"The Dawn Device... it has truly gone dark..."
"The sky is burning. The Dawn of Okhema has truly set."
"What... what exactly happened?"
At Dawncloud, the highest point of Okhema, Phainon descended to the ground via the Rainbow Bridge. Gazing at the crimson, dim, and oppressive sky, his face was etched with disbelief. He muttered under his breath, utterly bewildered by the Dawn Device's sudden failure.
He even felt as if this were all just a dream from which he had yet to wake.
After all, the scene before him almost seemed to herald the apocalypse.
No one wanted to see their home plunged into an apocalyptic storm.
But unfortunately, this was no dream...
"Why did it turn out like this? Could it be because the Sky Titan died?"
"But that makes no sense at all..."
Just as Phainon had said earlier at the Eye of Twilight, the sky was no place for thinking; he would wait until he returned to the ground. Thus, upon returning, he sank into deep thought.
Yet, after pondering for a moment, he still couldn't figure out a reason.
"I know the exact cause." Seeing Phainon lost in thought, Lumina waved her hand, signaling him.
"Then..."
"Let's talk as we walk, and go find Aglaea to discuss the next steps."
Hearing this, Phainon was about to ask, but before he could finish his sentence, Lumina interrupted him, saying it was better not to waste too much time and to accomplish both tasks at once.
Phainon nodded in agreement. "Yes, Miss Lumina is right."
After speaking, Phainon began to scan his surroundings, sensing the Golden Threads that covered the entire city. Through the information transmitted upon them, Phainon immediately knew Aglaea's current location.
"Everyone, let's hurry. Lady Aglaea is at the city gates of Okhema right now. Castorice, Mydei, and the others are there too."
After obtaining Aglaea's location, Phainon temporarily set aside all the doubts in his heart and gestured to the group.
"If Lady Aglaea has no solution to this situation either, we can only pin all our hopes on the Era Nova that will occur after all the Coreflames have been returned."
After speaking, Phainon took the lead and walked in a certain direction, following the guidance of the Golden Threads to find Aglaea.
Hyacine, Stelle, Dan Heng, and the others exchanged a glance with Lumina before joining Phainon to find Aglaea and discuss the next steps.
Lumina and Herta also set off, walking slowly, positioned at the very back of the group like a solid support, dispelling all the darkness in people's hearts and filling them with a strong sense of security.
Along the way, Lumina leaned closer to Herta and asked, "Hey, Little Herta, do you think the probability of this so-called Era Nova being real is higher, or the probability of it being fake?"
"Isn't this obvious?" Hearing this question from Lumina, Herta shot her a suspicious glance, the surprise and confusion in her eyes making it seem as if the question Lumina had just asked was something very stupid and obvious.
"Uh..." Stared down by Herta's gaze, Lumina was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing what to say in response.
"Don't forget, Amphoreus is located within an Emperor's Scepter." Even though Herta's gaze was fixed ahead, not observing Lumina's small facial expression, she could still feel the innocence and naivety in Lumina's expression... In the end, unable to bear Lumina's expression, Herta gave a brief explanation.
"What do you mean?" Lumina blinked her small eyes. Even with Herta's hint, she still didn't understand what she was trying to say.
Could she stop acting like a riddle-speaker?
The thing I, Lumina, hate the most is when people act like riddle-speakers in front of me!
Naturally wicked Little Herta, I will have to teach you a good lesson and help you change this habit of yours, of acting like a riddle-speaker!
Lumina's thoughts kept flooding her mind. If Herta heard these words, she would surely cry out in grievance.
Herta didn't have the slightest intention of acting like a riddle-speaker; she considered the "Emperor's Scepter" hint she had just given to be more than obvious.
Lumina not understanding what Herta meant was purely her own problem, having absolutely nothing to do with Herta.
But whether this had anything to do with Herta or not was for Lumina to decide. If Lumina said it did, then it did. Even if Herta really had nothing to do with it, she still had to have something to do with it.
When it came to being a rogue, Lumina could also hold her own.
