Creating a new life wasn't difficult for 'Ruan Mei'.
And with Herta's assistance, a being capable of shifting freely between light and physical form soon took shape in their hands.
Watching the specimen coalesce from drifting light into solid form, Herta studied this life form, which had not been granted an individual will, with keen interest.
"It's a fascinating approach, I'll admit—even if the execution isn't all that challenging. But tell me, how do you plan to ensure that in its photon state, its self-awareness doesn't become exposed and vulnerable?"
Allowing a life form to switch effortlessly between intangible and physical forms—with low energy consumption, minimal cooldown, and negligible burden—was something Herta had genuinely never considered.
Or rather, she'd never seen the need to make things so complicated.
In fact, as her question implied—novel as it was—it didn't seem particularly cost-effective.
Transforming into photons made it easy to reach light speed, but whether through phase flames or leap channels, faster-than-light travel was already easily achievable.
Besides, when the body scattered into photons, how could the consciousness it carried remain secure?
And how could they prevent impurities from contaminating its essence?
"I know this form might seem redundant," 'Ruan Mei' replied, "but it isn't meant for ordinary use. It's designed for Harmony. And… I want them to traverse Star Rails blocked by Stellarons."
In her current state as "Ruan Mei," she could naturally grasp Herta's reservations.
But to achieve what she envisioned—multiple individuals easily pooling their strength, even merging briefly into a single entity to transcend power thresholds—this kind of form-shifting and unique state was an indispensable part of the design.
Besides, the photon state wasn't intended for combat in the first place.
"When the time calls for it, everyone's power can be truly unified—even physically merged into one—before cleanly separating again when it's over."
"What, have you gotten addicted to playing boss?"
Herta let out a short laugh, but 'Ruan Mei' paid it no mind.
"Let's just say I've sensed something unique. An individual's power has its limits. I need tangible incentives so that in the future, they'll willingly choose to stand together."
"You know, right now I'm genuinely convinced you want to overturn the entire cosmic order."
Herta stared intently at 'Ruan Mei'.
Every world had its share of would-be heroes living in fantasies,but for someone like 'Ruan Mei' to actually try and realize it—to bring it into reality—was something Herta hardly knew how to judge.
'Ruan Mei' only smiled faintly.
"Why not? This universe already has so many madmen. What harm is there in adding a righteous kind of madness?"
"Ha~ No wonder I like you. Even if you keep wearing other people's faces—which is seriously annoying—your attitude really suits my taste."
Lady Herta leaned back against the lab bench, her gaze openly desiring as she looked at 'Ruan Mei'.
She wanted nothing more than to keep this one by her side.
'Ruan Mei' lifted her eyes briefly toward Herta, then chuckled softly.
"Lady Herta, your affections are truly overwhelming. Someone else would've been scared off by now—lucky it's me. You really ought to tone it down."
"I don't care what anyone else thinks. Besides, I doubt anyone could dislike this face."
Same narcissistic Herta as always.
It made 'Ruan Mei' not even want to respond.
"…Let's just get back to the experiment."
After a brief silence, she resumed optimizing the light-based life form.
"Using the concept of Harmony, we can have dispersed light carry consciousness—or design a core to act as a vessel for awareness."
"Hmph, I'll let you off for changing the subject."
Herta gave a soft snort but didn't press further.
One by one, issues were resolved as the two of them debated and refined, and the unconscious being of light before them gradually took on the form of the Ultraman that 'Ruan Mei' had envisioned.
Just as 'Ruan Mei' had anticipated, simply creating a race of Ultras wasn't particularly difficult for her.
But before infusing them with sufficient Path energy, an Ultraman without Idealistic capabilities was just a super soldier with a few special traits—nothing particularly extraordinary.
If they couldn't solve how to diffuse that unique light and imbue it with the nature of Paths, this would only be another powerful new species, lacking that crucial, distinctive quality.
It was precisely that romantic, almost mythical trait—that sense of limitless potential—that would determine whether these Ultras could become cosmic guardians.
Herta seemed to have had a plan all along.
She quickly took over the console and began editing the life form's structure, weaving concepts of Equilibrium as the foundation, infused with meanings of Preservation and The Hunt, into the being's underlying logic—all to harmonize the growing number of Path energies being integrated.
But the three overly powerful forces they introduced destabilized the previously encoded concepts of Harmony, Erudition, Abundance, and Permanence.
Instead of stabilizing quickly as intended, the structure nearly collapsed entirely, forcing Herta to halt temporarily.
As more Paths were layered in, maintaining stability grew increasingly difficult.
"So, why not introduce Enigmata?"
"Tch, why are you so hung up on Enigmata? I'd rather add Elation than that."
Herta's competitive streak flared up—she refused to believe she couldn't solve this compatibility issue without relying on Enigmata.
'Ruan Mei' smiled wryly.
Seeing how determined Herta was, she figured the problem would eventually be solved.
Honestly, for a moment there, she'd thought Herta was on the verge of success—the near-collapse had taken even 'Ruan Mei' by surprise.
Maybe they were still missing some key element?
'Ruan Mei' didn't dwell on it further, instead turning her thoughts to how one might "pollute" the light of this world, much like memetic contamination.
She pondered it over and over.
Barring the unlikely event of creating an entirely new Path, reaching the point where they could summon miracles seemed to require designing a kind of virus that could propagate along light itself.
But just then, Herta cut in abruptly:
"Stop overcomplicating it. Even if it's a life form made of light, don't forget—what truly permeates the cosmos, what's everywhere, is Imaginary Energy. That's far more efficient than modifying light."
"…Aren't you being even bolder than I was?"
'Ruan Mei' looked at Herta in surprise.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered that possibility—but the difficulty of that approach was on another level entirely.
"If we're doing this, why not go all the way? You… you really did copy a genius's brain, but not their boldness."
Herta stared straight at 'Ruan Mei':
"You're a genius now. If the plan is feasible, don't ask me how bold it is—think about how to make it happen. Since you proposed this project, give it everything you've got!"
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