The synthesis formula for Devil Fruit seeds was being used to perfection by Herta. After roughly one system hour, a seed with an extremely strange form was born in her hand.
It was a seed that constantly changed shape. One second it was a banana, the next it became a pineapple, then an apple... its form shifting endlessly, utterly bizarre.
Herta gazed at the seed in her palm, a smile curling at her lips as she thought to herself:
Success.
Next, she would send the seed into the Warp and let it nurture it—allow it to grow rapidly, sprout, and become a tree.
Without any hesitation, Herta raised her other hand and sliced through the space before her. A wormhole leading to the Warp appeared. Inside the wormhole surged an endless, chaotic tide of mottled emotional energy—black and white interwoven.
With a flick of her hand, the seed fell into the Warp. It immediately transformed into a ravenous entity, frantically devouring negative emotional energy, even using the fantasy essence of countless races within the cosmos embedded in that energy as nourishment for its growth.
Another system hour passed. The Devil Tree began to sprout, extending roots—one after another—deep into the Warp, continuously absorbing energy.
Seeing this scene, the smile on Herta's exquisite face grew even brighter.
At the same time, she used the Super Herta Astral Computer to perform a precise calculation. Based on the current rate, from sprouting to maturity and bearing Devil Fruits, the tree would take at least one year to complete its growth. Of course, this was not an Amber Era year, but a Star Calendar year.
Even so, Herta felt the growth speed of the Devil Tree was still too slow. It needed some special nutrients... something that could grant it a super growth rate comparable to the God Tree.
As this thought flashed through her mind, she heard Ruan Mei's voice:
"Herta, this newly born dimension—is it your invention?"
Herta turned to glance at Ruan Mei and nodded seriously. "That's right. It's called the Warp. It can carry the emotional energy of countless galaxies across the cosmos, whether positive or negative."
Ruan Mei said solemnly, "It's more than that, isn't it? I can sense that I have a soul projection within the Warp... If nothing unexpected happens, this dimension can contain souls. I've even seen people from The Blue die—their souls didn't reach the horizon of existence, nor did they return to nothingness. Instead, they entered the Warp."
"Mm. The Warp can indeed temporarily house souls."
Ruan Mei couldn't help but sigh. "Remarkable. Your research into dimensional worlds and the soul has advanced even further."
Herta smiled but did not deny it. Instead, she said, "Ruan Mei, I need your help with something."
"Go ahead. As long as I can help."
"I need a batch of nutrients that can accelerate plant growth."
"Nutrients to accelerate plant growth?" Ruan Mei's gaze fell upon the newly sprouted Devil Fruit tree sapling within the Warp. She spoke seriously, "You want to cultivate it?"
"Mm. It's a plant I just developed."
Ruan Mei's pupils shrank slightly. "Herta, you mean that after researching the Warp, you immediately went on to develop this constantly shape-shifting, extraordinary plant seed—something that has never appeared in the cosmos before?"
"That's right."
"..."
Ruan Mei fell silent for a long while before saying, "Your research efficiency has exceeded my expectations. I am now certain that in terms of research speed, you have surpassed Miss Sserkal, the 29th seat of the Genius Society."
"Of course. I am Herta." Her tone remained as confident as ever. Then she asked seriously whether Ruan Mei had any special nutrients that could accelerate plant growth.
"Of course I do." Ruan Mei nodded slightly. "Plants are also a form of life. As a genius who has delved deeply into the field of biological research, I naturally possess feed and fertilizers that can accelerate the growth of organisms and plants."
As she spoke, her tone carried both confidence and seriousness.
In fact, in just this short time, her eyes had already discerned that the Devil Tree lacked a certain trace element. She was certain that with a special type of fertilizer, its growth could be accelerated.
She did not currently have this material on hand, but that was not a problem. When she had arrived in the Blue star system, she had brought Ruanruan with her, and could directly synthesize the specialized fertilizer there.
"Wait for me a moment."
The moment her words fell, Ruan Mei's figure vanished from Herta's side and appeared aboard Ruanruan. This was the spatial jump ability of an Emanator.
Bzzzz...
Upon returning to Ruanruan, Ruan Mei immediately began synthesizing the special fertilizer.
Meanwhile, Herta gazed at the spot where Ruan Mei had disappeared, then turned to look at the continuously growing Devil Tree sapling within the Warp, thinking to herself:
With Ruan Mei's help, the tree should grow quickly.
