For Madam Herta and the others, things had taken a turn.
After discovering that the Simulated Universe project had caught the gaze of more than one Aeon, their primary headache shifted.
It was no longer about how to harvest more simulation data, but how to bolster the project's security to a truly safe level.
If this sort of thing kept happening every other day, it would be a nightmare.
But the problem was... trying to wall off the gaze of the Aeons was a task with no clear starting point.
If there were a way, Aha wouldn't have been able to annoy Herta to the point of such utter disdain.
Furthermore, to maintain authenticity, the current Simulated Universe was intentionally linked between the Memoria of the simulation and the Memoria of reality.
This meant that no matter how the firewall was upgraded, a Memoria channel naturally remained between the inside and the outside.
To keep the connection to reality while sealing out the prying eyes of Aeons—even for a genius, such an unreasonable demand felt a bit overwhelming.
On the flip side, attracting the attention of Aeons other than Aha served as side-proof that the research direction of the Simulated Universe was sufficiently unique.
The project clearly held immense value. It was, one might say, a mixed blessing.
While Herta and Screwllum began their brainstorming session, 'Robin' was lost in her own thoughts.
Although today's events had been startlingly abrupt, they weren't without benefit.
A shift had truly occurred within the Path of Harmony.
While not massive, it was as if the heavy resonance of Order had become slightly more distinct.
The key takeaway was a simple fact: the swallowed Order didn't necessarily have to be suppressed by Harmony to the point of never showing its face.
'Robin' didn't yet know what that simulated Ena had been thinking when THEY chose to sacrifice THEMSELVES once more to let that resonance of Order surface.
But she was certain of one thing: it was possible to highlight a specific conceptual part of a Path without tearing the Path itself asunder.
This experience had deepened her understanding of both Harmony and Order, giving her more confidence for what she had to do next.
Still, the problem remained.
How could she broadcast the Harmony through voice alone and ensure its effectiveness, without it being mistaken for the morbidly expansive behavior of the Family?
But even if she wanted to settle down and think, peace was hard to come by.
Such a massive commotion couldn't just be ignored by the various factions.
They weren't about to act like nothing happened—especially those powers tied to these two Paths.
The Glamoth Empire, via the Land of Light, sought to confirm one thing: had the resurrection of the Aeon of Propagation truly been suppressed?
The Family's side was in a bit of a mess. Because they believed solely in the Harmony, any slight tilt of the Path toward Order—even a tiny change—triggered a massive chain reaction for them.
Some within the Family even wanted to mobilize troops and summon Dominicus to Amphoreus to investigate.
The Galaxy Rangers also felt that something had changed within the Harmony.
However, since they identified more with their status as Rangers, the power of Harmony was essentially just a supportive ability to them.
Their reaction was relatively minor.
Still, out of concern, they reached out to both Amphoreus and the Simulated Universe station to get a handle on the situation.
Herta couldn't exactly hide from all this.
For one, almost the entire space station was built on support from the Interastral Peace Corporation.
The process of shutting down and restarting the Simulated Universe was itself a massive drain on resources.
On the other hand, with so many factions stirred up, she couldn't just ignore them all.
So, for the sake of future funding, Herta decided to send out her very own Bai Ming to deal with the various groups sniffing around for news.
As for the details the factions wanted, 'Robin' naturally applied some polish to the story, making the whole ordeal seem a little less like a series of accidents.
Even so, the "polished" version remained thrilling and terrifying.
Once Jade learned the full story, she reported it to Diamond immediately.
"...So you're saying, just an accidental expansion of a Simulated Universe calculation nearly allowed Order and Propagation to truly resurrect?"
Diamond found it hard to believe.
He had always felt he'd never truly "seen" a genius before, but every time some bizarre, massive event involving a genius occurred, he couldn't help but feel he'd underestimated their drive.
There was Irontomb, whose destructive power matched a Lord Ravager just from a copied segment of code.
Then there was the Aeon of Hope, born suddenly hundreds of years ago. And now, two Aeons starting to resurrect without a word of warning.
Jade, on the other end of the comms, also found it absurd.
"According to Madam Herta, this 'accident' was orchestrated and induced by the Aeon of Elation. The Simulated Universe itself wouldn't normally have such a glitch."
"Doesn't that sound even more ridiculous? What exactly has the Simulated Universe project done to deserve an Aeon's personal intervention?"
Diamond felt like heading over there himself to ask a few questions. Jade felt the same.
"Also, regarding that Halovian girl who resolved the Propagation crisis—I met her at the station. She gets along well with several of the geniuses. It's clear she isn't just a temporary member."
"Oh? Not temporary? But recently, aside from that strange #84, it seems no one else has joined that little circle of geniuses."
"Yes. I believe she is worth watching."
Diamond nodded. "Then I'll leave that to you, Jade."
"Understood."
--+--
At the Stellaron Hunters' base.
Kafka was watching the IPC news. The broadcast focused on the ritual to resurrect the Aeons, but Kafka knew that from the start, those two Aeons never stood a chance of a successful return.
The truly important intel—the matter of the Eighth Lord Ravager—remained unknown to the public.
Kafka leaned back on the sofa, glancing at Jingliu, who was also resting.
"Elio says that in the near future, Celenova will bring a new legion and the Eighth Lord Ravager to fight Bai Ming again. Aren't you worried?"
"I have faith in Bai Ming's strength."
"But this time she seems to be just a little girl who sings, relying entirely on outside help to fight. Is it really okay?" Kafka pointed at the screen.
Amidst the towering giants and the swarming insects, the glowing Halovian girl looked completely out of place.
"..."
Jingliu's breathing hitched slightly.
Hearing Kafka put it that way did make her a bit tense, but she merely pursed her lips and spoke again. "I believe in her. And I believe in Elio."
"Mmm-hmm~"
Having joined the Stellaron Hunters not too long ago, Kafka had accepted these two companions.
But because Elio spent every day scratching his head while constantly revising the script, she always lacked that final bit of certainty in his abilities.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL