"Luo Li?!"
Castorice's startled cry seemed to come from far away.
Luo Li felt as though his brain had been thrown into a centrifuge spinning at high speed. Countless shattered images, indistinct sounds, long-forgotten scents, and fragments of indescribable emotions crashed madly against his consciousness like a flood bursting through a dam.
He saw long-blurred fragments of his childhood, felt the excitement of his first encounter with gaming, and experienced the fear and confusion of the apocalypse's early days...
These were not just his memories. They seemed mixed with completely unfamiliar fragments belonging to other times and places-the ruined walls of ancient city-states, solitary silhouettes voyaging through a sea of stars, and even... the eternal stillness and lingering murmurs beside Amphoreus's River of Souls?
Was this the torrent of "Remembrance"? So vast, so chaotic, as though it would wash away and dissolve his individual consciousness entirely.
An intense tearing sensation came from deep within his soul. Luo Li gave a muffled groan and swayed, nearly collapsing to the floor.
"Luo Li! What's wrong?"
Castorice hurriedly caught him. He felt ice-cold beneath her hands, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his face as pale as paper, and his eyes unfocused, as though he were enduring tremendous pain.
Her violet eyes filled with panic and helplessness. She could feel an immense, unfamiliar power surging violently and clashing within Luo Li, unlike any known form of power in Amphoreus.
"Hold on... Luo Li!"
She did not know how to help him. All she could do was hold him steady and try to transfer her own meager power, its connection to the River of Souls weakened, hoping to give him a little support.
Just as Luo Li felt that his consciousness was about to be completely submerged in that chaotic torrent, the system's notification sounded again like a stabilizing anchor:
[Host's mental threshold detected approaching critical point! Activating stabilization protocol!] [Guiding the orderly infusion of the power of the 'Remembrance' Path... Filtering redundant information interference... Anchoring host's core consciousness...]
A cool force bearing the system's distinctive sense of order intervened, forcibly sorting out the raging torrent of "Remembrance."
Like river channels carved through chaos, the disordered fragments of information began to be classified and organized. They no longer battered him violently, instead becoming relatively gentle streams that slowly flowed into Luo Li's mental world.
The agonizing pain gradually receded, replaced by an indescribable sense of fullness and... control.
Luo Li's unfocused eyes regained their focus. He gasped for breath, leaning against Castorice and feeling the reassuring warmth and support she provided.
[Ding! 'Remembrance' Path Awakening successful!] [Host has gained an initial grasp of the power of the 'Remembrance' Path (beginner rank).] [Current abilities:] [1. Remembrance Perception: Passively sense strong emotional memory traces nearby, or actively touch objects to read the surface-level memory information they hold (consumes mental energy).] [2. Remembrance Weaving (embryonic form): Consume a large amount of mental energy to implant memory suggestions in or blur the memories of weak-willed targets for an extremely short time (weak effect; success rate depends on the difference between both parties' mental energy).] [3. Remembrance Summoning: Consume mental energy and a specific medium (an object invested with strong emotions, a fragment holding profound memories, etc.) to summon an existence or projection related to the concept of 'Remembrance' (the summon's form and abilities are random, influenced by the medium and the host's mental energy).]
The Path... so this was the power of a Path!
Feeling the mysterious information newly added to his mind, Luo Li was overwhelmed by immense joy and an indescribable understanding.
This was no longer simple bodily acceleration, but power involving the mind, information, and even rules!
"Luo Li? Are you... all right?" Castorice's worried voice pulled him out of his excitement and back to reality.
Only then did Luo Li realize that most of his body was still leaning into Castorice's arms, the girl's soft body and worried violet eyes right before him.
His face warmed, and he hurriedly straightened. Though his footing was still a little unsteady, he was extraordinarily exhilarated. "I-I'm fine now! Just now... I overdid it a little."
He scratched his head sheepishly, his heart full of gratitude as he looked at Castorice's face, still covered in worry.
Without her final blessing and timely support, he probably would not have gotten through that ordeal so easily.
"Thank you, Castorice," he said sincerely.
Only after seeing that he had truly returned to normal did Castorice breathe a sigh of relief. She gently shook her head. "As long as you're all right."
[Ding! Target 'Castorice' successfully helped the host through a crisis and felt her own worth, increasing her sense of fulfillment and connection. Affection +2. Current affection: 77%!]
Her affection went up again! Luo Li was delighted.
[Ding! Host has successfully awakened the 'Remembrance' Path. System mission module fully upgraded!] [The new mission framework will center on 'consolidating the power of the Path' and 'deepening the bond with target Castorice,' with even richer rewards!] [New missions issued:] [Mission one: Remembrance's first cry. Use 'Remembrance Perception' to successfully read the surface-level memory information attached to three different objects.] [Reward: Small increase in mental energy; 5,000 Longxia Currency in cash.] [Mission two: Mark of the Bond. Create a happy memory 'worth remembering' together with Castorice (as judged by the system), and preserve it in any form (such as a photograph or an item made together).] [Reward: Random Path skill experience pack +1; Portable Space volume increased by 0.5 cubic meters.] [Mission three: The courage to be honest. Confess to Castorice that your 'Path' power originated from her (you may selectively disclose information), and observe her reaction.] [Reward: Improved affection detection precision (allows a vague sense of the target's current mood); very slight enhancement to the effects of 'Remembrance Weaving.']
Looking at the rows of freshly issued missions with enticing rewards, Luo Li rubbed his hands together, brimming with enthusiasm.
Consolidate my power! Grind affection! Earn some cash! Expand my space! So many gains in one go!
For now, though, the priority was to test his newly acquired power, especially the one that looked the most mysterious-Remembrance Summoning.
He looked around, his gaze finally settling on a mug on the living room coffee table. He had used it for years, and its edges were chipped in places.
This mug held countless memories of his late-night livestreams and drinking coffee to stay alert. That should qualify it as a medium with "profound memories," right?
"Castorice, watch this!"
Luo Li spoke to Castorice excitedly, then took a deep breath and focused. Following the mysterious guidance in his mind, he slowly poured his newly acquired mental energy into the mug while silently reciting, Memory Spirit Summoning!
Humm-
An invisible ripple spread outward from the mug.
The next moment, before Luo Li and Castorice's astonished eyes, the space above the mug warped slightly, and a round, translucent red sphere of energy about the size of a basketball materialized out of thin air.
The energy sphere had a smooth surface and gave off a soft red glow. At its center were two large, obsidian-like dots resembling eyes, with a curved line underneath resembling a mouth. Overall... it was actually an utterly chibi, adorably cute spherical creature!
"(｀・ω・´) Sniff, sniff... I smell familiar memories! Are you my new master?"
A young voice, slightly babyish yet speaking with an air of seniority, rang directly through Luo Li's mind.
Luo Li: "..."
Castorice: "(⊙ˍ⊙)?"
Wh-what the heck was this?! Where was his flashy summon? Where was a River of Souls dragon exuding overwhelming might like Pollux?!
Why had he summoned a harmless-looking, even slightly adorably dopey red chibi energy ball?!
"You... what are you?" Luo Li pointed at the red sphere floating in the air and bobbing gently, his tone filled with incredulous disdain.
"(〃＞皿＜)! How rude, Master! I'm a noble and mysterious Spirit of Remembrance! This form manifested in response to your innermost desires!" The red sphere seemed very displeased, the red light on its surface flickering.
"I'm really powerful, you know!"
"Powerful? What can you do besides act cute?"
Luo Li pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling more than half of his beautiful fantasies about the power of a Path shatter in an instant.
In an apocalyptic world overrun with vampires, if he went out with this thing, wouldn't he get laughed to death and then swallowed whole by a vampire as dessert?
"(￣▽￣*)b Heh-heh~" The Spirit of Remembrance rocked its spherical body smugly. "I can help you store and organize memory fragments, Master! I can also... um... I can also..."
It seemed to get stuck, then added in a quiet, slightly embarrassed voice, "...I can also suck a tiny bit of blood to replenish my energy and read deeper blood memories..."
It could suck blood?!
Luo Li and Castorice both froze.
Something this cute could actually suck blood? Wasn't that contrast a little too extreme?!
"Suck blood? Can you suck vampires' blood?"
Luo Li immediately seized on the key point. If it could deal with vampires, then this cute thing was not completely useless.
At his question, the red glow on the Spirit of Remembrance's surface seemed to dim a little, and its voice grew quieter. "(;´д｀)ゞ Well... theoretically, yes... but I don't have enough energy right now, and my form isn't stable either. I can only suck a tiny bit of... ordinary human blood... and they have to be willing or unable to resist... As for those bad guys who reek of decay and chaotic memories, right now I probably... can't beat them..."
Luo Li: "..."
Right. A combat-power-five weakling after all.
Aside from acting cute and serving as a portable USB drive, it currently seemed completely damn useless.
He stared disdainfully at the red sphere floating innocently in the air and let out a deep sigh.
This was his first summon after awakening his Path? A cute chibi ball that needed blood to replenish its energy but currently couldn't even beat a vampire?
The gap between this and his imagined image of a Pathstrider commanding the battlefield, summoning vast armies with a casual gesture, was far too great.
"(ㄒoㄒ)~~ Please don't dislike me, Master! I'll work hard to grow and become more useful!"
The Spirit of Remembrance seemed to sense Luo Li's disappointment and cried out in his mind, its voice on the verge of tears.
Watching the interaction between the man and the ball, Castorice glanced again at the chibi sphere, which gave off a soft red glow and truly looked utterly harmless, and could not help letting out a soft laugh.
"It's... very cute."
She spoke softly, a trace of fascination in her violet eyes.
Hearing Castorice's praise, the Spirit of Remembrance immediately turned toward her, its red glow brightening a little as it conveyed its delight through mental fluctuations. "(★ ω ★) Thank you for the compliment, pretty big sister!"
Looking at his summon, which had instantly "switched sides," and Castorice smiling with her lips pressed together beside him, Luo Li once again stared speechlessly at the ceiling.