Herta Space Station.
Anaxa looked at Ms. Herta with a determined gaze.
"A faint signal, a coordinate, that's all I need."
Ms. Herta countered, "Anaxagoras, are you sure you truly want to seek Erudition?"
"Why not?" Anaxa, as always, was filled with a lofty self-confidence, "Though I am the embodiment of rationality, rationality itself is born to imitate Erudition."
Ms. Herta was silent for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
A mirror appeared beside her: "Great Ms. Herta, is it finally my turn to appear again?"
Ms. Herta pointed at Anaxa: "Take him to find the mechanical head."
"Ah?" The Fourth Mirror seemed a bit troubled, "Ms., there's only a faint connection now, this is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!"
"It doesn't matter." Anaxa snorted, "Open the door, I will walk through myself."
The Fourth Mirror looked at Ms. Herta, and after receiving her affirmative gaze, it could only obey: "Alright, good luck. Please enter."
The mirror rippled, and a dark passage leading to an unknown dimension opened.
Anaxa stepped in without the slightest hesitation.
He walked towards the only bright red dot in front of him.
Time and space lost their meaning here; absolute silence surrounded him.
His consciousness began to dissipate, his body was digitizing, then constantly overflowing and collapsing.
Tree Garden, Chrysos Heirs, Phainon, Castorice, hyacine... scene after scene of memories, like the last fuel, supported his crumbling form.
Finally, he could no longer hold on, collapsing heavily, his consciousness sinking into darkness.
But the next moment, the red light from the destination spread out, completely enveloping him.
When he regained his senses, he was in a brilliant sea of stars composed of infinite knowledge.
Before him was the Aeon of Erudition, Erudition.
Anaxa stared directly at that unfathomable existence, his tattered body standing ramrod straight.
"Hahaha... So, you too are searching for the unknown, you too want to break free from predetermined fate, right?"
"Do you ever regret... defining 'Erudition' for the universe? Calculating everything, only to arrive at a wrong answer, and the entire universe is heading towards a destructive end because of the answer sheet you submitted."
Anaxa burst into laughter, his laughter filled with the madness and relief suppressed for countless The Power of Years.
"It seems you too are trapped by your own question."
He spread his arms, like a teacher standing before a cosmic podium, about to teach a new lesson to a god.
"Then, let me tell you the correct answer!"
"Erudition, I will plant the seed of 'unknown' in the universe!"
"Hahahahahahaha..."
Anaxa's figure transformed into countless dancing light dots, merging into Erudition's vast and boundless sea of knowledge.
His final consciousness was not pain, but a wild laugh that echoed through the abyss, a laugh filled with endless relief and frenzy, transforming into an uncalculable crack that appeared within Erudition's perfect logical closed-loop.
The seed of the unknown had been sown.
——
At the same time.
The Herta Space Station's hull slowly advanced through the sea of stars, their destination clear, heading directly for Amphoreus's coordinates.
On the bridge, Ms. Herta stared at the data panel before her.
"Is the connection stable?" she asked, her voice a few shades deeper than usual.
"Extremely unstable, Ms." The Fourth Mirror's voice trembled,
"Anaxagoras's signal has completely vanished!"
Ms. Herta did not answer, only a faint smile played on her lips.
It seemed Anaxa must have been very happy before his death!
Just then, alarms blared!
"Warning! Detecting a super-large fleet undergoing warp jump, targeting the same coordinates as us!"
Before the words finished, hundreds of thousands of brilliant lights suddenly ignited in the void outside the hull, like stars born out of nothing, illuminating this silent universe.
One after another, massive Stelle Skiff warships broke through the ripples of the warp jump, golden banners fluttered in the void, and a murderous aura swept through the sea of stars, causing even the Space Station's shields to ripple.
That was the Xianzhou Alliance's fleet!
On the leading flagship, General Feixiao's hand rested on her sword hilt, gazing at Amphoreus, which was enveloped in a data storm in the distance; the sharp blade trembled and hummed with her master's battle intent.
"Feixiao, Amphoreus has arrived." Mo Ze appeared silently beside Feixiao.
Feixiao slung a bladed spear over her shoulder, "Very good, a Lord Ravager is about to be born here!"
General Jing Yuan, standing nearby, scanned the entire fleet, his voice echoing through the formation to every Cloud Knights warship: "Cloud Knights, heed my command! The Astral Express and Phainon are our Xianzhou allies. In this battle, we shall repay their kindness, clear the way for our allies, and glorify The Hunt!"
