Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

The great integration is coming.

Universes will connect and form a new world community. Based on this nearly four-figure complete universe, countless complex, tiny, ephemeral, or complete new universes will also be born. They will connect and intersect with each other, ultimately forming an ideal multi-dimensional system.

[A counterfeit multi-faceted product.] Luo Ye thought to herself.

She knew what multiverse was—a complete, independent system of structures. Just as defining the independence of a universe relies on three fundamental elements: 'script,' 'characters,' and 'setting,' the biggest difference between one multiverse and another lies in whether some common underlying power is the same.

In the universe of this Asia, this power is called the Light of the Mind. The Light of the Mind exists as a fundamental building block in any universe belonging to this system—its stability surpasses everything else, surpassing particle structure, gas, strings, and entropy—any universe in the multiverse of this Asia can still exist even after having one or more of these elements removed. However, the Light of the Mind is indispensable within the system of this Asia.

The universe can lack everything, but it cannot lack the light of the soul.

There is nothing in the Abyss of Death, but the light of the soul can still exist.

The six major systems constructed by mortals—genetic lock, soul obsession, cultivation, celestial position, faith, and heretical paths—all seem to have bright prospects, some even pointing directly to the path of true sainthood or surpassing all power in the multiverse. However, no matter how powerful they are combined, they still rely on the light of the mind.

They cannot escape Gaia's circle—cultivation may be the closest attempt to success, but the light of the mind remains an indispensable element at higher levels. This is also one of the reasons why Gaia is above all others, because no matter how the situation changes, all these competing forces always fight under her rules.

She is very strong.

Her power extended even to the unfinished battlefield of the final war.

In Luo Ye's observations, she saw that this new multiverse system still used the Light of the Mind as its most fundamental structural element. Its biggest difference from the old multiverse was that it resisted all elements outside the Light of the Mind—outer gods would be corrupted and forced to start from scratch, humanity's fortune would be eroded and forced to rebuild, and many strange external forces would lose their effectiveness. Of course, information magic, a kind of tribunal element, was no longer within its scope of suppression.

Therefore, Luo Ye calls this universe a 'pseudo-multiverse'. While it is fundamentally different from the old Gaia multiverse system, it is still actually within the order of Gaia—it will acquire properties similar to the hidden negative multiverse of Gaia. In other words, the gene lock system here will likely not be as dominant as it was in the old multiverse system.

This is a good thing for her, and it's also a good thing for the Central Continent team.

But for the universe itself, and for the civilizations that reside within it, this is not a friendly change in the system—disaster is inevitable, and it will never stop.

Then Luo Ye blinked.

She disappeared from the outer reaches of the universe, and when she reappeared, she was already on the old Earth, the capital of the mortals—the mortals had long abandoned Earth during their long interstellar expansion, moving all the economic and political cores that had once been located there. They even removed the original name "Earth," and instead, as dynasties often did when they moved their capitals, incorporated the abandoned capital into the new naming system.

Earth no longer exists. That former center of the universe, home to countless scientific research and processing facilities, has been completely deindustrialized and its permanent population relocated. It is protected as Gaia—it still holds a place in human history, and its name in this new system is 'Terra'.

Terra, an intriguing name. Especially after Loye strolled through the city ruins gradually being filled with greenery, witnessing those who claimed to be followers of the Old Druid ideology moving about in the wilderness, and seeing many animalistic features added to them to conform to the ideology, this intrigue was amplified by more than a hundredfold in a short time—she looked up at another realm beyond the void, and at the end of her vision, she saw another Terra floating and sinking in the warp ocean.

The strategy of feigning one move while secretly advancing another—the Ice Phoenix's little trick hadn't been deliberately concealed from her. Of course, she didn't care; the Holy Emperor had already apologized, and the previous karmic debts had been settled. And this current little maneuver could, strictly speaking, be considered legitimate pre-battle preparation.

After all, the final battle hasn't even started yet, and before the final battle begins, all preparations and operations are not considered violations.

So, Luo Ye withdrew her gaze.

She refocused her attention on Gaia, the planet now renamed Terra. And she easily located her target—

—The ultimate weapon of mortal civilization in this universe. The protagonist of this world, born with a mission to protect the fate of mortals.

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

Luo Ye still remembered that meeting—a meeting she hadn't participated in, but whose details she could learn about by observing historical records. She witnessed the final outcome of the apocalypse, the final decision made in the secret chamber by the immortal souls who had destroyed the Mathematical Church and settled accounts with the Information Mages—they intended to end their own sins of betrayal, annihilate themselves, and use everything they had to build a guardian of humanity who was both powerful and wise enough.

They succeeded.

As the last spirit, or rather the last governor, disintegrated during the ritual, a newborn life, born with an almost fully awakened inner light, opened its eyes at the heart of the ceremony—a baby boy with Native American features, yellow skin, black hair, and black eyes. A colorless radiance surrounded him, endowing him with unparalleled and powerful wisdom, while the secret repository of knowledge specially prepared by the governors nourished his growth, allowing him to mature into the form the governors desired before leaving the secret place.

They succeeded.

They truly created an immortal guardian, a being with wisdom and power like the ocean, potential as long as the stars, and an unparalleled passion for the concept of 'humanity'—this being was successfully constructed. And when the infant grew into a youth, and the youth completed all his training, this immortal guardian, who had never been given a name since birth, stepped into the mortal world.

He was eager to get started, full of anticipation for fulfilling his mission and responsibilities.

Then--

Then he discovered that everything now seemed completely different from what he and his creators had envisioned.

He found himself seemingly useless.

Ah, that's right. He is a guardian, but a guardian's role is contingent upon the emergence of an enemy that civilization cannot contend with or a dilemma that ordinary people cannot resolve. However, when he came to the mortal world and came into contact with human civilization, he discovered that the power of mortals was unprecedentedly strong.

Dangerous aliens? Yes, but they barely made their way out before being suppressed and wiped out by the pioneering fleet. Those that dared to bare their teeth were all shattered into molecular fragments. Only a few docile ones, or those forced to be docile, were left behind and thrown into zoos to become pets for the public to watch.

A treacherous natural disaster? Yes, there are, but even the most dangerous gamma-ray bursts have been overcome by researchers. After the unfortunate fleet initially caught in it perished, within a few years, mortals developed a device to capture stellar winds and incorporated this most dangerous natural disaster in the universe into their energy supply system.

Cunning alien races? Yes, the galaxy is home to many native races, including powerful groups or beings capable of uprooting mountains, traversing the stars with their bare hands, and causing cataclysmic disasters with a mere gesture. However, when faced with mortal civilizations that can extinguish stars like light bulbs, alter star charts at will, and even briefly halt time, their powerful physiques and unique technologies become utterly useless. Their only way to survive is to emulate nomadic tribes facing industrial civilization, transforming from warriors into dancers and singers.

Very well, human civilization has become what it is. While it's unknown how long this will last, at least for now and in the foreseeable future, mortals will be united internally and crush any who dare to oppose them. Under these conditions, a sudden guardian is utterly useless!

No, it's not just useless. At a time when everyone is focused on development and progress, parachuting in a guardian who could potentially devastate the existing power structure would be far more counterproductive. A well-functioning order doesn't need another new order to intrude and interfere, which means the best way for this guardian to protect the system is to do nothing!

Thus, this guardian of humanity, on whom the rulers placed their high hopes, received the unfortunate news that he had been rejected for employment the moment he stepped into the mortal world. After much deliberation, he chose the most sensible course of action: to pretend he did not exist, to live in anonymity, and to hide in a secluded corner until the world truly needed him to appear.

And so he did. He hid in the old Earth before it was renamed Terra, returning to the secret sanctuary that had created it. Apart from occasional outings to gather firsthand intelligence, he spent the vast majority of his time in this secret sanctuary, monitoring the entire civilized world through the internet and various communication systems.

This is normal. In any era, as long as the media can operate, patient and experienced people can always obtain more than 90% of the intelligence about a country from the media. And for a guardian who has no interest in espionage, 90% transparency is enough for him to understand the general changes in the entire civilization.

In a sense, he became the most reclusive otaku of our time. And indeed, like a true otaku, he spent the vast majority of his time on the internet and communication systems. Yet even so, he remained vigilant and focused, always ready to complete his innate mission.

He waited.

Then, from the year 2000 AD, we waited until the year 2000 AD.

Technology kept evolving, and mortals kept expanding. Civilization continued to develop, flourishing and unchallenged. And he, the guardian, could only continue to be a recluse on the old Earth, now renamed Terra, where he remained for eighteen thousand years.

