Breakdown of Pourtant, le futur de l'univers est ce en quoi le fan croit.
être
to be
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
croire
to believe
l'univers
the universe
pourtant
yet, however
le fan
the fan
le futur
the future
ce en quoi
what ... in
Questions & Answers about Pourtant, le futur de l'univers est ce en quoi le fan croit.
Why is it ce en quoi instead of just ce que for "what"?
When "what" means "the thing that", we usually use ce que or ce qui. However, the verb here is croire en (to believe in). French doesn't let you leave a preposition at the end of a sentence like in English. We have to pull en forward. After a preposition, the relative pronoun for a "thing" is quoi. Put together, it makes ce en quoi (literally: "that in which").
Could we say ce à quoi here instead?
That would depend on the exact meaning, because the verb croire can take either en or à. Croire en means to have faith in something (like the future, or yourself). Croire à means to believe something exists (like aliens). Since the fan is putting their faith in the future of the universe, croire en is the right fit, which gives us ce en quoi.
Why doesn't the sentence end with the preposition like the English translation does?
In English, it's very common to end a sentence with a preposition (like "what the fan believes in"). In French, this is strictly forbidden! The preposition must always come immediately before the pronoun it links to, which is why en is placed right before quoi in the middle of the clause.
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