CHAPTER 41: SPHERES OF DESTINY

A 1 in 10,000 chance. That was all Mimi had to successfully learn the skill from the stone.

It was practically impossible.

Unless... there was divine intervention.

And fortunately, Lord Siamelumis had already prepared for that. For her plan to succeed, however, she needed Marshmallow’s help. That was why the little creature had been summoned here in the first place.

Slowly and carefully, she told Mimi about her plan.

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"Alright, Mimi. You may use the skill stone now," Siamelumis said firmly. "Place your paws on it and imagine the light inside flowing into you."

Mimi swallowed hard, she could feel her heart thumping inside her chest like a war drum, and her body shaking in both anxiety and excitement.

Even after hearing about Lord Siamelumis’ plan, she was still nervous.

In fact, nothing was certain yet. The plan could still fail. Because... the person most crucial for the plan to work... was Mimi herself. Yes, failure of success, it all depended on her now!

Alright... here I go!

She pressed her paws against the glowing orb.

At once, the stone blazed with dazzling brilliance! A surge of energy erupted outward, crashing into her body like a raging river that would sweep her away.

[Ding! Are you sure you want to attempt learning this skill: Divine Curse Reversal?]

[Y/N]

"YES!" Mimi shouted.

[Warning: Success rate is 0.01%. This is less than 10%! Proceeding may result in the loss of this valuable item. Do you still wish to continue?]

[Y/N]

"Yes!!!" she cried without hesitation.

[Confirmed. Learning skill: Divine Curse Reversal.]

At that notification, the torrent of power grew even more violent!

It wasn’t just energy—it was like fire, lightning, and raw chaos blending together all at once. It burned, tore, and rewrote her from the inside out. Countless shards of information stabbed into her mind like knives, while even her very blood and genes seemed to twist under the weight of it!

"AAAAAAA!!!" Mimi screamed, clutching her head with her other paw. It felt as though her skull would split, her soul cracking apart piece by piece!

And yet, she endured!

For my future, this pain is nothing!!!

"Marshmallow! Now!" Siamelumis shouted.

On command, Marshmallow leapt forward. She pressed her paws against Mimi’s back, and instantly, the golden markings along her fur blazed to life. Blinding light poured out of her small body, wings spreading wide as if to shield her master. Divine energy surged forth, intertwining with the violent torrent raging inside Mimi.

And then—

Silence.

One moment, Mimi’s mind was nothing but agony, her entire being on the verge of collapse. But the next, everything was gone. Now, there was no pain, no sound, no weight at all. It was as if the world itself had been erased.

And then, when Mimi slowly opened her eyes again...

She was no longer in the same place.

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It was a place of complete darkness.

Mimi floated weightlessly, her body vibrating faintly as though some strange frequency was running through her.

No—on closer thought, she didn’t even have a physical body anymore. What she had now was an astral form—a small, cat-shaped shadow, her outline hazy like smoke, drifting aimlessly in the void.

To be precise, this was what people called a state of pure consciousness—a being that had slipped beyond the boundaries of the physical world.

Here, there was no matter.

No time.

No space.

And yet, her thoughts still echoed. Her awareness remained intact. She knew, without a doubt, that she still existed.

"Woaaaahhh... this is so cool!!!" Mimi gasped, lifting her dark little paws in front of her faintly glowing eyes.

She gave herself a moment to adjust.

At first, she tried to "swim" through the empty space, but her body refused to move. Then, instinctively, she realized something—she didn’t need to move at all. She could will herself forward with nothing but thought.

Just by imagining herself moving from point A to point B, her astral form instantly zipped forward.

It wasn’t walking or running.

It wasn’t even flying.

It was instantaneous.

Like teleportation!

"COOOOOL!"

Mimi darted around gleefully, blinking in and out of sight as her shadowy figure flickered from one spot to another. For a while, she played with her new ability, teleporting in every direction like a kitten discovering a brand-new toy.

But eventually, she steadied herself, her expression growing serious.

Alright... time to get back to business, she thought firmly.

The instant that thought crossed her mind, the void around her began to shift.

Tiny lights began to flicker in the darkness—one, then dozens, then thousands. Transparent orbs bloomed into existence, multiplying at an impossible speed until they spread in every direction, filling the horizonless space.

Mimi drifted closer to one orb. Inside, she saw a frozen scene: herself back in Siamelumis’ domain, paws pressed against the skill stone. In front of her stood Siamelumis, calm and radiant, while behind her Marshmallow touched her back, her tiny paws glowing with divine light.

Curious, Mimi floated to another orb. The exact same image appeared again. Then she tried another. And another. No matter which one she peeked into, it was always the same scene—captured and suspended in crystal clarity.

"I see..." Mimi muttered, her voice echoing faintly in the void.

These orbs—these were what Marshmallow had called the "Spheres of Destiny."

Each one here represented a possible reality, a different outcome of her attempt to learn the Divine Curse Reversal skill.

And now, surrounding her weren’t just dozens or hundreds. There were billions of them, scattered like an endless galaxy of stars.

Her task sounded simple, but was cruel in practice.

Out of every 10,000 spheres, 9,999 contained failure—realities where she failed to learn the skill.

Only one in 10,000 carried success.

She had to find that one sphere before Marshmallow’s spell ended.

"Damn...," Mimi muttered, her mind filled with worry as she gazed at the sea of orbs.

"How the hell am I supposed to find that one now?!"