Chapter 519

"Bronya, you mean... the thoughts of 300,000 people?"

"Yes, that's right. They are the constituent units of the distributed Herrscher Core. They can be said to be both Herrscher of Reason and not Herrscher of Reason. From this perspective, we might think that it is precisely because of this structural similarity that the Stigmata Plan has a much greater impact on the Herrscher of Reason Core than on other cores."

Chapter 401 Awakening

Bronya's thoughts became clearer as she spoke. Perhaps their current situation... was not affected by the Stigmata Plan, but rather trapped in this state by the core of the Herrscher of Reason. If that were the case... then what Yuuto did might have been to take advantage of the situation, stimulate the core of the Herrscher of Reason, and artificially disperse it, making it closer to the way Stigmata exist.

What exactly is this girl saying?

Shen Gonglin and Kiana were both bewildered; they were starting to lose track of Bronya's train of thought. Mei, on the other hand, was still going strong. No wonder several people said she was a girl who could become the Herrscher of Reason. She nodded to Bronya, signaling her to continue. They really needed to figure out the situation.

"Do you remember what Durandal said? In the space directly controlled by the Stigmata Plan, the beings closer to the Stigmata will spontaneously expand it. Although the fixed points in the Imaginary Space, that is, the Herrscher Core, can reverse this expansion, if it is a web composed of many fixed points... perhaps we will be trapped in it like the prey of a spider, unable to move."

What to do? Although Bronya seems to be trying her best to explain the current situation to them, Shen Gonglin and Kiana are completely out of sync with her. In this situation... it feels like they are players who have skipped the game introduction. Don't talk to them about background settings at this time. What you need to do now is tell them where to attack. They just want to go on a killing spree.

"But how do we confirm this? We seem to be lacking some practical angles of approach..."

Kiana looked at Mei for help, urging her to quickly suggest some feasible solutions, otherwise she really didn't know what to do now.

"I think I mentioned before that there was once a Flame-Chasers named Chakravartin who kept destroying the structure of the Elysian Realm itself in order to find the answer to a similar question, but Elysian Realm is, after all, a data space... and according to Bronya, this place..."

This idea was proposed: Elysian Realm is a data space, while this is the real space. Kiana's eyes lit up when she heard this.

"If it were real space, wouldn't we be able to use the power of the Herrscher of the Void to try it out? If this isn't an infinitely expanding maze, but just a fixed net, we could find its weakness."

Kiana finally found a feasible method and raised her hand to express her idea. The idea was indeed correct, but this weakness... wait a minute, could it be that the weakness they encountered was the weakness itself?

"That is indeed possible. If we want to destroy a net, we must target the threads. Although it may be very difficult, Kiana and Shen Gonglin, next time, you might as well use the power of the Herrscher of the Void in these memories and see what you can destroy."

Bronya confirmed Mei's thoughts, and now Shen Gonglin finally understood what he could do. He was almost moved to tears; he could finally do something!

"I understand, but Bronya, I think you should understand that doing something like this might really destroy the memories left behind by the Herrscher of Reason. Even so, is that alright?"

Kiana said in a somewhat heavy tone, thinking that Bronya should also understand the consequences of doing so, that the precious memories left by those who came before might be destroyed in this way.

"Yes. No problem. Rather, Bronya believes in the Herrscher of Herrscher of Reason's resilience. She also believes that this resilience will bring an opportunity to break the status quo. So, if there's a chance, Kiana, Shen Gonglin, go for it."

With the next steps planned, Bronya understood that only by severing ties with the past could she create the future, and she trusted the core of the Herrscher of Reason. Kiana nodded; the rest was up to them.

Continuing their exploration, a phantom reappeared not far away. Mei, who had never seen anything like it before, looked in the direction it had disappeared and tentatively spoke.

"So... that person is Welt Joyce?"

"Yes. Bronya has seen him many times in her dreams. But he never says anything... he just walks quietly on his way, quietly watching Bronya. That's all."

Hmm... Thinking carefully about the scene Bronya described, both Shen Gonglin and Kiana showed rather subtle expressions. This feeling sounded quite terrifying. Bronya often dreams of this kind of situation. This child really has it tough.

Unaware that the other two were already pitying her, Bronya walked ahead, following Joyce's phantom. After walking for a while, she indeed saw the same crystal as before. Sure enough, there were more memories here. Standing before this crystal, Kiana once again confirmed with Bronya.

"So, should we try what we just mentioned to address it?"

"Hmm. But Kiana... is there something that's been bothering you?"

Before taking such action, Bronya needed to eliminate any possible interference. Kiana's condition was not quite right. Apart from the eager Shen Gonglin Mei should have noticed it as well.

"Yes, when we saw Joyce just now, you seemed to have something to say, something that you'd better say now."

"... I'm not quite sure how to express it. From my perspective, the emotions contained in that figure are very complex. He has aspects like Mr. Welt, aspects like the Herrscher of the Void, and even aspects like Sirin. In short, from my perspective... it's not just the power of the Herrscher of Reason."

Kiana honestly expressed her feelings, and neither Bronya nor Mei could offer a good explanation for the situation. And that's why Kiana felt this way in this situation...

"Could it be related to the feathered rabbit?"

"Hmm... that's probably the most likely reason. Yuto's identity is perhaps much more complicated than she claims. Is she really the so-called Stigmata Crystal of Saniyat? What exactly does her statement mean?"

Kiana has always had some doubts about the suddenly appearing World Serpent executive. Even if you say she is the Finality herself, Kiana wouldn't rule out the possibility.

"I see. It seems this is perhaps a game for the brave."

Yes, it is indeed a game for the brave. Bronya reached out and placed her hand on the crystal.

"Get ready, get ready to try our plan, I'm going to unleash this memory."

Chapter 402 More Fragments of Memory

It's really... I never expected it to be so difficult to implement.

After Bronya unlocked that memory, Kiana tried to use her powers to cause destruction, but the results were not as expected. Shen Gonglin had the same problem. It seems that in practice, it was much more difficult than they had anticipated.

This time it's Joachim's memories, and they're quite disorganized.

Kiana, how are you? Are you alright?

Mei supported Kiana, looking at the girl with great concern. From the way Kiana was covering her head, it was clear that this was a heavy burden for her. Meanwhile, Shen Gonglin seemed to be in good condition. Mei and Bronya had reason to believe that this girl had completely forgotten about their plan. She had completely forgotten to use the Herrscher Authority of the Void.

"... Well, I never imagined that mobilizing one's powers within someone else's memories would be so difficult. Sigh, if only the Herrscher of Consciousness were still with us. I finally managed to free my consciousness from the passive state of watching, but as soon as I managed to mobilize my powers, that memory completely vanished."

At this point, Kiana gave Shen Gonglin a resentful look. This guy possessed the abilities of the Herrscher of Consciousness, but after breaking free from the observer mode, he started reading a book with Joachim from her memories. The Happy Prince... What kind of book is that?

"... It's alright, but there really was something there in that instant before reality. Bronya sensed it."

They hadn't originally planned to succeed this time, and the anomaly Bronya sensed confirmed their suspicions: something else existed within that memory, or rather, that something remained undetected until now.

"Could it be... Yuto spying on us?"

Mei considered this possibility, and Bronya nodded in agreement. "I don't know, but if that's the case... when the opportunity arises again, Bronya hopes that Mei will be prepared."

Strategic mastermind Bronya made another arrangement, and Mei understood her meaning: to prepare herself as well...

"Should we capitalize on the openings created by Kiana and Shen Gonglin, and before their memories fade, try to attack them with the power of the Herrscher of Thunder?"

"Of course. In any case, we should force that being to react. Only then will we be able to discover more flaws."

Bronya nodded. It wasn't a good decision to let that being silently watch them. Only by exposing the other party's actions could they take more action, and at least that way, the current situation could be changed.

"Understood, now we must go and find more memories."

Kiana clenched her fist, and at the same time, she pulled Shen Gonglin over and rubbed his face a little harder. This guy has so many powers, so he should be the most suitable person to do this kind of thing, but he just refuses to work, or rather, he is easily distracted by the memories that appear. Can't this guy just obediently listen to orders?

"Yes. Let's be down-to-earth and take it one step at a time."

With renewed spirits, Bronya led the group to explore again. Scattered throughout the area were countless fragments of memories. The girls had intended to follow Joyce's guidance, but before they could even see her, they had already found the crystals that symbolized the fragments of memories. This time, Joyce was nowhere to be found.

"Although the situation is a little different from before, everyone should still be prepared. Now that we have discovered the existence hidden behind the memories... the other side may also notice this and come up with a countermeasure."

Standing before the memory crystal, Bronya turned to tell everyone what to be aware of. Mei and Kiana were both very serious. In short, keep your spirits up and be ready to fight at any time. That's all you need to do.

