"What … is this?"
A tidal wave of information surged into Kotori's mind.
Her head throbbed so violently it felt as if it might burst.
Clutching her skull in agony, she watched countless unfamiliar scenes whirl past—bizarre creatures, majestic cities, technologies she had never seen. The images flickered through her consciousness like a revolving lantern.
"A slot in the chat group's sub‑group,"
Rei Ao explained, his voice drifting in from a great distance.
"From now on, you can learn about the multiverse—just like Tohka and the others."
There was a strange cadence to his words that made one want to believe him.
Murasame Reine—Takamiya Mio's avatar—showed a clear ripple of emotion for the first time.
Disbelief flashed in her eyes.
"So many worlds… How can that be?"
Her voice quavered—a rare loss of composure.
As a split body of the Origin Spirit, she had always thought she understood this world's system of power, yet everything before her exceeded her knowledge.
Through the data pushed by the chat group they saw an endless chain of worlds—civilizations beyond imagination, creatures of impossible shapes, powers that defied belief.
They even saw Rei Ao himself, the group master, traveling freely among those realms.
In that moment Kotori's entire worldview was overturned.
What she had taken for reality was but a speck of dust in a boundless cosmos.
Her legs went weak; she had to brace herself on the console to stay upright.
"So…" Kotori struggled to digest the flood of facts, her voice trembling.
"DEM's destruction was your doing too…?"
The image of DEM's headquarters reduced to rubble flashed across her mind, the sheer force of it sending a chill down her spine.
Rei Ao nodded, a trace of coldness on his face.
"Just a small punishment—and part of Tohka's deal, of course."
His gaze roamed over the two women, carrying a hint of temptation.
"If you have any wish at all, you can contact me through the chat group at any time to make a trade."
He gave Murasame Reine a meaningful look.
"Even the wish of the Origin Spirit—I can grant it."
His deep, magnetic voice felt like a devil's whisper, luring its listeners toward the abyss.
No sooner had he finished speaking than his figure began to fade, turning translucent, as though being erased from the air.
His outline blurred like pencil lines rubbed away by an eraser.
"Wait!" Kotori cried, desperation in her tone.
"You haven't explained everything—"
She reached out, but her fingers passed straight through his half‑transparent form.
"You already know what you need to know," Rei Ao's voice echoed, tinged with mystery.
"The rest… discover for yourselves."
His words grew fainter until they vanished entirely.
With the final syllable, his body dissolved from the bridge as if he had never been there, leaving only a trace of strange energy in the air to prove it was no illusion.
Silence fell over the command center.
After a stunned moment, Kotori slowly turned to Murasame Reine; the shock in her eyes had frozen into icy fury.
"Explain—now."
Her voice was low, edged with menace. One finger hovered over the emergency button: one press and all of Ratatoskr would go to maximum alert.
Reine met her stare calmly, not a flicker of panic.
"As he said, I'm Takamiya Mio's avatar, embedded in human society."
The words were flat, as though she were recounting someone else's story.
"If you want me gone, I can leave right now."
A fleeting loneliness flickered in her eyes before her usual serenity returned.
Kotori's fists clenched so hard her nails pierced her palms; blood dripped between her fingers.
She had too many questions—
What is the Origin Spirit's goal?
Has Ratatoskr been a pawn all along?
Where has all the Spirit data they collected gone?
But in the end she drew a long breath, forcing herself calm.
"…Stay."
The word came out hoarse; the decision clearly pained her.
Reine's brows lifted in mild surprise; an unreadable emotion flashed in her eyes.
"It's not that I forgive your deception," Kotori said through gritted teeth, her gaze firm.
"I have to uncover the Origin Spirit's true purpose."
Turning toward the commander's seat, she strode forward with iron resolve.
"All hands back to your stations! Today's events are top secret—anyone who leaks a word will face court‑martial!"
Her voice held the authority of a commander, though those who knew her could hear the tremor beneath.
The crew, as if granted amnesty, hurried to their tasks.
The nightmare would be treated as if it had never happened.
Keyboards clacked again; status reports flowed across comms. Outwardly, everything was back to normal—yet everyone knew something fundamental had changed.
Kotori sat down, forcing her pulse to steady.
Her eyes fixed on the chat group interface now floating in mid‑air.
Perhaps this mysterious group held some of the answers she needed.
After a brief hesitation she reached out and tapped the phantom screen.
Murasame Reine remained where she was, fingertip lightly touching her own forehead.
A complicated light flickered in her eyes.
Rei Ao's appearance had completely disrupted Takamiya Mio's carefully laid plans.
Reine gazed at the star‑strewn sky outside the window, lost in thought.
…
In the bedroom of Nia's apartment, space rippled, and Rei Ao's figure materialized beside the bed.
Soft moonlight poured through the window, giving the room a touch of romance.
Sensing something, Tohka stirred and drowsily opened her eyes.
In the moonlight her violet pupils shimmered like twin jewels, radiating an entrancing glow.