Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Human civilization certainly has great potential, but that potential lies in its future development space, not in some so-called aggregate of consciousness. If mortals were to venture into space and choose to unify themselves like a swarm of insects, transforming their collective will into a path of civilizational development, then the resulting spiritual entity would not be surprising if it directly reached the fourth tier, or even the middle stage of the fourth tier. However, in the early stages of civilization, before escaping the gravitational pull of a planet, unless the planet itself is exceptionally unique, even with a large population, a mere aggregate of consciousness formed by billions of people would not reach a transcendent level. They might not even possess a complete way of thinking, merely having a vague instinct for self-preservation.

This aggregate of consciousness foresaw the impending catastrophe, but it was weak, lacking even basic intelligence, possessing only simple instincts. Therefore, it was powerless to stop it and destined for destruction. Fortunately, at this moment, the Emperor descended from the heavens, carrying the fortune of the fourth-order limit—and so, just like in many time-travel stories where the protagonist, born with great fortune, always inexplicably finds a girl falling for him, the Alaya of this world made a similar choice to survive the impending disaster.

The girl didn't actually exist; she was merely a vessel for the generalized consciousness, a puppet of Alaya. And during the time she spent with the emperor, she did indeed siphon some of her fortune from him, allowing her to leave behind a spark at the end of the first era, and the second era would soon follow.

Humanity was wiped out, then revived, but the catastrophe of extinction followed. So, at the end of the second era, this aggregate of consciousness regained the power to create containers again. Driven by its instincts, the second girl reappeared, and it thus survived the second catastrophe.

It succeeded once, it succeeded twice, and when the third disaster struck, it naturally tried to repeat the miracles that had already occurred twice. However, this time, it did not survive the impending catastrophe.

Humanity perished due to the uncontrolled magic, and since humanity was destroyed and no vessel existed, Alaya, as a aggregate of pan-consciousness, naturally dissipated as well. The fortune it stole from the emperor, along with its own, returned to the emperor, facilitating his escape but also significantly impacting him.

A love spanning three lifetimes—this mortal being finally left its mark on the emperor's heart. But the figure in the emperor's heart was only that girl from the three lifetimes, not this aggregate that manipulated from behind the scenes, using the power of the subconscious to drive people's hearts. Only when this aggregate and the girl's form merged into one could the girl return to the world.

The dead can be resurrected in various ways. But the aggregation of a civilization is not necessarily so; it has transcended the concept of a living being and may only be explained by a form of existence similar to multiple intelligent AIs. And multiple, complex intelligent AIs... such things undoubtedly exist outside the cycle of all things.

Therefore, no matter how many times the emperor repeated it, her wish would never be fulfilled. And as time went on, this wish eventually became an obsession, the only obstacle to her becoming a saint.

—Perhaps she didn't want to become a saint, but the conclusion is the same.

Alice then stated her deduction: "You must be a new god born from the remnants of that ancient consciousness aggregate. The history of three thousand eras is merely the nourishment for your gestation, while your original essence remains the things left over from the very beginning. In that sense, it wasn't me who awakened you; I merely acted as a catalyst, allowing you to appear in this world a little earlier."

—The living creature gave a second affirmative answer.

Alice then went a step further in her reasoning: "You don't want to be discovered by the Emperor, you don't want to die, and you don't want to become the resurrection material for that First Era consciousness. Therefore, you must be born before her true form arrives in this world. The previous chaos of rules and the resulting memetic phenomena were also due to your influence in the dark, in order to lure me down and thus bring you into the world from the gestation stage."

—The living creature gave an affirmative answer for the third time.

"I'm really unlucky," Alice said, shaking her head gently.

However, with this, the entire cause and effect are now completely clear. I know who the greatest enemy in this world is, what her goals are, and how she intends to achieve them. The remaining task is to go with the flow, and then, when we reach that crucial point, turn everything around.

“You will help me, won’t you?” Alice asked, looking at the living creature before her. “Because that was the very reason you brought me here.”

—The living creature gave an affirmative answer for the fourth time. And after the affirmation came the question.

“You ask me what to do? Of course there is a way,” Alice replied.

"This planet is the Emperor's treasure. Although she has destroyed and rebuilt its surface thousands of times, and may even annihilate the entire stratum in the future, there is no doubt that she values ​​this planet highly now. She will never destroy it, nor will she tolerate anyone 'completely' destroying it."

