Upon entering the Vortex of Genesis, the first thing Derick and the others saw was Oronyx, floating in mid-air.
At that moment, Oronyx was radiating light, channeling the power of Time downwards. However, what appeared below was not the Trinnon, Tribbie, and Trianne that Derick and the others expected, but a red-haired beauty.
She wore the traditional white garments of Amphoreus, her fair arms and long, slender legs exposed. Her well-proportioned feet were clad in sandals, and her red hair cascaded down to her waist, adorned with five small white flowers. Her features were delicate, her skin as white as porcelain, and her eyes held a classical charm. The corners of her mouth were slightly turned up, her expression filled with a mature allure.
Derick felt that in the realm of red-haired beauties, only Himeko could compare to her. Oh, wait, he had to add Argenti to that list as well.
"This… this is…" Cipher's voice was filled with astonishment as she took in the scene.
The others had a faint suspicion in their hearts but didn't dare to confirm it.
Derick had seen this form in the story, but he was still puzzled as to why she had appeared like this now.
"Derry, Cassie, Cifi, Hyacine, why do you all have such expressions?" she asked softly.
"Lady Tribios?" Castorice asked cautiously.
"Yes, it's me." Tribios walked towards them, the light from Oronyx continuously shining upon her.
"All of my souls have returned. With Oronyx's power, I've temporarily returned to the past, allowing us to once again experience the feeling of being Tribios. You can also consider this preparation for when you help me return to this body in the future, Derry."
Tribios reached out and gently hugged Castorice and Hyacine.
"This feeling… it's really nice," Tribios murmured to herself, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.
Derick, watching from the side, posed a question to Tribios.
"Um, may I ask, is it Sister Tribbie who is in control of the body right now, or Sister Trinnon? Or perhaps another sister?"
As soon as he said this, Tribios, who was still hugging Castorice, froze instantly.
Then, she let go of Castorice and sidled up to Derick.
"D-Derry, how did you know?" Although her expression hadn't changed, everyone could clearly feel a shift in her aura.
"I just felt that something was strange," Derick replied to Tribios.
"Derry is really sharp."
She then placed her hands on her hips proudly and said to Derick, "I, Tribbie, am the one mainly in control! How about that? Everyone else trusts me to take the lead, and they give suggestions from the side. We've all discussed it. Even after we fully restore our original body, it will be in this format. The others will only come out when they feel like it."
Although Derick had retrieved all their souls, everyone was still somewhat worn down. Trinnon and Trianne were also a bit incomplete. For now, Tribbie was the most whole, so she was the main consciousness.
Tribios—oh, perhaps it was better to call her Tribbie—grinned, wearing an expression that screamed, 'I'm amazing.'
However, she seemed to have forgotten her current state.
When the normal Tribbie made that pose, it would only make people find her cute. But now, she had the appearance of a beautiful, red-haired, mature woman. With her hands on her hips, she puffed out her chest, showcasing her perfect curves to the fullest. Standing so close to Derick, he could clearly see the rise and fall of her chest with each breath.
He quickly blushed and took two steps back. At the side, Castorice's lips pouted. It was fine for Lady Tribbie to act like that, but for her to do it in Tribios's body… she couldn't help but be wary.
"Derry, what are you hiding from?" Tribbie said with a pout, then stepped forward and pinched Derick's cheek.
Hey! This is getting even more intimate!
Derick, Castorice, and the others all thought in unison.
Just then, Oronyx's power temporarily ran out. The light he projected vanished, and 'Tribios' once again split into three.
Tribbie was in the middle. Finding herself suddenly suspended in mid-air, she quickly threw her arms around Derick's neck. Trinnon and Trianne were also in the air, and Derick quickly reached out to grab one with each hand.
"Thank you, little Derry." Trinnon said to Derick.
Derick then set them down.
Now that she had returned to her child-like form, Cipher, who was watching Castorice, visibly relaxed, her expression shifting from jealousy to calm.
Oronyx said to Tribbie, "Demigod of the Passage, I have done what I promised you. For now, my energy is depleted, and I must rest for a while."
Tribbie, Trinnon, and Trianne bowed. "Thank you, Lord Oronyx."
The group no longer disturbed Oronyx and walked away.
On the way, Derick asked Tribbie, "Sister Tribbie, how did it feel to return to your form as Tribios?"
"It was okay, I got used to it. After all, we are originally one entity, so there was nothing strange about coming back together," Trianne replied to Derick.
"Yeah, yeah, little Derry, it was really fun for us to merge," Trinnon added, nodding repeatedly.
Derick nodded in understanding. He then continued to ask, "By the way, Sister Tribbie, when you truly fuse, will Lady Tribios's original personality from back then reappear?"
Hearing Derick's question, Tribbie shook her head and replied, "No, it won't. Our experiences are irreplaceable memories, and the emotions born from those memories will never disappear. Each of us has had different experiences. Even if we fuse, we will still maintain that uniqueness."
Speaking of which, her eyes shifted to Derick. "Could it be that Derry likes seeing me with a mature big sister personality? That can be arranged, you know."
Tribbie's current personality did indeed lean towards a child-like innocence, only showing her considerate and caring side at critical moments. But a thousand years ago, she wasn't like this. Back then, maturity was her dominant trait, and she only occasionally showed a naive side. As time went on and her spirit and power waned, her mindset gradually regressed. Once she was fully restored, what was lost would naturally be repaired.
At that time, she would have the personality of the current Tribios.
Seeing Derick too embarrassed to answer, Tribbie, Trinnon, and Trianne giggled triumphantly and ran ahead, leaving the Vortex of Genesis.
Derick only breathed a sigh of relief after they had run off into the distance.
Castorice came to his side and took his hand. She said to him, "Derick, next time we can absorb a Titan's power, let's absorb the authority of the Titan of the Passage first."
"Hey, hey, hey, shouldn't it be me first? The trinity of Death, Discord, and Deceit… isn't that the highest priority?" Cipher, hearing Castorice, quickly interjected.
I'm scared to death! Hurry up and let me escape this fate!
She even reached out, wanting to grab Derick's arm, but Castorice was just as fast, grabbing his other side with her free hand.
It was a good thing Derick's body was strong enough now; otherwise, he might have actually been torn in two.
Hyacine and Polyxia watched this scene from the side, both shaking their heads.
Polyxia couldn't help but complain, "It's a good thing there are no images of this that can leak out. Otherwise, I estimate the people of Okhema would lose all hope in the Flamechase Journey."
"Don't say that, Poli. There are still normal ones among the Chrysos Heirs," Hyacine said, trying to console her with a hint of helplessness.
After thinking for a moment, she pointed to herself.
"For example, me."
The Galaxy.
A small spaceship was in flight.
Ruan Mei was traveling with Derick's second clone. The Astral Express was following its set trajectory, heading for the Xianzhou Luofu. Ruan Mei and Derick's clone were wandering in the opposite direction.
The goal was also clear. Since the Xianzhou Luofu had been mentioned, Ruan Mei decided to have Derick's second clone devour some Denizens of Abundance.
The Antimatter Legion, the Swarm, and the Abominations of Abundance. Of the three major disasters in the universe, it had already devoured two. For the sake of the Abundance power within the Denizens, Ruan Mei naturally planned to seek them out for Derick's clone to feast on.
Finding Abominations of Abundance in the universe wasn't too difficult.
Even with the Xianzhou Alliance constantly hunting them, the Abominations of Abundance were still endless. Especially the Borisin, who acted without fear. Even though their War-pride had been imprisoned by the Xianzhou, it didn't affect their rampages in the slightest.
Ruan Mei felt that they would find some Denizens of Abundance soon enough.
"I just wonder what it will be like when the power of Abundance from their bodies merges with your undeath ability."
Hearing Ruan Mei talk about devouring the Denizens of Abundance, Derick also felt a great sense of anticipation. He wondered what kind of reaction would occur if he brought the power of Abundance to Amphoreus.
