The Lonely Observer

In the scene, Shen Yiyue suddenly placed her hands on her head.

It seemed as though she was trying hard to do something, and Ning Yu guessed she was using her ability in some way.

Not long after, her body collapsed to the ground, and this branch of the timeline seemed to come to an abrupt halt.

Just as Ning Yu finished watching this branch, she suddenly felt a shiver run through her.

Because she seemed to realize what the countless branches below represented.

Combined with the words Shen Yiyue had spoken in her memory, and those abilities she had never seen before...

If Shen Yiyue’s power allowed her to reverse the flow of time for various things,

then if the desire was strong enough, it might also be possible to reverse the flow of her own consciousness.

If that theory held, then wouldn’t it mean...

Ning Yu hurriedly clicked on the second branch:

Shen Yiyue woke up in the room, her hands trembling, as if she had truly succeeded.

She took out her phone to confirm the date of the reversal, then ran outside and joyfully hugged ‘Ning Yu.’

The ‘Ning Yu’ in the living room was at a loss, only comforting her.

Shen Yiyue wanted to change the future—that was only natural.

But this time, she still failed.

She wanted to take Ning Yu and Shen Qianqian away from the base, thinking it was the source of the problem.

But during the journey, they were still pursued by a horde of zombies.

The outcome remained the same.

But in Ning Yu’s understanding, Shen Yiyue was an incredibly strong person. She wouldn’t give up so easily.

When she saw Shen Yiyue begin the reversal again, Ning Yu didn’t rush to click on the third branch.

Instead, she looked up at Moon Princess and asked,

“Is the ending the same every time?”

Moon Princess’s face showed no expression, neither pity nor joy.

“Yes, fate is not so easily rewritten.”

“Like the convergence of worldlines?”

Ning Yu described a concept she could understand.

“Similar, but not as difficult.”

Moon Princess answered ambiguously.

“So is that why I’m here?”

Ning Yu pointed at herself.

“Yes and no. If it were just you, you wouldn’t be here. Your possibility would have vanished from the start.”

“If it were just her...”

Moon Princess opened all the parallel lines, arranging them densely, filling their vision.

“She would have no reason to do this.”

“So you see, all of this was inevitable.”

She gave Ning Yu a mysterious smile.

Ning Yu clicked on the third parallel line:

Shen Yiyue began training herself diligently, asking ‘Ning Yu’ to join her in honing their combat skills, exploring other potential uses of her abilities.

Ning Yu guessed her thoughts: If she could become stronger, perhaps she could face that terrifying enemy head-on.

But the gap between her and Chen Xing’s strength was insurmountable.

This time, she failed as well.

Then came the fourth, fifth, and Nth parallel lines...

They all shared one common outcome—failure.

The more Ning Yu watched, the more sorrow she felt, yet the more she couldn’t stop herself from continuing.

Compared to the despair she felt while watching, the despair Shen Yiyue must have felt, trying over and over again only to fail each time, was something Ning Yu could hardly imagine.

If there was something you were destined to fail at, and you’d tried countless times without success, could you still keep going?

If it were just empty talk, edgy teenagers could easily type out, “Of course I could.”

But failure is never a single moment; it’s the countless times you pour your heart and soul into something, exhausting yourself over a long period, only to end with a tragic result.

By then, you’re utterly spent, and you can vaguely see the outcome of the next attempt, and the one after that, and the one after that...

Could you still keep going?

Could you still “fight back”?

The more Ning Yu asked herself these questions, the more sorrow she felt.

Even though she had no physical body in this mysterious space, she felt as though her heart was being gripped tightly.

That grip tightened as she continued watching, squeezing her heart as if to crush it.

As Shen Yiyue traversed countless parallel lines, her mindset seemed to gradually change.

She went from determination, to confusion, to breakdown, to expressionlessness, then back to determination, repeating the cycle.

Ning Yu saw Shen Yiyue crying bitterly in the dead of night, clutching a pillow, burying her face in it to stifle her sobs.

She had experienced countless moments of self-doubt, but she never gave up.

Sometimes, even when she was grieving one moment, the ‘Ning Yu’ in that parallel line would walk into the room the next.

Shen Yiyue would then put on a face as if nothing had happened, chatting with ‘Ning Yu’ about trivial matters as if everything were normal.

Seeing this, Ning Yu felt so sad she wanted to cry.

She longed to step into that scene, to hold Shen Yiyue, to offer her a warm embrace, comfort, and a shoulder to lean on.

To tell her she wasn’t alone.

But the Ning Yu in that timeline didn’t have such memories.

So the emotionally detached version of herself didn’t notice Shen Yiyue’s distress.

Only after that version of herself turned and left did Shen Yiyue reveal her lonely, helpless gaze.

That look vanished quickly.

She must have already started planning: What would she try this time?

On this long, seemingly endless journey, Shen Yiyue was the sole, lonely observer.

Devising every possible way to find a path to their happiness.

This burden was too heavy, too cruel for Shen Yiyue.

Ning Yu couldn’t even imagine if it were her—could she really keep summoning the courage? Would she not break down?

Even as her emotions teetered on the edge of collapse, Ning Yu watched every single parallel line to the end.

By the later stages, Shen Yiyue no longer had so many emotional fluctuations. It seemed she had grown accustomed, simply acting in silence.

Failure, then try again.

Ning Yu realized the weight behind the smiles Shen Yiyue had shown her, the playful words she had spoken.

This pressure made it hard for her to breathe, her entire body trembling.

Even the lake beneath her feet began to ripple violently.

Ning Yu suddenly looked up, realizing tears had already streamed down her cheeks.

So she could cry after all.