If things were just exciting a moment ago, Herta was now bordering on a total loss of composure.
Sylvia's consciousness had been pulled into the Simulated Universe, and after an unexpected dive into the experience of Tayzzyronth's ascension to godhood, something impossible happened.
She could actually sense the swarm—those beetles locked away in the deepest levels of the Space Station—from outside the simulation.
But how? By what logic?
The Simulated Universe was a closed system; there was no reason it should allow Sylvia to perceive anything in the physical world.
If Herta had been looking for a surprise, this crossed the line from "unexpected" to "utterly ridiculous."
While Sylvia's head was still throbbing with a dull hum, Herta's voice went silent.
Sylvia wanted to offer some kind of explanation, but the Simulated Universe had already surged into its next phase. The opening cinematic, so to speak, was over; the true Catastrophe had begun.
The Swarm began to erupt across the cosmos. Inside the simulation, Sylvia found herself beset by every imaginable horror the Swarm had to offer. As for Herta? Her voice never returned.
The bugs came in endless, sky-blotting tides.
Had Sylvia not recently acquired the Ambrosial Arbor—relying on the sheer vitality of Abundance as her foundation—she likely wouldn't have withstood the onslaught of those frenzied creatures.
Even with the Path Blessings Herta had specially configured, along with Curios and the heavy tilt of the dice, she felt woefully outmatched against a horror as primal as the Swarm Disaster.
That woman didn't just crank the difficulty to the max, did she? Sylvia wondered grimly.
This session in the Simulated Universe lasted far longer than any of her previous runs.
Whether it was truly due to the influence of Propagation or not, Sylvia witnessed countless fragmented visions of the Swarm's spread.
Deep within the heart of the disaster, the simulation even unveiled a secondary calamity triggered by another Aeon: the ravages of Oroboros, the Voracity.
To be honest, back when Sylvia was just playing the game, she'd never pored over the lore entries with much scrutiny.
It wasn't until today that she realized while Propagation was busy churning out endless swarms, Voracity was simultaneously devouring entire planets.
Together, these two Aeons had stretched their devastation across more than half the galaxy.
However, since the simulation was focused on Propagation, the details regarding Voracity remained frustratingly hazy. When the Voracity vanished, or what exactly transpired during that period, stayed a mystery.
A few sparse lines of text brushed past the subject of Oroboros, offering almost no substance other than the fact that Voracity slipped into silence just before Propagation did.
And then came the finale.
Indescribable imagery manifested once more. Sylvia saw the gargantuan hammer of Preservation; she glimpsed Harmony and Elation; and she noticed Trailblaze, the silent witness to it all.
A war of the Aeons.
It unfolded from the perspective of Sylvia being utterly thrashed. It was a scene she found impossible to put into words. Even as the images grew clearer, language failed her.
Interestingly, the psychological impact of this divine war was lesser than that of an Aeon's birth—perhaps because, by this point, Propagation had already been driven to a desperate, dead-end corner.
She watched as, in the final moments, Propagation let out a shrill, piercing wail. Its Path was partitioned and dismantled by the other Aeons. Finally, the god fell beneath the weight of the great hammer.
Sylvia was finally pulled out of the vision, seeing a scene that was almost a perfect mirror of the "Herta" Light Cone.
Emerging from the Simulated Universe, Sylvia sat in silence, processing the day's test. Stepping into the shoes of an Aeon twice had given her a series of abstract realizations.
If she tried to pinpoint specific details, her memory turned to fog, yet she felt a newfound intimacy with the Paths.
Specifically the Path of Propagation. It was a strange, immersive sensation—as if she herself had briefly become the Path.
While Sylvia was lost in thought, Herta was practically ecstatic. The first-person perspective provided a wealth of detail, far sharper than the blurry projections the Simulated Universe had managed to calculate on its own.
The low-res Light Cones they'd produced previously could now be upgraded thanks to today's results, yielding far more complete memory fragments.
Before Sylvia could even catch her breath, Herta was already diving back into her research.
"Excellent! These results are beyond expectations. Go to the medical bay for a check-up. I'm logging off!"
"Wait—"
Herta didn't give her a chance to get a word in before the puppet went lifeless. The genius had clearly made a run for it.
Sylvia stared at the limp doll, sighing. She hadn't even had the chance to clear up the misunderstanding. She could only hope Herta wouldn't cook up something weird based on today's anomalies.
Probably not... right? Sylvia scratched her head awkwardly.
Reality wasn't a novel; things didn't usually happen just because you "thought" they could.
Whatever. Sylvia shook her head and left the office. She figured she'd get that check-up and then scavenge a meal. The academic pressure in this place was suffocating, but the perks were top-tier.
With her Space Station ID card, she could eat and drink her fill for free.
Upon reaching the medical bay, she claimed an empty cot and flopped down.
While waiting for the automated systems to run her vitals, she took a moment to gauge her internal state. That subtle feeling of "being the Path" she'd felt in Herta's office had faded significantly.
Her head was still buzzing, and she hadn't quite shaken the lingering shadow of the Swarm, but the experience had left its mark. She realized her affinity for the Path of Propagation had indeed increased.
It wasn't just a power boost; she now had a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanics of how a Path functioned. This, in turn, allowed her to make another leap forward in her mastery of Propagation.
Well... talk about a weird harvest, Sylvia thought, rubbing her temples as she settled in.
--+--
Elsewhere, on an unnamed planet, Ruan Mei received a transmission from Herta.
[The little project you're tinkering with on my turf? Someone found it.]
The message was cryptic and lacked context, but Ruan Mei's brow furrowed slightly as she read it.
The Emanator she was nurturing there wasn't "ripe" yet. If it were released prematurely, it wouldn't yield the proper experimental data.
[What happened?]
Herta gave a brief summary of the situation, adding a sharp complaint:
[I can't believe you're messing around with something that dangerous on my station. If you break the place and stall the progress of the Simulated Universe, how are you going to pay me back?]
Even though it was Herta's territory, she hadn't paid much attention once she'd lent the space to Ruan Mei.
She knew Ruan Mei was up to something, but it wasn't until Sylvia mentioned it that Herta realized her colleague was trying to clone an Emanator right under her nose.
Herta was fed up—their big joint project was housed on this station.
If Ruan Mei quietly broke the prototype while playing God, the lost time and data would be an astronomical debt.
[Relax. My calculations are never wrong. That "Emanator" has a lifespan just long enough to tear down maybe one section of the station. It won't touch the Simulated Universe.]
[Hmph. It better not.]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.