KU-Nana timidly said, "Shorekeeper…?"
"Speaking of which, aside from Shorekeeper, no one else comes to the Haven of the Sprout…"
"In my memory, Shorekeeper has never left this underground."
"Before, she would occasionally come to the Bank of Life and copy a flower to her own 'garden.' But… she hasn't come in a very, very long time."
"…Twenty years, five months, and seventeen days, to be exact."
Rover fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at the white cat Lucian in her arms. "Lucian, how long has it been since we met?"
Lucian: "?"
Lucian shook his head slightly and sighed. "Rover, is this your test for me?"
Rover snorted. "What, can't answer?"
Lucian retorted confidently, "Of course not. I just think our feelings shouldn't be tested with such things!"
KU-Nana, across from them, exclaimed in surprise, "Your feelings? Can a cat and a human have feelings? You guys are playing way too… too wild…"
Rover: "…"
Lucian: "…"
Lucian quickly changed the subject. "Shorekeeper needs to stabilize the system's errors."
KU-Nana mused, "Hmm… so you're here for serious business…"
"System errors…? Then you'll need to go to the Data Center. They say it's where all the data and stars converge. It's been malfunctioning for a while now…"
"During this time, Shorekeeper has been trying to fix it. That might be why she hasn't come to the Haven of the Sprout."
"Since Shorekeeper trusts you, th-then I trust you too."
But right after saying this, KU-Nana looked puzzled. "Strange, why is it just you? From the information KU-Money shared through the Tethys System, there should be another person who always makes KU-Money foot the bill… someone named… Lucian…?"
With that, KU-Nana froze. "W-wait…"
She looked at the white cat in Rover's arms. "This cat… is Lucian?"
White cat Lucian's lips curled into a proud smirk. "What, you got a problem with that?"
KU-Nana quickly shook her head. "N-no… it's not that. I just heard that the bills you send always have tons of food on them. I just wanted to see… who could eat so much…"
Lucian: "?"
Lucian pondered for a moment. "So that's how misunderstandings start. Looks like I'll have to send bills under Abby's name from now on."
Abby: "?"
KU-Nana pointed to a key near the gate. "Use that, and you can open the gate to leave the Bank of Life."
"G-good luck, big brother white cat…"
Lucian: "?"
Rover smiled, patted the cat's head, and used the key to open the gate. Stepping through, they saw two identical KU-Keys arguing.
"I'm telling you, Mr. Lucian is definitely the strongest. Otherwise, how could he create someone exactly like me?"
"No way! The strongest has to be Rover. Why else would Mr. Lucian always listen to her?"
Lucian: "?"
Rover walked up with a smile. "So even two identical people can argue?"
Lucian sighed. "Looks like this ability shouldn't be used carelessly."
"Now we can't tell which one is the real KU-Key."
Rover rubbed her chin. "I think the one saying I'm the strongest is the real KU-Key."
One of the KU-Keys laughed. "No need to worry. I'm the original KU-Key. I can merge it back with myself."
With that, the two KU-Keys glowed with white light and slowly fused into one.
KU-Key said sheepishly, "Thank you so much, Mr. Lucian. Now I can bicker with myself every day."
Lucian: "…You're way too full of life, aren't you?"
KU-Key chuckled. "What can I say? Things at the Black Shores are pretty dull most of the time. It's only when I meet other robots that I get to chat a bit."
"By the way… how did Mr. Lucian turn into a cat? Can you turn me into a cat too?"
Cat Lucian shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I can't turn non-human beings into something else."
KU-Key said regretfully, "What a shame."
"Oh, try this instead. I've gained new powers to help you. Ta-da!"
The sphere under KU-Key's black body suddenly lit up with a golden glow. "In certain spaces underground in the Black Shores, using this device can open a portal to connect two spaces."
Rover, hearing this, directed KU-Key to aim at an area overwritten with data. The area instantly turned into a gate leading to another space.
As they kept opening new spatial portals, KU-Key explained, "Opening portals to different spaces uses the spatial properties of the Sonoro Sphere."
"That's also the root of why the Tethys System can hold near-infinite data—it's like a collection of multiple Sonoro Spheres."
Following KU-Key, they reached the final gate. "Up ahead, you can leave the Haven of the Sprout. We're counting on you!"
The last gate opened, revealing a peculiar scene before their eyes.
In the distance, they could see a massive, glowing, tower-like 'Energy Hub,' with blue and purple lights reflecting off each other, illuminating the vast space in a dazzling display.
In the sky, beams and lines formed geometric patterns, echoing the tower-like 'Energy Hub' nearby.
Shorekeeper's figure suddenly appeared beside them. "This is the true appearance of the Black Shores."
Lucian glanced at Shorekeeper, then wriggled out of Rover's soft embrace and leaped into Shorekeeper's arms.
Rover: "?"
Shorekeeper froze, instinctively catching cat Lucian. He rubbed against her softness, then shivered. "Hiss… so cold…"
Rover's expression darkened. "Lucian, you don't really think cats have nine lives, do you?"
Lucian shrank back and hurriedly returned to Rover's arms.
Shorekeeper, still in the pose of catching cat Lucian, looked somewhat wistful. "Speaking of which, as the computational core of the Tethys System, I must ensure it runs properly, so in theory, I can't leave my post."
"But thanks to Mr. Lucian, just like with KU-Key, you created another copy of me, allowing me to roam outside in a physical form…"
Lucian found this odd. So his past self already had this ability? It seems he really hit the nail on the head back then, reclaiming his own power and everything that belonged to him…
Lucian asked curiously, "If your copy is damaged, would your main body be affected?"
Shorekeeper nodded slightly. "Yes, essentially, the copy and the main body share the same source. If the copy disappears, the main body will too."
Speaking of which, Shorekeeper wasn't truly human at her core, so this ability could indeed be used on her…
Rover looked at the wondrous scene nearby. "I didn't expect the underground to be a starry sky."
Shorekeeper explained, "This place records all the Laments of Solaris—those that have happened, are happening, and will happen."
"Here, the planet's lamentations are the stars in the sky."