And at the very center of all the warships.
Stood the stabilizing force of the Xianzhou Alliance, the strongest existence.
Marshal — Hua.
On the bridge of that flagship, a woman in crimson battle armor stood silently, uttering not a word.
Her face was stunningly beautiful, yet carried an undeniable majesty, as if the order of the universe was written by her.
She seemed to sense something, her gaze piercing through the endless void, landing on the Herta Space Station, a faint, meaningful smile playing on her lips.
"An interesting situation." Hua said softly, yet her words contained a power capable of solidifying stars, "The geniuses have also joined the battle."
"Marshal, what do we need to do?" Her adjutant respectfully asked.
"Wait." Hua's gaze returned to Amphoreus, "Wait... for our enemy to break out of their shell!"
At this moment.
Herta Space Station, platform.
Tribbie, Trinnon, Trianne, the three looked at each other, their eyes filled with determination.
Tribbie gently said, "Trianne, Trinnon, this time we must open a Hundred Realms Gate for Phai-Chan, bringing Erudition to Amphoreus."
"Of course!" Trianne puffed out her chest proudly, "Phai-Chan has put so much effort into Amphoreus! I must also work hard!"
Trinnon nodded, softly responding, "This time... it will require the life force of all our avatars to construct coordinates powerful enough to shake an Aeon."
As her words fell, the three of Tribbie stretched out their hands towards Amphoreus's location, and their hands emitted a dazzling light.
In the silent sea of stars, a dazzling teleportation portal opened.
The Cloud Knights on the Xianzhou warships, seeing this scene, all raised their weapons.
At this moment, Hua extended her hand, signaling the generals not to act rashly.
And inside the Space Station.
The three of Tribbie all showed expressions of pain, yet still refused to let go.
"It's not enough... Is it really impossible to transfer an Aeon?"
The next moment, another hand reached out towards the three of Tribbie.
Then two, three, four... until a thousand hands simultaneously pointed at the starry sky.
They were the remaining 997 avatars of Tribios.
They had the same faces, yet represented different emotions and memories.
There were the innocent and carefree, the calm and composed, the gentle as water.
They were the entirety of the concept of "gateway."
There were no words between them, only a shared, resolute thought echoing in all their consciousnesses.
Immediately after.
The first avatar ran out of energy, transforming into a cute doll with a smile, silently falling.
The second, the third... one avatar, before dissipating, had images of laughing and playing with her sisters flash through her mind; another avatar, before her eyes, saw the determination of protecting comrades in battle.
Their figures were like firewood thrown into a furnace, one after another, dedicating everything they had to this magnificent altar.
Each avatar turning into a doll made the light of the Hundred Realms Gate more intense, and the space-time behind the gate twisted beyond recognition, as if the very foundation of the universe was shaking.
And with each disappearing avatar, the coldness of death and the pain of ending would surge like a tide into the depths of all the remaining consciousnesses.
Again and again.
This process would continue for a thousand times.
Tribbie watched this scene, tightening her grip, "We promised, didn't we? To reunite at the end of the fragrant west wind! Ah..."
Intense pain interrupted Tribbie's words.
On the entire platform, only Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon remained.
Trianne had already sensed something, smiling as she looked at Tribbie and Trinnon, "Tribbie, Trinnon, see you tomorrow."
Then it was Trinnon: "Tribbie, see you tomorrow..."
The light of the Hundred Realms Gate reached their peak, dazzling to the point of being unwatchable.
"Just a little more..." Tribbie spoke with difficulty, "Just a little..."
Just then.
Tribios appeared behind Tribbie, "We shall once again, ride the west wind, and spread our wings to journey far!"
Tribbie looked at Tribios, her former self, and in her eyes burned the last, brilliant light, "Everyone... see you tomorrow..."
Thump——
Tribbie transformed into the last doll, falling onto the cold floor.
The entire ground was now completely filled with a thousand dolls.
And in the galaxy, a mighty force surged from the gate, transforming into an invisible chain woven from a thousand lives and memories, piercing through space-time, disregarding distance and laws, directly locking onto a supreme existence in the distant sea of stars.
Within that brilliant Hundred Realms Gate, a majestic figure slowly emerged.
Erudition had appeared...