The serene silence of the forest clearing was shattered as Mei's consciousness fully returned to the physical world. Her eyes fluttered open to find three faces staring at her with varying degrees of bewilderment.
Tang San's gaze was sharp and analytical, scanning the shimmering violet-yellow soul ring and the ethereal butterfly spirit that hovered serenely by her shoulder.
Xiao Wu's mouth was agape, pointing a trembling finger, while Ning Rongrong looked as if she was witnessing a sacred miracle.
"Senior Mei! You're okay!" Xiao Wu exclaimed, the words bursting out of her. "But what is that? Is that… It's a ghost?"
"A manifested spirit… after absorption… That never happened before," Tang San murmured, his mind already trying to dissect the phenomenon, his fundamental understanding of spirit rings being challenged.
Ning Rongrong found her voice, though it was a hushed, reverent whisper. "Is it… guarding you?"
Mei took a steadying breath, a soft smile gracing her lips. "It's alright, everyone. This is part of my new soul skill, or rather, a consequence of it." She gently explained what she could, carefully editing the parts about AI and the subspace.
"The Light Goddess Butterfly was a uniquely intelligent spirit beast. During the absorption, instead of dissipating entirely, his consciousness formed a bond with me. He's not a ghost; he's a spirit partner. And his soul ring grants me a passive ability to… enhance how others perceive me, to make my performances more captivating."
The trio absorbed this, the explanation both clarifying and deepening the mystery. But before they could formulate another question, a new voice cut through the air—clear, melodic, and unmistakably male.
"A pleasure to make your proper acquaintance," the butterfly spirit said, his translucent wings giving a dignified flutter.
The effect was instantaneous. Mei jolted, her head whipping towards the spirit. "You… you can speak to them? Out loud?"
Simultaneously, her three friends recoiled in shock.
"It talks?!" Xiao Wu yelped, jumping back a step.
Tang San's eyes widened, his hand instinctively twitching as if to summon Blue Silver Grass. A talking spirit was entirely outside any known variable.
Ning Rongrong simply stared, her brain struggling to reconcile the majestic, feminine name with the distinctly male voice. "It… he… has a man's voice?"
The butterfly spirit seemed to preen under the attention. "Indeed, I can! And yes, I am male. A common point of confusion, given the unfortunately misleading nomenclature of my species."
Xiao Wu, ever blunt, planted her hands on her hips, her initial shock giving way to pure, unadulterated curiosity.
"Hold on! If you're a guy, why are you called a Light Goddess Butterfly? That doesn't make any sense!"
The spirit let out a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of centuries of misunderstanding. "A fair question, young lady. My species is… gynocentric. For every thousand females born, there is only one male. The females are glorious, powerful beings, the 'Goddesses' of the name. We males are rarer, and our role is different. We are the inheritors of the species' profound mental and luminous attributes, but we are… vastly outnumbered."
His voice took on a slightly dramatic, weary tone. "Do you have any idea what it is like to be the sole object of affection for a thousand… enthusiastic females? The constant attention? The sheer, overwhelming pressure? It was utterly exhausting. Being 'stalked,' as I so eloquently put it earlier, by spirit beasts and prey alike… it was a relief when the Idol—ahem, when fate led me to this peaceful resolution."
A stunned silence followed his little speech. Tang San processed the biological improbability, Ning Rongrong sympathized with the social plight, and Xiao Wu just looked vaguely horrified at the idea.
"Oh," Xiao Wu said, all the fight gone out of her. "Yeah, that sounds… terrible."
Ning Rongrong, ever the diplomat, stepped forward slightly, addressing the spirit with newfound respect. "If that is the case, then it seems wrong to continue calling you by a name that doesn't fit. Should we call you the Light God Butterfly instead?"
The spirit shimmered with apparent pleasure. "A kind offer, but 'God' carries such burdensome expectations. If it is not too much trouble…" he fluttered closer to the group, his light pulsing shyly, "…I would be honored if you would give me a new name. A true name, for my new beginning."
The request hung in the air, and immediately, the group's dynamic shifted from shock and confusion to collaborative excitement.
