Otto and Sirin had arrived in Siberia.
It was summer, so Siberia wasn't as frigid as one might imagine. In contrast, the android Cecilia, far away in the Far East, could feel just how sweltering the local weather was.
The highest temperature in Novosibirsk was only just over twenty degrees Celsius.
Mobius and Elysia had sought out the android Cecilia not just because she was a special android, but to further advance Noldrei's plan.
The plan was to bring Otto, Sirin, and the android Cecilia together again at Babylon Labs. Let them meet, and then...
Ignite all their conflicts in that single moment.
Cecilia was a gentle yet powerful person, but the android Cecilia had inherited nothing but her memories and emotions. Besides being an android, she had practically nothing else to her name.
The android Cecilia was much like Gray Serpent; it was a blessing she even had his level of combat capability.
Because of this, Elysia felt a pang of guilt talking to the android Cecilia about the plan.
But it wasn't the first or second time she'd played the part of the villainess. This time, however, the one being sacrificed was this newly "born" Cecilia.
Androids were a technology unlike any other, and Noldrei had proposed a rather cruel hypothesis.
What would an android do with its life if it was never told it was born to serve human emotional needs, but instead was allowed to realize it could make its own choices, independent of the network?
And so, Elysia deliberately steered the conversation toward Cecilia's past, waiting until Cecilia herself brought up the topic of Sirin.
"Sirin... ah, Sirin was such a pure, yet tormented child. I heard she had passed away, and that the one who inherited her name now is Kiana, the Herrscher personality born within K423's body. How is she doing now? I heard... she's been taken under the control of Academy City's Director?"
The android Cecilia was curious. She knew Kiana was doing well, but she wasn't sure about Kiana's Herrscher personality.
According to Mobius's research on Herrscher consciousness, Raiden Mei's Herrscher personality, and the findings on Herrscher Cores and Stigmata, what was inherited was merely the memories and emotions of Sirin, stored within the Herrscher Core.
The existence of a Herrscher Core is more akin to a Stigma; it automatically seeks out a suitable host with whom it shares an affinity, and in turn, influences its host. At the same time, it can preserve the will of its original owner, thereby influencing the next.
This was also why Raiden Mei's other personality was a Stigma-based will.
The newly born K423 was influenced by the core's previous owner, Sirin, and was thus instilled with a will similar to a Stigma imprint from her.
This caused her to split into two personalities, as the conflicting wills could not coexist and would instinctively create a state resembling a mental disorder. Noldrei, by manipulating the genetic information of consciousness itself, managed to separate the two personalities, making them completely independent.
Mobius explained the situation to the android Cecilia, laying bare the tragic outcome: one was now Sirin, and the other, Kiana.
The android Cecilia's eyes dimmed. She hadn't expected Sirin to have died like that. Her death had been so miserable that even her remains had been taken and used as research tools.
"So, the current K423—I mean, Kiana—is okay. But the other one, the new Sirin who completely inherited the original's memories and emotions, doesn't know she isn't actually that Sirin, but just a new life infused with her will?"
"Then... isn't that... just like an android?"
Elysia's eyebrow twitched. She suddenly felt the sheer cruelty of the task Noldrei had given her. The android was an infusion of emotions and will; so was this new Sirin. Both were forced to carry the pain and contradictions of others, running endlessly through this brutal world.
"You're not wrong to put it that way. In fact, the current Sirin is merely a shadow left behind by the original. Her will, her emotions, her pain—everything is inextricably linked to the previous Sirin. Even the new body created for her is a replica of the original's. This is the basis for the new Project Stigma we've been researching. Humans are not simply biological animals, but a unique form of life defined by continuity and interaction. In this regard, very few animals can achieve the same level of specialty as humans."
Mobius's explanation was even colder. Her only concern was whether Noldrei's plan could be completed.
Otto with his highly Honkai-resistant Soulium body, Sirin with the Core of the Herrscher of the Void, and the android Cecilia, a vessel for the descent of a new Herrscher.
A collision between these three was certain to detonate their respective suffering. On top of that, Noldrei had spent all this time raising and educating Sirin as if she were his own daughter.
In a way, Noldrei had burdened the new Sirin with even more conflicts relevant to the new era.
She had met Mei's Herrscher personality and become her friend. She had met Kiana and gained a new sister. She had been cared for by Rita and had come to understand the complex relationships between people.
Whether those bonds were fragile or strong, they had, under Noldrei's influence, become the foundation of the new Sirin's existence.
The curse of being "all alone," which the deceased Second Herrscher, Sirin, had obsessed over in her final moments, had been forcibly broken by Noldrei's intervention.
In other words, besides dealing with the descent of a new Herrscher, Noldrei also wanted to solve Sirin's problems.
And how would he solve them?
By bringing Otto and Cecilia back to Siberia and letting them have it out.
Only in the explosive moment of conflict would the Will of the Honkai respond to their individual pain.
The android Cecilia didn't know how to respond to Mobius's words. She felt like she was the one without that continuity, just an infusion of a Stigma's will.
Like a ghost. A memory construct.
"What about Sirin? Can I go see her? I don't think I've ever really met her. Kiana is avoiding me, things are incredibly awkward with Bianka, and it's even worse with Siegfried... I want to see Sirin."
Elysia's heart suddenly clenched. She felt an overwhelming urge to cut Noldrei down.
But she couldn't. Who in their right mind would just chop up 'their own' body?
"Sirin is at Babylon Labs right now."
Mobius knew at a glance that Elysia, that sentimental fool, wouldn't be able to handle this job. So, she stated Sirin's location directly.
The words made the android Cecilia jump to her feet in shock.
A deep sense of unease enveloped the android.
So this is what it means to keep an android from knowing the reason for its creation, isn't it?
Elysia slowly exhaled. She now profoundly understood the key to humanity's control over androids.