However, before Rene could even begin his experiment, something happened that caught him completely off guard.
Jakob fell seriously ill.
At this time, Jakob, perhaps because he could not acclimate to the environment, had contracted a disease in the desert and was extremely weak.
If no measures were taken, he might not be able to return to Fontaine.
At this moment, Rene proposed using the power of the Abyss.
Because the records left by the people of Khaenri'ah indicated that the power of the Abyss could be utilized.
He told his idea to his adoptive father, Karl.
Upon hearing this, Karl flew into a rage.
Rene could understand. After all, they had only just recovered from the invasion of the Abyss.
It was normal to have a psychological resistance to this kind of power.
But Rene felt that Jakob's life had to be saved. After all, everyone at the Narzissenkreuz Institute had made a promise…
He wrote in his diary:
[…Fallen into a coma… I think power has no right or wrong. Adults are still too pedantic.]
Rene was so worried about Jakob that he even forgot to eat.
In the end, Rene still secretly used the power of the Abyss.
Jakob regained consciousness.
During the experiment, Rene also obtained relevant data.
According to the documents left by the Khaenri'ah people and this data, it could reverse-engineer the world arithmetic formula.
He couldn't wait to perform the deduction, but the result shocked him greatly.
Fontaine would welcome its second period of rising waters.
And even after that, the entire Teyvat would face destruction.
After multiple repeated deductions and cross-verification with Jakob, Rene finally confirmed his calculation results, as clear as the coin at the bottom of the Lucine Pool.
Faced with the future of destruction, he felt he had to do something.
"We, together with Alain, can definitely prevent the disaster."
[Unfortunately, a variable powerful enough to rival the world was still overlooked]
[Then it has to be me. If that yellow-haired guy's class isn't high enough, then what the hell am I even playing for?]
[For real, directly using the holy sword to knock someone down a rank is acceptable]
At this time, the investigation in the Sumeru Desert was also nearing its end.
On their way back to Fontaine, they passed through the ruins left by the Remuria civilization.
Inside, he once again saw the prophecy of world destruction.
After the rise and fall of nations and the destruction of civilizations, new civilizations would be born. The book called such matters Fortuna.
Although crude, it shared many theoretical similarities with the world arithmetic formula that Rene had deduced and named.
He would assist using the methods of Fortuna.
Rene performed another deduction.
This time the result was even more precise:
[The Beast of the Stars will drink up the world's amniotic fluid, and after that another hundred years. All life on the surface will be wiped out.]
This time, no new civilization would be born.
Unless variables from outside the system were introduced.
If it was the power of the Abyss, perhaps it could…
Thinking this way, Rene and Jakob found the remains of Elynas.
The massive sea beast's corpse lay sprawled across the land of Fontaine.
The pollution it had caused to the land and waters had already been mostly purified and diluted.
As for the giant beast itself, the Fontaine side did not seem to have any good way of handling it.
The two of them just crawled right in through its mouth like that.
The reason they came back to search was because Jakob had sensed remnants of Abyssal power here.
Rene theorized that Elynas's flesh and blood could be used to enhance Jakob's power.
However, this was ultimately just a theory. To ensure safety,
they decided to first obtain safe experimental data through the resources of the Academy of Natural Philosophy before setting specific research goals.
After all, Elynas's flesh and blood was toxic to the human body.
This point had also been mentioned by Elynas himself in the plot.
Jakob felt they did not have that much time to waste.
So, hiding it from Rene, he returned inside Elynas again and began acquiring the power of the Abyss.
Fortunately, he only experienced a slight "rejection reaction."
[Jakob is starting to become brave]
[Because he has seen the end of the world, and they now should only have a human lifespan]
Rene and Alain met by chance.
At this time, Alain had already entered the Academy of Natural Philosophy.
Rene was still carrying the pocket watch that Alain had given him before.
However, after comparing them, they discovered there was already a significant error.
[Is this some kind of hint?]
The two agreed to meet at the academy.
After that, the four members of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo finally reunited.
That day they talked a lot about the Narcissus Cross volunteer work, but most of the time Jakob was crying his eyes out.
Regarding the matter of Abyssal modification, Rene ultimately did not bring it up.
Because Rene still remembered that the person who adopted Alain and Mary-Ann was the one who had once surrounded and killed his and Jakob's parents.
He still could not trust them now.
After that, Alain recommended Rene and Jakob to the academy.
Alain was not worried about whether these two could enter the academy.
While Rene was waiting for the academy's notification, he was not idle either.
He continued experimenting with Jakob using Elynas's flesh and blood.
Until one day, Jakob finally gained the ability to open an Abyssal passage.
Although it could only be maintained for a very short period of time, the Rifthounds still came over, drawn by the scent.
Fortunately, Jakob was strong enough at this point.
While crying, he wiped out all the Rifthounds.
[It feels a bit funny]
[Alas, what a pity. Such an interesting person ended up dying in the end]
[You…]
The notification from the Academy of Natural Philosophy arrived.
After comprehensive consideration, they decided to admit Rene and Jakob and temporarily arrange them in the same laboratory.
At this time, the seniors at the academy were flabbergasted.
Originally, just Alain alone was already more badass than all of them combined.
Now two more Alains had arrived — who could withstand that?
[This shows that the Fontaine people back then didn't know how to slack off yet]
[I've already been slacking for ages]
[Other people are also top-tier. Having a bit of pride is normal]
Being assigned to Alain's laboratory was not a good thing for Rene either.
The experiments he wanted to conduct would definitely be noticed.
However, he currently had no way to obtain the research resources he wanted.
So he simply did not care and became Alain's companion.
He researched the direction of controllable annihilation together with him.
If they could figure out the essence of Abyssal and Profound nature, it should also be very meaningful.
After all, if successful, it could provide energy for Fontaine.
In his spare time, Rene also assessed the level of the people in the institute.
What disappointed him was that there was not a single person here who could be called a genius.
These people were not only stupid but also hostile toward Alain and him.
[Listen to this — is this even human language?]
However, disappointment was disappointment. In order to obtain more power and resources,
he still needed to win these people over.
The changes in Jakob during this period filled him with hope.
As long as more people accepted the baptism of Abyssal power, it would not matter even if they faced the future doomsday.
[This is wanting to take everyone to ascend together]
[Flesh and blood are weak! Mechanical ascension!]