Kiana's head was practically smoking.
No, scratch that—it was already smoking. And not just here at Celestial Sparrow Entertainment, but all the way back on the Moon, too.
Especially when she thought back to how she'd completely misread the situation and started pouring her heart out in that cringeworthy, overly sentimental display.
Kiana felt like she might as well just drop dead.
She had a feeling that even twenty years from now, she'd still find herself jolting awake in the middle of the night, haunted by the memory of today.
It would remain crystal clear, leaving her no choice but to bury her face in her blankets and writhe in pure, unadulterated shame.
Engaging in another scuffle with Silver Wolf was, in a way, her only means of coping with the overwhelming urge to hit the "reset" button on her life.
--+--
Meanwhile, back on the Moon.
Despite her earlier vows of absolute silence, Kiana had eventually buckled under Mei and Bronya's relentless tag-team coaxing and confessed the embarrassing blunder she'd just committed.
"Pfft..."
Mei managed to keep some semblance of composure, but Bronya didn't hesitate for a second, letting out an unapologetic laugh right then and there.
It nearly made Kiana's face twist in indignation. If it weren't for a multitude of reasons, she was ready to roll up her sleeves and take on two Bronyas at once.
Luckily, Mei stepped in to change the subject:
"So, does this mean you can stay over there for long periods now, Kiana? Will it have any effect on your current condition?"
Even though the power of Finality was all-encompassing and Kiana herself was incredibly strong, Mei still viewed the two worlds as entirely separate entities for now.
Until there was concrete evidence otherwise, they had to treat them as independent dimensions.
Projecting one's consciousness across such a vast distance for an extended time surely had to be a burden.
Kiana bared her teeth at Bronya one last time before turning to answer Mei.
"Don't worry. With Bai Ming there, I can come back whenever I want, or project my mind over there at a moment's notice. I've spent the last month getting a general feel for that world with her. I'm planning to join Himeko-sensei and Mr. Yang's group later."
With her connection to Bai Ming, Kiana could technically go anywhere. But she wanted to keep her consciousness there out of pure curiosity.
She wasn't going over there to retire, after all; following Himeko-sensei on the Trailblaze sounded way more exciting.
"Oh, and there's something really interesting. Just now, after Bai Ming stopped using my identity, I felt the power of Finality appear in her as well. But this time, it felt different from mine."
Kiana brought it up casually. She didn't think too much of it; while Finality was powerful, it was obvious that Bai Ming was already a being at the very peak of the universe.
To her, the power of Finality was likely just a nice little bonus.
Kiana doubted the other girl cared much about it either. It was just that while Bai Ming was using Kiana's face, even their auras had been identical. Now that a distinction had surfaced, it caught Kiana's attention.
"I'm guessing Bai Ming's ability is something like... mimicking a target and then obtaining their power to strengthen herself?"
"Full skill replication? What kind of broken ability is that? Is there no concept of game balance anymore?!" Bronya cried out in disbelief.
Copying the power of Finality just like that? Where was the justice? Was there no balance in this world? Talk about a total "mechanics monster."
"I wonder, though... will she ever meet the Cocoon?"
Kiana was genuinely curious. Even if the method of obtaining the power wasn't exactly "official," this was still the first time she'd encountered another fully realized Herrscher of Finality.
And if that were the case, maybe Bai Ming could use her Herrscher authority to construct a separate body—one belonging solely to a Herrscher of Finality—and come over to their side to hang out.
That way, they wouldn't have to worry about the powers from both sides contaminating each other.
Speaking of which, Bai Ming had promised her a gift earlier. She wondered what it would be. Probably some technical data or research.
While Kiana didn't understand the nitty-gritty details, she had used her abilities to "copy-paste" a wealth of research on the Imaginary Tree, world bubbles, and the Sea of Quanta from their side.
In return, she had been ferrying some useful technical papers back to Earth. But doing it all herself wasn't practical, so she expected the gift would involve some sort of research exchange.
--+--
On the other side.
Kiana, having finally concluded her "clash of the century" with Silver Wolf, turned around to find Bai Ming watching her with a playful, knowing smile.
Then, it clicked.
Silver Wolf and Fu Xuan might not have known, but there was no way Bai Ming didn't realize. This person must have known the second Kiana opened her mouth that she'd misunderstood the situation.
And yet, she'd stayed quiet, holding it all in just to watch Kiana "perform" the entire embarrassing scene.
She definitely did it on purpose!!
Kiana felt like she was going to faint from sheer frustration at her "other self."
Fortunately, after the "earth-shattering" elementary-school-level spat with Silver Wolf, Kiana's overheating brain had cooled down a bit. She didn't say anything, but she shot Bai Ming a fierce glare.
Watching Kiana like this, Bai Ming found her so adorable she couldn't help but laugh. She walked over and offered a hand to both Kiana and Silver Wolf, helping them up.
"Alright, alright. If you're going to glare, let's do it somewhere else. You don't want a crowd watching, do you?"
Bai Ming gestured toward their surroundings. This was a lounge for Celestial Sparrow Entertainment, and two "kids" like Kiana and Silver Wolf getting into a scrap was bound to draw eyes.
If it weren't for Master Diviner Fu Xuan sitting there, plenty of bold employees would have probably come closer to take photos.
Kiana and Silver Wolf fell silent. Bickering was one thing, but continuing the spectacle was legitimately embarrassing. So, the two of them obediently followed Bai Ming and Fu Xuan to a quiet conference room to properly cool off.
Because Kiana had been staring at her the whole way, she finally noticed the details of Bai Ming's appearance.
This "other self"... she didn't just look like Kiana. There was a trace of Mei in her features, and even a hint of that Madam Herta doll she'd seen...
Of course, the resemblance to Kiana was strongest. It was the kind of similarity that clearly signaled a deep, close connection. But there was also a certain charm reminiscent of Mei.
If her Auntie ever saw this, she'd probably get the wrong idea and think Kiana and Mei had somehow had a child together.
Had Kiana seen her like this at first glance, she probably would have called her "sister" instead of "the other me."
"By the way... your face... why do I feel like you look a bit like Mei?"
"Oh, that. Actually, my original form looked exactly like you," Bai Ming said. She then manifested the form Aha had originally fixed for her to show Kiana.
"This was the shape Aha helped me solidify back then—who knows what that Elation was thinking. Later, when I was forging a body for myself, I tweaked it a bit to get what you see now."
"Tweaked it? Why?"
"Because Aha made that face. I was worried it was a trap."
"..."
Kiana opened her mouth, but couldn't argue with that logic.
She'd heard enough about the Aeon of Elation's style in this world. If her "other self" was already this much of a handful, she could only imagine how abstract the actual Aeon must be.
Looking at it that way, calling her "the other me" wasn't wrong after all.
"But with this face, if you ever come over to my side to visit, people might actually think you're the daughter of me and Mei," Kiana giggled, rubbing her chin as she imagined Mei's reaction to such a misunderstanding.
Bai Ming rolled her eyes. Daughter? Please. Have you even settled things with your own Mei yet before you start dreaming about that?
Kiana realized she was getting a bit ahead of herself. She cleared her throat awkwardly and switched to a more serious topic.
"Hey, I felt the power of Finality on you, but it's different from mine. Is that a new power you got? Did you see the Cocoon?"
"You noticed, huh?" Bai Ming shook her head with a smile. "But no, I didn't see the Cocoon. Probably because I got this power through... unofficial channels. Or maybe I'm just 'out of the service area.' Either way, there seems to be a barrier between me and the Cocoon."
Bai Ming obviously couldn't tell Kiana the real reason. Making up a plausible excuse wasn't a problem, though.
Kiana scratched her head. A barrier?
The Herrscher of Finality was born from the Cocoon; the power was granted by the Cocoon.
To become a complete Herrscher of Finality, one even had to pass the Cocoon of Finality's judgment. How could someone take the power while successfully blocking out the Cocoon itself?
Was that even legal? It felt like bypassing the Cocoon's entire operating system.
Was her "other self" really that incredible? Kiana felt a surge of awe—if they had found Earth twenty years earlier, would they have just breezed through the whole ordeal without any casualties?
Bai Ming just shrugged, playing the part of a mysterious expert. She had no idea how it worked; she didn't even know where the Cocoon was.
But since the "System's" grand hand had intervened once again, proving it could hide her even from the Cocoon, Bai Ming felt she could finally seriously consider visiting Kiana's world.
After all, her only concern had been whether her power of Paths would alert the Cocoon. But if the Cocoon's gaze was being shielded by the System, she had nothing to worry about.
She could take some time to head over and wander around.
Even if there wasn't anything urgent happening in that timeline, meeting the "old cast" sounded fun—like Theresa, or the Herrscher of Sentience.
And Seele! She wondered what the grown-up Seele's personality was like.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL