—"That is my answer. Are you satisfied, BlueStar!" Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel✶fire.net She had been moved, yes. Otherwise she would not still be here. But she could not betray herself for a fleeting surge of emotion. Her sorrow in that instant was not regret for realizing too late, but grief that even at the very end she could not give a promise, could not place shackles on herself. "The only thing I can do is fight until the very last moment." "BlueStar, carry my voice to every corner of this world." With the reply given, Rita raised her dagger and pointed to the players who had frozen mid-battle. Her voice cut through the night like ice. "Keep fighting! Until I, BS-Rita, fall!" "Before I die, no one lays down their weapon. If you do, I will take it as betrayal." "When I am gone, then you may choose as you will." "You waited four months for me. One more day or two won’t kill you, will it?" Her words ended in a laugh, light and almost cheerful. If you chose to believe her, if you chose to follow her, then you had no right to turn back halfway. Captain: ...why does this sound exactly like a tyrant? On the third sunset since her return, both armies slowed to a halt. Every gaze rose to the sky. Even the BlueStar players who had been warned that stopping would count as betrayal froze. They could all see it. BS-Rita had reached her limit. Since her return she had fought at the edge for forty eight hours straight, against twenty four Lania Kaia leaders. Outnumbered three to one, weaker in raw power, and still they had not managed to kill her. But the edge had broken. The curses from Shabby Road had stacked too high. Every sip of poison had carried her here, to collapse. [Your legs are petrified, duration 5 hours] [You lose your sight until all your summoned foes return] [Your dominant hand is sealed for 3 hours] She hovered blind, body swaying, wings barely keeping her aloft. Three rabbits stood nearby. Two were mock fighting. The third, freshly summoned, simply watched her. It could see what she was at the end. Even if she faced only two leaders now, she would lose. Not just because her strength was gone. The newest curse had landed the moment she summoned it: [For the next 2 hours, no skill can be used more than once]. It was fatal. Phoenix Seat, Unchanged Fate, Shabby Road—they could each be used only once. Even Mystic Force would not save her. She had tried it already. The leaders had studied it, stolen Foolishness’s tactics from Chaotic Blocks. Here, the battlefield overflowed with skills. Every leader who descended carried something to bar her revival. Across from her, three Lania Kaia leaders looked at her with respect heavy in their eyes. Even broken, even trembling on the edge of collapse, no one dared drop their guard. That morning, when she had looked just as ready to fall, she had killed two leaders. If not for the lure of her two divine relics, none of them would even dare face her now. It did not matter. In two hours Bone Shade would return. Just as the battle tensed to snap, BlueStar’s voice whispered in her mind. [Even now, when death is at your door, you will not die as BlueStar’s Master?] BlueStar did not tire of asking. Rita was tired of hearing it. "Pointless," she muttered. "I’m about to die. Don’t waste time." She broke her contract with B8017913 by force. "It was good to know you." Her weak hand brushed the dagger’s hilt. "I’m sorry." Only Nivalis understood the apology. Sorry for never trusting fully. Sorry for coming too late to the moment of final resolve. For the first time she heard it: the world sighing. [Why can’t you love your world?] At last BlueStar understood. She truly would die here for this world, and yet her heart would never belong to it. [I was wrong. I thought BlueStar was special to you] [Your dragon was right] Rita frowned faintly. What did that mean? [To win your heart, one cannot force you to choose. The only way is to give everything, without regret, without demand...] BlueStar shifted. The world split in two. Lania Kaia creatures turned to black and white. BlueStar’s own burned in full color. Two realities, divided, untouchable. Then a voice filled the air, heard only by Rita, by BlueStar’s children, and by the gods. [BlueStar Announcement: People of BlueStar! Our world nears collapse. Will you make BS-Rita the BlueStar Verdict? She will receive supreme authority over the BlueStar server. From now on, BlueStar’s fortune, its honor, its survival, will rest on her alone] [When she triumphs, BlueStar will prosper] [When she is wounded, BlueStar will suffer disaster] [When she dies, BlueStar will shatter, with no rebirth possible] [BlueStar and BS-Rita will share the fate of the world, but the ruin of BlueStar cannot harm her] [She may call votes to establish BlueStar’s rules. If more than 20 percent approve, the rule stands] [All rights of explanation belong to her] [This... is BlueStar’s Verdict!] [Every adult human of BlueStar holds one veto vote] BlueStar had gone all in. All three rabbits froze, wide-eyed. A world had truly triggered this clause. It meant one player’s authority would surpass the world’s. BS-Rita would become BlueStar’s true administrator, able to control every aspect of the server linked to the game. Apart from altering player data, she could create events, dictate rules, reshape BlueStar’s play itself. And if she became the Verdict, not even BlueStar could reclaim the power. This was a secret mechanic buried since the gods first forged the Divine Game. Every world knew it. No world dared attempt it. Most worlds would not even bestow the lesser title of Master. The fact that BlueStar waited until this brink proved how unthinkable it was to yield control. And still—because of the veto—this vote should be impossible. No being fit to receive divine gifts lacked wisdom or soulfire. No being could satisfy every mind of its kind. At last, Deceitful Bloom and Foolishness rushed back from patching up the Divine Game. Gourmet and White Glove sprinted even faster. Gourmet: "Did she pick? What did she choose?" White Glove: "Has she grown? Did she finally grow up?!" Ashveil: "...how do I put this..." Ironclaw: "She did grow." Boiling Orange: "BlueStar grew." Deceitful Bloom & Foolishness: ???