Little Pink Starfish

Even though he had been anxious inside this whole time, when it finally came time to return, Pei Sen inexplicably started to feel nervous.

Given what he knew about Eagle, this might not be so easy to get through.

Honestly though, was this kind of thing really all that serious? In normal romantic relationships, short periods of separation were inevitable. Couples who stuck together 24/7 were rare.

Pei Sen returned via the space-time train. Coincidentally, some of the old players who had spent the shortest time in the Soul Era were also heading back. They were surprised to find Pei Sen on the same train.

“…This game is way too realistic. The same NPC across different servers is actually the same person.”

“Didn’t we already suspect that? There are no duplicate NPCs in Bix Magic Cube!”

“Honestly, in most games, background NPCs share the same models. It’s common. No game company can afford the resources to give every background NPC a unique model.”

“But Bix Magic Cube managed it!”

“And not just that—the scarier part is that each background NPC has their own life. No matter what the players do, NPCs have their own personalities and routines. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that no two NPCs are the same.”

“This is seriously an impressive and magical game…”

Even now, most players wouldn’t speculate that the game world was real, because “a game is just a game.” Players instinctively rejected that idea. Even though some forum users would occasionally sound the alarm and say that Bix Magic Cube was some kind of colonial game for humanity, such thoughts never became mainstream.

Because right away, other players would mock and argue, “A game to colonize an alien or parallel world? Don’t be so self-centered. Your alien planet just happens to look exactly like Earth? Even if it’s a fantasy world, it’s way too similar to Earth’s imagined fantasy settings.”

“I think this game world is clearly based on a modified version of Earth’s real-world history. You’ve got the overused medieval mages, swordsmen, rogues, and now the Soul Era server, which practically mirrors a certain period of our own country’s modern history.”

Indeed, the world of Bix Magic Cube was eerily similar to a certain time in Earth’s past. It looked like a reality-modified fantasy world, which made it hard for any theory claiming this was a real alternate world to hold water.

As for those who adamantly declared this was a real alien world being colonized—well, they were just ridiculed. After all, the odds of another planet being this similar to Earth were nearly zero. And what, there are two or three such planets?

Sitting on the space-time train, Pei Sen watched the heated debates on the forum while opening his inbox.

His correspondence with Bix Magic Cube had become more frequent lately, and he no longer felt the need to weigh every word as he had at the beginning.

“I already know this is the real world, but why are these worlds so similar to Earth?”

Bix Magic Cube replied: “That question is complicated.”

Pei Sen immediately sat up straight—because this time, Bix Magic Cube actually answered! Even if the reply didn’t reveal much, it was still something!

“Complicated is fine, just explain it simply. I’ll try to understand,” Pei Sen said cautiously, waiting nervously for a reply.

The reason he had worked so hard and been so careful with Bix Magic Cube was that he hoped one day to earn the trust of this conscious, sentient game—and through that, uncover the truth.

Or rather, Pei Sen held onto a quiet hope: that one day, he might really return home. Back to the normal world. Back to the Earth he now missed so deeply.

If given the chance, who wouldn’t want to go home?

But Bix Magic Cube didn’t reply for a long time. Pei Sen felt disappointed. So it was ghosting him again. Just a few words, and then back to silence.

But then, several minutes later, Pei Sen received another message.

His heart rate instantly spiked. Maybe his recent outstanding performance had made Bix Magic Cube truly satisfied?

He had known for a while now that both Yali Continent and the Soul Era felt like real worlds. But the players’ counterarguments had always puzzled him.

Bix Magic Cube wrote: “First, imagine a Rubik’s Cube that’s not perfectly aligned. The core cube in the center is the real world. The surrounding cubes are worlds like Yali Continent and the Soul Era. They originated from the real world, but have diverged. They’re like real-yet-illusory dimensional spaces.”

Pei Sen: “…” For the first time, he found Bix Magic Cube kind of deep.

Bix Magic Cube continued: “Originally, yes, the real world is like a sphere. Yali Continent, the Soul Era—they’re like bubbles connected by threads. Over time, these bubbles and the real world together formed a multidimensional space.”

Pei Sen frowned. “A game’ made real people players?”

Bix Magic Cube: “Because these dimensional offshoots that were born from the real world grew closer, the multidimensional space gradually morphed into a distorted Rubik’s Cube. It shifts and rearranges constantly. Eventually, one face—or a single point—gets tightly linked to the real world. In other words, these dimensional spaces intersect and fuse.”

Pei Sen: “?”

Bix Magic Cube: “So I cleverly used this method to limit the fusion to within controllable bounds.”

Pei Sen: “……”

From the tone, Pei Sen could tell that Bix Magic Cube wanted a little praise for its solution.

Compared to a chaotic fusion with real-world dimensional offshoots, Bix Magic Cube’s method was clearly safer and far less dangerous.

Just imagine—if transcendents from worlds like Yali Continent or the Soul Era appeared in the real world, peace and stability would be seriously disrupted.

Moreover, Bix Magic Cube’s explanation gave Pei Sen a spark of hope. Meaning—he was currently in a dimension very close to the real world. So he still… might be able to go home?

“Why me?” That was something Pei Sen really wanted to know. Why had he crossed over right before Bix Magic Cube’s server opened? Why did he have both NPC and player panels? Why was his bond with Bix Magic Cube deepening until he was basically its personal guide?

Bix Magic Cube, smart as always, responded confidently, “How should I know why my future self chose you? Maybe you’re special in some way.”

Pei Sen: “…”

“Oh, and since you’ve been chosen, if a new world merges with the real world again, you still have to fulfill your mission! Keep it up!” Bix Magic Cube added.

Pei Sen: “?”

What the hell…? Why did he suddenly feel like he had boarded a pirate ship with no way off?

Honestly, he’d never thought of himself as someone special.

So—why him?

These tangled thoughts were immediately pushed aside the moment he arrived back in Yali Continent. All that multidimensional fusion stuff vanished from his mind.

Right now, one person occupied his entire heart.

Eagle Lanor.

After resolving the mystery of whether Yali Continent was real, Pei Sen no longer feared that Eagle might vanish like a soap bubble. He knew now—Eagle was real. Even if this world had originated as a phantom offshoot of the real world, it had become real in its own dimensional space.

Once the space-time train stopped behind Red Maple Castle, Pei Sen got off, checked the gifts he had brought from the Soul Era for his friends, took a deep breath, and headed toward the castle.

“It’s you.”

Unexpectedly, the first person he saw upon returning was Wendel Bonfrese, sitting in the garden basking in the sunlight.

Since Eagle had awakened the two seeds of light within him and absorbed the Spring Eye of the Holy Light Spring, his power alone was enough to cleanse Wendel’s curse.

Indeed, the curse in Wendel’s body was gone. But his body was still quite weak, so the castle servants brought him to the garden for sunbathing each day.

However, he was now completely blind.

“How did you know it was me?” Pei Sen was certain Wendel couldn’t see—so how did he recognize him?

Wendel chuckled. “At first I didn’t. I just felt someone approaching. But now that I hear your voice, I know—it’s you, Pei Sen, right?”

As the former Bonfrese prince and designated heir, Wendel was undoubtedly clever, even though he’d only been twelve when he was imprisoned in the ruins.

Perhaps because he had aged so abruptly, Wendel, now clearly in his twenties, still retained a distinctly youthful vibe.

Even blindness hadn’t erased his lively, resilient personality.

It should be noted: Eagle had always treated him coolly, never truly accepting him as a younger brother. As a result, the castle servants hadn’t shown him much care either. They were excellent at reading the room, and Eagle’s attitude alone was enough to determine their treatment of Wendel.

With Pei Sen, the head steward, absent, the castle staff had grown more lax.

For example, though Wendel had been brought to the garden to sunbathe, not a single servant was nearby. They had simply left him there alone.

No doubt Wendel had grown quite familiar with the fickle warmth of human nature during this time.

Once regarded as the most outstanding son of King Bonfrese, adored like a star for the first twelve years of his life, Wendel had learned painful lessons during the mission to rescue his sister in the Kingdom of Esmia. The price he paid was one that most people could never bear.

Yet Wendel was still smiling—playfully even. His slightly disheveled black hair contrasted sharply with the pristine collar of his shirt.

It was obvious that Wendel dressed himself. His long-standing good habits kept his clothes neat, but without sight, he couldn’t manage his hair well. Perhaps the servants couldn’t be bothered to bring him a horn comb, so he had no choice but to let it be.

For a moment, Pei Sen’s mind wandered. He thought about that other version of Eagle on the original timeline. Had he also been forced to grow strong, even in the face of losing the light?

“What are you thinking about?” Wendel asked curiously.

Just as Pei Sen was about to respond, a cold voice interrupted, “Am I interrupting your delightful conversation?”

At the sound of that voice, Pei Sen’s scalp tingled. He turned to see Eagle standing not far away.

He wore a simple white shirt and light brown trousers. His tall, lean frame made Pei Sen tilt his head up slightly to meet his gaze.

Eagle’s golden hair shone like molten light in the sun, and his emerald eyes looked even deeper than usual—brimming with visible anger.

This noble Duke, always poised and elegant, now looked slightly disheveled, possibly from rushing out too quickly—he hadn’t even had time to put on both shoes.

Behind him, a guilty-looking Peks held a shoe in its mouth, cautiously poking out its round little head. It carefully placed the shoe at Eagle’s feet and then shrank into a ball, gazing up at its master with wide, pitiful eyes. It clearly wanted to nuzzle his pants leg to show affection—but was too scared to approach due to Eagle’s terrifying aura.

The cat, as usual, was utterly cowardly.

Seeing Eagle standing there with one bare foot, Pei Sen suddenly felt a deep tenderness in his heart.

This young master of his… was always so worrisome.

“Eagle.” He gently called his name, without the usual “young master” suffix.

Eagle paused. It was the first time this person had called his name so softly and intimately—without just saying “young master.” Before Eagle could react, Pei Sen stepped forward, knelt down, picked up the shoe, and helped him put it on. Just like before, as if he had never left—so natural, so tender.

Once the shoe was on, Pei Sen lifted his head slightly and saw that familiar round black cat, and—on the collar around its neck—a pendant that looked strangely familiar.

Uh, wait a second—wasn’t that the silver magic cube he’d been searching for?

How had it ended up as the cat’s collar charm?!