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Inside Herta's office.
The group entered the Simulated Universe, initiating the "True" Swarm Disaster instance, conversing amidst the starry sky.
As everyone knows, the Simulated Universe possesses computing power on par with the Rubert Empire's mechanical "scepters." It is a collaborative project undertaken by several Geniuses to unravel the mysteries of the Aeons.
Among them, the Swarm Disaster was a result led by Ruan Mei, and it is also the instance that best demonstrates the power of an Aeon.
After all, the Emanators here truly possess the full power of the Sting of the Shattered Star, without the drawback of a timed self-destruct.
Conversely, the "Gold and Gears" instance, led by Screwllum, couldn't have its full configuration realized due to various concerns; core elements like the anti-organic equation are merely facsimiles.
At this moment, the star system was filled with True Stings and Giant Stings of all sizes.
They expanded without order, unstoppable. Even the stars were obscured by them, their numbers increasing exponentially.
The blue-glowing Sting of the Shattered Star let out a ferocious roar, causing the stars to dim and flicker as it differentiated lower-level True Stings, which rained down like drops.
The several Geniuses and Sol stood silently in the starry sky, seemingly observing the disaster's evolution from a higher dimension, ignored by the swarm.
Stephen also appeared at this moment, curious and cautious about the unfamiliar and powerful Sol.
He wanted to stay alive too much, so he had to be careful with everything.
"Why choose a scene like this?"
Ruan Mei was somewhat curious.
The ceaseless tide of insects was hardly a pleasant sight.
As its creator, her interest was purely research-oriented. Compared to this, she found the Catcakes much more to her liking.
"To show Sol the fruits of our research," Big Herta said with a slight pout. "Let him know the caliber of Geniuses, so he understands that the support we can provide him is absolutely formidable."
"Oh."
Ruan Mei nodded, glancing at Sol.
It seemed that in her cooperation with Sol, Big Herta was in a relatively weaker position, her project share likely not exceeding thirty percent.
Otherwise, with Herta's pride, she wouldn't bother deliberately showcasing achievements.
"Impressive!"
Sol looked at the dense swarm around him and praised, "The Simulated Universe truly lives up to its reputation as a creation of Geniuses, mapping part of the essence of a multi-dimensional Aeon within its data."
"It is precisely because this part of the essence is so incomplete that it becomes possible to study, passively revealing the secrets of a Path."
Amidst the constant evolution of the insects, he truly caught a glimpse of the shadow of Propagation. A Path still intact, holding the potential to ascend to godhood.
Seeing this, he knew that Tayzzyronth hadn't been completely devoured after its defeat. The Path of Propagation was difficult to merge with other existing Paths, not even Harmony with its voracious appetite could manage it.
At the same time, he could be certain that the Propagation Path here definitely surpassed the height of Ruan Mei's own research.
Essentially, it was a projection of the Propagation Path refracted within the Simulated Universe, responding to the call of Ruan Mei's research achievements on that Path.
And consequently, Ruan Mei could use this Path projection to reversely supplement her own findings.
"Now look at this."
Big Herta reached out and manipulated the void.
Instantly, the space transformed. The endless sea of insects in the galaxy seemed to fade like a dreamlike illusion.
Simultaneously, a far more vast and boundless starry expanse appeared. Its scale couldn't be measured in galaxies; it was on the level of a large portion of the universe itself.
On a cosmic scale, stars were more insignificant than ants. Thus, darkness was the universe's primary theme.
And within this endless darkness, countless points of light flickered rhythmically, connecting into a network through special frequencies, harboring the ambition to compute all the universe's secrets.
Each point of light was a stellar computer, as immense as a star itself.
The Gold and Gears instance. A microcosm of the Imperial War.
And this network was the instance's core existence: the scepter system, possessing truly astronomical computational power, operating at nearly half the capacity of the real thing.
In the history of the Honkai: Star Rail universe, the scepter system was once genuinely distributed across the entire cosmos, capable of instantaneous resonance, its full power sufficient to annihilate most of the universe in an instant (annihilation in the sense of extinguishing life).
Lord Ravagers were just for show; the true masters of Destruction were in the Genius Society!
"My mechanical heart pounds with excitement! That's the only way I can describe it."
Sol was slightly entranced, shaken by the cold beauty of the machinery: "Screwllum, a genius among Geniuses!"
He wished he could master this system immediately, to possess his own Nous.
This thing had truly been deployed across half the universe, and could communicate at any time.
For his plan to resonate with all the stars in the cosmos, this could directly solve over fifty percent of the problems.
"You flatter me. I am merely replicating the achievements of predecessors, and I owe much to Lady Herta's assistance." Screwllum smiled modestly. "I stand on the shoulders of giants, having advanced but a negligible distance."
