As soon as Herta finished laying out her proposal, Kiana's expression turned rather complicated.
"Big Sister Herta, are you sure you want me to play Nous?"
It would have been one thing if they wanted her to play Nanook. A Lord Ravager playing Nanook wasn't exactly strange.
But now they wanted her to play Nous?
Kiana was deeply skeptical. They weren't even on the same Path—could this really fool those simulated Aeons?
Herta spread her hands. "The situation changed, didn't it?"
"Isn't your aunt on the Erudition Path too? If we let Nous go looking for Mythus, maybe we'll get some unexpected results."
That was what she said, but truth be told, Herta wasn't confident either.
She had always had absolute faith in the Simulated Universe, but after hearing that someone had apparently invented it before she did, she had still taken a bit of a hit.
After all, her Simulated Universe had been developed after history had already been altered by Enigmata. Could it really still simulate the answer she wanted?
Herta didn't know.
But she felt it was worth trying.
As for how they were supposed to make Kiana convincingly play Nous?
If it were any other Aeon, Herta really might not have had a solution. But with both her and Ruan Mei—the two geniuses—present, it was at least worth attempting.
…
…
As Kiana's consciousness turned into a stream of data, she finally arrived inside the world of the Simulated Universe.
If she had to describe the feeling, it was basically no different from some kind of ultra-deep consciousness game.
[Hey, can you hear me?]
Herta's voice suddenly rang out beside her ear.
Kiana turned toward the sound and saw a little purple bird wearing a flower on its head.
"Pfft—"
She couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
She had already seen Herta's Simulated Universe avatar back in the game, but seeing it in person now, she really couldn't help herself.
The image was simply too absurdly impactful, to the point that she nearly forgot she was standing inside the Simulated Universe.
That reaction, unsurprisingly, made Herta start overheating again.
"What are you laughing at?" the purple bird flapped its wings in obvious irritation.
"I designed this form very carefully. Don't you think it has artistic flair?"
"Yes, yes, very artistic," Kiana said, biting back her laughter and nodding.
"So where's Sister Ruan Mei?"
The moment the words left her mouth, another bird emerged from the void.
Bang!
Before Kiana could laugh again, Herta had already landed on top of Kiana's head.
"Ow, what are you doing?" Kiana immediately protested.
"Don't move!" Herta stomped twice on her head.
"It's more convenient to talk like this."
Kiana: "…"
The bird that Ruan Mei had turned into landed gracefully on Kiana's shoulder. Compared to Herta's rough behavior, she was clearly much gentler.
"Miss Kiana, are you ready?"
Kiana took a deep breath and looked around.
According to Herta, the Simulated Universe would manifest places that had appeared in her past memories.
Kiana wasn't all that worried about that.
If her real self had been here, Herta and Ruan Mei might actually have seen things they weren't supposed to.
But right now they were using Kiana's persona, and since this persona had activated, there were only a handful of places it had ever been.
And right now, she was in Jarilo-VI.
"So what exactly am I supposed to do now?"
Herta answered first. "Leave here. This place won't help our plan."
"Fine."
In an instant, with the authority of the Herrscher of the Void activated, Kiana blinked through space several times and arrived in outer space above Jarilo.
"Is that a spatial authority?" Ruan Mei suddenly asked from her shoulder.
After all, there was a saying that circulated throughout the galaxy: As long as time does not appear, space reigns supreme.
Granted, in a galaxy ruled by Paths, the accuracy of that saying wasn't particularly high.
But even so, the value of the authorities of time and space was beyond question.
"Yeah. You could say it's an innate ability I possess as the Herrscher of the Void," Kiana admitted openly.
Walter wasn't here, and in any case, these weren't abilities she had any reason to hide.
"The Herrscher of the Void?" Herta seemed intrigued by the unusual title.
"That name is pretty interesting. Did you come up with it yourself?"
"More or less," Kiana replied casually.
"All right. Then let's get to the main point." Herta spoke again.
"Ruan Mei and I are going to adjust the parameters of the Simulated Universe and guide your consciousness into the simulated domain of the Erudition Path."
"During the process, you may feel some strange things, but don't be afraid. It's all fake."
Kiana nodded. "And what do I need to do?"
"Nothing at all," Ruan Mei's gentle voice came from her shoulder.
"You only need to maintain your current state. Leave the rest to the two of us."
In an instant, after Herta and Ruan Mei performed a series of operations Kiana didn't even try to understand, she felt herself wrapped in a force belonging to Erudition.
From the looks of it, they seemed to be simulating something similar to a blessing.
Kiana said nothing, simply accepting it all in silence.
Very soon, as that power reached a critical point, Kiana felt the Path energy around her swell to its absolute limit, as though it had reached the legendary level of an Aeon.
But since this was still only a simulation inside the Simulated Universe, beneath that immense and overwhelming might there was really only a thin membrane that would burst at a touch.
If she actually tried to wield this Erudition power, her disguise would probably collapse instantly.
"We're starting now!"
With Herta's sharp shout, that power of Erudition surged out toward the entirety of the simulated galaxy.
[Mythus, come here.]
It was probably something like that.
At once, Kiana felt a bit embarrassed.
She couldn't help asking, "Is it really this crude?"
With a method as direct as shouting for someone, Kiana felt like this was more likely to summon Aha instead.
Herta answered indifferently, "What else are we supposed to do? We're not Nous, and we aren't exactly close with Mythus. All we can do is try the most primitive method first."
At that point, even Kiana couldn't come up with anything to say.
Trying didn't cost anything, so she might as well wait.
And so—
One second, two seconds…
One minute, two minutes…
One hour, two hours…
Kiana stood there in the void, growing more and more restless.
No way. Was she really going to have to stand here and wait forever?
The little bird Ruan Mei on her shoulder gently preened its feathers. "Be patient. Time flows differently in the Simulated Universe."
Even the Herta on top of her head stamped her feet again. "Exactly. Do you think Aeons are street vendors who come the moment you yell for them?"
Then why did you yell so loudly just now?
Just as Kiana was about to complain, a strange fluctuation suddenly rippled through the void.
It was a sensation that defied description, as though something was observing this place from countless angles all at once.
"It's here."
Ruan Mei's voice remained gentle, but Kiana could feel the small bird on her shoulder tense up.
Then, all of a sudden, Kiana felt herself plunged into a vortex.
She looked up—
and saw Him.
An existence vast enough to cover heaven and earth, with a massive wound carved across His torso, from which golden blood poured endlessly.
Wasn't that Nanook?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter95)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 55
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 45
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 32
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 31
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 31
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