Herta was busy collecting the previously simulated data, fine-tuning the tiline of the Simulated Universe.
Beside her, 'Robin' wasn't idling either.
She casually switched on a recording device, attempting to channel the power of Harmony to hum a few lodies.
anwhile, she struck up a conversation with Ruan i regarding the Glamoth Iron Cavalry.
[Ruan i: A defect born of Paths? If that's the case, it truly is a difficult knot to untangle.]
[Naless: Do you have any ideas, Ruan i? I tried using the Halo System to simulate the concept of a hive mind, but it ended in failure. For now, I've had my own Swarm adopt her; it's the only thing keeping her stable.]
[Ruan i: ...I haven't even t the subject yet. However, defects of Paths are often most easily nded by Paths itself. Perhaps you could try the Harmony.]
[Naless: Are you referring to the concept of the collective that Xipe absorbed?]
[Ruan i: It's rely a direction. Or, if the opportunity arises later, you could try making contact with the Empire of Glamoth.]
[Naless: Are you interested? The Land of Light has a decent relationship with the Empire.]
[Ruan i: It's a fine suggestion. Pathstriders of Propagation... such a collective is quite a rarity.]
The Path of Propagation consisted almost entirely of bugs. Whether they looked human or not, their essence remained insectoid.
Even with the identity 'Robin' had used previously, the aspect of Propagation had been concentrated within that strange Lightning Lord, while her true form bore the weight of Destruction.
The Iron Cavalry of Glamoth was a rather peculiar group.
They could be classified as both chanical and human, yet they undeniably belonged to the Path of Propagation.
While the Republic of Glamoth had its fair share of issues, in terms of research output, the Iron Cavalry was a truly magnificent achievent.
If she could make contact—perhaps even et the Titania of the Iron Cavalry—she might deepen her understanding of Propagation.
Naturally, Ruan i was keen on the idea.
The chat with Ruan i drew to a close.
Coincidentally, the lody had just finished.
'Robin' stopped humming, letting the power of Harmony dissipate.
Herta took the opportunity to lean over and ask, "What are you doing?"
"Recording a movent of Harmony to see how effective it is."
"...Recording the power of an Aeon with just that kind of equipnt? I think you're being a bit naive."
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting it to be that simple. I just wanted to see the extent to which the power of Harmony can influence things."
'Robin' turned to look at Herta with a smile.
While pressing the replay button, she asked, "Is the Simulated Universe ready?"
"Done. Are you going in again this ti?"
"I'll do it. After all, we need to release the Swarm."
'Robin' nodded, and then the sound of Robin's humming filled the air.
A trace of Harmony's power did indeed linger within the song, but it was limited.
It was essentially just enough to allow the listener to perceive a richer spectrum of emotions.
If she intended to rely on this thod to directly broadcast the influence of Harmony, it fell far short of the mark.
Herta, however, arched an eyebrow.
"Oh? Sothing actually stayed behind. You're a bit more capable than those other perforrs of Harmony. If you can optimize this, you might actually reach the level you're aiming for."
"Probably. But it'll take so work."
'Robin' agreed with Herta's assessnt.
Using song to transmit emotion and power was indeed feasible; the effect just hadn't t her expectations yet.
It all depended on whether the optimization bore fruit.
If not, this path was essentially a dead end.
But if it succeeded... the Family might just blow a fuse.
"For now, let's focus on testing the resurrection of Ena."
Putting the matter of the harmonic music aside, they needed to finish the verification work first.
"Good luck then. I'll keep an eye on things from out here for you."
Herta gave her a slight nod.
"Mhm. Thanks for the help."
'Robin' offered a sincere word of thanks, secretly hoping that Aha wasn't the one pulling the strings this ti.
The Aeons within the Simulated Universe possessed an extraordinary sense of realism that felt decidedly abnormal.
She had never found the right opening to investigate the cause.
But now, she could use this very trait to test the waters.
Whether it was a secret touched upon by the Simulated Universe itself, or if an outsider had been quietly tampering with it.
Combined with Elio's prophecy, the birth of the Eighth Lord Ravager would undoubtedly be linked to 'Robin'.
What if she proactively simulated her own Swarm within the Simulated Universe?
At least in her eyes, her Swarm was surely the best candidate for forging the Eighth Lord Ravager.
Since she was conducting experints anyway, rather than constantly worrying, she might as well take the initiative to induce the birth of that Lord Ravager.
If Nanook truly intended to do sothing—
Assuming the Simulated Universe was being manipulated by human interference, would Nanook's actions alert the culprit?
And if the Simulated Universe was naturally evolving to this point, what changes would occur after the interference of a true Aeon?
Of course, if Nanook didn't react at all, that was fine too.
She would simply proceed with the experintal project as planned.
There would be other chances to test things out later.
Taking a deep breath to steel herself, 'Robin' stood up and walked toward the platform once more, syncing into the Simulated Universe.
This ti, her identity was herself.
Inside the Simulated Universe's Penacony.
After receiving AR-214 who had traveled to Penacony, she accepted Gopher Wood's invitation.
She cast her Swarm into the dreamscape of Penacony.
The literal Swarm sank into the Synesthesia Dreamscape.
The already blurred boundary between dream and reality was completely obliterated at that mont.
A controllable Swarm began to prowl through Penacony.
Using the beautiful dreams of countless people from across the cosmos as a nursery, the Swarm began to drink in the power of those dreams, growing in an unexpected direction.
Gopher Wood had finally completed his final puzzle piece.
In the end, Gopher Wood did not wait for Robin and Sunday to grow up.
Particularly because he was certain that the resurrected Ena would surely be the first to punish the followers who had profaned THEM.
Therefore, he was unwilling to let the twins, into whom he had placed so much hope, die for his desires.
So, before Robin could grow up, he initiated the final plan.
The Charmony Festival was convened ahead of schedule.
People from all over the universe gathered here as Ena's Dream quietly blanketed the entire Asdana Star System.
When the audience had all arrived, the Swarm hidden deep within the beautiful dream sward out in full force.
The Swarm evoked the fears of Penacony, and under the guidance of the Family, that fear transford into a yearning for power.
And Gopher Wood directed that yearning toward Order.
The whole process was largely as expected.
If there was any surprise, it was perhaps the Interastral Peace Corporation, but in the Simulated Universe, the IPC also underestimated the Swarm that 'Robin' had deployed.
The Swarm within the dream could move freely between it and the real world, and the assembled fleets ultimately beca nothing more than breeding grounds for the Swarm's expansion.
The resistance gathered by the various major factions was almost entirely suppressed by the Swarm, making it impossible to achieve any effective results.
The beautiful dream of Order expanded completely.
Just like the original plot, the Galaxy Rangers proposed using their gathered strength to resist the dream.
The problem, however, was that the IPC fleet had already learned a bitter lesson.
Numbers might be able to shake the dream of Order, but they would only give birth to more Swarm, dealing a devastating blow to those who had gathered.
Everything in the Simulated Universe seed to be moving in the direction 'Robin' desired.
When Xipe appeared, looking at the reconstructed Ena within the dream, it seed THEY were there to witness THEIR resurrection.
'Robin' and Herta both fell silent.
They waited for the mont the dream would overwrite reality.
However, no one expected that the first thing to erge from the beautiful dream was not Ena.
Instead... a giant bug with an incredibly exaggerated energy signature was slowly being born!
Even just its illusory body was large enough to occupy the entire star system of Penacony.
A thick aura of Propagation, even mixed with the movents of Harmony and Order.
It almost gave one the illusion that the Swarm King was being revived.
The massive insect had not yet fully taken shape, because Ena's dream had not yet finished overwriting reality.
Yet it was visible to the naked eye—if Ena of Order truly resurrected through this dream, then this bug born from the dream would also descend with unrivaled majesty!
Seeing this, Herta finally lost her cool.
"What are you doing?! Are you trying to use Ena's resurrection to split off and revive the Swarm King?!"
"It's not ! I didn't do... Wait, I told the Swarm to develop within the dream, and they're still following orders?? They're using this dream that covers all of reality to gestate a giant bug?!"
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL
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