Not far from The Blue star system lay the Three-Body star system, a world of extreme climates under the orbit of three suns. Amid the harsh conditions, a withered, gaunt Three-Body person stopped mining, panting as he lifted his head and gazed into the distant starry sky, thinking:
I saw my coworker who died of overwork yesterday. Was that just a hallucination caused by exhaustion?
But when he talked about the Warp that one can only enter after death, the certainty in his tone was incredibly tempting. More importantly, according to him, the Warp was created by Miss Herta!
No, I have to ask little Miss Herta about this.
After thinking this through, the Three-Body miner waited until the end of his shift, then sought out the Herta puppet stationed in the Three-Body star system and knocked on the door.
The Herta 33 stationed in the Three-Body star system called out from inside the room, "Who is it?"
"I'm a local employee hired by the IPC on the Three-Body planet, mining in Area 88. My ID is 1379."
Herta 33 opened the door and looked at the frail, dust-covered Three-Body person before her. "You're looking for me—have you made some new discovery? For example, an unknown material on the Three-Body planet?"
The Three-Body person numbered 1379 asked cautiously, "Neither. I just want to ask... is the Warp and psionic power real?"
"The Warp? Psionic power?"
Herta 33 showed a puzzled expression.
"You don't know? Was everything just a hallucination from overwork?" The Three-Body miner numbered 1379 gave a bitter smile. "So there really is no afterlife—the Warp—and no psionic power."
"What are you talking about? Tell me everything carefully, 1379." Herta 33 frowned slightly, clearly intent on getting to the bottom of it.
"Well, it's like this..."
After listening, Herta 33's power core vibrated slightly.
Madam Herta has made another new invention?
That's right. Previously, Madam Herta used us—used the Hertas—to absorb emotional energy... it was probably for creating a dimension called the Warp.
Thinking this, Herta 33 sent a query into the Stigmata Space to confirm with Stigmata Herta whether the Warp and psionics were real.
"Yes."
Stigmata Herta raised a hand and adjusted her pointed hat. "Madam Herta made further progress on the path of research. This is what it means to be someone without limits!"
Herta 33 sighed in admiration. "Madam Herta is unparalleled in the world, breathtakingly beautiful, and supremely intelligent!"
At this moment, Stigmata Herta seemed to recall something and seriously reminded her, "Actually, you have already become one of Herta's nodes in the real world connected to the Warp. If you wish, you can sense the Warp—and even perceive the projection of Miss Herta's true soul within it."
Hearing this, Herta 33 withdrew her consciousness from the Stigmata Space and carefully began to sense. Very quickly, she discovered that besides perceiving the Dark Plane dimension, she could also perceive a newly born, entirely fresh dimension.
Her data tendrils extended into it. Soon, she sensed countless strands of emotional energy filling the space. But that was not the key. The key was that at the center of the Warp, there was a black sun.
The moment she saw that sun, Herta 33 confirmed it—this was Miss Herta's soul projection. She could not help but sigh inwardly:
How grand... how magnificent...
After a long while, Herta withdrew her consciousness from the Warp, opened her eyes, and heard the Three-Body miner ask cautiously, "Well, Miss Herta... do the Warp and psionic power really exist?"
"They exist. The great Madam Herta has truly opened that afterlife world. Of course, you can only go there after death. And yes, psionic power exists as well."
"So what my coworker told me wasn't a hallucination!!" The Three-Body miner numbered 1379 was overjoyed. He bowed deeply to Herta and said, "Thank you for informing me, Miss Herta. I'll take my leave."
After speaking, 1379 hurried away.
Herta 33, however, felt puzzled. After confirming the existence of the Warp, why was 1379 so excited? Didn't she just say you could only go there after death?
Wait... after death...
Herta 33 suddenly realized something. Without hesitation, she activated Super Gene · Eye of Insight. Then she saw 1379 smash his own head with a mining pick, committing suicide.
Herta 33 was stunned, confusion arising within her:
Life is so precious... why would 1379 choose to end it? Incomprehensible.
At that moment, an IPC employee stationed on the Three-Body planet ran over, wailing, "It's over... another one killed himself. This month's mining output is going to fall short, damn it."
Herta asked, "Have many Three-Body miners committed suicide recently?"
"Oh, Miss Herta." The employee showed a respectful expression. "More accurately, a lot of them killed themselves today. According to the IPC's intel, before committing suicide, they all said they met their deceased coworkers."
"I think they've developed some highly contagious mental illness from working too long... or maybe a memetic effect. I need to report this to upper management!"
"Goodbye, Miss Herta!"
The employee hurried off.
Hearing this, Herta conducted a thorough scan of the Three-Body star system using the power of the super astral computer. She found no trace of the supposed external memetic contamination. What she did find was that every miner living in the system was subjected to relentless exposure under the scorching suns, their working conditions extremely harsh.
