Rita didn’t waste much ti. She had already planned to talk with Isolated Isle.
With the image of waves curling into the shape of a ship’s helm, Rita and Nivalis appeared by the lakeside of Moonlight Marsh.
Unlike when she entered Lania Kaia, where she kept [Mystic Force] active no matter where she went, she still had to prepare [Tail Tip], a skill that allowed her to reverse ti.
At the lakeside, Ash Cinders and Lightchaser were fishing.
The thick branches above Moonlight Marsh parted, revealing the sky of Isolated Isle. Rita quickly assessed the general season—this was the hottest ti of year on Binast.
But BS was only at the beginning of February, and Rita had previously visited Isolated Isle just after Winterveil.
She sat next to Ash Cinders, deliberately distancing herself from Lightchaser’s knowing gaze.
Rita spoke first: "Is there sothing you need, teacher?"
There was no need for pleasantries between them. Ash Cinders got straight to the point: "The trade we discussed last ti may need to be reversed. The young of BS can co to Moonlight Marsh to study in exchange for a promise from you. Before Isolated Isle is shattered, BS will help take in a batch of Isolated Isle’s young."
Rita didn’t respond with words about accepting this for free. The apprentice was the apprentice, and the Adjudicator was the Adjudicator. Just like during their previous negotiation, Ash Cinders and Lightchaser weren’t speaking as teachers—they represented Isolated Isle and BS, respectively.
She asked, "How many apprentices can you take in? How many young ones do I need to take in?"
Lightchaser replied, "Ash Cinders and I are already leaders of Isolated Isle. We can accept BS players into Isolated Isle, and once they finish their training, they can return."
When the Invasion Sequence connection hasn’t been made, such transfers between worlds are still limited. Each world can only send up to 100,000 players to an unconnected world.
BS was no different. Even with Rita acting as the Adjudicator, she could only accept up to 100,000 players from each world.
Ash Cinders added, "If Isolated Isle can’t handle it, then BS will need to take in 100,000 refugees as well."
Rita was about to agree when a series of notifications echoed in her mind, causing every being by the lakeside to stiffen as if facing an enemy.
[Ga 2.0 "The Great Cataclysm: Prelude to Destruction" has been updated]
[Ga 3.0 "Uncharted Star Sea: The Bell Tolls" is now officially live]
[■■The Pendulum will enter the Uncharted Star Sea in 3 Starsea days and will impact the Ti River for calibration within 1 Starsea day after arrival. Players should prepare for the first tolling bell.]
[Any world that uses a world skill will cause the effects of that skill to also affect other worlds connected to the sa Invasion Sequence.]
For a mont, no one spoke.
The tolling bell and the effects of the Invasion Sequence carried too much weight.
But soon, Rita looked up sharply at Ash Cinders and Lightchaser—what about Isolated Isle?!
Though BS had detached from the Invasion Sequence, Mistblade had a world skill, and even if needed, she could gather 100 World Sighs in five Starsea days and use [Before the Sigh Sounds] once more.
But what about Isolated Isle?
To her surprise, Ash Cinders and Lightchaser’s expressions, which had been serious, relaxed just slightly after a mont.
Before Rita could ask, Ash Cinders explained, "Isolated Isle is unique—it will be protected. But we need to face the last tolling bell ourselves. The number of tolls is still uncertain."
"Six." Rita answered instinctively, muttering, "Six is a magical number."
What about those worlds that haven’t logged in yet?
What about those worlds that haven’t entered the Invasion Sequence?
What about those without world skills in the Invasion Sequence?
The answer was hidden in the previous version’s ga na.
At this mont, Rita couldn’t help but feel how absurd all of this was.
The war skills that could only be created after world destruction, the world skills that could only be ford from the shattered remnants of broken worlds... and the ability to unlock war skills, world skills, and Star Sea Skills after hearing World Sigh.
It all seed to prove that only the unknown energy born from the destruction of worlds could offer other worlds a chance at survival. This thod was probably a path Divine Ga had created after much contemplation.
Could it be that the wars and Invasion Sequences, which had caused suffering for countless worlds and races, were really designed to offer a way for so worlds to survive the disaster?
A form of natural selection, sacrificing so to preserve others, where players and worlds competed to decide who would survive...
After six tolls, how many worlds and races would remain in the Uncharted Star Sea?
Neither Rita, nor Lightchaser and Ash Cinders, had the energy to discuss the future.
Was there even a future?
When the end could be seen so clearly, it seed unnecessary to plan.
Even Rita couldn’t rest easy. If each toll had the sa power, how could the gods say that only a few worlds would survive the crisis?
If world skills could be shared after the Invasion Sequence was connected to face the tolling bell, Divine Ga wouldn’t be so cruel, and the Invasion Sequence rules wouldn’t have so many restrictions.
Why did Divine Ga need a reshuffling ga every once in a while?
Could the world skills that she and Mistblade had help BS survive the six tolls?
These thoughts churned in her mind, making her feel more and more chaotic.
It wasn’t just her—the entire world was thrown into disarray after the ga update.
DawnCicada of "Dawn" didn’t have a world skill, so what about Lania Kaia...?
Rita returned to BS, uncertain about what emotions she was carrying as she sought out Mistblade. She asked, "Does Lania Kaia Wither have a world skill?"
"No." Mistblade’s answer was unexpected. "After the Moon Fox joined Lania Kaia, I always prioritized world fragnts for distributing war resources. I would make concessions in other areas and exchange resources for world fragnts from other leaders.
"After I gathered a world skill, Wither continued collecting world fragnts to exchange for a world skill. But after Maple Syrup joined, she also started requesting world fragnts.
"Because Maple Syrup played Divine Ga so well, the profits she brought were huge, and Wither was willing to make concessions, slowing down the collection of world fragnts... Lania Kaia is fair in this regard. If you want world fragnts, other resources must be sacrificed."
Mistblade paused, then added in a serious tone, "After I left, Lania Kaia won’t have a world skill. But Lania Kaia doesn’t lack world fragnts. Wither should have over thirty, and if Maple Syrup is willing to give up reconstructing Forest Sea and offer the Forest Sea fragnts she’s gathered, they can create a world skill."
Rita’s thoughts raced. In tis of war, when races and factions were so complex, aligning everyone to work together without backstabbing inevitably ca down to the distribution of resources after the war. Unless Wither could be like DawnCicada, eliminating all Divine Ga players except the Vineborne.
Did Wither regret it? Was he too confident? Or did he think everything could still be fixed?
Thinking back to what she’d heard from BS—"Mistblade and Maple Syrup live every day, every minute, for the reconstruction of Snowfield and Forest Sea"—Rita asked, "What about you? Do you still want to reconstruct Snowfield?"
Mistblade was stumped by the question.
Had it been before the ga update, she would have answered without hesitation.
But now...
She walked to the window of the palace, looking out at the distant Snowfield, and sighed, "Thank you for the Snowfield you gave . Even if BS is destroyed tomorrow, I won’t have any regrets."
Rita stood frozen, the words hanging in her mind. "You may have no regrets, but I’ll never rest in peace!"
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