Ultimately, under Aha's "impartial judgment"—driven by a desire to see the world in chaos—this unique "Stellaron Scramble" came to a close in an unexpected and dramatic fashion.
Simple physical looting was canceled! Aha felt that such a thing "lacked artistry and a sense of surprise"! Thus, with a grand wave of His hand (countless masks waving simultaneously), He instantly simulated thousands of identical-looking "Stellaron Phantoms" with nearly identical energy fluctuations, scattering them across the entire brawl space like a celestial maiden scattering flowers!
New Rule: Whoever can accurately find the one and only true mini-Stellaron from these thousands of phantoms will be the final victor!
Just like that, the battle shifted from a head-on collision to a competition of eyesight, luck, and perception.
The scene became even more chaotic for a time: some attacked phantoms only to hit empty air, some tried to clear the field with area-of-effect skills only to be blocked by a joint effort from other competitors, and others tried to sense it using metaphysical methods...
In the end, relying on brute force, decent intuition, and a tiny bit of "luck" after being "favored" (or rather, toyed with) by Aha, the scarred and bruised but still fighting Phainon dodged a blade light from Acheron and a flying Fei Xiao before stumbling toward a plain-looking phantom—
Real energy feedback surged from the point of contact!
"Found it!!"
Phainon held the true Stellaron high. Although his face was black and blue and the light wings on his back were somewhat dim, his eyes burned with the flames of victory and pure joy.
"Partner!"
He immediately looked toward Stella, who was shivering (and spectating) nearby, flashing a blood-stained but incredibly bright smile.
"Look! We can fight side-by-side again!!"
Looking at this summoned character who had fought so hard for her, a warm current of gratitude welled up in Stella's heart. She nodded vigorously and smiled sincerely: "Mhm! Thank you, Phainon! You've worked hard!"
The dust settled; a winner had emerged.
The Aeons' "spectating" also seemed to be coming to an end.
Nanook glanced at Stella, then at the Stellaron held by Phainon, nodding slightly as if to say, "Handled well enough."
Lan withdrew his sharp gaze from the brawl arena.
Yaoshi remained compassionate and serene, while Fuli had already turned "The Winner's Smile and Bruised Face" into a new Light Cone.
Aha popped up from nowhere again, letting out a weird laugh: "Hehehe, I'm very satisfied with the refereeing this time."
"Next."
The steady, mountain-like voice of the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, rang out, pulling everyone's attention back.
"It is time to send you out, little one."
He once again raised that awe-inspiring giant hammer.
"Huh?"
The smile on Stella's face instantly froze. An extremely ominous premonition flooded her heart. Looking in horror at the hammerhead (the side of it) pointed at her, she hurriedly waved her hands and backed away.
"Wait! Lord Qlipoth! Let's talk this out! I can leave on my own! No need for you to send me! Really! Pwah—!!!"
Refusal was futile.
The face of Qlipoth's hammer gave another gentle "nudge."
In the next second, Stella felt the world spinning. She felt as if she had been stuffed into an amber-colored tumble dryer, rotating at an incredible speed. She turned into a streak of light and was "Preserved" out of this Aeon space with a "whoosh," leaving behind a string of echoing, fading screams:
"MY—HEAAAD—!!!"
——————
Reality, the core of the Everwinter Plains.
In the eyes of Dan Heng, Bronya, Seele, March 7th, the High-Cloud Quintet, and the others, everything that just happened took place in the blink of an eye:
They only saw Stella rush toward the Stellaron. Upon contact, a terrifying golden light and shockwave erupted.
Stelle then rushed forward, picking up the Flame Lance to block, before finally throwing the weapon aside and pressing both hands against Stella's chest.
The two were swallowed by a blinding golden light. Then, the light retracted, and both lost consciousness, collapsing softly to the ground.
"Stella! Stelle!"
March 7th was the first to cry out and try to rush over, but she was stopped by Dan Heng—it was uncertain if any residual danger remained.
Everyone stood on high alert, looking at the two unconscious figures with hearts full of worry and questions.
After a while.
"Ugh..."
Stelle, lying on the ground, suddenly let out a muffled groan. Then, without warning, she snapped up like a spring—
But she seemed to use too much force, or perhaps she wasn't familiar with her newly acquired power. Instead of standing up gracefully, she "boinged" vertically into the air. Then, with a "splat," she landed head-first, plunging straight into the thick snow nearby, leaving only two legs kicking comically in the air.
Immediately after, an angry, muffled roar came from inside the snowbank:
"Amber Lord! I hate you—!! What kind of exit method is this?!!"
Everyone: "..."
The worried atmosphere shattered instantly, replaced by sweat-drops and speechlessness.
Seele's lip twitched: "Is she... okay?"
Dan Heng stepped forward and pulled Stelle out of the snow pit like pulling a radish.
Stelle shook her head, flinging snow off her face with a huff.
It was only then that everyone noticed an extremely faint but incredibly solid amber shimmer circulating around Stelle's body. Her aura had also become more steady and heavy.
"Is this... the power of the Path of Preservation?"
Bronya, who had been briefed on Path knowledge, asked somewhat uncertainly.
"It seems so."
Jing Yuan nodded, looking thoughtful.
"To be 'personally delivered' by the Lord of the Sky-Beater, with a 'Path Certification' thrown in... Tsk, what a treatment."
His tone was a bit subtle, somewhere between sympathy and envy.
At this time, Stella also groaned nearby. Rubbing her head, which felt like it was splitting open, she stood up shakily. She felt like every bone in her body had been reassembled, especially her butt (?) and head, which throbbed with pain.
