“What is fate? A set of accidents? A punishment? Neither. Fate is merely the consequence of our own choices, written into the infinite design of creation.”

  [ Entarn | Fermecanima ]

  Moving further into the past was a risky concept. Chaotic Light would surely not leave this unnoticed; however, the risk was necessary. Finding a secluded corner in one of the city’s back alleys, I dissolved my avatar into thousands of molecules and redirected the energy ten years back along the temporal markers of this world. The air in this era seemed denser, smelling of ozone, metal, and morning humidity, despite the city possessing only a small amount of vegetation contained in special flowerbeds along the sidewalks.

  The journey was instantaneous, and I was already standing in the district of the 82nd Ether Highway, in another deserted alley, just before the first rays of the sun.

  I had not taken a single step when space shimmered beside me, and a woman in a silver cloak, with silver hair and pale red eyes, appeared before me. It was CL in the form of a weak avatar, which I called “Wish Seekers.”

  She looked at me and smiled wryly.

  “Well, well, well. Order-Darkness himself has graced us with his presence.” She smiled feverishly. “And may I ask, what are you doing here?”

  A Wish Seeker is too weak a form to come for me. Likely, something has happened, and her more powerful avatars cannot reach here, but what does she hope for? To talk me to death? A reckless and naive move.

  “None of your business,” I replied coldly. In the next moment, my hand transformed into a blade of ice. A sharp swing—and the head of the Wish Seeker avatar separated from her shoulders. Then followed the light, almost dry sound of impact against granite. Silver hair scattered across the dirty alley. The body collapsed limply, gave a final spasmodic shudder, and dissolved into a weak stream of white sparks. Chaotic Light would not be able to create such a Seeker again for several years, which was an immeasurably important advantage for my missions throughout the universe.

  However, as I walked along the granite alley and emerged onto the ether highway, I carefully calculated why Chaotic Light had not appeared here in the guise of her stronger synthetic avatars. This was too unlike her usual actions.

  As soon as I saw the heavy stream of steam-ether automobiles moving at this early hour toward work or other business known only to mortals, time suddenly stopped. The morning roar of the highway cut off, replaced by absolute silence. Frozen jets of steam above the cars hung in the air like absurd sculptures. The air became dense, almost viscous, and on the opposite side of the road, across from a cafe, a familiar silhouette appeared. A woman in a wedding dress, with hair black as darkness itself and silver eyes. It was Light-Darkness. Her eyes neither reflected nor absorbed light, creating the sensation of the cold void between stars, and a barely perceptible cold white glow emanated from her dress, emphasizing her detachment even more.

  I crossed the street, stepping around the frozen automobiles, while she waited patiently for me to finish. Obviously, her appearance was not accidental after her revelations about past cycles… She knew exactly that I would come for L. Alterius, and obviously, she would try to help me again… Or rather, try to find a vulnerability in my structure.

  “Order-Darkness… You are here once again,” she replied in a quiet, calm voice. “Look over there.” She reached out and pointed to an adult woman with chestnut hair and blue eyes, who sat alone at a table drinking coffee from a paper cup.

  “Is that Lia Alterius?” I asked without interest.

  “It is she,” the Arbiter nodded. “But do you really think our last conversation was in vain? Do you still consider me an enemy? Meanwhile, it was I who stopped Chaotic Light so she would not kill your avatar just now.”

  “A dubious way to prove loyalty,” I replied indifferently. “If you think I intend to reconcile with what happened to me, you are mistaken.”

  The Arbiter sighed.

  “If only everything were so simple…” She shifted her gaze to the empty space beside her, as if expecting something to happen that she had seen many times before.

  Space warped, red and gold lightning flashed around, mixing into a single stream of energy. Then, from the lightning, a body began to assemble in a rough orange Viking cloak and a gold business suit with a red tie. The creature had no head; instead, a red exclamation mark floated in its place. It was impossible to confuse him with anyone else; it was Chaotic Order. The air around him crackled with static tension—he smelled of expensive fabric, ozone, and molten gold.

  “What are we talking about here?” he said in a voice heavy as metal, and the exclamation mark where his head should be was replaced by a question mark. His voice seemed to sound from the very structure of his avatar’s fabric, devoid of any intonation, yet vibrating with power and shaking perception.

  “Nothing serious, Chaotic Order,” the Arbiter replied politely.

