The serious look in Shi Tian's face was enough to make Wendy feel overwhelmingly guilty. She had already seen this side of him during the times she simulated the past using the Sea of Quanta. As much as he placed himself at the forefront of danger every single time, Shi Tian did not like seeing others being put in danger because of him. And Wendy was right.
All sorts of thoughts flickered in his eyes, ultimately converging into a sigh. The extent of Wendy's consumption flashed within his mind.
'Three-fourths of her lifespan…'
A Void Refinement Realm expert has an average lifespan of a hundred billion years. Spending three-fourths of it—seventy-five billion years—in a single-go was enough to pose risks to Wendy… and it did. Even now, the damage to her true body is visible. Her realm could not advance an inch further. Normal divination takes a lot of toll compared to how it used to. Worst, her situation worsened with every living second, eventually sapping all of her lifespan away.
"We'll deal with this later. You are not allowed to refuse, understand?"
"...Okay."
Fortunately, Shi Tian stockpiled countless supplies. All the years—and the daily draws—were not wasted. He swiftly came up with a treatment plan for Wendy's current situation. Divination backlash occurs mostly due to karma, followed by the damage to their status. It wasn't born out of some kind of singular entity (i.e., will of the world), but rather, the result of carrying a burden they could not bear. Only after these two would the injuries of the true body emerge.
"The future I saw… is concerning." A depressive look appeared on Wendy's face. "The Aeons of this universe's past, present, and future… They are all present during your self-coronation."
"All of them? That's quite… excessive."
On second thought, Shi Tian knew it was not excessive at all. Although he managed to rewrite the entire universe, going as far as to rewrite the memories of Aeons THEMSELVES, he knew it would be broken at some point. His true realm wasn't at the Dao Integration Realm, after all. He wasn't able to use the talismans' full potential. The eighth-grade formation array he deployed served to safeguard Amphoreus at best.
"Their sides are conflicting. Some wanted to sabotage your breakthrough. Some wanted to support it. Some wanted to watch from the sidelines, only to interfere at the decisive moments. Most importantly…"
Her bright green irises stared right at his golden eyes.
"I have seen an early onset of a tribulation."
Wendy was more than certain it wasn't a tribulation at the Dao Integration Realm. Seeing that corner of the future was the main reason why she endured this backlash. The Aeons of the Imaginary Tree are formidable variables, but the one that made her cautious the most was that one Aeon!
"Its descent also triggered that special Aeon's movements… the one they called Finality."
Wendy's irises shook as she recalled them in her memories. It was a huge and chaotic fight that threatened Shi Tian's ascension to the Dao Integration Realm. Still, the overwhelming power, one that sent her to the point of despair, was evident the moment she laid her eyes on Finality. That was the one that made her concerned the most.
"Its power lies at the end of time. This universe ushered in countless loops… iterations I have laid my eyes on."
Shi Tian nodded at her words.
"It is the struggle of the universe. It prolongs its suffering in order to find the Deliverer it was waiting for."
"Trailblaze." She paused before continuing, "I have seen they would be our greatest ally."
The more Wendy spoke out, the more she proved the terrifying aspect of a diviner. She had seen everything play out in the future, hence all that was left is to create a playthrough closest to perfection.
Finality's descent was tied to Shi Tian's self-coronation. It was something that broke the inherent balance of the universe—its "canon", per se. The main story of Honkai Star Rail relied not on foretold prophecies, but the accidents that come with fulfilling them. Every single 'accident' meant a shot at reversing the universe's Finality. Shi Tian's self-coronation was no exception. It is the biggest accident that could ever happen in this world. Naturally, everyone would capitalize on it to achieve their own agendas.
"Have you seen how it would end?"
Wendy fell silent upon hearing that answer. Hesitation appeared on her face before revealing what she had seen.
"Two outcomes. One is your success. The other… is your fall. Countless futures diverged after this outcome. Some led to your body being used to complete what this world was lacking. Some led to your remaining power being used to step onto the Dao Integration Realm."
Speaking of that possibility killed every sign of life in her eyes. Wendy could not bear to imagine a world without Shi Tian. The thought alone was enough to make her heart feel heavy.
"So I succeeded. That's enough."
Clink-!
The coffee cup was placed back to the saucer. The thin smile in his lips caused Wendy to forget her worries momentarily.
"Remember. A diviner's fate is not for their futures to decide, but their present."
"I… understand. The treatment…"
"I'll schedule it around a week later. Are you free by then?"
"Yes!"
*****
Wendy went up like a puff of smoke. I followed her actions, teleporting back to the Artifact Forging Peak branch I left on. Our interaction lasted most of this day. Admittedly, my heart felt heavy every time I thought of what she went through. She sacrificed most of her life to peek into the future.
I looked at the light green jade I held in my right hand. Its cold touch betrayed Wendy's warmth when she handed it over. Her eighth-grade diviner status is no joke. She wouldn't just divine a few future scenes and call it quits. The information held by this jade slip is everything she had compiled from that session—major events down to the minor scruffles. I planned to read everything for later.
Soon, the metal door in front of me opened, revealing Edison.
"How was it?" I asked.
"Thank you so much, Uncle Tian!"
The girl reached out for a hug. I let her do as she wished. I patted her head several times out of instinct, though it led to her face snuggling a bit longer than I expected. She separated from me as she sported a proud look.
"I immediately used the void talisman left by Mom and summoned her over!"
…
Damn.
My niece is smarter than I thought.