They nodded to each other, and Bronya reached out and touched the crystal in front of her. A familiar memory unfolded before her... It seemed that this crystal contained her past memories.

"I'm just letting you know, Vladimir is dead."

The old man they had met before spoke up. Shen Gonglin remembered that his name was Maxim, and he was the one who had lived with Bronya before. But who was this Vladimir?

Didn't he finish his work?

In her memory, Bronya asked, "Did I die because I didn't finish my work?" In Bronya's little mind, failing to complete her work meant death.

"Yeah. That idiot, the mortar exploded while he was firing it, and the guy who paid for us this time died too. But at least he died cleanly, unlike that sugar daddy, who was so badly injured he couldn't speak, and could only write on the ground with someone's blood. I thought it was some kind of last message... but it just kept repeating the word 'pain' over and over again. He held on for more than half an hour before he finally breathed his last, it was truly a living hell."

Maxim shook his head as if sighing at the situation; the thought of it was painful. Then, as if remembering something, Maxim spoke to Bronya.

"Bronya, if I ever run into something this unlucky, just have someone shoot me in the head, so your Uncle Maxim won't embarrass himself when he's about to die."

Maxim spoke of this matter with ease, as if death were a simple matter for people like them, and Bronya in his memory also made a solemn promise.

"Bronya's marksmanship is better than anyone else's."

In her memory, little Bronya puffed out her chest and said that she didn't need anyone else; her marksmanship was definitely better than anyone else's. Maxim was speechless at the girl's statement. You didn't have to be so conspicuous.

"That's not the same thing. But... I appreciate your kindness. Come on, Bronya, let's get down to business. Although we didn't make any money this time, we ended up getting another good thing by accident."

Maxim brought out what was behind him, Bronya's eyes lit up immediately. Although she didn't know what it was, she instinctively felt that it would be very useful to her and that she had to learn how to use it.

"How about it? A computer? First time seeing one of these, huh?"

Maxim said with some pride, "With this, Bronya will definitely find it interesting."

Chapter 403 My Savior?

The result was... Bronya didn't even have time to learn anything from the computer before it was destroyed in the fire along with her father's nesting dolls. That's how it always is in Siberia; things just start to look up, only to plunge back into despair. But even so, Bronya felt she couldn't bring herself to hate it. After all, Siberia was her homeland, the place where the story of her motherland once existed.

Bronya was thinking this when she suddenly realized something was wrong. Why was she suddenly able to think so naturally in her memories? She didn't have the abilities of Herrscher of Consciousness, and this feeling... The distant past had been burned to ashes by the flames of magic. At the end of her memories, the girl sensed the uninvited guest. It was this feeling, this being, that had been watching them all along.

Bronya turned around abruptly, and a figure resembling the girl appeared before her.

"Story, that's a very interesting way to put it, Bronya Zaychek. After all, the greatest power of mankind is storytelling."

"That voice... are you Prometheus?"

Upon seeing the figure before her, Bronya, who had seen this being in other World Bubble before, exclaimed its name in surprise. She hadn't expected to see Prometheus here. Could it be the one who had been spying on them all along?

"You can call me by that name. It may seem unbelievable, but if you want to understand Yuto's weaknesses, it will be more beneficial to hear what I just said."

The mechanical girl's attitude remained unchanged, as calm as a machine, and this performance was undoubtedly more efficient.

"Since that's the case... then Bronya will only ask one more question. Your World Bubble, it..."

After they parted ways, they had no idea what had become of that World Bubble. And now, this mechanical girl is here—does that mean...?

"It has still irreversibly disappeared. Dr. Mei is the same; I am merely fortunate enough to be alive temporarily in the form of data. Let's leave this topic here. Dwelling on the past does not help people move towards the future. Especially, according to the information I have just learned... if you still want to resist, or even overthrow, the Stigmata Plan of this world, then the power of the Herrscher of Reason is a cornerstone of it."

Prometheus explained the situation of the previous World Bubble in a very simple way. It seemed that she did not want to say more about this issue. I don't know if she was really heartless or for some other reason... However, what she said now made Bronya very concerned. She did not expect to have such an answer. The Herrscher of Reason is the cornerstone of the overturning of the Stigmata Plan?

"The Herrscher of Reason... is it the cornerstone?"

"That's right, but it's a long story... and it's not good to keep talking about these memories that are hard to describe as pleasant. Let me do a little more with the space you're in."

Bronya didn't know what the girl had done. She felt a moment of dizziness, and when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the past. But now there was only herself and Prometheus. Where were the others... Kiana, Mei, and Shen Gonglin?

