The Aeon of Erudition, Nous, had already set Their gaze upon Herta.
They had seen Herta consume the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit—the Brain-Brain Fruit—and bring it into an awakened state, amplifying the intelligence of others.
Through this reality, combined with an astronomical level of computational power, They calculated a certain possibility in the distant future.
In that future, Herta would become the second president of the Genius Society, and this exceptionally unique organization within the cosmos would gain even more genius members because of the Brain-Brain Fruit's development into the Wisdom Halo.
It could be said that in this possible future, genius would no longer be something that appears once every Amber Era—or even several Amber Eras.
After dozens of Amber Eras, the number of members in the Genius Society would surpass one hundred and push toward four digits.
At the same time, as more geniuses were born, there would be too many wild ideas—eventually leading them to come into contact with forbidden knowledge.
The Lord of Silence, Polka Kakamond, would act, assassinating those who touched such knowledge.
However, the number of geniuses standing on Herta's side would be far too great. Even Polka, the strongest assassin who naturally countered the Erudition faction, would be unable to defeat them.
In the end, Polka would be defeated and captured.
Herta would become both the president of the Genius Society and the administrator of Device IX.
As time passed, Herta's faction would grow ever larger, delving deeper into forbidden knowledge—ultimately drawing the attention of a horror from beyond the cosmos... an ancient beast of calamity that devours knowledge.
Of course, at that point, Herta would not be entirely helpless against the Leviathan. The Warp, which had already spread across more than half the cosmos, would become her weapon against it.
At the same time, due to the invasion of Oroboros, Qlipoth—the Aeon of Preservation and the order of this universe—would raise Their hammer.
Thus, the war between the Oroboros and Qlipoth would erupt once more.
A war among the Aeons...
After calculating all this, Nous looked at Herta with increasing interest.
A single fruit grown from the Devil Tree could actually create geniuses artificially... even They could not accomplish such a feat, for intelligence is the most unique thing in existence.
Likewise, They had not anticipated that the Warp possessed such potential—that it could one day rival Leviathans.
Herta's potential was simply too great.
Thinking this, Nous looked at Herta several more times, confirming that she had advanced further along the Path of Erudition. Though she was still far from Their level of existence, within Their calculations, as long as Herta continued onward, she truly had the potential to become an Aeon.
...And likewise, to become the one who would create another Aeon after Zandar, the First Seat of the Genius Society.
At that very moment, Terminus, who had returned from the future, was also observing Herta. They saw that the origin of Their own birth had changed.
Or rather, in the future, there might emerge a fifth type of apocalypse beyond Nihility and Harmony... the fifth being the Warp.
In one possible future, the Warp would cover the entire cosmos. Yet the Aeon of Equilibrium, HooH, would encounter a problem, and Herta would not manage the Warp.
As a result, the emotions within the Warp would lose their regulator. Countless negative emotional energies would overwhelm the positive, causing the daemons living within the Warp to fall into darkness and corruption...
They would emerge from the Warp and launch an attack upon the real world.
Endless daemons would sweep across the cosmos. More critically, when people were killed by daemons, their souls would enter the Warp, be polluted by vast negative emotions, and transform into new chaos daemons.
In the end, Nanook would take action, giving rise to a new Lord Ravager—named Khorne!
This Lord Ravager, leading endless chaos daemons, would bring extinction-level catastrophe upon the cosmos.
Ultimately, all living beings in reality would be harvested by the chaos daemons. All souls of the dead would enter the Warp, and the universe would fall into silence.
The apocalypse would arrive, and Terminus would emerge as well, bringing the final end of all things.
Terminus themselves felt somewhat surprised by this possibility. They could not understand why HooH, the Aeon of Equilibrium, would encounter problems in the future.
Could it be that the emotional energy generated by all things in the cosmos would simply become too vast to process?
In any case, the Warp technology developed by Herta possessed astonishing potential.
Just the fact that it added a new possible apocalypse to the origin of Finality was enough to prove it.
Terminus could even sense that as Herta developed the Warp, Their Path of Finality had broadened.
Meanwhile, the Aeon of Equilibrium was also observing Herta. They saw the Wisdom Halo she had created and recognized that she would inevitably produce more geniuses in the future.
For the Path of Equilibrium, this was not a good thing.
After all, what HooH desired most was balance—and that included the balance of intelligence.
At this moment, HooH was already considering how to reduce the emergence of artificially created geniuses.
...
Elsewhere, the Aeon of Nihility made no move. Only Their mismatched eyes were fixed upon Herta.
They saw Herta's intelligence, and also her ability to enhance the intelligence of others.
They could foresee that Herta would create more artificial geniuses in the future—but They also knew that even so, it would not change the ultimate fate of this universe.
The universe would inevitably fall into Nihility. Nothing would alter that outcome.
After all, no matter how much mortal intelligence was gathered, it remained fragile.
Unless Herta's Wisdom Halo underwent another qualitative transformation—raising others' intelligence to the level of Nous.
