"Normally, because of the Terminal's rules, I wouldn't be able to awaken." She crossed her arms under her chest as she explained. "However, your actions awakened me."
Why was she sincerely explaining this to him? Adam had no clue. But whatever it was, he was sure that it wasn't out of any good intentions.
The Stigmata Terminal…The super computer that was made from the previous Herrscher of the End's remains, was it? The one that, at the End's descent, collects the souls of the people that bear stigmata and stores them within itself?
Adam himself only had a limited understanding of this so-called terminal. After all, in his previous life, he hadn't played GGZ. He had only read the wiki and delved into some forums out of self-interest.
"What actions?"
Raising an eyebrow, the silver-haired boy similarly crossed his hands over his chest.
"....."
Dr. Mei didn't grace him with a reply. She merely stared.
The silver-haired boy's lips twitched, but he didn't feel frustrated. Vaguely, he knew this woman's personality- he was very sure that she didn't like talking about anything that wasn't research or the unknown.
"What do you plan to do?"
After a few seconds of pondering, that's what he asked.
"...."
She tightened the hold of her arms under her chest, looking thoughtful
"Humanity won't win." She coldly denounced her own species. "And it is undeniable that I can do nothing in my current state."
…
Indeed, despite being the creator of the Terminal, she wasn't able to control it. Creating loopholes in it didn't work either- or rather, the fullest extent of the so-called 'loopholes' was this.
Her current state was the result of her meddling. Preserving a small part of the soul of this cycle's self as an alternate personality and injecting it with the memories of 'Dr.Mei' was the best she could- it actually bordered on something impossible.
Weren't for this human's actions, she wouldn't be able to actually beam the memories of 'Dr. Mei' to the prepared split personality.
She could neither take over her current Cycle's body- and actually materilizing by herself was something even she deemed impossible.
How ironic. Her own weapon is the one keeping her alive, yet it's also what is keeping her captive.
The Stigmata she created to control humanity controlled it's creator in return. And the terminal that was supposed to imprison the souls of the dead imprisoned her in turn.
Could these restrictions be her old subject's arrangement? She hadn't expected that low-intelligence white-haired girl to actually act after becoming the highest Administrator of the Terminal.
Though….
Not to comment on the fact that she's merely imprisoned in her self's body instead of the Terminal, she even doubts that Araya actually has such authority. Administrator privilege didn't equate to absolute control, after all.
On paper, she succeeded. It's a pity her main immortality project didn't succeed, but at least this backup plan turned out well, and she successfully came into existence.
She would have preferred to actually make the current Mei 'Dr.Mei', but even without Araya's possibel meddling, that still would be impossible.
….The fact that she's limited so much is indeed annoying.
Given enough time, she's sure to find a solution to her predicament- she has enough confidence in herself for that.
However…She doesn't have enough time. The end will repeatedly come. And the world can't be reset infinitely.
So now, her only choice is….
She stared at the boy in front of her.
…
"Heh…"
Actually understanding her current state even better with [Great Sage] after having read her surface thoughts, Adam chuckled.
"You're more like a dead person." The silver-haired boy smirked, amusement almost creeping up "Maybe if Mei- your current self- 100% masters her Herrscher powers and frees herself from the influence of the will…. There's a chance that you'll be able to communicate with her."
Not minding her unchanging expression and her silence, he continued.
"We both know that normally, that's impossible."
Mastering Herrscher's powers and fully being freed from the Will of Ruin? Heh, in GGZ, that was impossible!
Of course, there were special cases that ran contrary to that rule.
Welt, Sirin, and Wendy were the notable ones.
Sirin was degraded to a soul-like being to continue existing, and Wendy is just built different.
Of course, Adam knows that eventually, Kiana and Mei actually managed to get a 'happy end', with some sacrifices. But that's as far as he knew.
But regardless, normal Herrschers are just Dr.Mei's experiment. She was the one who birthed them into existence in the first era.
And then…he wasn't sure. Did the Will of Ruin like her idea and just stole it?
Or maybe that was it. Herrscher chosen by the Will have no chance of regaining individuality, but Herrscher made through artificial means could preserve their self?
"As the party who needs help, you'd better show goodwill and propose satisfactory terms."
Though his thoughts were elsewhere, in reality, he still talked. He had his hands clasped behind his back.
"After all, while I'm a patient man for beautiful girls…" He sneered coldly, narrowing his eyes "I currently only see a monster….an unlikable and cruel monster."
Dr.Mei slowly blinked at him. Her expression still remained neutral, but with his abilities, he could read a sense of confusion from her.
"You want my body?"
Yess, that was it. In that calm and emotionless voice, there was an undertone of doubt. To Adam, this was….refreshing!
It was as refreshing as drinking cold soda on a hot summer day, or waking up at 3 AM and drinking cold water.
"Dear doctor, what else do you have to offer?"
Adam craned his neck, staring at Dr.Mei's violet eyes with his own narrowed blue ones.
"My knowledge."
-Came her curt and fast reply.
"Do you think I haven't already copied all your knowledge?"
-Echoed his instant reply with a smug tone.
….
That's right. In the outside world, he might have had some reservations. However, here in the mental world, he can freely go all out!
The moment he entered the world and found a Dr.Mei look-alike, he commanded Great Sage to read all her memories.
So that means…All her knowledge, all her plans, and all her little thoughts were known to his dear partner.
So this means, to him right now, what Dr.Mei is offering him is useless!
Of course, it's not that simple. However, he does want her to think it's that simple.
….
"...."
The purple-haired crazy woman fell deep in thought, a frown almost appearing on her face.
He knew what she was feeling. Her, Dr.Mei, someone who had all of humanity at her beck and call, as something akin to slaves, needing to beg for help?
"Oh, and also…This is [Great Sage]. Think of her as an ultra super AI that doesn't have the limitations of one."
Smiling, he proved his point as a bright blue circle emitting golden beams appeared at their sides. It nailed the fact that this purple-haired scientist truly had no chips left to offer.
"So no, I don't need your brain either." He raised his hand, gesturing towards the blue orb of light "Whatever you're capable of inventing, my partner is capable too- provided I work together with her, of course."
"..."
Dr.Mei tilted her head, silently looking towards the blue orb- and it stared back.
"Though you'd still actually be useful….Do you truly think you're worth it?" Adam still continued ruthlessly, outstretching his hands in the air, "Do you truly think that, your mere knowledge and capabilities are worth the danger you pose and the disaster you could unlease?"
Yes, she was one of the greatest minds- even counting in all of the Imaginary Tree and Sea of Quanta. In the honkai verse, perhaps only Herta herself and some select other geniuses from the genius society would be able to rival this Dr. Mei.
However, to say she was worth all the trouble would be a lie. Herta is a good person. In fact, Herta and even Ruan Mei seem cute in comparison with this Dr.Mei
"I see…"
The purple-haired mad scientist exhaled heavily, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Would your decision be made easier if you know I'm not truly her?" She lowered her hands to her sides. "Though each cycle's Mei's soul is the same, I myself originate from a split personality who was implanted her memories. I don't believe I have the same capacity as her. And I do retain the ability to feel emotions- however muted they are."
"..."
He shot her a deadpan stare; however, her words did make him think of something else.
…
Every person who bears a stigmata is collected and 'saved' by the Stigmata Terminal, thus, when a new cycle starts, each stigmata bearer's soul is the same.
This Mei is the Dr.Mei of the past, and this Kiana is the Kiana of the past. Their memories are wiped clean, but their souls remain the same.
Araya was a special case. Adam didn't know the details. But the only possibility he could think of was: The previous Kiana's mind became digitized, tranforming her into an artificial intelligence while what remained of her body became an energy source.
Regardless, experiences and memories shape a person. This woman in front of him….She wasn't a blank slate when she received the memories of Dr.Mei. On the contrary, as a second split personality of Mei, she had all her memories, all her feelings, and all her negative emotions.
And now, analyzing this girl deeper….Indeed, she wasn't 'corrupted' by these memories. She didn't become a one-to-one replica of that crazy doctor. She already had memories of her own, thus foreign memories had less of an effect on her.
