Mio Takamiya's power far exceeded Dark Amber's initial imagination.
Even though she had already tried to overestimate it while accounting for underestimation, learning the true weight of this power from Amber still made her suck in a sharp breath.
Because this was genuine 'divine power'—given enough time, it could even create new universes.
As for crafting planets? That was little more than a trivial flick of the wrist.
Though it still required energy and couldn't truly create something from nothing, it was infinitely close to that majestic might of God Himself.
Especially… while possessing this power, Amber also had the limitless growth potential of the Equinox Force.
If these two continued stacking upon each other forever, Dark Amber couldn't even imagine what heights Amber might reach in the future.
At this point, Amber could easily reverse time, return to any moment in the past, create life, and manipulate physical laws at will.
To her, these were merely facets of her ability. So-called 'wish-fulfillment' had become reality, limited only by the energy available.
If Mio Takamiya knew how to wield the Taixu Sword Qi, she wouldn't have needed anyone's help at all.
She could have reversed time herself, returned to the moment Takamiya Shin was killed, and changed that fact.
Sadly, restrained by various reasons and her own mindset, she never explored the true nature of her power until the very end.
Instead, the other Spirits each wielded their abilities in far more creative ways than Mio ever did—especially Kurumi.
If not for her sheer power level being insufficient, Kurumi could truly have declared herself the Goddess of Time.
Thinking of the Aeons, once so distant and unreachable, Dark Amber's heart grew even more fervent.
She had originally thought that upon reaching the world of Star Rail, she might need to rely on that three-year-old Celestial as a backer.
But if Amber continued growing like this, surpassing the Aeons wasn't some pipe dream—it was an inevitability.
Pity there was no way to forge a Path.
After all, Amber's strength, much like Kiana's, didn't stem from any Path philosophy or the like. It was pure, unadulterated power.
Scale was scale.
After settling the most pressing matter in her heart, the next step was naturally testing this power.
The results were extremely pleasing—perhaps too pleasing.
As mentioned before, anything Mio Takamiya could do, Amber could do. Anything Mio couldn't, Amber could do as well.
The first test Amber conducted after obtaining this power was to reconstitute and return the Sephira Crystals belonging to Yoshino and the others.
So-called theories of Sephira imposed no limitation on Amber whatsoever.
It was like possessing the Sharingan capable of seeing through any technique at a glance and improving upon it—an eye that mocked the predecessors.
That too was only because its holder was too much of a genius, forced to weaken their own talent.
The Sephira were merely Mio Takamiya's limited summarization of that infinite power, a framework to make it easier for her to control.
When Amber and Dark Amber mastered this power, they could even directly condense a scaled-down version of the 'Primordial Spirit Crystal.' Aside from the difference in magnitude, it was functionally identical to the power Mio had wielded.
After that, the second task was testing a hypothesis Dark Amber had previously considered.
Namely, could a past 'self' use character cards?
To investigate, Amber once again manifested the Sephira Crystal of the Time Spirit and gave it to Dark Amber. After testing, the conclusion was yes—it could be used.
Dark Amber hadn't held much hope initially. Based on her previous experiments with puppet techniques, she had deduced the condition for using character cards:
A person bound to the System.
The key wasn't the person, but being bound to the System. The facts bore this out.
The self within the puppets wasn't bound to the System.
However… the past selves summoned by Amber were System-bound.
They could even use the Friends module to send word to the Herrscher of Sentience in the world of Star Rail, letting her know all was well.
While they had successfully exploited a System bug… it still felt a bit… low-tier?
No, perhaps that wasn't fair. After all, Amber was the one bound to the System… it was normal for her power to influence it in turn… Still, it did feel a bit low-tier…
Maybe it was related to the System currently being in a near-crashed state.
Regardless, this convenience was something to be happy about—for now.
Dark Amber's sense of crisis would only ever be alleviated, never disappear.
Was Mio Takamiya strong? Yes. But not stronger than an Aeon.
Were Aeons strong? Yes.
But across countless worlds, there were countless beings stronger than Aeons.
As their journey extended, they would inevitably encounter unimaginable enemies in the future.
Mio Takamiya could be easily manipulated by Dark Amber, but other powerhouses were different.
True powerhouses possessed temperaments matching their strength. Compared to them, Mio was practically a free power-up delivery.
Moreover, having herself scout and lay groundwork in the next world first was the optimal and safest choice.
Although she already had the coordinates for Star Rail via the Herrscher of Sentience, it wasn't the best destination yet.
They should at least wait until Amber no longer feared the Aeons.
Having decided to proceed to the next world immediately, Dark Amber turned her gaze to Fu Hua.
For the first time, she borrowed the Fenghuang Down from Amber and initiated a conversation with Fu Hua, Amber's master.
The main point was simple: the Herrscher of Sentience, Amber, and even Dark Amber herself were all growing stronger over time.
While Dark Amber didn't mind Fu Hua remaining by Amber's side as her spiritual guide, it wasn't the best choice.
How could Fu Hua not know this?
The reason she never brought it up wasn't because she was content with peace, but because she was never one to take the initiative.
Coupled with nearly losing a disciple once before due to letting go, she had become exceptionally cautious in her heart.
An eaglet constantly watched over and directed would never learn to fly on its own.
With Dark Amber raising the point and Amber possessing power that allowed short-term recklessness, Fu Hua naturally understood it was time to set her heart at ease and depart.
Yet, the same sentiment remained lodged in Fu Hua's throat, unspoken.
In Dark Amber's eyes, she was the eagle unable to bear watching the eaglet fall from the cliff. But was Dark Amber not the same?
As for her master and her other self suddenly bidding farewell, Amber wasn't particularly surprised.
Even with many memories and emotions stored within the Fenghuang Down, she was no longer the trembling little girl from the beginning.
Whether it was Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience, or Dark Amber, they had all become family in her heart. But family didn't always walk the same path. Amber had no reason to stop the others from leaving.
Besides, it wasn't as if they were out of contact. If she missed them, she could still converse through the System's Friends module.
After a tacit understanding and farewell, both Fu Hua and Dark Amber initiated random teleportation.
Where Fu Hua went, Dark Amber didn't concern herself with.
But after using her hacking skills to understand the state of this new world, Dark Amber raised an eyebrow.
'Well now, this really is a world for unwinding and relaxation. Amber should love it here.'
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.