OP Sister Chapter 541: The Mad Puppeteer

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Buddha gazed into the distance where Anna had ventured an hour ago, his eyes fixed on the waterfall. He noticed she had made a fortuitous encounter with Gilgamesh and was now drawn into his treasury to receive an important item.

“It seems things unfolded as I foresaw… Although Gilgamesh would have surely rejected my request for the Heart of Kronos, it appears that meeting Anna first prompted him to give it freely,” he chuckled lightly. “Haha, Gilgamesh, as always, you may be harsh with us Constellations, but you’ve always shown a kind heart toward mortals.”

As Buddha smiled and closed his eyes in deep meditation, he sensed a large lotus flower approaching his small wooden house in the middle of the lake.

He opened one eye, observing the blossoming flower reveal Anna’s brother in a deep slumber. The burns on his body had healed completely, though he still appeared exhausted.

“He survived the healing process… He’s more resilient than I thought. Even after losing the connection to the power granted by the small Spawn of the Void King, something else has awakened within him.”

Buddha swiftly finished preparing an elixir and gently fed it to Jack, cradling him like a child to help the unconscious boy drink.

“Rest well. Your sister is working hard to bring you both home.”

Buddha smiled tenderly, placing Jack back inside the giant lotus flower, which closed swiftly and floated away across the serene lake.

“…?”

Suddenly, he sensed a sharp, powerful presence in the skies, beyond the planet’s atmospheric barrier.

Buddha’s eyes narrowed, piercing through all things with his Eyes of Nirvana.

There, a massive shadow loomed above the barrier—a floating fortress the size of a moon, its giant cannon aimed and beginning to bombard the barrier.

“As usual, you’ve come again to try to destroy the barrier, Puppeteer.”

Buddha’s projection materialized above the atmosphere, formed entirely of golden light. He floated among the stars, gazing at the colossal fortress.

“I feel it! Buddha! Open the door! Openopenopenopenopenopenopen!!!”

“Calm down, Puppeteer. Please tell me what you felt.”

“THE CHILD! GIVE HER TO ME NOW! NOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW!!!”

“That I cannot do.”

“Grrrrr! Grrr! Give her to me! Give him to me too! I want both! BOTH! BOTH! GIVETHEMBOTHTOMENOWBUDDHAGIVETHEMTOMENOWNOWNOWNOW…!”

Buddha’s expression turned pitying as the madwoman’s frantic ramblings echoed from within the fortress.

“Please, let me help you, Puppeteer. Your madness can be cured. I know I can do something.”

“IDON’TNEEDYOURHELPBUDDHAGIVEMETHETWOCHILDRENINEEDTHEMFORMYFAMILYTOBECOMPLETE!!!”

The old woman’s maddening tone gave even Buddha a headache as he struggled to decipher her words.

He heard her clench her teeth tightly and press buttons inside, before something emerged from the fortress.

“Your puppets again?”

Dozens of puppets appeared, most at Rank 6 and Rank 7, with a few at Rank 8, brimming with immense cosmic power.

“Go go go go go!!! Go, my family, and bring your two new siblings back home! GOOOO!!!”

The madwoman roared as the puppets attacked the barrier together.

“Enough.”

Buddha unleashed a radiant glow from his projection. Giant palms of golden light, infused with his storied power, smashed the puppets into pieces, scattering their fragments across the sea of stars.

“NOOOOO!!! M-MY CHILDREN!!!”

The madwoman screamed, chasing the destroyed puppets and vanishing.

Buddha sighed in relief.

“Does she have even more puppets now? Where… where did she even come from? No matter how hard I try to unravel her story, it’s so twisted… it corrupts my mind. But how does she already know about Anna and Jack? Hm…”

As Buddha meditated on these questions, he noticed below that the Mad Puppeteer was now battling a group of Scavengers.

Her fortress’s cannons obliterated them, and her puppets tore them apart. She then drew their corpses into the fortress, where Buddha detected cosmic fog emanating.

“Is she turning Scavengers into puppets?”

Buddha’s eyes widened, his concentration faltering momentarily.

That was a new ability!

“At least she’s distracted for now, but how long can I maintain the defenses?”

As doubt crept into Buddha’s heart, he shook his head.

“No, worrying is unnecessary. I’ve seen the true path through Anna… I must trust everyone and wait.”

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“Woof! Arf!”

“H-Hey, Fenrir! Wait!”

Anna chased a small black dog darting through Gilgamesh’s treasury.

The ancient king was preparing a large formation within his vast treasury, using treasures as materials.

However, he appeared visibly annoyed by Anna’s “pet.”

“Hey, Anna, what is that thing? Is it a Spawn of the Void King? Why did you bring it here?” he demanded, irritation clear in his voice. “This king is deeply displeased by its presence!”

“T-This isn’t a spawn, it’s Fenrir, my brother’s friend!” Anna protested. “Please, Your Majesty, be gentle with him. He’s just a little puppy now, but he was once a great, powerful wolf with shadow powers… He helped my brother survive and grow stronger on many occasions and saved our lives when we fell through the rift.”

“Hmm, this thing?” Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, snapping his fingers to teleport Fenrir into his hand, grasping the puppy from its nape. “How could this frail little spawn have helped you?”

“I told you he was big before…!” Anna insisted. “He shrank after exhausting all his power… I think he might have lost his memories too, or… perhaps he’s dead, and this puppy is something born from his death.”

“A Stardust Fragment?” Gilgamesh mused.

“A what?” Anna asked.

“Stardust Fragments are ‘leftovers’ created when a Constellation dies, but a fragment of their story lingers. They sometimes carry memories and parts of their personality, but they’re often entirely new beings,” Gilgamesh explained. “There are a few such beings in this city, remnants of those who perished… Ares, that fool, cares for some children—leftovers from his family—in a small orphanage, alongside other young Constellations.”

“What?!” Anna exclaimed, shocked. “I-I had no idea Ares had a heart for children…!”

“Heh, he was far more reckless and less emotional before… After his family passed away, he gradually changed, likely trying to emulate his father or siblings,” Gilgamesh sighed. “As for this little thing, should I just kill it?”

“W-What?! No!” Anna rushed toward Fenrir, snatching him from Gilgamesh’s grasp.

“You dare…?!” Gilgamesh gasped, stunned.

Anna quickly knelt, pleading for mercy.

“Please, Your Majesty, have mercy…!” she cried. “This little puppy isn’t evil! I swear on my soul! He’s someone I love, my family… I… cannot let you kill him…”

“Hmph, how insolent…! To think you’d defy the will of your great king…” Gilgamesh sighed, turning away to resume working on the formation. “Tch, fine! I’ll keep an eye on that creature from now on, so it better behave. Now prepare yourself—the formation is nearly complete.”

“Yes! Um, what is this formation?” Anna asked.

Her curious eyes, enhanced by her Myriad Self Aura, studied what Gilgamesh had crafted.

The formation was a vast golden circle spanning a flat area of the treasury.

It measured over fifty meters in diameter.

Two smaller circles nestled within it, each contained inside the other.

Around the three circles stood three treasures, each shaped like a legendary piece of equipment—a sword, a magic glove, a grimoire, and more.

Gilgamesh smiled, tapping the formation to activate it.

FLASH!

The formation glowed brilliantly, thousands of runes flashing before Anna’s eyes, assembling and moving in a mesmerizing dance.

Despite losing her physical eyes, Anna’s Myriad Self Arts allowed her to sense things with greater clarity, perceiving through the many perspectives of her Egos.

Each Ego offered a unique viewpoint, and when combined, they revealed extraordinary details.

With this enhanced sight, she memorized and deciphered several runes. Though the eye-shaped tattoo on her forehead wasn’t a true eye, it deepened her ability to “see.”

“Each of these runes is…! Wow, an Epic?!” she exclaimed in disbelief.

“Haha, so you’ve noticed. Those eyes are truly remarkable,” Gilgamesh laughed. “You’ve inherited a weakened version of Buddha’s Eyes of Nirvana, but your Radiance has shaped them into eyes, blending both to create an extraordinary new sense of sight, haven’t you?”

“Ah, yes…” Anna nodded. “So… these runes…”

“For advanced Constellations like me, an Ecliptic Sovereign at the pinnacle, I wield power to shape and command narrative gravity. Stories orbit my existence, and I can swiftly assemble or disassemble them using my Radiance,” Gilgamesh explained. “At my level, creating a million runes from a compressed Epic Narrative is simple.”

“T-That’s incredible…” Anna murmured. “Isn’t each rune… practically a Trait?!”

“Yes, they hold the power of Narrative Gravity, allowing us to alter Fate,” Gilgamesh confirmed. “By altering Fate, one can forge a Mythical Flame and bind a treasure to your Dao Root, the origin and culmination of your story as it grows.”

“So forging a Dao Treasure is like weaving an object into your Narrative permanently?” Anna asked.

“Exactly. It becomes part of your story,” Gilgamesh replied. “At your level, a formation like this is necessary because you can’t yet produce Mythical Flames naturally. That ability comes at Rank 5, as a Mythic Pulsar. When you place a Treasure in your Dao Root, Mythic Energy orbits your Narrative, forging and strengthening it. As you grow stronger, your Treasure grows with you.”

“I see!” Anna nodded eagerly. “That’s fascinating…!”

“Haha, naturally. This King commands over a dozen Dao Treasures and can swap them as I please!” Gilgamesh boasted. “Now, Anna, step into the center of the formation. We’re about to begin!”

“Okay…!”

Anna stepped cautiously into the formation, which activated instantly.

Runes swirled around her, revealing countless images of small epics contained within each.

These stories, memories, events, and tales, compressed into a grand narrative, began intertwining with her Fate and Life.

Her Cosmic Heart resonated in response.

“Ahhh!”

Anna gasped as the stories merged with her own. Her memories glimpsed ancient Mesopotamian tales—Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey, a war among gods, and even…

A colossal Dragon Goddess of Life, Tiamat, rising from endless deserts, roaring and glaring directly at her.

“ROOOAAARR!”

“Aaaaaagh!”

Anna screamed in terror as the titanic dragon goddess devoured her whole, only to awaken, gasping for air.

A sharp pain lingered in her chest, but immense energy coursed through her body, her aura sparkling with light.

Sparks of refined, radiant cosmic energy surged from her hands, more vibrant and luminous than before.

Anna felt the small Dwarf Star within her Spirit Body glow brighter and expand.

Suddenly, it erupted, releasing a shockwave of golden energy.

Anna opened her eyes, feeling her energies spread through her body, the “elements of the universe” becoming clearer to her.

“Kindling Nova…!”

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