Vera's Melancholy: Final Volume (Version 1)

It is said that the author of this work has rather questionable professional ethics — allegedly, the same story has been pitched to publishers as a "new work" again and again on various planets. This is perhaps the reason a kill order has been placed on the writer by a certain galactic empire. Yu Huangyi cannot tell which volume was a piece of space debris salvaged by the mistress's sisters, and which was written by Hilda out of outrage at the original ending. After all, both are handwritten manuscripts...

—The Beast Calling Out for Love at the Heart of the World— Of course the story had to be set in Delphi. How else was I supposed to make good on the title of the final volume? Every day was a celebration, and every day a festival. For the boys and girls who were young no longer, nothing remained but the endless flow of happy time.

Alone in his estate, Ike sat, nursing a glass of apple juice. A knock came from Princess Andro-Basilisks. Tal, evil spirit and butler of the manor, winced. A painful memory of its "front teeth," otherwise known as the front doors, being kicked wide open, swam to mind. Ultimately, caught between its master's orders of "I want to be alone, don't let anyone in" and the prospect of its front teeth throbbing in agony, it decided to let its master fend for himself. Fortunately, Ike did not blame it this time. The silent boy, that fragment of time itself, poured the princess a glass of apple juice. "What do you plan to do?" The fact that Ike was actually taking a proactive interest in her affairs was a rare sight indeed. "I took the very eyes from Sachi's head. Even with new ones put back in, even if time itself were turned back, I could never, ever love another." The Princess swirled her glass. "In all these broken shards of time, is there really no ending meant for me?" "Would you truly reach across the branches of possibility to steal joy from the other versions of yourself?" "I suppose you're right. In that case, I'll wait. I'll wait until Vera grows old and finishes her happy little life. After that, I'll tie Sachi up and take him back to the Andromeda Empire." Sachi had already undergone countless augmentations and signed the contracts of infinite Great Beings. He... He could only pretend to grow old. He would spend old age acting out youth, knowing all too well that real youth, once gone, is gone forever. "That answer eases my worries a little." After a long silence, Ike spoke again. "With this operation, the echoes of time have multiplied. Somewhere in the universe, there may now be another 'me.' I must find him, duel him, and merge our souls back into one." "I see." They tapped their glasses together. The princess finished the last of her drink, then closed the door and left.

Under the full moon and the starry sky, Ike went for a walk. From the hills, he looked down at Delphi. Suddenly, he took off his glasses and wiped away his tears. "I love you all. I love all of you!" That echo of time shouted the words at a deafening volume. It rang loudly through time itself, a sound so thunderous that, throughout the vast universe and into the depths of forever, his proclamation was the only thing to be heard. But this was Delphi. Neither the center nor the heart of the universe, only an ordinary town. The night wind carried his shout away, and soon it vanished among the lights of happy homes and the dawn of human youth.