"I’m sorry."
Rita delivered the ssage to Deceitful Bloom.
Seated upon a throne woven from crimson flower petals, Deceitful Bloom rested her chin on one hand and fell silent for a while.
Those three simple words seed to present a question that required careful thought.
Rita sat on her own floral throne and didn’t rush her.
She opened World Sigh and continued playing what increasingly resembled a grand strategy ga.
At this point, seventy percent of Prison 8017 had already been dyed blue.
And the rate of expansion was accelerating.
At this pace, the entire prison would likely fall under their control by tomorrow.
Only after she had finished reallocating leader level players and divine players to the most difficult cells, based on reports from the front lines, did Deceitful Bloom finally speak.
"Was that all she said?"
"Only ’I’m sorry’?"
"Yeah."
That was all.
Just "I’m sorry."
Starsea By hadn’t said she regretted anything.
She had betrayed Deceitful Bloom.
She had betrayed the Vineborne.
She had betrayed Midsumr.
She had betrayed too many people already.
At the very end, she refused to betray herself as well.
In chaotic Starsea, there were two things less likely than miracles.
One was Maple Syrup admitting she was wrong.
The other was By expressing regret.
"I understand."
Deceitful Bloom lowered her eyes.
Her voice was quiet.
"Do you want to bring any ssage back to her?" Rita asked.
Deceitful Bloom raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked toward Rita.
"I thought you hated her."
"Aren’t you the one who told not to talk to her?"
"...Am I really that persuasive?" Rita asked innocently.
Since when had Deceitful Bloom been the obedient type?
"Of course."
A gentle smile appeared in Deceitful Bloom’s voice.
The smile softened the coldness in her eyes and smoothed away the faint trace of lancholy lingering there.
Her tone rose slightly at the end.
"You’re the Adjudicator, after all."
Rita flicked a finger.
World Sigh, floating before her, dissolved into countless platinum specks and vanished.
She stood up.
"Then you’d better speed up the invasion."
"I’ve already removed the occupation limits for all divine players."
"When Prison 8017 falls, whichever god controls the most cells will have the next conquered prison nad after their world."
She wanted to spread everyone out as soon as possible.
But in the early stages, concentrating forces was still the most efficient strategy.
Once soul fire reserves grew larger and more abilities were unlocked, they could divide their forces freely.
Deceitful Bloom straightened slightly in her throne.
No longer lounging lazily, she asked:
"And you won’t na the first prison after Zaijiu?"
Rita spread her hands and looked down at herself.
Then she blinked innocently.
"Zaijiu already has ."
"What more honor does it need?"
Deceitful Bloom: "........."
She covered her eyes and took a deep breath.
Her head hurt.
Waving a hand dismissively, she said:
"I don’t have anything to say to her."
Rita didn’t press the issue.
She rose and left.
While Deceitful Bloom had been lost in thought earlier, Rita had already mobilized all the soul fire gathered from the Graveyards of Bones.
Not only had she granted every divine player unlimited occupation rights, she had also given every leader player authority to recruit ten thousand mbers of their own race.
As for Rita herself, she no longer sat around researching the limits of soul fire usage.
She had learned most of what she needed to know.
Now the priority was harvesting soul fire from Ash Prison through the players.
The more soul fire she possessed, the more players she could summon.
The more cells players occupied, the greater her authority beca.
The greater her authority beca, the more soul fire wages she could grant.
The first prison was the difficult one.
After that, every conquest would beco easier and faster.
Still...
Ti felt painfully short.
Rita quickened her pace.
Night of the eighth day of the prison invasion.
The cube displayed within World Sigh had finally beco completely blue.
Ash Inspector remained silent.
Yet Rita could now perceive the prison in its entirety with perfect clarity.
She extended a hand.
The cube, wrapped in blue flas, floated into her palm.
At the very center, she saw it.
A keyhole.
She directed the last portion of her available soul fire into it.
Instantly, every cell inside the cube lit up with color.
The density of the cells was overwhelming.
Even with only six colors, the sight was dizzying.
Unfortunately, the cube still couldn’t rotate.
Not yet.
First, these flas from the future would need to ignite the prison itself.
The sound of waves echoed around her.
Rita appeared inside Foolishness’s cell.
If sothing unexpected happened once the cube began moving, having Foolishness nearby would be useful.
After greeting her, white petals blood across the floor and ford another flower throne.
Rita dropped into it and imdiately began studying how beings without divine talents could use soul fire to ignite entire cells.
Foolishness stood beside her with her arms crossed, watching her turn the blue cube over in her hands.
Adjusting her glasses, she casually asked:
"Who’s controlling the most cells right now?"
"Deceitful Bloom?"
"Yeah."
Rita glanced up.
"Why?"
"Oh, just curious."
"Do you think Cicada would willingly step into a prison nad Beacon?"
Rita’s hands paused for a brief mont.
"I think she would."
"With Deceitful Bloom there, she’ll definitely be able to protect every Vineborne this ti."
"Don’t say that in front of her."
Foolishness sighed.
"It sounds more like a challenge than encouragent."
After a mont, her voice softened.
"But you’re right."
"This ti, she definitely can."
Rita looked over.
"What about you?"
"You’re only one cell behind Deceitful Bloom."
"Are you finally planning to fight for first place on behalf of Brilliance?"
The answer ca in the form of a hand landing on the back of her head.
Smack.
"Play with your cube."
"Stay out of grown-up business."
"When I was alive, I couldn’t even be bothered competing for World Skills."
"Why would I care about naming rights for a prison?"
Rita wasn’t annoyed at all.
Instead, she turned around with the cube still in her hands and grinned.
"Answer."
Foolishness froze.
Then she replayed her previous sentence in her mind.
World Skill.
Her eyes imdiately widened.
A World Skill!
What connected every living being within a world?
A World Skill did.
It was the one ability capable of allowing a world to survive when the bells echoed across Starsea.
Activated by a world’s leader or sovereign, it linked every inhabitant together and borrowed their strength in countless different forms.
Through that connection, a world’s fla could be ignited.
The only question was whether a World Skill of sufficient rank could ignite an entire prison cube.
Rita imdiately posted the theory in the group chat.
[Rita (Starsea)]: Mistblade
[Mistblade (Starsea)]: Okay
There was no hesitation whatsoever.
The instant the ssage appeared, snow began falling from the highest point of the cube prison.
The snow drifted through barrier after barrier, passing through countless cells.
Slowly, gently, it descended into every corner of the prison.
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