Chapter 163

"You mean Ai Yue can sever the threads of fate?"

Mobius could naturally understand what Aponia meant from her words, but that didn't mean she could comprehend it. "But... what about the principle?"

"I have no idea."

Aponia shook her head. "However, the fate of anyone who has a close connection with Ai Yue will change, or even disappear from my sight. Therefore, the key to breaking the deadlock may lie with Ai Yue."

"Looks like I'll have to be the one to rely on."

Ai Yue said with feigned nonchalance, "So be it, it's just a mere thread of fate, nothing to me."

Although he said that, Ai Yue didn't really think that way in his heart.

In the original storyline, severing the threads of fate was something Elysia accomplished only after sacrificing herself. Although Ai Yue has been working hard to save human civilization, he does not believe that his current actions are comparable to the self-sacrifice of a Herrscher.

In other words, the disappearance of the threads of fate in Aponia's eyes may not have been because he severed them, but because they were "obscured" by his own destiny.

After all, Ai Yue was not a local; he was a transmigrator from outside the world. Even if fate truly existed in this world, it would never have taken his appearance into account.

It is precisely because of this that Ai Yue's actions were able to change people's original fate, but such changes are only temporary. Even if the fog that obscures the view can cover the whole world, it will eventually dissipate when the sun comes out.

Even Ai Yue couldn't imagine the power of the Herrscher of Finality, but it was certain that among the powers she possessed, there must be some kind of power that could threaten the entire human civilization. It was precisely through her self-sacrifice that Elysia weakened some of the Herrscher of Finality's powers, thus freeing humanity from the threads of fate.

To understand the underlying principles, he must first unravel the mysteries surrounding Elysia.

Just then, Su asked again, "Besides this, is there any other information on the murals that we should pay attention to?"

Aponia glanced at Ai Yue, then shook her head slightly. "That's all. This is all the information I can decipher at the moment. Perhaps if we hand it over to professionals, they can extract more valuable information."

"In that case, let's end this meeting here."

Ai Yue also came to his senses at this moment, clapped his hands, and made a final announcement, "I will find a time later to report the information we obtained today to Dr. Mei and the United Earth Government. Until then, the content of today's discussion needs to be kept secret, and everyone should not spread it."

After the meeting was adjourned, everyone dispersed. Ai Yue left the hall quickly because he still had to finish up the third-generation Soul Steel project. Sue and Mobius also went to deal with other projects. Pardofelis was drowsy from the tedious content of the meeting and was fast asleep on the table. So, the only people who remained awake in the hall were Eden and Aponia.

The two people who had seen the murals with their own eyes exchanged a glance, as if conveying some kind of message. Aponia, Aponia silently walked out of the research base, and a few seconds after she left, Eden followed her.

The two walked silently on the moon, but in reality, they had already begun to communicate without words through their mental powers.

The first to speak was Aponia: "Thank you."

Faced with such a puzzling expression of gratitude, Eden seemed unsurprised. "Now can you tell me why you did it—what message did the last mural convey that made you choose to destroy it?"

Even Pardofelis didn't know that the mural she saw was actually incomplete. At the end of all the content, there was a special mural whose content was clearly independent of all the previous scenes.

A moment after seeing the mural, Aponia suddenly chose to destroy it, so quickly that even Eden couldn't react.

As an art lover, Eden naturally valued the art left behind by different civilizations. Therefore, she originally wanted to question Aponia's actions, but at the request of her friend, she ultimately chose to help her and kept the matter a secret from everyone.

"Well, you can talk about it now, because Ai Yue does know something after all."

Aponia's tone softened. "You should remember the stars on the mural that represent the thirteen calamities, right?"

"I remember they were painted black, representing misfortune and destruction,"

Eden nodded, then suddenly realized, "Wait, there's also a star on the last mural, but..."

"But it's not black, it's white."

Aponia continued, "If the black stars symbolize the Herrscher who bring disaster to civilization, then what do the white stars represent?"

"Could it be Herrscher of Hope to civilization? But is that even possible?"

Guided by Aponia, Eden arrived at an answer she found somewhat unbelievable, "Even if it's true, the previous civilization has been destroyed, so how can the Herrscher of Hope, reappear..."

She suddenly stopped and looked up at Aponia, who was already standing there, meeting her gaze.

Eden paused for a moment, then finished his sentence: "Our era, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's the most reasonable inference."

