Lucian stared at StreamGhost as the man spoke, a faint smile etched gently onto the surface of his mask. The expression never changed, never wavered, as though it had been carved there rather than worn.

'Is he also another reader who showered the Author with gifts, hence causing the Author to create a character for him?' Lucian asked himself as his thoughts spiraled inward. The idea was not far-fetched, he had seen stranger things, but the very next moment, he dismissed it with a quiet scoff in his mind.

'No… no reader would want to become someone who does nothing but record battles between characters belonging to other readers,' he reasoned. 'Unless that reader had some kind of camera-related job in real life.'

Even then, the thought felt shaky at best.

Lucian found himself overthinking, though the behavior was entirely justified. After all, an existence possessing Omnipotence and Omnipresence as abilities was not merely dangerous, it was universe-shaking, reality-distorting, and logic-defying. Such a being should not exist so casually, let alone stand before them as though they were little more than spectators in a story he had already seen play out countless times.

As his thoughts tangled and twisted, Veronica's voice came from his side, gentle yet tinged with concern.

"Is there anything wrong?" she asked as her eyes turned to him.

Lucian realized belatedly that his face must have betrayed him. He had not noticed it himself, but Veronica had seen his expression cycle rapidly, shock, disbelief, confusion, surprise, and several other emotions he could not even name.

Her words snapped him out of his thoughts. He gently shook his head, exhaling softly before replying in a calm, caring tone, "It's nothing. Just thinking about a few things."

He paused briefly, then added, "Also… thank you for believing in me."

A small smile appeared on his lips, sincere and warm.

Even when I didn't believe in myself, he thought silently, unwilling to say the words out loud.

"No problem," Veronica replied without hesitation. "I've been with you for six months now, so I know a lot." She paused for a moment, then continued, "Although I also know Anthony, I don't really know much about his abilities. I never went on missions with him back when we were stationed at the military base." Her white eyes, as beautiful and unreadable as ever, reflected quiet curiosity rather than doubt.

Lucian nodded at first without saying a word, then spoke again, his tone thoughtful. "I'm sure you didn't notice, but that super ramen we ate, the one Broth-ben cooked, from the Ramen Singularity Timeline… it increased your natural talent."

Veronica froze.

She paused, surprise and confusion colliding within her expression. The idea itself felt absurd. Savor energy enhancing power was already rare, but increasing natural talent, something inherent, foundational, was something she had never even heard of.

And even if it could increase talent, how was it possible for it to affect someone outside its own Timeline?

"How?" she asked simply.

"It must be one of the intents embedded within the ramen-making technique Broth-ben used," Lucian replied calmly. For a brief moment, he completely forgot about StreamGhost's existence. "I don't know by how much your natural talent evolved, but we can check everything once we return. We can test it properly."

Veronica nodded without hesitation. This was one of the few places where she could safely attempt something like that. Besides, who wouldn't want increased power or greater talent?

'Maybe… maybe this time I can at least stand close to them,' she thought to herself as her hand clenched unconsciously into a fist.

Out of everyone present, she was the weakest. The only reason she had attended the galaxy-wide meeting was because she was Lucian's girlfriend, not because she possessed the strength or ability to justify her presence. Even Altheria, despite being Aaaninja's girlfriend, had more than enough power to back her position.

"What about you and the rest?" Veronica asked, genuinely curious. "Did any of you get an increase in talent as well?"

The question lingered. Could the already absurd natural talents possessed by Anthony, Lucian, Aura Nova, Aaaninja, and the others actually increase further?

Lucian shook his head slightly. "We're already… too talented for our talent to increase again," he said with a faint, almost amused smile. "Although I'm fairly certain Altheria's talent increased, just like yours."

He knew, better than anyone, that Veronica had always wanted to grow stronger. Unfortunately, he did not possess any ability capable of directly raising another person's talent. If he did, he would not hesitate for even a second to use it on her.

Veronica, who moments ago had been looking forward to the battle itself, found her anticipation shifting. Instead of the clash ahead, her thoughts drifted to what would come after, the testing, the confirmation, the possibility that she could truly grown stronger faster.

Vega's gaze lingered on Veronica, though she said nothing. A small, knowing smile curved her lips. She already knew about the increase in Veronica's natural talent; such things were trivial to discern with her Cause and Effect ability.

'Although she won't suddenly skyrocket to our level or shockingly match our talent,' Vega mused inwardly. 'But progress is still progress.'

"Since the introductions are done, I will be leaving now," StreamGhost's voice echoed suddenly. He bowed dramatically, tipping his hat with exaggerated flair. As he straightened, his body began to fade from reality, slowly, deliberately, until he vanished entirely.

Although nobody aside from Anthony could sense his presence directly, they all knew one thing for certain: StreamGhost had not left. He still floated within the same space, unseen, observing, waiting for them to move to the next location.

'Creep,' Altheria thought silently as she watched him disappear.

"So," Vega's voice came from the side, bright with interest, "where will your battle take place?" She had already lost all interest in StreamGhost. His appearance and disappearance did little to bother her now.

"Where else?" Aura Nova replied calmly, her back leaning against the wall as her arms folded across her chest. "We all possess planetary-level prowess. Obviously, it'll be in the void of the galaxy."

"Hmmm…" Vega hummed thoughtfully. "How about one of my father's Separate Planes? I'm sure it can withstand any madness you all throw at it. Even the trees and mountains there aren't much different from planets in terms of durability."

Everyone aside from Veronica and Anthony raised an eyebrow, some of them raising both.

"Wouldn't destroying a place like that make your parents angry?" Aura Nova asked. Though she had never visited such a plane due to being confined to the Dusk Planet for most of her life, the concern was genuine.

"It's fine," Vega shrugged casually. "They don't use those spaces anymore anyway. Reality there can't withstand their power." The casualness with which she flexed her parents' power left the air momentarily silent.

Almost no one was familiar with the idea of trees or mountains possessing durability equivalent to planets or other Astra bodies. In most Separate Planes, people simply transferred entire celestial bodies into them.

"No problem then," Lucian said after a moment, though his tone carried a hint of unease. "I just hope we don't get into trouble." He didn't know Vega's parents personally, but based on her words alone, it was clear to everyone present that they had long surpassed the planetary level.

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