Alice in the Land of Steam

In the vast universe, stars are like fine sand, flowing with brilliant light. Countless celestial bodies of different sizes, each with its own shape and state, gather together to form a winding and endless river, which cannot be exhausted by the naked eye and is also the limit of the imagination of living beings.

However, in the center of the vast and mysterious universe, there is still a large blank star field. There are no celestial bodies or starlight here. Everything is in the most chaotic and hazy emptiness, like a black hole that devours light and matter, and it is incompatible with other scenes within tens of millions of light years. The breath of decay and death is spreading, and the atmosphere of decay and despair is brewing here. There is no place in the entire universe that is darker, heavier, and more suffocating than here, because it is the remains of the old world, the cemetery of billions of lives, and the end of eternal memory.

The ancient and prosperous Eden is buried here.

If the old world is the origin of all matter, life and civilization, then the new universe should be its successor in both legal and spiritual terms. It is not wrong to call this place the initial star field. If you go deeper, to the deepest part of the initial star field, you will see a city made of steel and glass, floating alone in the void, looking at the vast and mysterious universe from afar, but it is out of reach.

The ruins were filled, the scars were erased, the collapsed buildings were restored to their original state, and the withered trees were rejuvenated. The city seemed to have completely walked out of the shadow of the war. However, only some people knew that the wounds did not disappear, but were hidden. It is still hidden in your heart, in a place you don't notice at ordinary times, but only in the dead of night, it turns over and over, and hurts dully.

Standing on the ninety-ninth floor of the headquarters building of Game Command Company, Tianjie silently gazed at the city outside the French window, the nothingness outside the city, and the new universe at the end of the nothingness. Her silver hair had grown a lot longer. It originally only reached her back, but now it reached her waist, smooth and straight like a waterfall. She still had her bangs combed neatly, but the hair on both sides of her cheeks had been tightly tied with a light red hairband, turning into two neat braids, which made her look much more mature.

The president's nameplate on the desk had somehow become her name.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and then the door was pushed open. Tianjie turned around quickly, and in her slightly widened eyes, the goddess walked in. She also had long silver hair and golden eyes, and a beautiful, elegant and noble face that looked like a work of art. She was exactly the same as the girl, but there was a little tiredness between her eyebrows. It was hard to tell why. When she created Tiantis and Alice, the goddess used her own imagination and the inspiration she got from her fantasy works on Earth to create the appearance of the two. When she created Tianjie, she suddenly had an idea and chose herself as the prototype. Therefore, among the three children, the one who looked the closest to her was Tianjie, who was born last.

Unfortunately, their personalities are totally different.

"Mother," the girl came forward and said with a straight face, "Welcome back."

Then she closed her mouth and just looked at the goddess quietly, waiting for Her instructions; and if the goddess did not give any instructions, she would not take the initiative to speak or ask anything, but just stay there quietly.

Like a puppet.

The goddess sighed silently.

After that incident, the girl seemed to have grown up, but no one knew what she had grown up about except herself. The only big change that could be seen was that she was less and less willing to speak after the two sisters were gone. Although the goddess always advised her to talk more, even if it was just to herself, otherwise, she would look too depressed. But she felt that what was the point of talking to herself in the corridor and the wall? Could those reflected echoes suddenly turn into the stern but caring lessons of Tiantis or the cheerful and cheerful instigation of Alice at some point? If you can talk to yourself, you can do it in your heart, so why do you have to speak?

As a result, she became increasingly silent, and sometimes she almost disappeared.

This is not an illusion, but a premonition, sometimes even clearer than a premonition. This makes the goddess more and more afraid. When the other two children fall asleep, the third child will also leave her. Therefore, no matter how busy or tired Genesis is, she will always take time to accompany Tianjie and relieve her heart knot. However, it has not been very effective, which makes Him feel more and more heavy and tired.