However, before they could find any Denizens, they encountered a small, seemingly insignificant incident along the way.
Passing through a certain star system, Ruan Mei and Derick saw the wreckage of a fleet of Xianzhou Alliance starskiffs.
The Xianzhou Alliance's ships were easy to recognize; their ancient, traditional style was something other factions wouldn't adopt.
"Oh? A Xianzhou Alliance merchant fleet?" Ruan Mei glanced at it casually.
Derick also had his second clone look over, his expression initially unchanged. Although the Xianzhou Alliance was powerful, they were in a constant war with the Abominations of Abundance, so it was normal for their merchant ships to suffer losses out here. Besides, the universe was also teeming with pirates. They often hit and ran, robbing people and then disappearing. Even for factions like the Xianzhou Alliance or the Interastral Peace Corporation, it was difficult to track them down.
Like Ruan Mei, Derick didn't pay it much mind.
But as they approached the wreckage, Ruan Mei's brow furrowed slightly.
"Near these starskiffs, the power of 'Destruction' is very thick. Logically speaking, a merchant fleet of this scale shouldn't attract such terrifying power of Destruction," she murmured to herself as she thought.
At her side, Derick listened to Ruan Mei's words, a familiar feeling welling up within him.
Merchant fleet… Destruction…
Wait a minute!
It's Tingyun!
While Tingyun was out on a trade mission, she was attacked by the Lord Ravager Phantylia. In the end, Tingyun was critically injured and on the verge of death, and Phantylia took on her identity to cause trouble on the Xianzhou Luofu. She was eventually beaten soundly by Jing Yuan and Dan Heng, who had transformed into Imbibitor Lunae.
Derick thought to himself, and at that moment, Ruan Mei also showed a surprised expression.
"To think someone is still alive amidst such a thick concentration of Destruction's power. Interesting. Let's go have a look."
Ruan Mei maneuvered the spaceship towards the wreckage.
The edges of the wreckage were still thick with the power of Destruction, but this power was nothing in the face of Ruan Mei.
Soon, they approached the starskiff where the life sign was located.
Ruan Mei descended from the spaceship, and Derick had his second clone follow behind her.
Arriving at the starskiff, the power of Destruction was even denser. The residual energy had even taken on a physical form. Upon seeing Derick's second clone and Ruan Mei appear, it immediately lunged at them.
Seeing this, Ruan Mei was just about to eliminate it, but Derick had his second clone step forward, open its mouth, and simply swallow the power of Destruction.
Ruan Mei carefully analyzed the power.
"To think it was someone at the level of a Lord Ravager who acted. And for them to attack just a few starskiffs… it seems this Lord Ravager's ambitions are anything but small," she said softly.
Derick's gaze, however, was already scanning the surroundings.
He knew the whole story. Right now, he just wanted to find Tingyun as quickly as possible and save her.
Soon, his eyes found the Foxian girl.
And upon seeing her, Derick couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
All he could say was that due to the game's limitations, the immediate aftermath of Tingyun's attack was never shown. And now that Derick saw it, he could only feel how tragic her encounter had been.
Her body was almost completely charred by the power of Destruction, covered in a network of gruesome wounds. On top of that, the flames of Destruction's power were still burning on her body.
Her expression was one of agony. Her face was still relatively intact, but it was covered in spiderweb-like cracks. From those cracks, the energy of Destruction was also rapidly fluctuating.
Derick even felt like she was about to explode.
"Let's go. We'll talk after we get back."
Ruan Mei took out several vials and placed them on Tingyun's body. When the liquid from the tubes touched her scorched skin, the volatile energy began to calm down.
Ruan Mei reached out and picked her up. She didn't let Derick's clone do it, worried that its lack of fine control would kill the pitiful Foxian.
Right now, Tingyun was like a highly reactive substance. Even the slightest jolt could cause a violent reaction.
If that happened, she would be beyond saving.
_____
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