In the Elysian Realm of the World Serpent.
Wendy finally understood why other heroes were reluctant to talk much about Mobius when mentioned. When she followed Mobius into the laboratory, they only exchanged a glance of 'respect and blessing.'
She felt the wounds on her body gradually healing; just a moment ago, Wendy had her blood drawn from this very spot.
"I'm curious."
She directly asked Mobius, "Since this is a space made of data, how can you draw my blood?"
"Mm-hmm, what do you think data and consciousness should be like?" Mobius smiled, saying, "Something you can see but cannot touch, right?"
Wendy hesitated for a moment and nodded, "That's right."
"Ha, it seems that even after such a long time, humanity's understanding of primal forces hasn't changed at all." Mobius stretched her waist and said, "What a waste of the hard-earned experimental results I shared with him."
"Who?"
Wendy's eyes widened in shock; by instinct, she knew who 'he' was in Mobius's words.
Seeing the surprise in her eyes, Mobius became even more pleased, "That's right."
"Just like the Stigmata on your body, it is essentially the result of research I conducted with him. Oh, I forgot that MEI was also involved, but she only made a trivial contribution."
"The power within the Stigmata is the power of condensed consciousness, and the dimension of consciousness is on par with Honkai as a primal source. So how could you think that consciousness and data cannot affect reality?"
"Lab rat, tell me how Kevin in this world has changed. Is he still executing Project Stigma?"
The sudden density of information disrupted Wendy's thoughts, and she instinctively replied, "Before coming here, I hadn't heard anything about Kevin in reality."
She paused and said, "However, if what you say is true, then his ability to come fifty thousand years later is indeed related to Stigmata, right?"
Mobius did not hide it, "He was the first human to possess Stigmata in that era. To be precise, all Stigmata that appeared afterward were created by imitating his body. As for the source of the Stigmata on him, he never mentioned it, and I never asked."
"And theoretically, the power of Stigmata can indeed allow one to traverse time."
Mobius provided a definitive answer.
The foundation of her collaboration with Wendy lay in Stigmata; even the brilliant pre-civilization had not fully explored the power of Stigmata.
The reason was simple: a person's genes are essentially fixed after birth. Unless modified using something like MANTIS that utilizes Honkai, otherwise, non-directional mutations in genes would not occur in mature organisms.
The premise of Stigmata is to implant information to counter Honkai into unborn life, but at that time, there was no time for Mobius or MEI to understand the mature individuals of Stigmata.
Except for Chen Ran.
But the current fact was that Chen Ran had concealed much.
"Lab rat, you can collect all the imprints of the heroes here. Once the power of Stigmata is fully developed, then you will have the prerequisites to achieve that."
Although she did not know how Chen Ran relied on Stigmata to traverse time.
There was no doubt that Stigmata was the foundation of this collaboration.
However, Wendy shook her head, "Collecting imprints this way is too slow."
She paused and said, "He left me a genetic agent to activate Stigmata."
Realizing that Chen Ran was missing, Wendy had gone to the Eastern Branch and had a huge argument with Theresa.
That argument had no outcome because Theresa no longer knew who Chen Ran was; she even helped Wendy investigate Chen Ran's identity and found that Schicksal had no records related to him.
His traces had been erased from this world.
However, the things he left behind had not disappeared.
Previously, the agent Chen Ran had given to Theresa before ending the simulation was later placed in Theresa's Principal office.
This Principal did not know the origin of the agent and naturally did not use it recklessly.
And this potion was discovered by Wendy.
She saw the instructions, which were written by Chen Ran.
But at that time, in her frantic state, she didn't go to retrieve the potion; instead, she searched the world for Chen Ran until she joined World Serpent.
But now, Wendy felt it was time to reclaim what belonged to her.
Mobius watched Wendy's departing figure, a hint of unwillingness flickering in her eyes.
"Tch, just a little kid."
"Fifty thousand years have passed, huh."
Clearly, the serpent was feeling jealous.
…
…
In the Eastern Branch, Saint Freya.
