Life at the Silver Moon Observatory seemed to have finally broken free from the tension and loneliness of a thousand years, tinged with a touch of leisure and tenderness after the dust had settled.
Artoria no longer needed to devote every minute and second to endless study, experiments, and deductions. The heavy burden on her shoulders, known as "Salvation," had finally been quietly lifted at the moment Minerva's consciousness awakened and perfectly merged with the Dark Plane.
Although the road ahead was still long—Minerva needed time to stabilize her newborn state and adapt to the existence of a pure information life form; their symbiotic relationship with the system needed deeper exploration and definition; and it was unknown what impact that "gift" given to Hexi, which was enough to subvert cognition, would bring—at least for this moment, Artoria allowed herself to catch her breath and enjoy this hard-won tranquility of reuniting with her beloved.
She held Minerva's hand—or rather, the hand of Minerva's projection, which was composed of pure Dark Energy and information streams, with a warm and realistic touch—and strolled along the aerial corridor on the outskirts of the Silver Moon Observatory.
The corridor hung in the clouds, with a surging sea of clouds dyed pale gold by the starlight beneath her feet, and in the distance, the towering and holy floating architectural complex of the Merlot Heavenly Court shone brightly under the light of Eternity.
A breeze blew by, carrying the distinct, crisp, and pure scent of the Heavenly City, lifting Artoria's long silver hair and also brushing through the hair of Minerva's projection, which flowed like moonlight.
"It's... beautiful here." Minerva's voice rang softly in Artoria's consciousness, and through the Dark Energy she manipulated, she simulated a gentle tone filled with a hint of novelty and admiration.
Her azure eyes curiously examined everything around her, from the sea of clouds flowing beneath her feet to the unique, geometrically beautiful buildings in the distance, and to the Angel Warriors who occasionally swept past the clouds with vigorous postures and outstretched wings.
To her, all of this was completely new, completely different from the gray, dilapidated, post-apocalyptic Earth filled with the smell of smoke and rust in her memory, and the blurry, cold, and dead darkness she had perceived for a long, thousand-year period.
"Yes, this is the core of the Angel Nebula, the Merlot Heavenly Court. A civilization... that believes in the order of justice." Artoria replied softly, her fingers tightening slightly, feeling the touch in her palm that, although derived from energy simulation, was incredibly real, and her heart was filled with peace.
"I study and live here. Teacher Hexi gave me shelter and knowledge. Without her, without the help of the Angel, I wouldn't have made it to this day."
Minerva gave a soft "Mm," withdrew her gaze from the distance, and landed it on Artoria's profile.
That face, which in her memory was sometimes determined, sometimes exhausted, and sometimes covered in tear stains, was now completely relaxed, a long-lost expression, even carrying a faint smile.
The sunlight gilded her delicate contours with a layer of soft, warm gold, and her azure eyes reflected the sea of clouds and the light of the sky, bright and gentle.
Minerva watched quietly, a mix of heartache, relief, and infinite attachment flowing silently in her newborn consciousness.
She could "see" and "perceive" that Artoria's soul was light at this moment, as if she had cast off the heaviest shackles. This also made her feel heartfelt peace and joy.
They walked quietly like this, neither saying another word. The thousand years of separation and waiting, the thousand years of perception and giving, had long since tightly connected their two hearts; no excessive words were needed.
Just standing side by side like this, feeling each other's presence, and breathing the air under the same sky, was better than a thousand words.
Artoria could even "hear" in the depths of her consciousness that the system was in the Dark Plane, using its new body to simulate sounds of rolling around and humming a little tune, apparently extremely satisfied with the current situation and enjoying this tranquility and harmony of "home."
Breaking this tranquility was a Dark Communication request that went directly into Artoria's mind, gentle yet not lacking in majesty. The source identification was clear—Holy Keisha.
Artoria paused, her expression immediately becoming solemn.
She had long been granted extremely high authority and freedom within the Angel Nebula by Hexi, including free access to most areas of the Merlot Heavenly Court.
In fact, as early as the second year of studying under Hexi, when she showed amazing learning ability and unique insights into certain Angel technology (combining knowledge from other Worlds), and successively proposed some constructive improvement ideas, and even assisted in optimizing the energy circuits of some secondary biological engines and improving the energy utilization efficiency of certain conventional weapons, she had obtained the qualification to move freely within the Heavenly City and was gradually recognized and even respected by many Angel Warriors and scholars.
Angels were not War Machines without emotions. On the contrary, under the order of justice, they held high recognition and respect for beautiful emotions, especially loyalty, sacrifice, protection, and undying love.
Artoria's story, with the intentional or unintentional acquiescence of Hexi, spread in a small range within the Angel Network of the Heavenly City through certain channels, such as a certain young Angel who had a crush on Artoria and happened to be an expert in gossip, in an anonymous or semi-anonymous way.
The core of the story was simple: a girl from another World, in order to save her lover who "passed away" while protecting her during an apocalyptic disaster, used her mortal body, crossed the endless galaxy, went through unimaginable hardships, and came to the Angel's kingdom.
With a thousand years of time, she studied under Heavenly Base King Hexi, just to find that slim chance of survival. She was silent, resilient, and focused, devoting all her time and energy to that seemingly impossible task; her eyes had only the goal, and her World had only that sleeping lover.
