After saying goodbye to Mei, the members of Memory Battleship boarded a starship and returned to the Real World.
Although Fuli had absolute confidence in his custom Type-59 cruiser—which was fully capable of traveling on land, sea, and air—that didn't change a fundamental reality.
Even after heavily modifying the interior space, it was still only about as spacious as a large SUV.
Considering this expedition might take quite a long time, stuffing one boy, two girls, and one fluffy mammal into a relatively tight, enclosed space for an extended period was not only inconvenient, it also ran the severe risk of an "accidental misfire" leading to a sudden spike in the local mammal population.
And Memory Battleship was a completely orthodox, wholesome team! They absolutely did not accept the concept of creating a hundred million lives just to repopulate the world!
So, immediately after landing on Earth, they headed straight for Dalian Shipping—a company renowned for its premium service and excellent cost-performance ratio—to rent a small airship suited for deep-sea exploration and short-term living.
The ship they selected had a sleek, streamlined design, its silver-grey hull gleaming brightly under the sun. The interior was fully equipped with living quarters, a spacious cockpit, and a recreation room, making it perfectly suited to support their oceanic search operation.
As a side note, when the manager of Dalian Shipping found out the renter was Fuli, he instantly waved his hand, waiving all rental fees entirely. He even patted Fuli's shoulder and told him it didn't matter if they broke the ship or sank it to the bottom of the ocean, because the company had already bought the maximum possible insurance for it anyway.
After inquiring, Fuli learned that among the hundreds of City Gods he had defeated in Canghai City, one of them happened to be stationed locally. Ever since returning from that battle, the City God had never missed an opportunity to publicly praise "that young Mr. Fuli who already possesses the aura and bearing of a true Grandmaster."
This wasn't just out of gratitude for Fuli holding back—or rather, "educating them properly."
As the scale of Fuli's incidents grew larger and more terrifying, his one-versus-a-hundred battle was frequently pulled out by major and minor factions alike as a classic case study for tactical analysis. As a result, the City Gods who participated in that battle also experienced a massive surge in reputation, achieving a bizarre, alternative form of "strongman certification."
It was like a wheelchair street-racing against a Ferrari. Even if the Ferrari won effortlessly, people wouldn't care.
Instead, everyone would be dying of curiosity to know: Just whose fucking wheelchair is so heavily modded that it actually qualified to race against a top-tier supercar in the first place?!
"Ah, the burden of connections. Ah, the weight of fame."
Standing on the deck of their brand-new ship, enjoying the sea breeze, Little Li sighed with a face utterly full of showing off... until a certain Great-Auntie launched a suicide headbutt directly into his stomach, finally making him rein it in.
After adjusting the coordinates, the crew set sail with high morale, following Hyacine's guidance into the open ocean.
Because the girl had researched her ancestor's journals so thoroughly, they didn't waste much time searching aimlessly. They very quickly locked onto the specific region vaguely indicated by the ancient records as the location of the Sky Kingdom.
Point Nemo.
Located at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, its official name was the "Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility." It was the location on Earth farthest from any landmass or island, widely known as the most isolated place in the world.
It sat perfectly in the center of the South Pacific Gyre. The massive ocean currents acted like an invisible, colossal wall, completely blocking out the cold, nutrient-rich waters coming from the surrounding continents.
Furthermore, because it was so incredibly far from any landmass, neither wind nor rivers could carry organic matter into this region. The massive depth of the ocean floor also meant that bottom-dwelling nutrients couldn't rise to the surface.
As a result, there was simply no foundation to support a marine food chain. The entire ecosystem was exceptionally barren, with marine life being almost non-existent.
"Sometimes, you really just have to marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of Mother Nature," Fuli shook his head unconsciously as he stood in the airship's bridge, looking out the viewport at the chillingly deep azure below.
There were no cries of seabirds, no schools of fish breaking the surface, and even the sound of the crashing waves seemed distinctly monotonous and hollow.
There was only the eternal, desolate wind blowing across the endless water, as if the world had remained exactly like this since the very dawn of creation, and would continue this way until the end of time.
