[Nothingness] is devouring everything.
I felt as if I were sinking into the deepest, darkest ocean. I could not see a single trace of color, not even darkness itself. Before my eyes was only a void where nothing existed.
I could not feel my heartbeat, I could not feel my breath, I could not feel my own existence. I could not even be sure who I was.
I forgot my name, I forgot my gender, I forgot my past, I forgot my existence. I forgot everything.
Then, within this endless void, a wisp of color seemed to float out of my body. It was a photograph.
Strange, what is a photograph?
As the only color in this world, I seemed to see what that photograph was.
It depicted five people. In the center was a black-haired man with a flat expression, his arms crossed, looking very calm. Beside him was a pink-haired girl, full of energy, who did not look particularly bright.
Standing next to those two was a woman with red hair wearing an elegant white dress, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked quite mature, with a streak of white in his hair and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
In the middle of these four was a blurry dark shadow, an extremely indistinct figure whose features and gender could not be discerned.
Gradually, the colors of that photograph brightened, and even the blurry shadow began to show a concrete outline, eventually becoming a gray-haired woman with golden eyes and a slightly dazed expression.
Is this how the photo is supposed to look? Why do I feel like something is missing?
I did not understand why I had such a thought. It was just that the moment I saw the photo, I inexplicably wondered why something seemed to be missing from the picture of these five people.
The colors of the photo grew brighter and brighter, finally turning into a speck of light that dissipated into this blank world. At the same time, I felt my thoughts gradually slowing down, becoming increasingly numb.
Did I lose something very important?
I saw a pink quill gradually being pulled out of my body, followed by a hat flying out, then a knight's lance burning with flames, and finally a plain-looking baseball bat.
These four items shattered one by one before my eyes.
I felt fear, as if these four things were so important to me that they absolutely could not be lost. I tried to reach out to grab the shattered items, only to find that I did not seem to have hands.
Soon after, these four items also gradually lost their color, becoming part of this void space.
Who am I?
That was my final question.
---
"Ah! Why did I end up directly in the deepest part of IX after transmigrating! It's over, the Host I just picked! How can he already be assimilated by IX, leaving only a few obsessions and residues! What should I do! If this continues, I will not be able to graduate!"
"Sigh. To think something actually retained a bit of existence. So it is a discarded possibility. It seems the protagonist of this universe is female, so the male possibility was abandoned. No, it is not just that. Under the interference of certain fates or coincidences, all discarded futures have converged upon this abandoned existence. How pitiful. You, who should not exist, were created with such pain, and in IX no less. The only reason you still retain a bit of color is purely because you, as a collective of fate, are somewhat special. But this is perfect. Since my Host only has a few obsessions and residues left, I can use this remaining existence to merge them into a brand new Host."
"But speaking of which, how did such observed but unchosen fates aggregate within IX? I feel like there is some kind of conspiracy. Forget it. If I use the back-end program to access the underlying records, points will be deducted. Better not."
That strange-sounding voice went silent, and I completely lost all perception, as if merging into this void.
Cold. Shaking.
The gray-haired youth suddenly opened his eyes, then clutched his head as he stood up from the cold floor. He looked around blankly. He seemed to be on a train, but this train was empty, without even a single sofa.
"Who... am I?"
He asked in confusion.
"You are a variable. You are a possibility. You are the unchosen future. You are an anomaly from outside the world. But regardless, you have welcomed a rebirth and become a brand new existence."
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind. The gray-haired youth looked around again with his dull golden eyes and said, "I seem to remember this place, but it feels like it is missing many things compared to the place in my memory."
"This is the system space, and also a transit station for space-time travel. We are currently leaving this universe. Because you were born within IX, you cannot stay in that universe for too long for now, otherwise you will surely be assimilated by IX. You must now obtain enough existence from outer universes and make your self-cognition strong enough to return to that universe without being assimilated."
"As for why it feels familiar, it is because this is a carriage of the Astral Express without any decorations."
"Astral Express. I seem to have some impression of this name, but I cannot remember it."
"That comes from your past and future. However, as an unchosen fate, you do not need to consider those. As a brand new, reborn existence, do you want to give yourself a new name to welcome a new beginning?"
"A name?"
"Yes. A name is the most important proof of one's existence. Once you name yourself, your nothingness will converge, your existence will manifest, and you will become a truly living being, a brand new you."
"...Caelus. Let that be my name."
"...Why?"
"Because you said this place is called the Astral Express. I have some impression of that name, so I took one part of it as my name."
"Ah, it seems the past can never truly be escaped. Well then, nice to meet you, Caelus. I am your system, the system that will guide you onto a path of transcendence to the other shore."
---
[Host: Caelus]
[Life Rank: Tier 3]
[Energy System: Path of Nihility, Tier 3]
[Special Constitution: Beyond Fate]
[System Currency: 0]
[Storage Space: 3 cubic meters]
---
Caelus looked at the virtual screen that appeared before him. When he saw his special constitution, his eyes glazed over for a moment, then he clicked on the highlighted name of the abandoned one.
[Constitution: Beyond Fate]
[Effect: Any fate, causality, or mental-type abilities below Tier 5 will not work on you. At the same time, as a hybrid of a transmigrator and an unchosen fate, your sense of presence is extremely low, making it difficult for others to notice you.]
[Evaluation: An ability born from the fusion of an existence aggregated from many unchosen fates and a transmigrator from outside fate, both of whom were devoured by IX until only residues remained.]
[Note: This ability grows along with the Host's Life Rank.]
Caelus looked at the blue screen, then at the world around him, which appeared gray in his eyes. He asked, "Why does this screen have color?"
"You can still understand the concept of color?"
"I have a vague understanding."
"Because of IX, many of your personal issues are severe, including emotional dysfunction, the lack of color in your world, and the loss of your senses of smell and taste. For a normal Host, we systems would have you start from a lower difficulty world to improve your supernatural abilities. But you are a complete exception. We must first let you strengthen your cognition and existence. Otherwise, even if you are not in this universe, you will still be completely devoured by IX."
Caelus walked to the window of the empty train carriage and looked at the colorless, pitch-black world outside.
"Will I come back? The other me seems unable to let go of this world."
"What?! Another you! That is impossible. They were clearly just two residues. How could there be any remaining consciousness!"
The system sounded particularly shocked.
"It should just be a tiny feeling left in my heart, making me feel like there is still something in this universe waiting for my return."
"Oh, it seems that because you are an existence formed from multiple overlapping fates, the residues are quite strong, enough to leave behind a few obsessions. Fine, we will return. For now, we are heading to another world."
"Destination: Type-Moon Universe. It happens to be nearby, welcomes outsiders, and the procedures are convenient. I will set up a Heroic Spirit identity for you."
"Type-Moon..."
Caelus repeated the name. According to his residual consciousness, he seemed to remember this name. Well, he only remembered the name.
(To be continued.)
Quick Notes:
Aeons: The Aeons are mysterious, godlike higher-dimensional beings in Honkai: Star Rail who preside over the universe.
IX: The Aeon that presides over the Path of Nihility. THEIR existence is a mystery.
IX doesn't interact with the other Aeons. THEY believe that the ultimate fate of the multiverse is nothingness, and therefore, worthless.