Chapter 1386 What About Sea Pony Then?

No one knew afterward whether the painting titled Brilliant Imagination ended up in Lightchaser’s hands or Cinders’.

When Rita finally started painting Beacon, she was instantly surrounded by Vineborne from both Starsea and Quiet Mountain.

Two Deceitful Blooms.

Two Cicadas.

Two Smoke Tunes.

And Spring Guest craning his neck from the outer edge because he could not squeeze in.

Rita genuinely could not understand what was so fascinating about watching her paint.

Her process was meticulous. One painting took at least ten days to finish, and some especially complicated worlds required half a month.

For most worlds, she only painted the backs of the inhabitants. She tried not to let any single individual stand as the sole symbol of an entire race.

But there were exceptions.

The moon foxes alone had hundreds of different tail and ear colors.

The owlfolk had countless wing patterns.

Rita was not stubborn enough to cling rigidly to her own rules. Without hesitation, she chose Misttail and the Maple lineage as representatives.

In the era she lived in, no moon fox ruler had ever surpassed Mistblade.

And among the owlfolk, no leader had ever been more relentless than Maple Syrup.

There were many similar cases.

Whenever a race possessed too many physical variations, Rita would prioritize whichever leader had managed to carry their people this far.

As for present day Beacon and the Vineborne, Rita naturally intended to paint Cicada’s silhouette.

Heartless Temptation would serve as the dark central focus, while the other illuminated vines drifted through the air like glowing fireflies.

And then came the problem.

Should the hair be silver?

Or pale gold?

Pale gold would be more accurate to reality.

But the Vineborne race was defined by silver hair and crimson eyes.

Besides, BS Cicada had still possessed silver hair when Beacon collapsed.

Yet if Rita painted silver hair together with Heartless Temptation, then which Cicada would this become?

Starsea Cicada?

Or QM Cicada?

Rita stared at the paint palette for so long that everyone present quickly figured out what she was hesitating over.

Neither Deceitful Bloom spoke.

But BS Cicada immediately grabbed Rita’s wrist and said firmly,

"Silver hair."

Rita lifted her gaze toward her, then glanced quietly at the silent QM Cicada nearby.

"She broke free from divine blessing," BS Cicada said without looking at QM Cicada. Her eyes remained lowered toward the lonely figure standing amidst the painted sea of flowers.

"That was the exact moment she appeared in Quiet Mountain."

The instant Beacon collapsed, Dawn Cicada was born.

And so was QM Cicada.

No.

Not only them.

BS Cicada continued,

"Smoke Tune was copied into Quiet Mountain that same day too."

Rita’s gaze slowly drifted toward Spring Guest.

Her expression clearly read: Then what happened to this one? A genetic mutation?

BS Cicada answered flatly,

"He wasn’t copied. He had only just learned how to walk back then."

Fair enough.

Not much replication value there.

Since she wanted silver hair, Rita simply mixed silver paint without further argument.

Spring Guest only learned the exact timing of QM Cicada’s duplication today.

"I always thought your copy point would’ve been the moment you ascended Dawn’s throne."

"It was."

BS Cicada’s voice carried a faint smile, but underneath it lay cold certainty, just like the Heartless Temptation vines winding around her body.

"The day Beacon died, my heart had already taken the Dawn throne."

"The coronation ceremony just happened to require Dawn’s blood, so it took a few extra years."

Rita painted long silver hair onto the Vineborne figure.

Then she added a single red droplet falling through the air.

Better not make her cry.

Rita had never considered tears a symbol of weakness.

Within Beacon’s sigh, the image of Cicada crying had never once looked fragile.

Still.

Better not to cry again.

Blood and sweat spilled during battle suited them far more.

As the painting neared completion, the seven crimson eyed Vineborne surrounding her grew increasingly soft in expression.

Rita quietly relaxed.

This had easily been the most stressful painting she had worked on so far.

Just as she began finishing the final details, a red flower petal drifted over and brushed lightly against her nose.

Starsea Deceitful Bloom asked,

"Why didn’t you paint Flower Crown Murder?"

Rita shook her head.

"This is Beacon’s story."

Cicada was the center of the story.

Not her.

But Starsea Deceitful Bloom disagreed.

"If this painting eventually becomes an item or evolves into something even higher, then every layer inside it should become richer."

After a brief pause, her tone lowered slightly.

"Think of those timelines that become Brilliant through overwhelming suffering."

"Beacon’s Vineborne went to Dawn. Their final destination became BS. And during all of that, I intervened too."

"All of those things are part of the Vineborne story."

"Most importantly..."

"You have vines as well."

"This painting may belong to Beacon."

"But it can still contain winds blowing in from afar."

Rita understood immediately.

She stared at the painting for a while before finally adding two tiny vines into the lower left corner.

Flower of Deceit and Flower Crown Murder crossed together like twin swords, forming a small X.

Rita pointed proudly at her addition.

"Not bad, right? I even included you."

Deceitful Bloom nodded in satisfaction.

"Acceptable."

With both herself and BS Rita layered into the artwork, this illustration would probably become second only to BS itself in strength.

BS Cicada immediately objected.

"No. I disagree."

Rita: "???"

"Why do I need your approval?"

Then she added calmly,

"Do you not want vines again?"

QM Cicada still did not fully understand all the chaos within Starsea’s relationships.

But she already knew asking the Vineborne directly would get her nowhere.

Not even Smoke Tune.

This Vineborne looked endlessly gentle and accommodating, yet sometimes possessed terrifying stubbornness.

Even if Smoke Tune acknowledged QM Cicada as another Cicada, she clearly still favored Starsea’s version more.

There was no way she would casually spill Starsea Cicada’s gossip.

So after the painting was finally completed, QM Cicada cornered Starsea Spring Guest at the first opportunity she found.

Spring Guest lowered his head and looked at the blade pressed against his waist before forcing out a bitter smile.

"...Need something?"

QM Cicada asked directly,

"What exactly happened between Starsea Rita and Starsea Cicada? What did she mean by ’not wanting vines again’?"

Gossip?!

Spring Guest instantly lit up.

"Oh, that’s a long story!"

"Come on, sis, let’s grab coffee and talk properly. My treat."

"Their story... no, wait, not just theirs... and Smoke Tune too... actually it’s the whole four person disaster. There’s no way I can explain it quickly."

QM Cicada: ...

A terrible feeling suddenly rose in her chest.

Several hours later, QM Cicada walked out of the ship’s restaurant wearing an extremely complicated expression.

Right then, she happened to run into QM Mistblade returning from class.

Seeing Cicada’s unusual face, QM Mistblade asked,

"Weren’t you watching Starsea Rita paint Beacon? What happened?"

QM Cicada explained everything in detail.

From Starsea Rita raising her pinky finger the very first time she met Starsea Cicada.

To eventually eating Cicada’s vines.

To attacking Lania Kaia for Deceitful Bloom and pointing her blade toward BS.

To finally handing Dawn over to BS Rita before relocating her entire family to BS herself.

As the story continued, the permanently sleepy look on QM Mistblade’s face slowly disappeared.

Her eyes opened wider and wider.

By the time QM Cicada finished speaking, QM Mistblade blurted out the first thought that entered her head:

"Then what about Sea Pony?"

QM Cicada: ...Who exactly is that now???

And why did this somehow sound like another entire story?