"Listen to me..."
A gentle, ethereal voice echoed in her mind.
It's Kafka's voice... Kafka... Who is Kafka?
Stelle remembered the name, but only the name. Beyond that, nothing. Her memories were a chaotic, blurry mess.
Amidst that voice, as tender as a mother humming a lullaby, the turmoil in Stelle's heart gradually calmed, like surfacing from the deepest trenches of the sea.
Faint, indistinct noises began to reach her ears. Mustering all her strength, Stelle finally broke through the surface, opening her eyes.
Light flooded in, her vision slowly sharpening as her dormant senses awakened.
Then, she saw him—a grey-haired young man who felt intensely familiar, gazing down at her with profound emotion, shouting with all his might:
"Revive! My beloved!!!"
"???"
What's happening?
What is going on?
What in the world is happening?
Stelle blinked her beautiful, brilliant gold eyes, trying desperately to grasp the situation.
Comprehension failed... Understanding offline... Brain experiencing critical error.
Seeing Stelle's dazed blinking, the shock of seeing the dead seemingly return overwhelmed March 7th's mind, quickly followed by sheer terror.
"Waaaah!"
"It's a zombie! A zombie!"
"Dan Heng! Dan Heng! Quick, get the black dog blood!"
The pink-haired girl's cute, pretty face was completely consumed by panic.
"Calm down, March."
Dan Heng, whose own trauma was triggered by the words 'revive' and 'secret technique', had only managed to compose himself after Caelus finished his absurd incantation. He carefully observed Stelle's aura.
Only then did he notice the fact he'd missed earlier.
"She wasn't dead to begin with."
Dan Heng frowned, his gaze towards Caelus deepening.
"Not dead?"
March 7th blinked, locking eyes with the still-confused Stelle.
[Host, seriously, stop it. She's already bewildered enough, and you're still teasing her.]
Even the System couldn't bear to watch anymore.
Though Caelus appeared outwardly calm, the System, soul-bound to him, could feel the ecstatic joy radiating from behind his mask.
[I'll buy her some melon seeds later to apologize.]
March 7th finally caught on, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her prized Curio baseball bat tightly.
A terrifyingly sweet smile spread across her pretty face as she lightly prodded Caelus's shoulder with the end of the bat.
"Excuse me, sir. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?!"
Her voice, usually clear and pleasant like silver bells, now carried an icy chill.
If this guy didn't give her a legitimate reason today, the brilliant Miss March 7th was going to bash his head in!
Facing the confrontational March 7th, Caelus remained completely unfazed, speaking quite frankly, "I don't believe I ever said she was dead, did I?"
"But didn't you just say you were going to revive her!?"
March 7th hissed, glaring at Caelus like a cat with its fur on end.
"Ah, but reviving her doesn't necessarily mean she was dead, does it?"
Caelus shrugged, deploying his irrefutable logic and instantly shutting March 7th down.
"You... you, you, you..."
Gritting her teeth, March 7th was so angry she started to stutter. Yet, faced with his twisted logic, she genuinely couldn't think of a rebuttal.
She shot a pleading look towards her companion, Dan Heng.
Understanding her gaze, Dan Heng nodded slightly, took a step forward, and faced Caelus expressionlessly.
"Who are you? And why are you here?"
Hearing Dan Heng's question, March 7th blinked again in confusion. Weren't these two researchers from the Herta Space Station?
Dan Heng didn't answer March 7th's unspoken question. He had suspected something was off for a while now; the rescue coordinates for these two hadn't originated from the space station.
"Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself." Caelus showed a hint of remorse.
"My name is Caelus."
Answering Dan Heng formally, Caelus then pointed to the grey-haired girl standing behind him, scratching her head in bewilderment, and introduced her seriously:
"This is Stelle. My daughter."
March 7th: !!!
Stelle: ???
Dan Heng: ...
"Pfft!"
Hidden nearby, Silver Wolf blew a bubblegum bubble that promptly burst all over her face.
Kafka: ...
According to the original script, they were supposed to leave after implanting the Stellaron into the vessel.
However, after the unexpected event Elio had mentioned occurred, they decided it might be worthwhile to observe the situation a little longer.
Besides, the script never explicitly forbade them from staying.
Thus, using Silver Wolf's Aether Editing and a conveniently acquired Curio, code-named 'Blind Spot 211', they remained concealed.
They planned to observe Stelle and the grey-haired young man for a bit before departing.
The 'Revive, my beloved' line had almost caused Silver Wolf internal injury from suppressed laughter; this latest revelation completely broke her composure.
A single sentence silenced everyone once more. The Curio room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"D-Daughter!?"
March 7th's expression turned utterly horrified, the finger she pointed at Stelle trembling uncontrollably. "Isn't she supposed to be your lover?"
Honestly, love between siblings, even with its forbidden undertones... the galaxy was vast, and as seasoned Nameless travelers, they had seen much. March 7th could barely stomach that possibility. But father and daughter...?
"Sigh~"
Just as March 7th's thoughts were spiraling, she heard Dan Heng let out a helpless sigh.
She immediately snapped back, grabbing Caelus by the collar, "Are you messing with me again?!"
"No, I'm telling the truth. Who made the rule that a daughter and a lover can't be the same person? If you don't believe me, ask her."
Being stared down by March 7th's fiercely adorable glare, Caelus would have cracked long ago without his mask.
But wearing it allowed him to maintain his composure, at least outwardly preventing any real emotion from showing.
Not only that, but Caelus's refined, and handsome face now carried a trace of weariness—each faint line etched with the weight of untold years.
Seeing Caelus act so righteously, even Dan Heng couldn't remain composed. His eyes widened slightly in disbelief as he looked towards Stelle.
This...!?
