In the video, Bronya's extremely poor physical condition was not the greatest crisis.
"The space is shaking…?! Damn it!"
Welt's expression suddenly changed as he sensed the disturbance.
The boulder floating in the air shattered instantly, becoming separated from the other two.
The boulder that fell into the abyss rolled, crumbled, dissolved, and eventually vanished into the chaos, merging with the bottomless, dark tide.
This was a sign that the ground was about to collapse.
If they fell into the dark tide, they would share the same fate as the world bubbles that sank into the sea—forever lost in the Sea of Quanta.
If Seele could not be saved, Bronya would sink with her.
This extremely dangerous situation deeply alarmed those watching from outside the video, making them genuinely fearful for the people within it.
—Suddenly, a figure emerged from the dark tide.
"Einstein, I've found their location."
A calm and unfamiliar female voice spoke.
Although the figure wasn't clearly visible, the moment the voice was heard, Einstein—watching from outside the video—trembled. Tesla, standing beside her, also showed signs of doubt.
"This voice... could it be..."
"...It's Schrödinger."
Einstein calmly spoke the name of the voice's owner.
She had once been their companion—someone from their era—who ultimately sacrificed herself to protect them during a disaster many years ago.
Despite her calm tone, Einstein's eyes betrayed her lingering emotions, revealing that she was far from composed.
With the figure's arrival:
Zzzzz...
The sound of electricity surged everywhere, and Bronya's previously inactive communication device came back to life.
"Bronya, can you hear me?!"
Einstein's voice came through the communicator—steady, but with a hint of anxiety.
"Dr. Einstein…"
Bronya stood up with Seele's help and responded weakly.
"Doctor... we failed..."
"The Serpent took the Gem of Desire... and left the Sea of Quanta..."
Einstein didn't dwell on the bad news. Instead, she made immediate arrangements and urged.
"Don't say anything more! I've activated the Eye of the Deep . You need to return to reality through the nearest channel!"
"Welt is still alive... but he's too far away from us!"
Bronya shared this important information, her voice tinged with hesitation.
"Yang…?"
Einstein, on the other end of the communicator, was clearly surprised.
But she made a quick decision.
"You evacuate first. I'll arrange for someone to cover him!"
"Go now—you must survive!" Her words carried an undeniable command.
At that moment, the image disappeared.
Everyone fell silent.
There was too much information revealed in the footage. Both Mei and Einstein needed time to sort through everything they had just seen.
"In the image, Bronya referred to a man named Kevin as... 'Serpent,'" Mei said, adjusting her glasses with a serious expression.
"Based on earlier discussions, aside from Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, there is also a hidden organization called 'World Serpent.'"
"I believe there must be some connection between the two."
"And judging from the image, it seems Bronya and Mr. Welt's purpose was to prevent this 'Mr. Serpent' from escaping the Sea of Quanta."
"Perhaps the [World Serpent] in the outside world lies dormant precisely because of this Mr. Serpent."
Einstein gave a slight nod in agreement with Mei's deduction. She didn't withhold anything and instead shared a very important piece of information.
"After the Second Eruption, Dr. Tesla and I received a secret message."
"The contents of the message were: A dangerous entity known as the Serpent is imprisoned in the Sea of Quanta. If it escapes, humanity will face a crisis far worse than the Honkai."
"The reason the leader is dormant is because he is recovering from the injuries sustained during the Second Eruption. His goal was to investigate the truth of this information in the Sea of Quanta."
"Based on the video, I believe that at some point in the future, the leader left St. Freya Academy and entered the Sea of Quanta..."
"There, he uncovered the truth behind the warning—and then everything that followed occurred."
"As for what happened next, Dr. Tesla and I will investigate further."
"But right now, we need to figure out something very important."
"...The Gem of Desire ?"
It wasn't Mei, but Theresa, who spoke.
She guessed what Einstein was most concerned about—and it happened to be her own greatest concern as well.
Because based on the conversation in the video, the Gem of Desire—now in Kevin's hands—clearly played a crucial role.
"I don't know much about the Gem of Desire. I only know it's currently housed in the Schicksal Branch in New Zealand."
"And in all the prior discussions, almost nothing was ever mentioned about it."
"Except..."
Theresa hesitated, drawing everyone's attention.
"The Herrscher of Wind—Wendy—who appeared alongside Kiana and the others earlier."
"Wendy was once my student, and the most outstanding young A-rank Valkyrie at Schicksal Headquarters."
Memories flickered in Theresa's eyes.
"Later, there was an experimental project involving the Gem of Desire. It was said that if the experiment succeeded, one could gain great power. I personally recommended Wendy for the project."
"Unfortunately... the experiment failed."
Theresa's expression grew heavy.
"As the test subject, Wendy was placed in a sanatorium in New Zealand and removed from the front lines."
That experiment had ruined her most exceptional student.
And along with her, the future of a Valkyrie with limitless potential was lost.
Einstein didn't comment on this. Instead, she asked about the Herrscher of Wind who had appeared in Bronya's footage.
"But she still became the Herrscher of Wind, didn't she?"
She had not overlooked the Herrscher of Wind in the earlier video. On the contrary, she had etched the images of all four Herrschers into her memory.
Theresa smiled bitterly. "That's exactly what puzzles me."
"A few days ago, I personally contacted the Schicksal branch in New Zealand and asked for Wendy's current status."
"The information I received was no different from before. Wendy is reportedly alive and well, and shows no sign of Herrscher activity."
Upon hearing this, Mei grew thoughtful, her expression turning contemplative.
Then she spoke:
"If the experiment failed in the past and there's no problem now, then Wendy's transformation into a Herrscher must not have occurred in the past or present—but in the future."
"If the Gem of Desire is currently still with Wendy, but ends up in the Sea of Quanta in the future, then something must have happened in between."
"Judging from the video, it seems we cooperated with Anti-Entropy during the battle at Schicksal Headquarters, and that's when Bronya came into contact with Einstein."
"Therefore, this change likely occurred before the battle at Schicksal Headquarters."
"And Wendy probably became the Herrscher of Wind during that period—between now and then."
While Mei continued her analysis, the fifth question suddenly appeared:
[5. May I ask, what was the cause of death of the Herrscher of Wind Wendy in the New Zealand incident?]
[A. Attempted to challenge the three Herrscher reserves and was killed in a direct confrontation]
[B. Was talked to death]
[C. Was defeated by the Titans, became the weakest Herrscher, and was later killed by Cocolia (a weak death)]
[D. Was betrayed and died unjustly]