So… this place required a pass?
------------------------------
"Whoosh!"
"Bang!"
"Sorry, sorry! We'll leave right away!"
"Cut the nonsense, intruders! Go inform Lady Rita, there are intruders in the Research Institute!"
The long-peaceful headquarters of Schicksal suddenly became lively.
Valkyries in the cafeteria, valkyries out on walks, those training, and even those resting in bed all looked up in surprise.
In the cafeteria, a short-haired, dazed-looking Valkyrie froze mid-bite, her spoon hanging in the air, eyes filled with disbelief.
"No way, the Schicksal headquarters was invaded?"
What kind of unhinged joke is this?!
The world's top defense system was actually breached, and someone managed to sneak into their base? This was way too ridiculous!
As the Valkyries stared at each other in shock, two unfamiliar figures strolled in casually.
"Uncle Yang did say this world's power is mostly concentrated in girls, but seeing it with my own eyes still feels a little strange."
March 7th had seen many powerful women before. She herself was one of them.
Although March 7th didn't always seem impressive on the surface…
Don't underestimate March 7th!
She was still someone who had set foot on a path and had become a pathstrider, a rare existence in the universe. If not for always encountering ridiculously strong opponents, she wouldn't seem so out of place.
Turning her head, March 7th asked for Stelle's opinion.
After thinking for a moment, Stelle commented: "Pretty cute."
"…"
Just as the two were joking around, a streak of white light flashed past, and the walls shook.
"Crack!" The nearby wall split open, releasing a chilling frost.
"You two, running around Schicksal's territory and still having time to chat, aren't you underestimating us a bit too much?"
High heels clicked sharply against the reinforced floor. Rita, clad in Valkyrie armor, smiled faintly at the two before her.
Rita's mind was still reeling. She never thought someone would actually barge into Schicksal headquarters.
Anyone who could get this far met one of two conditions: Either their status was high enough, or their strength was overwhelming.
But the two in front of her… looked like neither.
If they had snuck in quietly, maybe she could understand. But walking around openly? Even Rita was at a loss.
Could it be that these two… were just brainless? Impossible. No one this strong could be an idiot.
Not everyone was Siegfried, after all.
"Uh, we don't really know the rules here. How about you just let us go? We promise we won't run around anymore." March 7th scratched her head awkwardly and gave a sheepish laugh.
"Unfortunately, that won't do." Rita smiled faintly, twisting her blade, sending out a sharp slash.
If Schicksal headquarters let intruders come and go freely, that would be the real problem!
"Clang!" Rita's pupils shrank. Her attack had been blocked, by… a bat?
Her mind spun rapidly.
Who would use a bat as a weapon? And what kind of bat could withstand her scythe, a weapon forged with Schicksal's most advanced technology?
The battle continued, and Rita grew increasingly unsettled.
This gray-haired girl's moves had no technique, no discernible style, it wasn't that she hid her style, she simply had none!
Pure brute force! Rita gradually realized, this opponent was fighting with nothing but raw physical ability.
What kind of monster was this?! The longer the battle went on, the more question marks filled Rita's head.
Hadn't there been a little too many monsters showing up lately?
Her mood was spiraling to an incomprehensible peak.
She had always known that beings existed in this world that even S-rank Valkyries couldn't defeat.
But those beings were beyond human imagination, bound by all sorts of restrictions.
She never cared much about them.
After all, as an ordinary person, she had already reached the peak of her strength, beyond that wasn't something effort alone could achieve.
But that was then.
Now? More and more monsters were showing up!
Like the World Serpent… Rita couldn't help but suspect there was something backing these newcomers.
Meanwhile. Otto and the Void Archives observed from afar.
"There's an immense power inside her. If it erupts, the entire Schicksal headquarters won't survive." Void Archives spoke solemnly.
He could hardly believe a mere human body could contain such overwhelming energy.
"It's normal that the outside world differs from ours," Otto replied calmly.
Though they didn't fully understand the origins of Stelle and March 7th, they had some guesses.
Most obvious of all was the energy within Stelle.
It was completely different from Honkai energy. And even more powerful.
Hard to imagine that a human body could withstand such force. Even Otto, with his vast knowledge, couldn't fathom what kind of physique could contain it.
If possible, he wanted to study it himself. His eyes narrowed slightly as thoughts churned in his mind.
Such massive energy…
….
"Bang!" A burst of fire fell from the sky, heat twisting the air, suffocatingly hot.
