Chise spent a relaxing day in the R&D department and returned to her room, yawning as she prepared to wash up and sleep.
Her main job was maintaining Prometheus II and developing the AI for the Prometheus series. However, recently the department's focus was on the Divine Keys, so AI development was temporarily shelved. She was happy to slack off, getting paid to spend time in the bathroom without anyone bothering her.
"I feel like I've forgotten something lately..." Chise stood before the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection. She untied her hair, letting it flow down. She frowned, thinking. "Lin returned safely, so what did I forget?"
Suddenly, she saw what seemed like a flash of dark red deep within her pupils.
"What..."
Just as she leaned closer to the mirror to look properly, her body shuddered. Then, her tense muscles relaxed, and she closed her eyes.
When they opened again, dark red had completely occupied all the color in her eyes.
"Chise" coldly raised her hand to inspect the body, letting out a heavy breath.
"Three months, huh... Truly a troublesome fellow." "Chise" pinched her chin, staring at herself in the mirror. "In these three months, the number of MANTIS increased to four. There are already four monsters like Kevin, plus that guy Lin. Looks like I'll have to try a different way..."
Yes, the personality that had awakened in this body was the Eighth Herrscher. After being defeated by Lin, she had slept for three months before waking up again to suppress the original Chise's personality she had created.
At this moment, she was thinking of a meticulous plan to bypass the MANTIS and Lin.
The MANTIS were actually fine; their mental strength might not be as high as their physical strength. The key was Lin—that anomaly with a mutated consciousness. He was the thorn in her side.
"Wait... during this time, 'I' have been researching AI... Heh..."
A plan formed rapidly in her mind. Her grin stretched to her ears, revealing a terrifying smile.
But before she could even retract the smile, she caught a glimpse of a figure forming instantly behind her in the mirror. Her pupils shrank. Before she could turn, she was grabbed by the back of her head and slammed into the mirror!
Bang!
Her face was slammed hard against the mirror, yet the glass remained intact.
As the Eighth Herrscher was confused, she realized there was another "Chise" behind her.
No, the one being held was her conscious entity!
The Eighth Herrscher gritted her teeth and forced her head around, seeing a completely unfamiliar face.
Female, silver hair, and the eyes were...
"You!"
She recognized this person the moment she saw those eyes!
The next moment, the clash of consciousness exploded in this narrow bathroom!
...
Splash...
"Ugh..." Chise woke up groggily. Cold water was splashed on her face, making her snap awake.
How did she fall asleep in front of the faucet while washing her face?
"Ouch... My head hurts. Did I catch a cold?"
Chise clutched her head, standing up with difficulty and leaning against the wall as she walked out of the bathroom, thinking she had caught a chill after falling asleep in the cold water.
She walked right through the silver-haired woman's body. Sensing something, she looked back, but saw nothing.
After Chise left, the woman also clutched her head and knelt on the floor, gasping for breath.
The fully realized Herrscher of Sentience was indeed too strong on a conscious level. Even with a sneak attack, she could only force the Herrscher back into slumber.
Of course, part of the reason was that she didn't belong to this parallel world. If she could interfere with parallel worlds at will, she wouldn't have...
"As expected, the information left from seeing it once is too little. Cosmic Glow cannot maintain a lock on this world." Her body dimmed—a sign she was about to leave this world. "Three months, huh..."
In the final second before leaving, she "looked" in a certain direction.
...
Lin halted his steps. He turned back abruptly, looking at the empty space behind him.
The familiar feeling—the Herrscher who hunted him in the parallel world was watching him right now!
Hatred, anger, resentment... all the negative emotions were transmitted to him through this gaze!
Who was she? Why did she have such deep hatred for him? Someone he ignored in the past? Someone he might meet in the future?
Just as Lin prepared to deal with the hunt, the gaze vanished.
And at the very last moment, as the gaze disappeared, a tiny bit of weak, complex emotion mixed in with those negative ones was transmitted over.
It was as if it were being hidden on purpose, not wanting him to know, yet it was so prominent—even if only a tiny bit, it was like a beacon in the night sky.
"What's wrong?"
MEI pressed the stop button, cutting the connection device on Lin body.
"...No, nothing." Lin shook his head solemnly. He thought this matter needed to be discussed, but MEI wasn't a suitable candidate.
He didn't know MEI's stance now. She was too close to the higher-ups. Mobius had said the higher-ups were very interested in him; this matter would likely further stimulate their curiosity.
And their curiosity was often accompanied by experiments and casualties.
Lin was a bit surprised by how quickly he had sorted this out. He realized he had begun to hide things from Fire-Moth on purpose. In the past, he would have poured out everything without hesitation and waited for orders.
What had changed? Him? Or Fire-Moth?
"Looks like I was too hasty. the Key of Blankness is still in its most basic stage; unpredictable situations are normal." MEI rubbed her fingers and wrote something on paper, then pointed to the crude armor on Lin. "You can take it off. I'll notify you if there are more experiments."
Lin did as told. He took off the armor—which looked even more unfinished than an unfinished product—put it back in the isolation chamber, put on his coat, and walked out of the safety room.
"...Whose Herrscher core belongs to the Key of Blankness?" Lin asked MEI, who was recording data.
"None," MEI said succinctly. "The Key of Blankness, as the name suggests, is blank. Remember I told you the original intent of the Key of Blankness was to let humans use the original power of a Herrscher? Its purpose is to be able to connect to any Herrscher core and use their authority at maximum output. So, it doesn't have a core of its own. However..."
MEI pressed a finger nearby.
A gem rose from the safety room. They gazed at the core through the protective glass.
"It needs at least one core as a backup."