At the same time, elsewhere.
Bai Ming strolled down the corridor of the space station, a grin plastered across her face so wide it seemed in danger of cracking. She hummed a merry tune, punctuated by soft, triumphant giggles of "hehehe." To any casual observer, she might have appeared to be suffering from a sudden, joyous mania.
Of course, Bai Ming knew exactly what she was so happy about.
[Elysian Realm Signets].
A power system that had no business existing in this reality. Yet, through the bizarre alchemy of the Simulated Universe and the attention of the Aeons, they had manifested. Two of them now rested in her metaphysical grasp: [Erudition - Bodhi] and [Remembrance - Bodhi].
The implications were fascinating. These Aeonic prefixes weren't arbitrary labels; they were reflections, distillations of the subconscious drives within Su's actions and philosophy. It suggested a thrilling, if daunting, possibility: if the [Thirteen Flame-Chasers] themselves were to walk this world, the Paths they might embody could shift and change, a kaleidoscope of potential destinies.
[Erudition - Infinity].
[Erudition - Helix].
[Destruction - Decimation].
Her mind raced with combinations. How many permutations could there be? The thought was exhilarating, yet it also sent a phantom pang through her side—the instinctive dread of a seasoned grinder facing a vast new collection.
A more immediate consideration pulled her from her reverie. The two Bodhi Signets she possessed were enhanced in fundamentally different ways. One prevented combo count clearance; the other reduced the combo requirement. A brilliant, greedy idea had sparked: equip both, enjoy both benefits.
Reality, of course, was a strict referee. Both enhancements belonged to the same core ability, [Words of Doom]. They couldn't stack. A classic dilemma: you couldn't have your cake and eat it too.
Darn it! She pouted internally.
Shaking off the minor disappointment, she checked her System. Herta's entries had updated.
[Herta]
· [No One in the World Can Betray Me] — 48/100
· [Please, Come Test It] — 5/100
· [Anyway, It's Just Very Cute] — 32/100
"Huh?!" Progress! Significant progress! The aloof genius wasn't as impregnable as she seemed. Though, her habit of calling everyone 'brat' was still deeply annoying.
But numbers of a different kind quickly overshadowed this social victory. Her Crystal count. With first-time bonuses, she'd netted a whopping 1150 Crystals. Added to her existing 180, her treasury now held 1330 Crystals.
Gacha season was officially open.
Wait. Gacha.
A bolt of guilt struck her. The loot from the last pull! I never gave it to March 7th! That cheating Doomsday Beast had completely derailed her plans. She had to fix this, immediately.
Pulling out her phone with hurried fingers, she fired off a message to March 7th.
[Bai Ming]: Wife, you there?
Silence.
[Bai Ming]: Wife! If you're there, answer me!
[March (Girlfriend Pending)]: …
[March (Girlfriend Pending)]:Who's your wife?! You're getting worse and worse!
[Bai Ming]: Even in the cold, unfeeling digital void, you deny me this simple comfort?!
[Bai Ming]:What has the world come to!
[March (Girlfriend Pending)]: Keep it up and I'm putting you on mute.
[Bai Ming]:Wait, don't! I'm sorry! I'm joking!
[Bai Ming]:March, for real though, I need to see you. Where are you?
[March (Girlfriend Pending)]: Initiates Location Share
[March (Girlfriend Pending)]:Here.
[Bai Ming]: On my way!
---
More than ten minutes later. Space Station Docking Platform.
March 7th watched, utterly baffled, as a breathless Bai Ming stumbled to a halt before her, hands on her knees, heaving.
"You… what in the stars happened to you?" March asked. "Why are you panting like you outran a legion of Voidrangers?"
"I… I don't know!" Bai Ming wheezed, looking up with the profound injustice of the genuinely misguided. "I followed the location share! 'Go straight, first right, second right'! I did exactly what it said!"
"…Wouldn't going right from the very start have gotten you here directly?" March 7th pointed out, the logic simple and inescapable.
Bai Ming froze. Her hands slowly rose to cup her cheeks.
"Eh——!" she wailed. "You're right! It would have! Treacherous navigation! It played me for a fool!"
