Onstage.
Chu Yuanqing was still immersed in an old dream from the past. Only when the performance ended did she snap out of it, blinking in confusion as she lightly touched the Lantern Pendant against her chest.
The gem, corroded by the curse, had returned to its original shattered state during the tug-of-war just now. Only its scorching heat remained, proof of the surreal, absurd reality she had experienced.
The curse of the Sea of Truth had actually been suppressed—and in this ridiculous way?
Chu Yuanqing was left speechless.
It made sense that Magical Girls could draw upon others' wishes, positive will, and beautiful emotions and turn them into power. But severing a tentacle at the root of the world itself was a little beyond what she'd expected.
Still, the news didn't make her especially happy.
—The Sea of Truth was invincible.
That was the truth of the world, and the price of its correction.
The reason the Lantern Pendant had managed to defeat the curse's rampage—
First, she had never tried to resist it before, and the curse's threshold for going berserk had a limit.
Second, Shining Stage was most likely being broadcast nationwide. The audience was enormous, and she had coincidentally entered [Flow State] without realizing it. She'd recreated some of the essence of Charlotte's dance on the Salt Continent, causing a tremendous impact that led to the intense feedback that followed.
In other words, this was an unrepeatable coincidence as miraculous as a miracle. There was no need to place any extra hope in it.
Below the stage,
the virtual-reality scene still lingered, spreading grandly across her eyes like fireworks that would never die out.
When Chu Yuanqing came back to herself, she gazed down at the scene, her expression distant. For some reason, she felt a