…Of course, this doesn't mean much. After all, a more mellow Dr. Mei is still dangerous and needs to be dealt with caution.
Or maybe she's lying. You can never underestimate GGZ Dr. Mei. She might be telling the truth, but it is just as likely that she could just not be telling the whole truth.
…
"Come on."
As he finally opened his mouth and made his voice echo through the darkness, Dr. Mei looked up to him with a calm expression.
FSHHH
A bright golden glow overtook the darkness for a split second.
When the light dimmed, a bright golden contract scroll with intricate patterns floated over in front of her.
"Slave contract…?"
Dr. Mei exclaimed slowly, her voice betraying no emotion yet again as she slowly read the terms on the contract.
"...."
…..
For a few minutes, she remained silent, gaze fixed on the words written on the paper in front of her.
"How do I express my agreement?"
The purple-haired woman raised her head, looking at him with violet eyes half-lidded.
"Just do so mentally."
With crossed arms over his chest, Adam replied expressionlessly.
His eyes were closed, face utterly relaxed, and body still. There was no surprise within him at her answer. And his focus was somewhere else unknown.
….
Few words were said between. Had she been someone else, the silver-haired boy would already have felt awkward.
But because she is who she is, he felt utterly nothing. At this point, he didn't even care if she 'submitted' or not. If he 'obtains' her, it'd be nice. If not, it doesn't matter.
Lowering her 'value' in front of her and openly saying she has no use was certainly a ploy of his to make her more accepting of the contract he presented right about now.
Whether it worked or not….didn't matter. The only reason he did this was because of a personal quirk of Adam's.
It's that quirk of 'Collecting', common to transmigrators- often overpowered ones that aren't mature enough.
Collecting every power, collecting every girl, collecting all possible memories and experiences….There were many variations of this 'habit'.
Even if Adam hasn't personally met another transmigrator like himself, he has no doubts about their nature. Various fanfictions and even his own behavior proves this.
So despite finding it too much work and too much trouble for too little reward to get Dr. Mei on his 'side', Adam still put some slight effort.
…
"I see."
Dr. Mei hummed, nodding.
And in that same instant, Adam felt her soul agree. He felt her soul lose resistance to his meddling-
In a heartbeat, the silver-haired boy extended his will and established a connection with this mad doctor.
'Take that contract with Olivia as a base…Modify it a bit…Establish a clear superior and inferior…Put it deep into the soul so I can always peek into her thoughts and explode her soul if needed….'
Following [Great Sage]'s instructions, Adam modified the soul contract to suit his current needs with this mad doctor.
'Concentrate emotional augmentation into the contract and make it so emotions of love, loyalty, and devotion are infinitely magnified….'
He grinned as the final touches were added.
Adam is perfectly aware that this crazy woman will eventually find a way to bypass some restrictions or just exploit some loophole. He doubts it'd be a big problem- since by the time she does, he'd already be a lot stronger.
But still, wouldn't it be even better if Dr. Mei causes no trouble and obediently follows his instructions?
Seems like brainwashing? Heh, morals don't apply to someone like her. This woman will surely notice how her feelings are being twisted with.
And Adam can freely say he bears no guilt. In that scroll, he made it clear with a disclaimer how her feelings and emotions will be tampered with, yet this crazy doctor still accepted immediately without question.
"Mei Raiden."
As the silver-haired boy opened his mouth, the aforementioned woman's gaze snapped to him. She has already felt a faint 'restriction' binding her, but all she could feel was relief.
"Welcome to the team. I hope I don't have to erase you someday."
He gently smiled, yet his words were chilling.
…
..
.
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A/N:
Dr. Mei of GGZ is crazy. I don't believe at all that she didn't prepare any other alternate means for resurrection or at least a 'continuation'.
This is my own idea. Basically, it's like the situation with Raiden. A new personality is born, but this time, this personality receives Dr. Mei's memories and becomes the new 'Dr.Mei'. Of course, her main objective would be to make the actual Raiden Mei into 'Dr.Mei', but since that's not really possible, she settled for the lesser option.
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