'Robin' keenly sensed that the way Herta was looking at her had shifted into something... unsettling.
Even without actively tapping into her perception, she could feel the intensity behind Herta's wandering thoughts.
While she knew Herta wouldn't actually do anything to her, the mere idea of what was brewing in that genius mind was a bit chilling.
"Cough—let's just stick to the matter at hand. We can talk about Fuli's business later, once things have changed."
"..."
Herta stared sharply at 'Robin,' maintaining a heavy silence for a long while before finally speaking.
"You said it. Don't forget."
"Yes, yes, I know. Have I ever lied to you?" 'Robin' replied, moving quickly to bury the topic.
"Anyway, what do you think? Ena actively allowed Xipe to annex THEM. Within the concept of Harmony, unless it's an extreme case of annexation, there shouldn't be a 'devouring' that completely erases the self."
During the Swarm Disaster, it was Order, not Harmony, that had veered into extremism.
So that raised the question: If Harmony hadn't reached that breaking point yet, had Ena's self-awareness truly been extinguished?
Or was it possible that, through some harmonic resonance, Ena's ego was simply slumbering within one of Xipe's three faces?
Herta fell into deep thought over this.
"Hard to say. The fall of an Aeon usually reflects back onto the Path itself, but since Order was swallowed whole, it's impossible to tell the difference."
Mainly, that whole 'Triple-Faced' theory made it impossible not to draw connections.
This point was crucial for 'Robin's' plan.
Her idea was to broadcast certain movements of Harmony that possessed a strong inclination toward Order.
To an ordinary person, the reaction to such music would be negligible.
But if the collective will of ordinary people can influence the purity of a Path, then if these specific movements were spread wide enough and far enough...
Could they shift the inclination of the entire Path of Harmony?
Could they influence the state of The Family, or the situation with the Cancer of All Worlds?
Heck, it might even strengthen the Galaxy Rangers.
If a Galaxy Ranger somehow summoned a phantom double that The Family had never seen before, and that became a recurring trend, it would almost seem as if Xipe tacitly approved of the Rangers' philosophy.
Plus, as the one spreading the music, 'Robin' could harvest a massive amount of Emotional Value from the act.
But the catch remained: if Ena's consciousness hadn't completely merged with Xipe and was merely asleep, would this shift in inclination inadvertently wake them?
Would it force a resurrection of Order?
Even if it was just a slim possibility, she had to rule it out. Neither 'Robin' nor Herta had any intention of bringing Order back to life.
Aside from the fact that they couldn't, Ena might not even want to wake up.
Back then, THEY had even entrusted the stability of the universe to Preservation.
Now, the Interastral Peace Corporation had expanded to the point where they practically dictated the laws of the cosmos.
If Ena, the Aeon of Order, came back now, it would be nothing short of a declaration of war against Preservation.
Even if Qlipoth was willing to hand the reins back over, the IPC wouldn't just change their faith or give up their power for nothing.
A resurrection of Order would, ironically, only bring about chaos and disorder.
Given Ena's personality—someone who preferred self-termination over seeing Order defiled—THEY would likely despise being revived this way.
THEY'D probably turn around and strike down whoever brought them back first.
In short, reviving Ena might be fine for someone like Gopher Wood, who didn't value life, but Herta and 'Robin' weren't about to sacrifice themselves for the sake of Order.
"So, do you want me to try logging in as Ena? Right at the moment Harmony is annexing Order."
'Robin' spoke up, though her tone carried a hint of uncertainty.
Generally, it was a bad idea to log into the Simulated Universe as an Aeon who wasn't technically dead yet. It caused conflicts with the existing Aeon archetype, resulting in a flood of error reports.
But this time was different. The simulated Ena was in the process of dying.
The Paths were already becoming entangled.
On a cosmic scale, you could say Ena was dead. But from an individual perspective, since Harmony hadn't finished the 'digestion,' Ena was still in the middle of dying.
The chance of an error was high.
But if she could catch that exact window, log in as Ena, and keep the simulation running smoothly... she might uncover deeper secrets.
For instance, whether Ena truly vanished or was just sleeping within Harmony.
'Robin' was fearless, but Herta frowned, her voice laced with doubt.
"Setting the error logs aside, projecting your consciousness into an existing Aeon archetype within this current simulation... it's too dangerous."
The problem lay in the high fidelity of this 'textured world.'
These simulated Aeons were so real that Herta sometimes felt they were on the verge of becoming the real thing.
For pure research, that was great. For a risky stunt like this, it turned into a high-stakes gamble.
The success rate was low to begin with. And even if the projection worked, who knew how the simulated Aeon's thoughts might affect her?
To experience the fall of an Aeon firsthand, to feel one's entire self being swallowed...
Especially since Bai Ming was currently in a soul-state, lacking a physical body in this material world to act as an anchor.
If anything went wrong with 'Robin' during the process, Herta would never forgive herself.
"I don't support you taking this risk. There are plenty of ways to research this. We can just run Gopher Wood's plan in the simulation instead of you betting your life."
'Robin' pouted at first, then suddenly grinned. "You're worried about me, aren't you?"
She was met with a heavy, sharp click of the tongue from Herta.
"Tch! Don't bring personal feelings into work! I just think it would be pathetic for someone like you to die in a place like this. If you don't want me laughing at you for the rest of your life, then stay put and listen."
"..."
If you're worried, just say you're worried. Why the tsundere act? Don't you know that's out of style?
'Robin' made a face. She knew Herta wasn't entirely lying—the woman definitely cared, but she'd also definitely spend the rest of her life mocking her.
Herta might even spend countless Amber Eras trying to resurrect her just so she could laugh at her to her face.
She shook her head to clear the strange mental image. After savoring the data from Harmony's annexation of Order, 'Robin' finally exited the Simulated Universe.
"So, the next experiment is the revival of Order? We'll set the time and place to present-day Penacony, and for the variable, we'll throw in my Swarm."
She adjusted the timeline of the Simulated Universe to current Penacony.
Since Gopher Wood couldn't actually control the Swarm, she'd just use the Memory Swarm under her own command to make things easier.
That way, she could dive in from the perspective of the Swarm King and see for herself.
Would the final result of this resurrection be Ena, or just one of Xipe's many faces?
Reflecting on what she'd seen today, the original history seemed even stranger.
When Ena was on the verge of reviving, Xipe had even graciously shown up to watch the ceremony. That attitude felt incredibly bold, as if Xipe wasn't worried at all about Order being torn away.
Was it because Xipe didn't care, or because separation was simply impossible?
One couldn't argue that from the perspective of Harmony—which seeks to encompass all—Xipe would even embrace the act of 'trying to tear the Path of Harmony apart.'
What would that even be? Splitting because of inclusivity?
If so, Harmony would eventually face a self-destructive end, wouldn't it?
By taking in too much irreconcilable noise, the entire symphony would eventually collapse.
To accept everything is to accept nothing.
To love everyone is to love no one.
Then again... could the spread of the Cancer of All Worlds be seen as Harmony's own slow disintegration?
Or, from another angle, has Harmony progressed to the point of wanting to pull the entire universe into itself, using Stellaron expansion to blanket the cosmos?
As her thoughts drifted, 'Robin' found the ideas increasingly absurd. Yet, they weren't entirely impossible.
Whatever. Thinking wouldn't give her the answers; she needed the experiment.
She would experience the power of Order more deeply, then use Robin's talent to compose a movement of Harmony that would truly resonate.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL