The Gathering Storm

People's physical constitutions are not the same.

After completing the overtime match with Dania, Sigelika's affection level reached 100 points, fulfilling the conditions of the Oath. Logically, her Star Desire Points should have continued to increase, but that wasn't the case...

Because the Star Desire Points is not displayed below the Sigelika Affection section in the system panel; instead, a numerical unit called Longing is displayed.

"So each girl's situation is different?" Lu Guan asked, "Or is Sigelika the only exception?"

Sora's voice rang out at the opportune moment, though it was much clearer and more youthful than before. "The system's function of checking favorability is essentially just observing a girl's emotional changes. When the favorability is full, it will show the source of her affection for you..."

"So... Sigelika's affection for me stems from her Longing for her senior, and that's what's displayed after the initial affection level is maxed out?" Lu Guan suddenly realized.

"Not entirely..." Sora added, "If there are any changes in emotions later, the name of this special data will also be changed."

"So far, Sigelika seems relatively innocent... at least her special stat is 'Longing '." Lu Guan breathed a sigh of relief, but then he suddenly thought of an extremely serious problem.

When Dania's affection level is at its maximum, her Star Desire Points...

In other words, Dania had been lusting after him since that time... Isn't that a bit too much?

"Wait a minute... where did Dania's panel go?" Lu Guan then realized that the data panel below Dania's portrait in the system interface had been replaced with a heart wrapped in chains.

"... Her panel has been gone for a long time, how come you only noticed now?" Sora asked incredulously, "Don't you even care if her love for you changes?"

"Why would you think that?" Lu Guan countered. "The moment that thought crossed my mind, it proved that there was already a crack in my love for her."

Sora seemed stunned by Lu Guan's words, and after a long pause, she managed to stammer, "Aren't you afraid that Sigelika's matter will cause discord among you?"

"What rift? You're not talking about yesterday's chaotic scene, are you?" Lu Guan chuckled. "If she really cared about Sigelika's existence, she wouldn't have chosen to share me with her."

"Besides, didn't you give me this strategy system? How come you're turning around and accusing me? I've been steadily progressing towards the predetermined goal exactly as you planned."

"Ahem... Let's get back to the point." Lu Guan knew this wasn't the time to pressure Sora. "Is your condition getting worse? How much longer can you hold on?"

"It's alright..." Sora replied, "You don't need to worry about my situation for now, but there's one thing you must keep in mind."

"What's up?"

"War Threnodian - Jué," Sora said, enunciating each word clearly. "He has been tainted by the ' Desolation,' but for some reason has not chosen to awaken immediately, as if to gather strength..."

"Accumulating power... It's truly surprising that He would do something like this." Lu Guan shook his head, his eyes filled with solemnity.

The "Threnodian" is not scary, nor is the "Desolation"; what is scary is the combination of the two, which could potentially produce an extremely terrifying chemical reaction, as evidenced by the current reaction of the Jué.

He... can use his brain now.

"We must gather intelligence in advance and prepare for any eventuality." A sense of urgency inexplicably arose in Lu Guan's heart. "Let's go ask the Shorekeeper first."

Just as I picked up the terminal, someone sent me FliChat.

The Shorekeeper: "The inhibitor for the Desolation has been developed."

These few words contain a lot of information.

Lu Guan: "How was the result?"

Shorekeeper: "According to data from the Deep Space Union, in clinical trials, it showed an 80% inhibition rate against the erosion of ' Desolation ' within the body. However, the sample size is currently small, so we cannot be certain whether it has universal applicability."

The Shorekeeper: "Also, I've allocated some computing power to work with the Tethys System to analyze the ' Desolation ' artifact you gave me, and I've made some discoveries that I hope will be helpful."

The Shorekeeper sent a file. "Speculations and Origins on the Nature of ' Desolation"

But Lu Guan had no interest in reading the lengthy report at that moment.

Lu Guan: "I have something very important to do later. Time is of the essence, Little Shore An, why don't you just give me a summary?"

Upon seeing this sentence Shorekeeper on the other side of the screen immediately frowned. This was an analysis report she had painstakingly written over a long period, combining a large amount of information and confirming countless times to guarantee the absolute truthfulness and reliability of the results. You're just saying you don't want to look at it?

I'm going to see what you're doing in a bit.

Shorekeeper: "... Okay, I've summarized the key information from the report for you."

The Shorekeeper, "Based on the existing data, the ' Desolation ' is not essentially part of the Lament, nor can it be called a special type of sea erosion. Your previous statement was not entirely accurate."

The Shorekeeper, "It's actually closely related to something called ' Fortune.' You can refer to the 'Sentinel' (Sentinel) for a similar, bound relationship. If the Sentinel itself has problems, it can lead to frequent disasters in that area."

The Shorekeeper: "Unlike the Sentinel, the ' Desolation ' itself has no consciousness; it's more like a ruthless plunderer, seizing everything on Solaris and then draining its ' Fortune '."

The Shorekeeper: "I also confirmed this conjecture in my dialogue with the World's Will. The essence of the ' Desolation ' affecting the world is to devour ' Fortune,' and ' Fortune ' is something that no one can directly touch, so naturally the ' Desolation ' cannot be countered."

The Shorekeeper: "The Deep Space Union's analysis of your blood has also concluded that you are similar to a ' Desolation ' being, but unlike them, your blood does not devour ' Fortune '."

Sora suddenly interjected in Lu Guan's mind, "After all, you're already bound to the ' Fortune ' of the entire world... how could you possibly eat yourself?"

The Shorekeeper: "... Do you have any other questions?"

Lu Guan: "Thank you for your hard work, you did a great job."

Upon seeing Lu Guan's words on the light screen, the Shorekeeper was somewhat lost in thought.

"You really... look like her..."

Even their tone of voice is the same...

But the message Lu Guan sent later pulled the Shorekeeper's scattered thoughts back.

Lu Guan: "How's Tethys doing? Is it still operating normally?"

The Shorekeeper: "... There shouldn't be any problems for the time being."

Lu Guan: "Since that's the case, I'd like to ask about the situation with the War Threnodian. When the World Will communicated with me, it told me that the Jué underwent a mutation after being infected by the ' Desolation '."

Shorekeeper: "Wait a moment... I'll call upon Tethys."

The Shorekeeper: "The Jué has not yet shown any signs of awakening, but the activities of the Threnodian in Rinascita, the New Federation, and the Ashihara are all quite intense..."

The Shorekeeper, "It's strange... According to Tethys's deductions, the Jué should also react."

Lu Guan: "... Keep observing, and let me know immediately if anything happens. Don't be afraid to ask."

Shorekeeper: "... Understood."

The Shorekeeper: "No, no, something feels off."

Lu Guan: "Is there a problem?"

Shorekeeper: "... It's nothing."

The Shorekeeper closed the light screen before him and sighed softly, "Why am I involuntarily imagining her again...? They're clearly different people, so why does it feel so familiar..."

She gently raised her hand and released a blue butterfly. "Go, little one, and see what my ally is up to..."

Back at the academy, after ending his FliChat with the Shorekeeper, Lu Guan tidied his appearance and headed towards the location he had agreed upon with Sigelika.

Although the situation with the Jué was somewhat worrying, Lu Guan didn't have any good solutions at the moment and could only take it one step at a time...

Since things have come to this, let's go find Dekopon to play with first.

But in some corner he didn't notice, a pair of golden, cross-shaped eyes were silently watching him.

"What a scumbag... I don't know how you managed to keep those two girls at peace, but I, the righteous Flying Snowy Velvet, will absolutely not let you ruin my lovely classmates!"

Augusta clenched her fists and quickly chased after Lu Guan in the direction he had left. She refused to believe that she, the beloved idol of the Stardust Academy, couldn't handle just a scumbag.

But as she got up to leave, a blue butterfly suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

"Strange... does Lahai-Roi even have such a creature?"