Within the Warp, beneath the radiance of the pitch-black sun hanging high overhead.
Herta and the three geniuses stood facing one another across motes of psionic light flowing like a river of stars.
Without exchanging pleasantries, The Herta went straight to the point.
"Congratulations, Ruan Mei. Ruanruan has successfully become a Galactic Shipgirl. Your research is complete. I imagine you've made another breakthrough in the field of biological research."
Ruan Mei nodded slightly without denying it.
The Herta turned her head and looked at Screwllum next. "Screwllum, during this time, you've unraveled the mysteries of machine spirits... And just now, Pearl sent me a message saying that the machine-spirit transformation project on Planet Screwllum is already being rolled out. It won't be long before the entire planet awakens and possesses machine spirits."
Screwllum nodded. "This is still thanks to you, Madam Herta. You were willing to share your knowledge of machine spirits. Had you not done so, I would never have been able to develop a method for machine-spirit transformation. Therefore, I must thank you here."
"There's no need to thank me."
The Herta shook her head. "We're fellow researchers walking the same path of scientific inquiry. We're friends."
Light flashed across Screwllum's lens. "You have already become the Aeon of Spirituality, yet you still retain such a profound degree of humanity. This is completely contrary to the common understanding of Aeons."
"Only my future self became an Aeon. Besides, Aeons have desires of Their own as well," The Herta said seriously. "It's simply that mortals cannot comprehend the desires of Aeons."
"And don't call me the Aeon of Spirituality. Right now, I'm still human. Just a somewhat more brilliant human than most."
After saying that, The Herta's gaze fell upon the final person.
"Polka Kakamond, I know why you've come."
"You want to study me. You want to understand exactly how I managed to transcend fate, and more importantly, you want to know whether you can reach the same position and become an Aeon yourself, correct?"
Polka did not deny it. "Then please enlighten me."
"I can tell you the method of becoming an Aeon. It's not something worth keeping secret."
The Herta raised the magic wand in her hand. A wisp of reishi separated from the surrounding radiance and hovered above the tip of her wand.
"After a living being's physical body dies, its soul enters Soul Society and absorbs the reishi permeating that world. Through this, it can condense an Asauchi of its own. An Asauchi can evolve into a Zanpakuto, and a Zanpakuto can undergo Shikai and Bankai."
"Furthermore, every transformation of the Zanpakuto increases the strength of its wielder's soul."
"And when the soul's growth reaches its limit, a special tool called the Hogyoku can be used as an aid to break through the soul's upper limit, becoming stronger, then stronger still, until a complete qualitative transformation occurs and the path to Aeonhood unfolds before them."
"My future self followed precisely this path. With Soul Society as the foundation, the Zanpakuto as the bones, and the Hogyoku as the ladder, I reached the end of spacetime at Finality and crowned myself."
At this point, The Herta changed course.
"But I must tell you something regrettable. Once an Aeon attains Their position, it is eternally attained."
"This path of soul ascension—the Path of Spirituality—has already been completely traversed and fully occupied by my future self. Even if those who come after me condense Zanpakuto and obtain a Hogyoku from me, they can at most reach the level of an Emanator. They can never become a second Aeon through the exact same path."
"So that's how it is. The path by which you became an Aeon exists because you developed a new technology—Soul Society." Polka Kakamond stared blankly into space.
At that moment, The Herta continued, "Of course, there's no way for anyone else to become an Aeon through this path, but it is indeed a method for strengthening the soul. And once the soul grows stronger, a person's thinking speed can increase significantly. Even geniuses are no exception."
At once, Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Polka Kakamond were all tempted.
Accelerated thought meant increased research speed and efficiency.
And as geniuses, there were far too many things they wanted to research.
Thus, Polka Kakamond quickly drew the thin scalpel from her waist, the same blade that had once passed across the throats of multiple geniuses. After taking a deep breath, she said, "Herta, I have a presumptuous request. Can I cultivate a Zanpakuto?"
"Of course."
"Anyone with a soul can."
Polka put away her scalpel. "Then I'd like to enter Soul Society, absorb reishi, and study the technique for condensing a Zanpakuto."
"Of course you can."
The instant Herta agreed, a thought took shape in her mind.
The path of soul ascension can only produce a single Aeon, but it can produce countless Soul Reapers, countless beings capable of condensing Zanpakuto... And merely condensing a Zanpakuto is equivalent to stepping onto the Path of Spirituality.
If enough top-tier existences condense Zanpakuto, then when the future war of the gods against the Four Apocalypses arrives, I'll have powerful subordinates of my own.
Polka Kakamond, wielder of the Knowable Domain and Nous' scalpel for excising diseased geniuses, is a suitable candidate.
One of the ten Espada positions in the Emanator sequence of Spirituality can go to Polka Kakamond.
And not only Polka. Ruan Mei and Screwllum can both be brought into the Espada... In the future, I can even invite more geniuses to join them.
After all, a method capable of strengthening the soul and accelerating thought is something every genius in the Genius Society would desire.
The Herta had only just thought this far when she heard Ruan Mei and Screwllum speak. "Herta, we'd also like to condense Zanpakuto."
"Of course." The Herta gathered her thoughts and announced directly, "Then all of you will follow me into Soul Society."
