Time in a collapsing world

The Land of the Past, a region far from the leisure area, is one of the most stable yet most "desolate" corners of the memory data stream.

Two tall, slender figures stood on one of the largest platforms.

Aponia (Memory) closed her eyes, her fingertips lightly touching the edge of a floating fragment, her expression as calm as the deep sea. Sue (Memory) stood beside her, opening her ever-gentle, all-encompassing eyes, now intently staring at an almost imperceptible "fold" in the data stream ahead.

“Found it.” Aponia (the memory) opened her eyes, her calm pupils reflecting the barely perceptible trace of the anomaly. It was like a ripple on a calm lake caused by a flying insect, slowly dissipating.

Su (the memory entity) raised his hand, and a soft light spread from his fingertips, carefully enveloping and analyzing the remaining fluctuation. After a moment, he gently shook his head.

“It’s not a product of the Paradise’s native data architecture. The nature of the trace is peculiar… It’s not proactively aggressive, nor does it attempt to infiltrate the core system; it’s more like it’s ‘observing’ or ‘wandering.’” He paused. “But it is indeed subtly rewriting the surrounding pheromones—not destroying them, but rather ‘translating’ them into a more readable format. It’s as if…”

“It’s as if it’s getting used to being here,” Aponia (the memory) picked up on his words, her tone calm, “so that it can hide better.”

Su (memory) did not deny it.

A moment of silence fell between them. Aponia (the memory entity) closed her eyes again, her consciousness sinking into a deeper level of perception. In her unique "vision," the path of the abnormal trace gradually emerged—its most recent area of ​​activity mainly revolved around…

“The training ground,” she opened her eyes, “and several coordinates around the recreation area.”

Su (Memory Entity) pondered: "They were brought in by those children."

“Most likely.” Aponia (the memory) nodded slightly. “When they entered Paradise, Velvi’s welcoming process did not perform a complete information layer ‘elimination’ on them—given her personality, she probably felt that wasn’t ‘fun’ enough. This loophole was exploited by something.”

"To whom does it attach itself?"

"It's impossible to determine. The traces are too scattered and have been disguised in multiple ways. The only thing we can confirm is that it doesn't exist in a single place, but rather it has differentiated into multiple extremely small nodes, lurking in different locations. What we captured was just the remnant left behind by one of the nodes before it disappeared."

Su (Memory Entity) stared at the wisp of data dust in his palm that had completely vanished, a trace of worry appearing between his brows: "Aponia, can you 'see' its intentions?"

Aponia (the memory) remained silent for a long time.

“All I can see is…” her voice was soft, with a certain caution characteristic of facing the unknown, “It has no malice, nor goodwill. It just ‘wants to stay.’”

This answer is more unsettling than a clear threat.

“I will inform the others.” Su (the memory entity) withdrew her hand. “We need to be more vigilant in monitoring the daily training of those children. Also, regarding Qian Jie—”

“I will speak to him,” Aponia (the memory) said. “Although he has toned it down a lot recently, his tolerance for ‘unknown intruders’ has never been high.”

Su (the memory entity) nodded. The two turned around, preparing to leave this quiet place.

In the void, an extremely faint data ripple, almost imperceptible by any conventional means, silently spread out in half a circle after they left—

Like a smile.

At the same time, in the Paradise of the Past - Thousand Tribulations Exclusive Training Area.

Or, to put it another way, a "daily venting area".

Even across three corridors, one could feel the violent energy fluctuations emanating from that area, almost igniting the air itself. The data construct at the entrance to the training area was visibly trembling, as if even the programmed AI was hesitant to temporarily shut down to avoid danger.

"Are you really going to go find him now?" Kiana glared at Sirin, her face saying, "Are you out of your mind?"

Xilin crossed her arms, raised her chin, and glanced at her disdainfully: "What, scared?"

"I'm afraid that after you get beaten to a pulp, Alicia will drag us all over to give you a pep talk!" Kiana said, hands on her hips. "Last time during training, you were chased three times by a simulated Honkai Beast, and you were stubborn all day afterward. In the end, Mei had to coax you to eat—"

"That was a simulation! The rules limited my performance!" Sirin's face darkened. "Besides, who needs to be coaxed!"

“You need it, Sirin,” Mei added gently but firmly, “You really didn’t eat that time.”

Xilin: "..."

Bronya calmly pushed up her non-existent glasses: "According to data analysis, Sirin's win rate against the Thousand Calamity Uncle's memory is 0.03%. This data still takes into account the possibility that the Thousand Calamity Uncle's memory might end the battle due to 'impatience'. The actual battle time is expected to be no more than 1.7 seconds."

"Rounded down, it'll be knocked down in a second," Kiana summed it up precisely, her tone smug. "Then 'smack,' and you're slammed against the wall, impossible to pry off."

"you--!"

Seele timidly tugged at Sirin's sleeve: "Um, Sirin-neechan, Bronya-neechan didn't mean that... and Uncle Qianjie really, really looks scary..."

