Kiana settled in next to her to watch TV.
You could see it clearly. The host, having not gotten a direct answer, didn't seem too disappointed.
Instead, she gradually steered the conversation, slowly guiding it toward the main topic: the Path system.
"So, in your view, what kind of power exactly is a Path?"
"A bit… idealistic."
"Why do you say that?"
"Ultimately, the Aeons ignite the Paths, acting in accordance with their own will. Pathstriders are those who walk these Paths, embracing the Aeon's philosophy, walking alongside them…"
Miss Mei spoke with ease.
"That's what we already know."
"Mhmm." The host nodded.
"However!" Miss Mei's tone shifted. "Why can the Aeons ignite these Paths? Did igniting the Path make them Aeons, or did becoming an Aeon allow them to ignite the Path?"
"It's a crucial distinction."
"A bit like the question of the chicken and the egg."
She continued, "But I'm more inclined to think that the Aeons ignite the Path and, in that very act, gain the power, completing their sublimation entirely."
"The two really shouldn't be viewed separately."
"So, you're saying we can essentially see the Aeon as the Path, and the Path as the Aeon?" The host seemed to grasp something.
"That's what I believe."
Miss Mei said.
"People often say the Aeons are bound by their Paths, forced to continually walk them. But think of it from another angle—that Path is their way, their will."
"If I act according to my own thoughts, my own methods, doing what I love… would you consider that a constraint?"
The host shook her head.
But then she raised a point often debated online.
"Some people online say… that an Aeon cannot defy its own Path. If it does, something… unfavorable might happen…"
"What are your thoughts on that view?"
"Perhaps…" Miss Mei thought for a moment, very seriously. "But you have to understand, what exactly constitutes defying one's Path? Or, put another way, what constitutes defying one's own will?"
She said, "In my opinion, the Aeons are all incredibly single-minded beings."
"If you don't pursue one path to its absolute extreme, you probably can't become an Aeon."
"Well… the ones from the new era don't count. After all, the young lady cheated~"
Hearing Dr. Mei say this so abruptly, the host couldn't help but laugh.
"So, we're mostly discussing the Aeons of the old era, then."
"Correct."
Dr. Mei nodded in agreement.
"And that's precisely why I say it! Because they are such fanatics, our own concepts, morals, even our standards, often can't define them."
"You could even say, as long as they believe they are walking their Path, then no matter what they do, in their eyes, it is right."
"Do you think that counts as defying the Path?"
The host shook her head again.
During the interview, Dr. Mei also shared her personal perspective.
As a scientist, she was fundamentally a believer in materialism.
But materialism doesn't mean rejecting all mysticism, all that seems inexplicable, out of hand.
Existence implies reason.
If something exists, there must be a logic to it.
Still, she couldn't help feeling that Paths were just such a damn idealistic kind of power.
As long as you walk far enough along a Path, you become powerful.
What's the principle behind that?
Is it simply about drawing power from the so-called Imaginary Space?
And so!
She concluded by saying that both the Imaginary Space and the Sea of Quanta remain realms that present-day humanity has yet to truly set foot in and explore.
Even though they'd learned bits and pieces from the Sky Screen summaries, that was pretty much it.
Humankind still had a very long road ahead.
Kiana thought for a bit and asked her system.
"System."
[I'm here.]
The system's response was, as ever, calm.
Whenever Kiana called, it would answer immediately.
"How's the follow-up for the new video coming along?"
[It is complete.]
"Mm... good."
Every time, Kiana would work with the system to produce the videos.
Even though Kiana herself was the real director.
Any idea she had was fine, any spark of inspiration, even a sudden whim, was no problem.
The system never refused.
As long as Kiana was happy.
Obviously, Kiana knew perfectly well what she had made for the next video.
If all went as expected, this one was going to cause even bigger waves across the world.
Because... it concerned the Paths, it concerned the Aeons.
Including quite a few secret tidbits about them.
All would be laid out here.
This was all stuff Kiana had pieced together by constantly observing the future and analyzing it with the system.
The works from her past life were just fiction; their settings, merely constructs.
What was the real world like? Only now, having truly arrived in this tree-sea system, could she know.
Therefore, even if each of her Sky Screens seemed a bit scattered, stuffed with all sorts of things—honestly, a lot of it was her own personal spin—
If that personal spin could subsequently become reality, well, that wasn't so bad, was it?
With the power Kiana wielded now, even while residing in the main world, she could indirectly influence other worlds, however slightly, through the distant future. Worlds like the Star Rail world, the Teyvat world, or the Honkai Impact 3rd world.
To put it simply, in the future, these worlds would all become entangled with her, establishing a connection. It was like... forging karmic ties.
She could naturally use herself as a focal point to pluck at the worldlines of those distant worlds.
Even though countless futures existed, only one timeline would truly flow forward and progress.
She could choose which one.
She was getting quite proficient with this kind of operation.
Had to say, it was really quite fun.
And just as a side note, it was true that Kiana had made some adjustments compared to her previous videos.
First, she was bored of it.
She didn't feel like fabricating fake evidence anymore.
All those historical documents, ancient texts, fragmentary scrolls, murals, antiques…
She couldn't even be bothered to put up related photos anymore.
From now on, she'd just slap a single Live2D dynamic illustration up in the broadcast space as a background image.
For the rest, she'd just focus on doing casual commentary.
Second, inviting other characters as guest participants actually worked better.
As long as she picked the right guests, it created a much more entertaining vibe.
So, the guest invitation system was something she'd keep. Even though she hadn't used it last time, she definitely would for this one, at the very least.
Kiana's video, of course, followed this line of thinking.
And then!
Once she'd confirmed the video itself was fine, Kiana went through the usual routine, asking her mom to inform all the various countries and organizations across the globe.
The Sky Screen would appear tonight around 7 PM, revealing the new video.
As usual, everyone should remember to arrange their schedules accordingly.
Be prepared.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.