Chapter 75: “Embers” and “Glimmer”

Chapter 75: “Embers” and “Glimmer”

At the end of September, Trilan Junior High was basking under bright sunshine and sweltering heat.

Inside the Class 1–1 classroom of the seventh grade, Tendou sat in the back row, bored out of his mind, eyes unfocused as he gazed out the window.

But although he looked like he was spacing out, he was actually checking his status panel.

【Name: Masamune Tendou (Embers Organization—Reserve Member)】

【Age: 12】

【Rank: Starbearer, First Order】

【Base Star Energy: 850】

【Star Origin: Vector Control (Development 95%)】

【Star Core: Star-Eclipse Eyes (Compatibility 100%)】

【Attributes: Strength S / Agility S / Spirit S / Constitution S】

【Skills: Star Energy Manipulation (Master), Flash Step (Master), Starbeast Encyclopedia (Expert), —】

【Current Popularity Points: 850,000】

【Loaned Popularity Points: 1,000,000 (Maxed Out)】

As Stellaris: Embers drew closer to the finale of its first season, Tendou was no longer the “Popularity-Debt King” who couldn’t scrape together a single point.

He had now become a “Popularity Tycoon”—holding a massive 850,000 popularity points!

Of course, even though he now had the ability to repay his entire “popularity debt,” Tendou had zero intention of doing that anytime soon.

After all—debtors are kings.

Since he already knew he would definitely earn enough to pay it off, why rush?

Especially when the “Year-End Fireworks” arc hadn’t even aired yet.

If he could accumulate this much before the season’s climactic episodes… then once those high-octane finales were broadcast, wouldn’t his popularity skyrocket like a rocket blasting off?

Based on the current hype of Stellaris on Crustyroll, Tendou conservatively estimated he could earn at least three million more popularity points when the finale aired.

And that was just a minimum.

So why would he hurry to repay the system now?

Let the debt stay!

But not repaying is one thing.

Leaving the popularity value untouched—that would be a waste.

Only by using popularity to generate more popularity could he increase his total even further.

So lately, Tendou had been thinking hard about how to maximize the potential of his 850,000 points within the limited span of Season 1.

After a long period of serious consideration… He had found his answer.

He would invest all his current popularity into the upcoming “Year-End Fireworks” storyline—and burn himself completely.

Because in the original first-season finale, the high-intensity battle where Byron led two elite Starbearer special-operations to launch a surprise attack on Embers HQ—that event was inevitable, something no outside factor could alter.

On the surface, it looked like Byron was launching a crushing surprise assault on Embers.

But in truth, the Doctor had allowed him to come.

Yes, what seemed like Embers being caught off guard was actually part of a pre-laid trap.

The Doctor had set this up for one purpose: to obtain an Iron Dome House exclusive mechanical Star Gear—the Perpetual Heart.

And the reason the Doctor was willing to gamble his life and the entire base was because the Perpetual Heart was a key component determining whether he could achieve his Third Perfect Awakening.

It was something he absolutely had to obtain.

But the Perpetual Heart was a treasure exclusively belonging to the Iron Dome House.

Not only were they guarded under extremely strict protection, every Perpetual Heart implanted in a high-ranking Iron Dome House member was also equipped with an unimaginably complex self-destruction program.

The moment anything seemed off, the Perpetual Heart would immediately self-destruct, making absolutely sure it never fell into anyone else’s hands.

So if the Doctor wanted to obtain one, he first needed to lure a high-ranking Iron Dome House member out of the Third Floating City: Quantum Fortress, and even out of the core territory of the Seven Floating Cities entirely.

Only then could he remove the Perpetual Heart from that member’s body without immediately triggering the self-destruction mechanism.

And only under those conditions could the Doctor transplant that Perpetual Heart into himself—since he, too, was technically a member of the Iron Dome House.

That would complete the final requirement for his Third Perfect Awakening.

The Doctor’s plan was flawless, but Tendou, having seen the entire plot of Season 1 in the original work, knew the truth:

The plan succeeded—and also failed.

It succeeded because the Doctor did seize Byron’s Perpetual Heart and successfully transplanted it into his own body, completing his third awakening.

But it failed because the Doctor never anticipated that Iron Dome House’s quantum technology had just made a major breakthrough a few months before Byron’s assault.

They added a special restriction to every Perpetual Heart—a seal called Quantum Guardianship.

This made the Doctor’s breakthrough both perfect… and imperfect.

Perfect because he did complete his Third Perfect Awakening and became one of the extremely rare Perfect Fourth-Order Starbearers in the entire world.

Imperfect because he couldn't break the Quantum Guardianship’s seal.

As a result, he couldn’t fully draw out the Perpetual Heart’s power.

A large portion of his strength was locked away, leaving him with only the combat power of a Mid-Level Fourth-Order Starbearer.

On top of that, because the Perpetual Heart’s Quantum Guardianship was linked to the Iron Dome House’s Mechanical Intelligence Core, the moment the Doctor approached the Seven Floating Cities' core region—no matter how well he hid himself, no matter how perfect his stealth—the Quantum Observers placed throughout the Seven Floating Cities would detect him instantly and lock his position.

