In an instant, Lygus’s hand that had been pressed against Xian Ling’s head froze in place.
The memory reading on Xian Ling had already begun.
However, before anything could be extracted, his actions were forcibly locked in place—much like the insurmountable gap between an Emanator and a mortal.
The difference between an Aeon and an Emanator was just as impossible to defy, a fact also recorded in the Nanook NTR Xipe incident.
And now, Lygus found himself in that awkward position.
He even wasn’t sure whether he should let go of Xian Ling’s head.
Just moments ago, although he hadn’t managed to read Xian Ling’s memories, he had detected something extremely concerning within her body.
He was now intensely eager to confirm whether what he had just sensed was an illusion—but Cyrene’s gaze carried an overwhelming pressure.
The relationship between the Pure Child of Anāsrava and Fuli was something Lygus had heard of before.
Because of that, he couldn’t be certain what attitude the current Fuli actually held.
However, there was one thing he was very clear about—if he died here, there was a high probability that Iron Tomb’s side would be destroyed by Herta given the opportunity.
So, Lygus decisively chose to back down.
The four Lygus figures simultaneously withdrew their actions and began to fade away one by one.
The one closest to Xian Ling, however, gave her a rather complicated look before disappearing from the spot last.
“This…”
Xian Ling blinked in confusion, then raised her head and met the gaze of the figure outside Amphoreus.
Cyrene still remained curled within her giant ice shell, faithfully playing her role as a “puppet persona.” However, Xian Ling understood clearly that due to Cyrene’s final “cleanup,” all the Cyrene projections appearing in Amphoreus were actually “Cyrene (Fuli form).” So…
The Cyrene who had just saved her at the critical moment must also be Cyrene from the future.
Just as Xian Ling was about to speak, the figure outside Amphoreus spoke first.
“You and I in past and future pour and sow sprouting buds flower seeds fruiting waiting flawless destined affection reunion.”
“?”
Xian Ling felt her brain slightly short-circuit.
What is this guy even saying.jpg
Although she had long since known Cyrene spoke like this, instantly decoding this kind of segmented, encrypted speech into normal language was still a bit too difficult for her.
So she could only memorize it word for word and decode it later when she had time.
No—if Lygus didn’t come after her again later, she would decode it before entering the Great Tomb.
After all, this Cyrene projection was looking back from the future into the past.
It was a classic “future influencing the past” scenario under the Path of Remembrance and Enigmata.
Xian Ling was very curious about what future Cyrene was trying to tell her.
Above Xian Ling’s head, Cyrene’s projection seemed to have achieved its purpose.
After speaking, the crystallized data surrounding her instantly returned to normal, and Fourth Mirror’s Warp Procedure finally completed successfully after being interrupted twice.
I thought the Garden of Recollection was on Iron Tomb’s side too…”
Fourth Mirror, whose self-destruct sequence had also been forcibly halted due to Cyrene’s appearance, let out a sigh of relief.
Not because her self-destruction was stopped, but because she could confirm Xian Ling had safely reached her destination.
After all, for Fourth Mirror, death wasn’t frightening.
Death was a cool summer night—a place where mirrors could peacefully rest (take leave)…
Well, that didn’t seem so peaceful, because before she could even transfer herself over, Lygus’s figure reappeared.
“She’s already gone?
As expected, Fuli’s goal was clearly to let Xian Ling escape…”
Seeing that the white-haired girl had disappeared, Lygus couldn’t help but sigh.
At this point, he had also lost the desire to continue the pursuit.
After all, where there is one, there will be a second.
Even if he caught up to Xian Ling again, the moment he touched her, Cyrene would likely cast her gaze down once more.
“What a pity.
I couldn’t fully scan her body.
If my sense wasn’t mistaken… that child is likely also a creation of ‘me’…”
“Eh?!
What??”
Hearing Lygus’s muttering, Fourth Mirror beside him was stunned.
“W-what do you mean?
You want to steal someone else’s daughter from Herta?
I-I’m telling you, even if it’s custody battles, it would only be Lady Ruan Mei and Lady Herta fighting over it… the young lady will never go with you!”
“Fourth Mirror, what nonsense are you talking about now?”
At that moment, Herta, who had finally broken through Lygus’s blockade, also arrived at the battlefield.
Although she had missed the critical moment, she was only about a minute late.
For Herta, this already counted as an overperformance driven by “urgent rescue instincts.”
Unfortunately, the first thing she heard upon arriving was that the man with a hole in his chest wanted to take her daughter.
“Don’t misunderstand, Lady Herta.
I have no interest in taking what belongs to others, nor do I wish to involve myself in your complicated romantic entanglements with the other two Geniuses.”
Lygus immediately raised his hands.
At least on this matter, he truly had no malice. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“I simply want to know—what state was Xian Ling in when you first adopted her?
And where did you obtain her?”
“After all, if my perception wasn’t wrong…”
“That child is very likely the handiwork of another ‘Zandar.'”
“…Sorry.
No comment.”
Herta frowned slightly.
No matter how she observed him, she could not detect even the slightest trace of lying in Lygus’s words.
But the problem was… she also didn’t know Xian Ling’s origin.
To be precise, by the time she learned of Xian Ling’s existence, she had already been “adopted” in practice by Ruan Mei.
“And rather than worrying about Xian Ling’s background, you should worry about yourself… or do you think Xian Ling’s actions won’t affect you at all?”
“If so, you wouldn’t have rushed here to intercept her in such a hurry, would you?”
“Heh…”
Lygus did not respond, only letting out a faint, casual laugh.
“Perhaps Xian Ling did discover something crucial.
But it doesn’t matter.”
“The birth of Iron Tomb is an anchored Moment set by Nous.
A Moment cannot be changed—it is destined to occur.
This is a law proven through countless experiments by Polka.”
“So I believe Xian Ling can do something… but as for truly affecting Iron Tomb, that’s unlikely.
After all, she is just a mere Memokeeper.”
“Moreover…”
Lygus did not continue, instead once again activating the authority of his Scepter, continuing his role of stalling for time.
Moreover, even if Xian Ling really could disrupt his plan, it didn’t matter.
As another creation of Zandar… what else could Xian Ling’s purpose be, other than that?
She simply might be walking a different path from him.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!