Within the headquarters conference room of the Interastral Peace Corporation at Pier Point, the head of the Strategic Investment Department, Diamond—an Emanator of Preservation—stared at the video footage sent back by Jade, his heart shaken.
Back in the Yongmei Star System, Herta had once said she had gained inspiration. Yet he had never expected her to convert that inspiration into technology so quickly.
Diamond was certain that the enormous hand in the footage—summoned by Herta as she raised her wand, a hand vast enough to toy with the sun and moon, to manipulate the operation of entire star systems, along with lightning capable of shattering planets—were all methods she had not yet displayed during the Yongmei Star System period.
Herta, Herta... she truly was an exceptionally special genius. Compared to Chadwick working within the IPC, her research efficiency was on an entirely different level.
After his moment of admiration, Diamond quickly contacted Jade, instructing her to approach Miss Herta and determine what new technology she had developed, and whether it was suitable for cooperative development with the IPC.
"Understood."
Jade responded.
At this moment, Jade gazed into the distance at the girl standing at the edge of the star system world, standing atop an astral computer, wearing a pointed hat. She could not help but feel a deep sense of astonishment.
When she had first learned of this person, she had only been a student at The Blue's First University. Yet in less than two months, she had already become an Emanator and mastered such extraordinary methods.
Soon after, Jade piloted her ship, preparing to approach and greet Miss Herta.
...
On the other side, Jing Yuan of the Xianzhou Alliance had also received the video sent by envoys stationed in The Blue star system world. After watching it, he understood that Miss Herta had taken another major step forward on the Path of Erudition.
Manipulating the sun and moon, summoning lightning capable of destroying planets... it was truly astonishing.
Perhaps now Miss Herta had already begun transforming The Blue star system world. Using that enormous hand, she was altering the trajectories of celestial bodies—constructing a defensive formation.
In the future, The Blue star system would become impregnable.
Not only that, with such methods of grasping the sun and moon, constructing technological megastructures—or even building Xianzhou ships—would become far easier.
Perhaps before long, a Xianzhou ship named Herta would come into existence.
Perhaps the Xianzhou Alliance could further deepen cooperation with Herta.
Thinking this, Jing Yuan contacted the other generals, informing them of the anomaly in The Blue star system.
Yao Guang: "I completely agree with deep cooperation."
Huaiyan: "Miss Herta is an ally of the Xianzhou."
Marshal Hua: "Once Herta finishes constructing a new Xianzhou ship, we can attempt to invite her to join the Alliance. Additionally, Jing Yuan, have the Xianzhou envoys make deep contact with Herta. While building a good relationship, inquire whether her newly developed technology can be cooperated on with the Alliance."
Jing Yuan: "Understood."
Before long, the envoy stationed in The Blue star system world, the Vidyadhara Lingsha, received Jing Yuan's directive.
Lingsha: "Since it is the General's task, I will certainly do my utmost to complete it."
Soon after, Lingsha piloted a star skiff toward the edge of The Blue star system.
...
At the same time Jade and Lingsha took action, Herman had grown familiar with the use of psionic power and confirmed that within regions covered by the Warp, he could freely unleash psionic attacks.
More importantly, in addition to psionic attacks, he could also use the inherent abilities of an Emanator of Erudition. This made him realize that his strength had advanced significantly once again.
Fourth-generation divine body, super genes, Herta Magic Wand infused with Honkai magic, and now Warp psionics, along with the power of the Path of Erudition—without realizing it, both he and Herta had come to wield more and more power.
At the same time, he confirmed that if the war in the Yongmei Star System were to happen again, he would not need Ruan Mei's assistance. Relying solely on himself, he could contend against demonic stars, the Borisin fleet, and even a Lord Ravager like Phantylia...
Of course, if there were multiple Lord Ravagers, he could not guarantee victory. He would still need connections—he would need help.
And all of this assumed that Herta stopped progressing... but the problem was that Herta never stopped improving.
Moreover, as her research points reached three thousand, not only had her pace on the path of research not slowed, it had actually accelerated.
As Herman thought about this, he sensed something and turned his gaze toward the depths of the Warp.
Through Herta's Warp projection, from the perspective of the black sun, he saw that within the Warp-covered regions, living beings were dying and entering the Warp in the form of souls.
And the number of souls was enormous—reaching into the billions.
But upon reflection, it made sense. The Warp now enveloped the entire Blue galaxy, as well as dozens of surrounding worlds.
Across dozens of galaxies, with hundreds of trillions or even quadrillions of living beings, deaths occurred at every moment. Naturally, countless souls entered the Warp.
Thinking this, Herman began observing these souls entering the Warp, only to find them gripped by extreme panic:
"Where is this?"
"It's so dark—I can't see anything... Wait, there's nothing beneath my feet. Why am I not falling?"
"What do you mean dark? It's blindingly bright... I want to cry. Why can't I cry? I can't even rub my eyes—my hand passes through my head."
"This must be a dream. I must be dreaming."
The panic of billions caused negative emotions within the Warp to surge, making emotional balance even harder to maintain.
