Buzz—!!!
A low, grand tremor, as if rising from the very foundation of space-time, swept over all things.
At the dome of the Hall of the Pivot of Metaphysics, blazing golden light erupted at once, swiftly condensing into a massive light screen that blotted out the sky.
Dark-gold characters appeared with imposing martial fury:
The 42nd Cycle Glorious Holy War of Metaphys will begin in three days, on the eastern defense line of the Void Abyss. Only squads of five or more members may register.
A cross-phase universal broadcast.
For an instant, dead silence fell — then erupted into uproar.
"Devotional Fire for the taking!" a laborer in coarse cloth looked up, eyes shining.
"Five per squad? Hmph, I've always worked alone. Where would I get a team?" a scar-faced mercenary sneered, his single eye indifferent.
"It only sets a minimum, not a maximum… Those big shots can field entire squads. They'll harvest way more Devotional Fire than us," someone spat nearby, voice sour.
Noise surged like a tide, voices from countless overlapping phases eerily interwoven.
Mo Bai's expression was calm. His gaze swept over faces lit by golden radiance — then froze.
Starlaine.
She stood not far away, staring up at the screen. Her golden skirt remained, but her little face was blank. Her honey-colored eyes were open, empty and lifeless, like translucent yet soulless glass beads, reflecting the shifting gold yet holding no light or focus. She paid no mind to the surrounding chaos.
"Starlaine?"
Mo Bai frowned. The girl did not react.
"Starlaine!"
He pushed through the crowd and hurried closer. Just as he was about to touch her, Starlaine's body trembled almost imperceptibly — then turned stiffly and walked silently toward the side gate.
Something was wrong!
Mo Bai's heart tightened. He sped after her, and the moment she was about to exit, he seized her wrist.
Her skin was cold and slightly rigid.
At that exact instant —
"Mm?"
A very soft nasal sound, mixed with confusion and sudden realization.
Light flooded back into those empty honey-colored eyes! Clarity quickly replaced blankness. She blinked, her focus sharpening. She first looked at the distinct, bony hand on her wrist, then slowly lifted her gaze to meet Mo Bai's scrutinizing eyes.
"Mo?"
Her voice was dry, hazy as if waking from a dream. She looked around, then down at her wrist, and her face flushed bright red.
Mo Bai slowly let go and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you respond just now? Why did you turn and leave?"
"Just now?"
Starlaine rubbed her temple, her delicate brows furrowed as she tried to remember, genuine confusion in her honey-colored eyes. "I… I can't recall. After finishing devotion, my mind went blank… and then you grabbed me."
Starlaine seemed embarrassed by her memory lapse, and sensed Mo Bai's heavy mood. She quickly shook her head and forced a bright smile. "Right! I said I'd treat you to a meal! Let's go!"
The two walked through the side gate, leaving the solemn main area of the Sacred Imperial Palace, and followed the base of the towering dark city wall.
Right at the foot of the grand wall stood a row of single-story buildings of completely different style, oddly "low-slung".
All were only one floor tall, square and blocky, "crouching" between the wall and the main road like neatly arranged building blocks.
The Serenity Courtyard, where Qin Yin had treated Mo Bai, was the largest of them. Farther back stood in sequence: a weapon shop glinting with cold light, a clothing store hung with colorful fabrics, a tea house drifting with fragrance, an inn with a simple curtain, a stern training hall, and a delicatessen wafting mixed food aromas.
The buildings were evenly spaced and orderly — one of Metaphys' unique features: to conserve "memory space" and maintain "phase stability", all non-core structures were strictly limited in height and number, simplified to the essentials.
Thanks to the world's unique spatial technology, a single physical shop might simultaneously contain dozens or even hundreds of distinct "phase storefronts" inside.
Each served customers from different phases, tastes, even different "eras" or cultural backgrounds. They shared the same physical coordinates yet were perfectly separated on the levels of memory and phase, interfering with none and operating efficiently.
Passing the clothing store, Mo Bai and Starlaine arrived at the delicatessen. Its simple sign read clearly: The Art of Living Restaurant.
Mo Bai's eyes trembled slightly. Conversations between siblings flashed through his mind.
