At Aether Paradise's entrance, Lillie stood before the railing, staring at the endless sea.
Behind her, Bai Chen draped a thin blanket over her head.
│ "Not everyone has a body like mine. Don't catch a cold—wear this."
It was his own blanket—standard equipment for someone who often camped in the wilderness.
Lillie held it to her chest.
It carried Bai Chen's scent—warm, comforting, safe.
│ "Thank you…"
She wrapped herself in it, shielding against the chilly ocean wind.
Seeing her low spirits, Bai Chen asked:
│ "Worried about Faba?"
Lillie nodded.
│ "I'm afraid he might… have an accident in the Ultra World."
Her voice softened.
│ "He did make big mistakes… but none deserving death.
│ And he's been one of Mother's most important colleagues for years.
│ If possible, I still hope he comes back alive."
Bai Chen said nothing.
In the original story, after the wormhole opened, it was Lusamine who was taken—
not Faba.
But due to the flap of a small butterfly called Bai Chen,
It was Faba who got dragged away this time.
A circle of karma.
However, as Lillie said, Faba's mistakes didn't warrant death. Bai Chen had tolerated him for a month precisely because Faba lacked the guts to harm Lillie genuinely.
Bai Chen finally spoke.
│ "My stance?
│ He had it coming.
│ If he makes it back alive, I won't let him off either."
A man who hurt Lillie—even unintentionally—would get no sympathy from him.
Let fate decide the rest.
If Faba died in the Ultra World, good riddance.
If he survived, then he'd face consequences.
Gladion approached from behind.
│ "Let's go home for now."
Lillie turned.
│ "How's the situation?"
The entire Aether staff had been pulled back to emergency overtime.
People like Wicke and Professor Burnet would get no rest for days.
Gladion sighed.
│ "We can't open another wormhole.
│ But monitors show multiple Ultra Beasts dragged him away.
│ Burnet and the others are trying to recover his tuning data—
│ Maybe they can stabilize a wormhole for a rescue attempt."
Implicitly:
Faba's chances… weren't good.
Gladion snorted coldly.
│ "All we can do is pray he holds out long enough.
│ If he doesn't… well, then he earned it."
Girls are more emotional.
Lillie didn't want him to die.
She silently prayed for him.
They boarded the private jet back home.
For now, staying safe was the best way to help Lusamine.
Back at the estate, Gladion challenged Bai Chen to a battle.
Bai Chen accepted.
In the garden arena, Gladion sent out Type: Null.
Bai Chen didn't hold back.
Full power—
a complete, one-sided defeat.
Gladion's skill was similar to Kiawe's—
good, but not on Bai Chen's level.
│ "You don't look very calm yourself.
│ Don't tell me you're worried about Faba too?"
│ "Of course not!" Gladion snapped.
│ "He hurt Type: Null.
│ And he hurt Lillie.
│ Why would I worry about him?"
│ "But he was your mother's closest partner?"
│ "He's hers. Not mine."
Bai Chen smirked.
│ "Good.
│ Then let me be clear—
│ even if they reopen the wormhole,
│ I'm not leading any rescue."
The Ultra World was full of powerful, unpredictable entities.
Bai Chen was not risking his life for a criminal.
Gladion stared.
│ "I thought you'd be… some heroic figure."
Bai Chen scoffed.
│ "What's the point of being a hero?
│ You get morally chained, have to sacrifice yourself,
│ and if you don't meet everyone's expectations,
│ you get blamed even when you did the right thing."
│ "I'm selfish.
│ I only protect the people I care about.
│ And I do what I want."
Gladion silently mulled over those words.
He recalled Type: Null, then returned it to its ball.
He didn't mention Faba again.
Night passed quietly.
Aether scientists researched the Ultra Wormhole all night—
with little progress.
Bai Chen didn't bother with such troubles.
The next morning, in the dining hall, Indeedee was already cooking.
Her culinary skills earned unanimous praise.
As Bai Chen ate, he watched utensils flying through the air under telekinetic control.
He fell into thought.
There were many special humans in this world—
people with unique abilities.
Aura was rare and distant.
But one ability was extremely close to him—literally right in front of him.
Psychic power.
In this world, many people have psychic talent.
Bai Chen could name five off the top of his head.
│ "I can learn psychic techniques.
│ And I can copy Indeedee's Psychic skill."
Psychic was a high-level move—
a rank-6 capability among Psychic types.
With psychic power, Bai Chen could:
levitate himself
achieve personal flight
telekinetically manipulate objects
And more importantly—
He stared at the floating utensils again.
│ "If Psychic power can control objects…
│ Can it control my swords?"
He currently carried three longblades.
In battle, he usually wielded one—
The other two were wasted.
If he could telekinetically wield them…
None of his blades would ever be idle.
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