He turned his head to look at Mimi, who was holding the genetic resonance radar with her tiny paws, examining it closely.
"So, Detective Fluff, how goes it? Have we locked onto the specific coordinates of the bastard resonating with Little Ica?"
"This is weird... Little Li, everyone, come look at this."
Mimi floated over to the center console and turned the radar face-up so everyone could see.
On the slightly convex, transparent crystal panel, the fan-shaped scanning area—which was supposed to display the exact direction and distance of the target—was completely covered in a uniform, blinding crimson red.
There was no specific coordinate dot. There was no directional indicator. It was just an absolute sheet of pure red filling the entire effective display area.
"What... what does this mean?" Castorice furrowed her delicate eyebrows.
When Mei handed them the radar, she had explicitly stated that its effective scanning radius was 100 kilometers.
If a target related to Little Ica's bloodline entered that range, the radar would clearly display their relative direction and approximate distance. It could even determine proximity based on signal strength.
But what the hell was going on with this completely filled, uniformly red screen?
Did that mean the target was so massive it completely blanketed every single corner of a 100-kilometer radius?!
The crew exchanged bewildered glances, feeling exactly like Louis XVI on the guillotine—completely unable to find their own heads.
They cautiously piloted the airship, moving in different directions from their current position to test the readings.
Fifty kilometers east—the radar panel remained entirely red.
Eighty kilometers south—the radar panel remained entirely red.
Ascending vertically several thousand meters into the sky—the radar panel was still a disturbing, uniform crimson.
It wasn't until they sailed continuously in one direction for over 300 kilometers—leaving a massive, 300-kilometer radius circular zone centered around their initial detection point—that the suffocating red on the panel finally receded like the ebbing tide.
They wanted to contact Mei to ask what could possibly cause such an anomaly. However, due to the quantum tides and gravitational disturbances caused by the Living Planet incident not long ago, cross-world communication—which was already unstable—was now completely terrible.
They tried several times, but all they got was piercing static and broken, static-filled syllables.
It made sense when you thought about it. Even Prometheus—the Will of Honkai who shared a deep conceptual link with the 10th Divine Key, the Key of Domination—had been experiencing massive connection drops lately. Her 10-pull gacha rewards had been delayed for half a month! Standard communication methods obviously wouldn't fare any better.
"Well, looking on the bright side, since the radar is reacting so violently within this specific sector... even if the format is bizarre, it at least proves one thing. The source responsible for Little Ica's illness is definitely hidden somewhere within this anomalous sea zone."
After effortlessly staging a one-second coup to usurp Captain Mimi's authority, Deputy Captain Fuli naturally stepped up to give directions. "Next, we'll split up and conduct a massive dragnet search in the sky above this area."
Point Nemo actually had another, much less romantic nickname: the Spacecraft Cemetery.
Not only was its ecosystem incredibly barren, but due to its highly unique magnetic field, very few world bubbles ever surfaced in this region to form stable connections with Earth. As a result, you didn't have to worry about plunging satellites triggering unexpected spatial anomalies.
For the four members of Memory Battleship, this was undeniably a massive advantage.
They could search for the Sky Kingdom with total peace of mind, without having to worry about accidentally wandering into the unstable entrance of a random world bubble, or trespassing on the territory of some hidden powerhouse and sparking an unnecessary misunderstanding.
And so, splitting into two teams—one boy and one Great-Auntie, and two girls—they began combing through the sky.
The sun rose and set. Two entire days flashed by.
The result: absolutely nothing.
This was highly abnormal.
Setting aside Hyacine and Castorice, who were using the Type-59 cruiser to conduct a relatively slower, methodical search...
Fuli had pushed his Lan Form to its absolute current limits, zigzagging back and forth with terrifying efficiency. He had practically combed through every single cloud layer and every slightly suspicious refraction of light within the entire 300-kilometer radius.
He moved so fast and changed directions so abruptly that Mimi, sitting on his shoulder, nearly got flung off several times. Terrified, the little creature was forced to latch onto Fuli's head with her tiny paws for dear life. Her fluffy ears and tail were blown straight back by the violent slipstream, making her look like a screaming dandelion in a hurricane from a distance.
With such terrifying speed and search density... forget a 300-kilometer radius! Even if they had searched the entire 20-million-square-kilometer ocean surrounding Point Nemo, logically speaking, they should have found something.
Yet, the reality was that they found absolutely zero clues.
There were no hidden floating islands. No distorted spatial gateways. No anomalous energy fluctuations. Hell, there wasn't even a large, suspicious-looking cloud bank.
A starry night. The ocean at Point Nemo. The deck of the airship.
After yet another completely fruitless routine search, Hyacine didn't return to the warm cabin. Instead, she sat alone on the edge of the cold, expansive bow deck.
The salty sea breeze tousled her pink gradient twin-drill hair. Her slender legs, wrapped in pure white tights, hung off the edge of the deck, swinging aimlessly in the air.
"Doo-doo..."
Little Ica lay in her arms, its warm body occasionally letting out soft, weak groans.
Ever since entering this specific sea zone, its symptoms had slightly alleviated. This was one of the main reasons Memory Battleship was absolutely certain their target was here.
"Hehe, you little rascal. You need to get better soon, okay~"
The girl stroked its fur, her voice so soft and gentle it could melt snow.
But deep in her eyes, there was a heavy, lingering shadow of anxiety and dread that she couldn't dispel.
She freed one hand to take out her phone. Taking a deep breath, she opened the official website for the Wardance and navigated to the live points leaderboard.
Her eyes frantically scanned the rapidly scrolling list, her heartbeat unconsciously accelerating.
When she finally found the name Memory Battleship, and saw the number indicating their rank had dropped several places... the dread hanging over her heart finally crystallized into despair.
They had been overtaken.
And not just by one team.
After Mei was successfully scammed, kidnapped, and sweet-talked onto Kiana's team, the Matrix of Prescience finally factored in her previous, glorious battle record of severely crippling the World Serpent Executive Raven. Instantly, the Everlasting Flamescion squad rocketed to the top, becoming the very first team to surpass Memory Battleship.
Other powerhouse teams that had been sprinting hard—like Song of Unspoken Words and Dimensional Boundary Break—were naturally unwilling to be left behind, and successfully overtook them one after another.
The only exception was Guns N' Roses led by Boothill, who had been completely disqualified due to the Galaxy Rangers' excessively violent methods.
But Hyacine couldn't bring herself to smile.
Her original hope was to find and solve Little Ica's problem as quickly as possible, and then go all-out to catch up, striving to secure the championship for Memory Battleship.
It wasn't because the girl coveted the rewards or the vain glory. She just truly, deeply didn't want to drag everyone else down. She didn't want her personal problems to completely invalidate the team's hard work, forcing everyone to quietly bow out at the very final stage of the tournament.
Yes, Fuli and the others could say they didn't care about those things.
But as the person causing the problem, how could Hyacine possibly just let it go without any emotional burden?
And what was the result?
The cause of Little Ica's illness remained a total mystery.
There was no trace of the entrance to the Sky Kingdom.
And the team's ranking was dropping ruthlessly.
It's all my fault...
A suffocating mixture of powerlessness, crushing guilt, and anxiety flooded Hyacine's heart like the freezing ocean water below.
No! I can't let this continue!
The girl bit her lower lip hard, not stopping until she tasted the faint, metallic tang of blood.
She carefully placed Little Ica onto a soft cushion laid out on the deck beside her, and then raised her left hand.
On the back of her hand, beneath her usually flawless skin, a faint golden crest—resembling a closed eye framed by wings and stars—suddenly flashed.
In the next instant, a profound resonance originating from the deepest depths of her bloodline was ignited.
Hyacine's consciousness was pulled away by a gentle yet overwhelmingly powerful force, and everything in front of her blurred and faded.
When her perception cleared, she found herself standing inside a sacred, magnificently grand, and ancient hall.
The dome above was formed from pure, condensed light, and the milky-white floor beneath her feet perfectly reflected the starlight from above.
In the exact center of the hall sat a massive round table, surrounded by several high-backed chairs.