Because of this, although he achieved his perfect awakening, he was still unable to step into the New Federation’s core territory.

He was forced to remain at the fringes of the Federation, establishing a new base and searching for a way to break the Quantum Guardianship.

And it was precisely because Tendou knew that this so-called “surprise attack” was orchestrated by the Doctor himself that he never once considered warning the Doctor about the incoming assault on the base.

After all, this was something the Doctor planned himself.

Whether Tendou warned him or not was completely meaningless.

Besides the awakening plan, the Doctor had also arranged a proper strategy to secure the safety of the Children of the Stars.

This plan was called “Embers.”

And the implementation of this plan didn’t begin when Byron appeared—it had been quietly underway since before the first season of Stellaris: Embers even began.

Why did the Doctor summon so many influential New Federation figures to the final assessment?

Why did he recklessly leak early-stage information about the Stellaris Program right when it had barely begun to show results?

Was it because he was stupid?

Of course not.

He did it on purpose.

Because first, he needed to lure Byron to come knocking.

And second, he needed to find a good new home for the Children of the Stars.

Yes, the Doctor had known from the very beginning that relying solely on himself and the Embers organization would never be enough to nurture all 36 Children of the Stars to their fullest potential.

Only by scattering these 36 individuals across the many powers of the New Federation—and letting those powers pour all their resources into raising the Children they acquired—could their maximum potential be drawn out.

However, if the Doctor wanted those powers to raise the Children without any hesitation, then both he and Embers had to completely disappear from this world.

They absolutely could not reappear.

Because only when Embers and the Doctor vanished entirely would those major powers truly trust the now “rootless” Children of the Stars and invest massive cultivation resources into them without reservation.

This was “Embers”—a grand plan designed by the Doctor at the cost of burning himself and the entire Embers base.

In this plan, all Children of the Stars would, within a blazing inferno, momentarily become embers.

Then, at a predetermined time, from the scattered ashes of Embers, they would reignite as Glimmer.

This second stage—the reignition of Glimmer—was the Doctor’s next plan after the success of Project Embers.

A plan called “Glimmer.”

And these two plans were the origin of the titles of the Stellaris anime’s first season, Embers, and second season, Glimmer.

One could say that although the Doctor had few scenes in the first two seasons, every story in those seasons revolved entirely around his plans.

This years-long layout of terrifying calculations not only revealed the Doctor’s frightening brilliance—it also left Tendou, despite having precognition, unable to find any point he could change.

From his perspective, the Doctor’s plan was flawless.

Because in essence, the Doctor was using the collective strength of the entire New Federation to help him train his own future faction.

A strategy nothing short of genius.

Although Tendou currently couldn’t access the original novel for Season 2, Stellaris: Glimmer, and thus didn’t know the specific contents of the Doctor’s second plan, he had his own guesses.

That the second plan must include the construction of a new base, and establishing contact with other Children of the Stars.

For example, the Doctor might secretly contact one or several Children of the Stars he deemed trustworthy and reveal that he was still alive.

Then, taking advantage of those individuals’ special positions within their current organizations, he could unify the resources they controlled and build a brand new base in a location he deemed ideal.

As for the name of this new base?

Knowing the Doctor’s personality—who did everything strictly according to plan—Tendou was almost certain it would be called “Glimmer.”

After all, Embers had already disappeared from the world, there was no way it would ever reappear.

And based on the Doctor’s special treatment toward him, Tendou was convinced that the person chosen to be the leader of this new base… was almost certainly him.

Because aside from him, no one else could guarantee the ability to bring back the Children of the Stars who had left Embers years ago.

Thinking this, Tendou couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement.

Because if the plot continued in that direction, he would soon have the privilege of taking the list of all 36 Children of the Stars and knocking on each of their doors one by one.

After all, although they were currently well-behaved after being beaten down by him, aside from a few exceptions, the rest all had rebellion written in their bones.

They might look obedient, but inwardly, every one of them was plotting mutiny.

When they had no opportunity, they could endure.

But the moment they got one? They would absolutely try everything in their power to overthrow him, the apex of the Children of the Stars.

And with that mindset—combined with the “invincible hearts” they would develop after leaving the Embers base and being cultivated by their respective factions—a few years later, if he wanted to bring this now-“arrogant” bunch back under his control…

Just talking to them would be completely useless.

He would have to use heavy fists!

After all, fists were far more persuasive than words!

As for the protagonist, Chen Kong…

Starting from Season 2, his suffering would begin.

Because from Season 2 onward, Tendou and the other Children of the Stars were destined to become antagonists, standing on the opposite side from him.

Chen Kong represented the interests of ordinary people, he naturally couldn’t stand together with the Children of the Stars, who all represented the interests of major factions.

And just imagining it—Chen Kong and his newly formed main cast, after finally defeating the other Children of the Stars and being on the verge of achieving their ideals suddenly encountering him and the Doctor—the two final bosses who were supposed to be long dead—

His expression at that moment would definitely be priceless!

Don’t be fooled by Tendou’s usual focus on popularity.

When it came to playing the villain… He was very professional.

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