The ground shook violently.
A blazing spear had embedded itself into the hardened floor, scorching it black.
"Cease this meaningless battle." Pulling out the spear, Durandal said firmly.
"Reinforcements have arrived," March 7th muttered instinctively.
Seeing Durandal's gaze fall upon her, March 7th stiffened.
"Lady Durandal."
Upon seeing her, Rita bowed slightly, posture restrained, speaking softly.
"They are the intruders." Durandal nodded faintly, turning her calm eyes toward Stelle and the fidgeting March 7th.
"His Grace the Overseer requests your presence. Please, come with me."
The two exchanged uncertain looks.
"Hey, do you think they're trying to trick us and capture us directly?"
"Probably not? I mean, this is their base, they could just call more people if they wanted."
"True… but I'm still worried."
Durandal and Rita silently watched as the two whispered and bickered.
…
Moments later, under Durandal's guidance, they arrived at Otto's office.
Durandal's heart steadied as she gazed at Otto seated at the head of the room.
Yes, it was him. Not long ago, Otto's schemes had left even her completely baffled.
He had even created a lookalike to take his place. If not for her sharp intuition, she might not have noticed.
Her main reason for coming here was to see what Otto was plotting.
And what she saw… was Otto smiling warmly, chatting casually with these two, asking questions, exchanging pleasantries, and finally instructing her to treat them as guests.
That was it. Durandal was utterly confused. So… Otto did all this just for that?
Walking out of the office, she glanced back, doubt in her heart not lessened, but instead deepened.
Everyone knew Otto was not a good man.
On that point, Durandal was very clear. She even knew of countless things Otto had done in secret.
But all of those schemes had a single purpose: to fight against Honkai.
In short, she, Durandal, did not believe Otto had truly changed for the better. No matter what trust issues lingered in her heart…
At least, for now, Otto hadn't done anything truly vile.
So Durandal chose to set her wariness aside for the moment. But as for that previous "double" incident… she definitely wasn't about to forget it.
...
The strings of time begin to play.
St. Freya, a silent night.
As time passes, a certain existence grows restless.
The most direct sign is that Kiana's recent nightmares have become frequent.
In the depths of a dream.
A domineering, noble, indifferent figure floated in the void, her posture radiating a meaning of overlooking the world.
"Heh, humans, indeed humans are such easily complacent creatures."
It hasn't even been that long, and already they can't hold on. How fragile.
Her eyes shift, the pressure of the void's reaction surges violently!
"Hmph, a group of traitors, unworthy of being God's apostles!"
Since awakening, the Herrscher of the Void has been observing the world through Kiana's perspective.
Naturally, Mei and the others fell within her sight. Complete and utter traitors!
To think they betrayed the great God, exchanging loyalty for shallow warmth.
Having experienced not just betrayal but cruel reality, the Herrscher of the Void's opinion of humanity dropped straight to freezing point.
For ordinary humans, the only path before her was death.
Thus, seeing Mei and the others mingle with humans and fight against Honkai, the Herrscher of the Void burst out in fury.
And not only that, besides the Herrscher of Thunder, the Herrscher of Poison, and the Herrscher of Wind, all had received Honkai's blessing, far stronger than normal Herrschers.
And yet, such beings were willing to ally with humans, abandoning their pride as Herrschers, even going so far as to stand in opposition to Honkai , utterly disgraceful!
They were absolute traitors!
"Hmph, just wait. The day I truly break free, I'll make you understand the price of betrayal!" The Herrscher of the Void snorted coldly.
But, though she said so, reality was another matter.
She had also witnessed the scene when Godzilla descended.
No exaggeration, she was terrified.
That feeling was even more effective than when she once took a direct strike from that woman.
That was the closest she had ever come to death. And when facing Godzilla, the Herrscher of the Void didn't even feel she had the courage to raise a hand.
They weren't even on the same level of existence.
Thus, the Herrscher of the Void, who awakened early, had been hiding in Kiana's body all this time, secretly lurking.
Later, when two more Herrschers joined St. Freya and remained close by, the Herrscher of the Void didn't dare reveal herself casually.
She was arrogant, but she wasn't stupid!
Well, that's debatable. Though she was foolish, she still knew when not to act rashly.
Her little mind could turn quickly, she knew very well who she could provoke, and who she couldn't...
To be honest, when she first awakened, the Herrscher of the Void was full of disdain and rage.
