Screwllum arrived quickly.
His manner, however, remained as calm and unhurried as ever.
"It's unfortunate that we have to meet under these circumstances, Miss Sylvia, Miss Acheron."
"Let's check on Herta first. What have you found?"
After greeting Sylvia and the others, Screwllum immediately tried to connect to the Simulated Universe and search for Madam Herta's consciousness. At the same time, he gave Sylvia a brief rundown of the situation.
"As you can see, the project has encountered a strange malfunction. Or perhaps it'd be more accurate to call it trouble."
Screwllum continued searching for Herta's signal as he explained.
"Logic: We've discovered a massive void within the Simulated Universe. It can't be observed or interfered with, yet the simulation continues operating normally. According to records from the Candelagraphos, this void belongs to a period of history after the Second Emperor's War known as the Scholars' Strife."
"The Second Emperor's War? I'd have thought you'd start with the First Emperor's War."
Both Emperor's Wars were infamous events in galactic history. The first emperor himself had died beneath the Lord of Silence's scalpel, and the First Emperor's War had also involved the three moments calculated by Nous.
Several Aeons had even intervened in an attempt to alter the outcome of Nous's calculations.
In the end, they'd all failed.
Sylvia had assumed Herta and the others would begin with the first war.
"Logic: The threat posed by the Lord of Silence is imminent. Madam Herta believes the Simulated Universe project requires greater computational power."
"The Scepter system controlled by Rubert II is the most suitable option. We therefore decided to reproduce and utilize the Scepter system within the Simulated Universe."
"Rubert II was also killed by the Lord of Silence. Of course, Madam Herta may have had other reasons for choosing this particular era."
Sylvia's brows twitched.
Unless she'd somehow misunderstood him, Herta had been trying to use the Simulated Universe to simulate a genius, then have that simulated genius create something inside the simulation that could calculate the answer Herta wanted.
A simulation inside a simulation inside a simulation...
Sylvia didn't know exactly what the Scepter system was capable of, but if even Herta thought it'd be useful, then it had to be something impressive.
Still, it looked like that decision had led Herta to discover something she cared about even more.
"So when you tried extrapolating the period after the Second Emperor's War, you stumbled across this strange void?"
"Correct, Miss Sylvia. The origin of the Scholars' Strife was likewise connected to the Scepter system. Madam Herta and I reached the same conclusion: there may be a hidden secret here."
Screwllum suddenly paused.
"Scan complete. No abnormal data detected. Information input attempted 1,235 times... Conclusion: contact with Herta still hasn't been established."
"Whatever happened during this period must've been interesting if someone went this far to hide it."
Even while worrying about Herta, Sylvia couldn't help growing curious.
She'd heard the term Scholars' Strife before while browsing the Astral Express's data bank, but the Express's records on it were thin as well. She'd assumed the historical record was simply incomplete.
Now, it seemed much more likely that someone had deliberately covered it up.
"Is there any way to find Herta right now? An emergency logout?"
Screwllum gave a slight nod.
"Logic: Indeed. We could locate Madam Herta physically and force her to disconnect from the outside. Unfortunately, Herta's residence isn't somewhere we can reach easily, and time isn't on our side."
The era of the Scholars' Strife had been bleak and chaotic. On top of that, the whole thing revolved around the Scepter system Rubert II had left behind.
There was no guarantee Herta's consciousness would remain safe inside it.
"What if I go in and find her?"
Sylvia offered the idea.
In truth, she had a vague feeling that this incident might finally lead her to Polka Kakamond's trail.
She couldn't tell which of her abilities was responsible for that instinct.
Or maybe it was a hint from Aha.
Either way, Sylvia herself was curious about this piece of history. She might as well go in and test the waters.
With Screwllum outside, he could pull her back if something went wrong, and they could try another approach afterward. On the other hand, if Screwllum went in and got trapped just like Herta, Sylvia wouldn't even know where to begin looking for Stephen to bail them out.
"...Conclusion: Given our current options, Miss Sylvia is indeed the optimal choice."
Screwllum paused, which was unusual for him.
It was almost as if the gentleman in him felt guilty about placing that responsibility on Sylvia.