Sol continued his praise, "You are a modest genius! I firmly believe your accomplishments rival those of any predecessor."
"Looks like you understand our capabilities now."
Big Herta was quite proud. "Actually, there's an even bigger project in the Simulated Universe, but it's still missing that spark of wonderful inspiration before I can truly explore the boundaries of knowledge."
"Stephen's project is behind mine, but he's a genius in the field of algorithms, the cornerstone of the Simulated Universe. You've seen Ruan Mei and Screwllum's projects, which also contain significant contributions from both of us. That should be enough to demonstrate our abilities."
Her project was none other than the [Unknowable Domain].
The missing spark of inspiration was related to the Lord of Silence.
Any attempt to touch the Unknowable Domain was equivalent to challenging the blockade of the known domain, charging headlong at that genius killer.
"Sorry, perhaps I should speed up my progress."
Stephen looked at Sol with a shy smile, a bit annoyed at himself.
He was extremely interested in the new project Big Herta and Sol were setting up, and naturally wanted to showcase his abilities too.
Unfortunately, he was afraid of Polka Kakamond, having previously hidden behind Big Herta, waiting for her to test the waters.
"I have never denied the value of Geniuses, especially a team formed by several of them."
Sol's expression turned serious as he spoke sincerely, "And seeing the Simulated Universe, I am even more convinced that you are precisely the partners I need."
"Now that our presentation is done." Big Herta revealed a proud smile. "Alright, time to show your presentation to Ruan Mei and the others!"
"..."
Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen all looked at Sol.
Having been invited by Big Herta, they naturally knew this new project was to assist this man in his ascension to godhood, while also studying the process itself.
But the specifics of how he would ascend, and why Sol could ascend, were things they didn't understand.
For instance, why resonating with all the stars in the universe would allow Sol to become an Aeon—they didn't know the core principle either. If simple stellar resonance could create an Aeon, then Emperor Rupert would have been one long ago.
"Light is the source of all life, therefore light is hope, light is existence."
Sol expounded his understanding. "At the dawn of the singularity's opening, the primordial light erupted. At the universe's final annihilation, the last light will fade."
He disregarded how the Honkai: Star Rail universe came to be; he was only speaking of his own Path.
Having once received a portion of Michael's authority, the [Sin of Sodom], he gained insight into God's dominion.
Although God was a jerk, he was undeniably powerful. So, Sol simply borrowed a little, developing his current theory through self-study.
He is light, he is existence, he is hope.
When he reaches the Ninth Tier, the false shall also be true.
"..."
The several Geniuses frowned slightly.
Regarding the universe's origin, the Big Bang was just one popular hypothesis, neither provable nor falsifiable.
Using something uncertain as the foundation for a thesis would be instantly thrown in the trash if they were presiding over a defense.
But coming from someone attempting ascension, it was worth listening to.
"Wherever life exists, there is the light of hope."
Sol looked at Screwllum and asked with a smile, "I ask you, in the Simulated Universe's [Gold and Gears], is it possible for inorganic life to be born?"
"Premise: Inorganic life has various types, including intelligent machines achieving self-realization and passing the Forbidden Fruit Test. The individual mechanical intelligences in the Simulated Universe rely on the scepter's computational power, but do not constitute a single whole."
"Argument: Within [Gold and Gears], it is possible for mechanical intelligences to awaken and become inorganic lifeforms."
Screwllum hesitated for barely a moment, answering with absolute certainty.
Because this was precisely one of his original intentions for participating in constructing Gold and Gears—to gain more sentient kin.
Although none had been born yet, he firmly believed the theory was correct.
He was somewhat surprised by Sol's insight, feeling as if he'd found a kindred spirit.
He was sure Big Herta hadn't told him; he trusted her integrity not to leak his core information before formal cooperation began between him and Sol.
But why was Sol asking this?
Could it be...
Screwllum's gaze deepened, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"Good, since life can be born here, then..."
Sol smiled, and softly intoned: "Light comes from Chaos!"
His voice resonated like a great bell or drum, like the very first sound since the creation of the world.
"..."
Ruan Mei and Big Herta's eyes widened, flooded by the dazzling light.
A beam of light, infinitely large, came from an unknown place, instantly illuminating the entire Simulated Universe.
Yet it was also infinitely small, small enough to traverse dimensions.
It was intensely hot, stirring the heart's tides.
Yet it did not burn; it felt like a fetus in the womb, utterly comforting.
But how was this possible?
They were inside the Simulated Universe, an illusory world built from data and computational power.
No matter how small light particles were, they were clearly three-dimensional entities.
Now, it had shone from reality into the Simulated Universe!?
Defying logic, violating common sense.
Light comes from Chaos!
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