Although it was the second creation, and she had already had experience, this time, her goal was even greater. She not only wanted to create a world with a round sky and a square earth, but also a real universe. The sun, moon, and stars were no longer just illusions that maintained the concepts of time and space, but real celestial bodies. She also made a crucial decision on the most critical issue of magic power. These were matters that affected the entire body, and the goddess especially pursued perfection. Therefore, the second creation consumed much more effort and energy than the first creation, and it was also more difficult.

"Come on, Tianjie, come and talk to me."

The goddess took the girl's hand and led her to the French window. Looking at the bright and dazzling galaxy, she whispered, "Look, that's the universe often mentioned in Earth astronomy. It's a concept that combines the scale of time and the breadth of space. The universe is a curtain of probability, the soil of miracles, and the stage that all living things will step on. Relying on wisdom and technology, the people on Earth have begun to try to explore the universe and build new cities on the planet. While providing more energy, they also alleviate the increasingly serious resource crisis in their homeland. In the past, when I created Eden, I didn't consider the need to give mortals Leaving a bigger stage, so they will fight each other in this tiny world. So this time, I will give the seeds of life to every celestial body in the universe, and create a star beast that can roam freely in the universe. These star beasts will replace me and spread the magic power to every planet in the universe, so that they are always active. When the magic power in the star beasts is spread, the vision of falling stars will guide the mortals in the new world to look up at the starry sky that they have never noticed before, and then bravely take steps to explore, discover, and open up a wider world. "

That way, they wouldn't have to crowd into the same tiny planet to compete for resources, and it wouldn't lead to the end of the world, right?
Tianjie couldn't help but raise her head, her eyes flickering. Although she didn't want to interrupt her mother, she couldn't ignore the most crucial question. She stammered, "But... this requires a lot of magic power, right, mother?"

Not only does the shaping of matter and life require magic, but the activity and brightness of planets also require magic. The star beasts bring magic to the entire universe, making this boundless and infinite land with billions of years as time units and light years as space units, completely a stage for life and civilization. Such a huge project requires no less magic than ten times the creation of the world.

Judging only from the most intuitive perspective, the empty initial star field after the fall of Eden only occupies a very small space in the universe, and it has long been the painstaking work of the goddess.

"kindness."

The goddess nodded slowly, with no intention of hiding anything: "The magic power required is indeed huge, but I built the model based on my own magic power limit, so after calculation, it is just right."

“Mother!?”

The girl lost her voice, her face was so shocked that she even looked a little confused. She stuttered, almost suspecting that she had heard it wrongly: "What did you say? Building a model based on your own magic power limit, doesn't that mean, means..."

She couldn't say what it meant. Perhaps her reason was overcoming her instinct and she was unwilling to give the answer.

But if it’s not spoken out, does it mean it doesn’t exist?

"Don't be so surprised, Celestial."

He gently stroked the girl's hair, with a gleam of expectation in his eyes: "The ruin and decline of Eden made me reflect on my past thoughts. Perhaps it is because I gave mortals emotions and desires, but did not give them the means to fill their desires, that led to this tragedy. If I could give them more, like a true mother, loving them unreservedly, perhaps life, material, civilization, and the new world would all be on the right track." So, in the end, this kind and benevolent goddess still took all the blame on herself.

Tianjie hesitated: "But, Tiantis said that all this is the fault of mortals. They are too greedy and demand too much..."

"..." The goddess was silent for a while, then she said softly: "Perhaps, the mistakes that Tiantis understood are different from the mistakes that I understood."

What's the difference? Are there many kinds of mistakes? Although she has grown up a lot, the girl still can't understand the overly profound metaphors in her mother's words. She only knows that she is destined to not change her decision. Thinking of the sleeping Tiantis and Alice, she can't help but say sadly: "Where are Tiantis and Alice? Doesn't mother care about them? If they can't see you when they wake up, they will be very sad."

Mentioning the two sleeping children, the goddess's face darkened. She understood this truth, but unfortunately, there were some things that even she could not change.

He could only comfort them softly, "I am not leaving. I am just staying with you in a different way. Besides, you are still here, Tianjie. Although it may be a little hard, I believe you can take good care of them."