Mei had never been the sort to interfere in matters she didn't understand. This time, however, Sylvia was the one being put at risk, and Mei couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Sylvia gave her a reassuring look.
This was still only the Simulated Universe, and one of its creators, Screwllum, was standing right in front of them. Sylvia couldn't imagine anything truly irreversible happening.
Though if the Simulated Universe crashed again, the whole project might really end up delayed for quite some time.
Sylvia stepped onto the platform.
Under Screwllum's guidance, she entered the unknown region that hadn't yet been opened to regular testing.
As the system connected her to that piece of history, Screwllum explained more about the Scholars' Strife.
After the Second Emperor's War ended, the surviving Scepters were gathered by the IPC and handed over to the Intelligentsia Guild as research tools. Their immense computational power soon led to bitter competition between the Guild's different schools.
Eventually, that struggle escalated into large-scale armed conflict.
"...And for Madam Herta, a problem left behind from the era of the Scholars' Strife happened to mark the beginning of her own research career."
"Speaking of Herta's history, wasn't her first major achievement solving something called the Solitary Waves Theory?"
"Correct. That was Madam Herta's starting point. In a sense, this extrapolation is a return to where it all began. I hadn't anticipated that Madam Herta would become trapped at her own starting line."
--+--
As their conversation ended, the Simulated Universe finally finished loading, and Sylvia was sent into that less-than-glorious period of history.
The Simulated Universe had thoughtfully simplified the Scepter system for her.
Its computational power had been converted into a simple combat formula that anyone could understand.
In other words, a bunch of flashy buffs.
The underlying principles and meaning were different from the Blessings directly connected to Aeons, but only people like Screwllum could truly understand those differences.
As far as Sylvia was concerned, they were just buffs in different packaging.
"For scholars, the significance of the Scepters was much like the power granted to you by the item you're currently holding."
As usual, Screwllum floated beside Sylvia in the form of a monocled duck, patiently explaining pieces of that era's history as they moved.
Sylvia could feel the power granted by the "Scepter." It was even stronger than the average Blessing.
She couldn't help commenting, "So... basically a miracle?"
"Logic: The Scepter system was constructed using Nous's mode of cognition as its model. Conclusion: 'miracle' is an appropriate comparison."
Screwllum agreed with her assessment.
By then, Sylvia had already encountered the monsters generated by the system.
Just as the Scepter system had been simplified into combat buffs, historical dangers and even disputes born from language barriers had been turned into physical monsters to streamline the experience. Detailed information would be archived directly by the Simulated Universe, while important historical milestones appeared before Sylvia as images and text.
Still, they'd come here to find someone.
They didn't need to dive deep into the era and uncover its hidden truths.
Unless they couldn't find Herta near the surface.
Fortunately, Sylvia's luck held up.
After only a few battles, and before she had to venture far from the outer regions, she spotted Herta.
The familiar puppet stood with her head lowered, apparently working to strip away the corrupted code that covered the Unknowable Domain and expose the history beneath it.
Sylvia walked over and greeted her.
Herta didn't react.
It wasn't until Sylvia reached out and tapped her shoulder that the genius finally realized someone had appeared beside her.
"Hey, Herta!"
"Don't bother me. I'm thinking."
Herta snapped at her without even looking up.
"About the Unknowable Domain? Or the Scepter system?"
"Both."
Herta answered with an irritated sigh, then finally looked at Sylvia.
"What're you even doing here? This region isn't open for testing. Go play somewhere else."
Screwllum answered for her.
"Madam Herta, you've been disconnected from the outside for more than twenty-four system hours. Miss Sylvia happened to arrive at the station, so I invited her here specifically to retrieve you."
"...Twenty-four system hours? So the Unknowable Domain can even interfere with one's perception of time."
Herta froze.
She clearly hadn't noticed how much time had passed.
Yet a moment later, her attention had already drifted away from Sylvia and Screwllum and returned to the streams of data before her.
Apparently, nothing had happened to Herta at all.
She'd simply lost track of time.
"This place is exactly what we suspected. It isn't a system error. It's some kind of unwanted contamination left behind by that annoying woman."
Herta's brows were drawn tight, yet her face practically radiated excitement.
She looked as though she couldn't wait to trade blows across time and space with the infamous Genius Society member #4.
Sylvia tilted her head.
"How can you tell this is the Lord of Silence's work?"
Herta glanced at her.
"Remember how I told you I'd had my research interrupted several times because of bizarre accidents?"
"I remember."
"Did I mention that every one of those accidents happened right when I was about to break through the Circle of Knowledge?"
Herta paused and looked at Sylvia.
"Do you need me to explain what a Circle of Knowledge is?"
"Please."
"It's a concept proposed by Genius Society member #22, Aiden. Imagine all knowledge as a circle. Everything inside the circle is known, while everything outside it is unknown. The more you know, the larger the boundary becomes, so the amount of unknown knowledge you can perceive grows as well."
"I think I get it."
Sylvia nodded.
In more familiar terms, it was like someone making a leap on the scale of Einstein publishing the theory of relativity.
Herta didn't seem bothered by the interruption and continued.
"And obviously, the same thing is happening this time. A strange accident, an inexplicable obstacle, and it appears right when inspiration hits me. The pattern matches too closely for me to believe she isn't involved."
Confidence covered Herta's face.
It was as if she believed that the moment she cracked the Unknowable Domain, she'd break straight through the existing Circle of Knowledge and seize the answer she wanted.
Sylvia thought about it, then finally caught on.
"So there isn't necessarily some shameful secret buried in this part of history."
"The Lord of Silence only interfered with your project because you set your sights on these ownerless Scepter systems."
Herta raised her chin with pride, though disgust soon crept across her face.
"Maybe. Either way, the Lord of Silence's actions prove that I picked the right direction."
"Allow me to remind you, Madam Herta: subjective assumptions are the enemy of research."
Screwllum offered the warning at exactly the right moment.
Their suspicions about the Lord of Silence were still only a theory. They hadn't gathered enough evidence to prove anything yet.
Nor could they prove that every accident Herta had ever encountered was connected to her.
If they became obsessed with seeing her hand behind everything, they'd only throw themselves into confusion.
"For ordinary people, it's a subjective assumption. For a genius, it's inspiration. I've got a feeling she's trying to stop us from investigating this period. Whatever she's hiding, I'm digging it out."
Herta clearly had no intention of giving up.
Screwllum remained calm.
"Alternative hypothesis: perhaps Mythus of the Enigmata happened to glance toward the Simulated Universe. I've enumerated 3,215 possible hypotheses. Which would you like to hear first?"
"..."
"Now that's a subjective assumption."
Sylvia watched the two geniuses fail to convince each other and finally cut in.
"Both of you, let's talk outside. Besides, I might have information that'll settle this argument."
Herta and Screwllum both turned toward her.
"Oh, right. Screwllum said he ran into you at the space station. You came looking for me?"
"I've got a Dream Bubble. Just watch it once we're outside."
With that, Sylvia logged out of the Simulated Universe.
Herta turned back and stared at the Unknowable Domain.
Her expression made it seem as though the ultimate answer she'd been chasing was waiting somewhere inside.
Then she logged out without another moment of hesitation.
--+--
Herta Space Station, reality.
"All right, let's hear it. If you came all this way specifically to find me, I'm guessing it isn't anything good."
The little Herta puppet planted both hands on her hips and tilted her head up, gesturing for Sylvia to get on with it.
Screwllum stood quietly nearby as always.
Mei had taken Sylvia's hand, and Sylvia got straight to the point.
"I saw the Lord of Silence before. A face you couldn't make out and a candy-colored dress. Those are her identifying features, right?"
That immediately caught Herta's attention.
She'd clearly been prepared to brush the matter aside, but now she frowned at Sylvia.
"Details."
"Just watch this Dream Bubble."
Sylvia took out the Dream Bubble and handed it to the two geniuses.
Herta took it first, closing her eyes as she rapidly reviewed its contents. Once she finished, she passed it to Screwllum.
"To tell you the truth... I'm less interested in why the Lord of Silence keeps coming after you than I am in how you managed to see her in the first place."
"Hypothesis: perhaps Miss Sylvia's extraordinary luck has once again delivered a clue to her. Alternatively, this may be the work of Aha, the Aeon of Elation."
It was an oddly speculative conclusion to hear from Screwllum.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL