"This really is astonishing. No matter when it happens, you always bring surprises.
My respect to you, Mr. Su Ran."
After witnessing Su Ran’s miraculous handiwork once again, Screwllum couldn’t help but offer sincere praise.
Sure enough, having such a genius participate in the Simulated Universe ant there would always be unexpected breakthroughs in their research.
"Your manner of speaking is gentle and refined as well—quite pleasant, Mr. Screwllum."
Su Ran returned the complint with ease.
Only Ruan i stood there, staring at Su Ran with eager eyes.
The cold reception last ti had left this socially awkward scholar feeling down for a long while— she’d barely spoken to anyone since.
"Hello."
Seeing that Su Ran didn’t seem inclined to acknowledge her, Ruan i could only take the initiative.
"You too, Ruan—"
The familiar pause appeared again.
A long, awkward silence.
At this point, she was already used to it.
In fact, perhaps because he was still willing to tease her like this, she felt a rare flicker of happiness.
Screwllum found the interaction puzzling.
No one had ever addressed Ruan i like this before.
What’s more, her virtual avatar was actually showing a hint of... happiness?
It was deeply baffling.
"...i."
"There’s really no need to pause for that long."
Ruan i quickly followed up.
Screwllum, having witnessed the entire exchange, was utterly stunned.
So the problem was just that the pause was too long?
Was this so kind of special interaction between them?
"Hey! You two—this is the Simulated Universe, not a dating sim!
And since when did you get so close?!"
Herta abruptly cut in, wedging herself between them.
She genuinely didn’t understand— why did Ruan i seem closer to Su Ran than she was?
"We haven’t even t in person. How does that count as being close?"
Su Ran flatly denied any particular familiarity with Ruan i.
So far, all of their interactions had been limited to online exchanges.
The sa went for Herta, actually.
The person he was truly most familiar with was Asta, since she was the only one who had t him in person.
"Then that’s fine."
Herta imdiately dropped the topic.
After all, she had seen Su Ran in the flesh.
Ruan i hadn’t.
And Herta had no intention of letting Ruan i find out that Su Ran was currently on the Herta Space Station.
With a biologist’s curiosity like hers, she’d probably rush over imdiately.
Herta was lazy.
While Su Ran’s personal visit delighted her, she didn’t feel like making the trip herself right now.
More importantly, she didn’t want Ruan i eting Su Ran before she did.
"Today, we are gathered here to celebrate the expansion and optimization of the Simulated Universe— and for that reason, I bring you a brand-new surprise!"
Halfway through his speech, noticing that no one was bothering to respond, Su Ran simply revealed the surprise outright.
"The Aeon of Eternity — Baal!"
Screwllum: ...
Ruan i: ???
Herta: !!!
Their reactions differed slightly, yet were strangely similar.
All three were wondering the sa thing—
What the hell is an Aeon of Eternity?
Did such a Path even exist?
Could it be older than Order’s Ena or Preservation’s Qlipoth?
"Everyone, no need to be shocked.
This Aeon of Eternity is sothing I made up."
The clarification made all three of them feel dizzy.
The trio: ...
"So... does that actually help the Simulated Universe in any way?"
Herta couldn’t help but admire Su Ran’s imagination.
Could rely fabricating an Aeon help uncover the mysteries of Aeons?
How was this any different from a Fictionologist?
"Introducing a Path that has never existed before, and observing how the Aeons react—
isn’t that a fascinating idea?"
Screwllum was the first to voice his support.
"Conclusion: An intriguing concept. Worth attempting."
As for Ruan i, she chose not to comnt.
She neither approved nor opposed it—simply waited to see what would happen.
"Are you sure this will work?"
Herta didn’t object either.
The reason was simple.
Although she and Su Ran often seed to bicker, whenever it ca to research, she always stood firmly on his side.
Because among them all, she understood his talent best.
"I swear on Herta’s na—if this fails, let Herta’s reputation be utterly ruined."
Herta: I swear I’m going to your early-morning class.
Though she desperately wanted to curse him out, limited by both her upbringing and her rather small swear-word vocabulary, she ultimately gave up arguing with Su Ran in public.
"Then what’s the setting?"
Su Ran began explaining the background he had co up with in less than three minutes.
"Please allow to elaborate..."
"On a planet untouched by the Trailblaze, there lived a civilization isolated from the wider universe.
Baal and Beelzebul were sisters. One day, the Antimatter Legion under Nanook invaded their holand.
In resisting the destruction, Beelzebul tragically died in battle."
A very clichéd origin story.
Thankfully, Su Ran wasn’t a novelist— otherwise Herta would’ve slapped him with a one-star review.
"Witnessing her sister’s death, Baal ca to understand the fragility and brevity of life."
Herta: "Why does the elder sister have a shorter na, while the younger one’s is longer?"
Her utterly off-topic question left even Su Ran speechless.
"Because the elder sister was born first and got the base na.
The younger one ca later and just added a patch to it. Isn’t that normal?"
How was he supposed to know why their nas were like that?
In Teyvat, there was Beelzebul without Baal— so in the Star Rail universe, why couldn’t there be Baal without Beelzebul?
"Suggestion: This detail seems largely irrelevant to the setting.
Lady Herta need not dwell on it."
Screwllum gently tried to steer her back on track.
"I know. I was just picking a fight for fun."
Herta openly admitted she’d been nitpicking.
Fortunately, her puppet body was still adorable— otherwise Su Ran might really have dismantled one.
"Looking upon her fallen sister, she realized the fleeting nature of life.
At that mont, she began to ponder— if everything in the world could exist eternally, would loss still exist?"
Now all three understood.
Su Ran was clearly borrowing elents from the birth stories of the Aeons of Destruction and Propagation as references.
Viewed this way, the ergence of an Aeon of Eternity actually made a lot of sense.
anwhile, inside Herta’s office—
Raiden Makoto had no idea that, without realizing it, she had just stepped onto the very sa path her sister Ei once walked.
—------------------------------
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