"The Silent Lord... the Omniscient Killer?"
"Polka Kakamond... with nothing more than a fragment of data, what makes you think you're qualified to kill me?"
Evan smiled.
What a joke.
Moments ago, he had used the Authority of Consciousness to reconstruct countless streams of code throughout the Simulated Universe.
After all...
He had just activated the Omniscient Domain.
The instant it expanded, everything within the Simulated Universe fell under his control.
From every corner, data poured forth like raging storms and torrential rain.
The bells of the Omen Vanguards, the mournful cries of the Mourning Actors, the scorching heat of the Cremators' flamethrowers—
They had originally been nothing more than obedient lines of code within this universe.
Yet now...
They all emerged together.
This stage had originally belonged to the geniuses.
Now, Evan had reconstructed every part of it.
He had only one objective.
To leave the woman before him with nowhere to escape.
Seriously...
Polka Kakamond.
You think you're the only one allowed to stir up trouble?
I've been waiting for you.
The Omniscient Domain is impressive?
Then come on.
Hit me.
If you can't...
You'd better leave.
The moment Evan finished reconstructing every line of code...
Polka Kakamond discovered that her foothold was slowly being consumed by his domain.
"So..."
"The Authority to comprehend... and reconstruct."
"It seems He has granted you a truly extraordinary power."
"If it weren't necessary..."
"I really wouldn't want to kill you."
"One of His Emanators."
Polka smiled faintly.
The candy-colored assassin reached out and seized the throat of the storm.
Her scalpel sliced...
Pierced...
Carved...
Every line of code before her shattered into countless fragments.
Every gesture she made was graceful and composed.
Wherever her gaze fell...
Observation itself froze into lifeless iron.
Everything returned to perfect order.
"Now then..."
"What other tricks do you have left?"
Her voice had become leisurely.
Though her face remained hidden...
The soft chuckle in her voice revealed exactly how pleased she was.
"In front of me..."
"The order of cards in a deck contains no randomness."
"The result of a coin toss is predetermined."
"Storms."
"Waves."
"Every form of chaos..."
"Moves only in the direction I permit."
"..."
Polka laughed.
Though Evan couldn't understand what was so amusing.
He clicked his tongue.
"When did I ever say..."
"I was only an Emanator of Erudition?"
"Great Nous above..."
"Don't blame me."
"This mask..."
"Was shoved into my hands by Aha."
As every reconstructed line of code was cut apart by Polka...
The corner of Evan's mouth slowly lifted.
He calmly reached into his pocket.
Then...
He took out a mask.
Unlike the masks worn by ordinary Masked Fools...
This one had come directly from Aha himself.
No...
To be more precise...
It had been deliberately left behind for him.
Long before Aha blew up the Express...
The Aeon had sent this mask across time itself.
The moment Evan placed it against the side of his face...
The mask came alive.
It burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Hmhmhahaha! Hahahahaha!"
"Hehehehe..."
"That big blockhead Nous really has no sense of humor."
"Oi, big guy!"
"Come out already!"
"Aha—!"
Herta Space Station
Herta suddenly froze over her virtual keyboard.
Something had gone terribly wrong with Evan's data.
No...
Not an error.
A fog.
The code governing every simulated Aeon within the Simulated Universe suddenly descended into complete chaos.
Everything became hazy.
Unknown.
"What's happening?"
Stephen asked in confusion.
The Simulated Universe had been built by all four of them.
Screwllum provided the underlying technology, allowing it to operate stably within Herta's office.
Normally, it relied on the station's energy supply for its calculations.
Ruan Mei added amusing features and hidden bonuses.
Herta used it to calculate entirely new theories—
The Knowledge Singularity.
The Circle of Knowledge.
Every one of them understood...
That beneath all those purposes...
The Simulated Universe existed for one ultimate reason.
To calculate the Aeons themselves.
Its very existence relied upon accumulating enough data to model them.
And that connected directly to Herta's greatest theory.
What exactly is divinity?
"These..."
"These simulated Aeons are all being drawn toward the Unknown Domain!"
"T-This..."
"This is Aha's data!"
Herta stared at the surging data streams in astonishment as they rushed toward the Unknown Domain.
Fortunately...
It didn't last very long.
It was almost as though every simulated Aeon had come to watch the spectacle...
Only to realize that the one causing all the chaos was Aha himself.
"The Aeon of Elation... Aha?"
"How is Aha even inside the Simulated Universe?"
Screwllum asked.
Herta blinked.
"Back on Penacony..."
"A Masked Fool invited Evan to join the Tavern."
"...Wait."
"Don't tell me..."
"Even Aha has taken an interest in him?"
The four geniuses looked at one another, utterly baffled.
One Aeon would have been surprising enough.
But with so many simulated Aeons reacting simultaneously...
The Simulated Universe's computational capacity was nearly overwhelmed.
In that instant...
The entire Herta Space Station's power grid became unstable.
Every zone briefly experienced power shortages.
Lower Laboratory
A well-behaved foxian girl was quietly using Ruan Mei's computer to catch up on everything that had happened while she had been unconscious.
The moment she reached the part where Phantylia attacked the Xianzhou Luofu...
She instinctively shivered.
Then...
The lights went out.
Simulated Universe — Unknown Domain
The instant Evan placed Aha's mask against the side of his face...
Every line of code around him transformed into masks.
Countless clown masks appeared all at once.
Even Polka Kakamond was visibly shaken.
"You're..."
"Not merely an Emanator of Erudition?"
"So it's true..."
"You're the chaos itself."
"The genius who must be eliminated."
Unfortunately for her...
The moment Aha's mask appeared...
Every word she spoke dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.
She could do nothing but laugh and chuckle, almost like Numby when it got excited.
In that instant...
Every trace of fear and anxiety throughout the Unknown Domain was consumed by the joyous winds of Elation.
Aha's breathtaking laughter echoed across the entire space.
Every mask mocked.
Every mask laughed.
Every mask called out to the Aeons beyond.
Very soon...
A crimson gaze descended from the heavens.
It settled upon the mask.
"Ah... wait."
"It's you, kid."
"I thought Akivili had gone and caused another mess."
Aha's voice emerged from the mask.
Then...
From among the stars themselves...
A mass of frenzied power, shaped like an enormous mask, slowly manifested.
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