Leticia raised a slender, fair finger, gently pressing it against her perfectly curved lips, making a shushing gesture to the little one peeking in at the door.
Terrania understood immediately, her small nose wrinkling slightly, and then, like the most agile little kitten, she tiptoed in silently.
The room was very quiet, with only the steady, long breathing of Angronia, sounding like the calm tide of some dormant giant beast resting.
The little girl did not rush to Leticia immediately, but instead circled to the other side of the bed first.
She stopped, her golden eyes, pure and without a trace of impurity, gazing intently and unblinkingly at Angronia's sleeping face.
That face, even in sleep, still retained a faint, lingering tension stemming from the painful memories deep within her soul.
Leticia did not disturb her, simply observing quietly.
She could feel an indescribable emotion emanating from Terrania's thin, frail body.
It was not mere curiosity, nor was it the excitement of a child seeing something novel.
It was a deep, profound tenderness, mixed with pity, sadness, and a feeling... a feeling as if she were looking at a child of hers who had been lost for a long time and had suffered greatly.
This emotion, appearing in a girl who looked even younger than herself, seemed incredibly incongruous, yet at the same time, incredibly natural.
"This child..."
Deep within Leticia's pure black pupils, a pink-purple nebula slowly rotated, and the speculation in her heart emerged once again, becoming even clearer.
"She..."
Terrania spoke, her voice as soft as a dream, as if afraid to disturb this hard-won peace.
"She is in pain."
There was a profound compassion in the little girl's voice that transcended her age.
"Even when asleep, her soul is like it's weeping."
Hearing this, Leticia felt a slight shock in her heart.
She could use the [Vitality] authority to clearly perceive the fatigue of Angronia's body and the trauma of her soul, and could use her power to suppress and soothe them.
But she could not "listen."
She could not, like Terrania, directly "hear" the wailing of a soul in the most primordial way.
This was no longer a gap at the level of authority.
This was... a difference in essence.
Just as a craftsman can repair a damaged piece of art, but the creator can understand the sorrow of the artwork itself.
Terrania did not seem to notice the turbulent waves in Leticia's heart.
She simply continued, gazing tenderly at the Red-haired Valkyrie on the bed with those golden eyes.
That look reminded Leticia of the grievance Terrania had shown when peeking at the door earlier, as if her favorite toy had been snatched away.
At this moment, that small, childish jealousy had been replaced by a grander, purer emotion.
It was a resonance and love stemming from the depths of the soul.
"However..."
A pure, untainted smile slowly curled at the corners of Terrania's mouth.
"Now, she has a home."
She said it softly, as if speaking to Angronia, and as if speaking to herself.
As she spoke, she reached out her small, fair, almost translucent hand.
That hand reached over the soft bedding, with a trace of cautious probing, and gently, tenderly touched the dark golden headpiece on Angronia's forehead that had replaced the "Butcher's Nails," resembling a crown of thorns.
The moment her fingertips touched the cold metal.
There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor any massive energy fluctuations.
A golden warmth, pure to the extreme, like the first ray of light from the core of a newborn sun, flowed silently from Terrania's fingertips.
This power was not any authority that Leticia was familiar with.
It did not belong to [Divine Charm], nor [Battle Intent], nor [Intellect], and certainly not to [Vitality].
It was a more primordial, more ancient "concept" that seemed to transcend all authorities.
It was [Creation] and [Origin] itself.
The golden warmth did not linger on the surface of Angronia's body for even a second.
It bypassed the solid skull, penetrated the complex brain tissue, and like the gentlest spring rain, seeped silently into the deepest part of her soul, which still retained countless tiny cracks and was scarred by trauma.
"Mmm..."
In her deep sleep, Angronia let out a long sigh of extreme satisfaction from her throat.
Her tall, fit body relaxed completely at this moment, like a block of ice dropped into a hot spring, melting into the soft bed.
Her sleeping face, which was always subconsciously tense from painful memories, now had every line relaxed, carrying an unprecedented, newborn-like serenity.
Deep in her soul, those tiniest scars left by the centuries of torture from the "Butcher's Nails"—scars that even Leticia's [Vitality] power could only suppress but not eradicate...
At this moment, were completely and permanently smoothed, healed, and erased by that golden warmth.
As if they had never existed.
This was an ultimate requiem, originating from the very root of the soul.
Leticia crossed her arms, watching this scene quietly, her pure black pupils filled with unprecedented solemnity and deep thought.
Her understanding of this "little sister" of hers was, once again, completely refreshed.
And just outside the room, in the shadows of the corridor leading to the bridge.
A slender figure clad in gorgeous pink-purple crystal power armor was leaning silently against the wall.
Fogremia.
In the end, she couldn't rest easy and had followed them quietly.
At this moment, her deep purple eyes, which always carried a hint of laziness and arrogance, were staring fixedly at everything happening through the door crack, her pupils contracted into dangerous pinpoints.
She couldn't understand it.
But she could feel it.
She could clearly feel that the "rank" of the power from the golden warmth flowing from the little blonde girl's fingertips was something she completely failed to comprehend.
It was not merely powerful.
It was a power of "origin"... one that made even her, a Primarch, feel awe and trembling from the depths of her soul.
As if it were the origin of all things, the final destination of all living beings.
"That little one..."
Fogremia's breathing became, for the first time, somewhat rapid.
"Who... exactly is she?"
Inside the room, Terrania seemed to have finished a trivial task and retracted her hand with satisfaction.
She turned around, taking quick, light steps, and ran to Leticia's side.
Then, she looked up, gazing at Leticia with sparkling golden eyes, like a child waiting for praise.
Leticia smiled, reached out, and dotingly ruffled her long hair, which was as brilliant as gold.
The atmosphere in the room was peaceful and warm.
A fury guardian who had just obtained a new life was enjoying her first peaceful sleep in centuries.
A mysterious girl who hid her true depth had just revealed the tip of her immense power.
And the creator of all this was enjoying this hard-won tranquility, surrounded by family.
However—
Just at the moment when this peacefulness reached its peak.
A sharp, urgent, and heart-wrenching alarm sound tore through all the tranquility inside the genesis without warning!
The sound was like a demon's nails scratching against everyone's eardrums, making the entire warship tremble!
Red warning lights flickered frantically, staining the warm tones of Leticia's room with an ominous blood color.
"Goddess!"
Valeria's voice, processed through the communicator but still carrying an uncontrollable urgency and shock, boomed, echoing throughout the bridge, the hangar, and Leticia's room.
"Detected Subspace demons searching for us."
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