On the fifth day, beyond the stars in a white void, a piece of paper appeared. "Narrator, tell me the Castaways moral alignment."

  In the white void, the voice of the Narrator replied, "Very well, Host. Shall I tell you or give you a list?"

  A piece of paper appeared. "Give me a list."

  The Narrator made a list appear. The Host looked at the list.

  —

  Atero: -50, Cruel

  Pera: 0, Indifferent

  Mercy: 0, Indifferent

  Aespia: 10, Gentle

  Poki: 25, Nice

  Reyn: 50, Kind

  —

  A piece of paper appeared. “Hmmmmm, I need a goody two-shoes and someone evil.”

  Knowing the Host was eccentric, the Narrator decided to probe for more information. “Stupid evil or logical evil?”

  A piece of paper appeared. “Logical evil.”

  The Narrator quickly searched through the world records. “I apologize, Host, but those of logical evil are quite rare. With logic, most of them are at most cruel. You're asking for someone insane, someone who doesn't think. I doubt you'll be satisfied with the ones I've found.”

  A piece of paper appeared. “Sighs, I'll have Eszero make more worlds. Maybe I'll get lucky.”

  Eszero appeared in the white void. She was a diamond-haired teen with diamond-colored eyes. The color of her clothes was diamond-colored. She was a lazy and logical person. She was existence itself. Her voice was lazy and sleepy. “Host, I think I know what you're looking for.”

  A piece of paper appeared. “Oh, you think so?”

  Eszero held out a piece of paper, and the Host read it. On the piece of paper were two names: Frelie and Wanderstar. Frelie was a soldier with light blonde hair and blue eyes, and Wanderstar was a magician with light blonde hair and blue eyes. The Host searched through their history.

  A piece of paper appeared. “They're good, but they don't really meet the evil requirement. Perhaps my view of evil is too subjective. Also, why do they both have to be blonde and blue-eyed? I already have one blonde-haired, blue-eyed person on the island. Ughhh, what a pain, I'm trying to make a rainbow. Sighs, any potential mascot?”

  Eszero held out another paper with the name Tai Shen on it. The Host read the name and looked through his history. A piece of paper appeared. “Hmmmm, not bad; he does have mascot potential. However, there are already two kids on the island, which is... eh, whatever. He'll do, I guess. Hmmmmm, probably at another time, though. I don't want to manage too many Castaways. Bye.”

  The Host left, and Eszero fell backward into a bed that appeared from thin air. She took out a bag of chips and started munching on them. Although she wished she could hide her thoughts from the Narrator, she knew the Narrator knew her thoughts.

  The Narrator didn't mock or laugh at her, merely noting she saw the Host as her father or mother, which annoyed her. For a being like the Host, Eszero knew she was just one of many omniverses it created—nothing special. Still, she wondered why the Host allowed an existence like her to think and feel. Perhaps it was just another of the Host's whims.

  “Narrator, what do you think of the Host?”

  The Narrator gave an answer without emotion. “I am a tool. A tool with feelings, unfortunately. Why the Host would give a tool feelings is unknown to me. Most likely, it's just another whim.”

  Back on the island, Reyn finally decided to become a player. Alone on her porch in a rocking chair, she looked at the clear blue sky. “Hey Host.”

  A piece of paper appeared. “Reyn, what is it?”

  Reyn looked at the paper. “I’d like to become a player.”

  A piece of paper appeared. “Is that so? I'm guessing you're aiming for a wishing star to return back to your world?"

  Reyn shook her head. "There's nothing left for me back in my world. I'm fine on this island. I just want to have the power to help people."

  A piece of paper appeared. "Hmmmm, alright, say I'm a fluffy wuffy."

  Reyn didn't hesitate. "I'm a fluffy wuffy."

  A piece of paper appeared. "Congratulations, you're a player now. Would you like your first game?"

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  Reyn nodded, "Yes."

  A piece of paper appeared. "Alrighty then, the first game is the same as Poki’s, lasting ten minutes without saying stop while I tickle your feet, ready?"

  Reyn took a deep breath and braced herself. "Yes."

  Immediately, her feet started being tickled by invisible fingers. The sensation was stronger than she expected. She ran off her porch and into the sand. "Heeeehahahehe!"

  She tried her best to resist the sensation but couldn't. Tirelessly, she rolled as her legs twitched and her feet kicked. A shiver went up her spine, she realized there was still a long while left. The urge to say "stop" was on the tip of her tongue. She did her best to ignore the word.

  Ten minutes finally passed, and the sand around her was a mess. Reyn lay on her back, breathing breathlessly. It was finally over. Her legs twitched as her feet remembered the sensation.

  A piece of paper appeared. "Well done. I'll increase all your base stats by 0.1. Here's your stat sheet. Also, just so you know, only you can see your stat sheet, just like how everyone else can only see theirs."

  —

  Reyn

  Strength: 0.2

  Endurance: 0.2

  Agility: 0.2

  —

  Reyn gave a weak nod. "I think that will be all I'm willing to play today."

  A piece of paper appeared. "Hai hai, bye-bye!"