Tiantis and Alice are not recuperating in the new Heavenly Temple. Whenever the goddess wants to bring them back, their spirits and consciousness instinctively resist, as if a deep shadow has been left in their hearts. The goddess cannot force them, so she can only choose to leave Alice on Earth, where there are her favorite games and various fantasy works, where she can slowly try to heal her trauma; at the same time, the goddess buried the old Heavenly Temple deep underground in the new world, and as long as Tiantis wakes up, it will automatically start and lead her to this new world. The goddess is full of confidence in the mortals and civilizations of the new world, and believes that they may be able to surpass the height of Eden. Therefore, she hopes that when Tiantis wakes up and sees the prosperous and beautiful new world, he can temporarily put aside his prejudice against mortals and eliminate those resentments and pains.

He took great pains to take care of his two daughters, but this made it very hard for the heavenly realm that was responsible for taking care of the two sisters. In addition to looking after the new world he left behind, he also had to keep a close eye on the condition of his two sisters... In addition to that, he had an extra responsibility added.

The responsibility of being a sister.

When the girl heard this for the first time, her expression was a little surprised: "You, you mean, I'm going to be a sister too?"

"Yes." The goddess stroked her hair lovingly and said gently, "The model of the new world is larger than the old world, and naturally more fragile, so more girl kings like Alice and Tiantis are needed to maintain the stability of the laws. After that, I will create fourteen new girl kings, each mastering the seven laws of order and chaos, and they will perform this function - that is, your sisters."

He raised his head, his eyes contained a deep universe, and he sighed softly, "I have always believed that it was not wrong for me to teach mortals the secrets of magic, and it was not wrong for me to let the young royal power protect and guide the development of civilization. But why did it lead to such a consequence? The only possibility should be that the distance between the two parties is too close, so they cannot understand each other. So this time, I hope that they can all stay in the Holy Temple of Heaven, just focus on their own missions, live a peaceful life, and don't get involved in too many mortal affairs. Let them handle the affairs of mortal civilization themselves. Only the path that mortals have walked out of themselves is the path they want, right?"

"Tianjie, as a sister, you must take good care of them, okay?"

“I, I…” The girl, who had suddenly become a sister, was still not able to get rid of her past mentality. She was a little panicked and frustrated for a moment: “I can’t do it, mother…”

Taking care of the sleeping Alice and Tiantis, taking care of the fourteen sisters who are about to be born, and even helping to take care of this newborn universe... These burdens are too heavy, and the girl feels suffocated just by thinking about them.

"Why? If I can do it, you can definitely do it, Celestial."

"No, no, mother... I can't do it..."

The goddess' encouragement had no effect. The girl even secretly thought that it was because these things only her mother could do that she couldn't do them.

Looking at her most taciturn and least confident child, the goddess was a little distressed, not knowing how to help her boost her confidence. However, after all, He was the closest and most trusted person in heaven, and he quickly guessed the girl's worries. In addition to sympathy and love in his heart, he also had a special idea.

"Tianjie," she slowly leaned down, her eyes level with the girl's, their eyes met in mid-air, the former was warm and gentle, while the latter was a little timid, shy, and dared not look away. The goddess put two fingers on the corners of Tianjie's mouth, gently hooked it upwards, and helped her grin into a somewhat funny arc: "Since you think this is something only I can do, then I will give you my name."

"Eh!?" The girl was so frightened by these words that she couldn't even keep her smile, her face full of astonishment.

The goddess had anticipated her reaction and smiled softly. She gently held the girl's face and placed her forehead against hers. Their eyes met within earshot, conveying her encouragement and her bewilderment.

"From now on, you are Themis of the Celestial Realm, the one I left behind in this world. My emotions are your emotions, my memories are your memories, and so, the decisions you make are naturally the ones I approve of."

"No need to worry, no need to hesitate, no need to be confused, just be the person you want to be."

"My dearest child, Celestial Themis."

……

"File record X52, end of the century, playback completed." (End of this chapter)