Once back at the boundaries of Nihility, 'Hysilens' lingered until the very last moment of the character card's duration.
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[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: ∞]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Destruction Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher, Georios, Cyrene Fuli (Charge: 27.1%), General Qingque of the Yuque (Charge: 82.4%), Huohuo (Charge: 78.5%), Silver Wolf (Charge: 46.9%), Hysilens (Charge: 0.0%)]
[Available Draws: 6 (51.2%)]
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[Reward Settlement: A performance of "Unfinished Greatness," yet it resolved Hysilens' inner knot.]
[Rewards: Hysilens' singing voice and a natural talent for the Path of Nihility. Bonus Reward: Deepened understanding of Nihility.]
--+--
The roleplay ended automatically as the card expired. In an instant, Bai Ming reverted to her original form, drawing Acheron's gaze.
Bai Ming, however, could only look at the reward settlement with a helpless smile.
She couldn't say she had done nothing during this performance, but it was certainly only half-finished.
The main obstacle had been her level of comprehension regarding the Nihility Equation. Because of that, she hadn't been able to establish the rules to automatically collect Sin Thirsters and funnel them into the world of transcendence.
Up until now, every single Sin Thirster seeking closure in that world had been personally escorted in by Acheron.
That was why the system judged it as "Unfinished Greatness."
One could only say it was lucky Bai Ming had gone off to tease Hysilens and Cerydra.
Resolving the misunderstanding between those two had altered their destinies, padding the rewards a bit; otherwise, she likely wouldn't have received that talent for Nihility.
As the rewards settled, a massive influx of knowledge flooded her mind.
It was all content pertaining to the Nihility Equation—concepts she previously struggled to grasp were now being understood at lightning speed.
Her mastery and analytical depth over Nihility began to skyrocket.
With this sudden windfall of insight, the logistical nightmare of guiding the Sin Thirsters—which had been giving Bai Ming a massive headache—suddenly clicked. The solution was clear.
Pushing the status panel and the "gacha accident" aside for a moment, Bai Ming turned to meet Acheron's eyes and smiled.
"I've got an idea. After this, you shouldn't have to personally carry the Sin Thirsters inside every time."
"Oh...?"
Acheron was about to ask how she'd suddenly come up with a solution, but considering it might be a stroke of genius from a "genius," she didn't want to interrupt Bai Ming's train of thought.
Bai Ming didn't mind.
Instead, she took Acheron by the arm, pulling her close. Pressing against her, Bai Ming chirped, "Look, we build the entire system like this..."
As she spoke, her hands began to move.
The power of Nihility, driven by the Equation, became a force she could wield at will. And because of the system panel's protection, this concentrated power couldn't erode her in the slightest.
Acheron watched, stunned, as that terrifying Nihility energy was kneaded and molded like clay in Bai Ming's hands.
That uncontrollable force became exceptionally docile under her touch.
Then, a staggeringly complex set of rules—rooted in Nihility—expanded outward in every direction like a massive, man-made web.
The reach of these rules was vast, stretching out to the very edges of Nihility and inward almost to the position of the Aeon of Nihility itself. Going any further was unnecessary.
Generally speaking, aside from the Aeons, there were very few beings in the universe who could enter IX's body and come out alive.
It was even more impossible for a Sin Thirster to exist there. There was no need to risk contact with the Aeon of Nihility itself.
Still...
From a vast distance, Bai Ming gazed at the perpetually motionless Aeon of Nihility.
In reality, IX didn't look like a giant blob as depicted in the games.
From Bai Ming's perspective, all she could see was a colossal shadow—a void where nothing existed except Nihility.
It was pure nothingness.
Rather than "seeing" it, it was more that because she could "perceive" nothing, it manifested as a pitch-black hole.
Just looking at it made Bai Ming feel the terrifying implication of Nihility: a total opposition to all existence. It was as if the concept of "Nothing" was simply the flip side of the world's coin.
Yet, beyond this pure void, because it existed there and could be observed, there seemed to be a unique "point" within that deep hole, beneath that endless abyss.
Bai Ming felt that she might be able to delve directly into the Aeon of Nihility to find those specific "points."