Aponia nodded. "So, who is this Herrscher of Hope?"

She seemed to be asking Eden, or perhaps talking to herself.

It was as if she already knew the answer.

Chapter Thirty-Six: What? Ai Yue has a problem?

A Herrscher of humanity who was "recruited" from the original Herrscher group.

This sounds like a dream, but if the content in front of the murals is real, then this one should be no exception.

Eden looked at Aponia for a long while before saying, "Guess who I thought of?"

"Ai Yue, right?"

Aponia smiled, seemingly having anticipated Eden's opinion, "But it can't be his."

"Why?"

Eden countered, "He was indeed Herrscher once, and now he's returned to the human side. No matter how you look at it, he's the one who best fits the mural's description, isn't he?"

Eden's statement is not problematic; in fact, based on the current conditions, it is arguably the most reasonable answer, since only Ai Yue has ever accomplished the feat of Herrscher returning to humanity.

"Of course not."

Aponia said calmly, "Because you've misunderstood a premise. Eden - Ai Yue wasn't Herrscher from the start. He was chosen as a human first, and then became Herrscher."

"If Ai Yue is indeed the special Herrscher mentioned in the mural, then how did the Pre-Civilization confirm his existence?"

"If what you say is true, then previous civilizations must have also had people who could see the threads of fate,"

Eden continued, "In that case, it's quite possible that he could foresee what might happen in the future, isn't it?"

"Most importantly, this also explains why Ai Yue was able to do what other Herrscher couldn't. After all, even among Herrscher of Domination in the tens of thousands, no one has ever broken free from the shackles of Honkai and returned to being human."

"But there are no threads of fate binding Ai Yue,"

As Aponia spoke, she suddenly paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, you know that Ai Yue has always used technological means, which has nothing to do with the powers of Herrscher."

"Perhaps you have a point, but I still cannot rule out the possibility of Ai Yue."

Eden said calmly, "Or do you have even more credible evidence?"

"Actually, whether Ai Yue is the Herrscher mentioned in the mural is not important."

Aponia shook her head. "The important thing is, I want to know how you would approach a Herrscher who might be on humanity's side."

Upon hearing this, Eden pursed his lips, lowered his head slightly, and began to seriously consider it.

Aponia, meanwhile, was "observing" Eden's attitude while pondering the situation.

She had to admit that, although she didn't believe deep down that Ai Yue had any connection with the white shooting star in the mural, she chose to destroy the mural initially to prevent others from questioning Ai Yue's identity like Eden had.

Because she knew very well that once doubt arose, the rift could never be mended. Even if all the high-ranking members of the Moth to Fire chose to believe Ai Yue, what would the United Earth Government do?

It should be understood that the United Earth Government has only just been established, and its internal forces are already complex and in a stage of mutual struggle, unable to achieve complete unity. Therefore, if this news were to leak, it would not only cause great damage to the relationship between Ai Yue and human civilization, but would also create a huge rift within human civilization itself.

This is Tower of Babel Ai Yue and his team painstakingly built, capable of connecting the entire world. Once it collapses, not only will all their previous efforts be in vain, but it may even set us back decades.

Therefore, no matter what, she absolutely could not let this news leak out—her time alone with Eden today was also to ascertain his attitude.

She had considered using the power of the commandments to restrain Eden, but on the one hand, Ai Yue had strictly forbidden her from using this power at will, and on the other hand, Eden was also her friend. No matter what her considerations were, she was unwilling to use this power on Eden.

Therefore, if he really couldn't persuade Eden, he could only leave the problem to Ai Yue to solve.

"If the content of this mural is indeed credible,"

At this moment, Eden finally raised his head and expressed his opinion after considering the outcome. "I am willing to approach this Herrscher with goodwill first."

"Yeah?"

Aponia looked at her friend. "So, what's the reason? Is it just because of this mural?"

Aponia did not believe that a single mural was enough to make Eden make such a choice.

"Of course not, but it is at least an opportunity."

Eden smiled. "Nia, your words have given me a new idea—if this Herrscher really exists, and does not belong to any of the Herrscher we have ever fought, then the fact that her existence has not been discovered until now is enough to prove her position."

Eden was well aware of just how comprehensive the global surveillance network overseen by Prometheus truly was. Its capabilities had already been proven when the Herrscher of Domination appeared, and it had undergone an even more severe test when the truth of the Honkai was revealed. Through its global surveillance, Prometheus had prevented over 30,000 desperate suicides, over 5,000 premeditated riots and conspiracies, and even over 10,000 crimes of passion.