“And the key to victory lies in this crucial moment.” The girl’s five fingers slowly clenched. “I want to build a wall, a wall that is closely connected to the earth’s veins of this planet, a wall that will keep everything outside. If the emperor wants to destroy the wall, he can only destroy this planet as well. And in order to build this wall, I need to master the concept of ‘mending the heavens’.”

“I have to go back to the surface. Since my descent triggered your gestation, the spell I used to rewind history must have been affected. It’s probably the ninth or even tenth day now. And since I’m not here, Patchouli should be pushing forward with the original plan on her own… to rewrite the myth and continue the epic.”

"They should be creating the world right now."

................................................

Witnessing the 'Fungal Essence' collapse, disintegrate, and shatter into trillions of fist-sized stones before his eyes, Zheng Zha clenched his fists as he returned to the temporary starport converted from the International Space Station, letting the pounding of his heart, which had been pounding violently in the intense battle, slowly subside.

Who could have imagined that 20,000 kilometers behind 'Fungus Formation' there was an angelic army hidden within its tail flames? That sacred light vessel, its indestructible ray of destruction, and the seventy-seven battle angels aboard it had initially caught the group completely off guard. But now…

It's over.

Zheng Zha clenched the fluorescent stone in his fist—this stone core, extracted from within the 'Fungal Essence,' possessed unimaginable hardness and toughness. Even with his steel hands, which had recently torn three angels apart, he could only manage to create a few extremely shallow ice cracks on the surface of the stone core with all his might. According to the intelligence provided by the mech's built-in AI, this stone core was undoubtedly the crucial element that Norrell needed. If it could be brought back to the ground, the third horn of the apocalyptic judgment, which had brought countless wounds to the planet's surface, would end immediately. And if Norrell's plan went smoothly, the disaster of the fourth horn should also be easily extinguished.

“Apocalyptic disaster…” His gaze moved from the completely shattered 'fungus deposits' that had scattered beyond the atmospheric exosphere and gradually stagnated in the void, then shifted downwards to look at the Earth beneath the starport, ravaged beyond recognition by the global underground volcanic eruption.

Looking down from above, the once azure star now resembles a charred iron ball. Boiling crimson and solidified reddish-black hues permeate over ninety percent of the land, with only a tiny area, no bigger than a fingernail, still harboring a sliver of life.

That was the kingdom Patchouli had built on the earth, a vast nation filled with machines, steel, and working people. Hundreds of millions toiled day and night within it, seeking a glimmer of hope from this apocalyptic catastrophe. If one looked closely, one could see the ceaseless boiling flames and flashing lightning along the border—that was war, a war against the angels, a war that never ceased on land while they fought in the heavens.

Even without witnessing the storm on the battlefield firsthand, one can easily conjure up its brutal scene in their mind. Amidst the lightning that streaks across the sky and the flames and hurricanes that engulf the earth, gods wielding light and giants of mechanical steel collide on the land like tidal waves. Hundreds, even thousands of giants are needed to bring down a single ray of light, yet each ray can easily obliterate a massive steel giant along with hundreds of human soldiers from the ground. Everything is like an ancient war from mythology, with an aura of tragedy and epic grandeur washing over you.

How many people died in that war? Zheng Zha didn't know, and he didn't really care to know. His mind had subconsciously focused, his eyes gradually reddening, and veins bulging on his forehead. At this moment, only one emotion filled his heart:

[Slaughter them all! Exterminate these foreign races!]

"What are you thinking about? You look so ferocious." Zhan Lan's voice rang out from the side, which startled him slightly, causing him to shift his attention from the ground. His expression quickly returned to normal, and he turned his gaze to his companion.

"It's nothing, just thinking about what kind of fierce battles await us down there." Zheng Zha shook his head, looking at Zhan Lan, who had already changed into a standard Eldar prophet armor set. His words carried a hint of concern: "How's your rest? I remember you recently located thirty angels in one go, allowing the starport's artillery to accurately hit them. Your mental state must have been severely depleted. Have you recovered yet?"

"At least it's much better than Xiao Honglu and Zhang Heng. One of them forcibly released an energy storm in outer space, and the other relied on his armor that allowed him to move freely in outer space to play ranger tactics with the angels. Although they did achieve some results, the two of them are now so tired that they can't even say a word. Even with the automated robots and Zero watching over them, they will probably have to lie down for at least two hours."