"…Well." March 7th sighed, the urge to call Bai Ming a beautiful idiot tempered by the sheer pathetic honesty of her plight. "Anyway. Himeko mentioned Herta wanted to see you. What was that about?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Bai Ming nodded, having mostly caught her breath. "She took me to this weird digital space thing! And get this—she wasn't wearing any clothes!"
March 7th's eyes snapped wide open. "Huh???"
"Elaborate. Now. On the 'no clothes' part."
"It was just the regular, factual kind of no clothes!" Bai Ming explained, as if describing the weather. "And then she had the nerve to ask if I was getting any ideas!"
"So—" March 7th's voice took on a suspicious edge as she grabbed Bai Ming's sleeve. "Did you? Make a move on Herta?"
"No, no!" Bai Ming waved her hands in frantic denial. "I'm a gentlewoman! I helped her get dressed again!"
"You're lying through your teeth!" March 7th accused, a blush rising. "You're the biggest… enthusiast… for that sort of thing I've ever met!"
"I appreciate the art form!" Bai Ming conceded, pouting. "But that was a puppet! All seams and joint sockets! The 'chest' was two polished rivets! Where's the aesthetic in that?!"
"Eh?" The realization dawned on March. Of course. The Herta here was just one of many remote-controlled dolls. Stripped of cosmetic shells, it was just an articulated mannequin. Who could possibly find that…?
….
…
..
Actually, with this one, I'm not sure. The thought flickered and died as Bai Ming delivered her finishing blow.
"Besides," Bai Ming said, her tone shifting to one of earnest comparison, "if I'm being honest…"
"You're being honest…?"
"I'm being honest," Bai Ming affirmed, seizing March's hands, her golden eyes gleaming with naked sincerity, "that I would much, much rather see yours! March 7th, please, let me see your—"
THWACK!
A practiced karate chop landed squarely on Bai Ming's head.
"In your dreams!" March 7th yelled, her face now fully crimson. "Is this why you dragged me out here? To be a creep?!"
"Owww…" Bai Ming rubbed the sore spot. "Is yearning for beauty a crime?! My heart just speaks the truth!"
"Then let it whisper to itself! I'm leaving!"
"Wait, no!" Bai Ming lunged, catching March's wrist as she turned. "That's not it! I have something for you! Something important!"
"Something important?" March 7th eyed her with deep suspicion. "It's not another 'cultural artifact' from your home dimension, is it?"
"It's not weird! It's a power-up! Promise!"
Bai Ming's eyes darted down the empty corridor. In one fluid, startlingly strong motion, she scooped March 7th into a bridal carry and bolted for the nearest maintenance closet.
Click. The lock engaged.
"Y-you! What are you doing?!" March 7th scrambled back into the corner of the small, dim room, arms crossed protectively over her chest. "Bai Ming, don't you dare do anything weird!"
"Hehehe…" Bai Ming advanced, her silhouette blocking the light from the door's small window. "March… there's no escape now."
"Stay back!" The command lacked its usual force. A strange, fluttering tension filled the space between them. Would she actually…? If two girls… who would even…? NO! Bad train of thought! March 7th drew a breath to scream.
The sound never left her lips.
They were captured, softly yet firmly, by Bai Ming's.
It wasn't a rough assault, but a deliberate, enveloping kiss. One of Bai Ming's arms curled around March's neck, the other settled at the small of her back, holding her close. Bai Ming's eyes were shut, her expression one of deep, startling focus.
March 7th's protest died in her throat, replaced by a wave of heat that had nothing to do with panic. This was different from the last time, that frantic collision in the chaos of battle. This was… intentional. And she found, to her own shock, that the idea of kissing a girl—of kissing Bai Ming—wasn't unpleasant at all. It was… warm. What did this even mean? Was this… that?
Her thoughts spiraled into a sweet, hazy confusion. The defensive tension in her arms melted away. Her hands, which had been guarding her, slowly lowered, fingertips brushing against the cool floor. She stopped resisting. A soft, almost imperceptible light seemed to glow in the closet's gloom, painting the moment with an unexpected, secret tenderness.
