One could say that after obtaining the blueprint, Evernight's objective for this trip was already complete. Heinrich glanced at Ding Lang, then turned back to Evernight and asked, "So, are we leaving now?"
"Eh? You're leaving already?" Just then, the room's door creaked open again. The little girl who had called Ding Lang out earlier poked her head in. She had run around outside for a bit before returning, just in time to overhear Heinrich's question. "I don't know who you are, but the camp is preparing a huge banquet to celebrate the successful activation of the Matrix Module. There's going to be tons of delicious food! Big Sister, Uncle, are you sure you don't want to join?"
Heinrich walked to the window and peered outside. Seeing the blissful expressions on the faces of the people below, a bitter look involuntarily crossed his face.
Evernight replied, "Sorry, we have other matters to attend to. We'll have to skip it this time."
The little girl's face fell slightly with disappointment. "Eh? Really?"
As she spoke, her eyes kept darting toward Evernight. Clearly, this stunningly beautiful woman she'd never seen before held a powerful fascination for her.
After a moment, the little girl finally turned to Ding Lang. "So, so, Doctor, are you done with your important business now? Can you join the banquet?"
Ding Lang picked up a cane from the table and leaned on it. "Coming, coming. Don't rush me, don't rush me."
He then gave a slight nod to Evernight and Heinrich. "Well... I'll leave you two to it. I'm off to join this final banquet."
The little girl couldn't help but pout. "What do you mean, 'final banquet'? The world is saved now! We can have as many banquets as we want in the future!"
Ding Lang chuckled. "I'm getting old. Who knows if I'll even live to see the next one?"
"Then let's have one today!" the girl declared. "And after this one ends, we'll have another one a week later!"
But then she hesitated. "Hmm, maybe that won't work... We need to use most of our resources to rebuild our homes, so we can't just spend them all on banquets. What... what should we do?"
As their voices faded into the distance, Evernight didn't immediately use her Authority to leave the Memory World. Instead, she found a place to sit in the room. She sat with her legs together, her hands resting flat on her pale thighs in a very ladylike posture.
"Let's wait a little longer," she said. "Let them finish their banquet."
Though it seemed pointless, Heinrich agreed without hesitation. He also found a seat and sat quietly, listening to the sounds of laughter and celebration from outside.
Time passed, and soon it was evening. It was hard to imagine that a civilization with such advanced magitech would celebrate by building a massive bonfire of wood. Everyone gathered around it, singing, drinking, and dancing hand in hand.
They waited longer, until late into the night when everyone, exhausted, finally left to return to their homes. Only then did Evernight rise and walk over to Heinrich, placing a hand on his shoulder.
The next second, the two of them appeared out of thin air in mid-air. The surrounding scenery began to fade, like a dissipating dream.
In the sky, the completed Matrix Defense Module—a thousand glittering "stars"—slowly extinguished. On the ground, the civilians who had been walking home, their faces weary yet unable to hide their happiness and joy, all vanished.
The entire world reverted to the ravaged, flesh-covered landscape Evernight had first seen. Witnessing this, Heinrich couldn't help but sigh. "So, fifty years of those ordinary people's efforts... just turned to dust?"
But Evernight narrowed her eyes slightly. After a moment, she said, "No. Their efforts had meaning."
Evernight remembered vividly that the mountain-like flesh masses on the ground should have been alive, pulsing slowly like a heart. But now, as she looked out, all these mountains had ceased their rhythmic movements, as if they had entered a state akin to being brain-dead.
It was still technically alive, but it had forgotten that it was alive.
In the original memory, the Mother of Flesh had conquered this world, occupied it, and spread her flesh across the land. But thanks to Ding Lang in the memory and the relentless efforts of all those ordinary people, the Matrix Defense Module was completed, successfully repelling the Mother of Flesh's invasion.
So, the current situation was this: although the reality hadn't changed—the world remained occupied—the Mother of Flesh had forgotten this fact. In the Outer God's memory, she had never conquered this world. The flesh masses here had been completely forgotten by her!
Abandoned by the Mother Body, these flesh masses had fallen into this half-dead, vegetative state.
After grasping the situation, Heinrich exclaimed in astonishment, "Does this mean this world can no longer serve as a source for the Mother of Flesh's rebirth?!"
It seemed their mission had not only secured two superweapons but had also dismantled one of the Mother of Flesh's resurrection points.
Evernight then teleported Heinrich back to the Magic Ship. For the return journey, however, they wouldn't be sailing back—it was too time-consuming and risky.
Just as Evernight stepped onto the deck, a Century Gate materialized directly above the Magic Ship. A powerful suction force emanated from it, and the entire vessel began to slowly levitate.
Seeing this, Heinrich's eyes widened in astonishment. Having lived in Okhema for some time, he knew about the Holy Maiden's ability, the Century Gate—it was no secret among the city's inhabitants.
The Authority of Passage. At first glance, it seemed neither weak nor particularly strong.
But what Heinrich hadn't expected was that the portal could open here! Was this truly magic?
Evernight calmly explained, "Tribios's portals can open anywhere, as long as we have the destination's coordinates."
Heinrich swallowed hard. "So... we are the coordinates right now?"
As the Magic Ship was slowly drawn into the Century Gate, the two of them returned to the Main World in the blink of an eye, reappearing in an open field outside Okhema City.