After waiting for several days,
version 3.2 finally opened as scheduled. Guinaifen, who had been eagerly anticipating it, started her livestream early that very morning.
"Friends, please help click likes!"
"Since the character banner seems to have opened a bit early this time, let's pull first and then do the story!"
While thanking the viewers for their gifts, she started logging into the game.
But this time was different from the past. The moment the loading bar filled up,
suddenly!
The familiar map did not appear. Instead, Castorice appeared, holding a butterfly!
A leaping dragon-butterfly soared over, and as she slowly descended, purple light erupted from both their eyes, tearing the screen apart!
[Proceed to Leap]
was written below.
[Gods and demons! What is this?!]
[Wow, a startup animation! They even added a startup animation. Castorice is really something special, huh?!]
[Awesome! So cool!]
[My 'Long Moon Night' new episode has updated!]
[People of Amphoreus, children, the actors are getting into position!]
[Hahaha, the classic 'Amphoreus local' segment.]
The livestream started heating up.
Guinaifen was also shocked by this sudden startup animation.
Other characters don't have one, yet Castorice gets another?
And this time, the game isn't hiding anything at all. As soon as the version opened, they put Castorice right up on the banner. Seems they're pretty confident, huh?
So, without another word, Guinaifen sent several consecutive 648 top-ups, determined to respond in kind!
Although the pulls went pretty sideways, she still managed to secure Castorice!
After putting Castorice into her primary team, Guinaifen quickly prepared to start the new story.
[Continuing from last time!]
[These past few days have felt like Time, I can't wait any longer!]
The beginning was still a recap of the 3.1 story.
After it ended, the perspective returned to Stelle, picking up from the trial of the Ember of Eons in version 3.1. Stelle went to find Aglaea.
Over there, Aglaea was discussing matters related to Anaxa with Castorice.
Clearly, Anaxa and Aglaea didn't see eye to eye. He showed no reverence for the gods and even had the title 'The Earth Beast in Fine Robes'.
But even so, Aglaea wasn't yet prepared to actually sentence him to death.
The urgent matter was that Stelle, under Mimi's extreme hypnosis, agreed to inherit the Ember of Eons, which was highly tied to the mission of the Chrysos Heirs.
"Chrysos Heirs with the qualifications are exceedingly rare. If this path proves impassable, I will have no choice but to lower the standards."
"There are still many priests of Janusapolis in the city, and their descendants. If there is no other choice, I will seek suitable candidates from among them."
[Just do it that way, I'm out—]
Aglaea could only helplessly begin to explain.
Guinaifen immediately chose the option with the highest barrage count!
[The protagonist's behavior is as hilariously bizarre as ever. I wonder if the Stelle will sue the Author if they see this?]
[Is it possible that the Stelle actually has this personality?!]
[Then the Author would probably be beaten to death directly, hahaha!]
"—Don't back out now, Stelle!"
"We've come this far. Everyone is waiting for you, Mimi, to become the hero!"
"At least... Mimi, go talk to her face-to-face?"
"I have a feeling that if we don't meet Orionis, we might miss something truly momentous."
That's right.
Thus, under Mimi's barrage of persuasion, Stelle hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed to proceed to the trial.
Next, Stelle received a book of fables from Castorice.
The story was about a dragon corrupted by the black tide that invaded 'Styxia'. It was like 'death' itself and swallowed the city-state's princess.
The warriors slew the evil dragon, but the princess had already perished.
The grieving queen decided to revive the princess with the dragon's blood, but the amnesiac princess became an evil dragon, and Styxia was consequently destroyed.
It ended abruptly there.
"Such a heartwarming story," Stelle said with a smile.
Mimi: "Huh? This... where is it heartwarming?"
"Hmm... Actually, I think so too," Castorice nodded, expressing agreement.
Mimi: "Mimi? Mimi?!"
[So this was the option to increase favorability?]
[I thought only the Stelle was this abstract. Turns out the March 7th poet is too?]
Guinaifen in front of the screen laughed: "Mimi is so shocked her native language came out, haha."
But why does this story sound a bit familiar? Especially on the Xianzhou.
Besides that, before setting off, Stelle also went to find Dan Heng and Phainon. From Phainon, she learned about the existence and organizational structure of Senate.
The Citizens Assembly, held once every fifty Time, had been hindering the Journey of Chasing the Fire. Its next session was scheduled for the near future.
What was different this time was that Senate seemed to have set its sights on Anaxa as well.
For this reason, Dan Heng and Stelle decided to split up.
...
In the game, time passed quickly during the cutscene.
Finally, the Trial of Eons was about to begin.
Guinaifen was a bit excited.
By the time Stelle arrived at the Creation Vortex Core, Dan Heng, Phainon, Castorice, and even Aglaea, Tribbie, and others were already gathered, waiting on the side.
"Finally getting to the main event, folks."
"This trial belongs to us. I wonder what things we'll encounter?"
Guinaifen rubbed her hands together and walked toward the sacrificial altar.
Along the way, she bid farewell to Castorice and Phainon. Then, after ensuring safety, she began reciting the prophecy along with Trinnon.
"Solemn Twelve Titans, pillars supporting the world, we beseech divinity here..."
"To infuse the mortal form with Golden Blood, to willingly wither and dry for the divine oracle..."
In the scene, the Ember of Eons descended.
And so, the long-awaited trial began!
A flash of white light obscured the view. Stelle and Mimi's figures had already vanished from the spot.
Only the Chrysos Heirs remained, offering silent prayers for them.
...
In the darkness.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Slowly, the chaotic whispers of Titans could be heard.
This didn't last long before hearing—
"Pat pat, pat pat..."
"What's that noise?" Guinaifen was bewildered for a moment.
Opening her eyes again, it seemed like... it was Mimi?
"Wake up, Stelle."
As expected.
Mimi was flying in the air, seen from a low angle.
But now something truly unexpected was born: Mimi actually started talking?!
"How do you feel?"
Although still a bit halting, it was clearly understandable.
[Has the trial already started?]
[How can you talk?!]
Two options appeared before her eyes. Feeling astonished, Guinaifen said nothing and immediately chose the second one.
"How can you talk?!"
Hearing this, Mimi proudly laughed and put her hands on her hips: "Right, I think it's amazing too!"
"Testing, testing, one two three, testing, testing, one two three..."
"Phew! Such a cute voice! It must be because I've collected so many memories. My growth has far exceeded expectations!"
As her words fell.
Guinaifen blinked her eyes, then her mouth formed an 'O' shape, and a blush seemed to appear on her face.
"Ah—?"
[What am I hearing? This is real, Mimi can talk!]
[I thought it would always be 'mimi mimi' like that!]
[Mimi! Mimi! You finally have a voice! The game's developers finally earned enough credits and were willing to hire a voice actor for you!]
[This voice is amazing! Mimi mentioned before that she might speak later, but I never expected her voice to be this good!]
[Indeed, so cute! Which voice actress is this? I really can't recognize this voice!]
[The voice actress's skill is too strong, perfectly matching the voice I imagined for Mimi. This deserves all the praise!]