"???" Rocky looked at Caelus, sensing something off. "Well... thanks anyway!"
The conversation ended, but Caelus didn't act immediately. Instead, he stared at the three love poems on the table.
He picked them up slowly.
Meanwhile, subtitles appeared beside the screen, displaying the poems' contents.
Herta Love Poem I:
"Ley, my Ley!
How did I fall for you?
Your white skirts,
Like descending wild doves,
Casually disturbing my heart."
Herta Love Poem II:
"Leaving Herta, light as a swallow,
You tap-dance on the Abundance's skin.
Making my heart tremble in sync!
Making Stellarons clump, clogging the starrails."
Herta Love Poem III:
"Beyond the rings and starlight, a woman drifts in the galaxy,
Carrying my questions. The deadline for answers is my lifetime,
The reply lingers at a black hole's fragile edge.
Her eyes are sighs of clouds,
Blueness spelling my name in loneliness."
[Even if I were Lesley, I wouldn't know how to reply to this!]
[Emotions are strong... if a bit cringey.]
[Zero technique, pure feeling take notes!]
["Making my heart tremble in sync!"]
[Not bad! Could add "Snap your fingers doot doot doo-doo" too.]
[Another master poet?]
[You can tell each poem improves over the last!]
[Wait, is this gonna be some abstract tragedy?]
[Probably not? Though some lines feel off...]
[Seriously, if someone asks you to be best man and you say "next time," shouldn't they punch you?]
[This is just a side story probably lighthearted.]
——
After reading the poems, Caelus spoke with Rocky's mentor, Bernard.
But.
Their conversation made Bernard's admiration for Lesley's genius and disdain for Rocky painfully clear.
Bernard sighed. "Lesley would never accept Rocky. Even if she replied to his confession, their vast differences Would make their relationship fleeting as morning dew!"
Hearing this, Caelus grew thoughtful:
Bernard makes it sound like there's more to this story.
Yet from the start, he's tried stopping me.
Something's being hidden here.
Caelus decided to help Rocky uncover the truth.
...
Soon.
He reached the Storage Zone and found the relay,
But two missing components rendered it useless.
Cracking his neck, he gripped his bat.
What followed was simple violence.
Before long.
With the parts installed, the relay activated,
Unspooling the entire communication history.
The scene slowed as Caelus read aloud
The exchanges between Rocky and Lesley.
Gradually,
The camera faded from Caelus,
Instead cutting between a man and woman
Rocky, and unmistakably, Lesley.
No matter where they were, they replied instantly upon receiving messages.
They cared for each other, occasionally bickering.
Yet whenever a notification chimed, only smiles remained.
Originally, this segment was just text in-game,
But Su Chen adapted it into alternating shots of both speaking their messages
Deepening audience empathy.
It worked. Viewers quickly fell for this love spanning galaxies.
Lesley's arrival in the Abundance star system,
Her use of the Astrosign Spud,
Her experience of the Stellar Quake
All unfolded vividly.
Now, Rocky sat before the relay.
Staring at his message sent at System Time 08:38:23:
"But now I understand the Stellar Quake's beauty lies in its danger."
He knew interstellar chats couldn't expect instant replies.
Gathering courage, he typed again:
"Next time, let's witness it together. Even if it's dangerous, I'll be by your side!"
He hit "Send," then walked away.
Yet within ten system minutes, he returned.
"I'm an idiot! If I'm confessing, I need to be clear!"
Another message followed:
"What I mean is... if possible, I want to stay with you forever."
"Do you understand?"
Exhaling deeply, Rocky finally left the comms room.
For months after, no replies came despite his refreshes.
Then the Antimatter Legion invaded Herta Space Station.
His last chance vanished.
[Laugh at the poems, but Rocky's devotion is real!]
[The ultimate long-distance relationship!]
[This chat log sequence hurts...]
[I can't tell is miHoYo aiming for comedy or tragedy? Pick one!]
[I mocked his cringey poems, yet I lack his courage to confess!]
[Don't tell me Lesley already...]
[No way! That's crueler than lovers turning out to be siblings!]
——
After reviewing the logs, Caelus confirmed no new messages arrived in subsequent months.
But.
Checking recent records, he made a shocking discovery
Lesley had replied: "Silly Rocky, of course I understand. As for my answer..."
Caelus stroked his chin. "Critical data corruption? Someone tampered with the relay. Time to check surveillance."
A cut later: the monitor room. Footage revealed the saboteur Bernard.
Thus.
Caelus confronted Bernard in the Master Control Zone.
Bernard gazed at the starscape beyond the station. "So you fixed it.
...
Ah, you reckless kids!"
His laugh sounded bitter. "Fine. Lesley did accept Rocky's confession!"
Caelus narrowed his eyes. "You clearly care for your student. Why do this?"
"Don't you see? They can never be together!"
A melancholic guitar melody swelled in the background.
Bernard continued gravely, "Rocky mentioned Lesley experienced a 'Stellar Quake,' yes?
It's a phenomenon triggered by stellar collapse. The gravitational implosion
Warps spacetime curvature in its sector drastically.
After the quake, time flows far slower in Lesley's location than ours.
The gap widens continuously.
One day for her could mean ten, twenty eventually a hundred days for us.
That's why Rocky waited months for replies that took Lesley minutes to send.
In short... she now lives in our future."
Caelus absorbed this silently.
"That's why I altered the records before Rocky noticed." Bernard exhaled at least the truth unburdened him.
"No happy ending exists for them!
We may transcend space…. but time is beyond our reach!
You disrupted my plans, but so be it.
Here are two backup message logs.
The red one holds the truth Lesley's reply and the Stellar Quake's reality.
The blue one contains my forgery Lesley rejecting Rocky.
Which to give him?
The choice... is yours."