"..." Although Herta knew Lumina wasn't very bright, she hadn't expected her to be this dim. For a moment, her lips twitched slightly, and she was left somewhat speechless.
"What else could it mean? Of course it means the so-called Era Nova is definitely fake, or at least the beautiful world is fake." After realizing how stupid Lumina was, Herta gave a straightforward answer without any beating around the bush, just so Lumina could understand.
With Lumina's brain, which had been soaked in the gentle nest of beautiful girls, Herta really couldn't ask too much of her.
At least... at least she had to treat her like a three-year-old child.
Hmm, her current IQ seemed to be even lower than when she herself was three years old.
In her heart, Herta silently shook her head at Lumina's intelligence.
With an IQ like Lumina's, even a three-year-old Herta would shake her head.
The stupidest of the stupid!
"I see." Lumina nodded, having no objections to Herta's confident answer.
She was so smart, seeing things she had never noticed, obtaining more information than she did, and knowing ahead of her that the so-called Era Nova was fake. This was all very normal.
"By the way, Little Herta." Lumina shared her speculation about the true nature of Amphoreus, wanting to get Herta's opinion.
"How likely do you think this possibility is?"
"Hmm... Very, very likely. In fact, it's almost certainly correct." After listening to Lumina's well-reasoned analysis, Herta thought for a few seconds before nodding, indicating that her guess was highly probable, even nearly certain.
Even if it was wrong, it would only be slightly off, not completely incorrect.
"I see." Lumina nodded, then continued to ask for Herta's opinion: "So, tell me, should we stop the so-called Era Nova?"
Herta did not give a direct answer, but instead asked Lumina: "Do you have a way to let them complete the Era Nova without letting that [Lord Ravager] absorb the energy from this cycle?"
Herta's words sank into Lumina's mind, sending her into a period of deep thought.
Although Herta used "both... and...", it was actually just one question.
Namely, to make the so-called Era Nova after its completion become real.
Actually, Lumina did have a method, but she wasn't sure if it would succeed.
That would be to intercept the energy generated by this cycle at the moment "Era Nova" is completed.
This way, the [Lord Ravager] would be unable to obtain the energy from this cycle and thus would be unable to be born.
But the question was, after completing the Era Nova, would the next cycle begin?
After all, this was only a Data World, a world nurtured by the Emperor's Scepter. If something went wrong within it, it would likely initiate a self-defense mode.
First, it would attempt to scan and eliminate the problem. If that failed, it would perform a reboot.
Lumina couldn't be sure what kind of world would emerge after the computer rebooted.
Would it directly enter the next cycle, starting the Flame-Chasing Journey from the beginning? Or would this single error cause a code failure, leading to the world's Honkai?
Lumina couldn't guarantee any of this, which made her somewhat hesitant about this method.
The method Lumina preferred was to not proceed with the Era Nova, but to personally eliminate all the Black Tide Monsters and restore Okhema to its previous state.
Yet this method faced the same problem as the previous one: what kind of outcome would result after the program encountered an error?
Although the program of Amphoreus had already encountered errors since she, Herta, and Stelle arrived, these were only intermediate errors. As long as they didn't affect the final result, there would be no problem.
To put it simply, no matter how many errors were in the code, as long as it could run and eventually produce the desired result, it didn't need to be fixed at all.
But things were different now. Lumina was about to interfere with the code's execution.
In this situation, the program would definitely be unable to continue running and would certainly initiate some kind of self-defense operation.
Even Lygus, who had been watching from the sidelines all this time, might even intervene.
Although even if he did intervene, it would only take Lumina one slap to deal with him.
After thinking it over for a long time, Lumina still couldn't come up with a foolproof solution.
Finally, Lumina's thoughts returned to reality. She gently shook her head, indicating that she had no solution.
Then, her gaze turned to Herta with a hint of curiosity, waiting for her to speak, wanting to know if the clever Little Herta had any perfect solution.