“Let them lie there. It will probably take us a while to get back to the ground.” Zheng Zha shook his head helplessly. He could clearly feel the slight tremors in the starport, knowing that he and his companions had descended from the exosphere and were gradually approaching the thermosphere. They should arrive on the ground in about half an hour.

While her companions' activity was certainly encouraging, the increasingly difficult situation was undeniable. Although Norrell appeared confident, since reaching the critical point of the third stage, she could now barely discern the witches' true feelings, which were previously imperceptible. And based on her deductions, the future did not look promising.

[Next... there will probably be some tough battles ahead. Aside from Saito Hajime, this time... will I be able to bring everyone back safely?]

He gazed at the hellish surface of the Earth, relaxed slightly, and entered a state of temporary rest.

Author's Note:

......................................................

Today, I'm also working hard to reel in the results. Jiuyuan-chan, fight!

Section 25: The Time of Full Bloom

When Alice opened her eyes again, she found herself back on the surface of the earth amidst the volcanic eruption. Hot lava and scalding steam filled the air, and amidst the deafening roar and thunder, she once again sensed the active information network.

came back.

We're back on the ground.

In the distance, the sounds of battle rang out, a grand symphony composed of missiles, plasma, lasers, and flashes of pure white light. Boiling blood energy surged skyward, but even thicker than the blood energy was the black smoke generated by the mechanical explosions.

That was a battlefield, a battlefield between mortals and angels. So, this must be my destination—the large alluvial plain located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

“Ah…war.” Alice opened her mouth and spoke softly, as a circle of communication spells quickly unfolded around her. “The earth has been swallowed by volcanoes, but the sun’s radiance can still be seen. So, it is the time when the second horn has sounded and the fourth horn has not yet arrived—so, it is ‘Fungus Chen’? Then the creation ceremony should have already begun.”

"I need to get in touch with Patchouli quickly." She took a deep breath and quickly organized her thoughts. Then she activated the communication channel linked to Patchouli.

—The communication was established in an instant.

Alice: "………………"

Patchouli: [...]

“Patch,” Alice took another small breath, lowered her eyes, and said in as calm a voice as possible, “I’m back.”

"[...location coordinates?]" came a emotionless voice from the other end of the communication.

The situation is not looking good.

Alice flicked her fingers, trying to calm the slight unease in her heart. After a quick calculation, she determined her current coordinates and sent them over.

She tried to start a conversation: "Um, Patchouli, I've found out—"

【………………】

— Communication interrupted.

Alice rubbed her head in frustration as she watched the information network suddenly go from extremely active to stagnant.

“Oh no, Patchouli is really angry this time. After all, I disappeared for two days without a word during this crucial time... But this won't do, I have to tell her all the information I have right away.” She tapped her head lightly, then immediately sent another communication request to Patchouli.

The first time, I hung up.

The second time, the call ended.

The third time… the distant battlefield suddenly fell silent, but she had no time to pay attention to that. Instead, she continued her attempts. Just as she was about to forcibly exercise her authority on the communication network to generate images and sounds directly next to Patchouli, she heard the sound of wind being torn apart. The gray-black dust cloud spewed from the volcano beneath her feet was instantly dispersed, and the next moment, a huge aircraft appeared before her. The aircraft's door was slowly opening, and behind the door was a passenger cabin with only two seats.

One position is empty.

In another location sat Patchouli, whose body was connected to numerous intricate machine cables and surrounded by countless light screens like stars, on which flowed massive amounts of data—and Patchouli raised her eyebrows and glanced at her after the door opened.

“Come up.” Patchouli’s tone was flat.

"Oh," Alice responded obediently, then quickly flew into the aircraft. As soon as she sat in the second seat, a massive amount of data, like a tsunami, flooded into her brain. The aircraft door closed immediately, and with a slight vibration, the aircraft carrying the two witches began to operate rapidly, heading towards the core of the base.

Alice's eyebrow twitched.

The data that appeared before her, requiring immediate processing, was plentiful. It was mostly information like, "XXX personnel and XXX mechanical units lost in battle at a certain location," "An accident occurred at a certain factory; XXX damage needs to be repaired before restarting production," and "A certain research project has reached XX% progress and requires an additional XXX amount of OOO resources." Despite the sheer volume, the data wasn't chaotic, and by reviewing it, Alice gained a complete picture of the current situation within the base.

