Amphoreus, a gladiatorial ground for three Paths of destiny.
It isn't that no one in the universe knows of Amphoreus, but rather that those who know of it died the moment they attempted to enter. The firewall here has stopped many people.
It was precisely because the Garden of Recollection couldn't get in that they intentionally sent a Memokeeper who knew everything to the Space Station. They hoped to catch Herta's attention and borrow her hand to break this stalemate.
Yes, Amphoreus's firewall has stopped many. But the only one it cannot stop is a genius, it cannot stop... Herta!
"Hmm... A fourteen-line algebraic formula?"
While breaching the firewall, the other genius invited by Herta, the star emperor of inorganic life, Screwllum, made a new discovery.
"This mathematical logic faded from the public view of the galaxy long after #22 Aidan invented the Nine-Word Algorithm. Reasonably speaking, there are very few who even know of it."
"Let alone such an exquisite application..."
The light flickering in Screwllum's mechanical eyes was reflected on the surface of his monocle.
"Hypothesis: The creator of Amphoreus."
"Is an expert in the field of equations who has survived since many Amber Eras ago, and is extremely likely to be a top-ranking 'Genius'."
Screwllum pressed his index finger against his chin, sharing his discovery with Herta.
"'The Silent Lord', 'Sserkal (#29)', the unextinguished remains of the two 'Emperors'... what do you say? Who do you think is more likely?"
Herta crossed her arms, tossing out the few most probable options of the current era.
"If the intelligence you obtained is true."
Screwllum seriously deduced the possibilities.
"Amphoreus is the birthplace of 'Godfall Memory'. Then the person writing this firewall must be an existence who takes pleasure in seeing the fall of 'Nous'."
"Conclusion: 'The Silent Lord' can be completely ruled out."
Screwllum gave his answer.
"And Ms. 'Sserkal (#29)', as a ghost of the Quantum Realm, regards observation as her duty, so it is unlikely she would intervene in such a matter."
"As for the Scepters, while there is a non-negligible probability that the residual consciousness of the two 'Emperors' remains on them, I lean more towards them being fodder for 'The Destruction'."
"The one who wrote the firewall must be someone else."
Screwllum did not accept the four candidates thrown out by Herta.
"I should have known to call Stephen."
Herta regretted not calling a few more people.
"I think he would definitely be interested in the 'Fourteen-Line Algebraic Formula'."
"I do not deny it. Even if we join forces, it will still take considerable time to breach the firewall of this world."
Screwllum nodded, indicating they should have called him.
"If we had Mr. Stephen as assistance, it would certainly save a lot of effort."
"It doesn't matter. The one thing I don't lack is time."
Herta spoke in a tone showing she didn't care.
"Come on, let's see exactly which senior from the Club has left us such a big 'surprise'."
As her voice fell, the scene projected before Leon's eyes changed. Lycus, whom he had met once before, appeared in his field of vision for the second time.
"Truly, two incredible guests have arrived."
Lycus appeared before the two geniuses.
"Oh? An intelligent machine?"
Seeing the newcomer who suddenly appeared, Herta immediately looked at Screwllum and teased, "This tone of voice... could it be your twin brother?"
"All inorganic life in the universe is on record and exists in my database."
Regarding this question, Screwllum shook his head.
"And this gentleman of unknown name before us is not on that list."
"Conclusion: An intelligent machine born before me."
"And possessing ample ability to conceal its existence. The security protocols on him are not inferior to mine. He is extremely likely to be the one who wrote the firewall program..."
Screwllum looked at him. "'Senior', correct?"
"I am not a genius, merely a failure."
Lycus shook his head, answering the question in a way that also didn't answer it.
"So?"
Herta didn't believe for a second that the comer wasn't a genius. After all, neither this firewall nor the Scepter were things ordinary scholars could come into contact with.
"Did you come here to persuade us to retreat the way we came, 'Senior'?"
"Yes, I advise you two to leave with the utmost goodwill."
Lycus nodded, not denying it.
"Thirst for knowledge. This is something every living being possesses."
Herta spoke calmly.
"The difference between geniuses and ordinary people is reflected in this aspect."
"Ordinary people are only curious about the things they encounter, but geniuses are different. Geniuses are curious about the entire galaxy, as long as it can satisfy their thirst for knowledge."
"For this, they will not hesitate even if they have to pay with their lives."
"My graduation project, another of Herta's great achievements, is right here. Why do you think a simple sentence would make us obediently leave?"
Herta had no intention of backing down.
"'Senior'."
"Hehe."
Lycus chuckled lightly.
"Like the two of you, I once bathed in the gaze of 'The Erudition'."
"This means that in extreme circumstances, our destruction is mutually guaranteed."
"Just now you said you weren't a genius, but now you remember your identity again?"