"What are you looking at me for? What solution could I possibly have?" Under Lumina's expectant gaze, Herta helplessly spread her hands, indicating that she also had no good solution.
To put it bluntly, Castorice and the others were not real people, but characters simulated by a program. Herta didn't have any Administrator Permissions, so what perfect solution could she have?
If she were facing an ordinary enemy, Herta could try to seize the Administrator Permissions. But that Lygus was suspected to be Zandar, and Herta had no confidence in being able to seize the Administrator Permissions from his hands.
It wasn't that Herta lacked confidence. If both parties were in the same environment, starting from the same line, Herta would never retreat a single step.
As a genius, Herta would naturally not fear any other genius.
But in Amphoreus, the two parties were clearly in an asymmetrical situation.
Lygus had been here for an unknown amount of time, possessed a vast amount of knowledge about Amphoreus and the Emperor's Scepter. Herta was at an absolute disadvantage. If she rushed in blindly, Lumina might end up having to help her again, leaving her to owe a "favor" that, because of a single moment's error, could affect her for a lifetime...
Still, that wasn't the most important thing. If she could truly help the people of Okhema, Herta would still be willing to "cooperate" with Lumina.
The main point was that there was absolutely no need to risk everything to seize those elusive Administrator Permissions.
Could Administrator Permissions for an Emperor's Scepter be obtained so easily?
Even if Herta defeated Lygus, she wouldn't be able to completely seize control of the permissions in the short term.
And by the time she gained control, Amphoreus would have already rebooted several times, making the effort utterly pointless.
"I see." Upon learning that Herta had no solution either, Lumina didn't get disheartened or sad. Instead, she fell into thought once more.
Lumina was pondering whether she should simply ascend everyone in Okhema to the status of Life and take them away from Amphoreus.
This way, they would naturally be immune to the effects of the so-called system reboot.
"You understand what's truly important within Amphoreus," Herta said in a calm tone, as if reading Lumina's mind.
"The most critical elements of Amphoreus are still that [Lord Ravager], the Emperor's Scepter, and the goals of Intellitron."
"If these issues aren't resolved, what good would it do to take them away from Amphoreus?"
After a short pause, Herta's expression turned slightly serious and solemn as she continued, "I refuse to believe that the ultimate purpose of Genius Society #1, Zandar, serving as a gatekeeper here, is merely to create a [Lord Ravager]."
"He is the one who once created an [Aeon]. We absolutely cannot overlook his actions and goals."
"Mm, I understand." Herta's earnest and solemn warning made Lumina dare not entertain even the slightest thought of underestimating him.
People who play mind games like this are the most sinister.
Although Lumina was powerful and fearless of any schemes and tricks, being kept on a short leash by them like a puppy would be incredibly frustrating.
Therefore, let Herta deal with that Lord Ravager, the Emperor's Scepter, and Lygus.
Mind games against mind games, it's only reasonable.
Lumina would just act as a simple enforcer.
Herta would point, and Lumina would strike, as long as the final goal could be achieved.
If a scene occurred where Herta failed to outsmart Lygus, Lumina would mercilessly mock her, then solve all the problems with the most brutal method.
Even if the process was disgusting due to schemes and trickery, and extremely frustrating to endure, it wouldn't matter as long as the goal was met.
Lumina asked Herta, "So what should we do?"
"Ask that Flame Reaver." Herta seemed to have a solution, and the words blurted out, "Ask him how he appears in cycle after cycle."
"Hmm..." After a pause, Herta thought for a moment before stating her own speculation: "The Scepter's progress seems to have been stuck at a certain value. I suspect that Flame Reaver did it."
"Stuck at a certain value?"
"Yes." Herta looked straight ahead and nodded slightly. "That Flame Reaver did something to terminate the progress of the [Lord Ravager]'s birth, causing countless cycles to stop in this one, turning this cycle into an eternal cycle. The number of times... is related to the mental limit that the Flame Reaver can endure."
Herta believed her logic was very clear and her words concise, but when Lumina heard them, a giant question mark appeared above her head.