This world bubble was larger than the original Atla. It was likely that multiple locations had been stitched together to form it. Besides the grasslands where the ELF lived, ruins of Atla, a large lake, and a desert existed within it. In terms of size, it was nearly half the size of the Mu continent.
Aside from Einstein, there were no other signs of life. It was vast enough to allow one to gallop freely.
Thanks to the supplies found in Atla, Einstein survived the most difficult first year and managed to grow grain from seeds. Unfortunately, there were no edible animals—only some insects.
Lin pulled the chain of the Oath of Judah with one hand and slung it onto his back. No. 3 led the way while Einstein followed behind Lin. They walked through the ruins of Atla.
Seven years had passed. The once skyscraper-filled city had been reclaimed by lush vegetation. One could still glimpse its former prosperity, but now it was merely a paradise for greenery.
"I tried to find other survivors, but I didn't even find a corpse." Einstein glanced at a billboard covered in Boston ivy on a nearby building. "And as for communication... heh, naturally that's impossible too."
"What about the Star Gate?"
"I thought about using the Star Gate to open a path to the Sea of Quanta again, but unfortunately, the gate is damaged."
Upon arriving in this world bubble, Einstein had tried to use the Star Gate again to return to the proper world, but two key conditions were missing: First, the Star Gate was damaged; under the influence of the Ninth Herrscher's pseudo-black hole, the space-time displacement had caused it to malfunction. Second, opening the gate required a certain amount of energy—specifically, Honkai energy.
After day and night of Einstein repairing it using resources from the Atla ruins, the Star Gate was actually nearing completion. It was at this moment that Lin had unexpectedly fallen into this world bubble.
"Contact between the same person from different worlds actually doesn't cause any rejection or annihilation phenomena. It seems the laws of the Sea of Quanta are far from what we speculated with our theories." Einstein spoke of Lin and Yama. "Furthermore, we hadn't considered that if time flows differently in the Sea of Quanta, what kind of impact would it have if a human from one world could freely explore the Sea in the future and come to our world? Wouldn't everything descend into chaos?"
Lin had lived normally for three years in a world that didn't belong to him. This fact alone was incredible in Einstein's eyes.
"However, Lin, you and your 'isomer' must be very special existences to be able to act freely in the Sea of Quanta..."
"She said her influence on other worlds is very limited." Lin recalled what Yama had said. "Even if the process and form are different, the result will be the same."
Einstein pondered deeply. "World self-correction..."
"She also called different worlds 'Leaves'."
"Leaves?"
Hearing this word, Einstein's brow relaxed as she reached a sudden realization. "I see."
"..."
Lin waited for Einstein's explanation. She didn't hide anything and began to explain: "The Sea of Quanta isn't a literal ocean. To be honest, I can't explain its structure using a 3D or 4D mathematical system. You can think of it as a 'foundation' that carries countless worlds similar to the world bubble we are in."
"You should know that a 3D soap bubble looks like a nearly 2D sphere on its surface. World bubbles are the same; we only observe them as 3D phenomena rather than higher-dimensional ones."
"I'm saying all this just to turn a concrete concept into an abstract one. Hearing that your isomer named Yama calls worlds 'Leaves' instead of world bubbles confirms another related concept."
"Namely, the 'Imaginary Tree'."
"Where does Honkai energy come from? Why does Honkai energy appear out of thin air in a way that doesn't follow the law of conservation? How do Herrschers use their authorities through Herrscher Cores? Large-scale research began right after the Second Herrscher was defeated, and the concept of the Imaginary Tree was proposed then."
Einstein pointed to a large, crooked tree growing through the corner of a wall by the road.
"Now, imagine a tree. Time flows upon that tree, and like a canopy, it buds and grows countless worlds. Those worlds are the leaves of the tree."
"And beneath the tree, there is a bottomless, endless ocean. These two are the 'foundations'."
"The relationship between the two is still unclear, but what is certain is that both give birth to worlds. Based on Yama's claim that any 'Leaf' will definitely suffer a Honkai outbreak, it suggests that Honkai is an unavoidable phenomenon for worlds on the Imaginary Tree, whereas it isn't for world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta."
Einstein thought for a moment and corrected herself: "No, judging from the other world bubbles you've experienced, Honkai does exist in world bubbles. It's just that they don't manifest in the same catastrophic form aimed entirely at the destruction of humanity as seen in the 'Leaves'."
"In other words... the problem lies with the Imaginary Tree...?"
Lin also stroked his chin in thought. Before he left that world, signs of an imminent Honkai outbreak had appeared there as well. The Herrscher Core and Honkai energy of the Previous Era had appeared; he had stopped the spread in time to prevent it from evolving into a full-blown outbreak, but... was that really a coincidence?
Just like the remains on the moon—if humanity hadn't sought out those sources of Honkai, the outbreak might not have happened. Yet Yama said the outbreak was only a matter of time.
"At least we've found a direction." Einstein looked at Lin silver hair and frowned. "Only... Lin, are you really alright now? You've used Herrscher abilities many times by now, haven't you?"
"...I'm fine. This weapon has sealed the pseudo-Herrscher core. I haven't noticed any abnormalities for now."
But...
Lin glanced at the chain in his hand.
Various signs indicated that the ability of the pseudo-Herrscher core in his body was the same as this weapon—suppressing Honkai energy. Yet this was actually a bizarre thing.
The Oath of Judah contained a Herrscher core, and his body contained a pseudo-Herrscher core. Both were products of Honkai. Why would the ability of a Herrscher born from Honkai be the suppression of Honkai energy?
Before Lin could think further, Einstein said, "We're here."
Lin looked up at the rift in the sky.
Inside the rift was an indescribable "thickness," as if something were flowing within it, contained by a transparent membrane that prevented it from spilling into this world.
And deeper within...
Lin narrowed his eyes at the blurry silhouette.
Is that... a battleship?