Belobog
Clara, who had been repairing machinery, slowly looked up. Two dazzling, terrifying beams of light were spreading across the sky. Even from such a great distance, the absolute Path power sent chills through everyone present.
"Sister Seele... what... what is this? This power... it's terrifying."
Seele's scythe had already fallen into the snow. Even when facing the people from the Overworld or the monsters of the Fragmentum, she had never felt such fear. Now, merely glancing at those two lights made her feel as though a blade was pressed against her back.
She tried to stay calm. Ever since Jarilo-VI had reestablished contact with the outside universe, she had learned of the existence of Emanators beneath the Aeons.
"Clara. It's... it's fine. Go find the Supreme Guardian. If necessary, ask the Astral Express crew for help."
"Yes!"
---
Xianzhou Luofu
Jing Yuan rubbed his forehead wearily. This time, Madam Herta hadn't actually fought on the Luofu, but her clash with another Emanator had affected several surrounding star systems. Weaker planets and asteroids had been reduced to dust.
Fu Xuan arrived with Qingque. "General, aren't you going to stop Madam Herta?"
Jing Yuan sighed. "Unless that woman or the elders of the Ten-Lords Commission step in, the person capable of stopping Madam Herta has yet to be born among the Six Xianzhou ships."
Fu Xuan and Qingque exchanged glances. They knew Herta was powerful, but not to this extent.
Qingque scratched her head. "Then, General Jing Yuan, how old is Madam Herta?"
Jing Yuan shook his head. "Several Amber Eras. Much older than my master. Why do you ask?"
Qingque waved a hand, half-joking. "There's a rumor that the longer you live, the farther you walk on your Path."
Jing Yuan summoned the Lightning Lord and stationed it at Starskiff Haven to mitigate the impact of the fighting between Herta and the other Emanator.
"Fu Xuan, use your Matrix of Prescience to calculate when this battle will end."
Fu Xuan shot him a look. "General, my Matrix of Prescience returns only 'Nihility' whenever it tries to divine anything about Madam Herta."
---
Half a month later
Ruan Mei still stood closest to the two Hertas, observing them. She had to admit—their habits, their Path-walking, their fighting styles were eerily similar. In other words, even the fake Herta must possess many of Herta's memories.
Wait. If the fake Herta inherited Yu Qingtu's memories, that would explain everything.
Just as she was lost in thought, one of the Hertas spoke first. "Ruan Mei, help me destroy this fool!"
The other Herta, looking weary, retorted, "Ruan Mei, don't believe her! Her Path power is nearly exhausted! Strike now!"
"You! Ruan Mei, the fake is the one who's drained! Attack!"
Ruan Mei studied them both. After nearly half a month of full-scale Path warfare affecting several star systems, both had expended massive amounts of power. She could probably defeat either of them easily at this point. But she still couldn't tell them apart. Should she defeat both at once? Then take them back for study?
"Ruan Mei, what are you hesitating for?! I'm the real Herta!"
The other cut in. "Ruan Mei, don't trust her! I'm the real Herta!"
Ruan Mei sighed. "One of you has received absolute Path power from the Aeon of Elation, enough to pass as the real thing. I cannot tell which is which. Tell me something only the real Herta would know."
The Herta on the left spoke quickly. "Ruan Mei, in the Simulated Universe research, there's an event involving you that's ridiculously overpowered—it helps the Stellaron brat."
The Herta on the right crossed her arms and snorted. "Hmph. Is that all? I'd rather talk about the Star-Gazing Terrace. Remember your confession? I was just too tsundere at the time. I wanted to confess properly next time to save face, so I ran away."
Ruan Mei's expression shifted to one of understanding.
The left Herta frowned, glaring at the other. "Fine. Ruan Mei, remember the fake Yu Qingtu? Sparkle came to me for amusement. I used a simulation world in Herta City to overwrite her with Yu Qingtu's memories."
Ruan Mei and the right Herta both paused. They hadn't expected her to reveal that.
"Then, Lady Herta of unknown authenticity, what was your purpose in having Sparkle impersonate Yu Qingtu?"
The left Herta said flatly, "Purpose? That insufferable fox, Tingyun, was too much. I wanted Sparkle to pose as Yu Qingtu and make you feel threatened."
The right Herta couldn't take it anymore. "You fool! You revealed that too? I, the great Madam Herta, will erase you today!"
"Fool? I'm a genius! A genius!"
Boom.
Once again, the two Hertas raised their magic keys and clashed.
After more than twenty consecutive days of using Path power, several surrounding star systems had been affected. Even the Astral Express's warp routes were disrupted, causing several terrifying spatial collapses.
Finally, the two Hertas resorted to physically striking each other with their keys.
"You fake Herta! Still pretending to be me at this point? You have a death wish."
"Hmph, you're the fake. Ruan Mei's been watching. You're doomed."
"Fool! Stop pretending!"
"Sparkle! Stop acting!"
Bam. Another key to the head. Then one back.
Even now, neither would concede.
A thought crossed Ruan Mei's mind. This scene... it's like the battle of the true and false Great Sages?
With a single thought, she froze both Hertas.
"Let's go to the space station first. We'll have Asta, Herta Ninety-Nine, Wisteria Cake, and the others take a look. Perhaps one of them can tell which is which."
Both Hertas crossed their arms, snorted, and said in perfect unison, "Fine. I'm curious to see how long this fake—this Sparkle, this fool—can keep up the act."
Their tone and words were almost identical.