Chapter 20: Think Fast, Find a Way!

Page (1/3)

Elia saw only this line of words.

Then, with unwavering resolve, he closed the book.

Because in that instant, a bizarre thought flashed through his mind—one so strange it seemed impossible for him to have conceived it himself:

‘I’ must find Superman.

Have him investigate the disappearance of Ophelia and Miles.

Yet, at the outset, although Elia entertained the idea of seeking Superman, it was not out of sheer necessity. Rather, it was simply because Superman’s superpowers made him exceptionally adept at finding people, which would save Elia much effort.

Moreover, if he was already enlisting Superman’s help, Elia figured he might as well deal with Gallo, the runaway, too—preferably by entrusting the Justice League to apprehend the truant youth, assigning him a long-term task of confinement within the school, where he couldn’t leave without earning an A in both behavior and exams.

...

In short, that resolute and somewhat eerie notion could not possibly have originated from Elia himself.

It was forcibly implanted in his mind by the very book in his hands.

So, what would happen if he chose not to act according to the book’s suggestion?

‘Nothing will happen in the short term.’

An answer promptly surfaced in Elia’s thoughts.

‘The narrative threads between stories are not tightly interwoven; perhaps my decision’s consequences will only become apparent much later. Nonetheless, the contract holder of the Book of Fate should be aware of a few facts.’

‘First, the Book of Fate contains endless stories.’

‘Second, reading the Book of Fate aloud causes the reader to become a participant in the story.’

‘Third, stories that have been written and read are destined to occur, regardless of the participant’s will.’

‘Furthermore, after opening this book, something happened that was different from what I had imagined... Reading is sometimes not dependent on the eyes. I merely flipped to a random page and glanced at the beginning, yet the content beyond that has been continuously pouring into my mind.’

At this point, this was all the information Elia gleaned from his brief glimpse of the line “The Life of Elia Esposito.”

He analyzed it repeatedly for a moment and gradually formed some ideas:

The fact that reading did not rely on his eyes was already confirmed. The only thing he actually saw was the title at the beginning of the volume, yet he still absorbed much content. This content should all be records within the book and belong to the chapter titled “The Life of Elia Esposito.”

The protagonist ‘I’ in the story refers to Elia Esposito himself. The ‘I’ within the Book of Fate’s understanding and analysis has been documented as if in a diary, and this record was transmitted into Elia’s current mind.

It sounded somewhat recursive.

Or simply put, the Book of Fate recorded Elia Esposito’s past in the first person, and the present Elia read this record through his mind.

Elia frowned.

He then recalled something.

[‘I’ must find Superman.

Have him investigate the disappearance of Ophelia and Miles.]

—This could indeed be considered part of the content under the chapter “The Life of Elia Esposito.”

At first, Elia was misled by the subject ‘I’, assuming it was a thought forcibly imposed on him by the Book of Fate.

But what if it was not?

What if he had merely glimpsed a future written in the first person that had not yet occurred?

In that case, completing this future timeline’s story would look like this:

[...Some complicated circumstances occurred.

‘I’ had no choice but to find Superman.

Have him investigate Ophelia and Miles’s disappearance.]

And since ‘stories that have been written and read are destined to occur, regardless of the participant’s will,’

Page (2/3)

Elia himself is now that participant whose will no longer matters.

Therefore, if the rules recorded in the book are correct, the future Elia will inevitably seek out Superman—only the severity of the preceding events prompting his action may differ.

In that sense, actively embracing the destiny already read is the right path; at least this way, the matter remains under one’s control.

...

The shiver he felt upon opening the Book of Fate gradually faded. Elia propped himself up in the bathtub, stood, and turned to gaze at himself in the mirror.

He still sensed something was amiss.

If every time one opened the Book of Fate such dangerous consequences ensued, with an inevitable future—whether good or bad—then contract holders of the Book of Fate would be quite unlucky!

Even if he were unlucky, surely not every contract holder would share the same fate!

Suddenly, a thought struck him: he recalled a piece of information he had been neglecting.

[Reading the Book of Fate aloud causes the reader to become a participant in the story.]

Of course, he had never read the book aloud.

Yet, it seemed he was already a participant.

Could it be that Elia Esposito himself had once read the book aloud, thereby entwining him and the current Elia into the story?

If so, then simply by not reading it aloud, the Book of Fate would not contain a chapter on the contract holder, meaning that under normal circumstances, contract holders could safely read the stories within the book.

Elia closed his eyes slightly.

He might have solved part of the mystery, yet it gave rise to new questions.

Why, knowing the consequences, did the past Elia Esposito choose to read the Book of Fate aloud?