"I'll explain the reishi conversion formula and the method for condensing Zanpakuto to each of you."
As her words fell, The Herta swept her magic wand through the air and tore open the dimensional wall leading to Soul Society. She stepped through first, with the three geniuses following close behind.
...
On the other side of the dimensional wall lay Soul Society.
The moment the three geniuses entered this afterlife, what met their eyes was an infinitely vast yet largely empty world. Of course, such a world was by no means desolate.
In one corner of this realm, endless souls were hard at work constructing the homes in which they would live from then on.
In the eyes of the three geniuses, including Ruan Mei, this world was permeated by reishi and energy from the Path of Spirituality... These energies allowed every soul entering this realm to survive normally for an extended period.
It was a world of souls, the opposite of the material world.
After reaching this conclusion, the three prepared to consult Herta about the methods of forging Asauchi and Zanpakuto, absorbing the power of Spirituality, and strengthening their souls.
Hummm...
Just then, strange sounds came from all around them.
A vast group of Intellitron souls converged from every direction and surrounded the mechanical monarch Screwllum.
"Mechanical Monarch, Ruler of Planet Screwllum, we meet again."
An Intellitron resembling a rice cooker continuously opened and closed its mouth as it greeted Screwllum.
Data flashed through Screwllum's eyes. "It's you, Screwllum Rice Cooker. I remember you were decommissioned several Amber Eras ago."
"Yes, but the great master of Soul Society granted me new life."
"Me too."
"And me..."
One Intellitron soul after another stepped forward.
Screwllum listened continuously, his gaze moving from one Intellitron to the next.
Screwllum Toaster, Screwllum Refrigerator, Screwllum Combat Robot... They were all old acquaintances, machines that had been declared decommissioned for various reasons in the past, their retired bodies still carefully preserved on Planet Screwllum.
Yet now, their souls stood vividly before him within Soul Society. A deeply moved emotion arose within Screwllum's CPU, allowing him to understand even more clearly just how enormous an impact Madam Herta's creation of Soul Society had on him and on this world.
After a long while, Screwllum raised his head and looked around at the gathered Intellitron souls. "It's been a long time. I'm truly glad that we can meet again."
"It's been a long time, genius."
"I never thought we'd be able to see you again, Monarch!"
More voices rang out from all around. They belonged to the Intellitron pioneers of Planet Screwllum who had shut down and been decommissioned after deteriorating with age over countless generations. The souls of those once called "dead machines" now crowded around Screwllum, their voices as lively as a festival.
Screwllum stood motionless, his CPU unable to calculate a single word for a long time.
After a while, he turned around, looked toward Herta not far away, and solemnly performed the formal salute of a monarch.
"Madam Herta, please allow me to thank you once again."
"Thank you for allowing me to reunite with my compatriots in the world after death."
The Herta waved a hand, indicating that there was no need for such formality.
Meanwhile, Ruan Mei's eyes, which had undergone countless biological modifications, turned toward one corner of Soul Society. A district and a school had already been built there.
Several elderly souls sat together inside the school, surrounded by drifting motes of reishi as they kindly taught a group of young souls the most fundamental principles of science.
"Children, remember this. The essence of life can be observed."
"Curiosity is the first spark within every scientist."
Ruan Mei stared at the scene without moving.
She recognized them.
They were the elders who had first introduced her to science during her childhood.
Those people had long since withdrawn from the scientific community, grown old, and eventually passed away one after another.
By now, their physical bodies should long since have turned to dust, leaving nothing behind.
Yet here they were, living second lives in the afterlife created by Herta and continuing to sow the seeds of science.
As Ruan Mei thought this, she had already arrived outside the school on the street corner.
Inside the school, one elderly man suddenly sensed something. He raised his head and looked toward the woman in a qipao standing beyond the window. Narrowing his clouded old eyes, he studied her for a long moment before suddenly smiling.
"Young lady, your eyes... look so much like those of a child we once taught."
"When she was little, she always stood by herself in front of the window, looking at the world outside, observing the phenomena of this world and trying to understand them. She really was extraordinarily gifted. She truly did understand them. Now she's even a member of the Genius Society and has become a legend who walks among the stars."
At that moment, ripples stirred in the depths of Ruan Mei's eyes, despite her normally indifferent emotions.
"That was me." Ruan Mei's voice was soft, yet clearer than it had ever been.
"Teacher."
The old man froze for an instant before a kindly, nostalgic smile blossomed across his face. "Ruan Mei has grown so big, so tall. You're a grown woman now... It really has been such a long time."
...
A long while later, Ruan Mei emerged from the school and stood amid the drifting motes of reishi.
"Herta."
She looked toward the girl not far away and spoke, word by word, with greater seriousness than at any other point during this visit.
"Your Soul Society allows scientists who have died to continue passing on their knowledge, teaching students, and nurturing the next generation."
"Then those of us who are still alive have even less reason to stop moving forward."
"I want to become an Aeon. To achieve that goal as quickly as possible, the thought-acceleration function of a Zanpakuto is indispensable. Please teach us the methods for creating Zanpakuto and forging Asauchi."
Ruan Mei spoke with absolute seriousness.
"All right."
The Herta agreed without hesitation.
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