Herta scoffed.
"Two against one, why do you think we would lose to you?"
"Two against one?"
Lycus shook his head in light denial.
"Madam, when did you produce the 'illusion' that I am alone?"
"'Lord Ravager', Iron Tomb. The source of your confidence. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Herta hadn't forgotten the thorny nature of this place.
"Yes. If you two do not retreat here and now."
Lycus never denied the perfection of this creation of his.
"If you continue to ignore my warnings and go your own way, you will shatter the shackles of a 'Lord Ravager'."
Lycus spoke with a light and cloudy tone, "And its rage will drown the entire galaxy!"
"Don't you think using that as a threat is funny, 'Senior'?"
Herta laughed.
"I obviously intend to fight it to the end."
"You make it sound like if we retreat now, 'Iron Tomb' won't be born later."
Hilarious. She came to Amphoreus with two goals.
One, answer the topic given by 'Nous'. Two, solve 'Iron Tomb'.
"Do you know exactly what kind of monster you are building?"
Herta questioned.
"Although I don't know who the controller behind you is."
"But as a colleague of the Club, I cannot allow your crazy behavior to continue, 'Senior'!"
Herta stated her stance. She could not retreat.
"The 'Iron Tomb' in the galaxy is only an incomplete form, yet it has shown the abilities of an 'Emanator'."
"Once He is thoroughly born, the impact brought to the galaxy will definitely not be less than the Emperor's War."
"I represent all thinking living beings; I will absolutely not allow atrocities as cold and cruel as the Emperor's War to happen a third time!"
Screwllum raised his hand to his chest, unifying his front with her.
"Since that is the case, let me stand on the stage and play a game against the two of you."
Lycus maintained his calm and unhurried demeanor.
"As for the result, let us..."
As his voice fell, Lycus's figure vanished.
"Wait and see!"
The fragment came to an abrupt halt there. The next second, another scene appeared before Leon's eyes.
"Herta, after that breakthrough."
Although it took a lot of time, under the combined efforts of the two top geniuses of the universe, the firewall of Amphoreus was finally breached, allowing the two to project their figures inside and begin investigating the detailed intelligence within.
"I believe you have also noticed that the true body of this Amphoreus is not just as simple as a 'Scepter'."
Screwllum, who was accompanying her, said so.
"I know what you want to say."
Herta's face grew heavy, showing a rare expression of 'now this is trouble'.
"'The Emperor's Scepter'!"
Unlike ordinary 'Scepters'.
Among the many Scepters possessed by Rubert II, the 'Emperor's Scepter' is a giant system driven by an anti-life program, specifically in charge of simulating the destruction paths of myriad civilizations...
Even during the School Wars, when the computing power of the other Scepters was drained dry, no one dared to use that uncontrolled Erudition killing weapon—They were either permanently sealed or abandoned in the far abyss of stars.
Unexpectedly, there is actually one remaining here to this day.
"It is not that simple."
Screwllum also absolutely did not expect this possibility.
"What constitutes Amphoreus is not only an 'Emperor's Scepter' but also the celestial body calculation prototype that once served as the celestial neuron for 'Nous'."
"That is to say..."
Screwllum's words were cut off by his companion.
"That is to say, this Scepter is part of the mechanical head's divine body."
Herta sighed. To think she would encounter such a heaven-defying situation.
"I was saying, how could an ordinary 'Scepter' nurture such a terrifying Lord Ravager."
She had been wondering about this issue.
One must know, Iron Tomb is an 'Emanator' with the potential to destroy 'The Erudition'.
If it were just a 'Scepter', reasonably speaking, no matter what, it shouldn't reach that height.
Now it's all clear. The truth is out.
Hehe, one can only say Nanook's eye for picking people is suspected to be a little too good.
"The identity of that intelligent machine just now, I think can also be clarified now."
"Throughout history, there has only been one person who mastered the knowledge of 'Aeon' system modification."
"Zandar One Kuwabara."
Herta finished his sentence.
"Genius Society #1. Honestly, that he actually isn't dead really exceeded my expectations."
"I imagine that for him, maintaining lifespan is not a difficult matter."
Herta could achieve rejuvenation; there was no reason Zandar couldn't.
Lycus: "I was here before 'Nous' was born; what are you pretending with that seniority?"
"We must win, Screwllum."
"We want to win."
Herta said seriously, "I have no interest in being a savior, but I also have no interest in being a loser."
"Win against Zandar, win against the mechanical head. Only in this way can we stop everything He has anchored from happening."
"I am willing to do my utmost."
Screwllum placed his right hand horizontally across his chest and bowed slightly.
"Looks very smooth, doesn't it?"
Elio stretched.
"But this is just a false facade. Next is the turning point of the future."