Behind every single chair stood a colossal doorway that stretched almost all the way to the dome. Each door was carved with incomprehensible, profound symbols—some woven with golden threads and ornate designs, others so simple they were composed of only a few flowing lines.
"Where... am I?"
Hyacine raised her hands to inspect herself. She discovered that she was no longer in her usual, petite, physical body. Instead, she had transformed into a humanoid silhouette made entirely of warm, dawn-colored golden light.
The light outlined her slender figure, but completely obscured any specific facial features or clothing details, flawlessly protecting her real-world identity.
"Alright!"
The girl took a deep breath and walked toward one of the chairs. On the back of that specific chair, the faint, shifting silhouettes of the sky and flowing clouds could be seen.
At first, she was the only one in the grand hall.
But slowly, a golden flame and a pale cyan crystal materialized on the seats symbolizing "Romance" and "Rationality", respectively.
Then came the dreamy purple of "Death", and the vibrant rose-red of "Gateway."
The pale cyan crystal paused for a moment. After realizing the person who had initiated the meeting was the Demigods symbolizing the "Sky," he let out a faint sigh and quietly took his seat.
Finally, and most importantly—
At the very head of the round table... not on the same level as the others, but positioned slightly higher, as if resting upon an invisible staircase... a figure slowly solidified upon the throne of the void.
It was not a blurry silhouette of light, but a crystal-clear projection of absolute, flawless beauty.
Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her shoulders like the richest vintage wine. Her gilded eyes looked as though they held an ocean of liquid honey. A perfectly tailored, dark red evening gown accentuated her breathtaking, soul-stirring curves, and her face possessed a beauty that entirely transcended gender and race.
The gorgeous woman lounged gracefully against the velvet throne. Her long legs, clad in sheer black pantyhose, peeked out from the gown's high slit. Her incredibly sexy stilettos tapped lightly against the floor, the rhythmic sound carrying a lazy, enchanting echo.
"Greetings, Miss Sky. I believe this is the first time we are formally meeting face-to-face."
She raised the wine glass in her hand toward Hyacine, her movements impeccably elegant.
"Although the founder of the Mythological Sequence Alliance—our esteemed Leader—specifically designed this blurred communication realm to maximize the privacy and safety of its members... I, for one, am never stingy about revealing my true name to a trustworthy new comrade."
The stunning woman slowly and clearly enunciated the name that symbolized the absolute pinnacle of human art throughout history.
"My name is... Eden."
The Singer of Gold. The Superstar of the Previous Era.
Even in this secretive realm, she felt absolutely no need to hide.
"Not long ago, a certain Mr. Divine Departure from Hyperion asked little Bronya to request an autographed photo of me. He mentioned he intended to give it to a very lovely friend on his team."
A playful, deeply amused smile curved Eden's lips. Her gaze seemed to pierce straight through Hyacine's dawn-light form, seeing the anxious, flustered girl sitting on the deck of a ship thousands of miles away.
"But compared to a cold, lifeless photograph... I believe that true friendship—especially the bonds forged between comrades—is best proven and tempered when fighting side by side against a formidable enemy. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Y-Yes! Senior Eden!"
Hyacine responded nervously. The voice transmitted by her consciousness carried obvious reverence and a distinct trace of panic.
Under normal circumstances, the massive faction known as the Mythological Sequence Alliance—composed entirely of Demigods—handled the recruitment of new members through formal invitations issued by its Vice Leader, Eden.
For example, Tribios had initially been hesitant after receiving her invitation. But after the White Moon Incident in London, facing the terrifying pressure of both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy trying to cannibalize her, she had no choice but to join the Alliance and seek their protection.
But Hyacine's situation was completely different.
While she was still a student, she had accidentally been discovered by her teacher—who also possessed the blood of a Demigods—and had thus been brought into the Alliance while still largely ignorant of its true scale.
Therefore, this truly was her very first formal meeting with the legendary Vice Leader, Eden.
And naturally, that teacher of hers was currently present at the table.
"Hmph! So much empty posturing!"
The pale cyan crystal symbolizing "Rationality" let out a distinctly mocking, cold snort, his gaze sweeping across the room like a thin blade.