The restaurant was spacious and minimalist, with only a glowing operating table at its center. The air was filled with complex, enticing yet faintly unreal aromas.
"Mo, let's have steak!"
Starlaine suggested cheerfully, sliding her fingers across the smooth surface of the table to bring up a virtual selection interface. She guessed at Mo Bai's preferences — the image of heartily eating meat suited the bold spirit of a Wanderer of the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion.
On Metaphys, eating was not necessary for survival. The life energy citizens needed daily was replenished directly through "revelation" when they performed devotion to the Mirror God of the Other Shore.
They did not feel hunger, but "tasting flavors" and "enjoying fine food" were regarded as the art of living. The emotional experience they brought remained preserved, a precious luxury and a form of social interaction.
Starlaine's slender fingertip tapped lightly on a spot on the operating table.
Light stabilized, spatial shift complete.
Mo Bai and Starlaine were no longer in the empty physical delicatessen, but inside an atmospheric classical European steakhouse.
Warm yellow lighting, dark wooden decor, the air layered with the char of grilled steak, the spice of black pepper, and the richness of aged wine. Soft jazz played in the background, and the faint sizzle of grilling came from the kitchen.
Also "transported" into this phase storefront were all diners in this specific time-space who craved steak and had chosen this restaurant. They shared a brief, wonderful "spacetime bond" with Mo Bai and Starlaine, occupying this food-defined spatial phase together.
Men and women in varied attire spoke quietly; knives and clattered against porcelain plates; servers weaved between tables.
A waiter led them to a small two-seat table against the wall, covered with a clean checkered tablecloth. Starlaine took the stiff menu, her honey-colored eyes scanning quickly, and her fingertip tapped decisively at the two most prominent, most expensive items at the top:
"Two Delmonico steaks. And… a bottle of this, Liberté."
Her voice was clear, her ordering practiced, as if she were no stranger to such places.
Mo Bai glanced at the staggering numbers on the menu, then lifted his eyes to her.
"Isn't this… too expensive?" He remembered she was only a newly graduated healer.
Starlaine closed the menu and handed it to the waiter. Once he left, she leaned closer to the table and lowered her voice, a small, secretive pride on her face.
"Mo, I'll tell you a secret! Master Cai always says my talent is ordinary, and the revelations from devotion barely help with that… but my Mirror God has something special —" Her eyes sparkled. "He's really good at making me rich!"
"Good at making you rich?"
Mo Bai was slightly surprised. On a planet where memory was power and talent was determined by devotion, "earning money" felt like a marginal talent.
"Yep!" Starlaine nodded firmly, her voice even quieter. "Every time I offer Devotional Fire, the revelation always gives me way more wealth than usual! Master Cai says my case is really rare."
She paused, her proud expression fading a little, revealing an uncommon maturity of regret.
"It's just a shame that, here on Metaphys, gold coins aren't all that 'useful' — just for meals and ordinary weapons. Only memory is priceless."
"Truly," Mo Bai nodded, then followed her words to ask a question that had lingered in his mind. "Speaking of memory… Starlaine, how many Memory Core Crystals have you activated now?"
"Two!" Starlaine answered naturally, looking at him with faint confusion, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "After everyone's memory restart, don't we all have two? One that introduces the world, and another…" She pointed to herself, smile pure. "that tells who 'I' am, where I'm from, my basic abilities and mission."
"Mo," Starlaine noticed his silence and lowered her voice to a whisper, her honey-colored eyes glittering with the light of sharing an even deeper secret. "I'll tell you another secret! I don't know how to describe it… it's more like a repeating dream."
"A dream?"
"Mm-hmm!" She nodded, her gaze drifting as if recalling illusory fragments. "Every time after devotion, right before I return to this shore, I always dream of a man. He's blurry, I can't see his face… but he feels… so familiar, so important."
Mo Bai followed her words, tone slightly teasing. "That man — wouldn't happen to be me, would it?"
"Haha!" Starlaine laughed, quickly waving her hand, her cheeks flushing. "That's way too cliché! But when I first saw you, I felt a little like… you're strong, carry so much alone, and need protecting… but it's definitely not you!" She explained earnestly, trying to draw the subtle line between reality and dream.