Chapter 489: Marry Acheron - 489

Seeing how confident Herta was, Sylvia glanced at the Simulated Universe's login device with curiosity.

"Finished the upgrade?"

"Of course! We can see more details and simulate far more information now." Herta stepped onto the platform and motioned for Sylvia to follow. "No time to waste! Let's get to the bottom of this Unknowable Domain!"

"All right."

Sylvia walked over and stood beside Herta before asking, "Is Screwllum joining us this time? I haven't seen him around."

"He's here, just not in this room. Don't worry, Screwllum and Stephen will be helping us just like last time."

With that, Herta grabbed Sylvia's wrist and pulled her into the Simulated Universe.

This time, Sylvia and Herta woke up at a point in history after the events they'd witnessed during their previous visit.

"Why didn't we start where we left off?"

Sylvia looked at Herta, who clicked her tongue.

"Do you really want Polka Kakamond to stab you to death again? She showed up so fast last time that I barely got to see anything. There's no point in repeating that."

"Can't say I'm eager to experience that again."

Sylvia clicked her tongue but accepted Herta's reasoning. She then looked around at the restless crowd, wondering where the simulation had dropped them this time.

"Which part of history are we in?"

"The Izmael Protests. Several major schools seized control of the Scepter system, sparking riots among the scholars," Herta explained.

This was perhaps the chapter of history the Intelligentsia Guild most wanted to bury. They'd torn off their masks and shattered their old lies through sheer violence.

The Armed Archaeologists had deployed machines to suppress the protesting scholars, and Sylvia and Herta found themselves right in the middle of the crowd.

Of course, the Armed Archaeologists had initially relied on machines and nonlethal weapons to suppress the unrest. That changed when an apparent mistake in their operations caused a plasma weapon to set off a chain of explosions, turning the protests into a bloody conflict.

"There's clearly something wrong here! This has to be Polka Kakamond taking advantage of the chaos again!"

Sylvia grabbed Herta and struggled to keep her footing amid the explosions and panicked crowd.

The Armed Archaeologists had deployed their machines, but it was obvious they hadn't intended to kill anyone. Their initial tactics had focused on disabling the protesters rather than causing casualties, while the scholars themselves were at such a disadvantage that they'd have had no reason to escalate the fighting.

That made the simulation's claim of an "accidental operational error" rather suspicious. What were the odds of such a convenient accident?

It practically had Polka Kakamond's fingerprints all over it.

"That woman really is everywhere throughout the Scholars' Strife!" Herta clicked her tongue, agreeing with Sylvia's suspicion.

Why was Polka so involved in this particular stretch of history? Her presence was so constant that it felt unnatural.

Herta thought for a moment before speaking.

"Sylvia, let's find Patavia. Maybe Polka Kakamond's trying to stop her!"

Sylvia took Herta's hand and began searching the crowd for Patavia.

"Stop Patavia from doing what? And if she wanted to prevent Patavia from developing the Solitary Waves Theory, why not just kill her?"

"How should I know?"

Herta rolled her eyes at Sylvia. If she already knew the answer, why would she be standing here?

Sylvia only smiled, unbothered by her reaction.

The two soon found Patavia and settled into the enormous, grand library where she'd taken refuge.

The many scholars trapped inside found themselves in an unusual situation. Despite the tense atmosphere, their shared predicament broke down the barriers between their schools, and scholars from different fields began exchanging ideas.

What caught Sylvia and Herta's attention was a flash of inspiration Patavia gained while speaking with a scholar who studied multidimensional space.

Through their discussion, Patavia finally discovered the true nature of the mysterious signal she'd been investigating.

It was a ripple that permeated the Imaginary background.

If she could locate its origin and build a model around it, she might even solve the 4th Cosmic Conundrum: Was the universe's future predetermined, or was it chaotic?

"Oh, so this is where the Solitary Waves Theory began?"

"Most likely." Herta nodded.

Inspiration had a habit of striking at the worst possible time. Unfortunately for Patavia, this was certainly one of those moments.

The simulation continued, and Sylvia watched the events unfold.

Patavia had found her inspiration, but it wasn't much use to her yet. The conflict outside hadn't ended. If anything, it was growing worse.

Meanwhile, the School of Relative Cognition had also launched an uprising, and Sylvia and Herta's perspective shifted once more.

They never learned exactly how the entire movement was brought to an end. All they knew was that the Intelligentsia Guild eventually made concessions.

After escaping the siege, Patavia traveled deep into the territory of the old empire.

She felt as though some unseen force was guiding her down a predetermined path. Even so, she pressed forward without hesitation and eventually traced the solitary wave to its source.

Countless strings of numbers filled the storage drives, leaving Sylvia utterly confused. Herta, however, was so excited that she burst into curses.

"The Candelagraphos didn't record something this important?! Were they blind?!"

"...What did you find?"

"That solitary wave! The origin of that ripple is one of Nous's calculated 'Instants'! It's a standing wave produced by an Aeon's thoughts!"

Sylvia didn't fully understand what that meant. Still, she knew that several of the Instants calculated by Nous had once anchored the future of the universe.

If this discovery involved the very thoughts Nous had used to determine that future, she could at least understand why Herta was so excited.

The simulation continued.

Patavia eventually discovered the hidden location of Rubert II's core.

It was a secret that no one should've been able to uncover. Yet, through a remarkable "coincidence," the core's location overlapped with the source of the ripple.

And so, the place welcomed its first organic visitor.

At the heart of Rubert II's core, or perhaps his tomb, Sylvia saw a sea of flowers and a gravestone.

"Rubert II... He made himself a grave this beautiful?"

Sylvia could hardly imagine that the emperor who'd plunged the entire universe into war would decorate his own resting place with such a peaceful scene.

"Quit interrupting. Patavia's about to connect to the core."

Herta was just as surprised by Rubert II's taste and state of mind. She couldn't help wondering what the emperor had been thinking when he'd started his war.

For now, though, something else interested her far more.

An ordinary mortal was about to connect to the Scepter system.

Yet after establishing the connection, Patavia began doubting herself and ultimately abandoned her Self-Coronation.

A candy-colored figure flashed across the scene once again.

There was no doubt about it. Polka Kakamond had interfered.

Rather than claim Rubert II's inheritance and become a perfect scholar, Patavia chose to use the Scepter system to seek answers from the thoughts of an Aeon.

Sylvia's heart sank.

And sure enough, the next moment, Nous appeared.

"Damn it! Why did that Droidhead have to show up at the very end?! Good thing we upgraded the Simulated Universe, or we probably wouldn't have seen a thing!"

Herta was stunned by the turn of events. At the same time, she finally understood what Polka Kakamond had been trying to accomplish.

Although Patavia hadn't received an answer through ordinary means and had instead forced the Scepter system to perform the calculation, Nous treated all seekers of knowledge equally and gave her the answer she wanted.

But Patavia couldn't understand an Aeon's thoughts.

An immense, tangled mass of knowledge was forced into her mind, so complex that it might as well have been written in a language she'd never seen.

The Scepter system, which had been forced to seek an answer beyond its limits, couldn't withstand the burden of calculating an Aeon's thoughts either. One by one, the Scepters went dark.

Finally, amid blurred and chaotic images, the core itself shut down.

Patavia mechanically recorded the knowledge on the metal ground, while Sylvia and Herta watched everything in silence.

After a long while, Sylvia spoke.

"So that was her ultimate goal? She stopped Patavia from completing her Self-Coronation, destroyed the entire Scepter system, and eliminated one more chance to break through the Circle of Knowledge."

Herta remained silent.

She was wondering what would've happened if Patavia had completed her Self-Coronation instead of using the entire Scepter system to force an answer out of Nous.

Could she have become a Perfect Scholar? Could she have become a genius capable of breaking through the Circle of Knowledge?

"She should've been able to. She could've become a true genius."

Herta sighed.

Everything Polka had done during the Scholars' Strife had been meant to drive Patavia into self-doubt, making her abandon the chance to form a deeper connection with the Scepters and inherit Rubert II's legacy.

Now Herta understood why this chapter of history had been buried so deeply.

Even after borrowing a genius's creation, gaining access to an external brain built by a genius, and even witnessing Nous in person...

A mediocre scholar was still mediocre.

Even when given an answer directly by Nous, she couldn't grasp its meaning. All she could do was struggle to record the knowledge and leave it for some future genius to decipher, becoming little more than a footnote in that genius's achievements.

For scholars who'd devoted their lives to seeking knowledge, the gulf between ordinary minds and true geniuses was a terrifying thing.

Herta stared at the final frozen image.

After a moment of silence, she beckoned Sylvia over.

"All right. Since Polka Kakamond clearly has no intention of showing herself, it's time to get down to business."

"What business?"

"The Scepter system."

Herta stamped her foot, indicating the Scepter core beneath them.

"Why do you think I went to all this trouble? I wanted to get my hands on the entire Scepter system! Now that we've finished watching the history lesson, it's time for the real work."

