The girl had called her by name, which meant she must know her. Yet, Illya racked her brain for a long time and couldn't find any memory of her. Although they both had white hair, the girl's features clearly didn't belong to the Einzbern family. That made it even harder to guess who she was, as the only white-haired humans Illya had ever met were her own relatives.
"Excuse me, but... who are you?" Illya asked politely.
"Yog-Sothoth." The white-haired girl closed her book and walked over to Illya, bowing her head slightly with an apologetic expression.
"We've met before. I'm truly sorry for the significant impact I had on your body. It was not my intention, but in that state, it was difficult to restrain the difference in our life-forms."
"Met before? Had an impact on me?"
Illya couldn't process it all at once. She struggled to recall her memories from before she lost consciousness.
The last thing she remembered was heading to Chaldea with Jiang You to provide support. Then, she saw trillions of brilliant lights shining in the sky. After that, she felt her soul being forcibly squeezed out of her body, and then... nothing. She quickly looked around, but Jiang You was nowhere to be seen. "Right, Jiang You!"
Illya jumped to her feet, desperate to find him.
The white-haired girl chuckled at her frantic reaction and gently restrained the agitated Illya.
The girl's grip was surprisingly strong, far beyond human limits. "You're letting your concern cloud your judgment. Don't you know Jiang You's abilities? Is there anything in this world that could truly threaten him?"
Illya's pupils constricted. Although the girl hadn't stated it outright, it was highly likely she knew the truth about Jiang You's existence. For a moment, Illya couldn't tell if she was friend or foe.
Illya mulled over the white-haired girl's words, considering the hints she'd given. Soon, her pupils began to tremble violently. She had already guessed the girl's true identity. If the girl wasn't lying, then she was the human form of those trillions of brilliant lights.
Then there could only be one reason she was speaking to me alone—she meant to harm Jiang You!
Just observing her was enough to drive me insane and knock me unconscious. Chaldea's swift fall proved that most Heroic Spirits would be no match for this being. Perhaps only Jiang You was qualified to be her opponent.
Illya suppressed the fear rising within her. No matter what, she couldn't become a burden to Jiang You. She forced a smile and said evasively, "As his Master, of course I have faith in him..."
"There's no need to be so cautious. Strictly speaking, I'm on Jiang You's side. You'll see me whenever you visit the Transit World."
Bubble chuckled. She understood Illya's caution; to humans, Outer Gods were terrifying, unknown, and malevolent entities.
"Actually, I'm here to help you."
"Help me?"
An entity like this had no reason to joke with her, but with Jiang You involved, Illya had to remain on high alert. This concerned not only herself but the very survival of this world.
"I'm just an ordinary Magus. What value could I possibly have to a being like you?"
"Whether you have value to me is irrelevant. What matters is that you have immense value to Jiang You."
To Bubble, Jiang You was simply a source of endless, fascinating unknowns. She had no interest in the world's fate, whether it would be destroyed or reset. But until Jiang You decided to end things, she would continue to provide her services.
"You want to go to Jiang You's world, don't you?"
"How did you know?"
A faint blush spread across Illya's cheeks. If Bubble knew this much, then her deepest desires must have been completely transparent to her.
"Don't worry, it's not mind-reading."
Of course, Bubble could read minds. She was just trying to soothe Illya's nerves. "The two Counter Forces have already told me the battle plan. You want to get close to Jiang You in 'Reality,' to become his anchor, but the conditions aren't met, and you're worried your cover will be blown, right?"
If the Counter Forces had told her, then it wasn't so strange. Since Bubble knew this much, she would likely genuinely help, regardless of her true motives. Illya decided to see what Bubble had up her sleeve.
She nodded. "Yes. There are many problems, mainly with my identity. As for how to return to my proper place before Jiang You 'logs into' the game, I've already found a solution."
"You were planning to use the Magical Girl Illya as your substitute, right?"
Bubble's smile never faded. To her, humans were quite endearing at times like this.
"I'm sorry, but that plan won't work anymore. Prisma Illya can no longer hide her secrets from Jiang You."
Illya's heart skipped a beat. That statement carried a lot of weight. What did she mean, 'can no longer hide her secrets'? Jiang You had only known that Illya for a few days. How could Prisma Illya and Jiang You have already reached such a point?
But now wasn't the time to ask about that.
"So, to ensure Jiang You can continue his peaceful slumber, I've decided to help you," Bubble continued. "Because of Jiang You's presence, the rules of that world have become airtight and difficult to modify—unless you possess power far beyond this planet's. Fortunately, I still have some room to maneuver."
"Next, I'll take you to find a high-level NPC in Jiang You's so-called 'Reality' who has modification privileges."
Bubble was referring to BB. With BB's own abilities, she could make some simple adjustments—it was a matter of compatibility. But Bubble's approach was brute force: "Might makes right." By unleashing an overwhelming torrent of magical power, she could still pry open some of 'Reality's' rules.
"Once we've solved the identity problem, the rest of the path is up to you."
Illya blinked, surprised by this unexpected turn of events.
"Sorry, everyone! Your host has guests today, so I'll be moving the rest of the stream to tonight. Please look forward to it!"
BB seemed to sense something, glancing behind her. She immediately plastered on a smile for the live stream. After apologizing to her audience, she stepped into the living room of her tower (which she had modified using her Authority).
"We meet again so soon, Planetary Counter Forces? This isn't Earth, so you can't use your Authority here. And BB has been training lately, you know! Even a 1v2 won't be a problem this time!"
Just as BB rolled up her sleeves, ready for a brawl, she saw two white-haired girls. She tilted her head in confusion. "And who might you two be?"