  Night came upon the island; up in the skies, the stars were shining brightly. At Pera's treehouse, he was looking up at the stars. The stars reminded him of his home. In his world, humans traveled among the stars.

  Below, he saw Aespia rushing through the field of flowers to his treehouse. There was a smile on her face. She quickly climbed up the ladder of ropes to his treehouse. She stood breathlessly on the balcony for a moment. Her eyes were full of excitement and joy. "Pera, I know the necessary ingredient for the Spark Potion!"

  Pera was surprised for a moment. It seems he had underestimated Aespia in her talent for potion making. "You do?"

  Aespia got closer with a smile and held her chin high. "Yes, however, I don't think it's on this island. It's something that completely clears someone's mind for a moment."

  Pera fell into thought. "Something that clears someone's mind for moment. A plant like that or substance won't likely indeed exist on this island."

  Pera clapped his hands, nothing appeared. Aespia sat down with him and looked up at the stars. "It's probably not natural, or we don't have a good enough understanding of it to make it appear. The Host is quite vague with what we can make appear after all."

  Aespia looked up at the stars, they were everywhere and beautiful. In her world, there weren't any stars at all. She liked them very much. "Pera, you seem to like watching the stars. Are there no stars in your world?"

  Pera shook his head. "There were many stars in my world. Stars remind me of my home. My parents once said if you found a shooting star, you could make a wish. Perhaps I'll try out the Host games to see if I can obtain a wishing star."

  Aespia studied Pera's peaceful face then looked back up at the stars. "Home, it sounds nice; I wish I had that. Pera, what's home like?"

  Pera fell into his memory. "...Home is very warm, it's nice, comfy, and full of love and joy. The times I felt it the most was when my parents hugged me."

  Aespia forced a smile. "Hugs, I've never been hugged before, it sounds wonderful."

  Pera looked at Aespia. He felt a sudden urge to help her understand the happiness he felt from a hug. "Would you like a hug?"

  Aespia became stunned for a moment. "I... yes, I'd like a hug."

  Pera nodded and opened his arms. He wrapped them around her as she froze and hugged her. Remembering how his parents did it, he did his best to imitate them. "... I am here for you, whether you're a witch or not, I'll be here for you."

  For a moment, the warmth made Aespia feel weak. She didn't know if she deserved such warmth. However, she was selfish and she was tired. For once, she wanted to be happy. Her body weakened and she hugged Pera back. It was a warmth she had never felt before, a warmth that made her wish this moment could be eternal.

  Feeling her hug, Pera also froze for a moment. Her hug wasn't as strong as his parents, but it was filled with sincerity. It was not a hug of acceptance but a hug of need. His mind lost itself in the warmth. For the first time ever, he decided to accept someone not of his parents. It was a moment of trust that scared him, but the warmth was too nice to let go.

  Memories flashed through Aespia's mind. She remembered being a child and being scorned by her village. Her crimson eyes always made them wary of her. For as long as she could remember, she scavenged for food in the village.

  The day she was beaten by other children and her bread thrown into muddy water was still fresh on her mind. She was so hungry she ate the dirty bread, it tasted horrible but she knew she had to keep eating. It was the day she cursed the village with her words. It was the day the Breathless Death came into the village.

  Everyone became tired and breathless, only she was fine. They chased after her to burn her, but she managed to escape into the forest. She ate roots, grass, nuts, and whatever she could find. The cold nights were very cruel to her.

  When the cold winter started coming and snow started falling, Aespia went back to the village to find everyone dead or gone. She tried to survive the winter but couldn't because of a wound she received from a Wood Stalker. In the end, she succumbed to hunger and ended up on this island.

  Aespia hugged Pera tighter, he was too warm for her to let go and go back to the cold nights alone. It was a warmth too precious, a warmth she never wanted to live without. "Pera, could I stay with you tonight?"

  "... Yes."

  Far beyond the stars, the Host suddenly gazed upon the two. Their newfound feelings for each other came under its scrutiny. It saw what their feelings could become. If there was one thing the Host despised, it was the manipulation of free will without consent.

  The Host wondered what to do. It decided it would let things play out. As long as their love was not born of its manipulation or the manipulation of other powers, it would accept the existence of their feelings and love for each other if it came to be.

  A string of Fate came out of their mind and formed a connection. If there was one thing the Host had unreasonable malice for, it was Fate. On the Island of Paradise, there was no such thing as Fate, not in the presence of the Host. The string of connection and Fate disintegrated under the malice of the Host.

  The Host was about to turn its gaze away when the string reformed. It was a stubborn and strong string of Fate, one extremely unnatural. It was something that shouldn't be possible. The Host studied the string more carefully. It saw Aespia's hopes and dreams, of a future yet to come. It saw her twin daughters Aelin and Pesha. It saw why the string was so unnaturally stubborn. A future set in stone where Aespia uses a wishing star to bind her Fate with Pera.

  The Host fell into thought for a moment. A wishing star was a promise of the Host. For the Host to break a promise was nigh impossible. It was a promise that would be made in the future. However, the future had yet to come. The string of Fate between Aespia and Pera permanently disintegrated. Their future would be made themselves, not set in stone.