Zandar's line of thinking mirrored Screwllum's almost exactly.
However, he was well aware that he wasn't exactly the most welcome guest here, and 'Cipher' didn't seem to have any intention of remaining on the Space Station to pursue this particular line of research.
Thus, Zandar didn't linger. After a few brief words, he disconnected the communication.
It was only after Zandar had departed that Screwllum turned his gaze toward 'Cipher'.
"Madam Bai Ming, I shall attempt to analyze this crystal and create a replica to house this unknown equation. Do you have any plans for the immediate future?"
"I've made arrangements with Ruan Mei. In a few days, we're heading to the Xianzhou Fanghu."
Screwllum nodded at her words.
"Then I shall look forward to the two of you achieving your desired results."
"From your lips to the Aeons' ears."
--+--
Meanwhile, within the smoothly running Simulated Universe...
Simulated Aha had located that fragmented, shattered bit of programming.
In truth, THEY had been eyeing this spot ever since 'Cipher' first attempted the replication.
THEY hadn't revealed THEMSELVES immediately, choosing instead to wait until both 'Cipher' and Screwllum had logged out before slinking over in secret.
Simulated Aha circled the code for a moment.
Suddenly, the mouth of that clown-like mask split wide, and THEY swallowed the data whole in a single gulp!
Regrettably, it was too broken; the Aeon felt far from satisfied.
THEIR gaze then drifted toward the piles of junk code discarded to the side. Some of this scrap data had already been overwritten, but much of it had yet to be destroyed.
At the sight of this garbled mess, Simulated Aha's laughter grew louder. THEY scooped up the corrupted data, kneading and molding it like a toy before stuffing that into THEIR mouth as well.
Finally, only the echoes of laughter remained, reverberating through the deathly silent space.
--+--
For the time being, matters regarding the Simulated Universe were left to Screwllum.
Herta was aware of the situation, of course, but after a cursory glance, she gave up on it. She intended only to provide Screwllum with a bit of light assistance.
It wasn't for any particular reason other than the fact that Herta truly detested this Path. Had it been almost anything else, she would have dived right in.
But Elation? The mere thought of Aha constantly causing trouble in the Simulated Universe was enough to make Herta's blood boil.
Better to just not look at it.
Even if she did want to study it... Herta felt that rather than bashing her head against a stone, it would be far more efficient to just study the person herself.
But 'Cipher' was already committed to visiting the Xianzhou Alliance with Ruan Mei.
With that, Herta lost all interest in tinkering with the matter. She'd get around to it some other day if the mood struck her.
The preliminary discussions concluded.
'Cipher' handed the crystal over to Screwllum so he could take it back to Planet Screwllum for further study. She, meanwhile, remained on the Space Station to see if the power of Trickery possessed any physical range limitations.
The crystal was successfully transported. Once Screwllum had it in hand, he found no signs of the object dissipating.
This meant that, at least until 'Cipher's' current identity expired, distance wouldn't be an issue.
Back on the Space Station, 'Cipher' wasn't in any rush to get to work. Instead, she slipped away to Amphoreus to see what the real Cipher was up to.
Amphoreus was gradually stabilizing. Everyone was busy beyond belief.
Well, almost everyone. There were a few exceptions. Like Cipher.
Though she was a Chrysos Heir and a Titan with decent strength, she had been born into an ordinary family and spent her youth roaming the streets.
When it came to academic pursuits... Cipher's track record was frankly worrying.
Of course, as a Digimon, she could technically learn by sharing and inputting knowledge as data. She truly wanted to work hard and ease Aglaea's burdens.
But as it turned out, even when technology allows you to download knowledge directly into your brain, those who can't learn simply won't.
For Cipher, she could recall the recorded data well enough, but the moment she tried to expand on it, she'd hit a total wall.
So, despite her genuine desire to help Aglaea, Cipher was frequently sent away to "go play" on her own.
When 'Cipher' found her, the girl was sprawled out on the city walls of Okhema, basking in the sun and doing absolutely nothing.