Pinned by their gazes, filled with a complexity that even a pie chart couldn't fully express, and reeling from the brain-shattering statements 'This is Stelle, my daughter' and 'Isn't she your lover?', Stelle nearly blacked out and collapsed again.
Her scalp prickled, a massive shockwave tearing through her consciousness, turning her already muddled brain into a complete blank.
The crucial point was...
She didn't know!
She truly didn't know anything!
She couldn't remember a single thing right now!
Even the name 'Stelle' only surfaced after Caelus mentioned it.
Without even trying, she felt an undeniable sense of closeness and familiarity emanating from Caelus—perhaps this was the so-called blood connection?
Even setting aside intuition and thinking rationally...
The identical grey hair and golden eyes—grab any random person off the street, and they'd swear the two were related!
Even if you grabbed a blind person.
Her mind trembled as Stelle desperately tried to organize the chaos within, searching for any tiny clue.
Eh!
She actually managed to recall a fragment of forgotten common knowledge.
The vast universe teemed with myriad species, including long-life races whose lifespans were immense. Some of these beings could be hundreds of years old yet appear no older than teenagers.
A father and daughter from a long-life species standing together could very well look like siblings!
The more she thought about it, the darker her vision seemed to become.
Caelus... is really my father?
And... a father with that kind of taboo relationship?
Seeing Stelle trembling, nervous, sweating profusely, and remaining silent, a maelstrom erupted in the minds of March 7th and Dan Heng.
Could Caelus be telling the... the truth?
Stelle's reaction seemed like a tacit confirmation.
Two sharp intakes of breath could be heard as the way March 7th and Dan Heng looked at Caelus underwent a fundamental shift.
It was the kind of look one reserves for witnessing something utterly bizarre, almost defying natural law.
Especially given Caelus's utterly nonchalant attitude when discussing their relationship, as if it were the most normal, natural thing in the world.
"Are you... really my dad?"
Stelle finally succumbed to her inner turmoil and voiced the question.
The astonished gazes of March 7th and Dan Heng snapped back to her.
"I... I don't remember anything," Stelle mumbled, pressing a hand to her forehead and looking down.
"...Amnesia?" March 7th was quite familiar with this condition.
Dan Heng turned his gaze back to Caelus.
"We were attacked by the Antimatter Legion. Stelle might have suffered a head injury. Actually," Caelus pressed a hand to his own forehead, feigning dizziness, "after taking a direct hit from an energy cannon, I've forgotten many things myself."
He looked at Stelle, his expression full of sincerity.
"But her... I would never forget her, no matter what!"
Dan Heng's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Stelle!"
Caelus's voice trembled, filled with tenderness, worry, and an unwavering love.
"Do you really not remember Dad?"
He placed a hand on Stelle's shoulder, gently lifting a strand of her grey hair. Their brilliant gold eyes met.
"Look at this. It's a pity, really. Compared to my hair and eye color, I rather wish you had inherited your mother's beautiful purple hair."
"Mom... purple hair... Kafka..."
The keywords triggered something in Stelle's memory, reminding her of moments from just before.
The way Kafka had looked at her, gentle and doting, like a mother gazing lovingly at her child.
"Kafka... Mom. Caelus... Dad..."
Stelle clutched her head, flashes of countless blurred, chaotic memories assaulting her as she murmured to herself.
"Cough cough cough!"
The bubblegum Silver Wolf had tried to suck back in was accidentally swallowed whole this time. Her expression-control module crashed completely; she looked like she'd seen a ghost.
She nudged the purple-haired beauty beside her, who wore a gentle smile. "Hey, Kafka, what is wrong with this guy?"
"...I don't know."
Kafka's own legendary composure held, but internally, she was far from calm.
Has this 'Stelle's' mind completely fractured?
What is going on with this personality?
Kafka had the distinct feeling she was dealing with one of the Masked Fools, followers of Aha, the Aeon of Elation.
Silver Wolf had confidently assured her earlier that the male vessel was Stelle.
And Kafka trusted her teammate implicitly.
But why would he call himself Caelus?
Was it a split consciousness within Stelle?
Or something else entirely?
Kafka fell deep into thought.
[Seriously, man, stop messing with someone so naive! Have some decency!]
The System chimed in with another complaint.
[Messing with myself isn't really messing with someone else, is it? This is an advanced state of Elation. You wouldn't understand.]
Beneath the mask, the joyful curve of Caelus's lips stretched nearly ear to ear.
Hearing Stelle's murmurs, the suspicions held by March 7th and Dan Heng began to fade slightly, replaced by a tentative acceptance of this bizarre reality.
March 7th ground her teeth. Seeing Caelus release Stelle, she finally couldn't contain her emotions any longer.
The initial anger from being tricked, combined with disgust at his perceived perversion towards his own daughter, made her raise the baseball bat high.
"You absolute bastard!"
Not completely lost to rage, March 7th held back slightly; she only intended to teach him a lesson.
The bat swung down, striking Caelus squarely on the shoulder.
"Ah!"
A cry of pain rang out, stunning everyone.
The person who screamed wasn't Caelus, although he was currently clutching the spot where the bat hit him, wincing. The pained cry had come from Stelle, standing right beside him.
"Hiss~ That really hurts!"
Sudden, unexpected pain shot through her shoulder, causing Stelle to cry out instinctively.
Then, seeing March 7th holding the bat that had just struck Caelus's shoulder, and glancing down at her own shoulder, Stelle's face took on the expression of a newborn baffled by the fundamental laws of physics.
The look of pure confusion in her clear eyes was gradually replaced by dawning, world-shattering comprehension. March 7th's brow furrowed, her gaze sharp as she stared intently at Caelus.
Dan Heng, too, directed a deeply meaningful look towards Caelus.
Caelus: ...
Caelus: ???
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