‘thinking’
“Talking”
[Attack]
Act 5 (Part 4) — Lavender Rings, Starlight Dinner, and a Silent Vow
[ Location: Yagami Star System — Kiana’s Laboratory ]
[ POV: Kiana Kaslana ]
Folding space with [ Void ], I stepped right back onto the exact spot in the lab where I’d started.
Kyubey was sitting on the worktable, right where I left it.
It tilted its head, blinking its ruby-red eyes at me with an innocent expression.
I picked it up, cradling it in my hands as I scratched behind its ears.
It let out a soft, contented purr, snuggling against my chest like a cat.
Just to be safe, I asked Void Archives to run a background diagnostic sweep on its neural matrix.
He confirmed everything was operating smoothly no anomalies detected.
I pinged Mei on my terminal to set up a meeting.
She replied almost instantly, asking to meet in the main conference room in five minutes.
Gathering the prototype Soul Gems and scooping up Kyubey, I headed down the hall.
[ Location: Yagami Star System — Main Meeting Room ]
[POV: Kiana Kaslana]
When I stepped into the conference room, Mei was already seated at the head of the table, deeply engrossed in her terminal as she reviewed complex genetic models for Skaracabaz.
“Hey, Mei,” I greeted warmly, pulling out a chair beside her and setting Kyubey down on the polished tabletop.
Tapping into my storage space, I summoned a fresh tray steaming coffee and pastries for myself, and a cup of fine tea and pastries for her.
Mei glanced at Kyubey, reaching out a hand to gently pet its soft white fur as she took a sip of her tea.
“The orbital station is completely online,” I said cheerfully.
“The manufacturing line is secure, and it’ll double as a star-system defense platform if anything ever comes knocking.”
Mei turned her gaze toward me, her eyes curious.
“What kind of specs and defensive capabilities are we talking about?”
“It’s equipped with eighteen high-output Mobile Suits each with a combat threshold around the level of a Ten Stoneheart,” I explained, leaning back.
“It’s also fitted with a planetary grade Colony Laser capable of wiping out an entire system, along with multiple tactical Honkai Fission warheads that can erase a planet off the map.
Plus, the fleet connectivity allows me to dock additional capital ships whenever needed.
Its outer shell uses a hollow cloaking array, so enemy scanners will just register it as a harmless asteroid.”
Mei raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued by the military applications.
“Send me the technical schematics for the Honkai based weaponry later.
I’d like to study the energy conversion matrices.”
“Will do,” I nodded.
Setting down her teacup, Mei’s tone shifted back to business while her fingers continued to stroke Kyubey’s ears.
“Now, back to the primary topic.
You brought the Soul Gems, right?
And what, exactly, is this creature?”
I smiled, pulling out the gems and laying them on the table between us.
“The creature you’re petting is the central biological terminal designed to manage the Soul Gems.
It acts as a safety buffer protecting the user’s soul from physical death and preventing external corruption from taking hold.”
Mei examined the glowing gem, her analytical eyes narrowing slightly.
“You haven’t told me all the details regarding these stones yet, have you?”
My smile turned a bit sheepish.
“Yeah…
the primary fail safe mechanism isn’t something I can make public just yet.
It’s far too risky to broadcast how it operates under the hood.” This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
“I take it this fail safe is tied to an even larger project?” Mei asked quietly.
I gave a guilty chuckle.
“Guilty as charged.
It’s connected to the biggest initiative in my pipeline right now…
honestly, its scale is even larger than Zandar creating Nous.”
Mei froze for a brief second, visibly startled by the comparison, before quickly regaining her stoic composure.
She reached out, picking up one of the Soul Gems between her slender fingers.
“So, I assume I may keep this one?” she asked, looking up at me.
“And what sort of Path energy boost am I looking at?”
“It’s yours,” I nodded warmly.
“Generally, it boosts a Pathstrider’s energy by twenty-five to thirty percent.
For someone with your baseline output, I’d estimate between thirty and thirty-five.”
Mei’s eyes locked onto the gem.
“How do I activate it?”
“Just channel your Erudition Path energy into the core,” I instructed.
“It’ll scan your soul matrix and lock exclusively to you.
Once bound, it’ll shift into whatever form of jewelry you prefer so you can wear it discreetly.”
Mei nodded, closing her eyes as she began channeling her Erudition energy into the stone.
The Soul Gem flared with a brilliant, blinding light as it mapped Mei’s soul structure.
Two minutes passed in quiet tension before the light collapsed inward.
In place of the raw stone, a gorgeous ring now sat on her left ring finger.
The central gem radiated a soft, luminous lavender-pink glow, set into a white-gold band intricate with delicate green snowflake engravings.
Mei looked down at her hand, a soft, rare smile gracing her lips.
