Terra, the Throne Room.
The appearance of this place remained exactly as it had always been.
The grand statue of the Emperor stood at the front of the cathedral, and the vast space was filled with holy radiance. Murals depicting Imperial history were painted on the soaring dome, and stained-glass windows filtered the light into dreamlike patches of color that fell upon the mirror-polished marble floor. The air was thick with the scent of incense, solemn and grave.
At this moment, the long path constructed of countless stars naturally manifested in the air. The road was woven from dense points of light, each flickering with a mysterious rhythm, as if breathing or whispering. It extended from the void, making the sacred space appear even brighter.
Adam's figure emerged from within. He felt dizzy, and as he blinked, it was as if he had traveled through a chaotic blend of light and shadow. Then, he naturally found himself standing at the exact spot from which he had departed.
Adam took a deep breath, forcing down the surging nausea in his chest. He was truly amazed by this. Regardless of the explanation, the path connecting different universes invited endless speculation. That bridge—what exactly were they? How did they connect two completely different physical universes? What was the underlying principle?
His fingers unconsciously rubbed his chin as he fell into thought. Then, Adam naturally gave up. Such things would likely have to wait until he reached Rank 5 or Rank 6 as a reality bender before they could be explored. It was far too early for him to worry about that now.
Adam regained his focus and took a few steps within the hall. He looked around, taking in the familiar scenes: the towering pillars, the solemn reliefs, and the silent icons... everything was unchanged, as if Adam had merely gone out for a stroll rather than traveling to another universe.
Just then, the heavy doors of the cathedral opened, and a figure stepped out. The man wore a priest's robe, tailored perfectly with fine gold thread embroidery at the shoulders and cuffs. He appeared calm, carrying a faint holy glow, and on his face—resembling a Central Asian features—a pair of deep eyes watched Adam quietly.
The Emperor nodded, his voice low and steady. "You have returned."
"Yes, I'm back. And as you can see, the harvest was quite good," Adam replied casually while stepping forward. His pace was light and easy, a sharp contrast to the solemn gait expected in this hallowed space.
The Emperor scrutinized the returnee, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as if looking through the surface at something deeper. After a moment, he spoke: "Indeed, it seems your gains were significant. The aura about you... is entirely different from when you left."
"Of course." Adam raised his hand, casually turning his palm. A wisp of pale blue light seeped from his fingertips, darting between his fingers like a fish. "My reality strength is, in a sense, approaching that of a Rank 4 reality bender. This will definitely be of great benefit to the original body."
"Speaking of which, where is the original?"
"Right here."
A voice interrupted their conversation. The portal doors slid slowly to either side, revealing a dark corridor behind them. The sound of footsteps came from the passage, steady and powerful—thump, thump, thump.
Then, another Adam stepped out. The same face, the same build, the same eyes.
The two Adams looked at each other, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange. The feeling was hard to describe. It was like standing before a mirror only to find that the self in the mirror was examining you with different eyes. Familiar, yet foreign; identical, yet distinct.
The Emperor watched this, his brow furrowing slightly. As a being likewise troubled by countless personalities—under the weight of worship from billions of humans in the galaxy, his consciousness had birthed infinite personality fragments, each carrying different emotions and obsessions—the Emperor naturally knew how dangerous this situation could be.
At this thought, a faint, dazzling golden light appeared at the Emperor's fingertips.
Right then, the two Adams turned their heads simultaneously with synchronized movements and strange looks in their eyes. "What are you doing?"
The Emperor silently withdrew his hand, his movements nonchalant as if nothing had happened. "Nothing. You saw wrong." His voice was as calm as ever, and his expression returned to its usual solemnity and indifference.
Adam withdrew his gaze speechlessly and ignored him. The two moved forward peacefully. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Both reached out at the same time, their fingers touching lightly in the void.
The moment their fingertips met, a sudden flash of light erupted! In the chaotic stream of radiance, the outlines of the two men first blurred and distorted, then overlapped, and finally merged into one.
The light faded. Adam looked calmly at his hands, slowly clenching and then releasing his fists. The aura about him shifted once more.
The chaos of reality-warping triggered a visible glow around his body, spreading outward in ripples that, to some extent, tore open a corner of the space. It was as if someone had used an invisible blade to slice an opening in the air, revealing a deep, hidden realm that mortals were not meant to see.
Adam's gaze instinctively turned toward the crack. He saw a massive and complex machine. The scale of the machine was beyond imagination, with countless pipes and cables connecting to its surface like blood vessels, dense and layered, forming a structure roughly resembling a throne. Dark golden light flowed over the surfaces of those pipes, pulsating constantly like the heartbeat of some giant beast.
Before Adam could see clearly what was on that throne, the torn space immediately returned to its original state. The crack closed as if it had never existed. Silence and solemnity returned, as if that moment of peering was merely an illusion.
"Not even allowed to look. How stingy," Adam complained abruptly, turning to look at the Emperor.
The Emperor did not take the bait. He asked seriously: "So, has your strength now reached that of a Rank 5 reality bender?" There was an unmasked concern in the Emperor's tone.
"...Naturally not." Adam shrugged, his movements as casual as if discussing the weather. "How could a Rank 5 be that easy? I'll probably have to eat eight or ten more C'tan first."
"However, this trip was quite a harvest." Adam waved his hand, as if tossing aside his cluttered thoughts. "I'm a bit busy. Since the plan succeeded, I still have many things to do next."
The "Traveling Frog" plan had brought more than just a significant supplement to his reality strength—without the Foundation noticing, or rather, with them noticing but adopting an attitude of tacit permission—he had also successfully scavenged a great deal of new technology from the Foundation. That technical data was currently stored quietly in the depths of Adam's consciousness, ready to be put to great use!