Cipher's ears twitched. Sensing someone approaching, she turned her head. The moment her eyes landed on 'Cipher', she bounced off the ground like a coiled spring.
"Nya—! Who are you?"
Cipher instinctively went on high alert.
Though she hadn't encountered many truly malicious outsiders yet, she couldn't rule out the possibility of a troublemaker sneaking in. Especially one wearing her own face.
"It's me, Bai Ming."
As she spoke, 'Cipher' raised her hand. The silver ring and the flickering Phase Flame were proof enough of her identity.
Cipher blinked, then leaned in close, hunching over to give her a good sniff.
"Ha... You scared me. I thought some Masked Fool had managed to infiltrate the place. But wow, it's me this time? I thought it'd be the seamstress or the Princess Homebody or something."
"Yep. And it's not just your looks—I've inherited the power of Trickery, too."
As she spoke, 'Cipher' pulled out a cat-faced gold coin. Right in front of Cipher's eyes, she tossed the coin into the air.
In an instant, she whisked Cipher away from the city wall and straight into the gardens of the Marmoreal Palace.
Faced with a landscape that changed in the blink of an eye, a very complicated expression crossed Cipher's face.
Usually, she was the one using her speed to play tricks on others. She never expected that today, the tables would be turned, and she'd be the one toyed with by superior speed.
"How did you do that?! That's impossible!"
Cipher's eyes were wide as saucers, and her tail behind her went stiff as a board. She watched 'Cipher's' performance in utter shock, finding it hard to believe.
For various reasons, the power of Trickery wasn't as potent as it used to be; even the abilities themselves had become skewed.
Furthermore, because the memories of so many cycles had been read, almost everyone knew the "lies" Cipher used to construct her powers.
As a result, many of her lies had been exposed, forcing a massive downgrade on most of her signature abilities.
"Everyone in Amphoreus knows it's a lie, so how are you still so fast?!"
Seriously, since when was the fake better than the original? Where was the logic?
"Well, because I've perfectly replicated the power of Trickery in the physical world. Besides, what does your lie being exposed have to do with me?"
"...?? How is that fair?"
Cipher's mouth hung open. She felt like crying at the sheer disparity of it all.
Seeing her expression, 'Cipher' grinned.
But suddenly, Cipher had a stroke of inspiration. She leaned her supple waist toward 'Cipher', her tail swaying rhythmically as she put on her most adorable voice:
"Hey, could you maybe tell a lie to make everyone believe my powers are back? Pretty please? I really miss that super-speed at least."
"...You sure are a dreamer, aren't you? You're trying to pull a meta-prank on me."
'Cipher' found the idea a bit hard to swallow.
While she couldn't restore the full extent of Trickery, she could probably manage a downgraded version.
But this body of hers was temporary; in thirty days, she'd revert to her true form. When that happened, whatever power Cipher gained would vanish again.
"Please please please please~"
"It won't do any good. This body only has a thirty-day limit. Once time is up, it's gone."
"Just disappears??"
Cipher blinked. She felt like it shouldn't be that simple, but 'Cipher' nodded seriously.
"Exactly. So~ just focus on accumulating your data and level up through evolution."
She chuckled, patting Cipher's head as the girl leaned in.
Theoretically, the ceiling for stacking data was quite high. If she ventured further down the Path of Elation, there was always a chance she'd recover her former glory.
"Euguuh... Dammit, why can't I just get something for nothing."
Cipher muttered to herself, though she didn't dwell on the lost dream for long. She quickly adjusted her mood and began egging Bai Ming on to cause some chaos.
"Hey, hey! Since you can still use the power of Trickery, why don't you help me prank the seamstress? All that girl thinks about is work. She even claimed I was being a nuisance and kicked me out to wander the streets all lonely and forsaken!"
Cipher's performance was incredibly moving, her words making it sound as if Aglaea had committed some heinous crime.
"...Are you sure you want to plot this so loudly in Okhema? Even if Aglaea's powers have weakened, they should still work within the Marmoreal Palace."
"Psh! I'm not afraid of her!"
Cipher huffed, though she didn't sound entirely certain.
