Herta was clearly dissatisfied with Bai Ming's attitude.
After all, what kind of genius would pay so much attention to the ramblings of a charlatan?
It was practically like saying she didn't trust her own brain to solve the problem and needed to lean on prophecies just to feel confident.
"You're going to ask Elio about something like this too?"
"It's called being cautious."
It wasn't that Bai Ming couldn't guess why Herta was talking like that.
However, she felt she lacked that specific brand of "madness" common to geniuses. Besides, asking didn't cost anything, and she might even dig up some interesting intel.
Moreover, she harbored her own curiosity regarding the Aeons.
For instance, she wondered what the third face of Harmony was, and if it were truly possible for the Order side of things to become the dominant aspect.
While she spoke of worry, deep down, she was actually looking forward to seeing what kind of Eighth Lord Ravager Nanook could forge.
Propagation is easy to find, and Remembrance is easy to find, but the intersection of the two... currently, the only existing Swarm of that nature was the one in her hands.
Nanook wouldn't go as far as to snatch someone from her, would THEY?
"Since when did you become so cautious? You're acting like a different person," Herta remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Well... I'm just worried Nanook might make a move on me directly to seize that branch of the Swarm."
"Ha! Why would THEY bother targeting you? If THEY wanted to strike, THEY would've done it ages ago. If you ask me, this mother-henning of yours is more likely to ruin things. Just do what you want. Even if you released the Swarm in Penacony right now to trigger a resurrection of Order, so what?"
"...You really just want to watch the world burn, don't you?"
"Using the Simulated Universe is an option, though personally, I'm leaning toward trying an inversion of Harmony and Order rather than a split. If the 'Cancer of Harmony' truly relates to that third face, then splitting them is clearly a bad move."
"You sound pretty excited about this, even though I am too."
"Exactly. So, come on—if we actually manage to simulate it, things are going to get very interesting."
"Define 'interesting.' Being hunted down by the entire strength of The Family?"
"Ha~"
Herta laughed over the comms, whether because she didn't care or because she truly found the prospect amusing.
The call disconnected.
Bai Ming turned back to the young girl beside her. "AR-214, do you want to keep looking around Penacony?"
"Eh? Me?"
AR-214 had no idea she was still part of the conversation.
Just moments ago, they were talking about the Swarm and Order, involving Harmony and Destruction, and looking like they were about to start a war between Aeons.
And now, in the blink of an eye, the question was whether she wanted to keep playing in Penacony?
I mean... how could she possibly have the heart to play now! Is this really the time for fun?
Seeing AR-214's expression, Bai Ming said with a smile, "Gopher Wood's business sounds like a big deal, but there's no real rush. Even if we let him continue now, he wouldn't be able to push the plan forward."
Gopher Wood wasn't the indecisive type.
Though he hadn't specified exactly how far his research into Propagation had gone, if he could have released the Swarm to revive Ena right now, he would have done it already.
The only reason he hadn't was simply because he couldn't.
His previous interest in the Iron Cavalry of Glamoth was likely due to some specific trait they possessed. But with Bai Ming here, Gopher Wood wasn't taking AR-214 anywhere.
As for the Swarm in Bai Ming's possession... unless Gopher Wood was willing to let Bai Ming take the lead, there was no way she would lend the Swarm to him.
While AR-214 understood Bai Ming's logic rationally, emotionally, she still couldn't bring herself to continue vacationing in Penacony.
"I think I'll pass. Suddenly, the Planet of Festivities doesn't seem as wonderful as I imagined..."
At the thought of something from the Propagation lurking within this Sweet Dream, it was hard for AR-214 to enjoy herself without a care in the world.
"That works. Let's head to Dreamflux Reef one last time and then we'll leave."
"Okay!"
Bai Ming nodded. Gopher Wood had dropped so much information on her at once that she wasn't even sure which thread to pull first.
Take the Stellaron, for instance. She wondered if Zandar knew the Stellaron was related to The Harmony when he used one to blow up Demiurge.
Celenova also loved tossing Stellarons around everywhere; she probably knew a lot of secrets, too. It was a pity Bai Ming hadn't known back then, or she definitely would have asked more questions.
