"Relax, don't be nervous"
The Herta puppet worked the console, her gaze drifting toward Ena from time to time.
"Alright, now open your eyes"
Ena opened her eyes.
The Herta Space Station.
But the air was empty. No herbs, no metal, no space station scent.
No construction crews. No researchers arguing or staring into the stars.
Instead, monsters roamed freely within it.
"I've disabled your pain module in The Simulated Universe, so pain won't be an issue. You'll encounter various events, and there's a small chance you'll meet an AEON. Can you handle that?"
Ena gaze settled on The Antimatter Legion.
Her fingers tightened slightly. "...No need... I'll fight them first"
She moved toward the nearest one and hid behind a potted plant.
'Alright. Just a simulation. No pain. Even a healer can do something, right Chibi Circuit?'
(Host, with all due respect, without pain you could slowly chip them to death even by scraping their skin)
Ena was quiet for a moment.
"I don't need you to tell me, Chibi Circuit. I know that, I know"
She picked up a pebble, then threw it from a distance. It hit a Void Ranger on the head, dealing 1 damage.
The Void Ranger was enraged and rushed over, slashing Ena and dealing 100 damage.
Ena triggered her passive, recovering 10,000,000 health points upon taking damage.
Herta hands trembled for a moment as she recorded the data. Dealing 10... nervousness?
Ena launched an elbow strike at the Void Ranger, dealing 5 damage.
Outside the simulated universe, Herta watched as the Void Ranger slashed while Ena replied with elbow strikes.
"Based on calculations, no..." Herta murmured, eyes fixed on the screen. "The conclusion was obvious at a glance. Even with damage output twenty times higher than her, the Void Ranger had no chance of winning"
The Void Ranger slashed again.
'No pain...' Ena took another hit. 'No pain...'
(Your excellency, Host. You are currently taking 100 damage per hit)
"...I know"
(You do not appear distressed)
"Hahh... I am very distressed"
She sidestepped an attack, her eyes finding the plant behind her, and she reached for it.
It responded.
Slowly at first then faster.
Vines coiled around the Void Ranger.
It broke free within seconds.
Ena exhaled. "So troublesome"
The vines surged toward the Void Ranger again, tightening briefly before snapping apart.
"They won't hold for long… but it's better than nothing"
'In my Abundance form, I'm not built for fighting on the front lines. I'm better at staying behind and supporting my teammates'
'But if I actually go into battle… I'm basically just an indestructible sandbag'
She took another hit.
'...And there's a decent chance I'd just get kidnapped'
The Void Ranger swung again. And again.
Slash. Regenerate. Slash. Regenerate.
It severed her arm. It grew back.
It took her head. That grew back too.
The Void Ranger paused and took a deep breath. Somehow.
(Host. The Void Ranger has stopped attacking)
"...Is it okay?"
(It appears to be experiencing significant distress)
She looked at it. "Ahh..."
'This must be what it feels like to fight Blade... Except I'm the one doing it to someone else'
The Void Ranger swung again, slower now, and Ena replied with an elbow strike.
The Void Ranger was eventually chipped to death.
Ena collapsed.
(Host. The Void Ranger has been defeated)
"...Give me a moment"
"Well done" Herta voice came through the console.
"Boring process. But it confirmed something, your abilities have room to grow. Now choose one of the three Blessings before-"
"...What is this"
(WARNING. WARNING. The Simulated Universe is under unknown influence. Restoration currently impossible. Restoration currently impossible.)
The alarm cut through everything.
Silence.
The Space Station was gone.
Ena stood in open starry sky. No floor. No walls. No ceiling.
Just stars.
And something else.
Something floated in the space ahead.
Large enough that Ena had to lift her head to find where it ended.
"There she is... As expected, you have some kind of connection with the Aeon of Abundance!" Herta hands trembled at the console.
"Quickly. Ena, the AEON of Abundance has a gentle personality and you carry her Blessing. Negotiate with her while you can"
"Uh... I know you're anxious, but can you... not be anxious just yet?"
Ena looked up.
'Meeting an AEON should have felt extraordinary'
Six arms. Countless eyes across her body, all looking downward. At her.
'...It didn't'
Her eyes narrowed.
'...why... does she feel familiar'
Neither of them moved.
"That thou hast returned, it brings me great joy"
Yaoshi spoke first.
At the console, Herta hand stilled.
She had spent years attempting to draw AEON attention in the Simulated Universe. Every method. Every variable. Nothing had produced a response. Not until Stelle disguised herself as Akivili.
And now Yaoshi was speaking.
To a human.
Yaoshi never spoke first.
Ena arrival made Yaoshi happy?
'Ena was connected to an Emanator. A friend of the Apothecary of Finality, the fluctuations during the Safe Zone incident had pointed there'
'Conservative thinking, it turned out'
'Very conservative'
'Ena had a direct connection to an Aeon'
"Friend? Colleague?" Herta murmured, eyes fixed on the screen. "Neighbor? ...Illegitimate daughter?"
She was already pulling up a new data file.
Yaoshi past. Yaoshi behavior. Yaoshi reactions to one specific human.
Years of failed attempts to produce meaningful Aeon interaction and it walked onto her station on its own.
Herta hands moved faster. "Jackpot"
Ena quietly looked at Yaoshi body and closed her eyes.
Something surfaced and slipped away before she could hold it.
Ena opened her eyes.
Yaoshi six arms were the first thing she saw.
'...how long would it take to give those arms a palm strike...'
'heh.. if the followers of abundance heard my thought they might just turn me into a shish kebab'
Ena raised a finger toward Yaoshi eyes. "You're... so tall..."
'...why does being looked down on by her feel so wrong...'
Sensing Ena gesture, Yaoshi gently extended two arms and Ena stepped into her palm.
Yaoshi slowly and carefully held Ena up high.
Ena small body stood on the Aeon of Abundance snowy white palms.
And Ena had now been raised to a position where Yaoshi had to look up at her.
Ena smiled. 'Now that I'm looking down at her... she looks different. Smaller...'
'...she's actually really cute'
Ena froze.
'...like the child I adopted in my simulation.'
"Yao-Yao, hug..." Ena blurted out.
(Memory: Taste of a Hundred Herbs 30%)
TBC
.....
.....
After writing this chapter on the Logitech K120, I think it's actually not bad. The chapter and the keyboard.
(•́⤙•̀ )
It's just a bit too wide. I'd prefer a TKL keyboard the numpad is useless for me.
(╥﹏╥)
Unfortunately, there's nothing this durable at this price range, so I have to cozy up with this big and wide thing.
(,,¬﹏¬,,)
Anyway, what do you think of this chapter? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(❀❛ ֊ ❛„)♡