Sirin took a deep breath, suppressing the anger Kiana had stirred up. She knew these guys were telling the truth—and that was precisely what annoyed her most. But what she couldn't stand even more was that they just sat there, training, relaxing, and waiting day after day under this false sky, completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world, what her brother was facing.

"Sitting idly by and waiting to die is not my style." She snorted and walked straight towards the entrance of the training area. "At least I need to know how big the gap is."

"Do we even need to 'know' about the difference?" Kiana shouted from behind. "It's abyss level! You're standing on this side, and he's standing on that side, separated by the Mariana Trench!"

Xilin didn't turn her head, but was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

Mei sighed, "Let's go with them. We can't really leave her alone."

Kiana complained, "Why did she have to bring this on us?" but her feet betrayed her and she followed. Bronya silently pulled Seele along at the back, already calculating how many sets of data repair programs for treatment needed.

Inside the training area, Qianjie (Memory Entity) stood in the center of a patch of scorched earth, simulating the aftermath of a raging fire.

The mask concealed his expression, but the oppressive aura of "I'm just venting my daily frustrations, don't bother me" was so palpable that it pinned Kiana and her group to the entrance from a great distance.

Celine paused for only half a second before continuing forward.

"I want to challenge you."

She tilted her head back, trying to make her voice sound steady and powerful, although the ending notes were a little weak.

Qian Jie (the memory) didn't move. He didn't even turn his head.

The air was still for a few seconds. The only sound was the faint crackling of flames licking the ground.

"...Are you talking to me?" he finally spoke, his voice low, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, tinged with obvious impatience.

"Is there another worthy opponent here?" Sirin asked, steeling herself.

Thousand Tribulations (memory) finally turned around.

His gaze, hidden beneath the mask, fell upon Celine—a gaze devoid of any emotion, hardly even worthy of scrutiny, as if looking at a pebble blocking his path, or a speck of ashes drifting before his eyes. He looked down upon her; Celine's stubbornness was utterly insignificant in his eyes.

Then he spoke, his tone so calm it was almost boring:

"Do not hit."

Xilin was taken aback: "What?"

“I said,” Qianjie (the memory entity) withdrew its gaze and turned back to the still-burning sea of ​​fire, its voice low and hoarse, “I won’t hit little girls.”

Celine's face flushed red—from anger.

"Who, who is—"

"A waste of time." Qianjie didn't give her a chance to finish. His back view was full of an unquestionable "this matter ends here." "I have no interest in playing house with you. Take your immature attitude and go find someone else."

He didn't even raise his hand.

The next second, a crack suddenly appeared in the training area's ground, and a powerful repulsive force erupted from Qian Jie (Memory Entity), blasting Sirin and Kiana's group, who were peeking in from the doorway, away like a fledgling bird being chased into its territory.

"Wait—we can walk by ourselves—!!"

Kiana's scream disappeared into the distance at the end of the corridor, following a parabolic trajectory.

A few seconds later, the training area fell silent again.

Qianjie (the memory entity) stood still, silently staring at the blazing fire. His expression behind the mask was unclear, but his volatile aura seemed to have subtly... become even more agitated.

“…Troublesome,” he said in a low voice, it was unclear who he was referring to.

At the end of the corridor, five people were sprawled out in a heap.

Kiana rubbed her butt: "I told you! One second! No, half a second! He didn't even lift a finger!"

"Shut up!" Celine scrambled to her feet, her face flushing red and then pale. What was more humiliating than defeat was that the other party didn't even bother to let her fail. That feeling of being completely ignored was a hundred times more frustrating than being beaten to the ground.

Seele whispered words of comfort: "Sister Sirin has been very brave..."

“What’s the use of being brave?” Sirin bit her lip, clenching and unclenching her fists, her voice filled with barely suppressed bitterness. “The result is that I can’t even make him look at me directly.”

Mei silently handed over a handkerchief.

Bronya didn't speak, but a complex emotion flickered in her eyes. Sirin never admitted defeat verbally, but she was more eager than anyone to become stronger and break through her current situation. They both understood this feeling.

Understanding is one thing, reality is another.

Qianjie (Memory Entity) was right. Their current strength was indeed no different from "playing house" in front of beings at his level.

"Let's go back," Mei said softly. "Miss Alicia said there's afternoon tea this afternoon, and it seems Miss Sakura is in charge of preparing it..."

Nobody was in the mood to respond.

Just then—

A voice rang out.

Intermittent, like radio waves drifting from an old radio, or bubbles rising from the deepest part of the sea. It had no clear source, as if it came simultaneously from the air beside them, the ground beneath their feet, and even from their own minds.

Do you want to... go out...?

The five people froze.

"I...can...help you..."

The sound was faint, like a signal that might be interrupted at any moment, yet it clearly conveyed a message.

"To fulfill...this...wish..."