This emotion, pure to the extreme and persistent enough to be moving, happened to strike the softest part of the Angels' hearts.
Especially when a certain technical Angel "accidentally" revealed that when Artoria assisted in optimizing certain technologies, the core ideas she proposed were often "how to achieve maximum stability with minimum energy consumption" and "how to maintain core functions in extreme conditions"—these ideas subtly coincided with her goal of saving her lover, and this respect added a bit more understanding and admiration.
Therefore, although Artoria did not often go to the bustling main city of the Merlot Heavenly Court and preferred the quiet of the Silver Moon Observatory—the number of Angel ladies there and the enthusiasm of their gossip were indeed a bit overwhelming for her—her reputation within the Angel Civilization had accumulated silently.
Many Angels knew that Queen Hexi had a silent and resilient student from another World who was carrying out an almost miraculous project to save the person she loved. This recognition gave Artoria an transcendent "privilege" in Angel society, accompanied by respect and blessings.
As an existence closely connected to Artoria's soul and sharing part of the Dark Plane's authority, Minerva could naturally browse the public information on the Angel Network.
She "saw" all those discussions about Artoria, those messages of curiosity, admiration, or blessing. This gave her a more intuitive understanding of the Angel Civilization and Artoria's situation over the past thousand years, and her gratitude to Hexi and the Angel Civilization deepened.
Of course, when seeing those occasionally appearing anonymous posts expressing affection or curiosity toward Artoria, Minerva's azure eyes, composed of information, would narrow imperceptibly, and then she would hold Artoria's hand more tightly.
Artoria only responded with a helpless and indulgent smile, sending comforting thoughts through her consciousness.
At this moment, receiving Keisha's Dark Communication request, Artoria immediately understood that this must be related to the "big gift" sent by the system.
She glanced at Minerva beside her and passed a thought of "It's Queen Keisha" through the soul link.
Minerva nodded gently, and a hint of solemnity appeared on her projected face.
Although she had no concrete concept of the Angel King, from Artoria's conscious feedback and the information on the Angel Network, she also understood what a lofty existence that was, the supreme leader of the civilization that provided shelter to Artoria.
"Are you free now? Is it convenient to come to the Royal Court for a chat?" Keisha's voice was concise and calm, with no emotion, just giving the location.
"Of course, we'll be there shortly." Artoria replied, and the communication disconnected.
She turned to look at Minerva and smiled slightly, with reassurance in her eyes: "Don't be nervous, it's just a normal chat. Queen Keisha... although majestic, is not unreasonable. Besides, this should be a good thing this time."
She guessed that it was likely a formal stance on that "gift," as well as... some form of recognition or feedback.
Minerva nodded again, returning a look of trust. As long as she was with Artoria, she was not afraid of where to go or who to meet.
Artoria did not hesitate anymore; with a slight movement of her mind, she invoked the authority granted to her by Hexi, and a soft golden beam of light fell from the high sky, covering both of them.
This was a high-level short-range teleportation within the Heavenly City, leading directly to the outskirts of the Merlot Royal Court.
Light and shadow flowed, and in an instant, the two were already outside an extremely magnificent and solemn pure white hall.
The hall towered into the clouds, built entirely of some jade-like material emitting soft white light, with huge Angel wing reliefs surrounding the hall, exuding a holy and majestic aura.
Here was one of the centers of power and order in the known Universe—the Royal Court of Holy Keisha.
In front of the hall door, there were no heavy troops guarding, only two high-level guard Angels dressed in silver armor, with snow-white wings on their backs, beautiful faces, and sharp and calm eyes standing solemnly.
Seeing Artoria, a hint of undetectable respect flashed in their eyes, and they nodded slightly to greet her without blocking, obviously having already received orders.
Artoria held Minerva's hand and walked into the hall.
The interior of the hall was exceptionally spacious, but the light was not dazzling, soft and even, as if originating from the building itself.
The dome was high and far, painted with patterns of stars flowing.
In the deepest part, above several steps, was a simple and atmospheric silver throne.
On the throne, Holy Keisha was leaning casually, one hand supporting her chin, her golden long hair hanging down like a waterfall, and her beautiful face carried the usual indifference and laziness as if she controlled everything.
But if one looked carefully, one could find that the depths of her seemingly always calm and waveless eyes seemed to have a bit more unspeakable depth at this moment, and her gaze fell on Artoria and Minerva who walked in, with a kind of scrutiny, and even more with a hint of... extremely faint, undetectable exploration and... complexity.
And on the side below the throne, Angel Yan, dressed in silver armor, wearing a blue cloak, and with a cold expression, stood solemnly.
Her gaze first fell on Artoria, nodding slightly to signal, and then, with undisguised curiosity and scrutiny, it was cast toward the girl projection beside Artoria, the silver-haired girl in a black dress composed of Dark Energy—Minerva.
Inside the Royal Court, it was silent, with only the footsteps of the three (two people and one projection) echoing softly.
Artoria stopped, placed her right hand on her chest, and bowed slightly to the figure on the throne.
Minerva's projection also learned from her, performing a slightly unfamiliar but sufficiently solemn bow.
"Artoria (Minerva) greets Queen Keisha." The two said in unison, their voices ringing softly in the empty hall.
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