Herta had been fully prepared for Polka Kakamond to make another move. To her surprise, the woman had shown no intention of appearing.

"Now that we know all its secrets, it's time to rewind history."

They'd uncovered the truth the Unknowable Domain had been trying to hide, and Polka Kakamond wasn't interfering anymore.

Naturally, it was time to move on to the next stage.

Sylvia nodded and stood beside Herta without saying a word.

She figured the next part probably wouldn't involve her much. If Polka Kakamond wasn't going to appear, Sylvia's role would be little more than that of a lucky mascot.

And as it turned out, her guess was right.

Herta performed a series of operations within the Simulated Universe, bringing them back to the location of the core.

Sylvia watched with curiosity.

"Are you going to perform a Self-Coronation? Or are you just going to borrow the Scepter's computing power like Patavia?"

"Hmph! Do you think I, Herta, need the Scepter system to crown myself? Every achievement I've ever made is another crown I've earned!"

Herta gave a proud snort.

She certainly thought the Scepter system was impressive. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to find a way to simulate it for her own use.

But that didn't mean she needed someone else's creation to complete her own coronation.

In her hands, the Scepter system would always be nothing more than a computing tool.

"Besides, I'm not an idiot. What if the Anti-Organic Equation really is lurking in there? I've no intention of making a fool of myself."

Getting infected by the Anti-Organic Equation inside the Simulated Universe wouldn't result in a real infection.

Even so, Herta had no desire to experience it.

That was also why she'd never intended to recreate the Scepter system in the real world.

Who knew whether bringing it into reality would also bring the dangers of the Anti-Organic Equation?

Even Herta wasn't willing to take that gamble.

If Screwllum ended up infected by the Anti-Organic Equation and something happened to him, that would be a disaster.

This time, Herta obtained the simulated Scepter system without any trouble.

But rather than start asking it questions, she logged out of the Simulated Universe with Sylvia.

"Why'd we come out?"

"Because I've already figured out its basic logic. Why would I stay in there?"

After all, what Herta had accessed was only a fragment of simulated history.

She could use the simulation to obtain data about the Scepter system itself, but she couldn't use that fragment to answer her own questions.

What she needed to do was recreate the entire vast Scepter system within the Simulated Universe.

In simpler terms, she intended to integrate a complete Scepter system into the Simulated Universe's framework.

"All right, there's nothing left for you to do. The Simulated Universe will be undergoing a major version upgrade for a while, and I've no idea when it'll be finished."

Even Herta couldn't say how long the upgrade would take.

She'd figured out how the Scepter system worked, but rebuilding one from scratch was another matter. It certainly wasn't something she could finish in a day or two.

A genius's creation was bound to be complex, especially when that creation had been designed to imitate the way Nous thought.

Another massive project awaited her.

Sylvia turned toward Screwllum, who'd appeared at some point and was now having a pleasant conversation with Mei.

"Welcome back, Miss Sylvia. Your assistance was invaluable during this operation."

After all, Sylvia's earlier shot had been enough to make even the fearsome Polka Kakamond think twice about interfering with Herta again.

Logically speaking, her contribution had been crucial.

"Don't mention it. I got to see some pretty interesting history myself."

The history of the Scholars' Strife had certainly been fascinating.

But now that it was over...

There wasn't anything left for Sylvia to do at the space station. Jing Yuan still hadn't sprung his trap on the Xianzhou, and she'd heard that things were going smoothly for Himeko without any major trouble.

In that case, why not take the chance to travel around with Mei?

"Herta, Screwllum, Mei and I are heading out now!"

"I look forward to seeing you both again, ladies," Screwllum replied.

"Go have fun," Herta said.

After saying their goodbyes, Sylvia and Mei left the office.

As they headed off to find Asta, Sylvia turned to Mei.

"There's no rush to get back to the Xianzhou. How about we try some interstellar travel? I've never actually crossed the universe with my own body before!"

Mei gave her a helpless smile.

Did this woman really think traveling through space under her own power was some kind of relaxing vacation?

"...Are you planning to leave the Express parked at the space station?"

"Uh... Good point."

Sylvia was still struggling with that problem when they ran into Asta, who happened to be spending time with Little Herta.

Since she was already there, Sylvia decided to invite Little Herta along as well.

At first, Little Herta seemed quite interested.

But the moment she heard that Sylvia intended to take her wandering through the universe without a spaceship, her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head.

Could her dad be any less reliable?

Was this really the kind of vacation plan a normal carbon-based lifeform would come up with?

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