On March 28, 2017, after a week of preparation, the Abyssal Eye was about to open once more.
At this moment, Seele Vollerei and Raiden Mei stood at the designated positions, waiting for Bronya’s arrival.
“Seele, are you saying that in this entire week, even you haven’t seen Bronya?”
On March 22, Raiden Mei and Dr. Tesla had also arrived at the Abyssal City to rendezvous with the others. After six days of getting along, Mei and Seele had grown quite familiar with each other. These two gentle and kind souls got along wonderfully.
“Yeah, the day before Mei came to the Abyssal City, Bronya-nee was called away by Mr. Welt to participate in some kind of… trial. I haven’t seen her ever since.”
The moment Seele’s words faded, an abnormal energy fluctuation suddenly erupted within the Abyssal City.
“An energy fluctuation of this magnitude… it’s a Herrscher! But how could there be one inside the Abyssal City…?”
Soon, Einstein’s communication came through:
“Mei, Seele. Let me give you the bottom line first: the Abyssal City hasn’t been attacked by any Herrscher; everything is normal. As for what that Herrscher-level fluctuation was all about, you’ll have your answer in at most half an hour.”
Twenty minutes later, the two of them heard a rumbling sound. Based on their experience, it seemed to be the noise of a motorcycle engine starting up.
Soon, the motorcycle came to a stop right in front of them.
“Bronya / Bronya-nee, what in the—”
Looking at Bronya as she dismounted from the motorcycle, both Seele and Raiden Mei were utterly astonished.
As the original owner of Project Bunny, Seele naturally recognized the motorcycle’s true form at a glance. But what truly shocked her was Bronya’s current appearance.
Bronya’s usual twin-tails now hung loose behind her head. Of course, as her signature trademark, the ends of her hair still curled into little turbine-like spirals. And the most eye-catching part of her outfit was undoubtedly the skirt—white on the outside and blue on the inside. Paired with the two strips of white thigh-highs on her legs and her black-and-blue interwoven top, she really did have a unique and captivating charm.
“Seele, Mei-nee. I hope I didn’t startle you.”
Seele shook her head.
“No, not at all. I just think Bronya-nee has become even more beautiful.”
Raiden Mei, however, focused her attention elsewhere:
“Bronya, you… have become a Herrscher too, haven’t you?”
“Ah, so that means… all that ruckus earlier was—”
Bronya nodded.
“According to Mr. Welt, he noticed that I have a certain compatibility with the Herrscher Core of Reason, so he invited me to take part in his trial. It was only just now that I finally completed the trial and earned the preliminary recognition of the Core of Reason.”
“Preliminary…”
“Yeah. Mr. Welt told me that his own compatibility with the Core of Reason isn’t actually that high. His use of the Authority of Reason isn’t as proficient as the first Herrscher of Reason, Welt Joyce. He’s entrusting me with the Herrscher Core not only to give us an extra layer of protection inside the Quantum Sea, but also because he hopes that one day, I’ll be able to grasp the true Authority of Reason.”
“But if Mr. Welt gave you the Herrscher Core, then doesn’t that mean he—”
“Mei-nee, do you remember when Anti-Entropy attacked St. Freya Academy a few years ago? Later on, we learned that the main attacking force back then consisted of clones of Welt Joyce. The reason both Welt Joyce and Mr. Welt could control gravity was because they used the Authority of Reason to construct the Imitation Eden Star.”
“So, Mei-nee, have you ever wondered why those clones didn’t have a Herrscher Core in them, yet could still manifest the power of the Imitation Eden Star?”
Mei and Seele exchanged a glance, then turned to Bronya, signaling her to continue.
“Mr. Welt told me that this is the special trait of the Herrscher of Reason. After using the Authority of Reason frequently, it forms a kind of muscle memory. The Authority of Reason works by understanding the essence of things and then replicating them. And when something is reproduced often enough, the feeling of creating that substance can even be engraved into your DNA. That’s why the clones made from Welt Joyce’s DNA can, to a certain extent, reproduce the Authority of Reason.”
“In other words, even though Mr. Welt isn’t as powerful now as he was when he had the Herrscher Core, he can still use the Authority of Reason.”
“Exactly. Mei-nee, your question just now was one I naturally had too after I received the Core. To put my mind at ease, Mr. Welt constructed the Imitation Eden Star right in front of me and effortlessly applied several hundred times the gravity…”
Five minutes later, Einstein’s communication came through once more:
“It looks like Bronya has cleared up your doubts quite well. Now then, the experiment is about to begin. Please make your preparations.”
The three of them nodded and took their positions. Project Bunny also transformed from motorcycle mode back into its mecha form and followed behind Bronya.
“10, 9, 8, 7…”
“3, 2, 1… Abyssal Eye, activate.”
As a beam of energy projected into the Abyssal Eye, the previously calm surface erupted with intense energy fluctuations, gradually forming a massive vortex.
Seele took the lead, leaping forward, with Bronya and Mei right behind her. The three of them were soon swallowed by the enormous whirlpool.
A short while earlier, just outside the Abyssal City. Enoxia was carefully receiving information from her clone.
“Bronya has passed the trial and become the third Herrscher of Reason. The Abyssal Eye is about to open. Please be prepared, you two.”
Sirin gave Enoxia an “OK” gesture.
“I’m good on my end. At this distance, with Misteln’s cooperation, I can open a path straight to the Abyssal Eye. According to Mobius’s calculations, once the Abyssal Eye opens, the surrounding space will also become distorted, allowing us to go straight into the Quantum Sea from here.”
“After that, everything will be up to Misteln.”
“Rest assured, Miss Sirin. I’m fully prepared as well.”
Enoxia noticed that Misteln seemed even happier than usual.
“Is it because she knows Bronya has become a Herrscher…? That makes sense, I suppose. After all, seventeen years ago, at Alexandra’s grave, Gray Serpent told her that the safest way for Bronya to ensure her survival was to become a Herrscher…”
“In that case, she can finally feel like she’s done right by Alexandra… No, there’s still one more step.”
“After all, the Bronya right now is still only a fake Herrscher of Reason.”
