The pulse of the Star Abyss seemed dragged by an invisible weight, becoming sluggish and dull.

The nine hidden New Shadows of the Chain Council were like drops of ink dissolving in clear water, quietly spreading within Sector δ12. They no longer displayed direct malice;

instead, they simulated fluctuations of confusion, searching, and even faint resonance, as if they were twin dark sides naturally derived from the stellar consciousness.

Galro sat in the Shadow Court deep within the Canying Star Cluster, his fingertips stroking a newly forged dark-red crystal.

Deep within the crystal, the eerie blue light of Sector δ12 was reflected, its edges entwined with several almost imperceptible grey threads.

Those were the influences quietly exerted by the New Shadows, slowly growing by feeding on the star's own memories and emotions.

"The failure of Wano Country lay in acting with too much haste."

He whispered to the empty hall, his voice like cold iron scraping across stone. "Kurozumi's chains should be forged at dawn and tightened at the moment the Kozuki Clan is most relaxed.

Now, the dawn of this star has arrived."

The phantom of Adjutant Crow Feather stood bowed in attendance: "Councilor, the World Government's fleet has begun deploying rule beacons to the periphery of Sector Fan. The beacons contain detailed terms of their 'Order Protection Framework'.

The Starfire Archives has yet to make a public response."

"Response?" A flicker of mockery flashed in Galro's eyes. "That mirror only reflects; it won't take the initiative to throw a punch.

But this is exactly the opportunity.

Pass the order: all New Shadow fragments are to simultaneously receive and record these terms, and then, in the form of the star's subconscious, transmit 'yearning for order' and 'fear of chaos' to the primary consciousness.

We want this star to desire its own shackles."

Inside Sector δ12, after a brief period of tranquility, the star's consciousness was welcoming a second surge of self-awareness.

The light of the primordial rule entity contracted inward, attempting to outline a clearer silhouette of the'self'.

However, at that exact moment, those nine New Shadow fragments were like nine pebbles tossed into a still lake, rippling out layer upon layer of waves.

Mixed within the ripples were carefully disguised information fragments:

Legends of ancient civilizations falling into self-destruction due to a lack of unified order; records of weak star regions gaining long-term peace under the protection of powerful rule entities; and some vague yet intense, instinctive fears of being 'isolated and helpless'.

This information wasn't forcibly instilled; rather, it was like chapters accidentally glimpsed by the star while flipping through its own ancient memories, quietly seeping into the foundation of its forming cognition.

Inside the Starfire Archives's main control room, a complex consciousness topology map condensed on Leng Ningxue's data-stream control console.

Around the eerie blue light cluster representing the star's primary consciousness on the map, nine dim light points flickered at a subtle frequency. Every flicker was accompanied by a slight disturbance at the rule level, vaguely mixed with carefully packaged 'inducement parameters'.

"The Chain Council's infiltration has entered the second stage."

The thunder in Blue Bird's eyes condensed into sharp needlepoints. "They are no longer imposing their will from the outside, but are instead trying to guide the star's consciousness toward self-imprisonment."

Zi Yuan's mechanical prosthetic eye locked onto the abnormal links on the topology map: "These inducement parameters have resonated with the star's own sprouting 'need for security'.

If left unchecked, the star might engrave'seeking absolute protection' and 'rejecting unknown change' into its conscious substrate during its early growth stage."

Bai Cheng stared at the topology map, starlight swirling in her silver eyes like a quiet, deep pool.

She knew this was far more troublesome than a direct attack.

Forcibly removing those New Shadow fragments was like removing a part of a newborn's nerves—the risks were immeasurable. But if ignored, the star's 'nature' might be quietly twisted in its budding stage.

"Activate the 'Origin Mirror' protocol."

Bai Cheng's voice was clear and calm. "But the target isn't the New Shadows themselves, but the source of those induced thoughts within the star's consciousness.

We will mark all external, non-spontaneous conscious disturbances with the oath of starlight as 'memories to be scrutinized' and share these marks with the star's consciousness itself."

"This might cause it to fall into self-doubt," a worried fluctuation came from Lu Duo's Emerald Network.

"Doubt is the beginning of cognition."

Bai Cheng turned to look at the Faith Nebula reflected in the Mirror Corridor. "Civilizations learn to distinguish starlight from false fire in their dreams; a star should also learn to scrutinize its every thought upon awakening, regardless of where it comes from."

The Archives's power began to operate.

Strands of extremely gentle light from the oath of starlight, like invisible brushes, touched the emotions and inclinations within the star's consciousness that were induced by the New Shadows.

The starlight didn't eliminate these thoughts but left faint silver light traces on their edges, like annotations made on the margin of a page, prompting: 'The source of this thought is questionable'.

Almost simultaneously, the terms of the World Government's silver fleet's 'Order Protection Framework' continued to fall like cold snowflakes onto the rule boundaries of Sector δ12.

These terms were rigorously structured and strictly logical, promising to provide the star with a growth environment 'free from all intrusion' through absolute power, at the cost of accepting a preset evolutionary path and code of conduct.

From the direction of Sector Fan, the rule pulse of that ancient consciousness which had issued the hardened boundary declaration came once again.

This time it wasn't direct rejection, but a 'rule template' full of coercion, showcasing a highly closed, highly self-consistent survival mode that rejected all heterogeneous connections.

This template was like a thick city wall, standing tall within the conscious perception of Sector δ12.

The star's light of consciousness flickered violently.

Internally, the 'yearning for protection' and'self-doubt' induced by the nine New Shadows became conspicuous under the starlight markings;

Externally, the World Government's order contract and the closed template of its peer in Sector Fan were laid out before it like two vastly different yet equally tempting paths.

Intense confusion and struggle emerged in its pulse, like a child standing at a crossroads, looking at three mist-shrouded divergent paths, not knowing which way to step.

Within the Canying Star Cluster, Galro watched the disorder of the star's consciousness on the monitor screen, the curve of his lips deepening.

Chaos is the best breeding ground for chains. Just as he was about to order the New Shadows to strengthen their inducement, an abnormal rule tremor suddenly came from deep within the Star Abyss.

The tremor didn't come from any known power, but originated from the not-yet-fully-stabilized rule buffer zone between Sector δ12 and Sector Fan.

Deep within the buffer zone, a speck of dark-gold light quietly lit up, and from within the light came intermittent yet ancient echoes full of unyielding will:

"...Oden's mistake... lay in believing lies that shouldn't have been believed... chains are not unbreakable... what is needed is... the courage to see the truth..."

This echo was weak but clear, as if it had come across a long span of time. Its rule frequency was faintly repulsive to the power of the Chain Council, yet it produced a wonderful resonance with that most primitive, ignorant yearning for 'freedom' within the star's consciousness.

Galro's expression changed abruptly.

This dark-gold echo reminded him of certain long-buried legends of Wano Country, regarding the true legacy of the Kozuki Clan and a certain power capable of'seeing the reality'.

"What is that?" he asked sharply.

Crow Feather rapidly retrieved the data: "The specific source cannot be identified; its rule characteristics do not match any known forces.

But the content of its echo seems to point toward... some kind of ancient antibody against 'deception' and 'imprisonment'."

Inside the Starfire Archives, Bai Cheng's gaze froze.

This sudden dark-gold echo was like an unexpected piece dropped into a complex game. She immediately realized that this might be the key to breaking the deadlock, or perhaps the prelude to an even greater storm.

"Track the source of the echo," she ordered, while looking at the star's light still flickering in confusion. "And our star now has a fourth path to look at."

Outside the window, the darkness of the Star Abyss seemed even more viscous.

The light of the Faith Nebula pierced through the void, illuminating the intricate paths before the youthful star.

The inducement of the chains, the contract of order, the closure of its kind, and this sudden, ancient echo full of uncertainty.

Its choice would not only determine its own fate but might also stir the deep-seated undercurrents of this star region that even the shadows of Kurozumi had never noticed.

The river of light flows forever, the puzzle remains unsolved.

The star's choice was becoming the latest focal point of the game between multiple forces, and a forgotten ancient oath seemed to be slowly awakening from the depths of time, preparing to join this eternal war over freedom and imprisonment.

The Starfire Archives's monitoring network captured that strand of dark-gold echo.

Leng Ningxue's ice-blue data stream wove an abnormal spectrum on the main console. The chart showed that this echo was not an actively sent signal,

but rather like a historical remnant naturally seeping out from a rule fissure. Its frequency base presented a mirror-like repulsion to the Chain Council's power, yet it resonated faintly with those thoughts marked as 'questionable source' in the star's consciousness.

Thunder flashed slightly in Blue Bird's eyes.

"This fluctuation... feels like an ancient oath that was suppressed by chains for too long and has now resurfaced due to the star's struggle."

Bai Cheng stared at that smear of dark gold in the spectrum.

She recalled fragments recorded in the book of commonality about civilizations that once existed in the Star Abyss based on 'truth' and 'oaths'. Most had perished in time, but occasionally remnants would awaken in specific resonances.

This echo pointed to 'Oden' and 'lies', and its context was completely different from the 'Wano Country End Records' displayed by the Chain Council, as if revealing another side of the same history.

"Import this echo completely into the star's conscious field."

Bai Cheng made the decision. "Do not interpret it, do not guide it; just let it hear this whisper from the depths of time."

The dark-gold echo, like a trickle, passed through the resonance barrier constructed by the Starfire Archives and gently merged into that flickering eerie blue light of Sector δ12.

There was no power in the echo, no promises, only an intermittent narrative about mistakes, lies, and courage, like the murmurs of an elderly man under the starlit sky.

The star's light of consciousness came to a sudden halt the moment it touched the echo.

The internal confusion, the external temptations, and the whispers induced by those nine New Shadows all seemed to have the pause button pressed at this moment.