She was about to continue comforting when the host in the projection suddenly changed face and said solemnly:

"——We interrupt with a news bulletin, Leoz, the leader of the Primordial Abyss Federation, has rallied elite troops to dive into the Mass Abyss. Experts claim: this action is not limited to local conflicts and could very likely escalate into a full-scale invasion..."

"It's begun."

Rista's conspiracy theory persona emerged again:

"It must be Primordial Abyss's plan, the Primordial Abyss Federation has just gained a foothold, they wouldn't rush into war. This must be provoked by someone to make Leoz, the Great Commander, dispatch troops, without a massive army. It must be Lai Anding's conspiracy, aiming to catch them all in one go..."

Kock kock——

The door of the lounge was knocked, and a gentle male voice said:

"Excuse me, is Lieutenant Nomi Anderson Guersey here?"

"Who is it?" Rista shouted back: "It's shift break time now. If it's nothing urgent, please don't disturb our rest, thank you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, ladies, that's not my intention."

The man smiled apologetically and said:

"I'm Mistofen, the Regent Crown Prince of the Empire, since you're resting, I won't come in."

"Hey, you wise one."

Rista murmured, turning her head, and only moments later realized something was off:

"——Oh my god!"

Kock kock.

"Miss Nomi."

The voice of Mistofen, the Crown Prince of the Empire, came from outside:

"His Majesty the Philosopher King asked me to bring you a message, hoping you'll listen."

"Savior Lord God Lai Anding is turning our world into a living Purgatory, and Star Overlord Leoz will lead it to destruction."

"Will it be to submit to fate, barely surviving and keeping what remains intact."

"Or to resist fate—even if the latter leads to self-destruction and eternal damnation?"

"Now these two paths lie before you, how to choose depends on you."

"Oh, no need to wonder why you."

Mistofen calmly stated:

"Because in the Endless Starry Abyss, everything is predetermined."

"Whether it's Leoz or Lai Anding, or you and I, no one in the Narrative Civilization can escape the cage of fate."

"Even the act of defying fate happens only with the permission of the Ultimate Observer."

Nomi's pupils shrunk.

She flipped up, no longer in the lounge of the warship, her gaze landed in an endless sea of data, endless transmissions sounding like molten rock flowing from an iceberg, cold and hot playing a grand symphony.

"No need to mind, Nomi Anderson Guersey."

A golden throne suddenly emerged from the sea of data, the Monarch slumped upon the throne, issuing an extremely calm voice to her:

"I am the Empire's fifth generation Philosopher King, as you see, my life has reached its end."

Nomi stared forward, her heart filled with endless doubts, she couldn't help but ask:

"Why——"

"Why you? Because you've been chosen."

"Why did I——"

"Why did I appear here? This is the extended ability of [Sequence: Fate], allowing my will to be transmitted across Starry Abyss to lower realms."

"Your aim——"

"Your aim? Very simple, at the last stage of my life, I must complete my mission."

"Who put you——"

"Who put you in such a state? No one harmed me, I simply chose to merge into the Grand Narrative, to let Mistofen succeed smoothly, he is better suited for the upcoming cosmic war."

Nomi said no more.

She didn't even speak, yet His Majesty the Philosopher King knew what she intended to ask.

"Do not panic, child. I harbor no malice, only pure utilitarianism."

The Philosopher King's speech was extremely rational, devoid of any emotional fluctuations:

"Before starting the formal topic, I must ask you a question: Who do you think this Starry Abyss truly belongs to?"

Nomi answered without hesitation:

"The Primordial Abyss regime led by Chief God Lai Anding! They are the legitimate rulers of the current Starry Abyss."

"This is fallacy."

The Philosopher King said:

"The true ruler is the one who never enters the game, watches coldly as the Chief God falls, as outer Starry Abyss collapses, as Earth invaders advance, the very presence."

"Is there really such a thing——no, you mean..."

Nomi frowned:

"The Will of the Starry Abyss?"

"Have you ever thought, why would the Starry Abyss differentiate the Six Great Main Gods, the Six-Layered Starry Abyss, send them to fortify defenses, rather than creating a singularly powerful representative and unified cosmic world, like Earth, wouldn't that be easier to fend off invaders?"

Nomi was dumbfounded:

"I... I didn't study well, never considered such questions."

"Because if Starry Abyss unified, and the Main Gods united, there would be no necessity for the Will of the Starry Abyss to exist."

"What does this mean?"

"The Will of the Starry Abyss, also known as the Primordial Abyss Will, creator, initial motivation...but in reality, Primordial Abyss Will is not an independent consciousness entity. If you consider the Starry Abyss Cosmos of the Six Abysses and Thirteen Narratives as an enormous computer system, then the role played by the Will of the Starry Abyss is not that of a creator."

The Philosopher King said:

"The Will of the Starry Abyss does not exist within the Starry Abyss."

"...What does this count as?"

"Would the person who designs programs and computers be an NPC in a computer game?"

Nomi was silent for a moment, suddenly realizing the other's implication: