Ruan Mei stared, unblinking, at every reading displayed before her.
An abstract clash of powers, captured perfectly in numbers, played out on her screen. It even tracked every one of Sylvia's "deaths and rebirths."
No wonder her progress was so rapid. So that's how it is—you're treating your own life like it's disposable just to train.
Maybe you two should take a break...
Even Ruan Mei, who considered herself emotionally detached, couldn't help but want to put an end to this pair's "death-defying sit-ups."
If something went wrong, and Sylvia actually died right here, what would I do? I have a whole queue of follow-up experiments just waiting to be tested on her.
You may not care about your own life, but I certainly treasure my one-of-a-kind test subject!
Ruan Mei opened her mouth, but in the end, she swallowed the urge to intervene.
"..."
If she hadn't known from the start that they often did this, she would have stopped them long ago. But seeing Sylvia lying there, having done over a dozen rounds of this without a scratch, she finally relaxed and turned her attention back to the data.
This was the first time Ruan Mei had analyzed Nihility data with such intensity.
Most Paths have no connection to one another; they keep to themselves, like well water and river water.
If you have the talent to wield two Paths at once, that just makes you powerful; if you don't, you can only stare in envy.
Only in rare, special circumstances are there traces of a connection where they can combine for surprising effects.
But this was the first time Ruan Mei had seen the Paths of Permanence and Nihility clash so violently.
And...
Every time Sylvia turned into a Self-Annihilator, the power of Permanence would automatically pull her back, washing away the Nihility within her until it was completely gone.
Ruan Mei was certain this was a spontaneous reaction of the Paths themselves, not something Sylvia was intentionally controlling.
Soon, Ruan Mei became lost in thought.
The scene today was a truly unexpected harvest.
Perhaps Herta would be interested in this as well.
Meanwhile, Sylvia felt indescribable agony.
Nihility was tugging at her consciousness just as it always did.
Logically, because of the Path of Permanence, Sylvia should have been oscillating between losing and regaining consciousness. But this time, because of the serum, every time Nihility tried to drag her down, she was forced to remain awake.
As a result, every clash had a period where Sylvia had to rely entirely on her own will to resist the erosion of Nihility.
After repeating this so many times, Sylvia began to notice something. Beneath that deep, dark sea of nothingness, there seemed to be a faint, colossal black sun rising and falling.
The image was blurry and indistinct. Whenever she tried to look closer, the power of Permanence would pull her back.
And ever since she first caught a glimpse of that black sun, every counter-attack of the Path of Permanence made her faintly see the phantom of an Ouroboros.
(T/N: Not to be mistaken for Oroboros, the Aeon of Voracity. The Ouroboros where it's a dragon eating its own tail, signifying the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth.)
It was just as blurred, yet equally soul-shaking.
At first, Sylvia could still force herself to think, but as the repetitions mounted, she began to abandon thought entirely. However, the effect of the serum remained potent; even when she stopped thinking, she was still forced to stay awake.
She could only watch, over and over again, as the black sun and the Ouroboros phantom intertwined before her eyes.
This time, she didn't feel that sensation of her mind and consciousness being "Nihilized."
Yet, Sylvia still felt like something was off.
She was uncomfortable, though she couldn't quite pinpoint why.
At that moment, Acheron was the first to sense that something was wrong.
Even though the rhythm was the same as usual, she could clearly feel that when Sylvia fell into the void, she was plunging much deeper than before—far exceeding the dosage she had administered.
Consequently, the counter-attack from the Path of Permanence was becoming much more violent.
Something was off.
This was the first time she had witnessed such a scene.
So, Acheron quickly ceased her actions.
Following that last cycle, Sylvia rapidly regained her clarity.
"How are you feeling? Are you alright?"
Acheron stared at Sylvia with concern, her tone tinged with agitation. After all, the nature of Nihility made it difficult for anyone to feel truly at ease.
"Mm..."
Sylvia frowned and rubbed her temples. As her brain "rebooted," those blurry impressions slowly began to make sense.
"I think I'm fine. It's just... I think I saw phantoms of both Nihility and Permanence."
Acheron's expression stiffened, and her hand, pressed against Sylvia's chest, gripped tighter involuntarily.
"You can't call that 'fine'."
Acheron pushed Sylvia back onto the bed and turned to demand an explanation from Ruan Mei.
But Ruan Mei acted first:
"You saw the shadows of two Aeons? Is this the first time you've encountered this? Could it be because your consciousness was too clear? Miss Acheron, what does it feel like to explore Nihility?"
The instruments surrounding Sylvia began to whir. Ruan Mei threw the question back to Acheron.
These two Paths shared a commonality: no matter how a Pathstrider sought them, they would never receive a response from their respective Aeons.
Nihility was the most peculiar—it was always there, yet it ignored everyone.
And as long as one had the capability, whoever reached the depth of an Emanator on that Path could seize its power.
Therefore, Ruan Mei believed the issue lay in the consciousness itself.
Maintaining self-awareness had inadvertently allowed Sylvia to fulfill the conditions for diving deep into Nihility.
Maintaining oneself...
Or perhaps...
Ruan Mei had never expected the effect to be this profound.
"Maintaining self-awareness, and then constantly diving deeper... Could your medicine be working? No, wait, your medicine can even affect a Self-Annihilator?!"
Once Acheron realized this, she immediately grasped the more terrifying implication.
The things this woman pulled out so casually...
Could actually resist even the erosion of Nihility.
Is this the true worth of a genius?
In that moment, Acheron felt a sense of powerless sorrow for those Doctors of Chaos who were still struggling in the dark.
But soon, Acheron realized that Sylvia herself was special; the medicine alone probably wouldn't be enough.
"...No, I don't think this medicine is as effective as you think, Miss Acheron."
Ruan Mei shook her head, matter-of-factly.
She knew the situation of Self-Annihilators well enough. If it were truly this easy to treat, someone would have found a suitable method long ago.
The serum worked well on Sylvia only because she had the Path of Permanence serving as a safety net. What use would it be for other Self-Annihilators?
Once enveloped by the shadow of Nihility, merely having the will to resist was meaningless.
Perhaps the person standing in front of her was the rarest of anomalies. How did this Miss Acheron endure it?
Ruan Mei thought for a moment, then made a bold guess: "Regardless, although the results seem a bit unexpected, neither Permanence nor Nihility will respond to a Pathstrider. I don't think there will be any problems."
At least under her monitoring, the reaction of Path energy in Sylvia's body wasn't continuously escalating; in fact, it had even subsided slightly after stabilizing.
Once Ruan Mei explained her conclusion, Sylvia wanted to continue while the effect of the medicine lasted.
Because it was working well.
Sylvia could even feel her strength rising steadily within her body.
Although it was painful, if she could maintain this efficiency, she felt that it wouldn't be long before she could fully manifest as a dragon, rivaling a certain High-Cloud Quintet member—or even a High Elder.
"..."
Acheron was hesitant.
But under Sylvia's gaze, her heart softened, and she relented.
Though she claimed she would stop immediately if anything went wrong, Sylvia knew she was just tough on the outside and soft on the inside.
"Keep going, keep going!"
"...Fine."
After that, Acheron's movements became even more cautious and careful than before.
The good news was that while it looked dangerous, overall, there was nothing different from the previous situation. It only looked and felt slightly more perilous.
The two continued for nearly double the usual time.
When weariness finally showed on Sylvia's face, Acheron stopped the transmission and cut off the experiment immediately.
As the surging energy within her body gradually calmed, it wasn't long before Sylvia closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.
"Ruan Mei—"
"Rest easy, it's fine. She's just exhausted. Mm... it's exactly the same as when I use it myself."
Acheron's first reaction was panic, but Ruan Mei quickly dispelled her anxiety.
She admitted that seeing Sylvia collapse into sleep like that did look a bit like something had gone wrong, rather than simple rest. But this was merely an instinctive reaction after excessive mental expenditure.
She had plenty of experiences where she had passed out on her own laboratory bench like that after experimenting.
In fact, after using this kind of serum, it was generally difficult to have the energy to move oneself to a resting room.
Ruan Mei walked over, looking down at the sleeping Sylvia, her fingers quietly brushing against her cheek.