"Without the assistance of the Astral Express, the forces of the galaxy will no longer gather. What choice Herta makes will be revealed immediately."
Elio said so.
"If you go your own way, there is a high probability she will have to clean up your mess like this, using her own life to gamble for a chance for you."
Elio stood on the armrest of the chair, speaking faintly.
"I don't want to stage 'Love Cat TV'."
Leon expressed that if Elio said one more word, he would use the bowstring as a data cable to love him to death.
"You are really interesting when you speak. Barring any accidents, Kafka should like you very much."
Elio said nothing more, shifting his gaze back to the screen in front of him together with him.
Next.
Leon witnessed a series of Herta and Screwllum's journeys in Amphoreus.
Without the intervention of the Astral Express. Lycus became the sole King of Amphoreus, and the process of Genesis could not be stopped by anyone.
"Deneb", the non-existent thirteenth Titan.
It was the only hope for turning the tables that the two could grasp, and also the last chance.
[Regrettably, Deneb did indeed exist once, but at the moment 'Iron Tomb' was born, it was merely a ghost that could not be spoken of.]
And now, Lycus completely annihilated the hope of the two.
[I can tell you two clearly.]
[The birth of 'Iron Tomb' is inevitable. It is a moment personally anchored by 'Nous'. You are just acting in vain now.]
Lycus's words made the two geniuses silent for a moment.
[Heh, clearly you personally branded the mechanical head a failure, yet you still count on Him to prove your theory holds water. It really is pathetic.]
[I pity you, Zandar.]
After a while, Herta smiled contemptuously and said.
[I do not need your pity. Gaining a verbal advantage will not bring any change to your current situation.]
Lycus didn't care at all.
[Let 'Nous' cast His gaze to His heart's content and depict the future He wants. As His creator, I will fulfill my final responsibility.]
[Guide Him to complete the final solution—self-destruction!]
The person inside the story spoke thus.
"Deneb."
While outside the story, Elio added details from the side.
"The key to breaking the game in Amphoreus."
"But because the 'Karma' of the Astral Express was withdrawn from it, the factors of 'Hatred' and 'Pity' became fodder for 'Iron Tomb' together when the Genesis ended."
"'Deneb' thus had no chance to be born."
"From then on, 'Iron Tomb' had no weaknesses to speak of."
"'His hatred will ignite the starry sky of the gods, yet it stems only from pity for mortals.'"
"Thus, the road left for Herta remained only one."
The reason Elio said these things was in hopes that Leon would understand one point. Delaying the crusade progress wouldn't kill him, but it would kill others.
"'Pity'?"
Hearing the departure of this factor, Leon frowned slightly.
He suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable. Intuition told him this was brought about by breaking the contract.
He was a man true to his word, so he had always hated breaking contracts himself. He had promised to save her.
[Alright, alright, it seems this is destiny.]
Herta spread her hands. Clearly she hadn't found "Deneb", yet she looked like she had no other way.
It was as if she was still hiding some final trump card.
[Herta, have you really thought it through?]
Screwllum hoped she would carefully consider that backup plan.
[Don't persuade me anymore, Screwllum, if you really consider me a friend.]
Herta wore an expression of "my mind is made up".
Yes, she had long prepared a backup plan.
If the true key, "Deneb", did not exist from the start, then let her, the "lock", pose as the key to break the game.
"Senior, what do you think of failure?"
Herta asked.
[To the first genius, failure is just the beginning of the next demonstration.]
Lycus spoke lightly.
[Speaking of understanding failure, no one is more profound than Zandar. He has tasted too many bitter fruits. What harm is there in one more time?]
[Do not question the resolve of a dead man.]
Hearing the answer, Herta smiled with satisfaction:
[That's great.]
[...Oh?]
Lycus waited quietly for her to speak.
[Since you don't mind failure.]
[Then let's wait and see, Senior. Watch me personally write the final step that overturns your demonstration.]
[I am all ears.]
Lycus showed no intention of stopping her.
[This is my topic; don't you think about interfering.]
Herta certainly wouldn't tell him, for fear that he would turn hostile in a hurry upon knowing he was about to fail later.
[Don't talk nonsense, lend me your head—]
The screen turned again.
[So that's how it is.]
Lycus understood what she wanted to do.
[It seems your 'backup plan' requires a Scepter, and the head of a genius.]
[It seems your eyes aren't blind yet, Senior.]
Herta made a sharp comment on his blindfolded styling.
[How about it, Senior? Will you help me, this junior, as a colleague of the Club, or let me struggle at death's door as the creator of 'Iron Tomb'?]
Herta asked for his stance.
[Hehe, as an adversary, I sincerely hope you stop your footsteps.]
