CHAPTER 43: UNLUCKY

Normally, Fate Walk could never be used to send another person into the Space of Timeless Fate. However, with Siamelumis’ divine intervention, such a thing became possible! Siamelumis helped Marshmallow upgrade Fate Walk, and with that, the angelic cat was able to send Claire—now Mimi—into that strange, endless realm where countless futures floated inside countless colorful spheres. Here, Mimi would be given the chance to choose her destiny.

Now, all that mattered was whether she could actually find the future she truly desired, the one where she would be able to learn that skill successfully.

...

Unfortunately, things weren’t going well at all.

"Please, please let this be the one!" Mimi prayed desperately, her tiny paws clasped as she floated before the 105th Sphere.

The sphere shimmered like a crystal bubble. As she leaned closer, it opened, showing her a glimpse of the reality inside.

"MEOWWWWW!!" The Mimi inside that sphere screeched in agony, her small body writhing as light burned across her fur.

Please, please succeed!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Mimi wailed.

"Fuck!"

Her astral body tore itself away from the Sphere of Destiny. Another failure. The 105th failure!

Earlier, Marshmallow had told her that she should "use her heart" to sense the correct future she sought.

But...

What the hell does that even mean?!

"Haiyaaaaaa..."

Mimi sighed.

Her inky black blob-like form trembled. She slumped, ears drooping, eyes dimming with disappointment.

But no! This isn’t the time to give up!

She forced herself upright, her shape quivering as she steadied herself. Her purple eyes narrowed, determination blazing.

Even if it takes 1,000 times... or even 1 million times... I’ll still find it! I won’t give up!

After all, when it comes to grinding ultra–super rare loot drops, my patience bar is literally maxed out! No one in the world can out-grind me!

Well, based on probability, it’d probably take around 10,000 tries.

But still—!

That was the spirit!

And so, Mimi pressed on, diving back into the infinite ocean of fate.

***

She moved, teleporting restlessly, peering into sphere after sphere, desperately praying for the right one!

200th one!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

1000th one!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

2000th one!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

And then—

8000th one!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

15,000th one!

[EEEE-EEE! Skill learning failed. Unable to learn Divine Curse Reversal!]

Still failure!

"FUCK! This isn’t how RNG is supposed to work!!! This doesn’t make any sense! This rate is a lie!!!"

Mimi cursed under her breath, tail puffed like a furious raccoon, her blobby body quivering with frustration.

It felt like the universe itself was mocking her with every rejection sound.

But then again... she thought bitterly... considering how she once lost 50:50 rolls in gacha games ten times in a row, this was... sadly nothing new!

Maybe her luck stat had been set to "cursed" at birth!???

Still—whether cursed or not, she had no other choice.

So, with her tiny jaws clenched and determination burning in her beady eyes, Mimi pressed on, diving straight back into the endless ocean of spheres!

***

A long while later...

Mimi had already lost count of how many alternate futures she had peered into. Sure, time was frozen in this place, but her mind was still growing weary. Slowly... she felt like she was going insane.

And worse, there was always this strange feeling gnawing deep inside her soul—something restless, something biting, something that made her feel constantly on edge.

It was like... the answer was right there, just within reach.

So close she could almost touch it.

And yet, no matter how many spheres she searched, no matter how long she looked, she still couldn’t find it. She couldn’t grasp it!

To make matters worse, just as she was about to move on to the next sphere, something strange happened.

Her whole body suddenly felt heavy—so heavy it was as if invisible chains had been tied to her legs. She could barely move.

The sphere in front of her flickered, distorting like a broken TV screen. Static lines slashed across its glowing surface, making it look corrupted.

Then came the sound.

A horrible, ear-splitting screech tore through the space, drilling into her skull like thousands of needles scraping against glass. The noise grew louder and louder, threatening to split her head apart.

Mimi’s eyes widened in horror as she looked down at herself.

Her body was glitching too—warping, stretching, breaking apart pixel by pixel, like corrupted game data being deleted right before her eyes.

"FUCK! The space... it’s collapsing!!!" Mimi screamed, panic flooding through her chest like ice water.

This is bad. This is really, really bad!

Marshmallow had explained it to her earlier when they were discussing the plan with Siamelumis.

The Space of Timeless Fate might exist outside of time, but keeping it stable wasn’t free, because it demanded an absurd amount of magical and divine energy.

With Siamelumis’ divine power reinforcing it, the space could be stretched and held far longer than usual. But even so... nothing lasted forever.

Eventually, the cracks would start to show. The fabric of the realm itself would begin to glitch, distorted like a corrupted file. That was the warning sign.

And once it reached that stage, collapse would come swiftly, unstoppable—like a row of dominoes falling in rapid succession.

If that happened...

Even if Mimi hadn’t yet found the right sphere, Marshmallow had warned her clearly: she had to abandon the mission. No matter what.

Because if she lingered... if she was still trapped in this place when the Space of Timeless Fate shattered completely, her astral body would be crushed in the implosion, her very soul shredded into fragments.

And if her soul was destroyed... even the gods themselves would be powerless to bring her back.

Only a fate far, far worse than death would await her.