"How terrifying. Sylvia's body has been on the verge of being swallowed by Nihility over a hundred times. Although she didn't die, she has experienced the sensation of near-death over a hundred times."
She muttered as if talking to herself, but Acheron heard it clearly.
She frowned slightly, yet Ruan Mei maintained a calm smile.
Only when Ruan Mei raised her head, her gaze toward Acheron carried a probing look:
"You seem very concerned about Sylvia, yet you have pushed her body to the brink of death countless times like this. And even though I am the one ensuring her safety every single time, she is secretly on guard against me, as if I were some kind of dangerous element."
"Isn't that a rather unfair treatment?"
If, before today, Ruan Mei could understand Sylvia's wariness toward her, then after today, she felt she couldn't quite comprehend Sylvia's choices.
In terms of danger, it was clear that the extreme training conducted in private between Miss Acheron and Sylvia was far more dangerous and terrifying.
Ruan Mei even felt that Sylvia was likely the only person in the world who could so actively and deeply peer into Nihility while remaining unscathed.
In comparison, although Ruan Mei viewed people as test subjects, she at least ensured the subject's life within the limits of her capabilities.
She rarely let things descend into a life-or-death situation.
Facing Ruan Mei's question, Acheron merely shook her head.
"Regarding that, you can wait until she wakes up and ask her yourself."
"I don't particularly want to get to the bottom of it; it was just a passing thought."
Ruan Mei looked at the silent readings and shook her head with a smile. Of course, she wasn't planning on asking the person involved.
This was just a small diversion outside of her experiments; she didn't care that much about getting an answer.
Ruan Mei adjusted some settings on the screen in her hand:
"Let her stay here today. The equipment here can keep a constant watch on her physical condition. I also want to study the traces left on her body."
After setting the automated program, Ruan Mei stood up and tapped her fingers against the reliable, cutting-edge equipment.
Having experienced the erosion of Nihility over and over again, what kind of changes had occurred in Sylvia's body?
After conducting an in-depth probe into her body, Ruan Mei was quite intrigued.
Living things spontaneously adapt to their environment. And for powerful individuals, they don't need generational inheritance to successfully complete this adaptation process.
Clearly, Sylvia had achieved this.
Her body was changing due to the repeated erosion of Nihility.
This was also something worth recording and investigating.
Acheron looked down at the sleeping Sylvia, then at the smiling Ruan Mei.
Considering Ruan Mei's flimsy moral compass, Acheron was actually a bit worried about whether something might happen to Sylvia if she were left alone in the laboratory.
But in terms of biology, Ruan Mei was the most professional.
Acheron had always worried about whether long-term exposure to the erosion of Nihility would have any lasting effects on Sylvia.
Ruan Mei seemed to care about exactly that, which made Acheron inclined to let Sylvia stay for Ruan Mei's check-ups.
"Then I—"
"You can come and check on the situation every few system-hours, but don't stay here. The equipment here hasn't been specifically treated to resist Nihility."
Acheron, who originally wanted to say more, swallowed those words of worry upon hearing Ruan Mei's advice.
"I understand. I'll leave Sylvia to you for the time being."
Acheron left that instruction with great seriousness before turning to leave.
Though her expression and tone hadn't changed, Ruan Mei still understood the implied "threat."
"Ah—a Self-Annihilator who has salvaged feelings and memories... you truly aren't short of strange characters around you."
Ruan Mei looked down at the sleeping Sylvia, a smile on her lips.
She didn't care about being warned.
Feelings like dissatisfaction or anger were rarely seen in Ruan Mei.
As long as one didn't disturb her experiments, it was fine.
"But today, I really did get some interesting data. Perhaps... I really can make something out of it."
Seeing such an intense training method sparked a flood of inspiration in Ruan Mei's mind.
Perhaps, she could try "Dragon-ification"?
Cultivating a true dragon out of thin air might be a technical challenge. But by taking a slight detour and studying the advancement methods of the Vidyadhara, it might just be feasible.
"One Dragon-kin might not be enough... I should make a few more as a control group."
Ruan Mei walked toward her workstation, started the experimental recording equipment, and, while muttering to herself, threw herself back into the creation of life.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL