Upon seeing that crimson glow, Evenheiler was momentarily startled.
He quickly relaxed, however—he recognized that aura. Not only did he know it, but Raytin did as well.
Within the red light, a white jade statue of an angel quietly manifested. Its hands covered its face, and crimson blood-light flowed from the cracks upon it, as if it were engaged in an eternal, sorrowful weeping.
“...‘The Lover’?” Evenheiler’s voice was as soft as a whisper. “Does this mean we’ve returned to the Human Union?”
As always, ‘The Lover’ did not speak directly, but Evenheiler’s mental perception received a chaotic jumble of emotions. Even though the entity had no intention of harming him, it felt as if his head were exploding. He struggled to decipher the meaning within that flood of information: “You mean...”
He froze for a moment, finding it somewhat unbelievable. “...‘Welcome back’?”
‘Spacetime chaos’... did ‘The Lover’ know this would happen? Had the entity seen them even earlier than this?
Evenheiler wanted to ask, but after a few attempts at communication, he quickly gave up. Most of the time, ‘The Lover’ existed in a state of extreme chaos. In such a state, the entity followed its own internal logic, and its actions were entirely inscrutable to ordinary people.
Indeed, that was especially true now. Aside from that first sentiment, this being was utterly incapable of establishing normal communication with Evenheiler.
But before he could mull over a possible theory, Raytin, leaning in his arms, let out a soft sigh.
“‘Lover of the World’...” he called the name, his voice low. “Tell me, when did your influence on him first appear?”
*Him?*
In an instant, Evenheiler realized. “You mean... me?”
Raytin did not answer. Endless exhaustion left his soul with little desire for further conversation.
A moment later, ‘The Lover’s’ response nearly made Evenheiler jump to his feet.
“...What did you say?” he asked in horror. “In the ‘B.C.’ era?!”
Simultaneously, another wave of repulsive force struck.
Before being thrown back into the turbulence, Evenheiler wanted to ask more, but before he could make a sound, he found the surrounding scenery twisting and blurring. At the very end, ‘The Lover’ sent a strand of red energy toward them; it landed on their forms and quietly dissipated.
Snow swirled, crystals cracked, and the storm of spacetime shredded everything.
Chaos descended once more, but this time, Evenheiler discovered that a stream of red light was shielding them from all external impacts.
“This is...” he murmured.
He could sense that this energy, which originally belonged to ‘The Lover,’ spanned across time and space, linking back to the entity from afar. It was paying the price of their stable existence on their behalf.
A short while later, the energy flickered slightly, seemingly switching its target link. Yet, the aura and energy signature on the other end remained unchanged.
“...It connected to an ‘even earlier Lover’?” Evenheiler muttered to himself.
Then, he recalled the entity’s answer to Raytin’s question: *B.C.*
Could it be that, as they traversed through spacetime, they would eventually go back to an era as ancient as the years before the Common Era? Furthermore, looking back, there truly was a period when his mental state had been very wrong... Could it be that the interference he suffered then didn't just stem from the fracturing of his psionic mind?
Evenheiler frowned. He desperately wanted the answer, but after patting Raytin’s back, he abandoned the idea of asking now.
“...Raytin,” he said softly. “Rest for a while.”
Raytin did not move. He had originally prepared himself to be questioned—and rightfully so. But now, he only felt a not-quite-warm embrace enveloping him. In the few moments of tenderness they had shared in the past, their positions had always been reversed...
He remained silent for a moment, closed his eyes, and sealed off his perceptions. Amidst the dual storms of spacetime and spirit, he fell into a deep sleep.
***
When the next impact of spacetime rejection occurred, Raytin woke from his light, fatigue-relieving rest.
This time, the influence of the spacetime turbulence on the environment seemed less severe. They landed in a desolate stretch of starry sky where not even an asteroid belt existed. In the distance, the stars twinkled like countless eyes watching these travelers through time. Soon after, a strange sensation welled up in Evenheiler’s heart.
Within the depths of his spirit, a crimson light flared, and ‘The Lover’ appeared once more. He knew that this ‘Lover’ belonged to a time even earlier than the one they had just encountered.
Time...
Evenheiler blurted out, “What time is it now?”
The moment the question left his mouth, he realized his mistake. A Transcendent Entity’s perception of time was fundamentally different from that of a normal biological being, and ‘The Lover’ was the most chaotic among them. Asking the entity this was less effective than trying to contact ‘The Chronicler,’ who surely existed at this point in time, or trying his luck to see if ‘The Gazer’ was awake.
‘The Gazer’...
Evenheiler sighed at the thought of that name. That Transcendent Entity’s entire life cycle existed only to fulfill the wishes of others. It had never truly ‘lived,’ let alone possessed its own goals.
But something surprising happened. Shortly after receiving Evenheiler’s question, ‘The Lover’ actually sent back a clear answer: 【4000 A.D.】.