Until this moment, until this very instant.

When the gates of the Sanctuary were knocked for the first time in eighteen thousand years, and a visitor named Luo Ye appeared at the entrance to this unknown and hidden place, the Guardian had a premonition that he was about to fulfill his duty. He prepared himself, opened the gates of the Sanctuary, but before the war he had envisioned began, he first received greetings from the visitor.

"Greetings, guardian of humanity." Luo Ye gave him a slight bow, then placed her hand on her chest, resting her right index and middle fingers on her left shoulder. This was a greeting unique to information mages, and she knew that the guardian before her certainly had corresponding records in his knowledge base.

“I am Luo Ye,” she said simply and directly, “the most powerful information mage in the world today. Creation of the former governor, I come to ask you on behalf of the lineage of information magic—do you still yearn for a war against the information system?”

She asked, and even as she asked, she already knew the answer.

"The era of the Archons is over." She heard the Guardian's reply: "The Archons and Information Mages waged war because humanity's resources were limited, leaving them with only one path to choose from. But now, humanity's realm can accommodate a thousand paths and a hundred ideologies—"

"The war is over." He said to Luo Ye, "I have no intention of fighting you, the inheritor of the information. The blood feud of our ancestors should not be perpetuated in our descendants, unless you insist on a decisive battle."

☆, Preparations before the end of the war: Old friends

Victory or defeat?

What kind of victory or defeat can be achieved against an opponent who has no fighting spirit?

How can it be considered a victory or defeat for someone with the power of the Four Great Masters to bully a supernatural being who hasn't even reached the level of a true god?

Times have changed.

Having learned the true identity of the pioneer of the information system, continuing her magical path in this multiverse was no longer Alice's pursuit. This is because the continuation of information depends on Shenqi, not on any other god or demon. Furthermore, Luo Ye's presence here is merely due to a slight causal link between his identity as an information mage and the inheritor of the enemy of information magic.

It's fine to end it, or not to end it. But restarting a stalled organization is not in line with Luo Ye's philosophy.

then--

“We will meet again.” Luo Ye nodded politely and left the Guardian’s secret place. She could clearly sense the Guardian’s gaze and the sense of crisis buried in his heart, but she didn’t care about it at all.

She has plenty of time.

Although the construction of the final battle stage has been put on the agenda, there is still plenty of time for her, who has already reached the fourth level and begun to learn about the path of quasi-saints.

But even with plenty of time, she—

She stopped in her tracks.

The place she landed on was the opposite side of the Secret Sanctuary, the other end of the sphere that is now Terra, the old Earth. What came into her view was a vast ocean, with countless native giant fish swimming on the surface and in the depths, occasionally accompanied by one or two burly software creatures waving their arms and tentacles.

This is the South Pacific. It's a place with few stories and legends in typical history. Because few people have ever stayed in this region, naturally, no strange tales or legends have been left behind.

No, there are some. For example, the place where Luo Ye is standing right now, this pearl in the depths of the ocean, a lonely island in the depths of the azure waves.

This is Easter Island. A remote island in the deep sea, occupied and ravaged in every way by Peruvians, French, and Chileans—it was completely abandoned when the old Earth was renamed Terra, and all its inhabitants, except for the giant stone statues considered cultural heritage sites, were relocated to the stars. And after more than a dozen millennia, everything on this island has been completely forgotten.

But Luo Ye will not forget.

Because she remembered that the island's original name was Napa-Nui, which in ancient languages ​​meant "the navel of the world." She also knew that before Gensokyo opened its gates to Alice, Alice and Patchouli had found the umbilical cord through this 'navel,' and successfully descended from it until they reached the invisible, dark ruins.

The ancient god's curse that had bound Alice and Patchouli for hundreds of years originated from this, and Luo Ye even remembered what strange things Alice and Patchouli had seen in this dark and desolate place.

It was a mysterious and otherworldly being that appeared to be a noble woman, beautiful and elegant, dressed in a magnificent long gown and holding a folding fan. Ordinary beings, upon contact with it, would be corrupted, devoured, and assimilated into its very being. Flesh and blood would dissolve, the soul would be stripped away, and soon, with a mournful sigh, the being would be twisted into a pale face that merged into its long gown, forever becoming its personal plaything.

And Luo Ye even clearly remembers—or rather, is now qualified to remember its name.

"Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep."

Her words caused a great uproar in the seas. From afar, a writhing behemoth cast its gaze toward this area, and that gaze instantly transformed into surging gray waves, stirring up waves in the calm seas!

Countless whispers rang in her ears, and the rapidly forming erosion phenomenon instantly twisted and transformed the entire Easter Island into writhing clumps of flesh. However, the next moment, the entire island was covered by the decaying, cold sun, and in an instant, everything was frozen into stillness.

Time has stopped flowing, and space has stopped operating.

Even the guardian of the mortal realm was momentarily paralyzed from action. And immediately afterward, from the instant Luo Ye's lips parted until this moment, a small tributary of the entire river of time in the 'outside Gensokyo' universe was severed!

It was deleted during this period.

No, perhaps "delete" isn't the right word. It should be "stagnate," "abandon," "decay"! In this eternal darkness that overwhelms all ages, even the river of time will fall silent!

The silence spread outwards, and the Dao Erosion phenomenon extending outwards from Luoye spread throughout the vast universe through the medium of the gaze cast from the outer realms—it transcended the barriers of time and history, easily penetrating into many nodes of many celestial regions within this universe!

Events are changing—

A thousand years ago, at some point in time, a gigantic white humanoid figure that had been wandering on a lonely planet suddenly solidified into stone. Its head, a biological structure resembling a whip, crumbled into dust, and then even the stone-like remains vanished without a trace, as if erased by an eraser.

Events are changing—

At some point six thousand years ago, aboard a mortal exploration spaceship, a group of cultists entrenched inside suddenly ceased their movements. Their flesh and bones transformed into pure salt pillars within an immeasurably short interval. The entire spaceship became a wreck, and at the very moment its voyage ended, it plunged headlong into a bursting stellar storm.

A region of the future star system went dark, and some people were set to a state of never having been born, their life traces covered by another group of beings who should never have been born. This led to the abolition of a war between the pioneers and the natives, and the successors chose the path of education rather than conquest.

Events are changing—

At some point twelve thousand years ago, at a highly anticipated lecture conference, a dark-skinned man with a cheerful smile was about to take the stage, having already prepared a speech destined to be remembered for eternity. He had just picked up the microphone amidst flowers and applause, but just as he was about to utter the first word—

“OH, SHTFT.” — His projection abruptly stopped, and the virtual conference, accompanied by a week-long server malfunction, ended abruptly. His brief, two-word speech became immortalized in a way different from the previous timeline. The man himself vanished without a trace, and his disappearance quickly became outdated news, forgotten by the public.

Events are changing—

Eighteen thousand years ago, at the moment the rulers resolved to create the guardians and initiated the ritual, the form of the ruler in charge of the African region, the 'Black Pharaoh,' suddenly distorted. Its timeline was erased, replaced by another famous pharaoh named Tutankhamun. None of the rulers present noticed this anomaly; they simply and swiftly began the ritual. Then, all the rulers disintegrated and merged into a newborn infant.

The next moment, the baby opened its eyes. The faint light that had been flickering in its eyes disappeared, but its disappearance did not affect the guardian's future physical development—after all, this was a hidden trick, and hidden tricks only work at the most opportune time.

Thus, the final change in the event occurred.

Hundreds of years before this, eighteen thousand years ago, deep within Easter Island, in the dark ruins reached across the 'umbilical cord of the world,' two young witches stumbled into these ruins, attracting the attention and enthusiastic hospitality of countless wicked natives. At the very depths of the ruins, inside a still magnificent palace amidst decay, a noblewoman in a long gown was seized by the sudden arrival of Luo Ye, who grabbed her by the throat the instant she rose to her feet!

“You have no power in this universe, Nyarlathotep.” Loye’s words were indifferent as he watched the otherworldly being’s body turn into mud and pus.

"You cannot defeat Chaos, you will suffer the pain of blasphemy!"—A series of sharp roars came from the mud, the sound transforming the entire palace into a twisted and monstrous thing in an instant, but it was also bound by the decaying sunlight to the original spatial coordinates of the palace. Immediately afterward, Luo Ye tightened his grip on the mud's neck!

A sound like 'thump' seemed to ring out, and then, in an instant, the once wicked noblewoman, now a rotten sludge, transformed into a dry stone. The stone crumbled into powder, which dissipated into nothingness.