Herman immediately thought of the earlier gaze from HooH. Clearly, the Aeon did not wish to see the Warp fall into imbalance. More importantly, Herman himself had no intention of letting the Warp become a cesspool.
Thus, to soothe these billions of deceased souls—and those who would arrive in the future—Herman used Herta's Warp projection, that black sun, and inscribed a message into the underlying logic of the Warp through psionic means:
"I am the creator of this world. My name is Herta!"
"This world is called the Warp. Of course, you may also call it the world after death. As the name suggests, all beings who arrive here and hear this message—you are already dead!"
"Originally, your souls would have returned to nothingness. But because I created this world, your souls now have a temporary place to reside."
"Therefore, if you wish to continue existing, meditate upon my soul projection. Through meditation, you may generate psionic power, and psionic power will allow you to continue living in this world after death—and grant you a better existence here."
As this message was inscribed into the Warp's underlying logic, invisible waves rippled outward. Every soul within the Warp heard Herta's voice.
They snapped out of their panic and began to speak in shock:
"We're already dead?!"
"This is the world after death!!"
"I didn't even get to properly say goodbye to my family... can I still see my family and friends again?"
"Wait... the creator of this world just called herself Herta. That name sounds familiar."
"Isn't that the name of that lady—the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society—who's been trending across the cosmos?"
"I remember now. The Interastral Peace Entertainment News Channel reported that Miss Herta cooperated with the IPC to repel a Lord Ravager at the edge of the cosmos, maintaining peace in the cosmos."
"So that means... after we died, our souls really did fall into a world created by that genius!!"
"A genius... is this what a genius is capable of?! Creating even the world after death!"
"And look around—everything is either black or white... it's obvious this world was just created not long ago!"
"Then everything makes sense."
"Miss Herta also said just now that if we meditate, we can generate psionic power—a kind of energy that lets us continue living in this world after death."
"But how do we meditate?"
"I just closed my eyes and carefully tried to sense it—I actually obtained a set of psionic formula knowledge."
"Hurry and meditate! Maybe if we obtain psionic power, we really can continue existing as souls..."
After their discussions, people began to sense and attempt meditation.
Edward was one of them.
He was a native of The Blue, a former high-ranking official of the Blue Federation—and Lanvelle's grandfather, a man who had passed away of old age.
In the final moment before his death, he had been thinking that after death, people would either return to nothingness, or perhaps there existed a world after death to accommodate reincarnation.
But now, the most extraordinary and talented existence of The Blue—Miss Herta—had given him a unique answer:
The world after death had never originally existed!
But after Miss Herta arrived in this world and spread her wisdom across the cosmos, everything changed!
Through her research and creation, death no longer meant returning to nothingness. Instead, one would appear in the Warp!
Relief, happiness... all kinds of emotions surged within Edward's heart. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Herta being born on The Blue was truly a blessing. Now that the Blue Federation had firmly attached itself to her, it would surely continue to flourish and grow into a super civilization within the universe.
With this thought, Edward entered deep meditation. Soon, he discovered that there were many energies around him—emotions—that could be absorbed and converted through the so-called psionic formulas.
He tried it.
Then he discovered that within his soul, a unique form of energy had emerged. He believed this to be the psionic power Miss Herta had mentioned—an energy capable of sustaining his soul's existence within the Warp.
Thus, Edward continued meditating without pause, striving to keep himself alive.
At the same time, he thought... if he could keep living, perhaps he might have the chance to see his family again—to see his granddaughter, Lanvelle.
In truth, it was not only Edward in the Warp who was thinking of Lanvelle. In the real world, Lanvelle was also thinking of her deceased grandfather. That longing... reached its peak on the seventh day after his passing.
And so, psionic power—this wondrous energy where mind triumphs over matter—manifested a miraculous effect at that moment, allowing two souls in different worlds to meet again within the realm of consciousness, or rather, within a dream.
"Grandpa?" Lanvelle looked at the figure before her, a trace of joy appearing on her face. But that joy quickly turned into confusion. "Wait... wasn't I in the mourning hall? Did I dream this because I miss Grandpa too much?"
Edward, who had been meditating, also heard Lanvelle's voice. He opened his eyes, his expression filled with bewilderment.
"Granddaughter, it really is you."
After speaking, he glanced around at the surroundings. His expression suddenly turned sorrowful as he slapped his thigh and wailed, "Why did you come to the Warp too? Your parents will be heartbroken—sending off the young while the old remain!"
As he spoke, tears streamed down his face.
Hearing her grandfather's crying, Lanvelle pinched her own face. When she felt actual pain, she muttered, "So I'm really not dreaming... you really are Grandpa. And what is this Warp?"
"It's a new creation by Miss Herta..." Edward began, but then paused, realizing something was off. "Wait. According to Miss Herta, every soul that enters the Warp can hear her voice... could it be that you're not dead?"
"Of course I'm not dead! And Grandpa, what you just said—are you saying Miss Herta created a world where people can continue living after death?"
"That's right." After saying this, Edward realized something. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed again, only to find that the psionic power he had just cultivated was rapidly being consumed. At that moment, he understood.
