"Imagine the world you reside in as a leaf," Yama explained to Lin, despite her deep, inexplicable hostility toward him. "It sits upon a giant tree that is the origin and source of everything. Those leaves are the parallel worlds."
"Beneath the giant tree lies a bottomless sea. The Tree wants to absorb the Sea, and the Sea wants to submerge the Tree, but they maintain a balance instead. Nourished by the Sea, the Tree grows branches and leaves—countless civilizations and worlds."
Tree... Sea...
This novel theory made Lin keep quiet and listen patiently. When he heard about the bottomless sea, he recalled the Sea of Quanta that Mobius and MEI had mentioned.
"The Tree is called the Imaginary Tree, and the Sea is called the Sea of Quanta. You will eventually learn about their existence and theories. For now, you only need to know that our consciousness is trapped in a fragmented world that fell from the Imaginary Tree."
"A fragmented world?"
"..." Yama gaze turned suddenly cold, but she said nothing further and continued. "The Imaginary Tree cannot sustain the operation of all worlds, so it created a cull mechanism. Civilizations and worlds judged as unable to continue developing fall into the Sea of Quanta. They turn from complete worlds into fragmented worlds that will eventually vanish at an uncertain time—Bubble Universes."
Lin hadn't expected to get such complete information from Yama. Even if he went back and told MEI and the others—
Yama reached this point and began surveying the surroundings. As she looked around, she said coldly, "Our consciousness was artificially imprisoned in this Bubble Universe, and something might have been done to us."
Normally, even with the bizarre and mysterious "things" teeming in the Sea of Quanta, they couldn't do much to her. But this time, the person who attacked her seemed to have noticed her weak mental state. Not only did they steal the Second Divine Key (Cosmic Glow) while she was dormant, but they also stuffed her consciousness into this unknown Bubble Universe.
However, once her consciousness recovered, a mere Bubble Universe wouldn't be able to trap her. When that time came, she would find the person who attacked her.
Before that, it was best to ascertain the situation.
"Do you recognize this place?" Yama asked Lin, who had been in silent thought, as she had no impression of the strange room.
"No..."
No, Lin actually found it somewhat familiar. Just like that inexplicable voiceover, it gave him a sense of something he had seen before but couldn't quite remember—a feeling of vast distance.
This decoration style... it's from the Far East? But...
Wait. The shrunken body, the Far East, and the content of that voice...
Could this be...
"Lin, Yama, we're back~"
A voice that instantly cleared his mind came from the entrance. Along with it came the rustling sound of someone changing into indoor shoes.
Lin and Yama immediately exchanged looks, both signaling the other not to act rashly.
They didn't know the purpose of the person who trapped them in this Bubble Universe yet, so it was best to play their roles until they figured it out.
Three people, clearly elders compared to their current selves, walked in chatting and laughing. When Lin saw one of them, his gaze froze for a few seconds. Then, his blurred childhood memories flooded back into his brain, and the identities of the other two were confirmed.
A couple, and their friend.
"Lin, Uncle is here again. Come, let's have a hug."
That man...
The Councilman.
The cunning man who always showed a hypocritical face.
He now gestured to Lin with a warm, doting smile for a child, crouching not far away, looking at Lin with great affection.
"Stop spoiling Lin. He has to take over my position in the future. It won't do if you keep showing him useless books," the husband of the couple said, taking off his coat for his wife to hang up, lecturing with a frown. "Allowing Lin to take your surname was already a huge concession. For the sake of our years of friendship, don't corrupt my son."
"Oh, Old Ma, what's our relationship? Why worry about that? Besides, letting the kid develop on his own isn't bad. He doesn't have to be a researcher."
The Councilman smiled nonchalantly, patted Lin head, and then looked at the silent Yama: "Though you guys are quite lenient with Yama."
"Yama doesn't have talent in that area. Let her live a peaceful life," Old Ma said, but a hint of disappointment was unavoidable in his eyes when he looked at Yama.
"They're kids; you can't expect every one of them to be a genius."
The Councilman stood up, stretched, and sat down across from Old Ma.
They chatted and laughed like best friends of many years. Old Ma's wife handled the household chores with a gentle and virtuous air, chiming in occasionally. It was a harmonious scene, just like any ordinary family...
Lin watched all of this.
The Councilman and his parents had become good friends.
It was incredible, wasn't it? In his Proper World, the Councilman was the Purger who murdered this couple. How could such a warm, laughing scene ever appear?
"In a Bubble Universe, anything can happen. Because Bubble Universes are fragmented worlds without a true origin or complete logic. Some even start from zero as worlds with advanced technology but are only as large as a single city."
Yama cold voice came from behind him.
She was unmoved by the scene, her eyes remaining cold.
"Setting us up as siblings... what are they planning to do..."
...
"..."
The atmosphere was heavy.
Both Mobius and MEI stared silently at Lin, who lay unconscious on the examination table. After reviewing the test reports and performing their own checks, they both fell into a state of silence.
"No signs of external injury, overall vital signs are stable, and Honkai energy hasn't damaged the cells..." MEI slowly spoke the results. "There are no physiological conditions corresponding to a loss of consciousness."
"Hmph. So you're saying his loss of consciousness is due to stimulation? I wouldn't be so sure," Mobius glanced at Lin with a mix of anger and amusement. "His brain waves are stable, which means his mental state is normal. It can only be that an unknown situation has occurred in a field we aren't aware of."
"Dr. Mobius..."
"The consciousness issue with him has been mentioned many times, but there is no solution."
Mobius interrupted MEI without hesitation, her gradient snake pupils staring at her.
"Now, it seems we have one more option. She is right there~ isn't she?"