On the other side, 'Silver Wolf' jolted awake from her slumber.
Little Silver Wolf was still fast asleep, so she took a moment to check her status panel and decided to pull a card to see what she'd get.
This time, as the golden radiance flared within the Express's cabin doors, a splash of green entered 'Silver Wolf's' vision.
It was a trembling Foxian girl with green hair, accompanied by a wisp of heliobus fire floating behind her.
"Huohuo? Is Mr. Tail automatically generated, or do I control him myself?"
'Silver Wolf' couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity. This was the first time she had encountered a character card where two independent consciousnesses existed within a single unit.
Well, once things wrap up here, I'll give the roleplay a shot.
Speaking of which, at this point in time, Huohuo should have already started her career at the Ten-Lords Commission.
I think I'll go tease that cute little matcha cupcake when the time comes.
Might as well drop by to see Qingque while I'm at it.
She hoped that after being gone for a month, Qingque hadn't burned herself out.
Though, knowing her, that was unlikely—she was the undisputed Queen of Slacking, after all. Who on earth could ever work her to the point of exhaustion?
--+--
On the final day of the character card roleplay, 'Silver Wolf' said her final goodbyes to Little Silver Wolf.
Although the little girl still looked a bit disgruntled, at least she didn't throw a tantrum or burst into tears.
When all was said and done, they could contact each other via comms whenever they wanted if they just needed to talk.
Plus, Little Silver Wolf's holographic projections were exceptionally lifelike.
She wondered, though, if Elio would still come looking for the girl to join the Stellaron Hunters.
Given Little Silver Wolf's current skill level, she would likely be able to leave Punklorde soon. But she was still so young; Elio might not be keen on hiring child labor.
As for Pearl, who had arrived on Punklorde...
'Silver Wolf' glanced at her own fortune and then at the girl's.
They were decent; it didn't seem like there would be any dire, life-or-death confrontation between them. She would just treat it as a new trial for Little Silver Wolf in her "starting village."
And so, she simply warned the girl that a professional from the Corporation was headed her way for the Aether Editing, telling her to tread carefully. Then, she stepped out of the fast-food joint.
With a casual flick of her mind, she deactivated the roleplay with the last few bits of time remaining.
Bai Ming glanced at the settlement rewards:
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: ∞]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher, Georios, Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 25.1%), General of the Yuque: Qingque (Charge: 40.4%), Silver Wolf (Charge: 0.2%), Huohuo]
[Available Pulls: 13 (25.2%)]
--+--
[Reward Settlement: For becoming the uncrowned queen of Punklorde and broadening Silver Wolf's strength and future, you are rewarded with all of Silver Wolf's hacking talent.]
[Note: Considering the Host's significant leap in power over the past several cycles, reward settlements will be optimized starting from this instance.]
[Supplementary Reward: The Host's synchronization with the Life of Light has been significantly increased.]
--+--
At this stage, these roleplay rewards were getting a bit... subtle for her.
She couldn't say they were entirely useless, but their effects were certainly reaching a plateau.
'Silver Wolf' had originally thought things would stay this way forever.
To her surprise, the system was actually quite considerate, tossing in a supplementary reward.
Immediately, Bai Ming felt the light of Nexus—which had been merging with her at a steady, leisurely pace—suddenly begin to accelerate.
Combined with her past experiences, her synchronization with the light was already high.
Now, bolstered by the system's reward, Bai Ming felt the connection cross a definitive threshold.
Her soul and the light merged into one, becoming inseparable.
What caught Bai Ming off guard was that after the fusion, the once-pure radiance seemed to undergo a qualitative shift.
It was as if the properties of Light and the properties of a Soul had layered atop one another.
Then again, Bai Ming hadn't deeply researched her own existence as a soul entity. While she realized the traits had been preserved, she couldn't immediately tell exactly what had been kept.
Sinking through the Nihility until she reached its very boundary, Bai Ming let the body she had manifested through her abilities dissolve, revealing her true nature as Light.
The dazzling radiance gradually coalesced into a physical form, eventually taking the shape of Nexus.
However, compared to the previous form, new armor-like pieces—pauldrons and bracers—appeared on her body.
But they weren't the red or blue she remembered; instead, the silver had shifted to a brilliant white, and her form took on more pronounced, feminine curves.
Her once martial physique had become elegantly beautiful.
Simultaneously, a pure power of Light—one existing outside of the Paths—began to erupt.
Bai Ming even felt a connection; a tether forged by Light was drawing strength from every living being across the universe, channeling it directly toward her.
This power felt exactly like the strength of Light she remembered.