At this time, it had already been a month since the appearance of the Fourth Herrscher.
According to Schicksal's understanding of Herrschers, a Herrscher could adapt to all the powers of their authority within a month.
Since Durandal's failure to retrieve the Fourth Herrscher, the fourth law enforcer had completely disappeared. But it hung over every Valkyrie of Schicksal like the Sword of Damocles.
The power of a Herrscher was unquestionable; even though the Fourth Honkai erupted in mid-air, no one dared to entrust their lives to the mercy of a Herrscher.
Essentially, the memories brought by the Second Honkai Eruption were too vivid, and the recently occurred Third Honkai Eruption was equally terrifying.
Everyone found it impossible to trust a Herrscher.
Wendy, before becoming a Herrscher, was a student of Theresa, and after becoming a Herrscher, she had also been to the Eastern Branch. Now, Theresa was under immense pressure.
Fortunately, Theresa did not transfer that pressure onto the academy; Saint Freya continued to do what it was supposed to do.
For example, arguing about funding.
"Theresa, the funding for Saint Freya is running low again." Himeko sighed and said, "I investigated the expenditure and cut out the purchase of entertainment equipment."
Theresa was taken aback: "How… how can that be? The Valkyries' training is already very tough; entertainment equipment is essential!"
"Most of the entertainment budget goes to purchasing the Homu series comics, and the other two-thirds are severely overpriced merchandise. Theresa, I won't count the previous purchases, but how the future funds are spent is up to me. Unless you ask the headquarters for more funding, there's no way to buy anything else!"
Theresa's face turned awkward.
Unlike other branches, the Eastern Branch had no self-sustaining ability.
Although Schicksal's technology was overwhelmingly superior to ordinary society, there were very few technologies that were converted for civilian use to make a profit. Schicksal established the Schicksal Foundation externally, but the most outstanding projects were actually in the entertainment idol culture industry, which lacked technological content.
The Ocean Branch could still rely on Australia to sell resources, but the Eastern Branch truly had nothing.
Oh, if they wanted, they could go out to sea to fish and then sell salted fish.
Thus, the funding for Saint Freya relied entirely on allocations from the headquarters.
But here's the problem.
The person managing the headquarters' funds was not Otto, but Amber. Even Otto had to get Amber's approval to buy figurines.
And Amber despised this kind of misallocation of funds the most.
"Well… then let's just stop for now."
Her pupils emitted a dead color, a gaze that showed all hope had vanished.
Himeko cleared her throat and said, "Alright, Theresa, let's talk about serious matters."
"What's the current situation regarding Wendy?" she asked. "Amber has already bypassed you to contact me, hoping I could assist in retrieving the Fourth Herrscher. What happened that day when she returned?"
"It's this potion."
Theresa did not hide it and took out the potion that Chen Ran had left behind.
She said, "This is a potion that activates the Stigmata gene, but I have no idea who gave it to me. Wendy said it was left by Chen Ran, but Himeko, you should know that there is no such person as Chen Ran."
"The source of my argument with Wendy was right here." She sighed, "But now I don't even know where Wendy is."
Theresa felt a headache coming on.
She remembered the time when she argued with Wendy; she had never seen Wendy so frantic.
This frenzy was filled with a desire to tear apart, even unmasked.
Theresa didn't understand why it had turned out this way.
Without the memory of Chen Ran, she felt that Wendy's dispute with her was completely baseless.
But now…
At that moment, Theresa's eyes changed: "Himeko, do you feel a strong Honkai Source approaching?"
As a product of MANTIS, Theresa was extremely sensitive to Honkai.
Before Himeko could react, she directly took Judah and walked out of the Principal's office.
At that moment, a storm suddenly struck the sky of Saint Freya.
The wind was not particularly strong, but everyone instinctively looked towards the source of the storm.
Kiana and Raiden Mei, who were training, exchanged glances, both sensing the familiar aura of the Herrscher.
The Fourth Herrscher, Wendy, had appeared once again.
Theresa squinted her eyes against the wind, joyfully saying, "She has become stronger, but it seems she still has her sanity. That's great."