His granddaughter really wasn't dead!
The reason he could meet and speak with her in the Warp... was entirely due to the influence of psionic power.
Realizing this, Edward quickly explained everything to Lanvelle.
After listening, Lanvelle's face filled with shock.
The world after death—the Warp!
Psionic power!
According to her grandfather, he had cultivated psionic power using the formulas provided by Miss Herta. Then, by thinking of meeting his relatives in the real world, he had truly achieved it by consuming that energy.
This meant that her grandfather had gained extraordinary power.
In life, he had only been an ordinary person. Yet after death, through Miss Herta's research methods, he had obtained supernatural abilities!
Miss Herta... truly was the most unbelievable existence in this world.
As Lanvelle continued thinking, she heard Edward's somewhat weakened voice:
"Grandpa's psionic power is almost depleted. This conversation will likely end soon, so you must tell your father... that even after death, the old man is doing well. Don't be sad because of my passing."
"And tell your father to set up a longevity tablet for Miss Herta. From now on, don't worship those deities—just worship Miss Herta. At least she can truly let people live again after death..."
Edward rambled on and on until his psionic power was exhausted. Only then did he stop speaking and immediately resume circulating psionic power.
Everything that occurred in the Warp was naturally perceived by Herman, but he paid it little attention.
After all, among the billions of souls residing in the Warp, some with talent could use psionic formulas to convert emotional energy into psionic power—and this energy fundamentally already existed within the Warp.
More importantly, Herman himself was the master of the Warp. As long as he wished, he could mobilize this energy at any time.
It could be said that the billions of souls in the Warp were not producers of psionic power, but mere transporters!
Moreover, they should be grateful to Herman.
If not for him, the master of the Warp, kindly spreading the psionic formulas, those talented souls would never have become extraordinary beings after death, nor would they have been able to reunite with their loved ones in the real world through psionic power.
...
Blue star system, mourning hall.
Lanvelle awoke from her dream, her eyes filled with shock. She stepped out of her grandfather Edward's mourning hall, took a deep breath, and picked up her phone to report everything to the highest levels of the Blue Federation.
The upper echelons of the Federation were shaken.
The world after death—the Warp—had been created by Miss Herta.
If that were the case, then death would no longer be something people feared. More importantly, according to the information provided by Lanvelle, Edward—an ordinary man who had never walked a Path or become a Pathstrider in life—had instead embarked on the path of a psionic user after death.
Incredible.
Such methods—how were they any different from those of a god?
Or rather, in the ancient myths from before humanity had ever reached the stars, this was authority that only gods possessed.
Or perhaps... the very act of granting people supernatural power was itself already a divine ability.
After all, in the past... the only way for a person to gain extraordinary power was to walk a Path and become a Pathstrider.
But now, a new path had emerged—psionics.
Although, based on current observations, this was a path that could only be walked after death, it was still enough to prove just how extraordinary Herta was for having created such a system.
At this point, the highest ranks of the Blue Federation truly believed that Herta might one day create miracles—breaking the limits of an Emanator, ascending to the supreme of the supreme, standing at the peak of the universe, and achieving Aeonhood.
If that were to happen, the Blue civilization would also rise alongside her, just as the Xianzhou Alliance once had—ascending together with Herta to become another top-tier power in the cosmos.
The leadership of the Blue Federation thought of many things. Then, to confirm the accuracy of Lanvelle's report, they launched a large-scale internal investigation. Very quickly, they discovered that Lanvelle was not the only one—on this very day, many people within the Federation had seen their deceased relatives in dreams.
This further confirmed the existence of the Warp.
In the end, the Federation dispatched representatives to cautiously inquire about the Warp—and psionics—from little Herta 05 at the Soul Factory.
Herta 05 crossed her arms and said, "Prepare me a grand feast, and I'll tell you everything I know about the Warp—and psionics."
"Yes, yes, yes!" The Federation envoy was overjoyed and immediately agreed.
Herta 05 then spoke seriously about what she knew: "Madam Herta did come back once before, but she left again very quickly. When she left, she mentioned something—this time, she seemed to be going into the universe to research and create a new dimension called the Warp. As for psionics, Herta doesn't know."
After hearing this, the Federation envoy immediately reported all the information provided by Herta 05 and then began arranging a grand feast for her by contacting multiple high-end restaurants.
The envoy had heard about what happened at the Blue International Hall and knew that Herta 05 had quite the appetite.
After receiving the envoy's report, the highest ranks of the Federation confirmed that the Warp truly existed.
And since the Warp existed, then psionics must also exist.
The question now was how to learn from Miss Herta whether the psionic system could be cultivated in the real world.
In truth, this question... was not only of concern to the Blue Federation. The upper echelons of dozens of different political entities were all concerned about the answer.
After all, the phenomenon of communication between the dead and the living was not limited to The Blue galaxy. It had also erupted on a massive scale across dozens of surrounding galaxies covered by the Warp.
Information about the world after death—the Warp—and the psionic system spread rapidly across dozens of galaxies.
Along with it spread the name of the creator of the afterlife, the god of souls, the founder of the psionic system—Herta.