It was distinctly different from the Paths or Imaginary Energy, yet it wasn't entirely detached from the Imaginary system.
It was more like the power of a Giant of Light had used the uniqueness of her soul to bring forth a special strength.
Could it be the "Emotion Points" the system has been collecting?
Bai Ming wasn't sure.
To her, this felt more like the power of Light and Prayer rather than complex emotions.
Regardless, her perception of the world underwent a subtle shift. She couldn't describe it in words yet, but the change was undeniable.
Then—VROOM.
A tide of Imaginary Energy rippled through this desolate void.
HooH, the Aeon of Equilibrium, suddenly appeared.
Close behind was Nous. A single point of crimson light pierced through the cosmos, landing where Bai Ming stood.
Beneath the shadows of these two Aeons, she could vaguely sense Mythus lurking as well. But since THEY were hiding, Bai Ming didn't pay THEM much mind.
A few other Aeons seemed to be watching the area, though they didn't make as much noise.
As for Aha... Aha made the least noise of all, because THEY popped out right next to Bai Ming, peering through a mask.
Compared to the taciturn nature of the other Aeons, Aha didn't hesitate to speak to THEIR hand-picked second-in-command of Elation.
"Sister, this power of yours that's outside the Path system... how did you do it? Even that kid Noa didn't end up like this."
Aha saw right through it.
The only reason this power could still hook into the Imaginary system was that the Giants of Light in this world originally relied on the Paths to manifest their strength.
The key wasn't the Giant of Light, nor was it Noa.
The key was Bai Ming herself.
Because Bai Ming had chosen the Giant of Light, the Giant had manifested a power distinct from the energy of the Paths.
"...Is that all? You lot are going to drop your actual business just to hold a meeting here?"
Bai Ming pushed away Aha's face, which was practically glued to hers, and looked around.
At this point, she could be considered a peer to the Aeons, so she was no longer as cautious or deferential as she once was.
But really, was this necessary? It wasn't like the world was devoid of powers outside the Path system.
"Sister, you've got it all wrong. Your situation isn't like the others. No one else has ever turned the prayers of all living beings in the universe into power quite like you."
"...Isn't that just like Memetic Lifeforms?"
In the face of Bai Ming's confusion, Aha leaned in again, grinning and swaying THEIR head.
"Different. Completely different. They're both 'wishes,' but yours are more 'real' and more 'existent.' There's a fundamental difference. Of course, more importantly—with this power, Noa isn't going to be able to hold it back anymore! HAHAHA!"
Aha finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Bai Ming had changed the nature of the Giants of Light through her own strength.
This change wouldn't spread to the entire race immediately, but Noa would certainly be the first affected.
Once Noa mastered this power, given THEIR position, the strength THEY could gather would undoubtedly encompass the entire world.
The seal the Amber Lord had forged for THEM wouldn't be able to hold.
When that seal shattered, whether Noa wanted to or not, THEIR path to Aeonhood would restart.
When that happened, all the Paths would be thrown into utter chaos.
Unless, of course, Noa committed suicide.
But there was the catch: Noa's existence was beneficial for the eventual Finality. Unless absolutely necessary, the likes of Nous didn't want Noa to die.
If THEY died, when the time came for that "light of hope" in the future, a new Aeon of Hope might not be born at exactly the right moment.
"Hahahaha! Sister, honestly, Aha doesn't respect anyone but you. You always bring the best surprises. I really think you should be the one playing Aha, and I'll just be a loyal Fool in your service!"
"..."
Bai Ming followed Aha's logic and observed the state of the Paths.
It turned out things were exactly as THEY described.
The process was slow. If left alone, Noa's true breaking of the seal would take tens of thousands of years. But for an Aeon, a few thousand years was a drop in the bucket on a cosmic scale.
Fine, now she understood why this "little thing" had caused every Aeon to look her way.
She had nearly triggered a war between the gods again. If it weren't for her unique situation—where a real fight would turn into a chaotic free-for-all—they probably would have ganged up on her already.
Now that the problem was identified, it was easy enough to handle.
Essentially, this power was created by Bai Ming and was spreading subconsciously. Since it was only just beginning, she could use the power of Elation to intercept it and stop the spread.
However, because this power was flowing "upstream" along the Path of Hope, no one could directly intervene except for Bai Ming, who already had a strong connection to that Path.
They couldn't exactly team up to tear the Path of Hope apart at this stage.
Seeing that Bai Ming had already started addressing the issue, the other Aeons began to depart one by one.
Except for Equilibrium... HooH stood there staring at Bai Ming, looking as if THEY had something to say.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL