.
Clearly, Ai Yue's lifestyle during this period had become so indulgent that he himself felt somewhat lost.
However, he was, after all, a shameless man who could openly call himself a "savior" in front of everyone. He quickly regained his composure, and after confirming his current plan, Ai Yue quietly removed the limbs draped over him and left the bedroom.
Thanks to the system's efforts, the project to build a stable channel is now beginning to take shape, but before that, he still needs to solve one problem.
That is the time flow error between the two worlds.
If the time flow rates of the two worlds cannot be made to be consistent, then even with a mature solution, the "time misalignment" problem will cause it to explode the moment it is built.
Moreover, the scope of this problem extends beyond this.
Ai Yue quickly arrived at the laboratory and found the current star map of the Solar System.
Thanks to Vill-V's relentless efforts over the years to fill the entire Solar System with her inventions, the star map of the inner Solar System is now incredibly detailed. However, the regions outside the Solar System remain a chaotic mess.
Within this black ring surrounding the Solar System, there is only one tiny "gap," marked with the words "Star-Crosser Trekker's Starting Point."
Yes, not only are the time flows between the two Solar System out of sync, but the time flows between the Solar System and the outer universe are also in a state of disorder.
This temporal misalignment is both a shield and a shackle. It prevents external disasters from invading the Solar System in a conventional way, but it also imprisons the civilizations within the Solar System within this celestial body.
Ai Yue stared into the darkness and finally made up his mind.
It's time to connect with the outside world, isn't it?
With that thought in mind, he no longer hesitated, but disappeared directly from the laboratory and entered the space where the Cocoon of Finality was located.
And there, people had already been waiting for quite some time.
"Oh dear, look who's here!"
Before Ai Yue could even regain his sight, a voice entered his mind. "Little Ai Yi, come quickly, is it Doctor Ai Yue you've been longing for?"
"Elysia, be serious." Ai Yue opened his eyes, looked at the girl in front of him with a mischievous smile, and couldn't help but shake his head. "Don't act like you're holding a grudge. You were the one who refused in the first place, okay?"
"Oh dear, after all, I'm very good at reading the room. In that situation, how could I possibly share your time with Mobius and the others?" Elysia clearly wasn't going to let Ai Yue off so easily, so she winked at him. "But it seems you're a little faster than I expected."
"Uh, well, Ai Yi," Ai Yue abruptly changed the subject, not wanting to continue the conversation, and looked to the other side of the space, "How are things on your end?"
At this moment, Ai Yi looks exactly the same as when Ai Yue left, but Ai Yue can sense that the inner workings of this body have undergone earth-shattering changes.