All eyes turned to Tang San, their resident encyclopedia. He approached slowly, his gaze intensely analytical as he studied the creature. It was larger than a songbird but smaller than the hawk, with a body that seemed to be sculpted from solidified moonlight.
The most striking features were its wings—enormous, delicate structures that looked like stained glass windows depicting a celestial map, now cracked and broken.
A soft, sacred radiance pulsed from it, and the air around it hummed with a faint, harmonic resonance that felt ancient and pure.
Tang San's brow furrowed in deep concentration. He sifted through every scroll, every bestiary, every piece of oral lore he had encountered.
He could identify beasts of myth and common fauna with equal ease, but this one… it defied all classification. Its energy was not just non-aggressive; it was benevolent, a quality he had never associated with a spirit beast.
"I... cannot identify it," he admitted, a profound respect in his tone. "Its spirit signature is unique. It feels... so beautiful. I have no record of anything like it in any text." He looked at Mei, his expression both questioning and deeply impressed.
"Senior Mei, you said you had researched the spirit beast you needed. What is it?"
Mei, who had been quietly listening to Ai's triumphant chirping in her head
See? A true star! The Light Goddess Butterfly! Now, go on, claim your destiny! stepped forward.
She knelt a few feet from the glorious, suffering creature, her heart aching at its plight but steady in her purpose.
"It is a 'Light Goddess Butterfly'," Mei said softly, her voice filled with reverence as she spoke the name.
"It is a unique spirit beast, not meant for combat. It's said that at the end of its life, it undergoes a final metamorphosis, releasing its accumulated light and grace in one transcendent moment." She looked up at Tang San, her gaze clear and resolved.
The name hung in the air, fitting the creature's breathtaking appearance perfectly. To Tang San, it explained the feeling of divine purity he sensed. It was a support-type spirit beast of the highest, most rarefied order, one whose passing was not an end, but a sublime bestowal.
Ning Rongrong, her aristocratic upbringing having exposed her to tales of the world's wonders, stared in utter shock. "A Light Goddess Butterfly... I thought they were all extinct; people said that it's the most beautiful soul beast." She whispered, her voice full of emotion.
"To see one... and in such a state... It's the most beautiful and tragic thing I've ever witnessed. But it is a bit different from what the book describes."
Xiao Wu, now that her curiosity was satisfied, nodded in solemn agreement with Ning Rongrong. The sight of the magnificent butterfly humbled her usual boisterousness.
"Yeah," she said quietly. "Well, it's safe now from that overgrown chicken." She then looked at Mei, her expression turning serious. "So you're going to absorb it, right, Senior Mei?"
Mei took a deep breath, her eyes locked with the fading light of the Light Goddess Butterfly. The butterfly's radiance pulsed once, a soft, accepting glow, as if it had been waiting for this very meeting.
"Yes," Mei said, her voice steady despite the profound significance of the moment.
Mei knelt before the resplendent, though fading, form of the Light Goddess Butterfly. The forest clearing, along with the concerned faces of Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong, seemed to blur and melt away as she reached out with her spirit power.
A brilliant, all-consuming light enveloped her, and for a moment, all she felt was a gentle, pulling sensation.
When her senses cleared, she was no longer in the forest. She stood in a serene, endless plain of soft, glowing white.
The air hummed with a gentle, harmonic energy. Before her floated the Light Goddess Butterfly, its form now perfectly whole and radiating a divine, majestic aura.
To her side, Ai materialized, looking unusually pleased with herself.
"Welcome," a voice echoed in the subspace, clear and melodic, yet unmistakably male.
Mei started, her eyes widening in shock. "You... you're male?" she blurted out, her preconception that a "Goddess" Butterfly would be female shattering in an instant.
Ai let out a triumphant giggle. "Of course! That's a key part of what makes him so rare and special!" she chimed, floating a lazy circle around the butterfly.
"Imagine a colony of a thousand butterflies. Only a single one will ever be male. Wait, there should only be about four thousand left. "
The Light Goddess Butterfly gave a slow, graceful pulse of light. "It is as the Idol Goddess says. And our male species is also born with a strong mental ability."
Intrigued, Mei asked, "What is this ability?"
"My soul ring," the butterfly explained, his voice resonating with pride, "will grant you a passive skill. It would slightly enhance your physical beauty, but also influence perception. It will passively and subtly increase your attractiveness in the eyes of any who beholds you, regardless of gender. They will see you as the most beautiful, the most alluring, the most magnificent being they have ever encountered, and feel a deep, instinctual admiration that can last a lifetime."
Mei's mind raced. In her past life as an idol, and in her new one seeking that same stage, such an ability was not merely helpful; it was revolutionary.
It was the key to forging an unbreakable bond with an audience, to captivating hearts and minds effortlessly.
"This skill... it would be incredibly helpful," she concluded, a spark of excitement igniting within her.
"Then why bring me here just to explain this?" Mei questioned, looking between the butterfly and Ai. Such explanations weren't typically part of soul ring absorption.
Ai clasped her hands behind her back, adopting a slightly sheepish but determined expression.
"Well, that's the other reason. You see, I might have... negotiated a little extra for you. I promised our luminous friend here that he wouldn't have to face true death. In exchange for giving you his power, he can live on within your mindscape as a spirit, much like I do. But, uh, I kinda need your final permission for that. It is your mind, after all."
Mei stared at Ai, a complex, weird expression crossing her face. Her mind was already a shared space with a self-proclaimed goddess, and now she was being asked to house a male, millennia-old spirit butterfly. The absurdity of her situation was not lost on her.
However, looking at the hopeful, gentle light of the butterfly, she felt no malice, only a longing for sanctuary.
She also couldn't deny the immense strategic value his ability offered. After a long moment, she let out a soft sigh, then a small smile touched her lips. "Yes," she said. "You have my permission. You can live in my mind."
The Light Goddess Butterfly—now Spirit Butterfly—let out a wave of pure, joyous light, so bright it nearly blinded Mei even in that luminous subspace.
He fluttered excitedly. "Thank you! Thank you, my host! You have no idea the relief this is!" he mumbled, his dignified tone momentarily breaking.
"Finally, I won't be stalked by those crazy girls and spirit beasts anymore! Do you have any idea what it's like being the only male in a thousand? The pressure is unbearable!"
Ai floated over and patted his wing. "There, there. You're safe now. Welcome to the team."
As the butterfly's form began to dissolve into motes of light, ready to merge with her being, Mei felt a new, profound connection form. The subspace started to fade, and the concerned faces of her friends in the forest clearing swam back into view.
Tang San watched her intently, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble, while Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong held their breath. A shimmering, violet-yellow soul ring, the mark of a 900-year spirit beast.
But there was something extra that appeared, a phantom-like spirit that look like the butterfly.