Usually Dan Heng is not one to be surprised. But seeing the petite woman who had her hands tied together proudly bickering with Yuuto…
"Yuu~ When will you be a dear and take these cuffs off? They're beginning to hurt my delicate little wrists."
"Maybe once you've stopped placing your dainty hands on everything you find interesting, then I might."
"Mou–! You can't blame me!! It's my first time here so everything can't help but catch my eye."
"You can just look, can't you? Ever since we left, there have been too many times when we had to stop to entertain your little curiosity. Too much time wasted in my opinion."
Yuuto waved his hand but Sparkle was not one to stop.
"You don't understand. Looking is not enough!" Sparkle shook her head.
"Let's see… imagine you see a beautiful lady who is just your type walking down the street. Would you rather just give her a passing glance or invite her on a date to get to know her better?"
"What kind of…" Dan Heng was speechless at this comparison she suddenly sprouted and looked at Yuuto, who was shockingly taking her words seriously.
"...Touche."
"Hehe–! Then?"
"Maybe later. After we finish some business first."
"Hmph! You better keep your promise, Yuu! Or else I'll force you to be my personal guide for the day."
Knowing that Yuuto's mind wouldn't budge even after her attempt, Sparkle decided to take a step back.
At least for now.
"Isn't it the job of the Alchemy Commision to have their new recruits familiar with their surroundings anyways…? Why do I have to…"
In the midst of hearing his mumbling, Bailu popped out from Dan Heng's back and looked at Sparkle curiously.
"You're a new recruit?"
Sparkle seeing the little girl with horns, her atmosphere immediately shifted from one who was previously playful with Yuuto to a refined lady.
Her eyes softened as she looked at Bailu. "Yes, that is correct. I was at a previous location before but after moving here to a different department, I was captured by some individuals in the process."
"If it weren't for Yuu, then I don't know what would have happened to me…"
A shadow covered her face as she told her story.
After hearing this, Bailu felt tears would come bursting out and she looked at Yuuto pleadingly.
There was also a hint of an unfavorable feeling seeing him refuse to get rid of the cuffs from before.
Yuuto on the other hand, felt his mouth twitch, feeling this sudden gaze from Bailu and after glancing at the source of what caused this look to happen.
Sparkle was already playfully sticking her tongue out.
'Maybe cuffing her is not the only thing that should be done…'
Sensing that this little lady was not only skilled at causing trouble but also capable of fooling others.
He decided to fight shamelessness with shamelessness and pretend that he couldn't understand what they were getting at.
"By the way, when did you get here? I thought you were still at the Express."
Moving past the previous topic and changing it in the process, Dan Heng immediately told him about his experience so far.
From the reason as to why he was here in the first place to the bizarre situation he found himself in.
Bailu also pitched in her perspective about what happened, making Yuuto fall into deep thought.
"So the Sanctus Medicus is really after Lady Bailu. But for what reason though…"
"Ah! So it was them!!"
Being a group so infamous within the Luofu, there was not a chance that Bailu hadn't heard of them.
Especially when some have already infiltrated the Alchemy Commision in the past, she had a heavy feeling within her chest.
'So that voice I heard before…'
Recalling the two hooded figures who were after her before she escaped. One of them had a voice that she couldn't mistake for anyone else.
Her caretaker.
Simmering as to why her caretaker decided to join the Sancus Medicus, Yuuto had other thoughts.
'Bailu didn't have a significant impact within the scenario of the game other than a brief appearance in the middle. So this sudden interest could be due to a change Phantylia wanted to do. But the overall picture is still too vague…'
Knowing immediately that Phantylia was the overall mastermind who was behind this change. Yuuto was still questioning since it felt like a puzzle piece was still missing.
However this was immediately put on hold as a dense wave of energy exploded in the direction where a certain individual was located.
Namely a swordsman who felt angry at his loss against Yuuto's previous attack.
—RUMBLE
*BOOOOM*
"I knew it… I knew it felt familiar!?"
Gnashing his teeth, the boy manifested a series of swords beneath him and flew upwards.
High in the sky, his vision filled with empty buildings but the sheer amount made it difficult for him to find the target he was looking for.
"Come out! What is your relationship with that crazed woman!?"
His voice quickly covered the area which not surprisingly heard by the four as they looked at the blonde boy who was obviously enraged.
Dan Heng looked at Yuuto who appeared to be mumbling under his breath.
His tone was aggravated. "When did you find the time to beat up Yanqing…? Now his aggro is placed on me…"
Knowing how Jingliu had a tendency to beat him senseless when training, he could already imagine what occurred between the two. But seeing as the number of swords began to grow every passing second.
