Having lived with Maple Burn for ten years, Zoey knew that this was the expression Maple Burn wore when she was upset and frustrated. Thinking back to how she had clearly been letting Zoey off earlier, Zoey didn't feel the slightest bit of inferiority or discomfort. Instead, she burst into laughter. "Maple Burn, you still say you haven't lost your way, but you're struggling, aren't you? It's the same as back then, right? You only use this skill on your family…"
She knew Maple Burn would never truly harm her.
As soon as Zoey finished speaking, Rita's mind went blank for a moment. She even forgot the lines she had prepared in her head. It was as if Zoey really thought of her as Maple Burn. They shared the same orange-red wings, and they were family—family would never hurt each other.
Fortunately, Rita was an experienced actress. She quickly composed herself, forcing a neutral expression, and declared, "No matter what, I won't let you die."
The Eclipse Vanguard players, under Shadow.Q's leadership, had already cautiously surrounded them, preparing to capture Zoey. After all, she had killed members of the Lopez Family. That could easily be passed off as a family dispute, but the real issue was her skill that could enhance players' attributes—it was too valuable!
Shadow.Q was flying the fastest, thinking to herself: Zoey and Eclipse Vanguard had worked together before! If Zoey wanted to die, they would have to wait!
Zoey lay on the ground, unmoving. She looked up at Rita, a smile in her eyes, and in a tone that resembled the one she might use when saying, "Maple Burn, I'm going home for dinner tonight," she softly said, "Maple Burn, I'll be waiting for you to come home to Lania Kaia."
Once again, flames erupted. Fiery wings enveloped Zoey completely.
This was her rebirth, her own nirvana, and no one could interrupt it!
Even as Shadow.Q and the Eclipse Vanguard players rushed over to try to break through the flames and heal her, it was too late. Zoey's life bar, which had been at 100%, fell to zero in less than a second. Rita didn't have time to react either. She canceled her healing skill and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, slowly exhaling.
For a moment, she considered whether she should risk using the Wrathful Moon to go back in time and kill Zoey. However, she recalled the punishment Nivalis and Jameson had received when they played with time, and how many skills and items had hidden consequences. She couldn't be sure what would happen if she killed someone who had already lived to the future.
In comparison, she'd rather infiltrate Polar Day City's main city to assassinate Zoey in the future. At least that risk was clear.
Her rational mind told her: Don't be foolish enough to tamper with fate, don't try to change what's already happened.
It was so frustrating, though...
But then, at the same time, another sigh was heard nearby—it was from Shadow.Q.
Rita looked at her, questioning. Shadow.Q, from who knows where, pulled out an iced Americano and took a sip before explaining, "It's a contract penalty. She had actively sought out Eclipse Vanguard to go to High Tower, and for that, she signed a new contract with them. She just forcibly nullified it."
So, it was the contract penalty that allowed her to "die"...
But why hadn't she used it the first time? Rita frowned. "Perhaps she had a way to calculate and manipulate you through the contract."
Shadow.Q also thought of this possibility. Her expression relaxed. "But thankfully, you revived her, which solved this hidden danger in advance."
After calming down, Rita meticulously cleaned and burned all the blood she had shed earlier. She even called out Nivalis to use her skills to help check for any issues before bidding a stunned Shadow.Q and the Eclipse Vanguard players farewell and leaving the area.
On her way, she went invisible, and after using a phantom move, she returned to the villa, locking herself in her study to check her status.
Opening the team interface, which she rarely used, she found Maple Burn inside. Rita was the team leader, but strangely, she couldn't leave the team. The reason was "abnormal status of team member."
Apart from that, there was no other abnormality in the interface. She began to check with her ultimate skills.
For example—Ultimate Renovation!
After using the skill, she looked at herself in the mirror. She could see the glowing orbs in the pocket watch hanging on her chest, and the various glows radiating from her equipment—everything could be directly renovated.
She also saw another kind of glow in her wings, a red glow that spread through the feathers like blood vessels, even extending into her heart.
Renovation was indeed effective, but the scene she saw made her hesitant to clear the red glow from her wings.
Next, she used her ultimate version of Away from Home, Identity is Self-Assigned, transforming herself into Nivalis and temporarily making her wings disappear. But the red glow in her heart still lingered.
She patiently went through each of her methods, attempting to find a flaw in Maple Burn's power.
The upgrade time for Wrathful Moon finally wasn't a glitch—it would take 29 natural days and nearly 20 more hours to complete. But thankfully, her skills were still usable.
Finally, she took out the Soul Catcher, summoned Nivalis, and explained her situation. She asked Nivalis to use a soul impact on her. Only those who had signed a contract with her could touch and use this soul-binding item.
"Use the soul impact skill on me," Rita instructed.
Nivalis hesitated, "But... this will hurt you, won't it?"
Thinking of Zoey, Rita's anger still burned. She replied, "Don't worry, as long as she dies before me!"
She had a skill to reduce soul damage, and since Maple Burn had just been resurrected, Rita didn't believe that her own condition was weaker than that of a soul that had been dead for so many years. If it came to it, she could outlast her!
Nivalis wanted to say something but, seeing Rita's determined expression, didn't hesitate. She raised the Soul Catcher and, with a gesture, a wave of invisible energy shot toward Rita.
Rita immediately felt a sharp blow to her head, as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer. She once again experienced the feeling of waking up after death in High Tower—exhausted, groggy, as if she could fall asleep at any moment. Not only that, but her health, mana, and all four attributes, including hit rate and critical chance, had dropped by 10%, and it would take 30 natural days to recover.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Do it again!"
Nivalis raised the Soul Catcher once more, but just then, a weak voice interrupted the silence—it was in owl-speak.
"Wait! If you do it two more times, I'll die!"
Rita's expression didn't change. She motioned to Nivalis. "Continue. Don't mind her."
She had to eliminate Maple Burn. Even without considering the possibility that she might occupy her body, the fact that Maple Burn's wings had rooted themselves in her soul meant that she could very well know all of Rita's secrets—her Divine Gift, her memories… Rita couldn't afford to leave her alive.
"I have a way to not occupy your body! I can't see any of your information, can't share your vision, can't read your thoughts—I can only hear what you say. That's the only way I can gather information. Don't worry, I promise I won't cross your boundaries. I just want to make a deal with you!"
Rita's killing intent surged, and she sneered. "You can't read my thoughts? Then how do you know what I'm most afraid of? How do you know what to say?"
Nivalis mimicked Rita's smile. "Hmph, no more words? Soul—"
Hearing Nivalis' voice, the mysterious voice hurriedly responded, "I have a skill called [What Are You Afraid Of]. It allows me to see the most terrifying vision of a living being. When you woke me up and gave me wings, you used this skill on me. The vision I saw was you choking my wings, holding a gun to my head, asking me: 'How did you discover my Divine Gift? Where did you find out about my actions? What else do you know? Tell me!'"
Nivalis' gaze subconsciously flickered, and the image appeared in her mind.