Truthfully, she wasn't sure what the extent of Aglaea's current abilities was.
Before, she could gauge it through the World Wide Web, but now that Amphoreus was connected to the Interastral Peace Corporation's network, Aglaea didn't need to maintain it anymore.
"How about this? You help me 'kidnap' the seamstress. Even if her power covers Okhema, she won't be able to escape your clutches!"
Cipher was raring to go, leaving 'Cipher' with a rather amused expression. This girl really was Aglaea's cat—the type that throws a tantrum if no one plays with them.
"I'm getting the feeling you're just upset because Aglaea won't play with you."
At this, Cipher's voice jumped an octave.
"Ha—?! No way!! I don't care what that seamstress does! I'm just annoyed that she said my 'help' was getting in the way!"
However, looking at the flush on Cipher's face, not a single word of that was believable. 'Cipher' watched her stubborn display with a teasing smirk.
"Is that so? Aglaea might be able to hear us right now. Do you really want to say that?"
"Urgh—so what! That's what I think, okay! The seamstress is being totally overconfident trying to do all that work by herself. I was nice enough to help and she had the nerve to complain. What's wrong with a little revenge?"
Cipher kept up her stubborn front. It was hard to tell if it was out of embarrassment or just a habit born from years of lying. Even then, her "bite" didn't have much sting to it.
Still, finding the whole thing rather entertaining, 'Cipher' agreed to the request despite her internal commentary.
"Fine. So where do you plan on taking her?"
"Hmm... let's go to the Princess Homebody's place. She's got plenty of room."
Cipher planned to kidnap Aglaea and bring her to Castorice's home. Of course, she meant Castorice's residence in Okhema, not the underworld at the end of Aidonia.
'Cipher' nodded and tossed the coin.
The world entered a state of near-stasis once more.
'Cipher' tucked Cipher under one arm, carrying the big cat like a sack of flour, and dashed toward Dawncloud to find Aglaea.
When she located her, Aglaea appeared to be in the middle of some paperwork, surrounded by several Chrysos Heirs she didn't recognize.
While interrupting work felt a bit mean, she reminded herself that Cipher would be the one taking the fall.
Casting aside her guilt, she used her free arm to hook around Aglaea's slender waist, tucking her under her other arm. With a person under each arm, she sprinted toward Castorice's house.
By the time Aglaea regained her senses, she realized she had been moved from Dawncloud to Castorice's home in an instant.
She recognized the room immediately—she had helped consult on the interior design, after all.
However, in this familiar room, her hands and feet were tied to a chair with rope, preventing her from standing.
Standing before Aglaea were two Ciphers, both grinning ear to ear.
While she found the sight cute, the thought of the troublemaking cat having doubled made Aglaea feel like she was about to faint.
But Aglaea recovered quickly.
"That super-speed... was that what brought me here? But hasn't the lie of Trickery already been dismantled?"
Her gaze shifted between the two Ciphers. She quickly identified the real one.
As for the other...
"Another Cifera? If I'm not mistaken, you must be Madam Bai Ming."
Aglaea's powers had indeed waned, but at such close range, she could still sense an aura that matched Bai Ming.
"You guessed it that fast? I thought I could fake it for a while."
Cipher pouted, disappointed. She had come up with a whole list of excuses to fool Aglaea—like a long-lost twin suddenly appearing, or a data split creating two of her.
Hearing Aglaea see right through it made all her prepared lines useless. It was a total buzzkill.
"Cifera, how could you drag Madam Bai Ming into your mischief? You've interrupted my work. Do you have any idea how important the tasks I had scheduled for today were?"
Aglaea's tone wasn't harsh, but Cipher crumpled instantly. Her previously perky tail drooped low.
Beside her, 'Cipher' looked at Cipher with a "you've got to be kidding me" expression.
This girl had been defeated by a single sentence. Where did she get the confidence to suggest a prank in the first place?
"I... I only did it because you kicked me out! No, wait! I've caught you now! Why are you still lecturing me?!"
Cipher finally snapped out of her conditioned reflex.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL