“N-not exactly, but that’s basically the principle…”
The Memokeeper Mem answered while trembling.
“It involves certain special abilities of the Garden of Recollection.
We don’t understand the underlying mechanics either, but after sacrificing some of our companions, the five of us successfully merged into Cyrene’s memories in the form of fairies and infiltrated Amphoreus…”
“And then?”
Xian Ling revealed a thoughtful expression.
“Did you enter the interior of the Scepter, or did you directly enter Amphoreus?”
“We entered Amphoreus directly.”
The Memokeeper Mem answered without hesitation.
“Our exploration over all this time wasn’t entirely fruitless.
At the very least, we learned what this enormous thing currently in operation actually is, so naturally we weren’t going to provoke that Administrator.”
“Although some of our companions may have accepted side jobs, our objective from beginning to end was to collect memories, find that existence’s sister for her, and eliminate any threats.”
“So…”
Xian Ling’s fingers tapping the armrest paused slightly.
“After entering Amphoreus, you immediately attempted to find Cyrene and kill her?”
“Wouldn’t that mean someone beat you to it?
No matter what point in time you arrived at, Cyrene would either already be dead or be accompanied by a Flame Reaver.”
“That person’s actual name is Phainon, though calling him Flame Reaver isn’t inaccurate…”
The Memokeeper muttered a small correction.
“You’re right.
The moment we arrived, we realized that killing Cyrene was basically an impossible mission.
As Memokeepers, we could easily discern the true nature of the entire cycle shared by Flame Reaver and Cyrene.
That guy would never allow us to kill Cyrene before he did.”
“So…
we deceived Flame Reaver.”
“Continue.”
Xian Ling’s fingers clenched slightly.
“We knew very well that Flame Reaver was searching for a variable capable of saving Amphoreus.
We were both outsiders and beings capable of ending the cycle, so under those circumstances, gaining his trust wasn’t difficult.”
“Therefore, near the end of that cycle, we found a way to modify the power of Remembrance used for reincarnation within the Ritual Sword.
Although Cyrene was that existence’s sister, her mastery over the authority of Remembrance wasn’t particularly deep, so altering the spell structure within the Ritual Sword wasn’t too difficult.”
“After tampering with the Ritual Sword, Flame Reaver naturally lost the power of reincarnation.
And since we ourselves are Memetic Lifeforms, even though that Flame Reaver had already attained terrifying strength, before ascending, he had no means of attacking a lifeform that simply didn’t exist within Amphoreus…”
“Besides, we had already left Amphoreus before he discovered the truth.”
“As for what happened afterward, we don’t know…”
“It wasn’t until one of our companions discovered that the cycle had begun again that we infiltrated once more.
However, judging from the state of this cycle, Phainon from the previous life probably became Kephale in this life, while Flame Reaver from the previous life…”
“He was probably devoured by the Black Tide.”
“After all, we only prevented Flame Reaver from continuing his reincarnation. Find the original chapter at g.com.
We didn’t stop the next Eternal Recurrence, because we still needed to come back and find Cyrene.
So in this cycle, there’s no Phainon.
Otherwise, things aren’t much different from before.”
“Though because Flame Reaver is gone, this should also be the final Eternal Recurrence.
No one remains to tell Cyrene the truth, and the Ritual Sword used for reincarnation has already been destroyed by us.”
“…”
Xian Ling took a deep breath.
Although she had long been familiar with the conduct of Memory Stealers and had mentally prepared herself, hearing this Memory Stealer casually describe how they had reduced Phainon’s thirty million lifetimes of effort to nothing…
Xian Ling felt as though she herself had stepped onto the Path of Destruction.
She genuinely could not imagine how despairing Flame Reaver’s mental state must have been when he discovered the truth at the end of that cycle.
Although she desperately wanted to mince these Memokeepers into meat paste right now, there were still questions left unanswered.
Xian Ling couldn’t afford to lose control yet.
Only after taking several deep breaths did she continue coldly.
“I heard the village chief say earlier that Cyrene is still alive and has even gone to study at the Janus Temple.
What happened?
After all that effort, you still failed?”
“Well, plans never keep up with reality!”
The Memokeeper Mem seemed to have mistaken Xian Ling’s change in attitude for anger over their failure to kill Cyrene.
After all, the Memory Stealer likely regarded Xian Ling as the subordinate of some hidden Unsullied One.
Otherwise, who would willingly wade into a mess like Amphoreus without a vested interest?
“When we arrived in this cycle, we discovered that Phainon and Flame Reaver from the previous cycle hadn’t completely lost consciousness!
They still retained a certain degree of awareness—and even memories.”
“The moment we entered Amphoreus, we started getting hunted down relentlessly.
The people here aren’t exactly civilized.
They’re basically all fanatical worshippers of the Titans.
Kephale personally issued a divine decree ordering our deaths, and every single one of them acted like they’d been injected with stimulants.”
“The Black Tide was even worse.
Who knew that after Flame Reaver got swallowed by the Iron Tomb, he’d still preserve some sanity?
He even learned how to use the Black Tide to contaminate our data.”
“Could our actions have pushed him even further down the Path of Destruction?”
“Anyway, to escape the Black Tide’s pursuit, we found the Lost Wonderland.
Although this place is technically part of Amphoreus’s calculations, it’s also an independent existence in a certain sense.
Neither the Black Tide nor Kephale can find this place…”
“Yeah.
That’s basically it.”
“M-Milady…?
Are you alright…?”
Seeing Xian Ling’s icy expression, even Fourth Mirror’s tone became noticeably cautious.
After following Xian Ling for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen the girl—who was usually both adorably clingy and rationally composed—display an expression that looked genuinely murderous.
Xian Ling slowly exhaled.
Then, without saying another word, she left the room together with Fourth Mirror.
“You can interrogate the remaining three Memokeepers.
I estimate that what this one said is mostly true, or at least the truth as she understands it.
But I don’t want to hear this story three more times.”
“O-Okay!”
Fourth Mirror immediately replied.
“Then, Milady, after the interrogation…”
“Besides the banana, do you have any other Memes?”
Xian Ling suddenly asked.
“I-I do!”
Fourth Mirror immediately projected a list.
“Milady, which ones do you need—”
“The most painful ones.
After you’re done questioning them, apply every single one of them to these Memory Stealers.”
“Eh?”
“What’s with that reaction?
I’m not finished yet.”
Xian Ling glanced at the stunned Fourth Mirror.
“During the entire process, you must ensure that their mind-consciousness remains intact and fully awake.”
“If you dare go easy on them, I’ll tell Herta Onee-san to replace you with a different mirror.”
“That’s too much, Milady!”
Fourth Mirror immediately protested.
“I wasn’t thinking that at all!
What I meant was…
after torturing them, are we really still letting them live?
They do seem to have been telling the truth…”
“The one who promised to spare their lives was me, not you.”
Xian Ling snorted lightly.
“But if I discover even a trace of their mind-consciousness remaining inside your mirror…”
“No way!”
Fourth Mirror shook her head repeatedly.
“Milady, you have to trust me.
Back then, I was brave enough to join you in mocking Lady Herta’s flat chest.
How could I possibly spare them under these circumstances?”
With that, Fourth Mirror immediately fled into one of the other rooms as though escaping for her life.
She would rather listen to those Memokeepers repeat this awful story another time than face Milady in this state.
At this moment, even if Lady Herta herself appeared, she’d probably lose a notch in sheer presence compared to the furious Milady.