"Now then, since everyone is here." Seeing the trembling expressions on the faces of his family's elders, Otto looked quite satisfied. "Given how precious every minute is, I suppose there's no need to waste time on opening remarks?"
Thus, in a light tone, Otto announced the theme of the meeting. "Let us seriously discuss how to save the world."
The elders of the Apocalypse family widened their eyes. They had not expected that Otto, using his authority as head of the family to urgently summon them overnight for an important meeting, would be seriously discussing such a... laughable topic.
Save the world? The world was doing just fine. Since when did it need saving?
Did he really think Schicksal was some organization devoted to saving the world? That was merely a religious slogan, a convenient catchphrase to deceive outsiders into serving them. Why was Otto taking it seriously now?
Welt also stared in astonishment. He had been summoned to this meeting for no apparent reason, only to suddenly hear Archbishop Otto declare something so earth-shattering. "Why are we suddenly discussing the survival of the world?"
The greatest catastrophe Welt had ever faced was the Berlin Disaster. But even that enormous calamity... seemed insignificant compared to the survival of the entire world.
Throughout human history, disasters worse than Berlin had occurred countless times. But the extinction of the world—that would mean the end of all human history, perhaps even the end of the world itself.
"Do not be surprised, my dear pen pal. Though... perhaps I am not the most qualified to say this. Professor Planck, would you be willing to explain the current situation to our friends? You wouldn't mind, would you, Professor Planck?"
Otto's tone toward Planck was exceedingly polite. After all, she was the genuine First Herrscher.
"No problem."
Planck then succinctly repeated to everyone what she had once told Vill-V, including the fact that this world had been excluded from the native world's timeline.
Halfway through, Dr. Tesla suddenly slammed the table and shot to her feet.
"What is it, Dr. Tesla?" Otto turned toward her with a bright smile.
Only then did Dr. Tesla realize they were in the middle of a solemn meeting concerning humanity's survival. She swallowed the words that had reached her lips. "Ah—nothing..."
She sat back down, looking somewhat sullen.
You old hag Planck... so you were hiding something this huge from us. I really thought you were beyond saving...
After all, Planck's earlier behavior had not looked like an act. It had seemed as though her body had truly been occupied by the Herrscher consciousness.
If that had been the case, Tesla and Einstein would have had no idea how to bring Planck back. They were scientists, not experts in consciousness.
All this time, Tesla had been deceiving herself, telling herself that Planck was still alive. As long as she was alive, there was hope of reversing everything.
Now Planck had returned to normal and was even revealing that she had secretly been working to save the world. How could Dr. Tesla not be stirred?
Leaving aside Tesla's inner turmoil, the others who had just learned of this news wore various expressions.
The only thing they shared was unconcealed shock. After all, if anyone were told that their world would be finished in two years, who could possibly remain calm?
Like a diligent student, Otto raised his hand high. "Professor Planck, I have a question."
Planck gestured for him to proceed.
Otto folded his hands before him and spoke gravely. "If you were to withdraw the authority of the Herrscher of Reason, would this world accelerate toward destruction?"
Planck shook her head. "No. It is not like a bubble world in the Sea of Quanta."
Sea of Quanta? Bubble world? No one understood those terms at all.
"To be precise, if I withdraw my authority, then two years later the world will restart. It will return to a certain point in the past and begin anew. And so the cycle will continue endlessly."
"Each restart consumes a portion of the world's time interval until it ultimately falls off the timeline entirely, and this world's closed time loop disappears."
Hearing this, Otto froze for a moment. He placed his right hand back on the conference table and lightly tapped it with his index finger. "Restarting the world... I see. No wonder we have been unable to observe any changes. In other words, Professor Planck, you cannot produce any evidence to prove this matter."
That statement was enough to stir conflict. After all, Planck truly could not provide evidence. Even if she showed them her memories, Otto could simply claim they were fabricated.
In fact, if not for Otto's authority, the elders of the Apocalypse family present would already have intended to do exactly that. They were seasoned political players. They could turn black into white with ease, let alone dismiss something this absurd and unsupported.
But Otto smoothly shifted the focus away from whether Planck's words were true. "However, in Schicksal's most recent quantum research, we have indeed observed certain subtle anomalies. These are sufficient to corroborate what you have described."
Fragments of time still contained a Sea of Quanta. Yet compared to a normal Sea of Quanta, the one within these time fragments was like stagnant water. A Sea of Quanta without a future was naturally quite different from a normal one.
In truth, this was a lie. Schicksal's current quantum research still relied heavily on equipment from the Previous Era. It was far from capable of understanding the activity of the Sea of Quanta.
These words merely showcased Schicksal's technological prowess on the surface, allowing Otto to secure greater authority within the meeting.
Of course, Vill-V—who had conducted in-depth research on the Sea of Quanta—knew how amateurish Otto's claim was. But she did not mind Otto presiding over the meeting. Acting as moderator and integrating everyone's views was exhausting work. Since the goal was to save this world, it hardly mattered who chaired the meeting. If Otto insisted on being the host, Vill-V was more than happy to relax.
Hopefully he'll become, like in Houkai Gakuen, a ruthless executioner of the Honkai.
Seeing no one refute him, Otto continued. "Professor Planck, I presume you have been using the authority of the Herrscher of Reason to extend this world's history... am I correct?"
"From the world's perspective, yes," Planck nodded.
Seeing her admit it so openly, Otto burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That is truly a magnificent feat. To single-handedly write the history and future of an entire world—such is the power of the Herrscher of Reason from the Previous Era!"
"Rather than calling you people from the future, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call you... ancient ones from the Previous Era. Am I right, Miss Vill-V?"