Before Sylvia could even recover from Stelle's utterly shocking declaration, the system seized the moment to chime in:
--+--
[Target: Stelle]
[Favorability: 80 (Concern & Trust)]
[Relationship: Newlyweds]
--+--
Sylvia didn't have time to process any of the following entries; her mind was completely short-circuited by that 'relationship' line.
What in the world? What had she done?
How on earth did it come to this?
"Don't mind her. This little rascal just triggered a glimpse into [The Permanence] right before she logged out."
Just as Sylvia was reeling, Herta seemed to have finally figured out what exactly Stelle had just experienced.
"Hehe~"
Stelle scratched her head with a foolish grin, while Sylvia shot her an exasperated glare before turning back to Herta.
"What does a Permanence event have to do with me?"
"Because that bastard Aha swapped the Permanence's appearance with yours!"
Herta's voice was brimming with frustrated fury and utter disdain for Aha.
"THEY made you the Permanence, then plugged your image into the event on Stelle's end. So when Stelle saw the mental projection, she saw you!"
"..."
That sounded exactly like the kind of tedious, morally bankrupt nonsense that Aeon of Elation would pull.
But Sylvia still didn't understand. What did that have to do with Stelle calling her... wife?
"So why did she call me... wife then?"
"That's the next crucial point!"
Herta rapidly scanned through the Simulated Universe's code while explaining to Sylvia and Stelle:
"That troublemaker altered the event script. The Permanence—wearing your face—invited Stelle's avatar, Akivili, to marry! Something about trying to solve the Vidyadhara's reproduction issues by having [The Trailblaze] bring forth new possibilities."
"Wh-what the..."
Sylvia's mind went blank once more.
What kind of profoundly bored individual would orchestrate such a diabolically silly thing?
She then turned her glare back toward the still-grinning Stelle.
"You actually chose to agree to that event? We're the same gender! What 'progeny' are you even talking about?"
"But we could get married, hehe~ I was just about to progress to the wedding night phase when Herta ended the test."
Stelle scratched her head, looking somewhat abashed now, a faint blush coloring her foolishly smiling face as she looked at Sylvia.
Sylvia was speechless.
What exactly were you planning to do to me in the Simulated Universe, you brat?!
Herta chimed in with her own complaint: "Twerp, don't spout nonsense. It was all black screens and text descriptions. The Simulated Universe is a legitimate research project!"
Having said that, Herta suddenly sent a video file to Sylvia.
"Here, it's the log of the Stellaron twerp going through the event. Take a look. Don't go giving my project a bad reputation."
While Herta generally paid no heed to others' opinions, she wasn't about to let strange rumors like that start spreading.
So while investigating, she had directly copied a record and sent it to Sylvia.
Sylvia opened it for a glance. It was pretty much as she'd imagined.
Apart from the Permanence dragon taking on Sylvia's appearance, the rest was just a few lines of text description. No visuals whatsoever.
Whatever.
Sylvia raised her hand and vigorously ruffled Stelle's hair a couple of times, deciding not to make a big deal out of it.
Compared to this, Sylvia still felt like something was off about her own body.
"Alright, you two, off to the medical bay for check-ups, both of you. I need to fix these bugs in the Simulated Universe."
Herta suddenly looked up, shooing the two who were still lingering.
She clearly wasn't in the mood for further chatter.
Thus, Sylvia and Stelle had no choice but to head to the medical bay by themselves.
The medical staff aboard Herta Space Station were, naturally, top-tier professionals. The examination was thorough and efficient.
However, during the psychological assessment, the doctor seemed to pick up on Sylvia's discomfort.
Thinking Sylvia might be struggling with some form of dysphoria or dissatisfaction with her body, the doctor tried to guide her, suggesting she break through this psychological barrier.
And then—
As Sylvia attempted to push past that perceived constraint.
Puff.
With a soft rustle of her skirt being lifted slightly, a tail, white as jade, along with a pair of horns, emerged from Sylvia's body.
"Whew—that feels better!"
Not only did a wave of relief wash over her, Sylvia even felt her connection to the Path of Permanence intensify dramatically, as if upgrading from a trickling faucet to a high-pressure hose.
It was as if she had become inherently more attuned to the Path.
Not bad at all, this psychotherapy, Sylvia thought, mentally giving the psychologist in front of her a thumbs-up.
"Doctor, your method works wonders. I feel completely at ease now."
But the psychologist clearly had no intention of accepting the praise. In fact, she let out an indescribable shriek.
"You feel better, but I'm about to get fired and have to pack my bags, aaaah—!!"
The doctor stared in horror at the suddenly transformed Sylvia.
Wasn't this a bit too much? The physical exam results clearly showed she was pure human!
How could psychotherapy conjure a tail and horns?!
"Ms. Sylvia, I'll contact Station Head Asta right away!!"
The psychologist didn't dare stay a moment longer, scrambling out of the room to find Asta.
"...?"
Sylvia, who had just been stretching comfortably, quickly looked down after seeing the doctor's reaction.
There it was—a white tail covered in fine, dense scales.
Reaching up, she also felt the still-warm horns.
Sylvia was plunged into confusion.
She just played one round of the Simulated Universe. Surely that wouldn't turn her into a little dragon-girl, would it?
Sylvia opened her phone's camera to carefully examine her reflection on the screen.
White tail and horns. Her eyes were still sky-blue, but the pupils had become vertical slits, like a snake's.
This draconic aspect added a touch of noble elegance to Sylvia's bearing.
The skin exposed to air showed no scales.
But Sylvia slipped a hand under her skirt.
Feeling around the base of her tailbone, she found some scales spreading upward toward her waist.
Thankfully, not too many.
She tried to move the tail and horns, but they seemed a bit unresponsive for now.
The power of Permanence was swirling merrily through these new features, making it hard for Sylvia to even sense their current state.
"Whatever... it does look quite nice."
Sylvia had always been easy-going. Seeing she couldn't figure it out immediately, she gave her own tail a few more strokes.
Gotta admit, the texture was pretty good too.
Just then, Stelle, having noticed the commotion, pushed the door open and immediately zeroed in on Sylvia's horns.
"Whoa—so cool!"
Stelle's eyes lit up as she hurried over to Sylvia, scrutinizing the pair of horns on her forehead.
The dragon horns, smooth and fine as jade, didn't seem illusory but genuinely grown from Sylvia's brow.
Seeing this, Stelle even whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of Sylvia.
Then she sent it straight to the Astral Express group chat.
Let's not dwell on the psychological trauma Dan Heng might suffer upon seeing it.
Over on Sylvia's end, she temporarily set aside her puzzlement.
Seizing the chance, she pulled her own tail into frame for a selfie and sent it to Acheron.
[Sylvia: [image]]
[Sylvia: Look, I grew a tail. Pretty, right?]
[Acheron: ...?]
[Acheron: I'll come back and see.]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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.