"Solaris"

"Do you remember that question?"

"Which question?" Lu Guan asked instinctively. Then he suddenly realized what the woman meant.

"You mean... 'Young man, do you desire power?'"

"That's right~" The blonde woman smiled faintly and spoke in a teasing tone. "Oh my~ It was such a serious question, yet someone answered it almost like it was a joke~"

"Oh well~ I suppose I'll just have to help you in your favorite way~"

"Help? You mean the system?"

"Mm-hmm~ Quick on the uptake~" The blonde woman nodded with evident satisfaction and lightly touched a pale finger to Lu Guan's forehead, bringing up his system.

Lu Guan was startled. He was about to say something when the woman raised a finger to silence him.

"Shh~ Don't rush~"

"I know you have lots of questions~"

"Ask them one at a time~ I'll answer all of them~"

The woman didn't look like she was pretending, and the aura she gave off did indeed put Lu Guan instinctively at ease.

Lu Guan let out a quiet breath and asked,

"Any question?"

"Mm-hmm~ Anything at all~"

"...Then I'll ask?"

"Go ahead~"

"Have you ever been in a relationship?"

"Huh???"

The blonde woman froze. She had considered that Lu Guan might ask who she was, or where the system came from, or even about Dania.

But she had never imagined that his first question would be this...

Though surprised, the blonde woman quickly recovered her composure and answered through gritted teeth, "...No."

"Then what were you thinking, giving me a system like this when you've never even been in a relationship?" Lu Guan folded his arms and looked at her, his eyes full of questioning and confusion.

"You've never had a relationship yourself, yet you use things like so-called affection values to measure the weight of other people's hearts. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"

The woman lost her composure. "I..."

But just as she was about to defend herself, Lu Guan raised a hand to interrupt her. "You don't have to answer that. Just take it as a little venting on my part..."

"Back to the point. Who exactly are you?"

The woman's chest rose and fell. Lu Guan's question had made her lose her composure, and it took several deep breaths for her to regain her earlier calm.

"Hoo... hoo... Don't get angry, don't get angry... He's my own kid, after all... Just think of it as his rebellious phase..."

"Ahem..." The woman coughed twice and forced a smile she thought was warm. "From a rational standpoint, I'm your resonance source... and the one who brought you into this world."

"In a sense, you ought to call me Mom."

"Mom?" The corner of Lu Guan's mouth twitched. What was this woman talking about?

"Yes~ Good boy~ Let Mommy give you a hug~" The blonde woman had somehow drawn close. She opened her arms and pulled Lu Guan into her embrace.

It was as if she really regarded herself as Lu Guan's mother.

"Wait... hold on!" Lu Guan hurriedly pushed the woman away, freeing himself from the grip of the abyss. "Explain yourself. What do you mean you're my resonance source?"

The blonde woman seemed a little dejected after Lu Guan pushed her away. She explained in a hurt tone, "You know about Sentinel Resonators and Threnodian Resonators, right?"

Seeing Lu Guan nod, she continued.

"Generally speaking, people born able to resonate with Sentinels or Threnodians rarely appear naturally. You could almost say they're a once-in-a-millennium occurrence."

"From what I've observed, many Sentinel Resonators and Threnodian Resonators only came into being because a Sentinel or Threnodian actively intervened."

"Also, their Tac Tacet Marks differ from those of other Resonators. They have an additional frequency band, the part used to carry an authority."

Lu Guan looked at the Tac Tacet Mark on his right hand. Its original five stars had become six. Clearly, he too had become something like a Sentinel Resonator or a Threnodian Resonator.

"So... are you a Sentinel or a Threnodian?"

Faced with Lu Guan's question, the blonde woman brushed aside a lock of hair hanging by her ear and smiled gently.

"Either is possible... That's the answer."

Lu Guan: Zi Yue? When did you get here?

"Hahaha~ Just teasing you~" Seeing the astonished expression on Lu Guan's face, the blonde woman covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving into crescents. Though she had the figure of a mature woman, she looked like a young girl.

"Let's call it payback for that question you asked earlier~"

With that, the woman stopped smiling. Her expression turned solemn, and a brilliant golden dharma wheel lit up behind her.

"I am neither a Sentinel nor a Threnodian..."

"I am the manifestation of the will of the planet Solaris..."

"Lu Guan, my child, you are the one I chose from another world to re-anchor the world's course..."

The flood of information left Lu Guan somewhat dazed. He hurriedly interrupted, "Stop, stop! I said stop!"

"How come I feel like I have even more questions after hearing all that?"

"That's why~" The golden wheel behind the blonde woman disappeared, along with her solemn expression. "I told you not to rush~ Ask your questions slowly, one at a time~"

"So... you really are the will of Solaris?"

"Mm-hmm~ After living here for so many years, haven't you realized your resonance ability is a little too powerful~?"

"By the normal logic of Resonators, the more powerful a resonance ability is, the greater the price usually is." The blonde woman explained, "Aside from some people born with exceptionally strong physiques, ordinary people would struggle to bear a terrifying resonance ability like yours."

"And you know your own physical condition. Among Resonators, you can only be considered not too weak. You're nowhere near having a powerful physique."

"The only price you pay for bearing Command All Things with Words is that you have difficulty controlling it on your own. Isn't that a little too light?"

"That's true." Lu Guan nodded. When his resonance ability had been tested, every researcher at Huaxu Academy had looked as though they'd seen a ghost. Thinking back, it was probably because his existence was a little beyond common sense.

"Because... it isn't just a resonance ability. It's also an authority!" the blonde woman said with a smile. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"In this world made up of frequencies, as my Resonator, all things will obey your commands. Even if you want something from outside the world, unclaimed frequencies will be shaped by your thoughts."

"So when you said, 'I'm your child,' it wasn't entirely without basis..." Lu Guan looked down and pondered for a moment, about to ask another question.

But the moment he looked up, he found the woman gazing at him with a pitiful, expectant look.

"...What are you expecting?"

"Boo-hoo~ My life is so hard~" The blonde woman sat sideways on the ground, covered her face, and cried, "I've done so much for my child... and in the end, he won't even call me Mom~"

"Sigh... What a drama queen." Lu Guan slapped his forehead and grumbled, at a loss for words. "I mean... you're the will of a whole planet. Why do you insist on treating me as your child?"

The blonde woman stopped crying and stood up.

"After all... you're a soul I personally brought over from another world~ I also personally altered cause and effect so that a woman who originally couldn't have children could give birth to you..."

"You could say that, except for the fact that I didn't give birth to you myself, I'm your mother in every other sense!"

"...I think we're getting a little off topic." Lu Guan held his forehead. "Let's put the so-called ethical questions aside for now..."

"There's a very important question I want to ask you now-"

"Why did you choose me?"