Back in the Player World, inside the live stream, Little Bear resumed playing the game and progressing through the story after the minor commotion over the recent Easter egg.
Although Little Swarm's whereabouts and status were unknown, Little Bear and the viewers in the live stream weren't worried about her at all.
After all, what was her status? And what was Amphoreus's?
If she ran into trouble in the morning, Amphoreus would be flattened by noon.
And if it happened at night?
By nightfall, the entire Amphoreus would be gift-wrapped and handed over to Little Swarm...
Did they really think Lumina and Ruan Mei were just sitting around doing nothing? Just like what happened earlier, if Little Swarm got into trouble, they would speedrun Amphoreus in an instant.
Therefore, for the plot to continue, Little Swarm couldn't possibly be in any real danger.
Otherwise, how could the story even progress?
With this mindset, Little Bear continued the story without much burden, playing on and on until exhaustion set in...
He traveled from Castrum Kremnos to Okhema.
He met new "husbands" and "wives," learning about Amphoreus's current worldview and predicament.
Then he took a bath with Aglaea, fed the Dromas with Castorice, and even sampled some of the beasts' food.
Afterward, he accepted Aglaea's gift and arrived at the Vortex of Genesis to begin the trial.
"Now, I require your [Honesty]."
With that, Aglaea manipulated the golden threads, binding Stelle and Dan Heng's hands.
Then, Castorice slowly approached and performed an elegant princess curtsy.
"Holy crap, Aglaea's playing for keeps, huh?"
"Is this... the fourth time now?"
Little Bear stared at the screen, utterly stunned by the scene unfolding in the Vortex of Genesis.
He couldn't believe that the seemingly calm and composed Aglaea would resort to something so extreme.
[Dude, what are you thinking? This is an interrogation! An INTERROGATION!!!]
[Oh no, my first thought was exactly the same as the Streamer's (facepalm)]
[It's just human nature. Perfectly normal.]
[Is that all?]
"Oh, right, an interrogation. So it is an interrogation. I thought it was an interrogation," Little Bear said, suddenly enlightened by the comments.
[LMAO, you perv bear (lol)]
[Same reaction here. No need to hide it, Little Bear. This is clearly bondage p—]
"I will test you with the [Four Questions]."
"A dishonest answer will make the golden threads tremble. A sincere answer will leave them still."
"The number of times the threads tremble will determine the number of steps the Executioner's Blade will advance."
In the game, Aglaea spoke with an expression devoid of any emotion.
"If Castorice hasn't reached your backs after the Four Questions, you'll have passed the test."
"Otherwise, your journey ends here."
[Stelle: Wouldn't you just lose your mind if I took out the ring? (laughing)]
[Lumina: So?]
[I've never felt so secure. This ring on my finger is like a nuke that only affects the enemy. If you dare defy me or try to harm me, I'll just whip out the ring, summon Lumina, and flatten Amphoreus (smirking)]
"Ahem, remember what the Easter egg said earlier?" Little Bear chuckled.
"The Trailblaze never stops, but maybe we should lay off the speedruns for a bit."
In the game, Aglaea began the first question.
"Outlanders—why did you come to Amphoreus?"
Little Bear looked at the three options and, without hesitation, chose the third.
"To turn this place upside down!"
His motto: the more chaos, the better.
"Outlanders—why did you aid Okhema?" Aglaea asked, her expression unchanged as she posed the second question.
"I regret it. I shouldn't have gotten involved at all."
"Outlanders—if the situation drastically changes, will you turn your blades against Okhema and her legacy?"
This was Aglaea's third question.
"I use a baseball bat, not a blade."
Dan Heng: ...
Dan Heng was utterly speechless. He wondered if Stelle even realized the gravity of the situation.
"Outlander—you possess a powerful, unknown force within you. Will you use it to aid the Chrysos Heirs?"
This was Aglaea's final question.
Four options appeared in the game interface.
1. ... 2. ... 3. ... 4. The Stellaron isn't as useful as this.
Without a doubt, Little Bear chose the fourth option.
"The thing inside me is called a Stellaron, but it's not very effective."
"Not compared to this."
Just as she had during the crash, Stelle revealed the ring on her finger.
"With this, if I just activate it slightly, the Black Tide across Amphoreus will vanish, and all its people will find happiness."
"..." Aglaea's golden threads detected no falsehood in Stelle's words.
Though her expression remained impassive, her mind plunged into deep thought.
After a moment, Aglaea asked, "Then are you willing to activate the ring to help the Chrysos Heirs, to help Okhema, to help Amphoreus?"
"No way. If I activated the ring, wouldn't that just be speedrunning Amphoreus?" Stelle shook her head earnestly.
Though Stelle was telling the truth, Aglaia didn't care.
She nodded subtly to Castorice, who stood behind the pair, signaling her to make her move.
"Come on, let's see which is stronger: Castorice or the Stellaron."
"Even if Castorice is stronger, she can't possibly compare to the ring Lumina gave me, right?"
In the live stream, Little Bear watched the scene unfold without a trace of fear. In fact, he was eagerly anticipating what would happen when Castorice triggered the ring's protective mechanism.
But his expectations were dashed. Before Castorice could "send off" the Trailblazer, Phainon appeared and interrupted the scene.
What followed was a series of dialogues and another small Easter egg.
"Two Easter eggs in the first version of Amphoreus already. Are we going to get several in every version from now on?" Little Bear just chuckled at the thought.
He didn't see having more Easter eggs as a bad thing.
After all, they were a great way to learn more about the story, like character names.
For instance, both Castorice's and Phainon's real names were currently displayed as question marks. How could anyone not be curious?
Castorice's name was hard to guess for now.
But Phainon's...
Following the precedent set by Acheron, could it be that name?