The sheer volume of intelligence—including the base's manpower, resources, troops, productivity, needs, research projects, and most importantly, the intricate and evolving relationships between them—was compiled and organized into a coherent logical framework within Alice's mind. Consequently, the corresponding authority over these elements took effect. In less than a minute, this massive shelter base, housing hundreds of millions of people and several times that number of machines, was under Alice's control.

At the same time, she felt something touching her hand.

It's Patchouli's hand.

Although her gaze didn't shift, what was happening was easily perceived by Alice—no, there was no need to perceive it at all. She knew very well that Patchouli beside her was still meticulously processing the massive amount of data from the base. However, with Alice taking on half of the workload, Patchouli was able to free up some of her energy to do other things.

Alice grasped that hand. Holding Patchouli's fingers tightly, feeling the slight warmth emanating from her soft touch, her already near-limited mental capacity suddenly became even more efficient. An indescribable sense of security filled her heart, and then, a portion of her mental energy, freed up by this increased efficiency, was carefully separated from her mind and moved towards Patchouli along the point where their fingers intertwined.

Coincidentally, or perhaps more accurately, it was a meeting of minds. The instant her spirit touched Patchouli, a small portion of Patchouli's spirit also quietly flowed through her body. At the moment the two spirits touched, a small dream formed from their memories rapidly emerged from the vortex created by the touching spirits, and the next instant, a part of their will simultaneously appeared in this temporary illusion.

Working while dreaming isn't difficult, at least not for the two of them. Although this method of communication is slower than directly exchanging memories, it's the perfect way for them.

................................................

Alice opened her eyes in her dream. A slight gust of wind greeted her, and she immediately felt herself being swept to the ground by a light body enveloped in the wind. A soft, yet slightly oppressive feeling then covered most of her body.

"Alice, Alice, you're always so annoying!" came a voice gritting its teeth, and the voice was so familiar.

"I'm so sorry." The girl gently reached out and hugged the person pressing against her, drawing them closer. "Something unexpected happened, so there was a slight delay—"

Her words froze, followed by a sharp, sharp pain in her neck. Even in a dream, the sensation of her body being bitten open and her blood being drained felt incredibly real. She couldn't help but give a bitter laugh and gently patted Patchouli's back.

"Don't rush, you'll choke," she said.

The oppressive feeling that had enveloped most of her body vanished in an instant. Alice only saw the shadow flicker before her eyes, and then her beloved's flushed face, with tears welling in her eyes, appeared a foot above her. Crimson traces still lingered on the corners of her lips, and it was difficult to describe the complex emotions contained within her watery eyes.

"You, you, you—" Her fist clenched tightly, rising several times, but finally she gently lowered it and punched Alice in the chest. "Don't do that again!"

"Okay, I won't do it again next time."

"...The previous rejection will not be repeated! Not again!"

“Okay, no.” Alice replied with a smile, reaching out to gently wipe away the tears welling up in Patchouli’s eyes. “How many times have I told you, witches… shouldn’t have tears. You’re older than me, so why do I always have to tell you these things?”

"...None of your business!" Patchouli snorted, but her expression quickly calmed down. After all, it was a dream. Although mental changes could affect the physical body in reality, it was much easier to suppress the changes than in reality.

She immediately relaxed, lying on her side next to Alice. Shoulder to shoulder, head to head, hand in hand. The sky, which had been a blank expanse in her dream, transformed into a clear blue sky with white clouds as her mood improved. Soft ground sprouted lush green grass and fragrant flowers of various colors. And the two of them gazed at the sky together, lost in thought.

A fleeting moment in the outside world, a long, lingering dream.

Watching the white clouds drift slowly across the sky and feeling the delicate fragrance wafting from her side, Alice couldn't help but feel a desire to lie there forever.

But that can only be a wish.

She took a deep breath. From the information exchange with the outside world, she already knew the progress and details of Patchouli's plan. Therefore, it was now her turn to pass on the necessary information.

This is a dream world constructed by the two through a combination of spiritual and informational encryption. Unlike ordinary dreams, it is a more robust and secretive space for dialogue. Conversations here have no possibility of being leaked. Even if a creature like a nightmare exists, it can only see a chaotic nightmare that has been encrypted multiple times.

“Patch,” she said softly.