**

This question could not be answered immediately. Out of caution, Elia decided to actively seek out Superman, though he prepared a backup plan—to approach him using his rarely seen alter ego, the Shade Lantern.

To the omniscient and omnipotent Book of Fate, how could the Shade Lantern not be Elia Esposito?

But to the general public, what connection was there between the Shade Lantern and Elia Esposito?

In any case, this identity was quite flexible, allowing Elia to truly grasp the meaning of multiple aliases and multiple paths.

What he had not anticipated was that Superman was not on Earth.

Honestly, hadn’t the Justice League been venturing into space too frequently? Was this world really so perilous?

Then Elia remembered another detail: his other identity wielded the Yellow Lantern ring, affiliated with one of the universe’s most notorious villain organizations.

“...”

If they had infiltrated Earth, that was indeed dangerous.

Elsewhere, Clark waited and waited, not receiving the answer to “Why don’t you go find Elia yourself?” After a brief hesitation, he said, “Alright then.”

Before his words had even fully fallen, his super-hearing began to extend outward, focusing on the Suicide Slums and searching for Ophelia’s voice.

However, he had only once heard the girl call Elia ‘Dad’—searching for someone with only super-hearing was akin to seeking a needle in a haystack.

Superman was not omnipotent.

Page (3/3)

But fortunately, he was more than just Superman; he was also Clark Kent, who had honed ‘Superman’s’ investigative skills over years of journalistic work, becoming an expert in gathering evidence. Many people instinctively overlooked this, assuming he was inferior in detail work compared to his comrades Batman and Wonder Woman... but this was a misconception.

Those who underestimated Clark Kent would pay a heavy price.

“I can indeed help with this matter. My job as a well-connected reporter is very useful for finding people. When Superman returns from space, I will try to contact him immediately—if by then we still haven’t found Mr. Esposito’s adopted daughter.”

Elia couldn’t help but glance sideways.

He originally intended Clark to act as a messenger, but the other party was so eager to help that he volunteered outright.

Volunteering or not was irrelevant; the more help, the better. If it weren’t for the Book of Fate, Elia would have already reported the case to the police and perhaps even posted missing person flyers around the streets. If Gallo didn’t come home soon, this might even be the way to introduce him to the world.

The question now was whether this amounted to indirectly fulfilling the predetermined fate?

Elia wasn’t sure. Unfortunately, he had no other means to verify and could only proceed cautiously.

Clark ventured to ask, “Where was Miss Esposito last seen?”

Elia pulled a map of Metropolis from Editor Perry’s desk and pointed to the outermost arc of land on the map’s edge.

Strictly speaking, that area was no longer under Metropolis’s jurisdiction.

It usually bore another name: the outskirts of Gotham City.

**

Gallo had not dreamt for a long time.

He insisted it was because he had reached the age when one no longer dreams.

But since reuniting with Elia, he had been plagued by nightmares almost every night. Sometimes the dreams were scenes from his early days with Elia; other times, they grew surreal and bizarre, filled with strange and incomprehensible images. Most of the time, he forgot upon waking, though occasionally, fragments lingered faintly in his mind, like light feathers drifting on water.

That night, as usual, he had a dream.

Upon waking, only one fragment remained particularly vivid.

It seemed like a Twitter post: two comic screenshots of the Shade Lantern and Superman captioned:

“Shade Lantern and Superman team up to go to Gotham City? Want to know what happens? There’s only one way to find out!

Please stay tuned for the release of ‘Master of Fate’ Issue #2, written by @xxxx and @xxxxxxx on August 18th—!!

Previous story in Superman Comics ‘Action Comics’ Issue xxx.”

Gallo sat up, heart pounding!

What about the previous story?

Where was the previous story to read???

Why did it suddenly switch to Superman’s series!?

He felt confused and wronged, as if scammed, wishing he could punch himself unconscious and return to that dream.

But dreams are just dreams—they transcend human comprehension, embodying thoughts and concepts condensed into form. Legend says dreams are children of the night; when the sun climbs the horizon, the ancient tales wandering in darkness cease, and people awaken to reality.

Gallo missed the things he wished to see.

He felt a powerful wave of disappointment, which lingered even as he gathered the top members of the International Gang, dulling his spirits and weighing heavily on his mood.

The gang’s members were silent, sensing their leader’s obvious gloom.

But Gallo had no intention of venting his anger on them. He sat in the sunlit office left by the previous leader, sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a glow on the three earrings along his ear cartilage, making them sparkle like crystals, while bathing his skin in a honey-like radiance, as if it flowed from a beehive itself.