If the world truly contained a multitude of geniuses whose intelligence rivaled Nous, then perhaps the future descent into Nihility could indeed be changed.
After thinking this, the Aeon of Nihility once again let Their mismatched eyes go blank, returning to silent stillness.
Meanwhile, Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, was also watching Herta. A trace of desire flickered within Their gaze.
The ability to enhance the intelligence of others on a mass scale—Herta's research surpasses my expectations every time!
Perhaps the Lord Ravager of Destruction aligned with Erudition need not be Irontomb. Herta herself might have the potential to become one.
At the same time, Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony, was also observing Herta. To Xipe, Herta's ability to elevate the intelligence of others was the most harmonious symphony of wisdom.
In the future, if Herta were to join Harmony, She could spread this symphony across the cosmos, elevating the intelligence of all living beings... how wonderful.
...
Multiple Aeons were observing Herta—or rather, Herman. And at this moment, Herman himself sensed something unusual. Acting on instinct, he cast an appraisal ability toward the void.
He immediately detected the gazes of several Aeons: Nous of Erudition, Terminus of Finality, HooH of Equilibrium, Nanook of Destruction, Xipe of Harmony, and more.
Herman could not help but think to himself:
Just as expected!
As Herta brought the Brain-Brain Fruit to its awakened state, the Aeons had once again turned their attention here. Enhancing intelligence—even Aeons find it astonishing.
However, the awakened Wisdom Halo of the Brain-Brain Fruit was indeed formidable... it could enhance the brilliance of others' intellect.
It could only be said—was this truly the power of a fruit of wisdom refined from the emotions of million galaxies and countless living beings?
Now that it had been confirmed that the group Wisdom Halo increased others' intelligence by a magnitude of one hundred points, it was time to test the range of its coverage.
With that thought, Herman extended his perception and quickly discovered that the group Wisdom Halo of the Brain-Brain Fruit had a coverage radius of one kilometer.
One kilometer might seem like a large distance—enough that an ordinary person would take some time to walk across—but on the scale of the universe, it was minuscule.
Even a large laboratory could exceed a kilometer in area. That simply would not do.
After all, the laboratory Herta and Ruan Mei used on The Blue far exceeded one kilometer in size. If that were the case, then when Herta conducted experiments, would Ruan Mei not be unable to benefit from the group Wisdom Halo?
That would not do.
After pondering for a moment, Herman conveyed his thoughts to Herta and asked for her opinion.
"Isn't that simple? Don't forget, what you control now is me—a body of an Emanator of Erudition. Use the power of an Emanator," Herta's slightly proud voice echoed in Herman's mind.
"You mean I should use the power of an Emanator of Erudition to amplify the Brain-Brain Fruit?"
"Exactly. After all... the Droidhead and a whole host of Aeons have already noticed that the great Miss Herta has brought the Brain-Brain Fruit into its awakened state. In that case, there's no need to hide it—just use it openly."
"That makes sense."
Herman nodded in agreement, then suddenly thought of something.
That's right—not only could he use the power of an Emanator of Erudition, he could also use psionic power!
After all, the Path of Erudition corresponded to the highest intelligence in this universe, while psionic power corresponded to a god of wisdom in another universe. If both were used to amplify the Brain-Brain Fruit, then perhaps...
With this thought, Herman raised the Herta Magic Wand in his hand and struck toward The Blue system.
Once, twice, three times.
With the first chime.
The gate of Erudition was opened by the wand. Countless torrents of Path energy poured into reality like a breached dam—like a celestial river cascading downward, like dragons diving into the sea—enveloping Herman's body and painting the edge of The Blue system in dazzling, multicolored brilliance.
With the second chime.
The gates of the Warp were opened. Many souls condensing psionic power did not notice that a portion of the energy they had refined vanished. At the same time, the black sun within the Warp began to flicker—that was Herta's soul projection, breathing, devouring immense emotional energy, and exhaling psionic power.
The psionic energy drawn by Herta from countless post-mortem souls, as well as that produced by the black sun, soon followed Herman's will into the real world, coiling around the Herta Magic Wand.
With the third chime.
The Wisdom Halo of the Brain-Brain Fruit began to merge with the Path energy of an Emanator of Erudition, as well as psionic power.
Three forces from different worlds, different systems, and different paths of intelligence fused into one—triggering a qualitative transformation in the awakened group Wisdom Halo.
In an instant, the coverage of the Wisdom Halo surged—two kilometers, ten kilometers, a thousand kilometers...
Half of The Blue system was covered by the Wisdom Halo. At that moment, Herta seemed to transform into a goddess of wisdom, embracing half the star system in her grasp.
At the same time, billions of people across The Blue system felt their minds suddenly become clear. The sensation was extraordinary—like a chimpanzee suddenly becoming human.
Students at The Blue's First University, for instance, found that textbooks which had once been extremely difficult suddenly became easy to understand.
In short, countless people across society felt themselves become smarter all at once.
And the changes were not limited to humans—the Wisdom Halo affected animals as well.