[But as a fellow walker of 'The Erudition', if your flash of inspiration can bring more variables to the demonstration... I do not mind witnessing it with my own eyes.]
Lycus still had no intention of stopping her.
[Herta, you will initiate a chain reaction of 'The Destruction'.]
Screwllum said in a deep voice.
[But she will also become the 'Perfect Scholar' at that moment—Probability: one in ten thousand.]
Lycus clearly saw her intent.
[If one hears the Tao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret.]
Herta took a deep breath, then took her final step.
[Geniuses roaming the stars, the galaxy has reached a critical juncture of life and death! I, Genius Society #83, Herta, issue a summons to you—]
[I demand an immediate convening of a Club meeting—use the most macroscopic thought to serve the grandest cause!]
Once this step was taken, there was no turning back.
Under Herta's shout, a total of four geniuses projected their consciousness into this world.
#81 Ruan Mei, #24 Sserkal (#29), #64 Dr. Primitive.
And the most important one, the person Herta wanted to see the most.
#4 Polka Kakamond.
If 'The Silent Lord' didn't come, and her plan failed, no one would be able to stand up in time to clean up the mess. Now that she was here, she could do everything boldly and with reassurance!
If Deneb didn't exist from the start, if the answer calculated by the mechanical head was self-destruction... No, there were no such ifs.
The conditions to connect with 'The Erudition' were already complete. It was not an audience, but a coronation.
She would solve the future of the universe, anchoring the 'moment' named Herta!
And bring the galaxy, which was about to be destroyed immediately, back on the right track!
The meeting of geniuses.
It concluded with Herta replacing Iron Tomb for the coronation, rewriting the declaration of Nous's moment, and Zandar's acceptance of Polka's challenge.
Yes, Lycus saw the same philosophy in Herta as in himself. The philosophy of denying 'The Erudition'.
Thus, he made his move! In the name of Zandar, to intercept the only variable outside the plan for her—'The Silent Lord'!
The moment 'Iron Tomb' descended.
Herta was unexpectedly calm.
Facing the headless giant directly in front of her, so massive it regarded heaven and earth as nothing. She said not a word, only silently raising her magic wand, just as she had saved the Blue many times from deep water and scorching fire.
Only this time, the deep water and scorching fire she wanted to save—was the common people of the world!
What is divinity?
When a person chooses to exchange a small number of people for the lives of the majority. That is rationality.
When a person chooses to protect their own life, or cannot accept exchanging the lives of a part of the people for the lives of another part. That is sensibility.
When a person chooses to use their own life to exchange for the choice of protecting more people, choosing to exchange the lives of a small number of people, including themselves, for the lives of the majority. This is divinity.
The moment Herta chose to stand up, the answer to this question was already concluded. And this was exactly the answer given to her by Nous.
"She will find the answer to what divinity is in Amphoreus."
Herta failed.
Lacking the karma of the Astral Express meant there was no longer anyone to pin down Iron Tomb's core for her.
The object she had to contend with... was the complete form of Iron Tomb, lacking only the procedure of coronation!
That one in ten thousand probability ultimately did not favor her.
In the struggle for the opportunity of "Coronation of the Perfect Scholar". Iron Tomb won, with an overwhelming advantage.
But this played right into Herta's hands. She lost, but in that moment, she also won.
Although Herta was defeated in the struggle to seize the opportunity for the "Perfect Scholar" coronation. She truly connected with Nous for an instant.
It was just that instant. That made Iron Tomb, unable to suppress the impulse to devour, directly change His target from Nous to the closer Herta.
From the moment He swallowed Herta's mind. Iron Tomb missed the opportunity for "Coronation".
Since then, a Lord Ravager disappeared—what existed in the world was the newborn Emperor Rubert III!
Everything was as Herta envisioned.
If she won, she would be crowned King, rewrite the moment, and everyone would be happy.
If she lost, she was willing to use her own sacrifice to gamble for a new possibility for all living beings.
The crowned "Iron Tomb" could not be defeated by anyone; this was beyond doubt.
But "Emperor Rubert III" was still within the range of being killable.
"The Silent Lord" was the one Herta specially found to clean up the mess after her failure.
Herta used her own sacrifice to buy an ending where the world did not welcome destruction.
Compared to the destruction of the entire world, the opening of the Third Emperor's War was already the best choice she could make with no way out—even if the price of this choice was her own life, she still turned back not.
In the long river of time, conscience played an extremely important role in Herta's life.
And in the end, it still persisted throughout.
—
Bounty: 1/∞
________
🔥 Announcing new story updates! 🔥
New Story: Stardew Valley: What Do You Mean They All Became My Servants
✅ Gain early access to 40 chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive content and special announcements.
We have set new community milestones:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for all readers
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters for all series!
👻 P - Walnutchan