As for the Stellaron in Penacony, she could technically take it away and use the power of Remembrance to reinforce the boundaries of the Synesthesia Dreamscape.
The problem, however, was that the Dreamscape itself couldn't compare to the stability of the Memory Zone.
If she used the power of Remembrance to stabilize it, Bai Ming would have to swing by every now and then to top off the power.
The Stellaron's greatest utility in Penacony was its ability to continuously draw Imaginary Energy to ensure the stability of the dream.
Bai Ming couldn't replicate that—unless she stayed in Penacony permanently.
Then there was the issue of Harmony itself.
Logically, after absorbing the aspect of Order, Harmony should have become "better." The key was determining which power the "Cancer" portion originated from.
Could it be related to the third face? Which other Path did Harmony "eat"... surely not Beauty? The extremes of Beauty could be rather abstract.
There were currently no channels to investigate the third face. However, regarding the Order side of things...
Gopher Wood's idea wasn't bad, but his execution was a bit extreme.
Trying to cause such a massive scene for a plan that wasn't even guaranteed to work was inappropriate no matter how you looked at it.
Of course, his current state wasn't much better. He was practically worshiping her like some kind of wish-granting machine...
But Bai Ming herself wasn't sure. Trying to separate Order and then merge it again felt a lot like being unable to find a fix and resorting to a "factory reset" to solve the problem.
Whether it could truly solve the Stellaron issue was hard to say.
It was entirely possible that while Order was being separated, something else might go wrong with Xipe because THEY had been weakened. Who could say for sure?
In Bai Ming's view, rather than playing such a complex game, it would be better to find a way to bolster the strength of Xipe's Order aspect.
This could be an attempt to pivot the flaws of Harmony—for example, by swapping the dominant Harmony aspect with the Order aspect.
If that could be achieved, it would at least correct many of Harmony's current issues.
Of course, even then, there was no guarantee the Stellaron problem would be solved.
One could only say it was perhaps more feasible. It also wouldn't involve a gamble as massive as the one Gopher Wood was playing.
Finally, there was the matter of Destruction.
Both the system prompts and Elio confirmed that the Eighth Lord Ravager would definitely be born. That was fine; if one more appeared, they'd just have another fight when the time came.
The real issue was not knowing when Nanook would personally step onto the field.
Nanook's attitude toward her seemed decent enough, but that wasn't something Bai Ming could rely on as an excuse to stop taking THEM seriously.
--+--
Arriving at Dreamflux Reef once again, she had intended to talk to Mikhail and the others about Gopher Wood.
However, she found that Kamu, who had been busy to the point of vanishing, had also rushed back.
Standing with the three of them was Gopher Wood.
"Madam Bai Ming, you've arrived."
Gopher Wood smiled at her, looking as though he had been waiting for quite a while.
Beside him, Mikhail's expression was somewhat complicated, while Kamu didn't even try to hide her hostility.
Only Tiernan waved at Bai Ming with a look of helplessness.
"Gopher Wood told us everything. I'm honestly at my wit's end now. Madam Bai Ming, do you have any thoughts?"
Tiernan really didn't know where to start. He was indeed furious about the mad preparations Gopher Wood had made over the years.
But the conflict between The Family and the Rangers, combined with their decades of friendship, made it impossible for Tiernan to simply break ties with him.
Penacony was a rare power that maintained contact with both sides; if that link was severed, they would be completely in the dark regarding The Family's situation.
Furthermore, Tiernan had no idea how to solve the Aeon-related issues Gopher Wood had detected. He couldn't exactly just throw up his hands and say he trusted in the wisdom of future generations.
"It looks like Kamu was right—you and Gopher Wood really do get along quite well."
"Please don't tease me at a time like this, Madam Bai Ming," Tiernan said, scratching his head in frustration.
Bai Ming threw her hands up as well.
"The Stellaron in Penacony and The Family are one thing, but as for the Aeons... I'm stuck. I'm not an Aeon myself."
"Gopher Wood trusts me for some inexplicable reason, but surely you all aren't going to follow suit and believe blindly?"
"..."
Tiernan and Kamu shared a look but didn't respond.
While they hadn't reached the point of "blind faith," considering Bai Ming's track record, there wasn't anyone in the universe more worthy of trust than her.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL