"Aaaah, don't go, don't go, wait for me…" Huohuo looked at Stelle pitifully, tears streaming down her face.
Stelle, realizing Cirrus had used her mouth to upset Huohuo, felt her Stellaron burning with rage. She inwardly cursed at Cirrus. "Cirrus, you beast…"
Cirrus: "Ha? From a biological classification standpoint, you're closer to that term~" Suddenly, ghostly flames flared around Stelle, and she began speaking uncontrollably.
"The Ten-Lords Commission really has no standards, letting a weakling like you become a Judge. It's laughable."
Huohuo let go of Stelle's sleeve, wiping tears nonstop. "Waa…"
At that moment, Tail floated in front of Stelle, glaring fiercely. "Hey, that's enough. The only ones who get to chew her out are me… and the other Judges, got it?"
The next moment, Tail sniffed the air. "Tch, something's off. I smell one of my kind."
Tail's expression lit up with realization. "It's you, Cirrus. Hiding in a puppet's body, playing ventriloquist—fits your filthy style perfectly."
Cirrus, fully controlling Stelle's body, dropped all pretense. "Ha… hahahahaha! Ridiculous, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! I thought you'd escaped the torment of the Creation Furnace? Who'd have guessed, the fiercest fragment of the great Heliobus 'Ignamar,' sealed in a sniveling little girl's body as a watchdog— No, no, no, no, you're not even a watchdog now! You're just a… 'Tail'~ Right, Tail, Tail, Tail!"
"Getting cocky, huh?" Tail floated right up to Stelle's face, its tone icy. "Get out of that girl's body, and I'll swallow you right now!"
"So, so scary!" Stelle's hands clutched her head, then shifted to a mocking grin. "Hehe, I'm faking it!"
Stelle sighed as if in pity. "You can't even leave that Judge's body now, can you? Can't fully consume her, can't escape. Hehe, Mr. Tail, you're so pathetic now~"
"Damn it!" Tail's teeth ground audibly, and it turned to roar at Huohuo. "Little coward, do something!"
[Man, that attitude, so scummy!]
[She looks so helpless.]
[Good thing Mr. Tail's there, or I can't imagine what'd happen to Huohuo!]
[If Kafka were here, Cirrus would've been slapped silly.]
[This is making my teeth itch—it's so punchable.]
[I can only say Stelle's acting is stellar. This scene's basically her playing two roles.]
[Yeah, as long as Stelle's not in overly serious scenes, it doesn't even feel like acting.]
[So snarky! So infuriating!]
[Thanks, I'm already immersed!]
Huohuo rummaged in her satchel and pulled out a humanoid talisman. "Please take this talisman and stick it on yourself. A Heliobus can't fully control a human body in the short term. This talisman can temporarily suppress its influence."
Then, Huohuo started crying again.
Tail glanced at Huohuo, knowing it had taken its frustration out on her. It quietly said to Stelle, "Hey, girl, go comfort Huohuo. Her crying's more annoying than a mosquito's buzzing."
[You're totally spoiling her, admit it.]
[This scene's so wholesome.]
[I love this gruff uncle and loli combo.]
At that moment, Cirrus manifested like Tail, appearing in Stelle's body. "Phew, what a thrill. Human emotions are like a feast. Hehe, tasting sad tears is like downing a jug of fine wine~"
Stelle clenched her fist. "You made the little girl cry. Fun for you?"
"If I asked you, 'Is eating a pile of protein and carbs fun?' while you were dining, what would you think?"
[What a Dio-style line!]
[Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?]
Cirrus expressed it enjoyed itself and would only leave Stelle's body once its goal was achieved. Stelle ignored the eyeball. Tail drifted unsteadily to Stelle's side. "Cirrus's trash talk is overblown, but it hit her fragile heart. Go comfort her."
Stelle's eyes widened with a cheeky look. "Don't you look down on her?"
"Exactly, so she needs someone like you to huddle for warmth. Get it? Go!"
"How about you comfort her too?"
"Me, comfort someone? Dream on."
[Tail's attitude is top-tier.]
[Attitude on par with Belobog's traffic lights.]
[Hahahaha, I love this dialogue design. So fun, so fun.]
"Stop staring at me. Go comfort that fragile-hearted girl."
Under Tail's scolding, Stelle slowly approached Huohuo from behind. Huohuo was crying her eyes out, turning the bullet comments green. Stelle gently patted Huohuo's back. "I'm so sorry, Huohuo. You okay?"
"It's not your fault. It's that jerk stirring trouble." Huohuo replied through sobs. "Waa… I know a kind person like a Trailblazer wouldn't say such harsh things. It's definitely that evil thing possessing you, making you speak without restraint… But, but every word it said, I couldn't refute…"
Huohuo began to belittle herself, saying everything changed because of a chance encounter with Tail possessing her. Stelle took on a big-sister vibe, holding up Huohuo's paper talisman. "It's thanks to you leaving this talisman. Thank you."
Huohuo's antenna perked up, a spark in her eyes. "I'm so glad I could help."
Tail floated between them, playing mediator. "Hear that? Stop crying. You're useful, and your paper talisman's useful too."
Then it sighed. "Can't stand this! If I were free, I'd swallow Cirrus first, then gobble up you, you sniveling coward, in one bite."
Cirrus seemed unmoved by Tail's words. "Pity, Mr. Tail's not what he used to be. If we had our old power, breaking this 'ghost wall' illusion would be nothing… even swallowing 'Furyflame,' its creator, would be a breeze."
