Cloud Retainer's abode.
A certain room.
Xia Zhi's figure suddenly reappeared.
He had just returned from 500 years in the past.
Perhaps because this [Intertwined Fate] had evolved to Diamond rank—higher than the previous one—the side effects of time travel were far less severe, despite the longer duration.
Xia Zhi steadied himself, pressing a hand to his forehead.
The system's voice echoed in his mind.
"[Fate Intervention] complete. Bonding effects now active."
"[10% of all attributes shared with bonded individual: Furina (Focalors)]."
At the same time, Xia Zhi felt a familiar transformation in his body—a wondrous sense of all-around enhancement.
It reminded him of the changes he had experienced when he first became a god.
Back then, he had acquired a passive skill called [Transcendence], which boosted all attributes by 50%.
Opening his system panel, Xia Zhi checked his stats.
Most of his attributes had increased slightly due to the shared effects from [Furina (Focalors)].
All except one—MP.
Instead of a modest rise, it had skyrocketed from a mere million to over a billion.
Staring at this absurdly inflated mana pool, Xia Zhi fell into deep thought.
The shared attributes represented 10% of the bonded individual's stats.
In other words, Furina's current MP must be ten times that—ten billion.
Clearly, his newly acknowledged cousin had never slacked off in stacking her mana pool over the past 500 years…
Xia Zhi possessed three meditation techniques that reduced his mana consumption by a staggering 90%, so his effective MP was roughly on par with Furina's.
In terms of mana alone, he had definitely gained the upper hand.
On the other hand, Xia Zhi's [Innate Super Strength], [Innate Wisdom], [Exceptional Charm], [Auspiciousness], and other skills gave him overwhelming advantages in Strength, Intelligence, Constitution, Agility, Charm, and Luck—attributes that would now greatly benefit Furina through the shared effects.
After adjusting to his new stats, Xia Zhi cast a basic light spell.
[Shield of Holy Light].
A white barrier enveloped his body.
Though this was just the simplest cleric spell, it had a unique trait—its mana cost and shield strength were variable.
The shield's durability scaled with the amount of mana poured into it, making it extremely flexible for handling emergencies.
Xia Zhi continued channeling mana into the shield, watching as the white barrier thickened at a visible rate.
It looked reassuringly sturdy.
He then tested it with offensive spells.
Not only did they fail to break it—they couldn't even make it budge.
Finally, Xia Zhi drew [Assassin's Blade] and lightly scraped the shield.
The barrier dissipated instantly.
No matter how thick, it was useless.
Xia Zhi shook his head.
[Shield Breaker] was just too overpowered.
—
Fontaine.
Palais Mermonia.
Furina sat at the table, sipping Rainbow Juice from a glass.
Focalors' reflection appeared in the mirror. "Why are you still so relaxed?"
"Just having a drink."
"Isn't today the day we can contact him?"
"I know."
"I thought you'd be pacing anxiously like you were the past few days."
"You don't understand. The more critical the moment, the calmer I must appear—so I can leave a good impression on Cousin."
"…What good impression? He already caught you red-handed in that dream the other day."
"That was different."
"Tch."
Ignoring her, Furina took another sip.
Just as she was about to set the glass down, she felt an inexplicable change within her body.
A surge of immense power flooded her veins.
Crack.
The glass shattered in her grip.
The sharp shards scraped her palm but left no mark.
Focalors looked startled. "Furina, what happened?"
"I don't know…"
Furina stared blankly at the fragments in her hand.
"I feel… like I've suddenly become much stronger…"
Focalors frowned. "Stronger how?"
"Greater strength, sharper mind, sturdier body…"
Furina suddenly gasped.
"It must be Cousin."
"Huh? What does he have to do with it?"
"I don't know—I just feel it. Don't you?"
"I don't have a physical body, so no."
"Oh well… never mind."
Furina checked the time on her cube.
The moment Cousin had mentioned had already passed.
So… he must have completed the time jump by now, right?
Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the screen and quickly entered the contact number he had given her 500 years ago—one she had memorized by heart.
Then she tapped [Call].
Holding her breath, she waited.
—
The cube on the bedside table chimed.
Xia Zhi picked it up.
An unfamiliar contact request appeared on the screen.
The caller's nickname was peculiar:
[Cousin's Cream Puff].
Xia Zhi stared for a moment before answering.
"Furina?"
The night atop Mt. Aocang held a deep and tranquil silence.
So quiet that Xia Zhi could hear the faint breathing coming from the other end of the small cube.
Clearly, someone was holding the receiver.
But for some reason, they weren't responding.
Xia Zhi pressed the cube to his ear and waited patiently.
After about ten seconds, a familiar young woman's voice finally came through.
"Cousin..."
He heard a slight sniffle—as if she had been crying.
Xia Zhi paused for a moment before speaking softly, "It's alright. It's all in the past now."
Her voice was muffled and pitiful. "I missed you so much..."
Xia Zhi replied gently, "I know. Let's talk for a while... Did you eat all the cakes?"
"One every year. The last one was eaten last year."
"Did you like them?"
"Yes! So much!"
"Did you try the [Gods' Temptation]?"
"Oh, that one was eaten a long time ago."
Then, Xia Zhi heard a soft gulp—
No, wait.
Not one, but two gulps...
Meaning there were two people on the other end.
In other words, Focalors was probably eavesdropping on their conversation right next to Furina.
The image of two identical-looking girls huddled together, listening intently to the tiny speaker, brought a smile to Xia Zhi's face.
"Did you like it?"
"It was amazing!"
"If you liked it that much, I'll make it for you again when I come to visit."
"Really?! Cousin, when are you coming to Fontaine?"
"Let me check my schedule... Probably by the end of this year."
"What?! But it's only the beginning of the year now! That's a whole year away!"
"A year is just about forty-something weeks. It'll pass quickly."
"Maybe before, but now even a minute feels like torture."
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll come see you sooner."
"?"
"I've recently gained some control over dreams. I'll visit you in your dreams."
"Oh! Okay!"
Furina's voice was full of excitement, as if she hadn't already known he could enter dreams.
"I'll go to sleep right away!"
"No need to rush that much."
"But I really want to see you! You have to come quickly!"
"Fine, fine. What about Focalors?"
"Her?"
Furina's voice suddenly took on a teasing tone before being abruptly muffled, as if someone had covered her mouth. "Mmph... Mmph..."
From just these few sounds, Xia Zhi could vividly picture the scene unfolding on the other side.
It seemed the two of them had grown quite close over the past five hundred years.
A moment later, a voice very similar to Furina's—but colder and more aloof—came through.
Of course, the "tsundere" impression was purely Xia Zhi's own interpretation. To anyone else, she would simply sound proud and imperious.
After all, she was a pure Divine Aspect. She had every right to that pride and detachment.
"Xia Zhi. You wanted to talk?"
"Are you doing alright?"
"Perfectly fine."
"That's good."
And just like that, the conversation stalled.
Focalors bit her lip lightly before speaking in a measured tone. "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
A moment later, Xia Zhi's voice came through. "Alright... beep."
You actually hung up just like that?!
Focalors glared at the screen indignantly.
Beside her, Furina burst into laughter. "Serves you right for being so tsun! What did you expect?"
Focalors tossed the cube back at her with a blank expression. "Is it really that funny?"
"Of course! I told you ages ago—tsundere is out of fashion. You didn't believe me."
"I'm not a tsundere."
"Pfft."
Furina shot her a knowing look.
"Want me to give you some advice?"
"No."
"Fine. I'm going to sleep then."
Furina flopped onto the bed and closed her eyes.
Focalors watched her for a moment before vanishing into the mirror.
----
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