“Initiating Space Jump…”
“Preparing Thought Refraction…”
“Constructing Data Spirit Body…”
“Um… protecting the lady?”
Watching her first three companions diligently carry out their tasks, and having followed Herta and Xian Ling to the Amphoreus Star System, the Fourth Mirror tried to find a similar rhythm but clearly felt somewhat out of place—probably because she was rarely used.
Then, the Fourth Mirror slightly turned her head to look at Xian Ling.
The crack in the mirror quivered gently, as if asking, ‘Boss, what’s for lunch?’
“Stop looking at them.
This time, your mission is with me… come over here.”
Xian Ling reached out and smoothly absorbed the Fourth Mirror into her body.
By design, this wasn’t the first time Herta had entrusted the Fourth Mirror to her.
Since Herta usually only needed three magic mirrors, the otherwise idle Fourth Mirror was often used for non-work tasks—or, more bluntly… taking care of children.
In that sense, Xian Ling and the Fourth Mirror were a kind of master-servant duo.
According to Xian Ling’s memory, she had even jokingly asked the Fourth Mirror if she could switch into a maid outfit.
“Xiao Ling, come here.
Something’s wrong.”
Before Xian Ling could examine her surroundings further, Herta’s voice came from nearby.
“Our refraction distance is off… strange.
Where’s that weird material at the planet’s periphery that interferes with transmission?”
“Weird material?”
“Yes, a pink ‘mist’… preliminarily, it should be a product related to Remembrance.
That mist repels Memokeepers, which is why I didn’t bring you straight into Amphoreus, but came to the periphery first.”
Herta scanned the surrounding environment and frowned slightly.
“However, it seems the material hasn’t disappeared—it just lost its repelling effect… Forget it.
No time to study it now.
Follow me.”
With that, Herta waved lightly, and Xian Ling’s figure instantly vanished—short-distance teleportation didn’t even require another mirror.
But…
“Xiao Ling?!”
The moment her toes touched the ground again, Herta instinctively reached to grab the small girl beside her.
But this time… she felt nothing.
During this brief teleportation, Xian Ling… had disappeared.
“Damn it…”
“Please remain calm, madam.”
A voice with an electronic timbre echoed nearby, filling the space like a Genesis Core.
“Your companion may not be in any danger.
She was merely drawn into this world.”
“And I assume, madam, your intention isn’t… to go on a picnic with the child, right?”
A mechanical intelligence with a gaping hole in its chest approached Herta.
“Allow me to introduce myself.
I am Lycurgus, also known as Lygus… I suppose you wish to enter this world beneath our feet.”
“So, please refrain from extreme actions.
This is indeed the entrance to Amphoreus.
If you damage it, your child may not easily come out.”
“I assume you wouldn’t want Miss Memetic trapped on this planet forever, either, correct?”
…
“Fourth Mirror, did you do this?”
“Miss, if I took you away in this dangerous environment without Herta’s permission… do you think she’d mince me afterward?”
“I think… it wouldn’t be that bad.”
Looking at the distant city-state and the thriving, competitive forest before her, Xian Ling sighed.
“So, we were ambushed the moment we entered Amphoreus… is that it?”
“Please wait.
Retrieving my operational trajectory… huh?”
“What is it?”
“This environment is so strange… wait, something’s wrong, miss.”
Perhaps shaken by the bizarre result, the Fourth Mirror’s voice trembled slightly.
“It seems… we’ve entered a data world?”
…
Xian Ling remained silent for a moment, not replying immediately.
“If this is a data world… Fourth Mirror, can you try connecting to the admin privileges here?
Or at least see if you can access its data?”
“I’ll try… oh, and miss, you can try as well.
If my previous operation logs are correct, it wasn’t this world’s power that drew us in, but the power of the Garden of Recollection.”
“Garden of Recollection?
As I thought…”
“As what?”
“Don’t bother me, I’m grilling.” Xian Ling pressed the Fourth Mirror back, sat on a nearby rock, and fell into thought.
The if-line of the Great Black Tomb isn’t detailed much in the original game, especially regarding its cause.
It only briefly mentions that ‘the Garden of Recollection pierced Amphoreus’s veil.’
Judging from Herta’s prior knowledge, she should have some understanding of Amphoreus.
This aligns with this worldline’s ending: unlike many first impressions, the Great Black Tomb’s if-line is actually an Herta-victory if-line, albeit at the cost of herself.
After all, Lygus would never want the Iron Tomb to use Herta as a pawn.
For Herta to crown herself as Rupert III, the primary condition was that she could outmaneuver Lygus.
According to the 3.0 main plot, even with the help of the Stellaron Express, Herta and Screwllum struggled for a long time before progress.
That Herta could briefly outmaneuver Lygus in the if-line likely relates to the Garden of Recollection’s influence on Amphoreus.
However… it seems the calculations inside Amphoreus haven’t ceased, meaning the Garden’s impact hasn’t fully manifested yet.
Or perhaps… their influence targeted the scepter’s permission layer?
With so little concrete information, Xian Ling couldn’t yet reason conclusively.
Still… she had a method to investigate.
Taking this chance to familiarize herself with her Memokeeper abilities, Xian Ling looked at the silent mirror.
“Fourth Mirror, status report?”
“Things don’t look good, miss.” If the Fourth Mirror could show expression, she’d be sweating profusely.
“Admin privileges here are completely out of reach.
Even data access is difficult.
If we want to manipulate without detection, I can only manage data retrieval and short-range jumps.”
“Even those two abilities work because they follow my own logic circuits… You might not believe it, miss, but this place’s base logic isn’t the Nine-Worded Formulae, so my OS isn’t compatible…”
“Understood.
You’re basically saying we can’t rely on you…” Though expecting this result, Xian Ling feigned helplessness with a nod.
“Then I’ll take command.
Using Memokeeper methods, I’ve uncovered some interesting information…”