"So, after all these years, these are the only unreliable plans you've come up with? You expect to defeat Him with these?"
In the temporary camp, the mercenaries performed their respective duties—some stood guard, some pitched tents, and others started cooking—but everyone consciously stayed far away from the small central tent.
Only Xia Yu and the Doctor sat by the fire, with Charlotte (Savage) holding Amiya while occasionally poking at the potatoes in the embers with a twig.
The potatoes had been provided by Xia Yu; she had a massive stockpile of them in her warehouse.
"...You're bluffing me," the Doctor said, narrowing her eyes. "I remember very clearly that there were no... well, species like you among the survivors."
Humanity wasn't the only race to survive the Catastrophe; there were many other refugees from various races, though humans were the majority, given that this was the territory of Human Civilization.
Of course, race wasn't the only basis for her claim; the word 'defeat' was enough for the Doctor to differentiate her. The Doctor was, after all, a brilliant individual. She had only been temporarily bluffed earlier due to the information gap, but as the conversation progressed, she had caught on.
In the beginning, information about the Catastrophe was brought over by those scattered survivors. Initially, humans could only observe the once-prosperous universe suddenly fall silent as the lights representing civilization went out one by one.
From the darkness of those stars, only the fragmented words brought by these survivors allowed them to understand a fraction of the disaster.
Therefore, before the Catastrophe arrived, humanity had intended to gather the most outstanding elites from every industry and scatter them in all directions across the universe to preserve the sparks of life.
Everyone else stood ready for battle.
But to everyone's shock, Human Civilization's fleet—strong enough to make any civilization in the surrounding star systems tremble—was like a sandcastle on a beach before that unspeakable disaster; a single wave washed over them, and they vanished completely.
That was simply not an existence a fleet could defeat. The Observer... He is an unordered cosmic storm, the incarnation of chaos. Wherever His 'gaze' falls, the Universal Constants that should be incredibly stable begin to randomize. To put it simply, in the area He 'watches', one plus one equals two this second, three the next, and thousands the second after that...
Before these unstable Laws of Physics, no civilized creation could be maintained, because the very logic of their existence was fundamentally negated.
Thus, defeating Him was an impossibility. The last transmission the Doctor received was: His gaze follows the light of civilization. Flee, and then, survive.
The Doctor didn't know what the universe outside Terra had become over these tens of thousands of years. Perhaps civilization had flourished again, or perhaps the entire universe had fallen silent.
But she felt she was about to get an answer.
"No one who truly recognizes His existence would ever use the word 'defeat'," the Doctor said, staring at Xia Yu. "He is the universe's most ancient darkness, a 'cancer' left over from the birth of the universe. To defeat Him, one would have to develop a civilization capable of modifying Universal Constants."
"But once the sparks of civilization shine in the universe, they will inevitably attract His gaze. Unless one could develop to that level in a mere few centuries or a millennium... but how is that possible? It took humans hundreds of thousands of years just to barely touch that threshold."
"It is an unsolvable paradox," she said slowly. "That is why we chose those plans."
From the Deep Blue Tree to the Preservation to the Originium Project, every single one of them exuded extreme pessimism.
What? You're asking about the Horizon Arc?
Oh, that plan just wanted to go out in a blaze of glory with the Observer. As for whether it could actually hurt the Observer, don't ask; just say I charged in and exploded.
Of course, that was also a form of extreme pessimism, filled with self-destructive sentiment.
After all, the entirety of Human Civilization was gone, leaving only these few stragglers on Terra. Even though the Preservationist had frozen fifty thousand people, and other plans seemed to have plenty of talent, compared to the former glory of a Human Civilization that spanned several galaxies, these people were truly just a drop in the ocean.
"Only civilizations that have never faced Him would speak of 'defeating' Him," the Doctor said slowly. "Therefore, you come from a newborn civilization!"
There was certainty in her voice. After all, the word 'defeat'... hmph, even the maddest individual, Ed, who planned to explode alongside the Observer, couldn't say it.
"I suppose it makes sense. It's been tens of thousands of years; a new season of civilizations has begun to grow," she observed, looking at Xia Yu. "But the ruins of former civilizations still remain in the universe. Did you discover those relics and learn of His existence through them?"
"You seem to know a lot, yet you don't seem to understand our pessimism at all. So, what exactly do you want to know from me?"
"Well, let me put it this way," Xia Yu thought for a moment and then asked, "If—and I mean if—I had the strength to skewer a star system like a candied hawthorn with a single slash, and if I unleashed my power regardless of the cost, an entire star system would be dragged completely into Nihility. Could a version of me like that defeat Him?"
"That sounds quite ridiculous," the Doctor said, glancing at her. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't see the tiny young girl before her having such power. She was probably just the strongest individual of her civilization.
Human Civilization wasn't famous for individual combat power, but rather for technological strength. However, in the universe of the past, civilizations of that type did exist.
It was just that they were rarely considered powerful.
"Dragging an entire star system into Nihility," the Doctor mused for a few seconds, then said, "I don't know the specific concept of Nihility you're talking about; let's just assume it means destruction."
"If you truly have such an ability, then you could probably put up a fight against Him. He likely wouldn't be able to kill you."
The Observer was nonsensical, but someone who could destroy a star system at full power was also nonsensical.
"But it would only be you. Unless you are strong enough to anchor the surrounding Universal Constants, you cannot protect the civilization behind you."
Xia Yu's face twitched.
Acheron was powerful, but she really didn't have that ability. Anchoring Universal Constants... that sounded like an ability of the Path of Nous, like a Noosphere?
Anchoring via the Path of Nihility... would it mean completely drenching the star system in the Power of Nihility? Hmm, that move could indeed defend against the Observer.
After all, if everything has fallen into Nihility, there is no civilization left to speak of. Without civilization, the Observer naturally wouldn't look over.
But what would be the point of that?
"Is He really that nonsensical, this Observer?" Xia Yu sighed. "Randomizing Universal Constants... that's just disgusting."
"And it would be very difficult for you to kill Him," the Doctor added. "He is an existence intrinsically tied to the universe. Rather than a biological creature, He is more like a phenomenon, a bug that accidentally appeared during the universe's operation."
"The Observer has no wisdom, only instinct. This was the final piece of information left to us by Human Civilization before its collapse, paid for with the lives of over a hundred billion people."
At this, she sighed. "Since you know about the Deep Blue Tree project, you must know what that project discarded."
"Wisdom," Xia Yu said.
"Yes, wisdom. To avoid His gaze, wisdom is not necessary for the evolution of the Seaborn," the Doctor said, picking up a twig to flip one of the potatoes. "Only a few of the top-level nodes need to possess a certain amount of wisdom. The Deep Blue Tree project even discarded emotions."
"Once, we also thought about cultivating a powerful individual like the one you mentioned to face the Observer. But after precise calculations, we couldn't find any possibility. In the universe—at least in the universe we knew—no powerhouse of that level had ever been born."
"Not even a powerhouse who could skewer a star system like a candied hawthorn, as you said. The limit for a powerhouse of that type of civilization was being able to shatter a planet with individual strength. But to achieve that, even the most basic industrial ship of Human Civilization could do so easily."
So the strength of that type of civilization in the universe had always been low.
"In the end, we settled for the next best thing and chose the Seaborn project," the Doctor said earnestly. "I don't know if the powerhouse you spoke of is real or not... but in a battle against Him, you are fighting against the universe itself."
"Friend, I solemnly advise you: that path is a dead end."
"Hmm, I understand," Xia Yu nodded in agreement.
Indeed, it would be truly troublesome for Acheron to deal with something like this. A cosmic cancer, an Observer etched into the fundamental laws of the universe... Acheron's abilities weren't the right fit.
No matter how sharp her blade was, no matter if the power of an Emanator could stir an entire star system, she couldn't cut through the laws of the universe.
But there seemed to be something that could counter Him.
For example... the Emperor's Scepter!