Himeko, who followed, took a defensive stance: "Theresa, don't be too happy too soon."
"I know, Himeko."
Theresa looked up at Wendy and shouted, "Wendy, what do you want?"
"To take something."
She restrained her irritated emotions from when she came out and flew directly in front of Theresa.
She said, "Where's the potion?"
Theresa shook her head and said, "No, that potion's origins and effects haven't been clarified; I can't just give it to you."
"I need to use it on her."
Wendy took a deep breath, her eyes filled with pleading: "Teacher Theresa, please trust your student once."
"I am a Herrscher, but I am also a Valkyrie."
"Then come back with me to Schicksal."
"I will return once I find him."
Wendy said this.
"But how do you find someone who doesn't exist?"
"No, he exists." Wendy said seriously: "Teacher Theresa, I don't want to resort to violence."
Clearly, she was now in a stance of taking action if the potion was not handed over.
And if Wendy took action, the implications would be different.
It would mean she was betraying all of Schicksal.
Theresa hesitated.
Humans cannot entrust their lives and deaths to the feelings of one person, even if Wendy currently appeared to share the same stance as others.
However, she already felt she had let Wendy down.
The conflict of identities and the intertwining of interests made it difficult for her to make a choice.
After a long while, Theresa slowly exhaled: "I will give it to you, but I hope you will keep your promise."
In the end, she chose not to take action and chose to trust her student.
Wendy's eyes revealed a hint of gratitude: "Thank you."
…
…
Wendy returned to World Serpent once again.
Raven, who watched her leave and return, showed a hint of surprise: "The people from Schicksal didn't make things difficult for you."
She replied lightly: "Teacher Theresa is very nice."
"Is that so? Then she must not be a qualified leader."
Raven's words left Wendy momentarily speechless.
A qualified leader must think of everyone as a bad person, thus preparing for the worst.
But Theresa did not do that.
She knew she couldn't argue with Raven and could only change the subject: "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing, just wanted to ask how your progress is going?" She paused and said, "I found a few children in Nagazora City; they are all survivors, but because their Stigmata are not fully awakened, they cannot leave the high Honkai concentration of Nagazora City."
"So I wanted to ask if you have any solutions?"
Wendy's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
It was hard to imagine that this mercenary would actually care about children?
Or were those children experimental subjects of World Serpent?
It was no wonder she thought this; she herself was also an experimental subject.
However, she did not ask.
Even though she had come to the Elysian Realm, she had not joined World Serpent in any capacity.
Wendy said lightly: "Why don't you ask yourself?"
"Because it's not comfortable in there; I'm still very sensitive."
Raven paused, looking at Wendy suspiciously: "Have you become a bit stronger?"
"Otherwise? What do you think a Herrscher is?" Wendy retorted.
She paused and said, "I still don't know what Stigmata is, but I am working hard to find that answer. Thank you for bringing me to this place; if I have answers, I will try to tell you as soon as possible."
"Try?"
"Yeah, the heroes in there told me I could try to traverse back to the past."
Wendy's eyes revealed a hint of determination.
However, Raven had to consider a question: "Wait, what if you go back to the past and it prevents me from being born?"
The butterfly effect has always been a prominent issue.
Wendy said lightly: "I don't know."
Just as Chen Ran could only open a crack in the world barrier with his mind, if she could traverse time, she would also be in the Sea of Quanta, separated from Chen Ran by a world.
She said: "Moreover, he has already begun to influence the future; perhaps time has long been intervened."
At this moment, Wendy's mind had already accumulated several memories related to Chen Ran.
And these memories all appeared in 2013.
It was very strange; clearly, the events happened later, but in the memories, time was being reversed.
"I don't know how the interference in time will ultimately turn out; perhaps everyone will disappear because of it."
After she finished speaking, she intended to enter the Elysian Realm.
Raven stayed in place for a while before following her in.
What a joke.
If there was a risk of disappearing in the real world, then what danger could the Elysian Realm possibly hold?
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