[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Georios)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 30 (Roleplay)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher (Charge: 87.6%), Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 14.5%), Georios (In-Character)]
[Draws Available: 0 (0.1%)]
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The status panel had updated.
Her gacha draws had bottomed out to zero in one fell swoop.
If she didn't pull off something high-impact soon, it would likely be quite a while before she could scrape together ten draws to exchange for the Aglaea character card.
Still, it wasn't a huge deal. She could afford to wait now.
Besides, if she could crack the Equation of Permanence, making waves wouldn't be an issue.
'Georios' pulled her attention away from the panel and caught her reflection in a nearby mirror.
Her features remained unchanged, but her color palette had shifted abruptly from pure white to a deep, monochromatic black. Paired with her face, the contrast was strikingly intense.
She studied herself for a moment before beginning to probe the body she now inhabited, searching for the Equation of Permanence within.
Over the past while, 'Georios' had managed to grasp about seventy or eighty percent of the Equation of Elation. Only a tiny fraction remained unmastered. However, she decided to set Elation aside for now.
The Path of Permanence was more important.
An ownerless Path was hers to tinker with as she pleased, and no one could keep her in check.
Compared to Elation—even if she mastered it completely—Aha would likely still hold the upper hand.
After all, THEY were the one who blazed the trail; how could a latecomer compete with the pioneer of the Path?
In short: seize an ownerless Path as a trump card first.
The original Aeon of Permanence was different from other Aeons who might eventually undergo resurrection.
In terms of the concept of Permanence, Long had believed in a "dynamic" eternity—that the only constant in this world is change itself.
Thus, THEY didn't seek individual immortality.
Instead, THEY chose to use THEIR own death to give rise to countless dragonkin, fulfilling that dynamic continuation.
Following that logic, the original Permanence likely didn't care about—or even consider—coming back to life.
The most probable fail-safe THEY left behind was that once the dragonkin truly withered away, THEY would choose a new entity to become the new Aeon of Permanence.
Then, the cycle would repeat: the fall of one dragon, the birth of all things.
From this perspective, it was entirely possible that by occupying this slot, 'Georios' might even stumble upon the hidden legacy left by the Progenitor of Permanence.
As 'Georios' attempted to analyze the Equation of Permanence, these thoughts drifted subconsciously through her mind.
At least, based on her current, shallow understanding of the Path, this was how it should theoretically work.
Just as she was diving deep into the equation, Typhon, the Death Dragon who had been silent lately, finally made a move.
This time, she didn't use her true form, instead opting to warp to Amphoreus in human guise. She brought with her over a dozen flesh samples from various dragonkin.
'Georios' logged Typhon's identification code into the space station and let her in. The moment she stepped into the cabin, Typhon's eyebrows shot up.
"What's with the new look? Planning on joining the dragonkin? Hehe, those are some gorgeous horns and a lovely tail. The color scheme is a lot like mine—totally my type."
A grin instantly spread across Typhon's face as she saw 'Georios's' new dragon-lady form.
Her sense of beauty had nothing to do with humans, but she certainly had a soft spot for draconic features.
In Typhon's eyes, 'Georios's' horns, tail, and those stunning slit pupils were top-tier even among the dragonkin.
Especially that tail.
Good grief, Typhon didn't think she'd ever seen a more beautiful tail in her life.
She felt a sudden, itching urge to go over and run her hand along it.
Perhaps only the Progenitor of Permanence THEMSELF could boast a more beautiful tail than this.
Typhon almost blurted out a request to see 'Georios''s true draconic form, but she bit her tongue just in time. She didn't want to be mistaken for some kind of weird "dragon-sexual" creep.
'Georios', her attention entirely fixed on the samples Typhon had delivered, didn't notice the shift in the dragon's expression.
She assumed the compliment was simply due to Typhon's non-human aesthetic.
"It's just a research method. Don't read too much into it."
'Georios' scanned the samples. They weren't many, but they would be useful in helping her decipher the Equation of Permanence.
"No, no. Even without seeing your full form, I can tell from the horns and tail that your dragon shape is the most beautiful kind among us. For a dragonkin, it's incredibly... attractive."
"...Really? Even you find it attractive?"
"Oh, absolutely. Just looking at the tail, you can tell the rest is stunning."
'Georios' paused. Typhon's words gave her something to think about.
The power of the Path of Permanence manifested very clearly in one's appearance. The higher the purity, the closer one resembled the Progenitor. Build, form, and features all showed similar signs.
From 'Georios''s current perspective, among their kind, an entity like Typhon did possess a more profound sense of beauty.
Did this mean that this specific draconic appearance was inherently tied to the power of Permanence?
If that logic held, then Typhon found her dragon form "beautiful" perhaps because her current body contained the complete Equation of Permanence.
Although the abilities of an Earth Titan wouldn't fully manifest the power of the Path, the mere existence of it meant her "rank" was theoretically quite high.
Looking at it from another angle: if she were to mold a body modeled directly after the Progenitor and inhabit it, would that accelerate her understanding of the equation?
The requirements for mastering Permanence and Elation were worlds apart.
With the power granted by Aha, 'Georios''s efficiency in grasping the Elation Equation was incredibly high. But for Permanence, she was on her own. It was only because she had a simplified equation and a foundation in Elation that her analysis hadn't ground to a halt like Herta's once did.
Even so, the efficiency was still a far cry from before. If possible, 'Georios' desperately wanted to pick up the pace.
She was itching to "rule the roost" on a Path where no one could check her power.
With that in mind, 'Georios' looked at Typhon. "I'll be staying here to continue my research. What do you plan on doing?"
Typhon, who had originally intended to head home and soak in a nice, long lava bath, suddenly felt that lava wasn't so appealing after watching 'Georios's' tail swish back and forth.
She really, really wanted to see 'Georios's' true form...
Typhon pointed a finger at herself. "Can I stay here and look around? I haven't been out in years."
"You want to stay here?"
'Georios' looked at her, surprised. Typhon nodded, asking tentatively, "Is that not okay?"
"It's not that it's not okay, but can you handle the environment? Do you want me to set up a lava-filled cabin for you?"
'Georios' was actually quite satisfied with Typhon's performance lately.
At the very least, this girl listened when told and wasn't the type to apologize while secretly planning to do it again.
She had no intention of forcing her to leave, as long as Typhon didn't go around stirring up trouble in her name.
Typhon's eyes lit up. "That would be amazing!"
"Good. Then you can help me with my research. Consider it rent for staying here."
Typhon had no complaints. Being researched by 'Georios' meant she got to see more of that tail.
"What do I need to do?"
"Nothing for now. Follow the guide and set up your room. Later, I'll need you to create a few dragonkin—nothing big, just a small batch. Is that alright?"
'Georios' looked at Typhon, seeking her consent.
Typhon was the only powerful dragonkin she knew who actively practiced the cycle of "one dragon falls, all things rise." If she could study that core aspect deeply, the rewards would be immense.
However, this act would consume Typhon's own flesh and blood.
Though the amount was small, this kind of non-regenerative essence was gone forever once spent. 'Georios' didn't want to force her, nor did she want to make empty promises.
She wasn't planning on telling anyone about her attempt to seize the Path of Permanence until it was a total success. If Typhon wasn't into it, she'd just find another way, even if it took longer.
To her surprise, Typhon agreed immediately without the slightest hesitation, showing no sign that she felt pressured.
Watching Typhon swish her tail and happily follow the transformation robot out of the lab, 'Georios' shook her head with a wry smile.
She had no idea what Typhon was so excited about. Personally, if she had to go live in a volcanic wasteland, she'd be miserable. She couldn't fathom what Typhon found so appealing about this place.
Meanwhile, the Aeons were not entirely oblivious to 'Georios's' ambitions and actions.
An ownerless Path was about to find a new master—and an ancient one like Permanence, at that.
For the Aeons, this was a monumental event. Especially since this possibility had appeared so suddenly.
Abrupt, as always. And undetected by anyone else.
Nous suddenly discovered a massive shift in the future.
A Path that should have remained vacant indefinitely was now set to receive a new master.
However, the Erudition had long expected that this person might ascend to Aeonhood.
After all, someone who could repeatedly introduce chaotic variables that even an Aeon couldn't predict was bound to end up on a divine throne eventually.
If anything, it was Aha who was the problem—snatching her into THEIR camp before she had even succeeded.
It was a move that could only be described as taking advantage of someone's vulnerable position.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL