The silhouette of the Abyssal City gradually faded from view, and the scenery around them shifted rapidly, as if a complex outer shell had been stripped away to reveal its true interior.
Bronya gazed at the bizarre, kaleidoscopic scene before her. She knew full well that this was no illusion, no optical projection, and no psychological hypnosis. It meant that she had truly arrived at her destination—the Quantum Sea.
“So this is the kind of place where Seele survived after the X-10 experiment failed…”
Even as a Herrscher, Bronya’s instincts told her this was an extremely dangerous place. Just as her nerves were wound tight, a cool little hand slipped into hers.
“Seele… I’m fine…”
Meanwhile, Mei landed smoothly beside them.
“Glad everyone’s okay. Alright then, let’s begin the experiment according to the doctors’ instructions.”
Of course, for Anti-Entropy, they could have simply deployed Honkai Beasts for the experiment—that would have ensured safety while still collecting data. But Honkai Beasts don’t use any instruments, and compared to sending actual humans into the Quantum Sea, their efficiency was practically negligible.
Not to mention that experimental data obtained from the interaction between a Herrscher, a Stigma Awakened, and the Quantum Sea would undoubtedly hold far greater research value.
Just as they were about to begin, several translucent monsters of an ominous hue emerged from somewhere.
“Those are Quantum Shadows—the most common monsters in the Quantum Sea. Think of them as the equivalent of low-level Honkai Beasts in the real world.”
“Understood.”
Bronya and Mei struck immediately. Seele opened her mouth as if to warn them about something, but held back. Because the moment Mei attacked, the Quantum Shadows didn’t even have time to undergo collapse before they were reduced to ashes under a terrifying burst of lightning.
“Fire!”
On the other side, Bronya, now wielding the Herrscher Core, was just as ferocious in her firepower. By the time Seele even had a chance to join in, the battle was already over.
“Everyone, don’t wander off. Our mission this time is just to observe the reaction between the Herrscher and the Quantum Sea. This is the Quantum Sea—every extra step we take could bring about unexpected changes.”
Mei and Bronya immediately returned to Seele’s side and began recording data with their instruments. Seele happened to look up and noticed a faint violet rift in the distance.
“How strange… is there something wrong with the space over there…? No, wait—in the Quantum Sea, anything is possible. It would actually be weird if the space were normal.”
Given the peculiar nature of the Quantum Sea, Seele watched the violet rift expand without paying it too much mind—until several oddly shaped monsters appeared around them. No, compared to the Quantum Shadows, these beings were almost too normal.
They wore pale violet cloaks, deep purple masks over their faces, black boots, and carried ornate swords in their hands. Compared to the Quantum Shadows from before, these were far too humanoid.
“Seele, what are these monsters?”
Seele shook her head.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them in the Quantum Sea before. They must be… a new type that even I haven’t encountered. Everyone, stay on guard.”
As the creatures swung their blades at them, Mei raised her own tachi to meet their strikes. The instant blade met blade, a strange sensation coursed through her entire body. Mei felt that with every clash, the space around them seemed to be subtly shifting.
“What are these things…”
At the same time, Misteln—who had entered the Quantum Sea almost simultaneously with Seele’s group—sent feedback to Enoxia and Sirin.
“I’ve already engaged them.”
“So those things you… uh… summoned earlier—those are the so-called ‘Seeds of the Ideal’?”
“Miss Sirin, strictly speaking, the Seeds of the Ideal won’t actually be born until the Stigma Project officially begins and the Stigma Space and reality begin to intermingle. These… are simply a new form of life that Enoxia created based on the ideal properties that the Seeds of Reason might theoretically possess. But for now, they do produce the same effects as the actual Seeds of Reason, so calling them that isn’t entirely inaccurate.”
As is well known, Misteln is the only Ideal Type that exists in the real world and possesses the ability to travel between the real world and the Stigma Space.
And Stigmata, at their core, are data that record information. The Stigma Space is essentially a data space. In other words, Misteln—just like Enoxia—has the ability to move between real space and data space. Her very existence also shares the dual nature of data and physical substance, just like Enoxia’s.
However, Enoxia’s capabilities in this regard are a complete upgrade over Misteln’s. As the Herrscher of Corruption, she can infiltrate any data space, meaning that after Misteln returns to the Stigma Space, Enoxia can simply follow her inside.
According to World Serpent’s conception, once the Stigma Project officially commenced, a type of special lifeform called the “Seeds of Reason” would be born. These are artificial lifeforms that haven’t yet fully matured into Ideal Types, and Misteln possesses the ability to command them.
So, based on World Serpent’s analysis of the Seeds of Reason, Enoxia used her data-editing abilities within the Stigma Space to try and manually create [Seeds of the Ideal] from scratch.
After numerous attempts, relying on the Herrscher of Corruption’s overwhelmingly powerful abilities within data space, Enoxia succeeded in creating [Seeds of the Ideal] that could be commanded by Misteln—even before the Stigma Project officially began.
“I hope they have a pleasant and unforgettable journey.”
Enoxia shook her head.
“Pleasant, probably not. Unforgettable, definitely…”
Back with Seele’s group, as they battled the Seeds of the Ideal, that strange sensation grew more and more pronounced.
The Seeds of the Ideal attacked in a very clumsy manner—only two types of swings: horizontal slashes and vertical chops. As a result, the group was able to suppress them quite effectively.
But the moment a Seed of the Ideal’s health dropped to zero, the space around them changed. The world spun, and after a dizzying shift, they found themselves in a brand-new space.
Seele was certain they were still in the Quantum Sea—but they had lost contact with Einstein.
Seele didn’t panic. Unless the Herrscher of the Void, who could traverse space, was right beside them, or they carried instruments that could report their coordinates to the real world at any time, getting lost in the ever-changing Quantum Sea was actually a very common occurrence.
However, there were now two problems.
First, ever since they arrived in this space, Bronya’s condition had visibly deteriorated for reasons unknown.
Second, after the spatial shift, Raiden Mei had vanished without a trace.
