Sinking

(Miluno)

Mono stepped into the ball of light.

But as she herself said, this is just a dream from the Past, and our actions will not change anything, nor will walking into the ball of light have any effect.

I tried to analyze the current situation.

"If it's really as you say, then this is your sealed-away memory. Although you can't recall it, it will still reappear in the form of dreams."

I stepped onto the platform in the center of the square, immersing myself in the enormous ball of light. Perhaps it was a dream, but the light didn't feel dazzling.

But just then, a rumbling sound came from beneath their feet.

Unlike an earthquake, this was a regular tremor, more like the operation of some giant mechanism.

"Let's go out and take a look."

I held Mono's hand.

"You can't see anything from here; something might be happening outside."

Look back.

We have returned to the entrance of the Crystal Pyramid.

But the gate, which was previously halfway down, is now almost at ground level and continues to sink. The surrounding area is filled with Natives kneeling in worship. They seem to have foreseen the sinking of the World Center, so no one shows any panic.

"Miluno, although it's just a guess, I know what I am."

The pyramid was still sinking when Mono suddenly spoke.

"If the Star Crystal are the carriers of the Will of the Stars, then those World Center are the carriers of Great Will."

"... And what about you?"

"I may be a small piece of Crystal on this tower, the end of Great Will."

"Do you see yourself as a self-aware Crystal, like Sirius?"

"Don't you find the light emanating from the Great Will familiar? It's almost exactly the same as the light when the Star Crystal transformed... Perhaps this light is the darkness that is now eroding the Earth."

Great Radiance turned into darkness.

He fell into depravity for some reason.

On the Other Side today, the Natives are nowhere to be seen, and Base Body used for production that resemble those of the Natives...

But I can't understand it.

"Why would He abandon His people, whom He cherishes so dearly? Wasn't this ring world an ark He prepared for the Natives? Is that Great Will, once filled with compassion and mercy, now using the Natives as raw materials to create Monster?"

Mono shook his head.

"Don't overthink it. These are just my guesses; I don't know the exact answer either."

The sinking of the Crystal Pyramid has finally stopped. Now, only a few meters of its spire remains above ground, while the rest is buried underground in the Ring World.

The overall light dimmed considerably.

But then, the surrounding buildings began to renovate automatically, and new buildings sprang up like mushrooms after rain in the open space after the World Center.

The buildings in this world seem to have been printed out; there are no traces of construction, and the houses appear out of thin air.

"So the reason they don't build skyscrapers here is because they don't even lay foundations?"

Wouldn't Aldebaran's research tower be a dilapidated building?

Like the end of a movie, the dream was shrouded in darkness, leaving only Mono and me in the end.

Looks like we'll have to go out.

This concludes the presentation.

Consciousness detaches from the dream and begins to return to the surface.

Before even opening her eyes, she noticed that she was still holding the Artificial Crystal in her hand.

At the same time, we understand the situation.

The dream I experienced with Mono was but a fleeting moment in reality.

Mono, having escaped the dream, turned back into its small form and started chattering in my head:

"Look! Miluno, the darkness from those three Simulacrum Factor is overflowing! This Monster is constantly dominated by insane negative emotions. Throwing Artificial Crystal into him at this time is like pouring cold water into a pot of boiling oil—it would be strange if it didn't explode!"

Inside the Monster body, which had swelled into a rubber ball, the Simulacrum Factor exposed by Chris's cutting appeared to be completely enveloped in darkness.

It all looks bad, no wonder even Stratos wasn't confident in making adjustments.

"Then absorb it first, absorb the darkness until it's below what you consider a safe level."

"Oh! Can I eat it?!"

"It's a special case, eat it."

"Yay!"

The small black flame-shaped creature hovered excitedly above my head, then several black hands flew out from my chest, grabbing the three Simulacrum Factor and the Artificial Crystal in my hand, thus devouring all four points of Dark Energy.

"Wow! This is a feast!"

But the rubber ball is healing itself; the regenerative ability brought by the multiple Simulacrum Factor has not disappeared. I must extricate myself as soon as possible, or I will be suffocated by these rubber blocks trapped inside the ball.

"Don't worry! I'm full now and have the energy to protect you!"

The little thing manipulated the darkness once more, creating a safe space for me between the rubber blocks.

"That's about it!"

She plucked off the three Simulacrum Factor, then enveloped me in darkness as I exited the rubber ball.

"Wait, what happens when the Simulacrum Factor is removed from the body?"

"Belch--"

The little thing burped before answering, "Well, biological Monster will definitely die, but this guy looks like a living being, but he's actually a rubber construct. He'll regenerate if you put three Simulacrum Factor together, but he doesn't have the energy to regenerate right now. Let's give him to Stratos to adjust."

For Constructed Monster, are the Simulacrum Factor the true nature of the entity?

I took these Simulacrum Factor and Artificial Crystal and returned them to Ceruno's Bubble Membrane.

Then.

Time began to flow again.

Ceruno blinked as she looked at the empty rubber block in the monitoring room, then at the Simulacrum Factor and Artificial Crystal in my hand.

"Huh? That was fast! You've already got it back?!"

SpiCa asked, "Wait, you didn't kill him, did you?"

Before I could answer, Stratos snatched the simulated Crystal from my hands.

"He's not dead yet! Give me the stuff!"

His palm split open at the same time, and numerous slender tentacles extended from his wrist, inserting into the three Simulacrum Factor and the Artificial Crystal.

It's a bit unsettling to watch; is this how scientists on "the Other Side" conduct their research?

"Miluno, who did you bring back this time?"

SpiCa then had the mind to ask about Stratos.

I pointed to the stream.

"He's his biological father... oh, now I'd probably call him his biological mother."

"Um?!"

The cross-dressing Big Bad Wolf stared wide-eyed at Stratos.

"Yes, she was the former head of the Monster Development Department for Aldebaran, and also your developer. The Supreme Council planned to make her take the blame for your defection, so she transformed herself into a witch and escaped."

"The scientist?"

SpiCa's eyes lit up.

She clearly wouldn't refuse a capable researcher, so she walked towards Stratos with a smile. However, the latter was the kind of workaholic who couldn't stop once he started an experiment, and he showed obvious annoyance at SpiCa's initiative to approach him.

"Don't bother me."

She flicked her tentacles, drawing a magical fence between herself and SpiCa.

Muttering to himself:

"An enhanced soldier created by linking three Simulacrum Factor, tsk, if this little girl can do it, there's no reason why I can't..."

I was wondering why she was so eager to help; it turns out it was because of her competitive spirit—she didn't want to lose to Aldebaran.