  “Don’t lie to me,” CO replied, and a red exclamation mark flared on his head instead of the question mark. “Tell me, OD, why did you come here?” His head became a question again, this time gold. “What is such a boring logician as you doing here anyway? Or do you want to talk to sweet Lia?” He laughed, and instead of signs, a red “Ha-ha” appeared.

  “CO, I came to resolve a question that concerns only me, not you. And do not hinder me from doing what is permitted.”

  “You?” Instead of “Ha-ha,” a gold question mark appeared above CO. “Do you really think conservatives like you or CL decide anything?” A “Ha-ha” appeared above him again, this time golden.

  I merely shook my head at his useless remark.

  “Oh-oh. Do you want to kill the cutie Lia?” The red “Ha-ha” disappeared, replaced by a golden exclamation and question mark. “You can’t do that. Or you can… Anyway, go and kill her.” A red exclamation mark appeared on his head.

  “Order-Darkness, do not rush to make a hasty decision, listen to me first. Lia—she is not just another girl, she is the past incarnation of Catherine Holu’s soul. And this is not a joke.”

  The realization passed like cold truth through my entire being.

  “Lia is… Catherine?..” I clarified.

  “Who is this Catherine?” A red question mark appeared above CO’s body. “OD, go kill this girl already, she knows too much.” Instead of a question mark, a red “Kill” flashed above him.

  “I will decide what to do myself,” I replied coldly.

  The Arbiter smiled, and CO grunted in dissatisfaction, and instead of “Kill,” three golden dots appeared on his head.

  “It makes no difference to me what you decide, Order-Darkness, but if you think you are the smartest, you are mistaken.” Chaotic Order snapped his fingers, space around him momentarily distorted and arched, then became covered in lightning of gold and red, after which CO’s avatar dissolved into red fractals, leaving behind the smell of molten gold and elusive notes of sulfur.

  The Arbiter sighed again.

  “Go talk to Lia. One way or another, since you are here, it no longer matters how you proceed. You have already acted differently.” The Arbiter shifted her gaze to Lia sitting in the coffee shop. “Just remember that this is the same Catherine. You remember the consequences of the game.”

  I felt that she was trying to manipulate me again… It was too obvious. I performed calculations and came to a logical conclusion: if I had committed these events in the past, does that mean Light-Darkness intends for me to speak with Lia? With a past incarnation of Catherine? It is a cunning layer of manipulation, but I will act smarter than my past decisions.

  I nodded and walked toward the cafe. The Arbiter followed me with her gaze, the flow of time resumed, and she dissolved into rays of wondrous light. The decision had to be made now, for my freedom depended on it. I stopped near the cafe doors, understanding that everything depended on my decision.

  『 ?? 』━━━???━━━『 ? 』

  [ Entrance to the “Ascension” Cafe | Fermecanima ]

  Stopping at the cafe door and letting people out, I heard the muffled hum of customers. The establishment was steeped in the smells of milk, coffee, roasted beans, and fresh pastries. It could be called the scent of human routine, which was so far from my primary task. Looking once more at Lia, still sitting at the table, I abruptly turned and walked further down the street. I was not ready to become a victim of the Arbiter’s manipulation.

  Due to the lack of necessary data, it was difficult to correctly forecast my future actions. I was playing practically blind and could not know if I acted this way in past cycles or not, but one thing I knew for sure: the decision must be my own, not imposed by this self-proclaimed Arbiter. Perhaps I would have to resort to extreme measures, but it was necessary to restore the balance of the universe.

  I turned to the stairs leading to the basement and, without entering the technical room, transported my structure another 50 years back. This was enough to solve my problem forever.

  The transfer took only a couple of moments; reality collapsed and unfolded again. The air in this time period was different. It was cleaner and colder. Even the city itself seemed to sound different: less noise and more of some barely perceptible calm.

  Now I had to decide: whether to find Lia’s parents so they would never meet, or perhaps destroy Fermecanima entirely. Each option had its drawbacks, but each of them freed me from my imprisonment in Illumora, where time flowed in its own course and Catherine and I slept in our room.

  Destruction of Fermecanima would lead to the annihilation of a unique civilization and a reduction of the cosmic biome, and the distortion of timelines could reach 67%, which is a critical level of danger and could lead to irreparable anomalies.

  Searching for the parents of the unborn Lia could take up to three years, but the distortion of space would not exceed 33%. Any of the predicted options solved the initial problem, and based on the risk of distorting space and time, the necessary option was obvious, though it consumed many of my resources.

