So this was what Conceptual Alteration really meant…
Across the Astral Universe, countless minds were left reeling.
Aerin looked no different from anyone else.
Two eyes. One nose. A perfectly ordinary face.
And yet—
To him, whether someone was alive or dead was nothing more than a matter of thought.
If he decided you were alive, then you were alive.
If he decided you were invincible, then—aside from himself and the Cosmic Overlord—you truly were.
Even if all the Aeons gathered, each of them would still have to take two slaps.
"This… this is insane!"
Silver Wolf was rolling around on the couch in rare emotional overload.
No wonder even someone like Bella believed that as long as Aerin existed, everything else was meaningless.
His power didn't follow logic.
It didn't need to be understood.
Even Blade—who longed only for death—suddenly felt that maybe his ideals deserved a rethink.
With someone like Aerin in the universe, perhaps there was still a way to see the scenes he wished for, and find some peace.
Firefly, however, sat frozen.
The words she had just read in the chat echoed again and again in her heart.
"With a single thought, all things can change."
"No matter how you died, or how long you've been dead—one thought is enough."
"And you can return whole and healthy, to keep living."
Firefly didn't want to die.
More than anything, she wanted to live.
To live like a normal person.
"…But miracles like that won't just fall into my lap, will they?" she murmured.
Kafka heard her faint whisper and could only sigh.
Compared to Bella, people like them were nothing more than dust.
How could they ever even cross paths with someone like Aerin?
Wait—
Kafka suddenly looked up.
Wasn't he about to descend upon Jarilo?
Wasn't he planning to buy planets and walk the universe like an ordinary traveler?
If Aerin was choosing to move through the cosmos as a "person," then inevitably, he would come into contact with Astral beings.
That alone might be an opportunity.
Belobog — Overworld
Bronya had just returned when she saw the scene of Aerin preparing to arrive at Jarilo.
Her heart leapt straight into her throat.
"He… he's really coming…"
Her legs went weak, and she had to lean against a pillar to keep from collapsing.
"Bronya!"
Cocolia rushed over and caught her.
"Don't be afraid," she said softly.
"At least we haven't done anything to offend him yet. He shouldn't have any reason to harm us."
Inside, Cocolia was secretly relieved.
The version of herself on the light screen was already dead.
"And he's arriving after the Stellaron has been sealed. Under your leadership, Belobog won't clash with him like I did."
Even Cocolia felt dizzy.
Jarilo was a backwater world that hadn't even stepped beyond its own planet.
How had it become the chessboard of cosmic titans?
Why would someone like Aerin ever descend upon a place like this?
Somewhere in the Cosmos
Bella was drifting through the darkness like a bottle on a tide.
She was thinking.
Thinking about how to stall Aerin just a little longer for the Cosmic Overlord.
Thinking about which planet to hit next.
Suddenly, something caught her eye.
"Hmm?"
She sat up and looked toward a passing starship.
"That insignia…?"
"The Interastral Peace Corporation?"
Curious, Bella floated over and plopped herself right onto the ship's hull.
Closing her eyes—
Every conversation inside flooded into her mind.
After listening for a while, she opened her eyes with a grin.
"They're going to Jarilo to collect debts?"
"Strategic Investment Department, huh?"
"How interesting."
"But at your speed… who knows if Jarilo will even still exist by the time you arrive."
"I'll do you a favor."
Her body rose into the air.
Black power wrapped around the ship, compressing it into a dark sphere in her palm.
"Off you go!"
Space tore open, and she hurled the black sphere inside.
Dusting off her hands, Bella laughed.
"Go collect your debts. By then, Aerin should be arriving too."
"If you do well, you might buy me some time."
"If you don't… you'll just get erased."
"Now then—where should I go next?"
A figure flashed through her mind.
"Right, that girl named Stelle… her role in this universe is a lot like that annoying Lumine."
"If Aerin enters this cosmos, he won't ignore someone like her."
"I'll just follow her."
"She's going to follow us?!"
March 7th nearly fainted on the spot.
Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng all felt a chill run down their spines.
That walking disaster had locked onto Stelle.
"I… I'm that special?" Stelle asked blankly.
Everyone stared at her.
You can hold a Stellaron in your body without dying—and you're asking that?
Stelle lowered her head and started tapping on the screen.
"What are you doing?" March asked.
"I'm privately messaging Lumine. I'm asking what makes me special—and what she went through with Aerin."
"At least she's his subordinate," Himeko said with a smile.
"Special people get special treatment, right?"
"No," Stelle replied flatly.
"She said Aerin almost killed her at first. She only survived because she immediately surrendered."
Himeko: "…"
Dan Heng: "…"
Welt nearly spit out his coffee.
"…That may actually be the best possible strategy," he said gravely.
Near Jarilo-VI's Orbit
Space suddenly opened.
The starship Bella had thrown arrived, docking near Jarilo-VI.
"Director! Director!"
"We've arrived at Jarilo-VI!"
"What? Impossible! We just departed!"
"It's true! Check the coordinates!"
The office door opened.
A short-haired, voluptuous young woman stepped out.
Topaz.
A senior executive of the IPC's Strategic Investment Department.
Seven hundred years ago, when Jarilo fell to the Stellaron, the IPC had loaned massive funds to the Architects.
That money built Belobog's walls—and even funded the first automatons.
The repayment period was 280 years.
But less than a century later, Jarilo lost contact with the galaxy.
Everyone thought it was gone.
Now that it had reappeared, the IPC sent Topaz to collect.
"It really is Jarilo-VI…"
"Seven hundred years of debt…"
She smiled faintly.
"Time to collect."
Bronya felt numb.
Debt collectors had arrived before Aerin even showed up?
"Seven… seven hundred years?" she whispered.
Cocolia frowned.
"There's no record of this in the archives."
And yet—
Topaz was even more terrified than Bronya.
The chat exploded.
Bella had just thrown a debt collector into the middle of a cosmic war.
And somewhere in Belobog, Bronya stared at the screen in horror.
"Slave…?"
"I'm going to become a slave?!"
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