Yuuto had the urge to guide Yanqing towards Jingliu without a second thought.
"I was curious before but why was Lieutenant Yanqing chasing after you earlier?"
"Beats me. I was originally tasked to assist him when he went off grid by Fu Xuan but after meeting us he began interrogating me about this one over here."
He pointed at Sparkle who was silently seated next to a wall. Smiling innocently.
But an impish glint appeared on her face that was silently overlooked.
"Things happened and he began chasing me without even hearing me out. Now that I mentioned it, Lady Bailu the Cloud Knights have issued an order to find you."
"Why didn't you mention that first?"
"My bad, things tend to slip my mind at the moment."
His brain was already occupied with the chaos that came along with the revival of the Arbor and what Phantylia was going to do. But he did agree it was bad of him to let them know this late.
Bailu felt a weight off her shoulders after hearing this and looked at Dan Heng who was pretty much her guardian at this point.
"Can I ask you to…"
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to escort you without worries."
"...Thank you."
She was glad and her grip on his coat loosened just slightly.
Being a spectator and watching this, Yuuto was amused to see his cold-faced friend act so dependable and felt like the two Vidyadhara got along pretty well.
Getting his laugh in, Yuuto handed Dan Heng a pendant. "I notified Fu Xuan about Lady Bailu's location already. You just need to meet them at this location."
"You should probably hurry. I'll hold off those little pursuers you have but not for long, since I have an angry kid on my tail as well."
"...Take care." Dan Heng nodded.
Yuuto just waved his arm as he watched Dan Heng disappear deeper into the alleyway before his eyes turned a shade of white.
Past the darkness and buildings that appeared before him, Yuuto saw two hooded figures rapidly approaching his direction.
The same hooded figures that were after Bailu from before.
"This should be enough to give them some distance."
Reaching his hand forward a large spear formed from the mist gathering. The temperature around him lowered a few degrees while a crackling sound grew at the tip of the spear.
Air blew and before he knew it, a fierce wind spiraled around the weapon he forged.
Without hesitating, Yuuto threw the spear forward and a sharp sound of air being ripped persisted.
"Stop!!"
The two targets of this attack felt something amiss and after noticing the sound of buildings breaking apart, they created distance before seeing a large spear dig itself into the ground in front of them.
It didn't just end there. The spear wrapped in wind exploded and the area it landed in was now covered by a dense field of bitter cold wind that was difficult to see through.
The two silently grimace while Yuuto stared off in the distance.
He clenched his fist feeling something off with his hand but dismissed it as he quickly moved his hand forward.
"[Break]"
His palm met with a thin sword which shattered on impact and immediately shot an attack of his own in retaliation.
"So you were here."
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too. Did you enjoy your short little nap?"
Yanqing who stood on a sword, glared at Yuuto. "I will need to arrest you for interfering with the active duty of a Cloud Knight."
"What active duty? I'm pretty sure that I haven't done anything that needs me to be detained. It was more so—"
"Enough. Save your words for the Ten Lord's Commission."
Yanqing's aggressive nature didn't stop but instead grew which made Yuuto speechless.
Originally he knew Yanqing was considered the youngest lieutenant of the Cloud Knights and thus may be inexperienced when it came to certain matters.
But the eagerness to apprehend him that he didn't even listen to anything he said, was far off to what Yuuto could consider just lone inexperience.
There was more at play.
With this thought in mind, [Clarity] immediately went to mind and upon further inspection. He noticed faint traces of pink floating around Yanqing's head.
'So I was right.'
Quickly finding the reason for his brash actions, Yuuto had a quick solution to help get this guy's head into the right shape.
"If you hit a broken T.V enough times, it will eventually fix itself."
Yes, fixing this issue with [Clarity] and a bit of energy from [Memory of the World] could easily solve this.
But there was something he wanted to test out. Other than mindless monsters and training with Jingliu he never really relied solely on sword techniques.
At times he would use the occasional swordplay, but that was the limit.
So seeing the opportunity to face a person who was a disciple of Jing Yuan and was noted to have potential by Jingliu's standards…
He wanted to use this brief time to sharpen himself.
The standoff between the two was brief since Yanqing wouldn't have imagined that the person in front of him would use his skills as a whetstone for his own blade.
But somehow in his delirious state he didn't mind it.
A second passed before Yuuto disappeared and Yanqing followed closely behind him.
"Hmm~ I guess I'll wait here like the fair maiden I am…"
Alone in the alleyway, Sparkle pouted seeing herself be left behind but the excitement within her eyes was difficult to contain.
Seeing the flashes of white and the sounds of birds chirping as thin swords stretched within the sky.
Sparkle was giddy.
"Sampo was too mean to be hiding such a fun person—-!"
Her thoughts hidden beneath her glasses as she continued to watch the sky.
–CLANG
–WHISSH
One. Two. Three. Swords continued to rain down on Yuuto but his dynamic vision was enough to keep up.
[Clarity] helping his vision with [Illumine] aiding in finding the weak points in the form of star-shaped marks. His white sword shattered the projectiles aiming for his body.
With each stroke of his sword he was able to finally understand what made Jingliu earn her title as a swordmaster.
The way she held the sword naturally as if it was an extension of herself. The intention that was conveyed with each swing she did.
It wasn't something that could be copied with just memories alone.
"I'm really lacking."
Yuuto smiled as he twisted his arm and placed his sword downward. This action managed to free himself but Yanqing didn't hesitate to take the opening as he thrusted forward.
With a thread of moonlight within the edge of his sword, Yuuto pulled back and used the hilt of his sword to block the tip.
Before using the flat side in an attempt to weave a string of moonlight which flowed outwards.
Yanqing noticed the shift from defence to offense as it arrived abruptly. With a wave of his hand, three swords manifested and were quickly used as a shield.
Blocking the thin threads that were as sharp as steel.
The two figures continued to face off, swords clashing. Sparks of ice flying.
Yuuto felt his body adjust itself as he refused to use his other techniques and focused slowly on swordplay.
His breath mixed with ice and moonlight, clashed with Yanqing's own colourful display of swords.
As continued, Yuuto felt his skills were lacking in regards to a specialist like Yanqing who was devoted to swordplay.
But he didn't mind as Yuuto knew the heights he would reach with what he had.
His breath that was previously misty, let out a spark, as golden flames emerged and the shape of his sword changed.
"What the—!!!"
Yanqing, confused by the change, raised his hand and the swords flying around him sharply flew in front of him.
As the blade that was originally covered in dense moonlight was now replaced by the heat of the sun.
A slash that was many times slower than his previous attempts, now carried the power exponentially higher than before which caught him off guard.
Yanqing grimaced but a slight smile was also on his face feeling the person in front of him was serious.
His body flew downwards but not before sending a small sword with the wave of his hand amid the attack.
He crashed down and felt the air leave his lungs but a smile continued as he saw Yuuto with a large cut on his face and arm from the swift attack he had done.
Yuuto felt the blood pour and switched back to moonlight, sensing Yanqing increase his speed.
"This feeling is nice…"
Feeling his body move subconsciously as his fight persisted. Alternating between moonlight and flames, Yuuto felt the strange sensation once again that he had noticed before.
It felt like his body and mind were being submerged but instead of the feeling of drowning. It felt more like his body was floating.
Every move he made, his body remembered it. Every attack he did, his body remembered.
Every strand of moonlight he used…
His body remembered.
Flicker.
The seed. The [Core Esse] that he formed using Jingliu's help began to greedily suck in a pure white energy that was unseen before. Then it happened.
A faint crack and out came a small budding that had a pure white hue. Untainted by any external factors.
This sort of change was abnormal. If Jingliu was here, her eyes would have wanted to dissect every inch of Yuuto's body.
As the budding emerged, Yuuto felt a sense of harmony as he intertwined moonlight at a smoother and faster rate.
Like a special connection was finally being born.
Flicker.
'What was that?'
Yanqing was still engaged in his swordplay but the instincts he's made throughout the years had felt a shift in Yuuto.
He narrowed his eyes and nothing seemed off when suddenly, as soon as he closed his eyes. Yuuto disappeared.
"....!!!"
Immediately Yanqing swung behind him and it headed towards Yuuto's wrist.
This was fast and if another person was within this range, they would unhesitantly move back.
But Yuuto stood in place and waited for the sword to pass through.
Pass through his raised wrist.
"What was…"
"[Illumine: Sever]"
Yanqing's eyes widened as he saw his sword go through Yuuto's body as if it were air and his vision became clouded with streaks of prismatic light.
Countless lines passed through his body and the space around him, trapping him in a prison of these lines.
Connections felt lost.
The sword in his hands, the ones around him and the energy distorting his judgment. All of them had disappeared ---Severed--- within this prison of cuts.
Yanqing fell limply as Yuuto caught him and walked towards the roof of a house. Clenching his hand in the process as he felt the abrupt changes within him.
Looking at his hand, it appeared normal but as soon as he willed it. His hand turned transparent and was wrapped in countless prismatic fragments.
Memories to be more specific.
"I always wondered how I could tune [New Moon] into my own style… but who knew using memories would work out…."
Yuuto honestly felt stupid. Other than using the golden flames that came from his Stellaron, what other skills did he have that could prove useful?
Memories of course.
"I want to punch the me of the past. Honestly."
Scolding himself for a moment, Yuuto felt like his body was lighter as his [Core Esse] grew its first bud and felt like this experience was worth it.
One more step to his goal.
"I guess I'm part Memetic now? I was originally worried that the more I involved myself in memories I would eventually lose my physical form but the [Core Esse] could act as my anchor to prevent that."
Like how some Memokeppers decided to abandon their physical forms to pursue memories for Fuli. Yuuto himself didn't like the idea as he liked having a normal body.
But it wasn't like he wasn't tempted as having such a form meant he practically didn't age and many other perks.
So being able to partially manifest himself into this form allowed him to gain both advantages and opened many doors in the future.
But of course it didn't come at no cost.
"If I want to turn full Memetic, it will consume a lot of energy, which is different from the one I usually use."
After connecting himself more deeply, he started to notice a different type of energy flowing into his body, which nature was the opposite from the one his Stellaron uses.
If the Stellaron was more like endless vitality for the body, this one felt more cool and soothing.
The best he could describe it was like the energy being released by the [Memory of the World].
Something he needed to test later when he had to time, as he felt like there might be a connection between the two.
He wasn't sure of the amount he had, so he should refrain from using it too often until he could get the whole gist of it first.
"...Uugh…"
Finding his spoils pretty good this time around, Yuuto noticed Yanqing groan in pain before he opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry at first but seeing Yuuto stand over him he immediately got up.
"What are…ow— my head hurts.."
"Is your mind clearer?"
"Yeah, it's better than before at least. Who are you again?"
"I was sent by Lady Fu Xuan to help assist you ever since you went off grid."
Yuuto felt partially guilty for the pain he was feeling so he helped soothe his pain using [Mother's Embrace] and waited for him to relax.
Yanqing felt grateful and after catching his bearings, he muttered under his breath.
"It feels like a blur right now. I know I was chasing after a few members of the Sanctus Medicus who were responsible for the forceful conversion of innocents into mara soldiers… but there was something else…."
He continued to groan as he tried his best to remember.
"There was laughter and an apple… the person was also called Mauve….----!!!!"
Yanqing felt his lost memories flow before suddenly lifting his head urgently.
"We have to hurry and warn the others not to approach the Arbor—-"
—RUMBLE
The two tried to catch their balance as the ground beneath them shook with much more power.
While in the distance the Ambrosial Arbor fluttered its leaves and the roots connected to it grew more prominently.
"We have to hurry…"
"What did you remember?"
"That's…."
Yuuto narrowed his eyes seeing Yanqing's hesitation.
Yanqing opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't find the correct words to say.
[Yuuto… I'm feeling scared…]
Hidden in his coat, Star who was curled up, lowered her tail and dug herself closer to Yuuto as something ominous was scaring her.
Finally finding the right words to say, Yanqing spoke with some slight hesitation.
"...A mortal wants to act as the avatar for the Ambrosial Arbor and connect himself to the source…"
***
"So I'll be able to finally gain true power through this and be called a Saint?"
[It is up to you.]
"Hah! I've been waiting for a chance like this ever since that lowly Dan Shu came into power…."
The man gritted his teeth as he remembered that time but a crazed grin grew as he felt the object in his hand.
A pure golden apple with hints of luminescent green hovering within the shades of the fruit.
[Feel free to eat it whenever. There is no turning back.]
"Whatever you say."
The man scoffed as he found the voice beside him annoying but he had to keep up appearances since he knew the voice behind it was not something he could handle.
That is until he eats this fruit.
'You'll be begging for mercy once this is over.'
Without hesitation, the man or more so Mauve Moon, bit into the apple and a sudden influx of energy flowed within him.
His consciousness fluttered and a connection started to form within the tree he was standing on.
Euphoria surged through his veins as the power he felt was like nothing he had ever felt before.
It was addictive.
Laughing to himself and grinning maniacally, the voice that was previously talking to him coldly stared at him.
As if she were looking at nothing but a bug.
[This should be enough for the meantime. Let's go to our next destination.]
***
The 3.3 main story quest was absolute fire and they just had to end it on a cliffhanger.
Absolute Hyacinema.