Tick.
Tick.
The eight-pointed wheel atop Aleph's head rotated swiftly. It was completely different from its previous adaptation speed. With the enhancements brought by [Infinity], all four of his original cursed techniques changed.
Infinity, for example, was able to affect the fourteenth herrscher. Its previous capabilities were way off from its current level.
Consequently, Adaptation was also brought to the fray.
[Innate Cursed Technique: Adaptation (Limit Break)]
The description given by the Embryonic Power System became more detailed. Moreover, the name "Embryonic Power System" feels a bit outdated now.
The third authority Metatron detected was "World", something derived from the Embryonic Power System. Although its naming was vague, Aleph knew that its potential was huge.
Tick.
A total of two seconds had passed. While the fourteenth looked at him silently, the eight-pointed wheel atop his head already finished an entire revolution. The pressure brought by the two metaphysical wills lessened.
Nevertheless, the pressure was still there. Aleph could null it, but it defeats the purpose of his Adaptation. It placed him in a situation where forty percent of his strength was left tanking them.
"Humph. It is best to leave this place."
A smirk was drawn on her face. He does not know whether it was the Cocoon's rare "emotions", the fourteenth herrscher herself, or the mix of both.
It does not matter.
Hum-!
The void was distorted once again. A pitch black "thing" in the shape of a longsword appeared on her right hand. The center of its handguard glowed bright white light.
As she raised the sword, the radius of twenty thousand kilometers blitzed with purple arcs. The concentration of honkai energy became so thick it could not be measured easily.
The changes did not end here.
Phantoms of other parallel worlds flashed. Each and every one of them was summoned by the fourteenth's will—or perhaps the Cocoon's will. It was far more drastic compared to her previous attack.
'It's just right. Its capabilities to manipulate time… no, to control the leaves of the imaginary tree is no joke.'
For the second time, Aleph received the Goetia treatment.
*****
A dark place.
That was how Mobius would describe her surroundings.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Faint heartbeats resounded everywhere. They were accompanied by a throbbing sensation on her chest. She interpreted it as her body rejoicing. Its instinctive reactions became "happy" the moment she became enveloped by darkness.
"—"
Mobius tried to let out her voice, but inside this space, she could not do so.
Her body came next. Her sensations became fainter until she could no longer feel anything. It was as if she turned into a floating piece of consciousness amidst the darkness.
Then…
There was no next.
'Is this the price of evolution?'
Mobius inadvertently thought of Aleph. She was extremely interested with his growth at first. Only when they spent more time did she slowly realize the 'price' that should have come with it.
There was a huge probability he walked towards the path of throwing away one's humanity.
The unsettling and creepy darkness attempted to gnaw at her mind. She soon lost the perception of time. Her mind remained firm, yet even she could not help but show fluctuations.
'When…'
She thought it would last longer when a blinding light—devoid of any known colors—pierce through the darkness.
"Let's talk next time."
Her eyes widened upon hearing Aleph's voice.
Her bodily sensations returned, followed by her sight.
Mobius found herself standing in front of a ruined building. Her currently short stature made her disoriented, though she could still recognize it was a part of the fifth institute.
She was about to look for a piece of clothing when she felt the large overcoat covering her entire body.
Instinctively, Mobius felt something drastic happened.
Sou.
A light gust of wind brushed her cheeks. It was followed by a brief loss of her hearing.
As someone who did a lot of experiments, she recognized it as entering a vacuum space.
Her serpent-like pupils looked towards the sky and saw a startling sight.
"The Moon..?"
The spherical white celestial body that revolves around the Earth since a long time ago…
It disappeared.
Mobius could still see the plasma-like purple arcs in the sky. There was also a faint purple glow that flashed within a few seconds before disappearing.
'Honkai energy… Just what happened now..?'
It wasn't just her. When the entire world fell silent for three seconds, millions of people felt something was off. The moment they looked up was the moment they saw an incredulous sight.
Under the plasma-like substance and another faint purple glow, the Moon was destroyed before being repaired.
"Look! The Moon..!"
"It's destroyed!"
"Huh?"
When they pointed it out to the others, it caused the latter to look at them with confusion.
The entire ordeal happened extremely fast had it not been for numerous eyewitnesses, they would have doubted it happened in the first place.
Beep.
Amidst the frantic calls and cross-references the first institute received, Mei picked up the call from her personal phone.
"What should I do?"
Surprisingly, it was Mei who took the initiative to ask a question.
"There's nothing we can do to help using conventional means."
Kurumi responded with a flat tone.
"All we can do is to use the something he gave to the three of you."
"Something..?"
A 'thought' emerged out of Mei's mind all of a sudden. It came out of literal nowhere, presenting itself to her the moment she requested it.
"Pathstrider… The power to use his influence…"
"It's not a one-way connection." Kurumi corrected. "It's like an anchor. The more people think of him, the greater the help it brings to him."
Mei fell silent.
"How did you know about this?"
"He told me."
*****
Kurumi looked at the chibi Aleph before hanging the call. It was his ELF who explained a lot of things to her.
"He entrusted me with these three bullets."
The chibi Aleph presented three crystal arrows to her. It was the size of Kurumi's palm.
"He told me it'd be of great use when a big fuss happens. Now should be the time."
He explained the uses of these "bullets" to her. They were none other than the [Stella] arrows Aleph received.
The first one he got has 30% of its power while the next one has 70% of its power. The final one, something he gained from a major achievement, granted the power that exceeded the original Stella.
"...Three bullets."
The moment she crushed the crystal arrows, they turned into three bullets suitable for her musket and flintlock.
A different kind of power emerged out of thin air. Her entire body was coated with an indescribable light—presenting itself as a vague translucent light to her.
"...Ain."
Kurumi sensed the connection between her and her Spirit King. His power was enough for her to step into the next level.
All twelve bullets of her became usable as a result.
"Ah."
A smirk was drawn to her previously stern face.