Although the Three-Body people now had the Honkai Beast Parvati to regulate temperature, Parvati only operated while they were working in the mining zones. After all, Honkai Beasts were IPC assets with strictly regulated usage time.
Herta 33 carefully computed using the Herta computer and arrived at a possibility:
Perhaps the reason these Three-Body people were committing suicide one after another was not due to external memetic contamination, but because life in the mining zones was simply too unbearable.
More importantly, through meeting their coworkers, they had confirmed that death did not lead to nothingness. Instead, one could live a somewhat easier existence in the Warp.
And so, the Three-Body people chose to return their souls to the Warp, casting themselves toward the black sun—the ruler of the Warp, Herta...
After reaching this conclusion, Herta 33 chased after the IPC employee who had just left, informing him about the Warp and urging the IPC to treat the Three-Body people better and provide improved working conditions.
"..."
The Interastral Peace Corporation employee stationed on the Three-Body planet froze in place. He had never imagined that the reason the Three-Body people were committing suicide was because Miss Herta—millions of light-years away—had created a world after death: the Warp.
Perhaps... it was time to implement more humane management for the Three-Body people—improving their working conditions, even reducing working hours. Only then could the wave of suicides be curbed.
After reaching this conclusion, the employee thanked Herta 33, then hurried off to file a report to higher management.
...
And beyond The Blue and the Three-Body star systems, many other worlds across the cosmos had also begun to receive information about the afterlife world—the Warp—psionic power, and even Herta, the ruler of the Warp.
Some people had already uploaded this information to the interastral network, drawing the attention of a portion of netizens.
Of course, the vast majority dismissed it as nonsense.
After all, creating a world after death—a dimension where souls could continue to exist—was clearly something only an Aeon could accomplish!
Herta, who had only joined the Genius Society less than two months ago, was essentially still a newcomer on the Path of Erudition. How could she possibly create such a miracle?
However, a portion of individuals took the information about Herta very seriously—people like Screwllum and Diamond... They understood what kind of person Herta was. They knew the extent of her terrifying genius.
Thus, upon seeing the news, they truly believed that Herta had created a world after death—the Warp.
For example, Diamond had already assigned Jade a new task: to investigate whether the new dimension called the Warp, created by Herta, could truly accommodate souls. In addition, she was to determine whether the overwhelming power that manipulated the sun and moon was generated through psionics.
At this moment, Diamond even suspected that the energy fluctuations—originating from The Blue star system and affecting a million galaxies—were caused by Herta researching this so-called Warp technology!
Meanwhile, Screwllum had already boarded the Screwllum vessel and set off. He was extremely eager to know:
Whether the Warp created by Herta could accommodate souls—and what kinds of souls it could contain.
—If mechanical consciousnesses could be accommodated... or rather, whether machines even possessed souls at all.
The answer to this question was crucial for the Intellitron race.
...
At the edge of The Blue star system, Jade arrived in the region where Herta was located and formally requested an audience.
Herman, who had originally been preparing to display his skills—planning to use psionics within the Warp to play a kind of construction game, improving the Warp and providing better living conditions for the souls after death—paused his actions. Then he stepped forward and, through a wormhole transfer, arrived before Jade.
"Why so formal, Jade? You assisted me in the Yongmei Star System. And every time I place an order for research materials, you always respond immediately."
Herman smiled. "Since you've come to see me this time, just say whatever you need."
Jade spoke calmly, "It's like this. Your recent research experiment has been on an enormous scale—it has affected a million galaxies. More importantly, just now my superior, Diamond, head of the Strategic Investment Department, along with employees from dozens of worlds, relayed a piece of information... that you, Herta, have created a world after death. Is that true?"
"It's true."
Herman nodded slightly.
Jade's pupils trembled violently. "So it really is true. After crowning yourself as an Emanator of Erudition in the Yongmei Star System... have you begun advancing toward a higher level—toward Aeonhood?"
"If it's you... perhaps it really is possible..."
"Still far from it." Herman shook his head slightly. Then he waved his hand, opening a gateway to the Warp so Jade could see its interior. "The Warp I created is not truly a complete afterlife world. If souls remain here for too long, they will be infected by the countless emotional energies and gradually mutate."
"Hmm... to put it in terms you can understand, it's like mara. Prolonged exposure to the chaotic emotions of the Warp will throw their thoughts into disorder—into madness."
"How long would it take for souls to be affected by the Warp and descend into chaos?" Jade asked, her gaze fixed on the Warp.
Herman did not answer immediately. He turned his head, carefully observing the Warp—where, under an unseen influence of equilibrium, positive and negative emotional energies were gradually separating. Using his appraisal ability, he evaluated the degree of erosion these energies had on the souls entering the Warp, then said to Jade:
"Roughly a few decades. After several decades, those souls will be completely altered by the surging emotional energies—their personalities and cognition rewritten... like suffering from mara, losing themselves entirely."
