A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 266: The End
Chapter 266: The End

At that, Fleur gave a small, exasperated laugh. ”You’re still thinking about the tournament? Don’t worry about that now. The final round’s coming up soon, but Drexel has already won three matches. We’re set to win.”

Arix blinked again, trying to make sense of things. ”Wait... the last match? We’ve already won three?”

”Yeah,” Fleur confirmed. ”Only one more to go.”

Arix was speechless. It felt like she’d been asleep for just a moment, but now it seemed like everything had moved on without her.

”Forget about the tournament for now,” Fleur said softly, her expression growing serious. ”We really need to thank Cassian. If he hadn’t found you so quickly, we might’ve lost you.” Her voice broke as she recalled the sight of her daughter, battered and broken.

A wave of guilt washed over Fleur. She shouldn’t have let Arix enter the competition. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, her daughter wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed right now.

Her tears started again, and Arix couldn’t stand to see her mother like this. Despite her exhaustion, she pulled herself up and hugged Fleur, murmuring reassurances until the tears finally stopped.

Once Fleur calmed down, she flushed with embarrassment. ”Alright, alright. I’ll leave you to rest now. Tonight, I’ll bring you your favorite abalone and chicken soup.”

”Thanks, Mom. See you later.” Arix smiled as she waved goodbye, but as soon as her mother left, her smile faded. She shut her eyes and retreated into her psychic world.

Normally, her psychic space was alive with Cupid’s playful energy, but today, it was disturbingly quiet—just a dark, cold expanse. Lonely. Empty. Like a universe stripped of its stars.

The three little tigers were still curled up, fast asleep, but one was missing—Sylvana, the one who had always felt like the older sister.

”Sylvana...” Arix whispered, placing her hand over her chest as tears began to fall. It was her fault. If only she had been stronger, none of this would’ve happened.

Suddenly, a voice broke through the quiet. It was both unfamiliar and strangely comforting. ”Arix, don’t be sad.”

Startled, Arix quickly wiped away her tears and looked toward the source of the voice. She was on guard, unsure who—or what—might be speaking to her in her psychic world. But when she saw the figure, her eyes widened in shock.

This person looked... unique, to say the least.

Despite her instinct to stay cautious, it was hard to feel threatened by someone whose face was so swollen and bruised it resembled a pig’s head.

Cassian clearly knew how ridiculous he looked. Shy, he quickly turned his head to avoid meeting her eyes.

”Pfft!” Arix couldn’t hold it in. She burst out laughing, the tension breaking in an instant.

Cassian froze, then sheepishly scratched the back of his head. If his goofy appearance could make her smile, then he didn’t mind looking silly at all.

Feeling more at ease now, Arix’s curiosity only grew. ”Who are you? How are you here?” She knew there was something familiar about him, but his face was so puffed up that she couldn’t quite place him.

Cassian shook his head, choosing not to reveal his name just yet. Instead, he gently said, ”Arix, don’t be sad. Sylvana isn’t gone. You’ll see her again when you return to the Divine Realm.”

”The Divine Realm?” Arix’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. The last time she crossed paths with gods, one had tried to kill her.

Noticing the anger brewing in her gaze, Cassian panicked and waved his hands frantically. ”Wait, Arix! I’m not the one who tried to kill you! I’ve been protecting you this whole time, I swear!” To prove it, he sent a beam of light toward her, restoring the Moon Goddess’s protective mark on her chest.

Arix looked down, watching as the mark returned to its full strength. Slowly, she blinked, realizing she had misunderstood him.

”Thank you. I... I really did get it wrong,” she said, a bit embarrassed, scratching her nose in an attempt to brush off the awkwardness.

Cassian just smiled, not holding it against her for a second. ”It’s nothing. Really. But I can’t stay much longer. I have to go soon. Don’t worry, though—Cupid and the others will wake up soon.”

”Okay. Thanks again,” Arix replied, her voice sincere.

Cassian smiled softly. ”It’s what I should do. But yeah, I really have to go now,” he said, stealing one last glance at her before turning to leave.

Arix smiled, waving as he walked away, but just as he was about to disappear, she called out, ”Cassian?”

He paused for a moment but then hurriedly kept walking, his steps a little awkward, as if he didn’t quite know how to react.

Watching him leave, Arix’s smile deepened. It seemed like something had just clicked for her.

Even all grown up, Cassian was still as adorable as ever.

After learning that Sylvana was safe, Arix finally felt the weight lift off her chest. She remembered the ongoing tournament and wondered how things were going on that front.

With that thought, Arix checked on the three little tigers, making sure they were fine before leaving her psychic world.

As soon as she was back, she eagerly opened the live stream and clicked into the new mecha tournament’s channel. She tuned in just in time—the fifth match was about to begin.

Six mecha teams stood outside the hotel, waiting to board the ship that would take them to the battleground.

’Wait, what? Six teams?’ Arix’s brain nearly fried. She looked carefully at the video feed and, to her shock, saw that the extra team was being led by none other than Hardy!

’Are the insectoids really this bold now? Do they think everyone was blind?’ Arix frowned and quickly typed a message in the chat.

[MechaMonster]: Report! There’s an insectoid in the third team!

Arix knew that there were officials watching the live stream, so she hoped her message would catch the admin’s attention. But after waiting a while, her message seemed to sink like a stone—no reaction at all.

Arix’s eyes darkened, and she started to wonder if there were insectoid spies among the admins. In the past, whenever an insectoid was spotted, the chat would explode like water hitting hot oil.

Thinking for a moment, she sent another message.

[MechaMonster]: There’s really an insectoid in the third team! Seriously!

But as soon as she sent it, the chat’s viewers started to get annoyed and fired back one by one.

[NotHereForDrama]: Ugh, give it a rest! We all know there’s an insectoid. You think we’re blind?

[DudeBro420]: Yeah, no kidding. Does this idiot still think insectoids are like they used to be?

[MissInternetStar]: Bet this person’s fresh out of the village. Probably doesn’t know insectoids and humans have been chill for a while now.

...

Arix stared at the comments, recognizing every word but failing to understand what they meant when put together.

’What do they mean, insectoids and humans had been living in peace? And what do they mean by insectoids aren’t like they used to be anymore? Have they evolved into some royal insectoids or something?’

Before Arix could wrap her head around it, she got kicked out of the live stream by the admin.

Furious, she clicked to see the reason and was greeted with a message that shattered her worldview.

[Admin]: You are disrupting the peaceful relationship between humans and insectoids. You’ve been removed from the stream. Further violations will result in a report to the authorities.

Arix: ...

’Seriously? I just took a nap, and now it felt like I’ve woken up in an alternate universe. Is this some parallel world where humans and insectoids live in harmony? Or what else?’

With her lips twitching in disbelief, Arix opened up Interstellarnet Headlines and started searching for recent news about insectoids.

When she saw the results, her face quickly shifted to a extremely shocked one.

Breaking! Shocking Secrets Between the Insectoid Crown Prince and His Mother!

After the Crown Prince’s Lavish Dowry, Second Prince Hardy Becomes the Nation’s Sweetheart!

Insectoid Birth Rate Plummets: Royal Family Offers Rewards to Encourage Growth!

Heartless! Corrupt Merchants Caught Selling Rare Materials Harvested from Insectoid Corpses—Made Over 8 Billion!

Insectoids Are Worth a Fortune: Beware of Traffickers! Insectoid Tourists, Please Stay Safe!

...

Arix read through all the headlines patiently. Afterward, she sighed, feeling a mix of emotions.

It turned out the world had already achieved peace.

Maybe it was time for her story to come to an end too.

The End