But then again, even with her current understanding of Nihility, what could she even do if she found them? Or rather, even if she could do something, what would she do? Erase it?
Was that even possible?
Could a concept that is "Nihility itself" be erased?
And would the act of "erasing" it—being an act of negation—actually align so perfectly with the concept of Nihility that it would cause the void to evolve into something even more abstract and horrifying?
Besides, the Path already existed. Even if she successfully and harmlessly dealt with IX, the very meaning of Nihility would likely just give birth to a "Nihility Aeon X" immediately after.
In short, as Bai Ming's understanding deepened, she realized that Nihility itself was incredibly difficult to shake.
Acheron's dream of reaching the end of Nihility and slashing down that black sun... if she actually succeeded one day, she might just end up becoming the new Aeon of Nihility by virtue of erasing the old one, replacing the black sun to become the new abyss.
In Bai Ming's eyes, stealing the power of IX seemed like a much more viable plan than trying to destroy it.
IX wouldn't care anyway, and since Bai Ming was immune to its influence, she could become a proxy Aeon who actively controlled the power of Nihility.
She could use the Nihility Equation to curb its expansion and protect the Self-Annihilators.
She even wondered if taking active control of Nihility's power could weaken the Path to some extent.
Then again, while she might weaken it, she didn't quite dare to try and tear the Path of Nihility apart.
If she split it into two or three different Paths and Aeons, she might end up creating some truly bizarre entities. That would be a real disaster.
Bai Ming immediately suppressed that thought and focused on stabilizing the giant web she had cast.
As the rules shrouding the shadow of Nihility neared completion, Sin Thirsters that Acheron had missed began to be guided in.
From all directions, following the tides of the pitch-black sea, they stepped into the constantly evolving world.
"...There were so many scattered Sin Thirsters that I didn't find?" Acheron was momentarily stunned.
But she quickly came to terms with it. No matter how hard she worked, she was only one person.
In this universe, Pathstriders were beyond count; the number of individuals born and dying every day was staggering. How could she alone net every single soul drifting under the shadow of Nihility?
Bai Ming took Acheron's hand, squeezing her palm in comfort. "Don't overthink it. You're only human—well, one person. You can't be perfect."
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. I'm just struck by how much suffering there is in this world," Acheron replied with a gentle smile.
The two didn't leave immediately after the work was done.
Instead, they stayed hand-in-hand, watching the world develop. They watched as the Sin Thirsters increased in number and the world grew livelier.
Every soul was assigned to a school as a starting point, though their subsequent paths depended on their individual obsessions.
However, as more and more souls were gathered, Bai Ming's expression shifted from initial joy to confusion, and finally to awkwardness.
She realized that as the population grew, the world she had partitioned was becoming cramped.
Acheron leaned in close to Bai Ming, tilting her head. "...Is it just me, or is this world getting a bit crowded? There are so many of them."
"Yeah, it's a bit small. I thought tossing together a small world would be enough, but it looks like I underestimated the situation," Bai Ming admitted with a sigh, acknowledging her construction error. She immediately began work on an expansion.
Strictly speaking, while a small world has its boundaries, it should have been enough to fit an entire star system.
However, Bai Ming had underestimated the sheer volume of Sin Thirsters and the resources required for their transcendence.
To give just one soul closure, she often had to construct a massive area and set up a horde of NPCs.
Since some of these souls were former high-ranking officials of interstellar civilizations, she occasionally had to whip up worldviews that spanned entire galaxies.
Even though these large-scale settings could nest many smaller worldviews within them, the scale of a single star system was proving insufficient.
Just as Bai Ming began the expansion, a strange wind blew past, bringing with it a burst of laughter that made her frown instantly.
"Look what I've found! A world of passing for the entire universe! Haha~ What a grand, merciful feat! My dear sister, if you were going to make something this fun, why didn't you invite me?"
"...?!"
Acheron froze.
There, in this place shrouded by Nihility, stood the actual Aeon of Elation, Aha.
The sheer, shivering reaction of Imaginary Energy that accompanied their presence left no doubt—it was the real deal!
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL