The thought lingered in Natsume-san's mind for only a moment before she dismissed it.
She immediately realized that, from a practical standpoint, observing the physical universe in isolation was impossible. Doing so would still mean observing those Phases.
Even if she closed all the 'eyes' she used to observe Phases, leaving only the physical universe, the result would still be a world filtered and altered by the Phase lenses.
The only difference was that closing those eyes conserved her mental energy, selectively ignoring vast amounts of information. In reality, nothing changed; the Phases still existed.
To observe the physical universe normally, she would eventually need to reopen those closed eyes—a point she had already mostly understood.
Viewed this way, if one wanted to observe the physical universe, it seemed far easier to do so from within a Phase than from reality.
After all, the physical universe viewed from a Phase's perspective didn't require observing other Phases, drastically reducing the computational load.
What she observed was merely that Phase's interpretation of the physical universe, like a reflection floating on water's surface, all information derived from that specific Phase.
However, this particular Phase seemed somewhat special, almost as if it had been artificially modified. Its interpretation of the universe aligned almost perfectly with Natsume-san's own understanding.
In other words, the various laws here were very close to reality, and its interpretation of the physical world was extremely similar, except for one thing: there was no light.
Or perhaps, electromagnetic waves like light manifested here in another form, unrecognizable to Natsume Sonoko.
After all, the physical laws of reality could be completely overturned within a Phase.
What Natsume-san possessed now was a mysterious, almost metaphysical sense.
She could perceive the existence of light and even shadows, could 'see' the scent and color of flowers, which her brain then analyzed and comprehended. But this new sense wasn't a real pair of eyes or a nose.
Anything beyond Natsume-san's cognitive understanding would remain unknown to her, just as humans cannot see dark matter because they lack the cognitive capacity for it.
Around this time, Natsume-san began to understand why she could see the Phases.
She had always lived in the physical universe and had sufficient understanding of It.
Furthermore, due to certain experiences, the Phases themselves weren't beyond her cognitive grasp either, allowing her to incidentally observe these Phases connected to it.
Coupled with their incredibly tight interconnection—the universe having been modified by Phases countless times, making them indistinguishable from each other—
Her mind raced, and Natsume Sonoko felt a wave of mental clutter.
This newly acquired sense still adhered to certain spatiotemporal concepts; it couldn't observe things out of thin air.
She had initially thought it was some miraculous soul essence, akin to an All-Seeing Eye, but in reality, it was just an observational ability based on her own cognition.
Not only did it require establishing a perceptual anchor point, but if she wanted to know something, she had to actively think hard.
Observations were prone to errors due to different anchor points, and insufficient computational power could even lead to brain death.
"This lightless Phase allows me to observe reality. And another Phase is... completely filled with AIM Diffusion Fields."
"An unimaginably vast amount of AIM Diffusion Fields are gathered there. Even Misaka-senpai's current field passes through there before circulating into reality."
Swiftly switching her new sense between Phases, Natsume-san instantly felt a sense of astonishment.
So, the AIM Diffusion Fields didn't naturally dissipate as everyone thought; instead, they all gathered into this Phase.
Natsume-san had always wondered how those AIM Fields, which scattered immediately upon generation, managed to form a core. And she'd been curious about that place where the former Kazakiri Hyouka-san resided.
It's all related to the Phases. Suddenly, so many things made sense.
An untimely flicker of exhilaration rose in Natsume-san's heart; she loved the feeling of having her questions answered.
Because Misaka-senpai was nearby, and as her evolution deepened, her impact on this Phase region grew larger and larger.
The moment Natsume Sonoko's perception entered that AIM Field Phase, she immediately observed an unimaginable field turbulence.
It was a distorted version of Academy City, with similar buildings and entities, and light that matched Natsume-san's cognition.
But there were no shadows, no weight. Air existed but didn't flow. Even the ground felt false to Natsume-san.
And those entities were like diligent worker ants, constantly refreshing and vanishing, only to be replaced by completely different people in the same spot.
"Are these people... energy constructs?"
Natsume-san was inwardly shocked.
She clearly understood the difference between these people and herself. But within this Phase, these energy bodies composed of AIM Diffusion Fields seemed to be the norm.
Influenced by the nascent Level 6 from the outside world, the surrounding scenery continuously collapsed and changed, only to reset to normal and collapse again, over and over.
The only noticeable change was the gradual darkening of the surrounding colors.
Natsume-san wasn't sure why negative emotions preferred to manifest in colors like black or blood-red.
But from a human perspective, these colors undoubtedly fit Misaka-senpai's current predicament quite well.
So, perhaps many things in this world are actually connected to human will? Like the color of miracles, for instance.
--+--
Although Misaka-senpai wasn't actively influencing this Phase, and her fields were being promptly drawn away, the energy near the unified spacetime axis of the physical universe was simultaneously agitated, triggering an increasingly intense chain reaction.
During this time, countless personality energy bodies filled with resentment and anger were born in the nearby Phase regions, only to be constantly refreshed and erased.