Stelle and Huohuo asked in unison, "Old power?"
Cirrus looked at Huohuo with interest. "Mr. Tail, she knows nothing about your origins…" It smirked at Huohuo.
"Little miss, Heliobi usually gather where humans congregate, so why are they meeting in this deserted Sui Garden?"
Without hesitation, Huohuo replied, "Team-building?"
Cirrus: "…"
[Hahahaha, team-building?]
[Corporate culture shock!]
[Huohuo's stealing the show with another iconic moment!]
[Stelle: I've met my match.]
[Hahaha, I'm dying, family.]
[Naive charm beats scheming, directness counters sarcasm.]
[Cirrus: My CPU's smoking.]
[Huohuo's dropping catchphrases left and right, I'm dying.]
Cirrus quickly regained its composure, narrating a piece of Heliobi history with flair.
The screen showed a Divine Lord battling a ghostly flame. Paired with Cirrus's explanation, it had a unique flavor.
Once, the great Heliobus 'Ignamar' fought General Teng Xiao of the Luofu, a battle shaking heaven and earth, weeping ghosts and gods. But despite absorbing countless Heliobi kin, Ignamar fell to General Teng Xiao. Unable to coalesce again, it shattered into 'spirit fragments,' sealed in the Creation Furnace.
"But," Cirrus's tone shifted, "there's always an exception. I thought you'd escaped, Mr. Tail, living freely… but you got tamed by this tiny foxian girl. Hilarious."
Tail: "Tamed, my foot! I fell on hard times and ran into this little fox—bad luck!"
[Oh, so Tail and Cirrus are both fragments of Ignamar?]
[Yeah, and Tail's the strongest one.]
[No wonder his attitude's so high—he's got the skills to back it up.]
[Tail doesn't look like a grey wolf in battle. So cool!] [How do you know?]
[Interactive City's got Huohuo's artwork merch, light cones for sale!] [???]
[Sneaky merch drops. Afraid we'll spend money? Don't put it out if you don't want us buying, miHoYo!]
Meanwhile, Huohuo began recalling how she met Tail. The screen showed an even cuter, tinier Huohuo.
[Aaaaah, too adorable!]
[Slurp~ That face looks so soft and squishy!]
[Such a cute baby.]
[Matcha Cupcake, I wanna gobble her up! My heart!]
[Who played this? So cute.]
[With miHoYo's tech, probably CG.]
[Whatever, I'm stealing her.]
Huohuo's narration came from off-screen. "When I was little, I saw a dying flame in a corner of the Luofu… I felt bad and put it on my tail… but then Mr. Tail tried to eat me! Thankfully, the Judges showed up in time, and I escaped."
Tail: "Just a tiny snack that wouldn't even fill a tooth gap. 'Eat' sounds too dramatic."
"All the tears I've shed regretting this over the years must be the water that got in my brain when I made that choice…"
[Haha, I held it together at 'team-building,' but this broke me.]
[I could laugh for half an hour.]
[Huohuo's a master—catchphrases that stunned me multiple times in minutes.]
[This meme-packed web drama lives up to its name!]
After some back-and-forth, Huohuo's emotions were soothed. One Stellaron wielder, one foxian, and two Heliobi continued searching for an exit. After a series of puzzles, they heard a familiar voice at a bronze mirror.
"Huohuo, are you in the mirror? Finally located you!"
Huohuo instantly recognized the voice. "Lady Xueyi?!"
Though Guinaifen was still missing, the priority was escaping the illusion. They passed through the mirror to a new scene—above Fyxestroll Garden. Countless mirrors surrounded them, with countless illusions on the other side. Stelle, unfamiliar with Xueyi, relied on Huohuo's judgment. With Huohuo's help, they reached the third illusion. However, Huohuo struggled with a decision, as she could tell all the mirrors here were fake, with no way out yet.
Huohuo poked her fingers together. "I've been with Lady Xueyi a long time. She knows I'm timid but never scolded me."
Tail chimed in. "Tch, the Ten-Lords Commission doesn't care. Only you care so much. Don't hold me back, and be as timid as you want. I don't care."
Huohuo's teary eyes looked at Tail. "Tail~"
"No, no, stay back."
Stelle nodded. "I get it now. You two actually get along pretty well…"
Tail: "You know nothing! Ugh… why talk about this? What now?"
Stelle pointed to a distant hill. "Look over there." They followed her direction to a floating island with a mirror. But there was no path leading to it.
Stelle shrugged. "No choice. No road, so we'll just have to walk and see." She stepped onto an invisible bridge.
Huohuo's legs trembled as she barely stepped onto the unseen bridge, then collapsed. "W-Waaaah~ C-Can I crawl across…"
Tail was speechless at the sight. "Ugh, you! Get it together!"
With Stelle and Tail's combined pulling, they finally got Huohuo to the fourth bronze mirror. Tail gave a slight smile, inwardly pleased. "Didn't expect you to actually make it through, girl. Heh, after all these years, you've finally grown a bit."
Huohuo, hearing Xueyi's reply from the other side, passed through the mirror back to reality. But, Fyxestroll Garden in reality was already under the Heliobi's control, with the Judges struggling to delay an imminent collapse.
Cirrus claimed to know Furyflame's nature intimately and proposed a way to break the situation. But was this cunning creature genuinely trying to help humans win? Or did its suggestion hide ulterior motives? Without letting it reveal its hand, nothing was certain. Despite the unease, they had to hold out until that moment.