Naturally, this wasn't directed at Hyacine—though given his chronically terrible personality, him occasionally throwing a venomous remark at his student wouldn't be out of character.
But this time, his target was clearly the woman sitting on the high throne.
"Anaxagoras. Rather than sitting there radiating pointless hostility, why don't you grace us with an impromptu recitation of your Earthly Epics?"
The pale, elegant voice of "Romance" chimed in at the perfect moment, her tone like ice chips falling onto stone. "Just like how you usually attempt to converse with those mindless beasts of the earth. Perhaps that would demonstrate the value of your 'rationality' far better than mere sarcasm."
"Taking an interest in my research topics? It seems you've finally found a subject actually worth your attention, instead of just playing endless political mind games. However, allow me to remind you, Aglaea—in the Erudition Schools, displaying an excessive obsession with the academic interests of others is generally considered an early symptom of cognitive stagnation."
The pale cyan crystal sneered dismissively. "Besides, I didn't take time out of my schedule to respond to this summons just to bicker with you, woman. I am simply curious to know why Ms. Hyacine—who has been shining so brilliantly in the Wardance—suddenly felt the need to initiate this highest-level emergency distress meeting."
Teacher Anaxa is still such a tsundere...
He clearly cares deeply about Hyacine, but he just HAS to say it in the most abrasive way possible...
The dreamy purple silhouette representing "Death"—Castorice—thought awkwardly. She quickly shot a pleading look at the golden flame of "Romance" beside her.
Seeing this, and remembering that this meeting had been initiated by Hyacine, Aglaea finally suppressed her urge to verbally eviscerate Anaxa's insolence. She shifted her gaze back to the girl who called them here.
Eden took in this silent, undercurrent-filled exchange without missing a beat. Entirely unbothered by Anaxa's provocation, she simply took another elegant sip from her wine glass.
Her beautiful eyes, warm as twin setting suns, projected encouragement and gentle inquiry toward the highly anxious Hyacine. "Since you chose to utilize your emergency distress authority, I presume you and your companions have encountered a crisis you cannot currently resolve on your own?"
The girl took a deep breath and answered with absolute resolution. "Yes! I am requesting immediate support!"
Both Anaxa and Aglaea frowned simultaneously, their gazes darting toward Castorice.
Noticing the purple silhouette shaking her head slightly, they refrained from interrogating further.
When Tribios had joined, Eden had explicitly stated:
The Mythological Sequence Alliance welcomes any fellow comrade. The Demigods need not feel any burden regarding this. Should you ever encounter a crisis you cannot handle, the Alliance will absolutely provide support.
And the price for that support? It was completely free.
In modern society, anyone with even an ounce of common sense and life experience knew that this was a massive red flag.
More often than not, when a product or service is advertised as "free", the person enjoying it is the actual product, or the one destined to pay the ultimate price.
"Approved."
Eden didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. "What exactly do you require? What type and level of support do you need? Combatants? Intelligence? Resources? Or perhaps... experts in a specific field?"
"An S-Rank powerhouse!"
Hyacine declared firmly. "I need an absolute top-tier expert—someone with strength equivalent to an S-Rank Valkyrie—who specializes in detection, illusion breaking, spatial perception, or similar abilities!"
"An S-Rank powerhouse specializing in detection..."
Eden lightly tapped her finger against the armrest of her throne, producing a soft, contemplative thump.
"Approved."
She gave an affirmative answer once again, her tone incredibly steady and deeply reliable.
"However, if my memory serves me correctly..."
Her gilded eyes casually swept over the pale purple humanoid silhouette that was Castorice. With profound implication, Eden continued, "Miss Death, you are currently operating alongside Miss Sky, as well as your two other companions, correct?"
Castorice nodded immediately. "Yes, ma'am."
"Excellent."
"If it is not too much trouble, Miss Death, after leaving this meeting, please transmit your current exact coordinates to me via the Alliance's heavily encrypted channel."
Eden raised her wine glass toward the void. Shifting her gaze back to Hyacine, she offered the girl a breathtakingly beautiful, incredibly reassuring smile.
"I will be arriving... personally, in just a moment."
Her demeanor was nothing short of absolute confidence.