["Prayers of the Living have quite a few uses."]
["They can improve your luck, enhance your comprehension, and even be used to forge certain special items and weapons."]
["At their core, they are the collective wishes of living beings who yearn for a better future and seek order."]
["That may sound similar to faith in order, but there is actually a significant difference."]
["Faith is far too complicated and specific, while Prayers of the Living are much broader and more flexible."]
["They also carry no risk of spiritual contamination."]
"Then is karma essentially the opposite, the restless desire of living beings who seek chaos and have nowhere else to direct it?"
["More or less."]
["Why else would there be practitioners who deliberately train through that kind of karma?"]
["Both are manifestations of how a world's laws respond to living beings."]
["If you want a detailed explanation, I'll have to pull out an entire academic paper, and I really don't feel like saying that much."]
["In short, this is the universe rewarding you for wiping out a swarm of destructive locusts and preserving order."]
Caelus nodded.
His understanding of Equilibrium deepened once again.
Living beings desired order, yet they also pursued the freedom found within chaos.
Some people found their repetitive, unchanging lives unbearably dull, yet still lacked the courage to pursue something new.
So they continued day after day, trapped between those contradictory desires.
Because remaining unchanged meant avoiding danger and risk.
Change could bring excitement and new experiences, but it could also bring greater danger and suffering.
After gaining a deeper understanding of Equilibrium, Caelus poured all 0.58 ounces of Prayers of the Living into the quill in his hand.
For now, his priority was to complete Cyrene's existence as much as possible.
Once the two opposing sides reached true balance, he would be able to step into the Sixth Rank.
The 20,000 System Currency from the completed mission also arrived.
Caelus immediately spent all 20,000 to purchase a Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram.
According to the description, it had been personally created by an elderly man from another world who possessed profound insight into balance and duality.
The work had eventually been lost over the course of countless years before being recovered by the System.
Caelus studied the diagram.
He could tell that it contained many profound principles and carried a certain unique quality.
However, understanding it properly would probably require a considerable amount of time.
He carefully stored the artwork away.
"System... return to my home universe."
Caelus raised his head and looked toward the blue sky.
["Including the travel time, it probably won't be long before you head to Amphoreus."]
["You and Cyrene will arrive before the Astral Express crew."]
["That place will become your stage."]
["There, the two of you will create a story that belongs to you alone."]
"A story belonging only to Cyrene and me..."
Caelus murmured quietly.
"It will definitely be a unique and romantic story filled with love!"
Cyrene suddenly appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around him in a surprise embrace.
"Although I understand love and romance now, what exactly makes a story romantic?"
"And how are we supposed to create something truly unique and unforgettable?"
"I still don't really understand that."
Caelus answered honestly.
He also wanted to create a beautiful and unforgettable story that belonged only to him and Cyrene.
He simply had no idea how such a story was supposed to be created.
"But Partner, haven't we been living that kind of story from the very beginning?"
"We're going to travel together forever."
"Throughout an endless future and an eternity of ever-expanding time, we will only have each other."
"Each other's eternal one and only."
"Eternal partners."
"Eternal love."
"What could be more romantic than that?"
"The longest confession of love is companionship."
"Sharing everything you see and experience with the person you love, sharing the thoughts within your heart, and even sharing your memories with each other."
"Doesn't that already sound romantic enough, Partner?"
Cyrene pressed her cheek against Caelus's.
They could both feel the warmth of the other's body.
"Partner, we don't need to deliberately chase romance."
"Every day we spend together is already romantic."
"Mm."
Caelus slowly turned around and embraced Cyrene.
They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning closer.
This time, both closed their eyes and kissed deeply.
They became so absorbed in each other that they even forgot to breathe.
At that moment, there was nothing else in their world.
Only each other.
Of course, neither of them actually needed to breathe.
The System could not resist commenting, though it deliberately kept its voice from reaching the couple, as though afraid of disturbing their embrace.
Even then, it instinctively lowered its voice.
["This kind of simple yet beautiful love is wonderful!"]
["It's like eating a piece of milk candy. Sweet, rich, and comforting."]
["This is exactly what I wanted to see!"]
["Long live pure love!"]
Apparently, it still had no idea how to speak quietly.
...
"Please!"
"It's not that I don't want to help you."
"It's just... ah, this is really difficult!"
"I know. Something like this must be extremely difficult."
"This is a gift from me."
"Whether it works out or not, it represents my sincerity and my gratitude toward you."
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million..."
"Eight hundred eighty-eight million, eight hundred eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred eighty-eight Credits!"
"That's way too many eights. I can barely keep track!"
With an excited heart and trembling hands, Stelle stared at the transfer record in complete disbelief.
Aventurine maintained his usual smile from across the table.
"This is my sincerity."
"If the matter succeeds, there will be an even greater reward afterward."
"This..."
"All right, I'll try contacting Caelus."
"But I haven't been able to reach him lately."
"Look, even if I call him right now... Huh?"
Stelle had intended to prove that she could not contact him.
Instead, the call connected.
"Hm?"
Caelus's voice came through the phone.
"Hey, Caelus! Long time no see! Making big money lately?"
"Why do you suddenly sound like some street punk from a crime movie?"
March 7th narrowed her eyes and immediately criticized Stelle from the side.
"I've been traveling through other universes."
"What happened?"
"Uh... I accepted 888,888,888 Credits from Aventurine, one of the Ten Stonehearts in the IPC's Strategic Investment Department."
"He wants to use your power of Finality to resurrect his family."
"Can you do it?"
"If not, I'll refund the money."
"Why are you suddenly talking like that?"
The other side fell silent.
During those few seconds, Aventurine felt as though every moment lasted an eternity.
Even the life-or-death gambles he had participated in before had never placed him under this much pressure.
His palms had begun to sweat.
Just as cold sweat was about to form on Aventurine's forehead, Caelus's calm voice finally came through the phone.
"I can."
"I'll come to the Astral Express now."
The moment he finished speaking, Caelus appeared in the Astral Express's Party Car with his phone still in hand.
He calmly looked at Stelle and Aventurine.
"I know your story."
"Although I do not possess compassion, I am currently learning it."
"So I believe I should sympathize with what happened to you."
"I agree."
After speaking, Caelus took out the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram he had just purchased.
What was he doing?
Paying his protection fee.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)