"A few decades... that's practically living a second life." Jade revealed a somewhat speechless expression. "For most ordinary people in this world—those who have not received the blessing of an Aeon or walked a Path... being able to live another life in the Warp is an immense blessing."
"Not long ago, reports from grassroots IPC employees mentioned that in the Three-Body star system, a group of people have already chosen to commit suicide to embrace the Warp—believing they will find a better life after death."
The Three-Body star system?
Herman thought about it carefully and found Jade's words reasonable.
After all, survival in the Three-Body world was extremely difficult... the environment was far too harsh. Under the constant "care" of three suns, every single day was torment for the Three-Body people.
Compared to living like that, perhaps dying and entering the Warp as a soul truly was a form of happiness.
With this thought, Herman said to Jade, "The Three-Body star system is a special case. Its environment is simply too extreme. Most people in other star systems still wish to live out their natural lifespan."
"As for living a second life in the Warp after death, there are currently limitations. The coverage is restricted to dozens of galaxies, including The Blue and the Three-Body galaxy... As for people from other galaxies, the Warp cannot yet receive their souls upon death."
Jade asked seriously, "Is there a limit to how many souls the Warp can contain?"
"To some extent, yes. For now, the Warp can only guide in souls from these dozens of galaxies. In the future, as the Warp continues to grow and develop under my control—covering more regions—it may be able to receive more souls."
After saying this, Herman added, "And in my view, the Warp is not a perfect afterlife world. A truly perfect afterlife would allow beings to live a second life as souls for a very long time—without being twisted by emotions or falling into mara..."
"—In the future, I will build such a world."
As Herman finished speaking, a confident expression appeared on his face.
He believed that Herta could use the Warp as a platform to research and eventually create a true afterlife world—a post-death dimension: the Soul Society.
Hearing Herta's confidence, Jade took a deep breath and said seriously, "If it's you, Herta... perhaps you really can achieve it. And just now, I thought of a rather special way we could cooperate."
Herman blinked. "Let's hear it."
Jade said, "the IPC will take the lead in launching a super retirement project across the dozens of galaxies that the Warp can currently receive."
"As the name suggests, we promote the Warp—advertise to the public that the Warp created by you, Herta, allows people to live a second life after death! This will attract countless beings across the cosmos who wish to live a second life in the afterlife. They will spend Credits... to come to these star systems for retirement and vacation."
"If they happen to die within the designated time, they can then enter the Warp and live a second life."
Herman asked, "And if they don't die?"
Jade replied, "They can continue paying Credits to stay, or the IPC will arrange for them to leave."
After saying this, Jade silently added in her heart:
Of course, they could also choose euthanasia... the Interastral Peace Corporation already provides such services internally.
After all, as long as they die within the designated time, they can enter the Warp as souls and gain a second post-death life.
With this thought, Jade asked whether Herta was willing to cooperate.
"Yes, we can cooperate. For the specific contract details, discuss them with Pearl. Pearl is currently at the Penacony Reverie Company."
"That's wonderful. I'll immediately dispatch someone to Penacony Reverie Company to meet Pearl."
A smile appeared on Jade's face. Then, as if recalling something, her expression turned serious as she asked Herta, "By the way, Miss Herta, I have another question... are you attempting to open a new Path?"
Herman was taken aback. "Why would you ask that?"
Jade replied seriously, "Recently, a report from IPC employees mentioned that many souls who entered the Warp are able to use psionic energy to contact people still alive in the real world. So this so-called psionic energy—could it be the power you've condensed while attempting to open a new Path?"
"That's not the case." Herman chuckled and shook his head. "Psionic energy is fundamentally very different from Path energy. Its essence is the conversion of emotional energy. As long as one masters the formula and has the aptitude, psionic power can be condensed."
"For now, only within the Warp is there enough emotional energy to gather and form psionics."
"As for the real world, there isn't enough emotional energy. It's impossible to cultivate psionics there."
At this point, Herman silently added in his heart:
Within this Honkai cosmos, the statuses, concepts, and primal forces of the Four Gods had already been occupied by the Aeons.
In a sense, emotional energy already has owners—and those owners are the Aeons.
The concept of joy belongs to Aha of Elation. The concept of love belongs to Idrila of Beauty. The concept of empathy and resonance belongs to Xipe of Harmony. The concept of revenge and hatred belongs to Lan of The Hunt. The longing for immortality belongs to Yaoshi of Abundance...
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that once emotional energy was generated, it would dissipate and vanish.
—Under such circumstances, even if the psionic system were introduced into the real world, psionic users would not be able to absorb large amounts of emotional energy to grow rapidly.
After all, aside from Herta, no one else had the means to collect emotional energy on a massive scale.
And the reason Herta could do so... was because she was the creator of the Warp—the ruler of the Warp.