The Meaning of Colors

(Cough, cough. Disclaimer in advance... this is a filler chapter.)

At Belobog Heavy Industries' construction site, the daily routine of the concrete crew remained the same as ever.

The roar of all kinds of construction machinery intertwined into an ear-splitting symphony. Since taking over Vision Corporation's subway reconstruction project, Belobog Heavy Industries had never had a moment of rest.

The blazing sun hung overhead, scorching every inch of land.

Bear Thiren workers labored beneath the harsh sunlight, their undershirts soaked through with sweat that ran down their furry arms.

Some carried steel bars at a brisk pace, some crouched beside the roadbed measuring data, while others operated excavators from the control cabins, their broad bear paws deftly pushing and pulling the control levers.

The thunder of machinery, the clashing of metal, and the workers' shouts blended into a steaming cacophony.

In a corner of the construction site, at the rest area, Griseo was still sitting before her easel, intently sketching something.

However, after Grace had frightened her last time, the one accompanying her this time was not Aria, but Belle.

Belle had come here for business as well.

Because Nicole had passed along the commission, Belobog Heavy Industries needed to deal with some unresolved matters from the bombing case after taking over Vision Corporation's mess.

As for why Nicole had not come herself and had instead pushed it onto Belle—one of the strongest Proxies, Phaethon—

It was naturally because she had already taken on several hundred lawsuit commissions and could not handle them all.

Belle had wanted to argue at the time, but for the sake of the commission fee, she came anyway. The contact person simply had not arrived yet.

So Belle sat beside Griseo, resting her chin on her hand and watching her paint to pass the time.

"Griseo." Belle's gaze fell on the spinning paintbrush. "Do those special paints still have those properties outside the Hollows?"

"Mhm, Sister Belle." Griseo did not look up, her brush lightly tracing across the canvas. "It used to be difficult, but now I can do it."

Although she had expended a great deal in the battle against the Dead End Butcher, she had recovered after resting and was even a little stronger than before.

Several clusters of ink appeared out of thin air, floating quietly between them. Each one carried a different sheen.

Grace said, "Every one of these paints has its own story."

Belle stared at the floating ink and could not help raising a hand, lightly touching the red cluster with her fingertip.

The instant the droplet burst, Belle felt herself being dragged into a place she had never seen before.

Scorching flames swallowed everything. Even breathing brought a searing pain.

At the heart of the inferno stood a woman. Her fiery red hair surged in the heat waves, and she gripped a greatsword with both hands. Its blade was covered in cracks, as if it could shatter at any moment.

She raised the greatsword and drove it into the ground, deliberately missing the vital spot of the white-haired girl beneath her. The blade sank into the shattered stone slabs, and the cracks spread completely at that very moment.

The white-haired girl's pupils reflected the blazing sky and the person standing before her.

The woman looked down at the student she was shielding beneath her. Her face held relief and pride as she spoke softly, "Live on, Kiana. This is the final lesson."

The image froze, and Belle's thoughts returned. She stared blankly at the sky, her fingertips ice-cold and burning hot at the same time.

What? What was that just now? Why were her fingertips both cold and hot?

A teacher and her student?

Her teacher, Carole...

Griseo looked at Belle curiously, then pointed at the other paints. "Sister Belle, do you want to see these too?"

"Uh, yes! Why wouldn't I?"

Belle raised her hand and curiously tapped the blue paint. She refused to believe...

The blue ink burst as well, and the emotions and images contained within it flooded into her mind.

Belle saw a single person amid the ruins.

Pink hair spilled over her shoulders, and blue armor covered her entire body. A pair of drooping ears hung from her head—Belle could not tell whether they belonged to a fox or a rabbit.

She held a long blue blade and leaned against a half-collapsed wall, her breath weak and her pupils unfocused.

Then her lips moved slightly. Her voice was soft, like a final murmur before death.

"I protected... my sister's pride."

