'Jingliu' picked up the tiny cube with a sense of curiosity.
Zero had stripped Dr. Primitive of all his belongings, and she hadn't been gentle about it.
Most of those clever little gadgets were practically destroyed.
This small cube had fallen out of one of them.
Was there something inside?
'Jingliu' didn't have time to investigate because Zero was already moving away.
After being separated from the state of Harmony, Jingliu seemed to be showing signs of Mara stirring once again.
'Jingliu' speculated that it was probably because Zero's involvement had brought with her a trace of Noa's power.
As everyone knew, since their true form couldn't ascend to Aeonhood or move freely, Noa, who couldn't even manage to create their own Emanator easily, had a favorite pastime: keeping an eye on those who tread their Path.
Zero, who seemed almost on the cusp of meeting Emanator standards, was likely someone Noa had observed quite frequently.
It was probably the state of Harmony that allowed Jingliu to catch a fraction of Noa's gaze, indirectly suppressing her Mara.
But even so, relying directly on the Giant of Light to cure Mara was pretty much impossible.
Never mind that it would be hard for Jingliu to become the Giant of Light—Noa's fleeting attention had only brought her a measure of calm.
During the struggle with Dr. Primitive, aside from staying close to 'Jingliu', Jingliu had barely reacted—neither taking action nor speaking.
That kind of state could hardly be called a cure for Mara.
But now, Jingliu needed some time to crack whatever Dr. Primitive had left behind.
So she simply pulled out the Evoltruster, partially unsheathed it, and tucked it into Jingliu's arms.
A soft glow bloomed, smoothly calming the oncoming frenzy in Jingliu.
"Hah… So much to deal with."
Jingliu's condition needed solving, and who knew if the Lord of Silence would make another move regarding Dr. Primitive.
But regardless, since the Lord of Silence might have her in their sights, she had to be prepared.
Once things with Jingliu were settled, she'd contact Herta to discuss countermeasures.
Even with all the complications, there were plenty of upsides too.
'Jingliu' glanced at her panel:
--+--
[Role-Playing System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 450 years (paused) + 29 (Role-Playing)]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Available), Acheron (Charge: 93.1%), Celenova (Charge: 54.9%), Ruan Mei (Charge: 19.4%), Jingliu (Active Role)]
[Available Draws: 1 (5.1%)]
--+--
Jingliu's extreme emotions, in such a short time, had already accumulated enough for the next draw.
No wonder this role-play felt like a bonus round. She'd barely lifted a finger and already met her goal.
Heck, she might even score two draws out of this.
Anyway, 'Jingliu' decided to roll the gacha.
She'd never been one to save up.
Pull!
The familiar train rushed past. Then, the same old golden light spilled from the gap of the door.
The door slid open.
A dark-haired girl in red appeared before 'Jingliu', accompanied by a playful giggle.
Damn, it's Sparkle!
'Jingliu' fell silent.
What was she supposed to do with Sparkle?
Was there even a single true thing in her backstory or files?
Where was she supposed to find her?
Would she have to pull another big stunt and hope the news spread far enough to draw her out?
But for a Masked Fool like Sparkle…
Would she even care that someone was impersonating her?
She probably would, at least a little—after all, she lived for the chaos.
So what should she do…
'Jingliu' fell deep into thought.
Sparkle's abilities were handy, but if it was just about fighting, she probably wouldn't be interested.
As for stirring up trouble everywhere, nothing immediately came to mind, and it might not even attract much attention.
Like that incident at the Space Station—only The Blue really cared.
And her actions on the Xianzhou—only the Alliance paid much notice.
Only the birth of a new Path could make the whole cosmos take notice.
Imitating Sparkle obviously couldn't achieve something like that.
Huh?
Director Sparkle…
Mulling over that nickname, a sudden idea struck 'Jingliu'.
Now, among the Masked Fools, besides lone operators like Sparkle and Sampo, there were also those famous across the universe for creating games.
Given Sparkle's style, fighting and killing clearly didn't suit a jester's vibe. But then again, you didn't need violence to grab the cosmos' attention.
The interstellar stage had a thriving entertainment industry too.
So, as Director Sparkle, maybe she could play with exposure tactics. Like… recreating that Lord Ravager PV and releasing it under Sparkle's name.
Ordinary folks would probably think it was pure fiction.
But those in the know would be shook. At the very least, if other segments of Zandar saw that video, they'd definitely lose it.
Even Nanook might start wondering how their plans got leaked.
Hmm, but would making that Lord Ravagers PV put a target on Sparkle's back?
Then Sparkle might be too busy to come find her.
In this world, the Fables About the Stars was a real thing, but after a quick search, 'Jingliu' found its actual content was fragmented, with fake versions circulating everywhere.
As for detailed descriptions of the Emanators or Aeons—those were especially scarce.
Making videos about Aeons wouldn't risk getting Sparkle hunted down and since Aeons were real, living gods in this world, the hype was practically guaranteed.
People would definitely pay attention.
She could gauge the reaction and maybe later drop a few Emanator PVs.
The Ten Stonehearts under Diamond could work too, but the IPC would probably just take the videos down.
Anyway, start with a high-concept video to attract attention, then release a couple of Sparkle's own videos.
That should net her a decent amount of emotional value, and Sparkle herself would probably take the bait.
Soon the whole universe would be asking, 'Who is Sparkle?'
Hmm… hopefully she wouldn't end up with Sparkle hunting her across the galaxy.
Probably not.
--+--
As she temporarily sealed the fallen Stellaron using methods from the same Path, 'Jingliu' pondered how exactly to handle the Sparkle impersonation.
After settling Jingliu back in place, Elio popped up again from who-knows-where.
"Looks like it went smoothly."
"Do you know what's inside this thing?"
'Jingliu' decided to give it a shot and showed him the cube.
She expected Elio to clam up, but he replied in a totally casual tone:
"Some of Dr. Primitive's research notes, maybe some other stuff. See for yourself. There's a report in there on his research into the Emanators of Abundance and his degeneration experiments—you'll find it useful."
'Jingliu' raised an eyebrow. Since when did Elio become so forthcoming?
"Why the sudden willingness to talk?"
"Whether I tell you or not, you'll unlock the cube and see the data anyway. I'm just speeding things up a bit."
"So this whole operation was to help Jingliu recover?"
"Partially."
And there he went.
This riddler was at it again!
'Jingliu' grabbed Elio by his furry little head.
--+--