If it weren't for those damned humans and their schemes, how could she have lost?!
At that time, she always thought that once she got out, she would wreak havoc.
But that thought was snuffed out after Godzilla's appearance. That suppression from a higher life form was no joke.
Especially for a unique existence like the Herrscher of the Void, the suppression she felt was far stronger.
Because of this, even after awakening, she had been unusually quiet.
"And that person too, when I get out, I'll make sure to deal with her properly."
The Herrscher of the Void murmured.
That face of Fu Hua, she would never forget it for the rest of her life!
...
The next morning.
Kiana rubbed her eyes hard, her face full of fatigue. For a long moment, she scratched her hair irritably.
"Why is it that dream again?!"
'Heavens have mercy, it's been days already! Why do I keep having that dream?!'
At breakfast, Kiana was still muttering about it.
"Logically speaking, 'what you think by day, you dream of by night' is no empty saying. Perhaps Kiana thinks too much during the day, and because she sleeps deeply at night, her dreams appear more frequently."
Adjusting her glasses, Fu Hua explained seriously.
"Even if it's just dreaming, it shouldn't be the same dream for several days straight, right? I can barely eat anymore." Kiana sighed, then quickly swept through her bowl of rice.
Only the rice suffered devastation; everything else remained untouched.
····
Anti-Entropy.
Around the Eye of the Abyss, Herta was conducting a series of studies.
Today was the day to witness the final results.
"A bit nervous, huh." Tesla gripped her hands tightly, tense.
"... I'm nervous too. So, could you move your hand away?" With a dark face, Einstein glared at her.
Tesla reluctantly let go, clicking her tongue.
"Stingy."
Einstein shook her head, ignoring the childish remark, and looked toward Herta, asking,
"Ms. Herta, what's the success rate of this plan?"
"Hard to say. After all, the technology itself isn't that complicated. If the people inside can sense this surge of energy and approach here, then the key problem of returning to reality might finally be solved."
This action actually didn't involve much technical content.
The reason people couldn't find their way back after entering the Sea of Quanta was:
First, because those entering would shift into a quantum state.
Second, because the vastness of the Sea of Quanta made it easy to get lost.
To return to the original world, one prerequisite was having an accurate coordinate. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you were, without coordinates you could never go home.
Einstein also understood this truth. She nodded and looked expectantly toward the Eye.
As long as this experiment succeeded, the Sea of Quanta would no longer be forbidden to humans.
As time passed, all preparations were complete, and everyone's gaze turned toward the Eye of the Abyss.
The Anti-Entropy members were filled with nervous anticipation.
"Three, two, one."
As the words fell, the Eye of the Abyss began to rotate. Boundless energy surged and in the blink of an eye formed a massive vortex.
A vortex of pure energy.
The immense power gave rise to a suffocating pressure.
Standing nearby felt like being stared at by an abyss.
Even though everyone present was used to storms and waves, seeing the eruption of mystery from the Eye of the Abyss still left them shocked.
Inside the Sea of Quanta.
While tutoring Seele, Schrödinger suddenly froze.
She sharply turned to look in one direction.
"Miss Schrödinger, did something happen?"
Seele asked doubtfully.
"Idiot, you're about to leave!" The other Seele muttered speechlessly at her counterpart.
"Eh?!!" Seele froze instantly at those words. Her brain couldn't process it for a moment.
Just then.
"I see it, I see it, it's the scenery of the Sea of Quanta!"
"So this is what the Sea of Quanta looks like inside, huh? So desolate."
"According to the intel, the Sea of Quanta contains countless world-bubbles. But they're scattered everywhere, and finding a living, vibrant one among the endless void isn't easy at all."
"True, but why does it feel so dark?"
Familiar voices reached her ears, Schrödinger's lips trembled, and after a long pause she finally spoke, excited.
"Tesla, Einstein, Welt."
"... "
"... "
"... Am I hallucinating?! Schrödinger!!!"
As the passage stabilized further, the original silhouettes became clearer.
To be precise, only Schrödinger and Seele could see clearly for now, because...
"Uwah!!" A vertical-pupiled gaze startled Tesla into stumbling back two steps.
Schrödinger's eyes lit with joy.
Although she didn't know how much time had passed, the three figures before her hadn't changed much from back then. With one glance she recognized them clearly.
And beside them...
Looking at the joints of the Herta puppet, Schrödinger knew this was the Ms. Herta Seele had spoken of.
A puppet body, such novel technology.