"Alright, since things on Firefly's side are wrapped up, it is finally this cat's turn."
Seeing that night had fallen, Sister Cipher stretched lazily before sitting up from the bed. She opened her system backpack, her eyes sparkling slightly as she looked at the 23 million Credits stored in quantum storage.
She had already used her Credits to perform thirty-nine pulls. According to the system, the pity rate was ninety pulls, meaning she had fifty-one left to exchange for using Credits. That only required 8 million Credits—practically pocket change for her now.
'Should I pull now? Or... wait until after I collect the bounty, rob the base, finish the commission, and use the Splitting Silver Coin?'
"Forget it, I will hoard the Credits for now. I do not desperately need anything from the gacha yet, and the function to force lies into reality will eventually turn the system into a massive Credit-sink. I need a large reserve."
With that thought, Sister Cipher stowed the quantum storage. She rolled out of bed and spoke to Bartholos.
"Bartholos, get ready for work!"
"You got it, Big Sis!" Bartholos became instantly electrified with excitement. "Heheheehee! Is it finally time?!"
Bartholos floated up and circled her. "Big Sis! What do you want me to turn into?!"
Sister Cipher rested her chin on her hand, thinking it over. Soon, an idea flashed through her mind. She used her power to transform the water cup in her hand directly into a metal charm shaped like a cat's paw. Several red gems were embedded in the metal to serve as the paw pads.
"Transform into this."
"This metal charm?" Bartholos looked at the trinket with confusion. "Big Sis, I have never seen you take out a charm like this before?"
"There is a lot you have not seen." Sister Cipher crossed her arms, adopting an air of superior experience. "Just turn into this. I have plans for the rest."
"Alright!"
Seeing her resolve, Bartholos did not argue. Transforming into an object was a familiar task. With a puff of white mist, the floating spirit vanished, replaced by a metal charm identical to the one in her hand.
Sister Cipher turned the original charm back into a cup and picked up the Bartholos-charm.
'It feels exactly like a real object. As expected of the former Titan of Trickery, Zagreus.'
Feeling the cold, metallic texture, she marveled inwardly.
"Now that Little Bart is ready, it is my turn."
Another cloud of white smoke erupted. In an instant, her appearance shifted drastically.
Her silver-white hair turned into a light brown shade, styled with straight bangs and a shoulder-length cut. Her cat ears shifted to match the light brown, featuring a golden diamond-shaped pattern on the back. Her tail became a dark brown tabby tail, adorned at the tip with a decoration made of six joined metal plates and a diamond-shaped purple crystal.
Her signature black and purple bodysuit vanished, replaced by a black tube top paired with purple and white off-the-shoulder sleeves.
The cat-eared girl opened her eyes. Unlike Sister Cipher's blue-violet pupils, this girl had light blue eyes, giving her a much more lively and cute appearance.
"Transformation successful! I should find a mirror to see how I look."
She murmured to herself, turning the cup into a small hand mirror.
"This is exactly like Pardo from the Realm! To avoid exposing my original identity, I will be captured in this form!"
Satisfied with the reflection, she struck a pose, hands on her hips and her head tilted back with pride.
"From now on, this cat is Pardo!"
"Oh, right. It is not quite fitting, but I still need this to prove I am Cifera."
Pardo flipped her hand, flicking a silver cat-paw coin into the air. After it spun a few times, she snatched it. When she opened her palm, the silver coin had reverted to the gold and purple Flipping Coin, featuring the grinning, one-eyed cat face.
"Next, the clone that will 'capture' me."
Stowing the Flipping Coin, Pardo snapped her fingers. With the crisp sound, white mist swirled again. A figure in a black robe, wearing a mask and carrying a greatsword, appeared beside her.
This clone took the form of the Flame-Chaser.
"A Kevin-variant successfully bringing the thief Cifera to justice, only to find out Cifera looks like Pardo... this world is getting weirder by the second."
Pardo shook her head, stopping her stray thoughts. She hooked the Bartholos-charm onto her right leg.
"Everything is ready. Time to contact the Backcurrent Alliance."
She pulled out her terminal and placed an anonymous call to the alliance. After two rings, a woman's voice answered.
"Hello, Backcurrent Alliance. How can I help you?"
Pardo handed the terminal to her Flame-Chaser clone.
"I caught... Cifera. Bounty... where."
The voice was the perfect imitation of someone so eroded by the Flame that they could barely form a coherent sentence.
"Understood. I will contact my superiors immediately. Please do not hang up."
The operator did not seem surprised, which actually surprised Pardo a little. She had expected a bit more excitement. After a short wait, a man's voice came through the line.
"Are you certain you can prove you have Cifera? I am warning you now: we can verify if the token you bring matches the one in the commission. Over a dozen people have claimed to catch her, and their tokens were all fakes without exception."
The man sounded impatient.
"I am sure."
"Fine. Bring the target and the token to Building 19, Rustblade Street, Pit Bottom District. We will be waiting."
The man hung up, leaving only the dull drone of the busy signal.