After speaking those final words, she seemed to shed all her burdens and closed her eyes... The image froze.

Belle's chest felt unbearably tight, as though someone had gripped her heart.

Then who was that...? Fox ears, a long blue blade... Why did she look like that young Void Hunter, Hoshimi Miyabi?

Was she one of her elders? Someone Griseo had known during the Old Capital era?

That was not right! Wasn't Griseo the product of human experimentation? Why would she know people of that caliber?

Belle opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back down. Then, deciding that a short pain was better than a long one, she simply burst all the ink paints in succession.

Belle saw...

Within the green paint was a laboratory. The lighting was dim, with only the holographic projection above the operating table giving off a faint glow.

A woman stood within the projection—she was the holographic projection itself. A snake-like tail swayed lightly behind her, and long green hair draped over her shoulders.

The woman bent down and gently embraced her assistant. Lowering her head, she said, "The future is the final Infinity I have created for you. Goodbye, my—Understander."

Within the orange paint was a barren desert beneath a sky full of stars.

The wind swept across the dunes, carrying fine grains of sand that gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

A woman stood atop a dune, her wine-red hair flying in the wind. She held up a golden wine cup, and within it shone the splendor of an entire civilization.

Singing as she went, she walked into the distance and set out on the final stretch of her journey.

Her song drifted through the empty desert, its melody lingering in the air. It sounded like a farewell to this starry sky and to the world she had once loved so dearly.

"I am a remnant of the old world. The new era has no ship meant for me."

"May civilization be passed down like a flame. May the future shine like gold."

She raised her wine cup toward the stars. It tipped slightly beneath the starlight, and several drops of amber liquid spilled out, seeping into the sand.

Within the brown paint were ruins and smoke, with purple energy churning on the horizon. Its scale made the fall of the Old Capital look utterly insignificant.

A Cat Thiren resembling Nekomata stood at the center of the image.

She had brown fur, heterochromatic eyes, and a hood tilted crookedly on her head. She held a coin between her fingers, endlessly tossing it, catching it, tossing it, catching it.

Her lips trembled slightly. Her voice carried tears, fear, and a kind of forced bravado.

"I'm the best at running away! How could I possibly die here?"

The coin fell back into her palm, and she did not toss it again. Then she charged forward, rushing toward the door standing at the center of the disaster as ominous patterns spread across her body.

"I'm terrified of dying! Shouldn't hero stuff be left to heroes—!!!"

Belle watched that figure vanish into the purple light. At the last moment, the coin was thrown into the sky and fell into the dust.

Within the very last pink paint, Belle saw the scene that shook her the most.

Crystal flowers filled the sky, dancing in the wind and refracting a light beneath the stars that did not belong to this world.

A flawless girl stood at the center of the sea of flowers. She was dressed in her finest attire, her skirt swaying gently amid the flower rain, her long hair flowing beneath the starlight like a pink river.

She smiled as though she were embracing this sky of stars, this world, and all the humanity she loved... but she was actually saying goodbye.

When the morning sun slipped onto the windowsill,

When she softly bid her companions farewell before moonlight descended,

When her heart gently connected with all things, that radiant girl lit every miracle within the sea of stars.

"Tragedy is not an ending, but the beginning of hope. You believe that, don't you?"

In the end, that being who resembled Miss Pink Elf turned into flowers filling the sky, weaving a pink Fate for the future.

Piece by piece, it was as though someone had torn apart a letter written beneath the stars for a very long time, scattering every word and every sentence into the future.

Fate was connected by her love, and someone searched for answers in the future.

"Hahaha!! Griseo, those really are such positive, sunny, uplifting stories." Belle laughed until tears fell from her eyes.

So the seniors had been right. Writing too much could cause intermittent burnout, leaving a person with no drive or motivation.

So she would slack off for today.

Sigh, another day immersed in happiness. Such a meaningful day—it ought to be recorded in history.