Such a terrifying surveillance network means that the whole world has no privacy in front of Prometheus. If this terrifying surveillance network were in normal times, powerful countries would definitely fight for its management authority for various reasons. But they are dealing with Ai Yue after all, so no one has dared to bring this up until now.

Therefore, if this theoretically existing Herrscher can remain undetected under such a level of surveillance, it means that she is at least harmless to humans. In that case, Eden is naturally willing to treat her with goodwill.

"Also, I want to apologize to you, Nia."

After explaining his reasons, Eden suddenly looked at Aponia, "I wasn't calm enough just now. Now that I think about it carefully, Doctor Ai Yue probably isn't the person described in the mural."

After being reminded by Aponia, Eden realized that it was completely unnecessary to be hostile to this possible Herrscher. After letting go of her initial prejudice, she quickly realized that Ai Yue was probably not the Herrscher described in the mural.

"It seems you have a new idea."

Upon hearing Eden's words, Aponia smiled. "May I ask for the reason?"

"The timing doesn't match."

Eden said, "If we put ourselves in their shoes, and it were our civilization that, after facing a failed fate, wanted to do something for those who come after us, then it would be impossible to choose the Eleventh Herrscher as our target, because it would be far too late."

"That's... something I hadn't thought about."

Aponia was somewhat surprised because she hadn't considered the timing issue. "Indeed, if you want to increase your chances of winning, the best way is to stop it before it even begins."

The destruction caused to civilization by each Herrscher is terrifying. Even the seemingly weakest the First Herrscher, still caused the destruction of half a city. The disasters unleashed by each Herrscher further weaken humanity's ability to fight back. Therefore, the later help arrives, the worse the effect.

If human civilization is doomed before the appearance of the Eleventh Herrscher, then this help would be meaningless.

"Therefore, I guess this Herrscher appeared even earlier than the First Herrscher."

Eden continued, "He is very likely the first Herrscher that humanity will have to face."

"If that's the case, then He might have already grown to a very powerful level."

Aponia nodded, then suddenly looked thoughtful. "Wait, if your guess is correct, then..."

What came to your mind?

Eden pressed further, "Could it be that we already have a suspect?"

"It just suddenly occurred to me that if the shooting stars in the murals weren't just some kind of artistic effect,"

A subtle emotion flickered in Aponia's expression. "Then perhaps I have 'seen' Him."

Eden almost didn't react. "Huh?"

"'On that day, She fell from the sky. The people on earth looked up and saw the stars.'" Aponia suddenly sang a somewhat strange lullaby, "This is a lullaby I used to lull my children to sleep, and it comes from what I witnessed."

"So, you've actually seen a meteor fall to the ground?"

Eden quickly understood what Aponia meant. "When did that happen? Is it really related to what we're discussing?"

"I saw it when I was very, very young. I don't even remember it. It was the nun who raised me who told me about it."

Aponia explained, "As for whether it's related to the content of the mural, I can only say... I was once targeted by Moth to Fire because of this song."

Eden frowned. "Is that so?"

"Yes, Sakura told me that the reason she came to Twilight Street and sought me out was also related to this song."

Aponia nodded. "There must have been someone in the management team who was in charge of issuing this mission, and there should be records in the internal confidential files. If we want to investigate, it shouldn't be difficult."

So, are we going to investigate the truth?

Eden pondered, "Should I tell Doctor Ai Yue and Dr. Mei about this?"

"I do not recommend telling Dr. Mei."

Aponia shook her head. "Dr. Mei's attitude at work is always... too rational. I'm not sure what the consequences would be if I told her this information. As for Ai Yue, although it's just a guess, maybe he knows more than we do."

"If you say that,"

Upon hearing Aponia's thoughts, Eden couldn't help but recall Ai Yue's reaction at the cautious meeting earlier. "He did seem to have a somewhat ambiguous attitude towards the Herrscher. Did he already know about these things?"

"Perhaps we can ask him directly."

Aponia walked back towards the research base. "But no matter what, let's go back first."

"How do you plan to handle this matter?"

Eden continued, "Just tell Doctor Ai Yue, and then leave everything to him to handle?"

"That's my current thinking. After all, I still feel that it's less likely for Ai Yue to make mistakes if he handles it."

Aponia said, "Do you have any other ideas?"