As animals' intelligence increased, even cats that once did nothing but hiss began to recognize who the true master of the household was. They rolled over, exposing their bellies for petting.
Dogs, too, became more perceptive. Regardless of breed, they grew as intelligent as shepherd dogs, learning to read human expressions. At the mere sight of their owners, they wagged their tails and beamed with joy.
It could be said that as Herta spread the seeds of wisdom throughout The Blue system, animals increasingly took on human-like traits.
Meanwhile, Ruan Mei—who was researching the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the Swarm Emperor form—was also bathed in the light of wisdom. In that instant, a flood of inspiration surged through her mind. Acting on instinct, she fused the Swarm Emperor Devil Fruit in her hand with a vast amount of propagation materials.
In a flash, a newborn Starcrusher Swarm King—Skaracabaz—was born. More importantly, Ruan Mei could sense that after fusing with the Mythical Zoan-type Swarm Emperor form, its aura had undergone a drastic transformation, growing increasingly ferocious.
Fortunately, as the creator of the Starcrusher Swarm King, Ruan Mei had long since installed a limiter, allowing her to control it.
She confirmed that as long as it was not given the opportunity to reproduce and divide on a large scale, her control would remain absolutely stable.
She then raised her hand and placed it against her temple. In that instant, her biological analysis eyes began scanning the enhanced Devil Fruit version of the Starcrusher Swarm King.
Very quickly, an unusual result emerged: the biological data of the Starcrusher Swarm King had reached one-third of the strength of the one recorded in history—approaching the original.
Seeing this data, Ruan Mei could not help but sigh inwardly.
As expected of the Mythical Zoan-type Swarm Emperor Devil Fruit cultivated by Herta—it was indeed powerful.
Upon further thought, it made sense. According to Herta, this material had absorbed the imaginations of countless beings across million galaxies regarding the Swarm Disaster.
Combined with these deep subconscious fantasy elements of Alaya and her own techniques, producing a Swarm King of this level was only natural.
The only remaining question was when this newly created Starcrusher Swarm King would collapse.
With that thought, Ruan Mei began timing and waited silently.
Tick.
Tick.
Time quickly passed. It was not until three minutes and one second had elapsed that the Starcrusher Swarm King finally collapsed into destruction.
Seeing this, Ruan Mei was not disappointed—instead, she smiled.
By incorporating a Devil Fruit, the lifespan of the Starcrusher Swarm King had increased to more than three times its original duration. Not bad at all.
Next, it was time to trade with Herta for materials for the Swarm Emperor Devil Fruit—and perhaps conduct a more detailed study of the Devil Fruit's core, the so-called deep subconscious fantasy elements of human Alaya.
With this in mind, Ruan Mei left the laboratory and summoned Ruanruan, preparing to go find Herta.
However, when Ruanruan arrived before her, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
The entity that could only make soft noises and communicate through a Synesthesia Beacon... had actually learned to speak the common language?!
What was going on?
Ruan Mei was utterly astonished. Closing her eyes and reopening them, her biological observation eyes activated.
Those eyes, enhanced with the advantages of countless biological species, immediately detected the anomaly. Across the massive cloud-like body of Ruanruan were faint luminous lines—lines originating from the depths of the cosmos.
They extended from the edge of The Blue system, from the vicinity of the Super Herta Astral Computer.
Observing more closely, Ruan Mei found that those lines carried traces of Herta's aura as an Emanator of Erudition, a hint of similarity to the Swarm Emperor Devil Fruit she had recently studied, and a third, unfamiliar presence.
More importantly, the closer she observed, the more astonished she became—those same lines existed on her own body. No... not just her—billions of beings across The Blue system all bore that connection to Herta.
So what exactly had happened?
Step, step.
Dressed in a white-green cheongsam, Ruan Mei stepped atop Ruanruan and ascended to a higher vantage point. With eyes far surpassing even the most advanced satellites, she carefully observed every corner of The Blue system.
Very quickly, she saw it—the overwhelming changes occurring under Herta's invisible influence.
Monkeys that had been on the wrong evolutionary path, nearly incapable of ever developing true intelligence, were now snatching phones from passersby—playing with them, even mimicking speech from videos.
Wolf packs that once starved in the wilderness had observed that dogs living with humans could eat three meals a day. One by one, they began approaching roadsides, wagging their tails like dogs, hoping to be adopted by kind humans and live a life where they could eat their fill.
In classrooms, students who had previously struggled just to pass exams were now performing beyond expectations, achieving near-perfect scores.
And this was not an isolated case—it was happening across entire classes, entire schools, and educational systems across the world.
These changes occurred almost instantly, within the blink of an eye—and they continued to intensify.
Watching all of this, Ruan Mei realized that Herta, far at the edge of The Blue system, had once again accomplished something extraordinary. She could not help but sigh inwardly.
Could it be... that Herta had begun researching the principles of civilization evolution?
If that were truly the case, then she and Dr. Primitive were heading in completely opposite directions—one studying the evolution of life, the other the degeneration of civilization...