Incredulous.
That was what Vill-V felt when she saw the other version of herself.
'Those dreams…'
Most, if not all surviving counterparts, became strangely connected to their real versions back on Earth. It caused them to 'dream' of memories related to each other. The parallel world Vill-V saw the real Vill-V's memories and vice versa.
From the other Vill-V's mental breakdown up to her growing craze with Aleph, her dreams showed nearly everything.
"Hm."
A light snort escaped her mouth.
"I can see this happening." She spoke to her 'doppelganger'. "Isn't it uncouth? If it was up to me, I would have subtly lured him to my bed."
"..."
"I can hear everything."
The other Vill-V remained strangely silent while Aleph shouted.
"Is that really your plan?" He leaned his head sideways and asked.
"Maybe."
Aleph was about to tease her further when he saw the parallel world Vill-V standing up. The weight on his waist disappeared.
'She's quite heavy…' He thought. 'If it was…'
Aleph cut off his wandering thoughts. His curiosity regarding others' weight—Mei in particular—was set aside.
"Come out, Metatron. Give me some advice."
{...perception disabled.}
{It is recommended to let them speak on their own.}
"I figured just as much…" He nodded upon hearing Metatron's confirmation. "If I used my power to reverse Earth's time…"
A thought appeared in his mind.
Aleph's current strength is already absurd enough. Just the 'dimension' he was creating outside the solar system could expand to the size of the entire universe. The power he could exert is far stronger than the time he faced Voracity.
"Fifty thousand years… then come back…"
Then, what?
Where would the acts of this Earth's Flamechasers go? Would Aleph still be the 'infinite possibility' he claimed? His purpose is not to interfere, but to present others with these 'possibilities'.
The moment he concluded these thoughts, his body froze. Even his true form's fusion of the [Lord of the Mysteries] and the creation of the [Spirit Realm] was halted.
Aleph had a hunch.
If he resolutely interferes with Earth, the most important anchor in his life, severe consequences would happen.
Looking at the two Vill-Vs talking, Aleph regained his senses.
'The temptations of being a God. It kills.'
Had Aleph treated Earth as a sandbox, he would gradually lose the Aleph of this Earth. The best scenario in that regard is to become the same as the other Aeons—cold, ruthless, and living for their purpose (i.e., Authorities).
Perhaps it could be seen as a flaw by others, but for Aleph, it is the strongest anchor that keeps his sense of self.
His inner conflict came to a halt when the identical Vill-Vs finished talking.
The real Vill-V walked towards Aleph. She crossed her arms as she pointed at her doppelganger.
"We came to an agreement."
"Mind telling me about it?"
"You'll know later."
A guess appeared in his mind faster than light.
'She will…'
Aleph pushed that thought aside.
"You still have some things to settle, no?"
After she spoke, Vill-V leaned towards his face. She planted a kiss straight to his lips.
"There goes our first kiss."
"...It's good."
"Good to hear."
Aleph was surprised at her clever comebacks. It was the first time she was able to best him in this regard.
It did not take long for the entire white space to collapse into dark blue particles. This time, Aleph found himself in a world filled with 0's and 1's.
Using his right pointy finger, he drew a cross in the air. A small black line appeared in the places his finger passed by.
From a small cross, it began to expand like torn paper.
The other side revealed itself to Aleph's eyes. Across the dark blue space filled with nothingness, a white-haired man stood. His trustworthy greatsword was missing.
"Long time no see."
*****
The commotion outside the solar system did not die down. The white cosmic clouds expanded at a fast rate.
Similarly, the chaos on parallel Earth remained. The shooting stars' descent caused everyone to fall into chaos.
No matter the place, every human received a mark somewhere on their body. It caused varying reactions on their body. A universal experience, though, was the burning sensation.
It depended from person to person. People with higher honkai resistance felt less pain, while some with mediocre resistances felt extreme pain.
It was for such a reason the world fell into chaos.
Pilots who are driving planes, people in the drivers' seats, people who are doing risky jobs…
Humanity was caught off guard.
Amidst the huge crisis, various organizations noticed a trend.
"Nobody died."
Blue hair akin to a chicken coop stood in front of a computer screen.
"These white lights… It protected everyone."
"I have my eyes for that."
A girl possessing crimson red twin-tails came from behind Einstein's back.
"It's similar to quantum locking. You know, that phenomenon from the Sea of Quanta."
"The one that prevents state change?"
The twin-tailed girl, Tesla, thought for a while. The suddenness and swiftness of this global event caught everyone off guard. Nevertheless, they could make prior judgements based on their knowledge.
"It's a bit different from that."
Tesla's eyes noticed something.
Whenever someone gets struck by a crisis, say, a driver who is about to crash, a thin white film envelops him.
The greatest example was the Anti-Entropy staff she came across with. A mug of coffee fell to her body when the marks appeared. The coffee left no traces whatsoever.
That made her think it was not as simple as phase change restriction but…
"Time. Frozen time."
"Huh?"
She paid no heed and contacted their sovereign.
Beep-!
"...nd something?"
"Can you double check something?"
She stated her conjectures on the phone line.
"I understand."
Bam-!
Several car crashes resounded on the other side of the phone.
With the First Herrscher Core, Welt defied gravity and flew at a fast speed. He was one of the first people to conduct rescue. He did not expect the appearance of the white light, however.
"Hm..?"
He tried to apply his power to the person who was about to get hit by a truck, only for it to not work. It happened ten times already.
A few moments later, he connected with the line again.
"Your conjecture should be correct. It's about time… specifically, the indicators for the time vector…"
For the time being, Anti-Entropy reorganized themselves.