And if not for the fact that all of Misaka-senpai's fields were being drawn away and concentrated into reality, it might have already triggered an unprecedented, chaotic Level Shift.
In that case, the student dormitory Natsume-san held dear wouldn't have escaped collapse.
Like a passerby, or perhaps a transient.
The lonely observer lady remained quietly in place. In her perceptual state, she couldn't interfere with the Phase in any way, nor could the Phase harm her.
This also indicated that her new sense definitely wasn't something like brainwaves, because AIM Diffusion Fields could inevitably interfere with an esper's brainwaves.
This was determined by the nature of AIM Diffusion Fields themselves; they were originally energy diffused from the brain.
Coincidence, or something else...
A strange feeling welled up in Natsume-san's heart.
She had previously thought she might find some solution through the soul fusion, and now she truly had.
That sense of familiarity when selecting the Phases was almost like something telling her to come here quickly.
Was her luck really that good?
Especially since the two selected Phases were both very helpful to her, even capable of playing a decisive role, this feeling became increasingly pronounced.
But there was one thing Natsume-san could confirm: the sense of familiarity with the AIM Field Phase didn't come from that shrine maiden. It was more likely from herself, after all, she released this stuff every single day.
The AIM Field Phase could help her monitor Misaka-senpai's condition, even allowing her to grasp the complete dynamics of Misaka-senpai's control over the AIM Fields in reality.
And that lightless plane could drastically enhance Natsume-san's own temperature control abilities. Once she adapted, she could fully compete with Misaka-senpai for control over electricity.
However, the greatest value for Natsume-san was the ability, in reality, to peel off those Misaka Network components that had almost fused completely with Misaka-senpai.
Not only could she track the core of the AIM aggregate formed by the Misaka Network here and stop the experiment by destroying it, she could also perform a figurative surgical separation, forcibly severing the connection between Misaka-senpai and the Misaka Network.
Within the AIM Phase, she could easily distinguish the differences in their respective fields. Simultaneously, these fields manifested as physical entities in reality, making them even easier for her to separate.
Of course, before cutting or destroying the core, she had to deal with that black sphere filled with negative emotions.
At the very least, she couldn't let them have a chance to return to Misaka-senpai's brain.
The Phase composed of AIM Diffusion Fields was intricately connected to Academy City.
If Natsume-san knew more about Phases, she would realize this Phase bore too many artificial traces.
These traces existed in every aspect. The mere fact that espers acted as batteries, constantly energizing this Phase, presented significant issues.
At the very least, in naturally formed Phases, such frequent energy exchange wouldn't occur.
But Natsume-san's associative abilities were always rich.
She suddenly recalled a certain urban legend, the legendary 'Virtual City,' Academy City's "Imaginary Number District."
The situation before her eyes undoubtedly fit the bill.
"So Academy City is this incredible." Natsume-san's heart felt complex.
Normally, she'd be happy about Academy City's strength, it gave her a strange sense of security. But under these circumstances, she couldn't quite feel happy about it.
By now, a certain young lady with a round hair-bun had completely immersed herself in the field Phase's perspective, gazing with utter novelty at the physical universe.
The physical universe was a magnificent yet hollow stage. Buildings stood densely, people moved like weaving streams, yet it was eerily quiet, like a silent film from bygone years, as if all color had been stained with the monotony of the Phases.
Within it floated hazy energy blocks of varying sizes, merging into this larger Phase bubble like soap bubbles, while incessantly altering the larger bubble's composition.
The transparent energy blocks shimmered with unique ripples, emitting ability signals of different types and strengths, making it easy to distinguish their differences.
It was easy to guess these were the espers of Academy City, continuously releasing their fields.
Simultaneously, Natsume-san found she couldn't perceive the microscopic level of the real universe any further.
This Phase seemed to lack the concept of matter, making it impossible to observe the workings of the microscopic world in reality through it.
Even though it was extremely similar to the real world, with buildings, temperature, electric currents, and light, everything here was a false world constructed from AIM Field energy.
Yet, in the lightless Phase, she could perceive the microscopic level. Was it because matter existed there?
Natsume-san felt everything there seemed very much like matter, at least it conformed to her cognition.
But matter and energy could transform into each other.
Could it be that the lightless Phase was simply a Phase that converted energy into matter? And all the basic physical laws just happened to be the same...?
While pondering these things, Natsume-san's actions didn't slow in the slightest; she was a girl who could multitask.
After a brief moment of thought, she immediately abandoned the plan of searching for the core.
Even if she could quickly move her perception to locate the core, the time required for her physical body to get there would be unacceptably long—Misaka-senpai certainly couldn't wait that long.
So, she could only try to sever the AIM Field aggregate attached to Misaka-senpai's body.
Natsume-san had already discovered that her senpai had been forcibly connected to the network by the Misaka Network's field. What she needed to do was force a disconnect.
However, such a disconnect would only interrupt the evolution process. If Kihara Gensei wasn't dealt with, the Misaka Network would still find its way back to Misaka-senpai's brain. All she could do was temporarily take Misaka-senpai away from that man's sight.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.