That was a massive cluster of inorganic bionic neurons modeled after Nous's way of thinking by Rupert II. It spanned from microscopic particle fluctuations to macroscopic large-scale matter annihilation.
The 'Scepters' were spread across every sector of the Empire, loyally fulfilling commands for observation, calculation, and interference. Under specific conditions, these celestial-scale calculation-interference devices could even briefly shake the Laws of Physics in a region.
Without a doubt, that was the most suitable thing for countering the Observer.
How should one put it? To each their own specialty.
In a real fight, Acheron could definitely kill Rupert II, but she would be helpless against the Observer. Conversely, Rupert II's Emperor's Scepter system could counter the Observer.
I need to find a chance to go to Star Rail and get a Scepter for free.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu turned to the Doctor and asked, "So, what if I had a computer the size of a planet? Under specific conditions, this celestial-scale computer could even briefly shake and control the Laws of Physics within its area of influence. Could it counter the Observer?"
"...You have something that good?!" The Doctor's eyes lit up instantly. She reached out and grabbed Xia Yu's arm. "Friend, let's talk in private..."
"Tell me if it works first," Xia Yu interrupted her.
"Well, based on your description, no," the Doctor thought for two seconds and then said. "Because it can only temporarily shake the Laws of Physics, rather than anchoring them. And one... that's far too few."
"Even a celestial-scale computer wouldn't be enough. Its computing power might be staggering, but compared to an existence of the Observer's scale... it would likely be crushed instantly."
Xia Yu nodded. The saying that talking about toxicity without talking about dosage is just hooliganism holds true. Even if the Emperor's Scepter could handle the Universal Constant chaos brought by the Observer, its scale was still too tiny compared to Him.
One percent of a Scepter rivals a fleet; one-tenth of a Scepter annihilates stars; one Scepter transcends cognition; a thousand Scepters are enough to govern the universe.
To counter the Observer, hundreds of Scepters would likely need to be linked together.
This was a headache. Most of the Scepters in Star Rail were scrapped... and the only one still running, Omphalos, was too unique...
As the conversation reached this point, Xia Yu had a basic understanding of her 'weight' in this universe. If the Observer had a physical form, Acheron could handle it. He might be nonsensical, but He didn't reach the height of an Aeon. The problem was that He was a cosmic phenomenon... Xia Yu wouldn't even know where to swing her blade after unsheathing it...
"So, friend, could your computer be..." The Doctor rubbed her hands and looked at Xia Yu expectantly.
If such a computer really existed, even if it didn't sound like a perfect cure, it would be a crucial first step—touching the underlying laws of the universe.
The rest would just be a race against time for development.
The Doctor was already mentally calculating how to wake up those 'frozen meats' in the Preservation project.
"That's not my computer," Xia Yu said, blinking. "Um, you know, I've only heard of it. How should I put it..."
"I haven't gotten my hands on it yet."
"...So I was excited for nothing," the Doctor rolled her eyes. To think she had been so thrilled. "So, what do you mean by 'haven't gotten your hands on it'?"
"I already have a lead," Xia Yu said, choosing her words carefully. "But excavation takes time. And those things... well, they're legacies left behind by a past civilization. Even if I find the physical objects, they've probably been abandoned for who knows how long."
"It's fine. Being abandoned isn't an issue!" Although the Doctor was disappointed, she pulled herself together. "As long as we have the first one, we can slowly analyze the technology inside... I just hope we're in time."
Analyze?
Xia Yu's smile froze.
Would technology analyzed in Star Rail actually work here? The differences between universes were significant.
Take FGO's universe for example—the various Parallel Worlds are their unique feature, whereas other universes don't have so many extra structures. In the Star Rail universe, the Imaginary Tides between star systems isolate them; before the Aeon of Trailblaze appeared, the entire universe consisted of isolated, independent worlds.
That's also why the Astral Express is so popular—it can speak up just about anywhere.
But here, cosmic space is quite normal; it's just this Observer... no other universe has something this deadly. Once any civilization makes progress, He pops up and takes a look.
And then the entire civilization is finished.