"There's a lot of things to do."
The ELF version of Aleph muttered. He is multitasking between the fusion of the three authorities and the influence he exerts on parallel (Lostbelt) Earth.
Understandably, the latter takes less effort. It did not affect his operations at all.
"Limited to one, no, two authorities. Error is way too buggy."
He anticipated what [Lord of the Mysteries] could bring. It is, after all, the authority of a Great Old One. It also belonged to one of the four Pillars of the universe. Their strength could be seen from that fact alone.
Just now, the fusion of the three authorities directly resulted in the white cosmic cloud. It is the prototype of the Spirit World the original Lord of the Mysteries had once constructed.
Thus came the epithet of 'Dominator of the Spirit World'.
"Creating cool names… No, honorific titles. It'll be placed on my agenda."
Aleph did not mind the irony of creating these honorific titles. It aligns with a certain witch's narcissistic tastes.
"For now…"
He was already done visiting two of the original Flamechasers. Aside from Hua, Mobius, and Su, there are three others left.
"Hm… I'll meet Kevin later. I'll accept whatever punch he'll send out."
Aleph chose the next person he would visit—another person whom he felt extremely guilty to.
Puff-!
Traces of white cosmic clouds appeared around Aleph. His ELF form turned into his current adult form. His attire consisted of a black overcoat, a pair of black gloves, and a monocle fitted to his right eye. A black fedora hat covered his head.
Hum-!
Buzz-!
Bzzt-!
Smaller-sized slits of darkness surrounded Aleph. It is the same phenomena he caused with his true body. Its scale and magnitude are lower.
Tick.
Tock.
The sound of a clock resounded as these slits disappeared. He then faced the white door in front of him.
Creak-!
Once opened, a familiar place greeted him.
Swoosh-!
Cold wind blew across his cheek. The moon's glow perfectly reflected the hundreds of light sources beneath the rooftop. It is the perfect place to overlook the entire city.
Buzz-!
Aleph gestured out of thin air and took out a cold glass of coffee. The ice cubes made a clicking sound, prompting the woman in front of Aleph to look back.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
She waited for Aleph to reach her side. The two silently overlooked the flickering lights of the city.
"I am sorry for the wait."
"Hm. It didn't take as long as I thought."
Parallel Mei shrugged her shoulders. She took the glass he handed over. When she sipped some of it, a nostalgic sensation crawled all over her body.
"Just like that day…"
"My proportions will never be off. It'll taste the same no matter where I blend it."
In contrast to many, Parallel Mei liked the cold sensation a cold coffee brought. It is calming and keeps her mind awake.
"How did you come up with this?"
Aleph directed a question to her.
"It starts with your disappearance. The wave-particle theory covered what I needed. Two states existing at the same time… I started with that thought. If two states can exist at the same time, why not three? Four? Five? By then…"
Parallel Mei became self-absorbed with her explanation. Foreign terms came out of her mouth at the rate of a machine gun. If converted into in-game chapters, it will take up four entire chapters with the length of chapter thirty. It's the equivalent of a day's worth of time.
Aleph patiently listened to her explanation. While he did so, several cracks appeared out of time. Thin lines were drawn onto it, akin to shards of glass falling apart.
This phenomenon surrounded Aleph.
"...if converted into a line of…"
"...then it is no longer a two-dimensional vector in a traditional sense."
"...aspect of time is…"
Countless phantoms of Parallel Mei appeared all around Aleph. It was a bizarre sight. It was as if countless parallel worlds intersected at this exact location. She happened to be the source of this anomaly.
"...leads to the other two's ideas of what a God should be."
With the help of so many Mei explaining at once (i.e., yap), an entire day's worth was compressed into ten minutes.
"No wonder you all could touch this threshold."
Aleph followed through Mei's "murmurs" perfectly. He is the only person who has the ability and intent (i.e., listen to yap) to do so.
Click-!
All the other Meis were wiped off, leaving the Mei he was originally talking with.
"If I did not disappear…" He muttered in regret. "It won't happen in the real world."
Parallel Mei smiled upon hearing those words.
"The other me seems more happy. Have you done it yet?"
"Hm?"
"Sex."
"Pff.."
Aleph choked at her extremely random words. The hems of her coat swayed along with the night wind.
"What a pity. It could have been a unique experience."
"If I wasn't sent into this parallel world, it would have happened."
Terminus did not just rob him of his chances to develop peacefully. They are also responsible for blue-balling Aleph.
If the eighth eruption did not happen, he would have touched the final bases with Mobius, Hua, and Mei—even Vill-V given her randomness.
The resentment he felt towards Terminus peaked at this moment.
'Terminus. When I get my hands on you…'
His comical reactions lit up… no, reawakened a feeling from Mei.
Su and Mobius took the mind route. The former's repeated usage of the Second Divine Key for 4500 years straight, in addition to his talent, led to his mind ascending into a higher plane.
The latter was able to remain alive without a physical body. Her mind is integrated with the fragment of Finality, turning it into a complex information that lived rent-free on humans' minds. The challenge she faced was the retention of her concept of self—to not assimilate with all the other humans she was connected to.
One succeeded and the other failed.
Parallel Mei, on the other hand, took the quantum route. She attempted to connect her mind throughout all the other Meis living within the Tree. It was a huge project she secretly built on her own.
Fortunately, the resources of Fire MOTH sufficed.
By the time the fourteenth herrscher's attack descended, she abandoned her physical body. She began to 'travel' within the other 'parallel worlds' located on the Tree. She took over other parallel versions of her.
Parallel Mei intended to search for the truth of Aleph's disappearance on other worlds. She was aware of her lack of time. If she uncovers that truth, she might be able to reverse humanity's doomed fate.
That's where her luck ended.
Each 'world' she traveled is an exact replica of the Previous Era. She had to relive the seven-year period of Fire MOTH's struggle. Each time, she could not change the outcome.
Thus began her life as an infinite regressor.