  I walked up the old, dust-covered granite steps, touching neither the black metal railing nor the brick walls of worn stone, and only when I had a couple of steps left, the flows of time stopped again.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  The Arbiter stood at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed, fingertips touching each shoulder. Her figure seemed eternal and absolute, but it had no effect on me. Shifting her gaze to me, she slowly began to speak:

  “Order-Darkness, sometimes your actions surprise me, and each time you enter more and more dangerous territory, from which there may be no exit.”

  “Light-Darkness, does it not seem to you that your pursuit of me is becoming too intrusive? Or do you really think you can dissuade me? If so, I’m afraid you will need weightier arguments than some visions,” I replied firmly, realizing that the Arbiter was playing a dirty game.

  “Do you even realize what will happen if you destroy Fermecanima?” she asked in a slightly uneven voice.

  “And who said I want to destroy Fermecanima? I do not make decisions that carry high risks.”

  The Arbiter sighed.

  “So, you came to kill Lia’s parents?” She lowered her hands.

  “What difference does it make why I came? Do you really think I am obliged to report to you? Or do you think I can trust you, considering you did not pass me information about all my mistakes in past cycles for analysis?” I replied, ironically emphasizing her hypocrisy.

  “Architect…” she began. “The book will be written in any case, if not by Lia, then by someone else. Ren, or another girl who ends up with Ren’s soul, will still read this book and want to be with Nova Cross. You understand who stands behind the book.”

  She spoke of inevitability or her own desire for me to believe in inevitability. She completely misunderstood my position and the stakes for me personally.

  Before the Arbiter could finish, red-gold lightning flashed near the railing, and leaning on the metal banister, Chaotic Order looked down. His presence was felt as a curvature of space, and the smell of ozone, sulfur, and molten gold was perceived as physical pressure.

  “Honestly, you exhaust me.” Instead of a head, a golden exclamation mark lit up above him. “Especially you, Arbiter. How many times did we agree not to meddle in each other’s business?” The exclamation mark changed to a red question mark.

  “Chaotic Order… You understand that because of this book you will break the universe?” the Arbiter replied in an undertone.

  “Don’t talk nonsense.” The question mark changed to a red exclamation mark. “You and I have discussed this hundreds of times; until I complete the experiment, I will not stop.”

  I looked at CO. This pathetic consciousness, incapable of reasoning soberly, is the cause of the cycle I fell into, and apparently, the Arbiter has already tried to talk to him—evidently without result.

  “Tell me, CO, what is the goal of this experiment?” I asked him, though I did not hope for an answer.

  “It doesn’t matter.” The exclamation mark above him changed to “Ha-ha.” “It is important to understand that this is my experiment, and it will be conducted in any case, whether you want it or not.”

  Suddenly, behind the Arbiter, a flash of pink petals occurred, and Lazaria’s silhouette appeared in it. The air immediately filled with the smell of vanilla, sesame, spices, and wildflowers.

  “Hi there!” she said in a voice like the sound of breaking crystal. Her hand passed through the Arbiter’s body. “And now we will talk to you personally, dearie…” Chaotic Light pulsed and disappeared along with the Arbiter into unknown space and time. The flow of time resumed, but Chaotic Order continued to stand in place.

  “How predictable. Chaotic Light was never a sweetheart, was she?” A golden question mark appeared above him. “Okay, Architect, let’s go have a chat in a safer place, let’s not scare the insignificant mortals.” A red exclamation mark lit up above him, and snapping his fingers, he transported us to a completely different reality in a stream of golden and red sparks.

  『 ?? 』━━━???━━━『 ? 』

  [ The Inverted House | Crystasis ]

  When the sparks ceased, we found ourselves in a diamond-shaped room standing on the ceiling, with translucent furniture hanging below. From triangular windows shone the light of an icy star, blue as ultraviolet. Rays fell with a dead luster on all surfaces, creating the sensation of a long-dead world. Everything outside the window was covered in snow, which evaporated from the ground into the atmosphere as hot steam, and then fell as icy precipitation.

  Everything in this world was completely different: gravity was turned inside out, the air here was thin and sterile, and the house itself seemed to be made not of wood or stone, but of a mimicking material available only on this petal.

  Chaotic Order snapped his fingers, and next to a large chandelier that hung on the ceiling-floor and pointed upwards, two mesh chairs appeared. Instead of legs, the chairs had simple ropes that rose and fell as if in the wind.

  “Sit down,” Chaotic Order said, and golden “…” appeared instead of his head.

  “I prefer to stand,” I replied indifferently. After all, one could always expect anything from him.

  Chaotic Order calmly sat on his chair.

  “Sit down, you are my guest on the petal E’niar. Or do you want to prove to me not only your ossified conservatism but also a flagrant disregard for Order?” A golden question mark flashed instead of his head.

  He forcibly moved me to his petal, into the Crystasis reality, and attempts to be hospitable. How ironic to hear this from a creature like him. Nevertheless, his manipulations were interesting to investigate, and I sat on the chair he had prepared. The chair swayed beneath me with a slight vibration and hummed at a frequency elusive to the human ear. This sound was like the drone of an invisible mechanism turning invisible gears, serving as the little Order that somehow maintained this distorted reality.

  “So what did you want to chat about, since you decided to move me to E’niar?” I asked calmly, trying to start a conversation to understand his motive for such a talk.

  “Is that so important?” A red question mark appeared above him. “What is important is that no one will disturb us, especially Light-Darkness and Chaotic Light.”

  It was obvious that unambiguous answers could never be obtained from CO, but that was not necessary. I just needed to understand a piece of the puzzle that I still lacked.

  “Did LD tell you that the entire universe is caught in a cycle?” I said without any intonation.

  “Cycle?” A red question mark lit up above him. “She keeps harping on about it like a madwoman, considering herself above others, how ironic.” Golden “…” appeared above him.

  “And what, do you think this is all a joke?” I asked, realizing that the fact of the cycle is too realistic to reject.

  “Of course, it is obvious nonsense. One cannot trust what one does not see oneself.” A red exclamation mark lit up above him. “But I called you here not to discuss the ravings of a self-styled Arbiter, but to talk about Fermecanima.”

  His opinion on the cycles was predictable. I also did not trust Light-Darkness, but what if she is right and we are indeed in a cycle? Too little data for a full analysis, and besides, the Arbiter plays too dirty. However, what alarmed me most was CO’s transition to a direct topic of discussion. This was too atypical for him; nevertheless, his train of thought was interesting even to me.

  “As you may know, I rarely interfere in the affairs of your boring Petals, where you eternally war with each other as if it is the only thing that makes sense. However…” An orange “Experiment” sign appeared above him. “Sometimes my goals require more careful planning. And in this sense, it was Fermecanima, due to the boring ‘Mech Anima,’ that was chosen by me to tell a story from another magical world and see how it changes causality.” An orange exclamation mark lit up above him.

  “And what relation does this story have to the ‘Mech Anima’?” I asked skeptically, still not understanding his motives.

  “Order-Darkness, you are incredibly boring.” Red “…” lit up above him. “You know that on the petal R’lorun there is absolutely no magic?” A red “Ha-ha” lit up above him. “But I am not going to tell you a single drop more about my experiment.” A golden exclamation mark lit up above him. “You are all too boring and bogged down in your confrontation; only I seek what is not there, and exits from what does not exist.” Orange “…” lit up above him.

  His vanity was too familiar, but I was not going to react to it.

  “Do you know that your experiment spawned an anomaly that struck the petal Al’aran?” I clarified with him, trying to get at least some concrete information from his ambiguous answer.

  “Do you think I care about Al’aran?” he asked mechanically, and a golden question mark appeared above him.

  “But then you should know that after reading your story, one resident of Fermecanima fell in love with a resident of Illumora,” I said measuredly.

  “And?” A red question mark flashed above him. “What do I care who fell in love with whom?” he replied indifferently, and a simple dot appeared above him.

  “Chaotic Light heard her desire and transported her to that very petal Al’aran, which, as you say, you are indifferent to, and there The Echoes of the Past mechanism broke,” I continued to explain my arguments, to which he absolutely did not listen.

  “Important. Not important. What next?” A golden question mark flashed above him. “It is long past time to cancel The Echoes of the Past or reassemble it into something more interesting. Pity I do not influence that.” Red “…” appeared above him. “As for Al’aran, for now, I don’t care what happens there.”

  His indifferent approach to key mechanisms created by our Origin Absolute evoked mixed feelings in me. Perhaps it was contempt? A cold, chilling feeling.

  “And you consider this acceptable?” I clarified with him.

  “Everything that is not forbidden is acceptable,” he replied calmly. “And yes, Order-Darkness, Light-Darkness said correctly: the book will be created in any case. I will not stop until I finish my experiment on the world of the ‘Mech Anima.’ So do not try to stop me.” A golden exclamation mark appeared above him.

  “And you consider acceptable the fact that the entire universe will be bogged down in an endless cycle?” I continued to insist on my position.

  “Don’t tell me you believed the ravings of Light-Darkness. Alpha-souls cannot get into an external cycle. Everything I haven’t seen personally doesn’t even make sense to discuss.”

  His position was absolutely illogical, but in one thing he was right: he did not trust the Arbiter, and that was a strong position I could share. Nevertheless, I had to continue the conversation and heat it to the limit.

  “So, you assume you can stop me from destroying Fermecanima?” I asked him the main question that interested me.

  “And do you really want to destroy it?” A red question mark appeared above him. “If so, I will not interfere in that, but only after the completion of my experiment. Until then, if you want to intervene from timelessness... Basically, you’ll see what happens.” Golden “…” appeared above him.

  Of all the Alpha-souls, except perhaps Chaotic Light, Chaotic Order was the most intractable. I had not the slightest doubt that if I began to destroy Fermecanima, he would intervene, and that intervention would be unpredictable. The conversation was bringing me closer and closer to a logical dead end.

  “Fine, if I understood your logic correctly: if I kill Lia’s parents, you will find someone else to write this story?”

  Chaotic Order clapped his hands.

  “You are not as boring as I thought. I don’t care who writes the book. If I find no one, I will write it myself,” he replied indifferently.

  This was an ultimatum. He offered either war with the subsequent sealing of all guilty parties or forced me to completely abandon my plans. However, I had to clarify one no less important point.

  “But still, what about Illumora? If I change the past there, will you interfere?”

  Flashing orange “…” lit up above him.

  “I have no business with that little world,” he replied indifferently, and a red exclamation mark shone above him. “Just don’t hinder me in Fermecanima, unless, of course, you want problems you cannot digest.” A red “Ha-ha” appeared above him.

  “Fine, I understood you.” I nodded my head. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Talk.” A red question mark flashed above him. “We have already talked. Do not hinder my experiment, and I promise not to hinder you, Architect.” Golden “…” flashed above him. “And now I am forced to say goodbye, you have exhausted me too much.”

  Chaotic Order rose from the chair, snapped his fingers, and I dissolved again in a stream of sparks and lightning of red and gold colors.

  『 ?? 』━━━???━━━『 ? 』

  [ Streets of Entarn | Fermecanima ]

  A couple of moments later, I was back in the same place on Fermecanima. The return was abrupt. The noise of the city—the hum of machines, the hissing of steam—crashed upon my hearing with a familiar roar after the almost sterile silence of E’niar.

  The city of Entarn was immersed in its usual bustle; residents walked carelessly about their business, some of them entering shops located on the ground floor. Steam-ether machines moved smoothly along the granite highways. A huge ether airship flew over me, plunging a large part of the highway into a pleasant shadow. Several jets of steam exited its mechanisms with a mechanical hum, as if reminding me that it was time for me to think about something else and release the non-existent pressure in my structure.

  Following the airship with my gaze, I looked at the light gray sky of this world, analyzing my further plans. All possible ways to solve the anomaly here led only to an escalation of the conflict. It was a bad sign that CO had intervened in this specific world. Negotiating anything with him was absolutely useless. And for me, this meant only one thing: I need to go to the past of Illumora and stake my entire structure on this game.

  I shook my head ironically. For reasons that eluded immediate calculation, a clear, stable feeling of calm permeated my structure, and I thought about Lia. Yes, perhaps it was for her sake that I ended up here? And I should go to her not to convince her not to write the book or to kill her, but simply to talk. Who knows, perhaps she is the one who will answer me about what is written in the book The Heroine Who Saved the Kingdom? The distant hum of the “Mech Anima” tower seemed almost soothing, despite the slight itch inside my structure. Who knows, perhaps in past cycles I pursued other goals in visiting Lia, but now I will only learn useful information and leave this world. That will be correct.

  I inhaled the morning city air and walked calmly along the highway to find a suitable place for the last journey in time in Fermecanima before completing this mission I had failed.