As he spoke, the blizzard, carried by the frigid wind, slowed down once more. Countless finger-sized snowflakes halted their descent, suspended in mid-air.
Everything seemed to have hit the pause button. The expressions on everyone's faces froze, locked in a single moment. Cocolia's hand remained raised high, Imaginary energy coalescing and spinning above it, poised to crash down like a meteor onto the Forbidden Zone in the very next second.
Stelle stared intently at Jiang Liang. When he had first appeared, time seemed to have shifted into slow motion. Now, as he spoke, everything stopped completely. Time itself, eternally flowing, seemed like a toy being held still by this white-haired young man.
Rivers could run dry, mountains could crumble, life could end, metal could rust, but time always flowed onward. Who could possibly toy with time?
She looked him up and down.
His white hair seemed to merge completely with the blizzard. His azure eyes reminded her of the blue oceans she'd seen on the Interastral Network. A long black coat enveloped him snugly, and hanging at his waist were two pistols, black and white with gilded barrels.
Stelle focused her attention on Jiang Liang's every movement. He didn't seem bothered, simply standing there, apparently awaiting her answer.
A strange silence stretched between them for several minutes. Even Stelle knew that whoever spoke first would lose the upper hand, ceding the initiative. But she couldn't bear it. As time ticked by, the anxiety and confusion in her heart grew overwhelming. Ignoring his philosophical question, she chose to ask directly:
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
She took the bait!I thought we'd be stuck in this standoff for longer. Are people nowadays really this composed when facing life and death? Jiang Liang did his best to control his expression, aiming for indifference, but not complete impassivity.
"When you ask that question, perhaps you should first consider what your heart was yearning for just moments ago."
What was my heart yearning for?
Stelle looked up at the meteor taking shape above Cocolia, about to plummet towards them.
Right... when I saw that, I was thinking, 'We can't die.' I was thinking about how to ensure everyone survived. Even though I've known them for less than three days, not even seventy-two hours, I found myself thinking, 'If only I could protect them.'
What can you really do in just seventy-two hours of life? Can bonds this deep truly form between people you've only just met?
Stelle didn't know. But she just didn't want anyone to die.
"I want everyone here to go back unharmed. I want everyone to return alive to Belobog, alive back to the Astral Express... And then, you appeared."
Very perceptive. Yes, say it out loud.That way, I can smoothly continue the conversation along your lines. Jiang Liang's lips curled upwards subconsciously, but remembering he needed to maintain his persona, he forced the twitching muscles back down.
According to the system's rules, he was currently in a soul state.
After the proxy session ended, he would remain within the consciousness of the person he proxied for a period, until he found a new proxy target.
Although he could forcibly take over, Jiang Liang didn't like turning potential allies into enemies when a friendly approach was possible. However, if he used the proxy session to become her benefactor, that was a different story entirely.
"You want to save your friends, and you want to save this snowfield. You don't want to stand by helplessly, unable to do anything. That's why I appeared here, isn't it?"
"You can help me?" Stelle blurted out, the anxiety on her face replaced by hope.
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here," Jiang Liang stated calmly. "The fundamental logic of the universe is equivalent exchange. What can you offer?"
"What must I do for you to help me? If it means saving everyone... as long as it's something I can do, I'll do anything!"
When a lifeline appears on the water's surface, no matter how unreliable it seems, a drowning person will always desperately grasp for it.
If they fail to grasp it, the only conceivable outcome is...
"I need to enter your body."
"Huh?!"
Stelle's eyes widened almost instinctively.
Although she was only three days old, she was at least a savvy Interastral Network surfer. Faced with absurdity, she could often become even more absurd herself, but she had truly never encountered someone this outlandish.
Why encounter someone so brazenly direct at a time like this? It was too much!
"Due to certain special circumstances, I can take control of someone else's body for a period of time... What's wrong?"
Noticing Stelle's strange expression, Jiang Liang paused mid-sentence and turned to ask her.
"...It's nothing. Please continue."
Stelle lowered her head in shame.
"The side effect is that I temporarily cannot leave your body for some time afterward. Of course, I can only take control if you agree to let me substitute for you. You can decide right now."
Having said his piece in one breath, Jiang Liang waited quietly for Stelle's answer.
He believed that under these circumstances, Stelle would agree quickly.
"I... don't suppose I have any other choice, do I?"
Stelle fell silent. She scratched her head, glanced at the motionless Cocolia, and after a moment, spoke again. "How long can this... frozen time state last?"
"Maybe another two or three minutes. Or it could end the next second. Look, the meteor and that monster are starting to move again."
This method of stopping time was provided by the system, supposedly to allow both parties to negotiate amicably in a safe environment.
Jiang Liang's only reaction to this was a desire to flip the system the middle finger and demand the proxy ability be replaced with time-stopping powers. Upon hearing this request, however, the system had simply gone silent, playing dead.
But this time-stopping measure had a limit. As time passed, everything would transition from frozen, to slow motion, and finally back to normal speed.
"I agree! If it means we can all return to the Astral Express, not one less, then I don't need even a second to consider."
Stelle rubbed her nose, watching as Cocolia and the meteor gradually resumed movement within the fading time-stop. The meteor was already starting to spin, and Cocolia's piercing shriek could be heard faintly. Soon, time would advance to the life-or-death moment.
"I was just thinking... what if you can't handle it either?"
Although showing fear before the fight felt a bit embarrassing, Stelle thought a little doubt was normal at a moment like this.
Wouldn't it be incredibly humiliating to declare 'I will win' only to be immediately smacked down?
Jiang Liang didn't reply verbally. He walked over to Stelle's side, looked up at the meteor capable of covering the entire area, and casually unhooked the dual pistols from his waist with his fingers, before clicking them together.
Suddenly, Stelle found she couldn't move.
She watched Jiang Liang walk past her, move forward, pass Seele, glide past Dan Heng, and arrive directly in front of Cocolia. Simultaneously, the meteor spun faster and faster, and the blizzard hit her face with near-overwhelming force.
Time snapped back to normal. The piercing shriek mingled with the howling wind. Stelle heard her companions' panicked voices calling her name. Immobilized, she could only watch as Jiang Liang stood calmly before Cocolia, utterly still.
Cocolia swung her arms down. This enraged, despairing snowfield unleashed its breath. Even the fiercest warrior would cower like a frightened cub in the shadow of this ice plain.
Countless chaotic sounds merged. Cocolia's shriek shattered the ground beneath her. She had poured all the Imaginary energy into the attack above. Whatever dared stand in the way of her new world would be pulverized.
But just as the meteor was about to descend, Stelle saw Jiang Liang simply tighten his grip on a greatsword that had appeared in his hands from nowhere. The moment he grasped it, the blade began to pulse with raging flames. Within mere seconds, the heat became so intense it was painful to look at.
Judgment of Shamash, unsheathed!