"Where did you lead Shen Gonglin and the others by your so-called tricks?"

Bronya's eyes sharpened instantly. The girl raised her hand towards Prometheus. Separated from her teammates in this uncertain environment, Bronya felt very uneasy.

"Using 'them' as a substitute... I feel like your friends will cry. Don't worry, I've customized different escape routes based on each of your Herrscher Core. Trust me, this is a more efficient approach... Don't misunderstand. This doesn't mean any of you are dragging anyone down. It's just that Yuuto has already set her sights on the Herrscher of Reason's powers, so I need to devise some more targeted countermeasures."

He explained his reasons for doing so, stating that it was the most efficient approach at present and a necessary arrangement made in light of the current situation.

"Yu Tu? How do you know so much about her?"

Logically speaking, Prometheus and Feathered Rabbit shouldn't have any interaction, but why does she seem to know so much about Feathered Rabbit now? This makes Bronya suspicious and very strange.

"This is indeed incredible. In conclusion, she cleverly used some of the functions of the Stigmata to allow my calculation system to miraculously transcribe the World Bubble and continue to exist. Since this is not a simple copy of data, I can believe that the me at this moment is the same person as the one who was with Dr. Mei before, and it is not a relationship like that of a prototype and a copy."

Thankfully, Shen Gonglin wasn't here, otherwise he would definitely be completely confused. Bronya was thinking this at the moment. Shen Gonglin might not be very good at this kind of narration, but Bronya could understand it, so from this perspective...

"So, in fact, Yu Tu is your savior?"

"Since I have no intention of repaying her kindness, your description is inaccurate. From her perspective, I am also a member of the so-called new human race, just like you, and enjoy the freedom to act as I please."

She stated her lack of intention to repay the debt of gratitude with such self-righteousness, even though she could be said to have saved her. Prometheus had no intention of repaying her kindness. In Yutu's eyes, she herself wasn't much of a benefactor.

Bronya doesn't believe that scientists would give mice that play maze games any freedom.

This vividly illustrates her current predicament. Freedom? You call this freedom? In Bronya's eyes, this is no different from a cage. Arranging for Shen Gonglin and the others to play a maze game in another place? This makes Bronya unable to trust the person in front of her.

"Alright... I understand how you feel. Indeed, efficiency can't solve all problems. I admit I was a bit too eager for quick results, so for now, let's bring them back to your side. Herrscher of Reason."

The moment she finished speaking, before Bronya could say anything more, the world seemed to undergo a slight distortion. When Bronya came to her senses, her companions were already back beside her, just as they had been before they set off.

"Shen Gonglin, Mei, Kiana, thank goodness, you're back."

Before anyone could figure out what was going on, Bronya, who was reunited with her friends, quickly floated over. Mei and Kiana must be unrelated. Is Shen Gonglin alright?

Chapter 404 The Ability to Narrate

Nothing seemed amiss. After calming Bronya down, Shen Gonglin and the others turned their attention to Prometheus. Why had this girl suddenly appeared? Everyone else seemed fine, so why was she here? Shouldn't she have disappeared along with that World Bubble?

"What are you doing here, Prometheus?"

Mei asked directly, her current situation was really hard for her to understand. Where exactly was this place? And the appearance of Prometheus was also baffling. Even now, Mei still felt like she couldn't control the situation. This situation was really unsettling.

"If you knew exactly where this place is, then the answer to this question would be obvious."

After saying something that left people scratching their heads, Prometheus immediately changed the subject and briefly explained the cause and effect of the incident to Kiana and Mei. Bronya also tried her best to explain the current situation to Shen Gonglin in the simplest language possible. She knew that Prometheus would not understand her explanation, so she had to elaborate on it herself before telling him.

"It's obvious... Since you said that at the beginning of your previous statement, Bronya actually has some guesses. Although this is the moon, it is also inside the Herrscher of Reason Core. Is Bronya right?"

Using her own words to make Shen Gonglin understand clearly, Bronya then looked at Prometheus and made this conjecture. All that had just happened indicated that it was inextricably linked to the core situation of the Herrscher of Reason, so Bronya boldly made this conjecture, and her performance earned Prometheus's nod of approval.

"... Your intuition is quite remarkable. Similar to the World Bubble that Doctor and I had, this place was also temporarily restored to time because of the Stigmata Plan. But the trigger was not the World Serpent, but the unstable core of the Herrscher of Reason."