Scheming against Aeons was something she'd only ever done for the Aeon of Elation. She certainly hadn't bothered with the others.
After all, outright lies built on pure nonsense were easily exposed.
Sparkle wasn't about to use such clumsy falsehoods.
Who even comes up with something like a 'Divine Embryo'?
Sparkle had no idea where this person got their inspiration from.
Weren't they afraid the Interastral Peace Corporation would call them out on this?
But 'Sparkle', with a knowing, half-smile, winked at the real Sparkle:
"Who said it was fake? The Amber Lord really did that sort of thing."
"For real?"
"Why would I lie? THEY really did it, and probably not just once. Noa was sealed away by one strike of THEIR hammer, though THEY didn't mean to crush THEM outright."
"And the Swarm King, Propagation... there are theories THEY weren't completely destroyed either. That THEY was sealed away by the Amber Lord's hammer in some special state to prevent its revival."
"Of course, that last one is just speculation. But the former... I witnessed that myself. Trust me, the Corporation definitely understands the Amber Lord better than I do."
"Whatever, this unofficial history isn't important. Hey, what about that video of yours featuring the Lord Ravagers? Thinking of releasing it too?"
Sparkle's eyes darted back and forth. Who knew what terrible idea was brewing now.
"You're serious? Don't come crying to me when Celenova comes hunting you."
"Hehe~ As if. Oswaldo will be looking for ways to mess with me anyway, so why not... give him a bit more entertainment to deal with?"
Sparkle clutched the crystal, her mind brimming with schemes for major chaos.
--+--
Meanwhile, over at the Strategic Investment Department, Diamond was keeping a close watch on the matter of 'Irontomb'.
To verify the facts, the Corporation had proactively reached out to the Garden of Recollection.
And then the Interastral Peace Corporation received some rather disconcerting news.
Namely, that the imagery representing the infinity symbol was real.
Through special means, the Garden could observe the existence of that place.
Three Paths entangled there, forming a peculiar band of light.
But it was sealed to an extreme degree. Not even a Memokeeper could pierce its interior.
Its builder, its purpose—all unknown.
The Garden only knew this mysterious place existed, and many Memokeepers over the ages had tried to uncover its secrets. None had succeeded.
However.
If combined with the video provided by the Interastral Peace Corporation...
This enigmatic Amphoreus had a high probability of being the eggshell incubating Irontomb.
Thus, the Board of Directors hastily called everyone in for a meeting.
All members P47 and above were required to attend.
Then, they revealed this speculation from the Garden of Recollection.
Upon hearing this news, Diamond felt a profound headache coming on.
Irontomb.
The most mysterious Lord Ravager. No one had ever observed its true form.
Yet its peculiar power, specialized in targeting civilizations, meant the disasters wrought by Irontomb were no less severe than those of other Lords.
So, even without ever witnessing its true body, the Interastral Peace Corporation had still bestowed the title 'Lord Ravager Irontomb'.
And now, someone was telling the Corporation that Irontomb hadn't even hatched yet, that it was still hiding somewhere in the cosmos, developing in secret.
Those previous attacks... might very well just be some overflow of power during its growth phase.
It was really hard to take.
Especially after they consulted the Garden of Recollection, and the Memokeepers stated outright that even they couldn't penetrate it.
The Interastral Peace Corporation grew even more anxious.
How were they supposed to fight this?
The other side was locked down tight. They couldn't even pry the door open.
Were they just supposed to watch as Irontomb incubated until it emerged?
Currently, the Corporation was still discussing the situation with the Garden of Recollection.
Although the Memokeepers had gained new intel from the Corporation, it was utterly useless for the current predicament.
They simply couldn't break in.
The Corporation had already sent people to take a look.
Using the Memokeepers' methods, they did observe Amphoreus.
But...
They couldn't get in.
It was a real dead end.
The Corporation even swallowed its pride and asked the people from the Land of Light to come take a look, but the Ultras were stumped too.
Though during their creation, a fraction of Trailblaze's power had been woven into their new Path...
It was only about one-tenth, neither pure nor strong enough. After trying, it still fell short.
If there was any silver lining, it was that it drew Noa's attention to Amphoreus.
But another problem arose.
There was no Seed of Light inside Amphoreus.
The Seed of Light wasn't originally equipped with the function to infiltrate a defensive barrier like that.
And without the guidance of the Seed of Light, trying to set foot on the Path of Hope and become an Ultra...
The difficulty was no different from other Paths, perhaps even harder due to its broader, more abstract concept, making it tougher to attain through self-realization.
Not to mention Amphoreus was blanketed by the power of three Paths.
Even if someone inside met the requirements, they might have already embarked on another Path.
If Noa could manifest their true form, they might have been able to rely on the Aeon's might to directly implant a Seed of Light, but unfortunately, Noa could not manifest.
Regarding this...
The Land of Light also stated they were truly at a loss.
They couldn't mobilize a large force of Ultras to gather at Amphoreus all at once; they didn't even have that many Ultras permanently stationed in their own homeland.
They could only dispatch a small squad to jointly station with the Corporation in that local star system and slowly figure something out.
Elsewhere, regarding the matter of Amphoreus...
The Corporation naturally sought Madam Herta's counsel as well.
They also shared that Lord Ravager video with Herta.
Herta was brimming with enthusiasm.
Then, Polka Kakamond showed up.
It nearly drove Herta mad.
She had just sent a holographic projection over to analyze things, and Kakamond had sniffed it out and followed.
But this time, Kakamond's behavior was strange.
Compared to trying to stop Herta, she seemed more like she had come to ask questions.
'I want to know, where exactly is that little one you've hidden away?'
For the first time, the Lord of Silence chose to communicate with Herta.
She had been searching for Zandar's fragments for a long time. Those dangerous elements intent on subverting Nous, she had always wanted to eliminate them.
And Amphoreus...a world she had never detected, quietly discovered by others.
And its secret had been pointed out.
As a member of the Genius Society, upon learning the latest intel on Irontomb, the Lord of Silence immediately thought of Zandar.
Such a terrifying creation, no one but Zandar would make it.
But again, she couldn't get in either. Zandar's firewall wasn't just for show.
As for Herta, she was livid.
'You've targeted me so many times, and now you want me to sell out an ally?'
"I suggest you get the hell out of here. When I completely crack your Knowable Domain, I'll personally stuff you into a mirror and study your brain."
Herta's ability to breach the Knowable Domain in Herta Space Station was somewhat opportunistic.
So far, she couldn't do it once she left the station.
So Polka Kakamond often found loopholes. While she could no longer threaten Herta's safety, the constant interruptions were incredibly annoying.
But not being able to do it yet didn't mean there was no progress.
Over the past few centuries, aside from other matters, Herta had spent a significant portion of her time researching the Knowable Domain.
Let's just say there were results, but not enough to counter Polka Kakamond yet.
But the future was promising.
Herta had full confidence in her own intellect.
--+--