Time lost its meaning.
Eventually, Bai Ming broke the kiss, pulling back just enough to look at her. She licked her lips, a slow, contemplative gesture, her golden eyes holding March's gaze with an intensity that was almost solemn.
"March..."
"Mhm…?" March 7th's voice was a dreamy sigh. She felt pleasantly adrift.
"What's up?"
"Do you feel it?" Bai Ming asked, her voice low and serious.
"F-feel what?"
"Something." Bai Ming leaned in again, until March could feel the warm whisper of her breath. "A new sensation."
March's heart hammered against her ribs. Her face was surely on fire. Is this it? Is she finally going to say it properly? If she confessed now, seriously… maybe… just maybe she'd think about it. Really think about it. Then, on the Express… there'd be someone else to share the view of the starry sea with…
"Something… pushing out from your back!" Bai Ming finished, her tone switching to one of pure, clinical curiosity.
"Alright… if you're that determined, I suppose we could… try…" March 7th's autopilot response trailed off as her brain caught up with her ears. Her eyes flew open, dreaminess vaporized by sheer absurdity. "WH—WHAT?! What do you mean, 'something pushing out from your back'?!"
"Your Stigmata!" Bai Ming exclaimed, pointing an explanatory finger. "The power-up I told you about! The one from before!"
"Eh——?" The colossal misunderstanding crashed down on March 7th, leaving her flushed with a profound, soul-crushing embarrassment. "That's what this is about?!"
"Ah?" Bai Ming scratched her cheek, genuinely perplexed. "What did you think it was about, March?"
"I thought you were conducting some kind of… forceful romantic ambush!" March cried.
"Eh? No, no, no!" Bai Ming waved her hands in frantic negation. "If I can't call you 'wife' in text, I'd never impose on you in real life! I have boundaries! I'm a girl of principle!"
She thumped her own chest for emphasis. "My motto is clear: If I can't enter your heart through conventional means, I won't force my way into your life!"
"You…!" A torrent of emotion swamped March 7th—exasperation, regret, and a fierce, directed irritation at the oblivious girl before her. What is in your head?! Cosmic dust? Did that Doomsday Beast blast scramble your common sense?!
Oblivious to the supernova of frustration she had ignited, Bai Ming watched her with only concern for her gift's efficacy. "Well? Do you feel the power?"
Under that expectant, golden stare, March 7th swallowed her turmoil. She closed her eyes, turning her focus inward.
And there it was. A familiar yet distinct warmth, a latent energy settling into her being. It was akin to the power Bai Ming had given her before, but refined, layered. More than that, she could feel the two powers—the old and the new—resonating, intertwining, creating a synergy that amplified both.
Her arrows. She didn't need to nock one to know. They would fly truer, strike harder.
"Well? Well?" Bai Ming was practically vibrating, rubbing her hands together. "Do you feel the epic BGM swelling? The need to spin dramatically into a new, more powerful form?"
"BGM and—what? No!"
"Just kidding!" Bai Ming laughed. "I mean, do you feel stronger?"
"Mhm."March nodded, a real smile touching her lips. "I do. My arrows… they feel like they've been strengthened twice over."
Yes! Bai Ming's internal celebration was a fireworks display. That confirmed it. One boost from the new Stigmata piece itself, [Lucia (M) ★★★], and another from the 2-piece set bonus with [Lucia (T) ★★★]: [Set Skill - Knight Templar]. It was working. Not only was March 7th unharmed, she was thriving!
"March!" Overcome with joy, Bai Ming threw her arms around March in a tight hug, nuzzling her cheek. "You're perfect! You'll be my Valkyrie! I'll buff you every day! With kisses!"
March 7th, about to ask what a 'Valkyrie' was, was interrupted by a soft, insistent glow from Bai Ming's pocket.
"Hey, dummy. Your phone." She nudged her.
"Oh, right." Bai Ming fumbled for the device.
As the screen lit up, March 7th's eyes, drawn to the motion, caught a glimpse of the notification.
It was a friend request.
The sender's name: Asta.
-------
A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Life Simulator: Starting in Genshin Impact!
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
patreon.com/deadlygoober