And just as Lynn infiltrated the Hive's internal network...
Within a vast, empty digital space.
Endless stars studded the heavens. Seven enormous Mechanical Thrones stood at the center of this emptiness, with a massive Round Table between them. In the early days of the ancient Machine Intelligence Civilization, this had represented a balance of power and mutual restraint. But that did not mean they had no King. Rather, it was because there was only one King.
And in the very next moment...
As one Light Curtain after another descended, seven enormous phantoms appeared upon the seven massive Thrones.
Streams of data flowed across their bodies, reflecting the form of their existence. Like all life within the Hive, they too were supreme digital consciousnesses.
[Purification Council]
It had been founded in Hell after the God of Ten Thousand Machines fell.
The sole purpose of their existence was to help the Machine Intelligence Civilization and the Mechanical Church establish themselves and expand within this vast, dark world.
"According to the information transmitted by the Intelligent Brain-our Little Machine Intelligence Princess has exercised the supreme authority granted to her by our God for the first time-from the broader perspective of our civilization's development-this is not necessarily a bad thing-the exercise and application of royal authority inherently signifies growth-domination and autocracy always require the power to dictate life and death-"
"But abusing this eternal royal authority-to interfere with the review of an uploaded consciousness-I do not believe this is what our God wishes to see-"
Images appeared upon the Round Table before them.
What those images displayed...
Was surveillance footage from within the Hive of Silver Fantasy and Little Refrigerator, before and after the upload.
The footage played repeatedly in silence.
Finally, it froze upon Silver Fantasy's gentle eyes.
"She has not disclosed the