Evenheiler was stunned. 4000 A.D.... wasn't that the year Raytin’s group graduated? Was there any event in this year capable of triggering spacetime fluctuations? Moreover... there didn't seem to be any large-scale spacetime disturbances near their current coordinates.
No...
Watching the light that suddenly flared in the distance, Evenheiler overturned his previous thought. He saw a massive stargate structure rising in the darkness, its lights unfolding as it activated.
“The opening of a new military stargate. I’ve seen it in the records,” Raytin said softly, still leaning in his arms. Even in the face of a Transcendent Entity’s observation, this man had absolutely no intention of getting up.
After that, another jump occurred. This time, the storm’s external impact was even smaller, though still enough to destroy a planet.
They landed near a battlefield. The moment they arrived, Raytin suddenly looked up.
“Don’t mind it,” he said briefly. “This is 3996. Ahead is... the battlefield where ‘The Principal’ was pursuing enemies.”
“The Principal...” Evenheiler murmured, asking in return, “The ones she was pursuing... were they the people who attacked you back then?”
“Yes.” Raytin’s response was as low as a sigh. “Here... perhaps the jumps were occurring too densely.”
That was likely why subtle spacetime fluctuations were triggered, causing them to stop here temporarily.
Under Raytin’s restraint, Evenheiler did not reach across the void to slap the fleeing starship into dust. He merely stared at it for a moment and said, “Illegal modifications... it seems this was the one...”
A blinding light flashed, and the ship vanished from the spot. The repulsive force returned.
“...that triggered the spacetime chaos,” Evenheiler finished his sentence. “And the fluctuations caused by our appearance made it easier for it to escape ‘The Principal’s’ pursuit.”
Raytin let out a short laugh, even though this concerned his own teenage self. Evenheiler laughed too. He could hear that the former’s laughter lacked much genuine mirth, but it was still a bit of progress.
Thereafter, jump after jump occurred. Each jump lasted longer, while the impact gradually weakened.
“We are moving away from the point of greatest fluctuation...” Evenheiler said. “...Wait, where is this?”
He turned his head in confusion, finding himself in the sky above a city on a planet. The force that brought them there had caused an explosion at a factory; a hospital not far away was brightly lit. This was clearly a marginalized star sector. Everything was unfamiliar to him, yet as he looked closely at the distant landmarks, he felt a subtle sense of familiarity.
The thinking capacity of an ‘S-class’ whirred in his mind.
Soon, Evenheiler remembered something. “...This was in my travel plans back then. I...” he murmured. “This is...”
“...The third planet of the New Solar System,” Raytin said suddenly.
He stood up from Evenheiler’s side. Two illusory souls looked down from the sky.
“This is likely... 3979 A.D.,” he said. “But I don’t know what major event happened this year.”
3979 A.D....
Evenheiler rapidly scanned his memory for possible events and finally said with absolute certainty, “There was one.”
“What?”
“You were born,” Evenheiler said. “Perhaps... in that hospital down there.”
Raytin froze. He seemed unable to grasp the logic, but he quickly said, “You mean, every person’s birth is a major event to themselves... and the inevitable path of spacetime travel is to return to one’s origin?”
“............”
Evenheiler simulated a deep breath. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “I mean, you are important. To the Human Union, to this world, and...” *...and to me,* he thought unseasonably.
“And my power already existed; its birth would naturally trigger a resonance on some level,” Raytin nodded slightly.
Evenheiler temporarily gave up on trying to make this man reclaim his sense of sentimentality, reflection, or romance. He felt that if he said a few more words on this topic, he would surely choke on his own frustration.
“Do you want to go see?” he asked.
Raytin had been staring at the hospital, his gaze wandering over every lit window. Hearing this, he asked back, “See what?”
“Your parents,” Evenheiler said. “You actually really want to see them, don't you?”
“...No.” Raytin shook his head. He rejected the proposal and withdrew his ‘gaze’ from those lights.
“Why?” Evenheiler asked. “If nothing else, you can perform a more detailed mental scan now, can’t you? You can let your power enter those windows... you can see them.”
“No,” Raytin’s answer was hard and cold.
“Why?”
“No reason,” he said. “There is no information worth noting here. We should go further away and wait for the next jump.”
He lowered his eyes and turned around, his posture so upright it seemed as if he had fully recovered. Yet, Evenheiler’s mental perception still received no feedback from him.
This caused a sudden surge of irritation to rise in the latter’s heart.
The factory fires leaped. He knew Raytin’s power had already subtly permeated the disaster site, and some people had survived because of it—perhaps this was part of destiny. In the distant sky, the stars twinkled, witnessing it all. On the earth below, some died and some were born; dying from a senseless disaster, born from love.
“Stop!” Evenheiler roared.
In a flash, he blocked Raytin’s path, grabbing the armor at his neck and forcefully pulling him close. Enduring the pain in his mind, he stared into those eyes radiating golden light.
The blonde man surrounded by silver starlight and the black-haired man shrouded in golden flames stood close under the night wind and the starry sky.
Then, Raytin was the first to turn his face away.
Again. And without a word of explanation.
Then, a familiar visor manifested on his face. It symbolically blocked Raytin’s vision, but it also ensured Evenheiler would no longer be harmed by those eyes.
His power was simply too great. If he had a body, he might have been able to briefly and forcibly suppress the energy reaction to return his eyes to a normal state. But now, they were both mental bodies—spirits whose outward appearance was absolutely honest.
So he could only do this: remain silent, turn his head, and pretend none of this had happened—that he was just normally wearing a pair of glasses, as if the thing wasn't meant to restrain himself, but was just for playing games on the Star Net.
“...” Evenheiler felt from the bottom of his heart that if he had a body, his blood pressure would likely be off the charts right now.
He suppressed the turbulence in his heart. The place where his fingers touched Raytin’s neck armor sparked with blinding light from their clashing energies.
“You’re afraid.” Evenheiler appeared calm as he coldly pointed out Raytin’s problem. “Don’t try to run, you brat. Even if I’m not as strong as you, my life experience can still run circles around you!
“You’re just afraid—you’re afraid you’ll hurt them, and you’re afraid your parents will know what kind of person you are now. You think your current self doesn't live up to their expectations!
“Even if you only saw them for the first five years of your life, you’ve stupidly presupposed this possibility. Your self-reproach for your past actions is affecting every choice you make now. You’re fucking running away, even though those...”
“...Stop,” Raytin said.
Evenheiler suddenly ceased his words. He realized that Raytin’s mental seal was loosening. He sensed a tremor, as faint as a cold wind blowing through willow leaves.
But he knew that behind it lay a devastating catastrophe.
The heavens collapsing, the sun falling, the stars sinking... over those years, every person who had died because of Raytin’s decisions—whether soldiers in war or the people he had personally executed along with their planets—the pain and despair they suffered were all etched into the ‘Double S’s’ heart.
He couldn't possibly not remember. Just as he couldn't possibly forget. The world’s sharpest perception and best memory—these were his innate abilities, and also his birthright punishment.
“...I am no saint, Even. I have caused too much harm to innocent people.” Raytin spoke softly, his voice trembling.
“Do you know? Those planets... they didn't just contain contaminated natives. Do you know? There was more than one ‘clean’ person—travelers from outside, merchants doing business, people meeting friends from the Star Net... they shouldn't have died.
“But I didn't have time to distinguish carefully, nor did I dare to, because if I missed even one, in a few hundred years, it would be another entire planet of victims... But does such a reason hold any weight? No!”
“I killed them!” he repeated, his emotions growing uncharacteristically violent. “I killed them... I have the blood of innocents on my hands! Evenheiler Kang, I killed them! I am a goddamned sinner!”
Raytin roared, the golden light on his body flickering erratically. Waves of frantic emotion appeared and disappeared within Evenheiler’s perception. He grabbed Evenheiler and threw him away from his front.
Evenheiler felt no aggression. He landed gracefully in the sky, instinctively wanting to return, but he was rejected and remained where he was.
Soon, Raytin gradually regained control of himself.
“...Sorry. I lost control.” He spoke in a low voice. Even wearing the visor, he still kept his head turned away.
“The Human Union gives me authority, and my power gives me ability, but nothing stipulates that I can sacrifice innocent lives in any choice.” He whispered.
“What does it matter how much logic I use? I killed them... those people, they had their own lives, their own pasts and futures. But now, their futures don't exist because of my choice. How can I have the face to confront my past? When my parents brought me into this world, did they expect their child to become a conceited murderer?!
“It’s only natural they would hate me. I deserve this! I should suffer this guilt. If they wanted to torture me, I should endure it. If they wanted to pronounce an execution, I should die!
“Am I really any more noble than they were? I killed them for my goals, so an eye for an eye is only right. As long as we can return to the time we came from, I will surrender to the Federation after all work and resources have been handed over. I will let the laws of the Federation, the relatives of the victims, and those spirits themselves judge me... and you, you don't need to do anything more...”
He said softly, “...I swear on my name, I will never again pose a threat to any innocent person, including you and your comrades.”
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 爱人 | The Lover | A Transcendent Entity appearing as a weeping angel statue. |
| 爱世人 | Lover of the World | An alternative name/title for 'The Lover'. |
| 记录者 | The Chronicler | A Transcendent Entity mentioned as a source of information. |
| 凝望者 | The Gazer | A Transcendent Entity who exists to fulfill others' wishes. |
| 校长 | The Principal | A high-ranking figure (likely S-class) from Raytin's past. |
| 新太阳系第三行星 | New Solar System, Third Planet | Earth, in the context of this future setting. |
| 公元 | A.D. / C.E. | Common Era years. |
| 公元前 | B.C. / B.C.E. | Before Common Era. |
