Lilith hovered nearby, arcs of electricity dancing across her eyes. At Alvin's question, she gave a rueful smile.
"Alvin, I think you've got something wrong."
Her voice held a rare note of candor and resignation as she waved a hand.
"What if I wasn't the one who found him? In a way, he found me. Or perhaps our paths were always bound to cross."
Alvin's vast magnetic field rippled.
"Could you speak plainly for once? Don't make me regret asking."
"And what do you mean, he found you? He's a new Authority Holder who's barely set foot Beyond the World—no, who hasn't even formally entered it. How could he find a Deceiver famous even out here?"
Lilith did not answer at once. She looked in the direction Shen Yi had gone, as though she could see through the cold metal walls and into the distant past.
After a moment of silence, she said slowly, "It's a long story. It involves my past and what makes his world unusual. This isn't the time to explain it all."
She paused, her tone turning serious.
"But Alvin, there's one thing I can tell you for certain."
"Shen Yi is unlike any Authority Holder we've met before. The path of his growth, the nature of his power, even the way he sees the world—they're all full of unpredictable variables. Dealing with him carries enormous risk, but it could also bring opportunities beyond anything we can imagine."
Alvin fell into a deeper silence.
His body, connected to billions of Egg Follicles, shifted slightly. He raised a finely wrought mechanical arm, and a shifting three-dimensional star chart appeared above his palm, its lights flickering in many colors.
Countless points of light marked known or suspected World Bubbles, while intricate lines traced flows of rules and paths