Terra's Reflection

She solved the mystery and identified the Queen's New Clothes.

The next moment, the darkness outside the door was no longer so dense as to serve as a backdrop for an oil painting. The pervasive sense of assimilation and composite aesthetics of the previous moment vanished in an instant—no, not vanished, but rather converged. An invisible land shrank inward from Persephone as its center, ultimately converging into the body of the Maiden Doctor.

The Goddess of the earth has vanished—the filter is gone, so it naturally disappears—and after the Goddess departs, all that remains is a purple-haired girl, still beautiful and radiant, but still within the realm of humanity. Her bust imperfection, perhaps intentionally left unseen, has now become her proof and mark.

The girl tilted her head, seemingly surprised. But her voice held an unwavering certainty, as if it were the natural order of things.

"Well, I've mastered a part of it—I've modified some parameters to temporarily change its function to read human general consciousness, or rather, aesthetic concepts within the conscious level, and use it to enhance my presence—theoretically speaking, I was the dream lover of everyone on this land just now—they would see in me an image that they themselves might not even know, but which would definitely make them fall in love at first sight. But such tricks don't seem to work on you."

"I thought this would make you happier."

The purple-haired girl explained, then added, "And I feel like you have some bad memories of how I looked just now?"

Miss Surtr led the man into her room while she was speaking.

"Yes, indeed." The Flame-haired maiden nodded, calming her slightly rapid breathing. "As I told you before, Persephone. My aesthetics are different from those of ordinary people—although I am still influenced by general human aesthetics and have a preference for humanoid creatures. But in reality, all things are beautiful in my eyes."

"You used the Queen of the Underworld Divinity to gather the aesthetics of all things, and in my eyes you present all things—though still beautiful. But there is some chaos, and no tangible form can be defined."

"It's better if you stay the way you were before," she concluded, leading Persephone to the lounge's living room, pouring her tea, preparing a homemade supper, and turning on the hot water in the bathroom. "I think liking one Persephone is enough. Liking thousands or tens of thousands at the same time would feel awkward even for me."

Persephone, who was being well taken care of by her, picked up the cup of jasmine tea and took a small sip.

"Surtr, I guess the 'like' you're referring to is the liking between friends, right?"

"It's 'close friend,' or rather, 'best confidante,'" Miss Surtr corrected. She then placed a layer of Teyvat- style manor tarts on the table in front of the Doctor.

"And I do have some bad memories, of a dream realm I call Warhammer. There, there are powerful deities who can mold a land like Terra into a rubber ball in the blink of an eye. And one of them wields the cognitive power that you just displayed, the power to interfere with all aesthetics. And that deity... I don't recommend you try to imitate it."

"I knew it. I understand." Persephone shook her head slightly, then nodded, responding to the two points Miss Surtr had made. She then took another bite of the muffin, letting the sweetness replenish her craving for sugar.

"So, and then?" After finishing the whole piece, she tilted her head slightly and looked at the guy in front of her.

"And then what?"

"You asked me to change into a Princess dress, you can't just leave it at that." Persephone raised a finger and lightly brushed it across her lips. The aura around her shifted subtly between innocence, intellect, and allure with her delicate body language.

"Want to play a role-playing game? A helpless Princess imprisoned in a dungeon, whose every escape only brings more severe humiliation and torture? Or perhaps an evil dark Princess defeated and captured, kneeling at the feet of a hero before her execution, begging for mercy to live—you can play whichever you want."

She gently pressed her clean lips to her lips, leaning casually against the sofa. Her eyes sparkled, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her delicate figure revealed alluring curves.

However, Miss Surtr ignored it—though her forehead was twitching, she simply ignored it.

"Unfortunately, I've seen this all the time. Even if you act it out, it loses its fun, and there's nothing more to it. And this isn't about 'putting you in a Princess dress.'" She sat down quietly, and after the scones were gone, she placed a plate of wolf claw potato pancakes in front of Persephone, along with some plum juice.

She rested her chin on her hand.

"It is a request. I am requesting that you wear Princess dress when you come over, just Princess dress. There is no other purpose, and I have no intention of rewarding you for it—it is a separate matter. Separate, and unrelated to everything else."

She thought she had made herself perfectly clear.

However, this couldn't stop a certain malicious person from deliberately thinking in a strange direction.

"I see." The Maiden Doctor seemed thoughtful. "A one-sided demand, an unequal exchange. You want to tame me, like taming a pet—do you want me to prepare a leash around my neck? Or a chain? And do you prefer your pet to walk on its knees or crawl on all fours?"

"Please, Persephone." Surtr raised his hands in surrender. "That's enough teasing."

"Is this also a request?"

"Well, I guess you could call this a request."

"Then this isn't a joke, but a statement. I'm simply telling you a simple fact." The Maiden Doctor tilted her head to the other side. "If you want, whether it's a game or something serious, I'm always ready... Ah, the hot water is ready."

She rose and, without any attempt to conceal herself, ripped off the ribbons of her Princess dress right in front of Miss Surtr —this little imp had plenty of ways to make undressing look pitiful. And her unadorned, almost war-torn, alluring body was thus exposed to this red-haired wretch.

She took a small step toward the bathroom—just a small step—and then turned to the side, maintaining that step.

A very subtle movement, a gesture. A girl's precious secret, thus revealed only in someone's eyes.

"Are you interested in watching your pet's metabolism? Although all organic matter is broken down into pure carbon dioxide and water in my body, I can make this process quite entertaining if you'd like."

"No thanks, cleaning is too much trouble," the red-haired fellow waved his hand in refusal.

"I can lick the floor clean." Persephone's fingertips pressed against the sofa cushions, her upper body leaning towards Miss Surtr, revealing her long, fair neck and sticking out her pink tongue.

It's tempting, and... strange.

In the past, even if Persephone liked to play pranks, he would never have gone this far as to be so relentless.

So...

Miss Surtr stared at her, then suddenly reached out and plunged her hand directly into her chest. With a crisp, explosive sound, the Queen of the Queen of the Underworld's divine essence was plucked out intact and landed in her hand.

A wisp of flame overflowed from her fingertips, completely filling and purifying the modified divine essence—

Only then did she hear Persephone's soft call.

There's one more session after the meeting.

Chapter 173 Terra's Reflection

Persephone left.

She moved quickly, busily, practically fleeing. Strictly speaking, this should be the second time she had suffered a setback in the years since Sarkaz Babel Tower. Her first was the thirty-one consecutive deaths she faced at the hands of Miss Surtr.

It's quite a coincidence—both of her misfortunes were directly or indirectly caused by Surtr. Ironically, this softened her image in Miss Surtr's eyes, making her seem more approachable. After all, it's generally difficult to be wary of someone who repeatedly appears pathetic in one's eyes.

—So Closure and the others' worries are unfounded. This girl isn't invincible in this world. She can't beat me, and she'll be tripped up by the otherworldly power transcribed from this world. Perhaps, after some time, she might even become a stepping stone for me.

The Flame-haired maiden thought to herself, watching the somewhat adorable, disheveled Persephone disappear into the distant night. After a simple test, she could basically confirm that the reason Persephone had appeared in such an unusual state was because she had not been careful enough when interfering with the Imperial Consciousness, and as a result, she was disturbed by the myriad emotions and distractions within the Imperial Consciousness.

—That black sea.

If the Reeds Field where Theresia lived can be considered Terra's paradise, then the layer that ordinary people can access must be the spirit world, or hell, where good and evil are more chaotic.

—Although the layer Persephone encountered consisted entirely of mirrors, according to her, it must have belonged to the realm of hell. And since it was hell, it was naturally filled with too many negative... or rather, rather evil thoughts.

—But that shouldn't be too difficult for her.

The girl thought to herself, turned around, and closed the door and window. When Persephone left, she took with her the purified and restored divine essence—it was now harmless, and Persephone claimed she was confident she could handle it.

She shouldn't fall on the same stone twice, so Surtr trusted her decision.

Only...