Holding World Sigh in her palm, Rita could clearly sense the warmth of the soul fires contained within.
She could also feel that she was capable of drawing upon their soul fire at any mont.
The most pleasant surprise was the sheer amount available.
Each cluster of soul fire contained more than ten thousand points.
Still, she decided to ask a few questions first.
Were there any precautions she needed to take?
What was the limit of this kind of resource allocation?
At what point would it begin harming the divine wills themselves?
There were only a few divine wills she knew well enough to consult.
QM Foolishness.
Starsea Lynx Duke.
The King of Starsea.
As for Starsea By, that barely counted as 0.1 of an acquaintance.
Opening World Sigh, Rita intended to visit QM Foolishness first.
But the mont the pages turned, a question she had deliberately ignored resurfaced.
Or perhaps it was a question she had simply never put much effort into answering.
Why had Quiet Mountain never created a copy of Starsea By?
Setting personality aside, By had possessed exceptional talent and combat ability.
She was an outstanding warrior.
Why would Quiet Mountain choose not to replicate soone like that?
Even if Starsea By’s final ignition of soul fire had required the sacrifice of every Vineborne and Deceitful Bloom’s ntal health, she had already been terrifyingly powerful long before that.
Powerful enough to trade blows evenly with the strongest Wind Whale of Tingo.
Rita paused for a mont.
Then she pushed the question aside.
There were more urgent matters to handle.
As the owner of World Sigh and the bearer of the Tenth Era’s authority, she didn’t need to wait for special occasions to et the wills buried within the book.
Pressing the spine against her forehead, Rita projected her consciousness directly outside QM Foolishness’s soul fire.
This wasn’t one of the scheduled visiting periods.
Out of courtesy, she scattered a few white flower petals into the soul fire first.
Inside her self constructed workshop, QM Foolishness was currently attempting to recreate the [Foolishness Ga].
She stopped what she was doing and looked up at the petals drifting down from above.
"You can co in."
Only then did Rita allow her consciousness to take shape before her.
QM Foolishness imdiately asked,
"Did sothing happen?"
Rita explained her purpose in detail.
After listening, QM Foolishness answered based on her own experience.
"After death, we’re essentially pure soul fire."
"Our maximum soul fire exceeds ten thousand points."
"The recovery rate is also extrely fast. We naturally regenerate one point per second."
"Under normal circumstances, Order Clock withdraws our soul fire according to a fixed schedule. It makes sure our reserves never drop below one hundred."
She thought for a mont before continuing.
"The only exception is when Starsea and Quiet Mountain collide."
"The consumption is much higher during those events."
"Even then, it keeps us above ten."
She looked directly at Rita.
"Ten should be the danger threshold."
"If we fall below ten, our flas go out permanently."
Rita carefully morized the number.
That information alone would make her future experints much safer.
"I understand."
"I’ll be careful."
Just as she was about to leave, QM Foolishness suddenly stopped her.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
Rita answered honestly.
"I’m going to use your soul fire."
"I want to expand the Adjudicator Ga so more players can join."
"That’s not what I ant."
QM Foolishness set down the tool in her hand and looked straight at BS Rita.
"What I’m asking is this."
"Are you going to make us choose again?"
"Whether we’re willing to let you use our soul fire."
The question caught Rita off guard.
Was there a problem with that?
She didn’t answer aloud.
But the confusion in her eyes made the question obvious.
QM Foolishness wanted to remain cold.
Wanted to sound firm.
But when she t BS Rita’s gaze, she discovered she couldn’t.
Her resolve softened before she could stop it.
Even her tone beca gentler.
The realization made her sigh inwardly.
Then she spoke.
"You probably don’t know this, but we talk about you all the ti."
"Ti passes very slowly here."
"We have to find interesting players and interesting stories to keep ourselves entertained."
"We always have our ways of learning what’s happening."
"And news about you spreads faster than anything."
"Including that recruitnt campaign not long ago."
She paused.
Then continued.
"Rita."
"You’re already the strongest existence in Starsea and Quiet Mountain."
"You hold authority."
"You write the rules."
"So your responsibility is simple."
"You are responsible for the outco."
"You don’t need to give us a choice."
"You only need to maximize the benefits."
"That’s what soone in power is supposed to do."
"Giving people choices again and again may earn you gratitude."
"It may earn you admiration."
"But it won’t earn you victory."
Her expression beca unusually serious.
At last she said,
"If you’re building a legendary toy, you don’t ask the materials for permission."
"Doing so only slows you down."
"It lowers your chances of success."
"The sa applies to winning a ga."
"Don’t be so considerate."
"If you try to understand every living being’s feelings and desires, victory becos much harder."
"Every war requires sacrifices."
Rita listened quietly.
She understood how sincere those words were.
And how rare.
Because in QM Foolishness’s comparison, she had included herself among the "materials."
"I understand what you’re saying."
Rita’s voice was soft.
"I really do."
"But I can’t do that."
She had changed in many ways over the years.
Yet there were things that had never changed.
There had been countless monts when she deliberately looked away.
Moonfox and the Oak Owls.
Maple Syrup and Autumn Deer.
All those wars before the bell finally rang.
When she lacked the power to solve a problem, she had no right to lecture those trapped in suffering.
When she lacked the ability to determine an outco and bear responsibility for it, she had no right to force her will onto others.
So she had walked through those years in silence.
Arriving quietly.
Leaving quietly.
Saving only those she could save.
Whenever she appeared, every leader would turn to their people and shout the sa words.
"Go with her!"
They trusted her that much.
And yet she still hadn’t been able to change anything.
That helplessness had sunk so deeply into her bones that even now, years later, she couldn’t let it go.
After a long silence, she erged from her mories.
Then she smiled at QM Foolishness.
"If this entire universe is just one enormous prison..."
"Then I can’t lure everyone into another prison in the na of freedom."
"How would that count as an escape?"
The freedom she had pursued for so long was embodied in a single sentence from Cat’s Ideal:
The past shall not be judged.
The present shall not be controlled.
The future shall not be predetermined.
She did not judge the players’ pasts.
Because most of them had never truly had a choice.
She did not control their present.
Because she possessed the ability to offer them one.
And she would not decide their future.
Because every person should be responsible for their own life.
She could present the choices.
They would make the decision.
All she could promise was that she would stand at the front.
That she would be the one facing the hardest problems.
Finally, she looked at QM Foolishness and said,
"Trust ."
"My victory won’t require sacrifices."
Her voice was gentle.
Yet unwavering.
Like a divine decree.
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