As their respective discussions concluded, the two groups gathered together once more.
MEI took the initiative to ask: "So, have you all thought it over?"
Mei said calmly: "First, summarize your plan for us. The information we learned earlier is still a bit scattered."
MEI agreed: "Sure. The core principle of the plan is very simple—no matter what comes next, your primary goal is undoubtedly to return to the original world."
"And for me, I need to find a way for this world bubble to continue existing."
"With that as the premise, there is actually only one reasonable solution."
"We must re-establish a connection between this world bubble and the terminal of the Imaginary Tree, turning this bubble into a true world."
Kiana thought instinctively: "Like… what Durandal did…"
Noticing the change in Kiana's expression, MEI smiled faintly: "It seems you already know this isn't impossible—just rather difficult."
"Of course, before meeting you all, I truly lacked the key starting conditions."
Mei spoke up at this point: "This is exactly where my question lies, Dr. MEI."
"Although you were the one who requested cooperation, after hearing your plan…"
"Are we really so necessary to you?"
"This kind of coincidental development inevitably raises doubts."
MEI said understandingly: "Your point is reasonable."
"When I agreed to let my world bubble become a tool, I obviously couldn't predict your arrival."
"So although it's hard to prove… this truly is an unexpected delight."
"The Herrscher of the Void, and—the Herrscher of Sentience—your authorities have very practical uses for me."
The Herrscher of Sentience said instinctively: "…Hm?"
Clearly, the Herrscher of Sentience hadn't expected this matter to involve her as well.
MEI continued: "To confirm exactly what conditions we possess, I took the liberty of doing some deductions—I hope you won't mind."
"Including the way I mentioned earlier about contacting the original world—that was part of it too."
"…Let's speak frankly."
"This world bubble is an existence that was peeled off from the real world by the Herrscher of the End."
"That Earth above our heads is probably just decoration from outside the domain."
Kiana's eyes narrowed: "Herrscher of the End?"
MEI said slowly: "…Actually, you can see it directly later."
"Of course, just the remains."
Mei's expression also changed: "What?!"
MEI quickly said: "Calm down—seeing is believing…"
"We can discuss the topic of the Herrscher of the End when we can actually see it."
"In short, the Herrscher of the End from the original world created us while destroying the world."
"And the MEI who foresaw this took advantage of the situation, letting the Stigmata Project select suitable targets from it."
Bronya asked puzzledly: "You mean… the MEI from our world found you?"
MEI was momentarily stunned, then explained: "Ah, you misunderstood, Bronya."
"After all, by the time the Stigmata Project truly selected this world bubble, that MEI had already passed away in the original world."
"It was simply because I, as her remnant shadow, inherited most of her thoughts."
"That I was able to quickly reach consensus with her even after her death."
"…Let me put it more clearly: at that time, within this world bubble on the verge of destruction."
"We captured the signal the Stigmata Project used to select tools."
"After a brief discussion, we unanimously decided to actively open our domain to that signal."
"Allowing this world bubble to be captured and solidified by the Stigmata Project in the safest way."
"In other words, to Kevin or others in the original world."
"They merely reaped the result of this world bubble being extremely suitable as a tool—they never had any direct communication with me personally."
Mei said noncommittally: "It sounds a bit like you're trying to distance yourself from any connection to the external World Serpent."
MEI immediately continued: "But by laying everything out clearly like this…"
"For curious people like you, my arrangements become more worthy of trust, don't they?"
"In summary—I used my familiarity with the Stigmata Project to induce it into turning this world bubble into a tool."
"In exchange for the possibility of our own continued existence."
"In the long time that followed, I used my remaining capacity for thought to simulate every possible scenario…"
"And with the help of your Herrscher authorities, we can maximize the optimization of our resource consumption."
"…Please follow me. Once you see the scene over there, you'll naturally understand what I mean."
"…"
Bronya was silent for a moment before saying: "For you, what's useful are the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Sentience."
"In other words, it doesn't matter if Bronya and Mei don't participate?"
MEI admitted: "For the time being, yes."
Bronya immediately said: "Then, can we step away for a little while?"
"When we first reunited with Mei earlier, she said there was something very important she needed to discuss with Bronya alone."
Me…?
Mei was momentarily surprised, then quickly went along: "…Ah, yes, there is something like that."
An excuse to avoid concentrating too much, right?
The thought flashed through her mind. Mei turned to Kiana and said:
"Kiana, since we can't help for the time being, I'll go handle a private matter with Bronya first."
"Don't worry—we'll catch up immediately afterward and regroup with you."
Kiana said instinctively upon hearing this: "Private matter? When did you two…"
Suddenly noticing the looks from Mei and Bronya, a flash of realization sparked in Kiana's brain.
"Ohhh—that thing?"
"I get it—you two hurry back as soon as you can!"
With that, the two groups split off in different directions. Viewers outside the television couldn't help but chuckle.
"I thought Kiana wouldn't catch on—looks like Chong-chong really has gotten smarter!"
"Chong-chong? That black-fan nickname based on paramecium? Single-celled organism, right!"
"Now it's not paramecium anymore—post-Flamescion Kiana is a firefly!"
"Smart and sensible Kiana-bao—makes people both emotional and heartbroken, wuwu."
"Paramecium? Who even came up with that genius idea?"
"…"
No one knew exactly when it started, but building on the black-fan nickname "paramecium,"
"Chong-chong" as an affectionate term quickly rivaled "Kiana-bao," which left the Kiana in the company quite unhappy.
"Kiana-bao is embarrassing enough, but what kind of pet name is Chong-chong?!"
Glancing at the group chat content, Kiana huffed angrily.
Bronya said seriously: "Is it? Bronya thinks it's pretty cute."
With that, Bronya couldn't hold it in anymore—she buried her head in Seele's shoulder, the corners of her mouth refusing to stay down.
"Bro!nya!"
Kiana glared fiercely at Bronya.
Mei said with a light laugh: "Alright, Kiana—it's just fans' nicknames."
"No need to mind it too much—just focus on watching the TV."
Though Kiana was still very unwilling, she could only huff softly and turn her gaze back to the screen.
On the television.
In the plot, Kiana, the Herrscher of Sentience, and MEI encountered an attack by Honkai beasts while on their way.
"This is… Honkai beasts?"
Confirming they weren't Quantum Shadows, Kiana was somewhat surprised.
MEI explained: "Mm. As I said, aside from the world itself possibly vanishing at any moment… we also face threats from Honkai."
"Though not the primary contradiction, it's still a challenge."
Before her words finished, the mere handful of Honkai beasts were swiftly dealt with by Kiana and the Herrscher of Sentience working together.
The latter still had partial Herrscher authority, while the former was no longer the girl from St. Freya.
After proceeding a bit further, MEI stopped and said: "Ah, from here you can see it very clearly."
"Look—there it is, the Herrscher of the End."
The screen panned, revealing a very damaged but still vaguely humanoid stone statue entering view.
Even so, the statue's enormous size still gave off a strange sense of oppression.
The Herrscher of Sentience looked it over for a moment and commented: "Oh, it actually looks kinda legit."
Kiana: "…"
MEI spoke: "However, because this is a world bubble, it doesn't possess true End power."
"That said—if the Herrscher of the End in the original world becomes active again."
"Then this thing might draw some power from it."
Kiana asked: "Then… what if the Stigmata Project succeeds?"
MEI asked strangely in return: "Hm? Don't you know?"
"The Stigmata Project itself relies on the power of the End."
"Otherwise, how could humanity possibly gain the ability to reorganize an entire planet?"
Kiana was stunned: "This…"
MEI continued: "In short, if we don't cooperate with every force we possibly can…"
"This world bubble of ours will definitely have only one path—death."
"But you don't need to sigh over that."
"Being unable to decide one's own fate—that is the true norm in the Sea of Quanta, a destiny from which all illusions cannot escape."
"Alright, enough of these negative topics—after all, we still have very positive things to do."
The three continued moving. After a scene transition, Dr. MEI was already panting from exhaustion.
After finally catching her breath, Dr. MEI turned around and said: "Good—we've arrived."
The Herrscher of Sentience said in surprise: "Hey, you only walked a few more steps…"
MEI smiled faintly: "A dying person is just like this—you'll get used to it."
"Compared to that… the fact that my hair is falling out more and more bothers me far more."
"Alright, back to our main topic."
"One reason Void is indispensable to me is partly because of this."
Kiana looked it over and said hesitantly: "A… rather abnormal bridge?"
"Rather abnormal" was already a very restrained description.
MEI nodded: "Mm. Strictly speaking, re-establishing a connection between the world bubble and the terminal of the Imaginary."
"For this plan, your presences weren't absolutely necessary from the very beginning."
"The initial key was my artificial intelligence Prometheus Number 17."
"Although the current me doesn't know all the details of the plan, she indeed possesses the complete implementation method."
"…"
After a moment of silence, the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help saying: "You—think carefully about what you just said?"
MEI repeated: "Although the current me doesn't know all the details of the plan, she indeed possesses the complete implementation method."
"Before this world bubble completely stagnated, I stored all knowledge related to various plans in her memory bank."
"It's a long-standing habit."
"I handle the creativity, she handles the coordination—that's how we increased work efficiency."
Kiana asked: "But… if that's all…"
MEI continued: "I'm just getting to that point. Actually approaching it might be somewhat dangerous."
With that, Dr. MEI bent down, picked up a small pebble, and tossed it toward the broken bridge.
Clearly, for a researcher like Dr. MEI, arm strength wasn't something to count on.
The pebble flew less than halfway before falling to the ground.
"…"
"…"
Facing the speechless gazes of the Herrscher of Sentience and Kiana, MEI said honestly: "Sorry, this really isn't my strong suit."
Kiana stepped forward: "Let me do it."
This time, Kiana picked up a pebble, and the thrown stone flew to the middle of the bridge.
Then, right before the three's eyes, it vanished into thin air.
Not falling—but literally disappearing.
MEI spoke: "A bit strange, right?"
"Because of the permeation between the world bubble and the original world, the space over there has ceased to exist in a practical sense."
"Although we can see the area on the other side of the bridge with the naked eye, at this moment it is factually another world."
"And unfortunately, Prometheus is currently trapped on that side."
Kiana understood at this point and said calmly: "In other words… what you truly need is the authority of the Herrscher of the Void."
MEI added: "But… given the current situation, to fully utilize that authority, you must obtain Little Sentience's help."
Kiana showed a subtle expression: "Ah, I see."
With that, she turned an expectant gaze toward the Herrscher of Sentience.
Seeing both Kiana and MEI staring at her, the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help saying: "…What are you all looking at me for?"
MEI answered indirectly: "No need to overthink it. As a shadow, I inherently remember the full circumstances of the Stigmata Project."
"Since the executors in the original world have been made clear, speculating on possible courses of action he might take isn't difficult."
"Moreover… he's that Kevin who's best at forcing himself."
Kiana: "…"
Hearing the somewhat emotional tone in MEI's final words, Kiana fell silent for a moment before suddenly feeling a pang of heartache for the Dr. MEI before her.
But Kiana also understood that the current her still lacked the qualification to pity anyone among them.