In the nether realm, the wind stirred up flower petals, swirling and dancing around Lucian, Castorice, and Polyxia like a silent blessing.
Done with their 'role-playing game,' the three of them lay amidst the sea of flowers.
Lucian held Polyxia's shoulder on his left, Castorice's waist on his right, while he gently rested his chin on the soft crown of Castorice's hair.
"Wait for me."
Lucian's voice was low and hoarse, carrying the relaxation that came after everything had settled, yet it still cut through the closeness between the three of them with absolute clarity.
Like a brand, Lucian's three words engraved themselves deep into Castorice's chaotic heart, making her grip tighten on his hand resting at her waist.
Polyxia also tightened her arms, holding Lucian even closer before her deep gaze met his, but unlike Castorice, even though they would face separation, there was not a trace of sadness in her eyes—only pure, gentle warmth.
"We'll always wait for you... Even if it takes a thousand years..."
A bright smile curved Polyxia's lips as she stated softly but firmly.
Silent, deep-blue petals drifted down, settling in Castorice's loose hair and dusting their shoulders as well.
Beneath the nether realm's serene sky, under that eternal canopy of stars, three hearts became entangled on the night before parting, bound together strangely and intimately as the endless sea of flowers bore silent witness to this fleeting yet eternal moment.
Time slipped away in an instant as twenty-four hours unknowingly passed while the three spent the day 'bonding' together.
Lucian vanished in the two sisters' embrace, as if he had never existed.
Only the blessing of Abundance within their lower abdomens remained, proof that he had once stepped into the two sisters' lives.
[Script: Castorice, complete.]
===
Reality, Herta Space Station.
At this moment, Herta had already returned from the Path Space after being left alone by Lucian and Nous.
Yet after searching for quite some time, she truly could not find any trace of Lucian, and there was also no sign of Nous appearing again, let alone responding to her.
"How did that guy do it? Why did Droidhead respond to him so easily? Besides, I've never heard the name 'Lucian' before."
Herta spoke to herself, unable to figure it out, no matter how hard she tried.
"Madam Herta, is it possible that man has some special way of communicating with Aeons?"
Beside Herta, the Fourth Mirror asked timidly.
"Otherwise, why would Nous ignore the great and peerless Emanator of Erudition like Madam Herta and instead respond to some nobody?"
Once Herta heard this, she suddenly understood.
"You have a point... Did you happen to record any footage of Lucian just now?"
"Of course, Beautiful Madam Herta, I recorded it. Take a look... He's so handsome, I'd rate his looks at least ten thousand points! Oh, but of course, that's nothing compared to a thousandth of yours."
Only now did Herta carefully examine Lucian's appearance, and she had to admit that he was indeed handsome—she could not find any faults with his appearance.
It was just a pity that his shameless behavior was too revolting.
Yet, it was precisely this kind of scoundrel who could so easily draw the attention of an Aeon.
In her eyes, this was simply absurd, completely unreasonable.
"Fourth Mirror, send Lucian's footage to the IPC. Leave a message asking them to help me find this guy, and be sure to emphasize that he's a friend of Genius Society #83 Herta, so they must be polite to him. Once they find him, contact me immediately."
"Understood, Madam Herta! Executing your command!"
In just a few seconds, the IPC Headquarters sent a response to Herta.
Evidently, the IPC's higher-ups quickly passed down Herta's request without delay, telling everyone to pay attention to the handsome man named Lucian.
It was only natural.
Herta was, after all, a genius with deep ties to the IPC—someone who held extremely high value.
For such a small request, the IPC did not even need to hesitate.
At this moment, an IPC staff member contacted Herta through the Fourth Mirror, which could also be used as a real-time communicator, basically serving as a phone.
[Madam Herta, we have already distributed Mr. Lucian's footage as you requested. Do you have any more specific information, such as his star system, planet name, or coordinates?]
"Uhh…" Herta frowned, thinking for a moment, then shook her head. "No, that's all I have. Just find him by his face and name."
As she thought about it, she realized she had not asked Lucian for any other information just now and had only heard his name, come to make friends, and, in the heat of the moment, had started arguing.
In the end, Lucian met Nous, and the two of them went off to have a private chat.
[Understood, Madam Herta. We will do our best to fulfill your request.]
[Speaking of which, there's some bad news. Our headquarters main account was hacked, and the culprit appears to be Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf.]
[She breached the firewall created by you and Mr. Screwllum, stealing two hundred billion credits. We hope you can come and perform maintenance and upgrade the firewall, and preferably use even stronger technology.]
"What did you say?!" Herta's voice rose three pitches. "Silver Wolf breached the firewall made by me and Screwllum? No, wait, are you blaming me right now?"
[No, Madam Herta, you misunderstood. I'm just stating the facts and not emphasizing that your firewall was breached.]
"Are you sure it was that little girl? Hmph, there's no way someone like her could breach my firewall—she must have had outside help!" Herta declared confidently.
It was not as if she did not know that little hacker who was always causing trouble.
Yes, Silver Wolf had some skills in hacking, but there was no way she could get past the network defense system created by both her and Screwllum. Not to mention, the IPC had another mysterious genius reinforcing the defenses, so there was absolutely no way she could do it on her own.
Just who was the helper pulling the strings?
Herta walked over to the window, gazing out at the starry river of the galaxy.
Now, there were two people she was deeply curious about—one was Lucian, who could casually summon an Aeon like nothing, and the other was Silver Wolf's mysterious helper, who managed to breach the firewall of three geniuses.
As Herta was still discussing matters with the IPC's staff, a figure suddenly appeared behind her.
Who else but Lucian?
Lucian looked around with raised eyebrows, and as he expected, he had returned to the original spot.
He also saw Herta standing ten meters away, at the window, gazing out at the galaxy, seemingly talking with someone through the mirror beside her.
'Better not disturb her for now. Let's check the System first.'
Lucian immediately opened the System's panel to check his information.
[Host: Lucian]
[Ability: Disarm, Absolute Hit, Godly Bandage]
[Follower: Tribios 1000/1000, Mortis 1, Feixiao 1, Yueyu 1, Castorice 1, Polyxia 0]
[Script: 0]
[Revive Follower]
'Looks like the part of the script that can affect reality doesn't include Xia...'
Lucian knew the script could affect reality, but only partially—and even then, it was random.
Fortunately, Polyxia was already his follower, so she could be revived.
Remembering the young woman who was reserved on the outside but wild on the inside, Lucian smiled and activated 'Revive Follower' without hesitation.
===
Amphoreus, Eternal Holy City of Okhema.
At this moment, Aglaea and Tribbie stayed by the unconscious Castorice, guarding her.
Tribios had already split up, sending her split selves to help the other Chrysos Heirs, leaving only Tribbie to relay messages.
"Cas has been asleep even longer than I was last time. Does that mean she spent more time with him than I did...?"
Tribbie, sitting beside Castorice with her chin propped up in her small hands, spoke absentmindedly as she gazed at Castorice.
If one listened carefully, there was actually a hint of jealousy in her childlike voice.
"I'm not sure... Maybe she just ran into more trouble?"
Aglaea thought about it for a moment, but ultimately could only give such a perfunctory answer.
"I wonder if Cas will end up like me..." Tribbie muttered, absentminded.
Aglaea fell silent, not daring to say a word.
Honestly, she really had no idea how to respond to that since she had never been in love before.
Maybe if she ever did, she could answer?
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
Even her humanity had been worn away, leaving her completely numb to any feelings between men and women, so there was no way she would ever fall in love in this lifetime.