All Beings — Joy spoke first.We are memory spirits summoned by the Remembrance Envoy, the Listening Saintess Shi.We are incarnations of the Seven Emotions.We are not true lifeforms.Therefore, death does not exist for us.
All Beings — Anger continued.Earlier, we did indeed attempt to create confusion in order to delay you.But this time, we are not here to stop you.
All Beings — Sorrow said quietly:Right now, Sanjian Heaven is in chaos.There are no spare forces available.Nearly all personnel of the Garden of Recollection have been dispatched to suppress the loss of memory essence.
Clearly, Screwllum had already begun his part of the plan.Faced with losses on that scale, the Garden of Recollection could not remain idle.Screwllum and Lin Yi—the two professional troublemakers—had already turned the Garden upside down.
All Beings — Joy spoke again.The Garden of Recollection has no time to send reinforcements.And you have already reached this depth.With only us here, we cannot stop an Envoy of Erudition.
Herta replied coldly,Stop wasting words.If you're not here to stop me, then what do you want?Don't tell me you plan to simply let me take whatever I please.
All Beings — Sorrow answered:Yes.Take whatever you want.But you cannot take the original memories.Memories can be replicated.We hope you will take the copies and leave the originals behind.Madam Herta, what you require is only the information contained within them, is it not?
But Herta was far too experienced to be fooled by something so simple.She smiled faintly.
Well.That sounds like a happy ending for everyone.Let's do it that way.
Hearing her agree, the seven spirits visibly relaxed.They stepped forward and began helping Herta extract and duplicate the memories.
The Fourth Mirror whispered quietly beside her.My great master, they are stalling for time.The current chaos in Sanjian Heaven is your best opportunity.
Herta answered flatly.I know.Less chatter.
While Herta's side appeared peaceful, an accident had already occurred on Screwllum's side.
Several of the toilet-like extraction machines suddenly jammed and broke down, as though they had swallowed something they were never meant to process.The memory essence stored within them burst outward like a flood.
Unfortunately, a Remembrancer who had just arrived to sabotage one of the machines was struck head-on.
Remembrancer:...
He was so stunned that he forgot to run.Even if he had tried, it would have made no difference.
A tsunami of memory essence like this could block the memory pathways Remembrancers relied upon for movement.
For ordinary people, such a wave would only cause extreme drowsiness, unstable thoughts, or confused memories.At worst, the brain would be overwhelmed by information and collapse into madness.
But for Remembrancers—It was fatal.
He became the first casualty of the entire incident.
When he finally regained awareness, he raised his middle finger toward the sky one last time.Then he was gone.
In a way, it was proof of the resilience of Remembrancers.After all the chaos unleashed by the gathered geniuses, only one of them had died so far.
Screwllum began inspecting the malfunctioning machines one by one.
If the Garden of Recollection had destroyed them, that would have been normal.He would not have bothered checking.But this situation was different.
He picked up a metal fragment.
Question: Why would a solid object exist within the sea of memory essence in Sanjian Heaven?Insufficient information.Continue salvage operations.
Soon, he discovered a damaged cooking pot.
Screwllum placed the fragment beside it.They fit perfectly.
Accessing database.Comparison complete.It contains abundant Trailblaze Path energy.Is this an object from the Astral Express?Beginning temporal trace analysis.Conclusion: Too ancient.After prolonged erosion and sedimentation within memory essence, precise analysis is impossible.Assessment: High unknown research value.Worth preserving.Unexpected gain.
Screwllum collected the remaining fragments and stored the damaged pot.Then he moved on to the next broken machine.
He suddenly paused.
Suspected biological tissue?Remembrancers of the Garden of Recollection possess no physical bodies.What is this?
This time he had found a tiny piece of organic matter.It contained a fragment of shell and flesh.Extremely small—No larger than one section of Screwllum's finger.
Running preliminary comparison.This sample contains extremely strong Propagation Path energy.The energy level far exceeds the pot discovered earlier.
Then suddenly—
Warning. Error. ###This tissue is suspected to originate from the divine remains of the Aeon of Propagation — Tayzzyronth.
Screwllum had no time to consider why the remains of the Aeon of Propagation would appear inside the domain of Fuli.
He immediately severed all connections with the fragment.He denied that it belonged to the identity known as Screwllum.
The instant the connection was cut—
Every atomic-scale intelligent machine composing that particular Screwllum body transformed into insects.
They screamed, swarmed around the divine fragment, then abruptly seemed to sense something.Carrying the fragment, they flew in a single direction.Toward Ruan Mei.
Everything happened too quickly.Screwllum had no chance to stop them.
Different people specialized in different fields.If Ruan Mei had been present, she would have recognized the object immediately.Then none of this would have happened.
Screwllum felt lingering unease.But another thought intrigued him.
Why did the concept of swarm collectivism from the Path of Propagation feel strangely compatible with mechanical lifeforms?
However—The concept of swarm no longer belonged solely to Propagation.
What had just occurred was merely the divine remains of Tayzzyronth instinctively triggering that concept.
A swarm of Harmony...
Screwllum wanted to study it.
Recording new research objective.Priority level: second only to the goal of mutual understanding and coexistence between organic and inorganic life.
He continued thinking.
Unfinished matters of Kasbelinyat...Conclusion: Priority of Penacony increased.
Screwllum did not know where the insects had gone.
Though he wanted to pursue them, his duty here was to create chaos and hold the Garden of Recollection's attention.
Screwllum was a responsible being.So he let them go.
He could not leave anyway—And the swarm would create even more chaos.
He carefully stored the remaining Propagation fragments in precision instruments.Then he resumed inspecting the other abnormalities.
Now he was very interested in what other trash he might discover.
While Screwllum happily scavenged for garbage, Lin Yi suddenly sensed a shift in the flow of memory essence.
A massive reverse tidal wave was forming.
He misjudged the situation.He assumed Screwllum's machines had been completely destroyed, and that the enemy was about to reverse the momentum.The robbery might soon be over.
So Lin Yi set his sights on a crystal embedded in the center of the Floating Corridor of Memory.
It radiated dazzling light.
If he had not caused destruction on such a scale, the object would never have been exposed.
Lin Yi sighed inwardly.
Somehow... I ended up confronting Xipe.That wasn't in my original plan.How did this turn into a situation where every genius wants to steal Xipe's property?