"You..."
Stelle looked at the equally disheveled Stella and blinked.
"Were you 'hit' out by Qlipoth too?"
She put a special emphasis on the word "hit."
Hearing this, Stella remembered that final, undignified "spinning ascent." Her face darkened instantly, but she still nodded honestly and indignantly, squeezing out a few words through her teeth: "...Yeah, same 'delivery service'."
"Pfft!"
Jing Yuan finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He quickly turned his head away, his shoulders shaking suspiciously as he tried his best to stifle his laughter.
The expressions of the other members of the High-Cloud Quintet were also more or less cracking. Bai Heng even laughed out loud.
"It seems you two have met all eighteen of those big guys?"
Little Herta had walked up at some point. Her small face was expressionless, but her eyes held a sense of understanding as she looked up at Stelle and Stella.
"Eighteen? Which eighteen?"
March 7th hadn't fully recovered from the shock of "Stelle becoming a Pathstrider of Preservation" yet and asked subconsciously.
"The eighteen Aeons."
Little Herta spat out the answer in a flat tone.
"Oh, Aeons."
March 7th repeated subconsciously. Then, after a two-second pause, her eyes suddenly widened, and her voice jumped eight octaves, letting out a sonic boom loud enough to shake loose distant icicles: "Aeons?! Eighteen?! ALL the Aeons?! You were watched by eighteen Aeons?! When did this happen?! How did you meet them?! Was Akivili there too?! What do they look like?! Did they speak?! Ahhh, why wasn't I there!!!"
March 7th instantly entered rabid fan mode, grabbing Stelle's shoulders and shaking her wildly, questions firing off like a Gatling gun.
Dizzy from the shaking, Stelle quickly broke free and pointed at the amber light on herself: "This is the meeting gift... or should I say, the 'appearance fee'?"
Her tone was still full of resentment.
Little Herta ignored the chaotic March 7th and continued looking at Stella, explaining in her characteristic, academic-report-like calm tone: "Inside your body, or rather, tied to that'system' of yours, there is a highest-priority self-protection protocol."
"When you encounter truly fatal and unavoidable danger—note that actively seeking death, like trying to catch a Stellaron barehanded, doesn't seem to be within the scope of full protection, or it triggers a different process—the protocol activates. It temporarily pulls your consciousness and part of your existential essence into a protected 'high-dimensional space,' where... well, 'relevant entities' intervene or provide escort."
Stella was stunned: "So... those Aeons..."
"They can be seen as your system panel's... highest-level'security contractors'? Or perhaps, 'the unspeakable bosses behind the scenes'?"
Little Herta rarely used metaphors, though it sounded even weirder.
"In short, they will provide a safety net for you in those extreme circumstances."
"Doesn't that mean..."
Stella's eyes lit up bit by bit. Her previous indignation and full-body aches were instantly replaced by a surge of immense excitement!
She suddenly straightened her back (nearly straining it), put her hands on her hips, and let out a cocky, foolish laugh toward the sky:
"Hahahahaha! I'm invincible!! The Aeons are my backup! Who dares mess with me now! I'll walk sideways from now on! If I see a Stellaron, I'll just pounce on it! Hahaha... Er?"
Her wild laughter came to a screeching halt because Little Herta was looking at her like she was an idiot and calmly added the most crucial part:
"Just a reminder. The conventional 'escort' or 'intervention' methods of those 'Aeons' aren't direct actions in the outside world. The more common practice is to temporarily 'occupy' or 'highly synchronize' with your body, forcibly driving Path energy that far exceeds your current physical limits to counterattack or defend."
She paused, looking at Stella's frozen smile, and continued to ruthlessly shatter her fantasy:
"The price is that your body will be severely overdrawn due to excessive load. At best, you'll be exhausted and unconscious for several days. At worst... well, by human standards, you'd probably need to lie in a hospital bed for a full month. During that time, you'll be completely unable to care for yourself, needing others—or puppets like us—to help you eat, drink, and use the restroom."
Stella: "..."
The smile on her face was like dried plaster, cracking inch by inch.
Images instantly flashed through her mind of her being paralyzed in bed, looking hopeless while being fed liquid food by Little Herta, forced to drink bitter medicine by Bailu, teased by Jing Yuan, and perhaps even looked down upon by Cocolia...
"Aow—!!!"
Under extreme terror and hindsight, Stella's jaw suddenly dropped wide. With a soft "crack"—her jaw dislocated.
"Aow aow aow—!! Wuu wuu!! (Help! It hurts!)"
Stella immediately clutched her dislocated jaw, tears streaming from the pain. She wanted to scream but couldn't, only able to let out indistinct wails as she jumped around like a cat whose Tail had been stepped on.
The group fell into silence again, watching the person who had just claimed they would "walk sideways" now clutching their jaw and flailing around. The scene was once again extremely awkward and comical.
Dan Heng sighed silently and stepped forward: "...Don't move, I'll help you snap it back. Next time... don't go making random flags."
Jing Yuan completely gave up this time, turning his back as his shoulders shook violently. Bai Heng was already laughing so hard she was leaning against the engine hood of a starskiff.
Even the usually cold Jingliu's lip seemed to twitch slightly.
Looking at Stella's miserable state, Stelle touched her own still-aching butt and suddenly felt... a little bit more balanced.
Mhm, the blessing of Preservation didn't seem so hard to accept after all. At least, nothing was dislocated.