Four hours after Minerva left, that sudden, unprovoked palpitation, like an icy spike piercing deep into her soul, made Artoria spring up from the chair in front of her workbench.
The teacup was knocked over, and the pale golden tea spread in a winding path across the solid wood desktop, but she had no time to care.
On the console, the independent encrypted channel marked with a gold-stamped "J" suddenly erupted in the dead silence with a blinding red light that tore through the night sky, accompanied by a sharp buzzing!
An absolutely rational electronic voice, distorted and warped at this moment due to extreme data compression, cut in with destructive priority:
"— — Life support system failure! Subject vital signs at critical collapse point! Coordinates already — —"
Jarvis! Tony's AI butler! The highest-level distress signal!
The voice was cut off by an invisible force at the moment it conveyed the most critical information, leaving only a string of cold latitude and longitude coordinates, and the curve on the screen representing Tony Stark's vital signs — — it was no longer falling, but a complete cliff-dive, vertically crashing into the scarlet abyss representing death.
Obadiah! He made a move! And it was a fatal surprise attack without any warning, striking straight at the vital point!
Potts's abnormal safety might have been a diversion; the target was always Tony himself!
"System!" Artoria's consciousness roared frantically, adrenaline mixed with the cold composure brought by Artoria's combat instincts surging and colliding in her blood vessels.
But this time, it was different from any previous crisis.
There was no Minerva by her side, no warning, no room for maneuver.
Only coordinates, and that glaring red line on the screen.
"Initiate character selection! Target: A character capable of ultra-long-range precise positioning, executing extremely complex life support and internal trauma repair, and dealing with potential follow-up threats! Immediately!"
Five virtual cards, each containing the rules and powers of different Worlds, unfolded with a boom in her field of consciousness, floating and circulating, each emitting a unique energy rhythm.
"Final Fantasy VII" Aerith Gainsborough (Ancient Cetra bloodline / White Magic / Healing / Communion with the Flower of Life / "Great Gospel") (Note: Ultra-long-range positioning and consciousness link, resonance with the Planet's Lifestream, high-level healing and resurrection secret arts, can channel "Holy" purifying power.)
"Fate/Grand Order" Scáthach-Skadi (Caster) (Queen of the Land of Shadows / Rune magic / Primordial Runes / Wife of Odin) (Note: Master of the highest-level Northern European Primordial Runes, possesses powerful healing, reinforcement, barrier, and lethal runes, knowledgeable, but lacks direct ultra-long-range positioning means.)
"honkai impact 3rd" Fu Hua (Night Knight: Moonblade form) (Taixuan Sword Qi / Life energy manipulation / Micro-level internal operation / "Realm of Emptiness") (Note: Extreme precision life energy manipulation and internal surgical ability, powerful defensive field, but requires close-range application, efficiency in dealing with energy core-type trauma is unknown.)
"Yu-Gi-Oh!" Ishizu Ishtar (Tombkeepers) (Millennium Necklace holder / Precognition / Ancient Egyptian mysticism / Mind control) (Note: Possesses the ability to glimpse the future and ancient secret arts, skilled in mental intervention and ritual magic, but direct healing ability is weak, positioning relies on prophecy, high uncertainty.)
"World of Warcraft" Anduin Wrynn (Holy Priest form) (Path of the Holy Light / "Holy Word" series / "Holy Avatar" / Faith resilience) (Note: Powerful single-target and group healing, excellent damage absorption and sustained recovery, Holy Light is super-effective against undead and shadow, but lacks ultra-long-range intervention and precise internal operation capabilities.)
Her gaze was like lightning, sweeping over the five cards.
Skadi's runes were profound, but positioning was a weakness; Fu Hua was skilled in the microscopic, but might not be good at the complex situation of energy core entanglement; Ishizu's abilities were eerie but not direct enough; Anduin's healing was powerful but not "refined" enough.
Aerith.
Almost instantly, the answer emerged.
Ultra-long-range Flower of Life positioning and consciousness link — — the key to finding the dying Tony.
High-level White Magic and resurrection secret art "Great Gospel" — — the guarantee to pull him back from the line of death.
Channeling "Holy" purifying power — — providing a countermeasure for potential subsequent energy pollution or enemy follow-up moves.
Most importantly, the healing method of White Magic was more inclined towards gentle, comprehensive, and deep "repair" and "stimulation" of the essence of life, which might better handle those tissues and shrapnel in Tony's body that had long coexisted with the arc reactor's energy and might have undergone subtle changes.
"Select Aerith Gainsborough!"
[Using character projection: Aerith Gainsborough]
An indescribable warm current instantly welled up from the most hidden corner of her soul, gently but irresistibly sweeping through every inch of Artoria's perception.
There was no earth-shattering sound or light, as if it were just the first breeze at dawn, carrying the crisp scent of flowers and the breath of morning dew, silently brushing across her heart, washing away all restlessness, panic, and distracting thoughts.
This is...
Artoria opened her eyes slightly.
It was completely different from any character she had played before, whether heroic, sharp, or powerful.
Aerith's power descending was not covering or overlapping, but more like an awakening and resonance.
She felt a certain heavy shell — — perhaps the shell of having to face a strange World alone for a long time, being vigilant at all times, and having to be strong — — silently melting in this warm breeze.
A grand and gentle compassion deeply rooted in the essence of life, a wonderful sense of connection resonating with the Planet beneath her feet, and even the more vast flow of life, like an inexhaustible hot spring, naturally and smoothly filled her limbs and bones, soaking into her heart and soul.
She looked down and saw that her simple cotton sleeves were already covered with a faint, warm, and non-dazzling milky white halo.
This light was not emitted externally, but seemed to radiate naturally from the inside out, as if she herself had become a gentle little light source.
In her hand came a heavy, full-of-life-resilience touch — — that oak staff with a simple and elegant design, embedded with pure white feathers and clear gems at the top, the phantom of the "full metal staff", was already firmly held in her palm.
The staff body transmitted a faint pulse, as if it possessed an independent heartbeat, quietly resonating with her own life rhythm.
She subconsciously raised her hand, her fingertips brushing through the long hair draped over her shoulders.
The touch... incredibly soft and smooth, every strand of hair seemed to be soaked in starlight and morning dew, flowing with silky coolness and vitality at her fingertips.
She could even smell the fresh fragrance naturally emanating from her hair, similar to the interweaving of many newly bloomed wildflowers.
Through the blurry reflection in the glass window beside her, she saw a figure that was both familiar and strange.
Is that me?
"She" in the reflection no longer had her usual cold green eyes, but eyes as clear as the high mountain lake after rain, unpolluted by the World.
Deep in the rippling water, there was a quiet wisdom that transcended age, insight into the cycle of life and the trajectory of fate.
The heroic and aloof air of Artoria between her brows had not disappeared, but was neutralized and moistened by a deeper, more inclusive gentleness.
The corners of her lips naturally carried a curve, not a smile, but more like an innate, compassionate posture that could soothe all restlessness, fear, and pain.
The faint holy halo surrounding her body formed a wonderful contrast with her simple modern home clothes, yet they were harmoniously unified, as if a saintess in charge of life, healing, and hope had walked out of some lost legend and accidentally stepped into this era built of steel and technology.
This is... Aerith Gainsborough.
Deep in the soul of the former male college student, a corner whispered uncontrollably, carrying pure amazement and a trace of... unavoidable shyness.
She had played many characters, but the "experience" brought by Aerith was unique.
This was not the pressure brought by pure force or power, but a more internal, more essential "beauty" and "power".
It was a radiance where divinity and humanity were perfectly blended, pure to the extreme, gentle enough to melt the hardest steel, yet tough enough to face any tragedy and despair.
Especially now, she could clearly feel that this power from the "Final Fantasy" World was producing a strong and wonderful resonance with that part of the "guardianship" and "compassion" traits belonging to Artoria in her own soul core.
They were not replacing or conflicting, but merging and strengthening at a higher dimension, as if "guardianship" had found the most gentle and powerful expression, and "compassion" had gained the substantial power to nourish and repair all things.
This feeling... is so wonderful.
As if this was always a part of her soul that had long existed but had been sleeping.
A trace of blush uncontrollably climbed up her cheeks bathed in holy light.
The queen of the 3D section... indeed lived up to her reputation.
That bit of lingering thought belonging to the otaku of her previous life made her cheeks feel even hotter, especially when she realized that she was currently existing in such a... um, holy and beautiful posture.
But that trait in Aerith's bloodline of having experienced hardships, witnessing countless life and death partings, yet remaining gentle, firm, and composed, quickly smoothed out this ripple.
A deep calmness and a clear sense of mission replaced all distracting thoughts.
But now is not the time for self-examination or shyness.
Tony's life is ticking away by the second.
She closed her eyes, focused her mind, completely suppressed the rising distracting thoughts and that bit of shyness, and sank all her consciousness into the Ancient Cetra bloodline perception linked to the Planet's Lifestream.
The coordinates were cold numbers, but Tony Stark's unique "light point" of life was clearly appearing in her "heart" — — it was so dazzling, yet so fragile, being frantically eroded by brute darkness, its light rapidly dimming and swaying, like a remnant candle about to be completely extinguished in a storm.
She "heard" the sharp pain, despair, and unwilling shouts coming from that light.
"Life lost in the abyss of pain... please listen to my call."
"Using the Flowers of Life blooming in every corner of the Planet as a bridge, using the eternal pulse of the Planet as a guide — —"
"Open the peaceful path to the deepest part of the pain."
She chanted softly, not mechanical incantations, but a natural resonance and prayer of heart, will, emotion, and this brand-new power.
The "full metal staff" in her hand seemed to feel her intention, the staff body slightly warm, the gem at the top flowing with a warm luster.
Following her intent, she gently raised the staff, and the tip of the staff tapped gently in the void in front of her, like a pen touching water.
A point of pure, flawless light containing infinite vitality suddenly bloomed at the tip of the staff, and then, like an ink drop dripping into still water, light patterns rippled out, quickly outlining and stabilizing into an oval "door" composed of orderly, dense light particles.
Light and shadow flowed within the door, the scene was blurry but pointed clearly — — cold metal reflections, outlines of scattered instruments, glaring dark red traces, and a figure lying on the ground, whose vitality was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
Without hesitation, Artoria stepped into the light door.
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