At the moment the Gatekeeper transformed, a deep rumble came from the depths of the Definition Sea. It was neither a wail nor a roar, but a newborn's first cry—filled with confusion, curiosity, and its first gaze upon the world.
Lin Ye withdrew the hand he had pressed against the embryo's surface. The eight billion stars on his cloak—no, eight billion and one now—shimmered steadily. The final dark red star pulsed quietly at the edge. Its name was "Loneliness."
For the first time on their return journey, Harmonic Leaping Note's fifty layers of harmonics fully unfolded, and she discovered a problem.
"Tuner, the flow rate of the definition reflux is wrong."
Lin Ye did not turn around. His multicolored eyes stared at the uterine wall ahead, which had begun to dissolve. "Speak."
"Although the Gatekeeper has begun returning definitions to every universe, the speed is too slow." Harmonic Leaping Note projected the scan data into everyone's consciousness. "At the current rate, the Iron Curtain Universe will need three hundred eras to fully restore its Definition Sea. The Ember Era is better off, but it will still take fifty eras."
Steel Curtain—the former Iron Curtain Sovereign—walked over from behind. The newly appearing motley colors within his silver-white outline stood out sharply beneath the Definition Sea's faint glow. His voice was no longer arrogant, but carried a practical calmness that was almost cold. "Three hundred eras? My civilization cannot wait that long."
Myriad Faces and Forms spoke from within a shattered mirror. Cracks covered its body, but an intact reflective surface remained at the center. A complex structural diagram emerged upon it—the topology of the connections between the Definition Sea and the various universes.
"I have a proposal," Myriad Faces and Forms said, each word carrying the trembling echo of the mirror.