"Ooh! Let me! Let me!" Xiao Wu bounced on her heels. "How about… Sparkles? Or Shiny?"
The spirit's light dimmed slightly. "A bit… on the nose, don't you think, young lady?"
Tang San, ever practical, suggested, "What of 'Lumen'? It is an ancient word for light."
"A dignified choice," the spirit conceded, "but perhaps a touch too academic."
Ning Rongrong, drawing on her classical education, offered, "What about 'Aurelius'? It implies golden light."
"Grandiose, yet… not quite personal," the spirit responded, his tone polite but seeking something more.
All eyes eventually turned to Mei. She was his host, his partner. It was her right. Mei looked at the spirit, feeling his hopeful, vibrant presence in her mind and in the air beside her. He was not just light; he was a being of performance, of captivating allure, of a new chance.
"Luminous," she said softly, her voice clear and sure. "Your name is Luminous. It speaks of your light, but also of the brilliance you bring to the stage. It's who you are now."
The butterfly spirit—Luminous—went very still. Then, his form blazed with a warm, joyful radiance that pushed back the forest shadows. He did a graceful, looping flip in the air.
"Luminous!" he declared, his voice filled with profound satisfaction. "It is perfect! I am Luminous! No longer a pursued 'Goddess,' but a partner in illumination! Thank you!"
The tension finally broke, replaced by a shared sense of wonder and the beginning of a new, extraordinary friendship.
A comfortable silence fell over the group, the initial shock having finally given way to a sense of shared wonder. It was in this quiet moment that Tang San, his keen intellect having processed the emotional revelation, returned to the fundamental anomaly of the situation.
His gaze, calm but penetrating, fixed on the shimmering form of Luminous. "This is remarkable," he began, his tone respectful but edged with genuine scientific curiosity.
"But it raises a question of mechanics. Spirit rings are pure energy; a consciousness may persist within a soul bone, but for a spirit to manifest physically post-absorption... this defies all known principles. Luminous, how is it that you can materialize in this way?"
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong nodded at this.
The air stilled for a moment. Luminous's gentle wingbeats paused. He floated silently, as if choosing his words with immense care.
"Ah, the inquisitive mind," Luminous replied, his melodic voice taking on a slightly evasive, philosophical tone.
"The nature of my existence has always been... atypical. My species' power is rooted not in physical might, but in the potency of the mind. This form you see is merely a projection, a construct of concentrated mental energy and lingering luminescence. It is a skill unique to my rare kind, a final expression of a strong will."
He fluttered his wings, sending out a soft pulse of light, as if to demonstrate. "The 'how' is simply a matter of inherent ability."
It was a technically truthful answer, yet it elegantly dodged the core of Tang San's question—how such a thing was possible within the established laws of spirit rings. It was an explanation that described what, but not the why, it was allowed to happen.
Tang San listened, his expression unchanging, but behind his calm eyes, his mind was racing, connecting disparate threads. Mei's inexplicably rapid cultivation.
The "Ai" she occasionally referenced in a way that felt more like a person than a concept. This impossible spiritual manifestation. A theory, as absurd as it was logical, crystallized in his mind. It was not the spirit beast alone that allowed this.
There was another force at work, a guiding hand that operated on a level he could not yet comprehend.
'The Idol Goddess...' he thought, recalling the title Luminous had almost let slip earlier. 'It must be her intervention..'
He looked from Luminous's carefully neutral expression to Mei's slightly anxious one, and then he gave a slow, single nod. He would not press further. Some mysteries were not meant to be solved, only accepted.
"I see," Tang San said, his voice returning to its usual, steady cadence. "A strong mental attribute might indeed produce remarkable phenomena. It is a rare and valuable gift."
He was conceding the point, not because he was fully satisfied, but because he trusted Mei and recognized that some truths were beyond his current need to know. The logic, for now, was sound enough to accept.
The tension that had briefly resurfaced dissipated. Luminous seemed to relax, his glow warming once more. "Indeed it is," he agreed, his tone cheerful again.
With the final question—for now—settled, the group collectively felt the day's adventures catch up to them. The path back to the academy promised to be filled with far more chatter and wonder than the path in.