Su Tianqing felt a headache coming on.
Her fox ears drooped, and her small hands continuously massaged her temples, which were throbbing from trying to think, trying to appear less confused.
But her eyes remained fixed on the two figures sitting on the sofa in front of her.
On her left was Alice, sitting obediently upright, tightly hugging the plush toy in her arms, her peripheral vision constantly drifting to her side.
The subtle movements of her knees and ankles gently rubbing against each other fully expressed her inner nervousness and unease.
And on her right was another Alice, with jet-black hair.
Although she also sat obediently and upright, her gaze was constantly scanning and observing the live broadcast room's lounge, full of curiosity.
"...!"
The black Alice suddenly noticed the Fox Girl's gaze, her body trembled slightly, and she quickly lowered her eyes, pretending nothing had happened.
Su Tianqing did not miss her small movement, silently observing it.
Then she turned to look at the other Fox Girl beside her, who was writing something in a notebook.
Red tail and fur, Magic Girl Inari. The genuine article.
After hearing about the strange situation with Alice's appearance, Inari insisted on coming to see it, so Su Tianqing had to use teleportation magic to go to Hong Kong City and bring Inari back.
Inari's fox ears stood tall, occasionally twitching slightly, the entire Red Fox was in a rather excited state.
She was also muttering softly about terms like "Star Realm Projection" and "Star Realm Magic's concretization of personality," which Su Tianqing couldn't understand at all.
It wasn't until the Red Fox Girl put down her pen, rubbing her temples and taking a deep breath, that Su Tianqing finally asked her:
"...Miss Inari, do you have any thoughts?"
Su Tianqing asked softly.
"I have many thoughts, but I don't know where to start for a moment..."
Inari replied softly, straightening her back and regaining some spirit, looking at the two Alices in front of her, who were completely the same person except for their colors.
"...Alice."
"Hmm..."
Called by her codename, the blonde girl sat up straight and nodded in response,
"I, I'm here..."
"Do you and this one here, do you two know each other?"
Hearing this, Alice turned to look at her other self beside her.
The black Alice also turned to scrutinize her.
""We don't know each other.""
Both shook their heads simultaneously, speaking in unison.
Then, the black Alice continued:
"Also... I'm not Alice."
"Isn't that the new codename you chose yourself?" Su Tianqing asked, puzzled.
After a long silence, the black Alice slowly shook her head, her expression downcast,
"I am — Jack the Ripper."
...
Everyone became even more confused.
But fortunately, the black girl who called herself Jack bore no ill will towards anyone; she sat obediently by the coffee table, eating snacks, but her silent demeanor made people a little worried.
Her hobbies were identical to Alice's, but her personality was completely different; on a personality level, they were entirely two different people.
"Miss Inari, what do you think?" Su Tianqing asked.
"They don't know each other, and the black one calls herself Jack the Ripper. I remember that was the codename forced upon her by the London Hero Association before."
Inari pinched her chin and said softly,
"One characteristic of Star Realm Magic is that it faithfully reflects the user's will and personality traits, and grants corresponding power to the Magic Girl who uses it."
"For example, Miss Hellcat's black hole form symbolizes unstoppable destruction."
"And Alice's situation... clearly, Star Realm Magic has amplified her inner 'personality split'."
Everyone exchanged glances, including Su Tianqing, all looking at each other in bewilderment.
Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Inari cleared her throat and offered an explanation:
"Cough, let me rephrase it."
"The blonde-haired one is the Alice we are familiar with, meaning the Alice who has been with you all this time."
"And the black one... is also the genuine Alice, but she is the 'Star Shadow' projected by the guardian star, an 'Alice' overshadowed by past experiences."
"Miss Xin Yuehu, you must have used analysis magic to see the essence of their magic, they are fundamentally the same person."
Inari looked at the Golden Fox in front of her, and Su Tianqing honestly nodded in agreement.
"I see, then I can probably understand." Su Tianqing said.
Alice wanted to surpass her former self, but the shadows of her past still lingered within her, similar to Iris's psychological trauma.
After she confronted and defeated the evil spirit that plagued her, the Star Shadow, having lost its physical form in the current world, was fully exposed to everyone, which is the black version of Jack the Ripper.
In layman's terms, it's what's called a "dual personality."
"Then how should we deal with the black Alice?" As if remembering something, Fenrir suddenly spoke.
"There are many ways to deal with it, I don't have any very reliable ideas yet." Inari replied, shrugging helplessly.
"Hmm... Rabbit, what do you think?"
Su Tianqing said softly, turning the topic to Cheshire Rabbit, who had been silent.
This one is the villain's intelligence Rabbit, and often provides unexpected inspiration.
Seeing this, Cheshire Rabbit and Hellcat exchanged glances, both looking at Xin Yuehu, who had asked the question, and then at Fenrir, who stood silently to the side.
The villain quartet exchanged glances, then turned their attention to Inari, simultaneously drawing their right hands across their necks from left to right.
Inari suddenly understood something,
That is — why these four in front of her were villains.
...
"Absolutely not! Your ideas are too dangerous!"
"Oh..." The Golden Fox pouted and shrank her head, muttering softly in response.
Inari scolded them, casting their dangerous ideas into the depths of the Star Realm, and began to reconsider proper countermeasures.
Finally, it came back to communication and dialogue with the two Alices.
"Alice, and... for now, I'll call you Jack, I want to ask you some questions."
Su Tianqing sat opposite the coffee table, looking directly at the two of them.
The Golden Fox asked some rather private questions, mostly about things that happened when she was with Aurora normally.
But without exception, both gave the same answers, even surprised why the other knew these things.
"Sure enough, my deduction was correct, you two are essentially two sides of the same person." Inari clapped her hands, as if confirming an experimental result.
Then followed another string of complex long sentences like "the dispersion of personality duality at the Star Realm Projection level" and "the adaptability of the Star Shadow and the main body."
Alice and Jack exchanged glances, neither of them fully understanding Inari's speech, but they could still vaguely grasp her meaning.
"If my theory holds true, then if you two transform back now, you will return to your original state!"
"...Really? Is that really possible?" Hellcat found it hard to imagine.
As it was late, and Inari wanted to avoid suspicion, Su Tianqing used teleportation magic to send the antique senior back to Hong Kong City to rest.
When the Golden Fox huffed and puffed her way back to the villain's rooftop, the scene before her gave her a whole new appreciation for Inari's theoretical level:
"I... really... changed back...?"
Aurora stood blankly in the live broadcast room's lounge, looking down at her hands, in front of the three already stunned Hellcat and Cheshire Rabbit.
Aurora was still the same Aurora, even retaining the memories from this conversation, but this sudden situation indeed made her mind a bit chaotic, and she was now blankly contemplating life.
"It seems this is indeed an interesting phenomenon."
Su Tianqing murmured to herself, as if understanding something.
【Task Completed】
【Task 4: Investigate the Shadow of the Stars, 1 / 1】
The secret codex popped up a task completion message, as well as a brand new task:
【Task Updated】
【Task 5: Complete a daily task with Alice, 0 / 1】
What a coincidence, here it comes.
Let Hyacinth and the others witness it! Alice's brand-new power!