Soon after, Herta sensed something and lifted her head. She immediately saw a figure dressed in a candy-colored gown. Most notably, the figure's head was obscured by a mosaic.
In that instant, Herta recognized the visitor—the 4th seat of the Genius Society, Polka Kakamond.
Herta greeted her seriously, "Long time no see, Miss Polka."
"It hasn't been that long. Not even a month." Polka Kakamond gazed at Herta intently.
"For an existence like me, less than a month is far too short—it passes in the blink of an eye. But for you, that time is entirely different. In such a brief span, you've accomplished one achievement after another that surpass my expectations."
"For example, the Warp—and the mysterious tree seed within it... I've met many geniuses in the past, but Herta, you are the most unique genius I've ever seen."
By the end of her words, a trace of astonishment and disbelief had appeared in Polka's tone.
Herta blinked and said, "Did you come here just to praise me? If so, I'll accept the compliments."
Polka shook her head. "No. I came to understand something more clearly. Are you trying to use this special dimension to complete your self-coronation and become an Aeon?"
Herta paused slightly, then sighed. "An Aeon... that's still far too distant for me. The Warp alone isn't enough to achieve something like that. Even if it can continuously absorb emotional energy from all beings in the cosmos, it still wouldn't be enough."
Hearing this, Polka Kakamond quickly thought to herself: Not unwilling—but unable? Herta, you truly are an ambitious genius.
"Then have you come into contact with forbidden knowledge?"
"What is forbidden knowledge?" Herta revealed a confused expression. "I don't understand it yet. Could you explain it to me in detail?"
"That is knowledge beyond the circle of knowledge. Since you don't understand it, don't ask further—otherwise, you know..." After saying this, Polka once again used her Knowable Domain to carefully sense the Warp. "Herta, this newly opened dimension of yours is extremely peculiar... it can actually project the souls of living beings from the material world."
Hearing this, Herta carefully sensed Polka Kakamond's soul projection and discovered that the Lord of Silence's form within the Warp was a sharp surgical scalpel.
After thinking about it, Herta found it quite reasonable. After all, Polka herself was a blade of Nous—a scalpel used to excise geniuses who had trespassed into forbidden knowledge.
With that thought, Herta responded, "Projecting the souls of material beings is merely the most basic function of the Warp. It has many other capabilities."
"Mm. Can you explain them in detail?"
Herta looked surprised. "Your Knowable Domain can't silently infiltrate the Warp and understand its functions?"
"Why would I do that? Since the very first time you gave me the Soul Gem, we've already been friends. And I've already confirmed that you haven't researched forbidden knowledge. So why would I expand my Knowable Domain to probe the Warp's functions...?"
After stating this matter-of-factly, Polka Kakamond added inwardly with a hint of embarrassment.
I did just use the Knowable Domain... but your research is far too special, Herta. Even it cannot fully comprehend it. But as the 4th seat of the Genius Society—the Lord of Silence—I absolutely cannot admit that.
"I see."
Herta quickly organized her thoughts, gave Polka a deep look, and said in a peculiar tone, "The Warp is a dimensional platform related to the soul. Many of the technologies I plan to research next will be developed on this platform."
Polka Kakamond, who had felt slightly embarrassed, instantly realized something upon hearing this. "Herta, you're planning to research soul-related technologies next? Perhaps even create a world where souls can truly continue to exist indefinitely?"
Herta's thoughts turned, recalling the Soul Society project she intended to research next, and said, "More or less."
Then, as if thinking of something, Herta's eyes shifted slightly. She said seriously to Polka Kakamond, "I've answered your questions. So, Miss Polka, could you help me with something?"
Polka's mosaic-covered face showed a raised brow. "What kind of help?"
"Accelerate the development of the Warp."
"How am I supposed to help with that?!"
"It's simple. You only need to give me a real-time star map of the distant superclusters throughout the cosmos. With those coordinates... I can extend the Warp's tendrils into those worlds and absorb emotional energy."
"Star maps? The Interastral Peace Corporation sells those. Why come to me?"
"Because you possess the Knowable Domain. You are the one who holds the most complete map of this universe."
"...!" Polka fell silent for quite a while before saying, "Then you're greatly mistaken. The ones who hold the most complete star maps are not me, Polka—but the Nameless of the Trailblaze faction... and the conductor of the Astral Express."
"It's just that in this era, the Astral Express has already gone missing."
"Very well. I will expand my Knowable Domain once and draw a cosmic star map for you. In addition, I'll mark safe zones and dangerous regions."
"Alright."
Herta agreed with a smile.
In the next moment, Polka Kakamond expanded her Knowable Domain, fully unleashing the power of an Emanator of Erudition. At that instant, she connected to the neurons of Nous, perceiving all worlds that had been explored by the Aeon of Trailblaze and whose star rails already had established trajectories.
Then, she took out a special quantum USB drive and uploaded all the map data she had perceived into it before handing it to Herta.
Herta wasted no time. She immediately placed the drive against her forehead and carefully sensed it. Very quickly, she discovered that the number of known galaxies explored by Akivili exceeded trillions.
As for unknown galaxies, their number was impossible to estimate.
This caused both Herta and Herman to sigh inwardly.
This Honkai universe is simply too vast.
More importantly, within the map data provided by Polka Kakamond, not only were dangerous and safe zones marked, but also the worlds of various factions and the active regions of major powers.
Different factions and forces intertwined across the map like interlocking teeth.
For example, she saw on the map that The Blue star system was located within an ordinary galaxy on the outskirts of the cosmos, far from the core region—where the Interastral Peace Corporation headquarters, Pier Point, was located.
As for the region where Ruan Mei lived in seclusion, the Yongmei Star System, it was situated on the far frontier of the cosmos.
It could be said that the distance between The Blue star system and the Yongmei Star System was incredibly vast—roughly ten billion light-years.
Light from the sun would take ten billion years to travel that distance.
Yet the existence of the star rails compressed what would have taken light billions of years into mere minutes.
The star rails—the creation of the Trailblaze Aeon, Akivili—were truly a miracle of the cosmos.
As Herta marveled at this inwardly, she also developed a desire to research the star rails.
One day in the future, she would study them—and even locate the lost Astral Express to fully understand it.
Continuing to examine the map, Herta realized just how many factions existed within the cosmos. Even when categorized by Paths, there were dozens. For instance, within the Preservation faction were the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Architects. Within The Hunt faction were the Xianzhou Alliance and the Galaxy Rangers. Within the Remembrance faction were the Garden of Recollection and the Cremators.
Herman was equally shocked by what he saw.
Back when he played Honkai: Star Rail, the universe had always felt relatively small. The stories revolved around a handful of major factions, a few particular worlds, and the Aeons. But standing before Polka's map, he finally understood how vast the real cosmos truly was.
The factions Herta had just identified were merely the most prominent Path-aligned powers. Beyond them existed countless interstellar civilizations scattered across the stars. Most had no Emanators and were unknown to the wider universe, yet many still ruled territories spanning tens of thousands of light-years. Their fleets wielded planet-destroying weapons, star-destroying weapons, and all manner of terrifying technologies developed over countless ages.
And according to the map, civilizations like these were not exceptional.
They were countless.
Compared to the boundless universe, even the great factions that dominated the known cosmos seemed insignificant. The universe described in the game had only revealed the tip of the iceberg. What lay beneath was a cosmic expanse so vast that even Herman found it difficult to comprehend.
Aside from the sheer number of factions, Herta also saw entire galaxies that had become territories of the Swarm of Propagation.
Even now, after being repeatedly beaten down by various factions, the Swarm had not gone extinct. It continued to survive tenaciously—as if proving a certain truth: the bugs had never truly been eradicated.
In addition, the map also marked several dangerous galaxies suspected of being inhabited by Leviathans dating back to the era of the Dusk Wars.
All of this caused a gleam to flash through Herta's eyes.
Leviathans... are they still alive?
Their species predates even the Aeons. Some Aeons themselves originated from Leviathans!
If there's ever a chance, I must capture a living Leviathan with Ruan Mei and study it!
Just as Herta reached this thought, she heard Polka ask, "Well? My map is detailed enough, isn't it?"
Herta replied, "Very good. It has given me a much clearer understanding of the universe."
At that moment, Ruan Mei had already completed the special fertilizer in the laboratory. As she stepped out of Ruanruan, she froze upon seeing the scene before her.
Herta—and Polka Kakamond!
As expected, the reason Herta possesses research efficiency surpassing Miss Sserkal... is because she has touched forbidden knowledge?!
No—I cannot let Herta be harmed by Polka!!