“So?” I asked, leaning forward eagerly.
“What’s the output jump looking like?”
Mei looked up, her smile turning deeply satisfying.
“My Path energy output just increased by fifty percent.”
“Fifty percent?!” I gasped, completely thrown off.
“Okay, either my simulation data was way off, or you’re just an absurd edge case!
Either way…
congrats!
Want to test out the transformation combat mode?”
Mei shook her head, turning her hand to admire the ring.
“No need to test the battle mode right now.
We can run real field tests once you return from your trip.” Her eyes narrowed playfully.
“Unless you had some ulterior motive for wanting to see me transform?”
“N-No!
Absolutely not!” I denied frantically, waving my hands.
“We can totally test it later!”
Mei chuckled softly.
“How many of these have you created so far?”
“Ten total,” I replied, counting on my fingers.
“You have one, I used one for testing, so there are eight left.
I was actually thinking about gifting three of them to Stephen, Herta, and Screwllum.”
Mei looked at me thoughtfully.
“Stephen and Herta make sense, but can Screwllum even use a Soul Gem?
Intelitrons don’t possess conventional organic souls.”
“That’s the beauty of it I want to modify the resonance so Intelitrons can utilize it too.
Besides, Screwllum has more humanity in him than ninety percent of the organic beings in this cosmos.” I added warmly, “And he’s a friend.
Friends look out for each other.”
Mei nodded approvingly.
“Very well.
Now, hand over the technical data for the orbital station and the Soul Gems.”
“Only if you share your latest research logs on Skaracabaz!” I teased back.
Mei agreed, and we spent the next hour swapping diagnostic files and structural blueprints.
As she brought up the stability issues plaguing her hybrid Emanator project, I looked at her with a serious expression.
“Mei…
do you want my help with the Skaracabaz build?”
Mei declined with quiet confidence.
“If I hit a true dead end, Kiana, you’ll be the first person I ask.
But let me push as far as I can on my own first.”
“Fair enough,” I respected her decision.
With work out of the way, we decided we were both long overdue for a proper break.
We left the laboratory behind, hopping over to a nearby developed star system to catch a movie at an orbital theater.
The film was titled “Kung Fu Gojira: Not Godzilla Due to Intergalactic Copyright” a hilarious, high-budget parody that played out like a wild mashup of classic martial arts, buddy-cop comedy, and giant monster mayhem.
Afterward, we wandered through a massive planetary mall, browsing high-end shops and picking out clothes and accessories for each other.
To top off the evening, Mei led us to a renowned fine-dining restaurant suspended above a cloud sea, where she had secretly reserved a private table.
When the host led us to our seats, I was completely caught off guard.
The table was set for a romantic, candlelit dinner overlooking the glittering planetary skyline.
Taking my seat, I couldn’t resist leaning forward with a teasing grin, watching a faint, lovely blush creep onto Mei’s usually cool cheeks.
But rather than backing down, Mei leaned in and began casually flirting right back, sending a wave of heat straight to my own face.
The atmosphere between us turned so thick and sweet that I could actually hear whispered giggles from the nearby waitstaff about the ‘sugary air’ over at our table.
I tried my best to ignore them, while Mei cleared her throat, suddenly becoming intensely interested in the leather-bound menu to hide her flushed cheeks.
I was content to just sit there and stare at her, until a quiet cough broke the spell.
The waiter had arrived, pen in hand.
I composed myself, nodding toward Mei.
“What would you like, Mei?”
“Xiao Long Bao and the chili peanut noodles, please,” she ordered smoothly.
“And for me,” I added, looking over the menu, “one Miso Ramen and meatballs, mashed potatoes with cranberry sauce…
and a bottle of your best red wine.”
The waiter jotted it down and quickly excused himself, clearly feeling like a third wheel.
While waiting for the food, our conversation drifted toward lighter, everyday topics and how we might go about helping Mei explore and deepen her emotional range.
Ten minutes later, the food arrived.
We spent the next hour laughing, chatting, and happily stealing bites off each other’s plates.
By the time we returned to the laboratory, night had already fallen across our home quadrant.
The long day had finally caught up with me, and I turned down the corridor toward my quarters.
“Goodnight, Mei—”
Before I could finish, Mei reached out, gently catching my wrist.
I turned back, confused, only for her to lean in and press a soft, warm kiss directly against my cheek.
“I truly loved the time we spent together today,” she whispered softly.
Before my brain could even process what had happened, she turned on her heel and slipped into her own room, closing the door behind her.
I stood frozen in the middle of the quiet hallway, my hand resting against the warm spot on my cheek.
A goofy, uncontrollable smile spread across my face before I even realized it.
Giggling softly to myself, I turned, walked into my room, and fell asleep with the sweetest dreams I’d had in years.