As I watched Vivi digest the new world core, I found my thoughts drifting back to that night on Abor when we came up with this plan of taking over the world cores.
The celebration.
The noise, the laughter, the calm before everything began to move again.
I had been walking through the hall, speaking with different envoys, North beside me the entire time. After finishing a brief exchange with the representatives from the demon headquarters, I made my way toward someone I had not yet met that evening.
My grandmother.
She stood slightly away from the main crowd, observing everything with a smile on her face.
The moment I approached, she looked at me closely.
"Have you handled everything properly?" she asked, the worry in her voice clear despite how composed she looked. "That attack was too sudden."
I smiled lightly.
"Yes, Grandma," I replied. "Something like that won’t happen again. We’ve made sure of it."
She studied me for a moment longer, then nodded.
"Good."
There was a brief pause before she spoke again.
"The way I see it, Billion... you don’t have enough people."
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You have power," she continued, "you have presence... but you don’t have enough people working for you. You need more."
I didn’t argue. She was right.
"I agree," I said. "But I can’t just gather random people and expect things to work."
I thought for a moment before continuing.
"I’ve been thinking of setting up an academy. Bringing people from Vaythos, training them properly, building something that lasts."
Her expression softened.
"That’s a good idea," she said with a small smile. "Then I’ll ask the Emperor to increase the propaganda."
I blinked.
"Increase the propaganda?" I repeated, slightly confused.
She nodded as if it was the most obvious thing.
"Yes. Stories, influence, reputation. Talk about how strong you are, how you protect people, how you lead."
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"The goal is simple: make people loyal to you. Not just to Vaythos."
I glanced at North. She simply chuckled, clearly amused by the direction this was going.
"Alright," I said with a faint smile. "Go ahead."
"We will," my grandmother replied confidently. "These kinds of things... you can leave to us old timers."
Then she turned toward North.
"Billion, you go take a walk," she said, already reaching for North’s hand. "I want to talk to her."
I blinked, caught slightly off guard.
"Uh... okay."
I stepped back, watching as the two of them moved away together, already deep in conversation.
And just like that, I was dismissed.
I stood there for a second, holding my drink, watching my grandmother walk away with North as if she had already decided everything. I let out a small breath and turned, deciding to head toward Lyrate.
That was when I felt it.
A presence suddenly materializes in the hall. I raised my head slightly and looked toward the chandelier above the hall.
There sitting on it was Vivi in her phoenix form. She had just materialized, perched quietly, her small form glowing faintly as she observed everything below.
’Vivi, how come you are here?’ I asked through our connection.
There was a brief pause before she replied.
"Billion... I am sad."
I frowned slightly.
"Sad? Why?"
"Look at everyone," she said, her voice carrying a strange mix of curiosity and longing. "They are all enjoying. Eating, drinking, laughing... I want to do that too."
I stilled.
"I can’t do any of that right now," she continued. "I am just made of your Essence. I don’t have a real body. I also want one."
For a moment, I didn’t say anything.
It had never crossed my mind like this before. To me, she was a world. A living system. Something vast and powerful.
But not...this.
"Vivi," I said slowly, "I don’t know how to give you a body. If I did, I would have already done it."
"I know how to do that," she replied, and there was a faint excitement in her voice now.
I blinked.
"How?"
"By getting stronger," she said. "I need to devour stronger worlds. If I do that, I will understand more. On my world, I can already create life, right? Small things. Plants. Creatures."
She paused briefly.
"If I grow enough... I can create a body for myself."
I stared at the drink in my hand.
"Vivi... are you sure about this?" I asked, needing to confirm what I had just heard.
"Umm... I think so," she replied. "It feels like the truth. Like something I can do. But right now... I am still very weak."
I exhaled slowly.
"Alright, so you—"
"But there is something else," she cut in quickly.
I paused.
"What?"
"There are stronger world cores than me right now," she said. "Much stronger. Which means I can grow a lot more."
That didn’t surprise me.
"There is also something above world cores."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"What is it?"
"The core of an entire galaxy."
For a moment everything went silent for me. My heart thudded once, heavy. A new thought formed instantly.
"Galaxy core," she continued. "It forms when many high-level world cores resonate together. And if a world core becomes strong enough... the galaxy core starts resonating with it."
I tightened my grip on the glass.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Vivi said softly, "if I grow strong enough... the Galaxy Core will come to seek me out for resonance."
A pause.
"And you... will be able to touch the core of the Blue Spiral Galaxy."
I didn’t respond immediately.
"Billion?" she called.
I let out a quiet breath.
"Vivi... when did you become this cunning?" I said. "I can clearly see you trying to raise my greed."
She laughed lightly.
"I just watch humans every day," she replied. "Of course I will learn something from them."
I shook my head slightly, a faint smile forming.
"I can come up with a plan to get stronger world cores for you," I said slowly. "But there is a problem. I don’t want people to know we are taking them. I don’t want the entire galaxy turning against me."
"I can handle that," Vivi said instantly.
I paused.
"You can?"
"Yes," she replied confidently. "I have been refining my control over the worlds I have already devoured. I can make them appear normal. Natural. No one will notice anything unless they go directly to the world core."
She paused again.
"And even if they do... they won’t be able to trace it back to me."
I raised the glass in my hand and finished it in one go.
"Vivi..." I said quietly, "that is very good news."
A faint smile formed.
"And it came at the perfect time."
I lowered the glass and looked ahead.
"Let me plan the rest."