That person had short gray hair and same golden eyes, but their facial lines were more resolute and temperament colder. It was like a reflection walking out from the other side of a mirror.
"I don't understand what you're muttering, but since it's a fight, bring it on!"
A red greatsword appeared in Stelle's hand.
"Flamescion—!"
Draw!
Like a fiery meteor, she slashed toward the strange young man, but he dodged as if he had foreseen it. With just a slight tilt of his body, he let the blade's edge graze past him.
Stelle didn't pause after landing. Using her waist for power, she followed through with a horizontal sweep of the greatsword. Her movements were lightning-fast, the flames leaving a fan-shaped afterimage in the air.
But the opponent had already bent down in advance. Not only did he dodge the sweep, but his right hand also lightly pressed against the spine of her sword. The force wasn't great, but it skillfully neutralized the greatsword's momentum.
No matter how she attacked, the opponent seemed to know exactly where her strikes would land.
em taefed ot yrT
"Then let's see who goes down first!"
Boom!
Red and blue energies collided violently in the center of the chessboard.
Outside the chessboard, Welt frowned slightly.
Something seemed a bit off.
Before long, Dan Heng and Stelle emerged from the chessboard, both in a state that was...
Poor.
"Dan Heng, you don't look so good."
"I'm fine, I just remembered some old matters."
Dan Heng shook his head, indicating he was alright.
In the illusion just now, Dan Heng had seen Dan Feng—specifically, Dan Feng's obsession.
It was the shadow Dan Heng had tried his best to escape.
"Stelle, how was it on your end?" March 7th quickly shifted her focus.
"I don't know." Stelle shook her head, a hint of confusion in her golden eyes. "I felt like he didn't want to fight me at all. Every time I was about to hit him, he had already dodged, as if he knew my moves in advance. And the things that guy said... I couldn't understand them."
"What did he say?"
"I can't make that kind of sound."
"Was his throat damaged?"
Stelle shook her head and planted the greatsword in her hand into the ground.
"No..." Stelle frowned, trying hard to recall the feeling. "The tone of his speech was completely reversed, just like someone playing a recording backward. It was all gibberish; I didn't understand a single word."
Aidan didn't explain it to Stelle; some things didn't need to be clarified yet.
When the time was right, she would naturally understand.
Welt stood to the side, his gaze drifting over the chessboard.
"Aidan, is this Arbitration Space only for those currently on the Astral Express?"
"Of course not." Aidan shook his head. "Anyone who is willing can enter."
Stelle looked at Aidan thoughtfully, then at Welt.
"Mr. Yang, what kind of obsession do you have?"
"It's a long story... I'll tell you when there's a chance in the future."
Aidan looked down at the transparent container on the table holding Jarilo-VI; the miniature planet rotated slowly in the center of the container.
March 7th stared at the chessboard for a long time, finally unable to hold back.
"Should I go in and try?"
"Sure."
March 7th reached out and touched the chessboard. Her figure turned into a beam of light and vanished into it. In the black squares, a reverse version of March 7th appeared, but her expression was hollow, like a specimen frozen in time.
And she was completely different from Evernight.
About thirty minutes later, March 7th emerged from the Phase Arbitration, clutching her stomach.
"That hurt so much... Finally... I won..."
"You won? Impressive!" Stelle immediately leaned in, her eyes sparkling. "What was that other you like? Was she strong?"
"Extremely... terrifying. Only by teaming up with my other self did I barely manage to defeat her."
"What? There's another you?"
"Uh... actually, it's a bit of a secret, but I have a split personality."
March 7th scratched her cheek.
"But we have a great relationship~ I often communicate with my other self at night, and when dawn comes, she writes all over the paper to answer me."
"In the Arbitration Space just now, were you fighting alongside her?"
"Yes." March 7th nodded. "That space could separate us and let us appear at the same time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to defeat my other self... the other her on my own."
March 7th confused herself as she spoke.
"Anyway, it was two of us against one, and we barely won."
Stelle nodded thoughtfully.
"So, you're actually a dual-core processor?"
"...What kind of messy metaphor is that!" March 7th was left speechless by her words and could only sigh helplessly. "Fine, dual-core it is."
"Then March, do you usually have to buy double the clothes? What if she likes a different style than you?"
"She wears the same clothes as me, okay!" March 7th rolled her eyes, feeling the topic was going further and further off track. "And our aesthetics are basically the same, except she prefers... well, a colder and more aloof style."
No one else thought it was strange, but the more Mr. Yang looked at March 7th, the more he felt something was off.
Why did he keep getting a sense of déjà vu?
Another self...
"But March is strong, actually managing to win, even if winning two-on-one is a bit unsporting."
"Hehe, that's called a righteous gang-up!"
"Congratulations, you've passed the first stage of Phase Arbitration."
"...Eh?"
"It means that while you did pass the Phase Arbitration, it was only the first stage. What you just cleared was the most basic first stage."
"Sick, there's a second stage? Are you treating this like a video game? I was almost beaten to death by that phantom along with my other self, and now you're telling me this was just a tutorial?"
"Of course. That was just the lowest difficulty. The second and third stages are the real deal. No refunds or complaints allowed, but the clearing rewards are generous; they can help you unearth potential you didn't even know you had."
"No more, no more. You couldn't pay me to go back in today. I need to let my other self rest; she took several heavy hits just to protect me earlier."
March 7th sat on the sofa, her stomach still aching slightly.
"But Dan Heng, Stelle, did you two seriously not even pass the first stage?"
Stelle's expression stiffened.
Dammit, silly March actually got to show off...!