bookcurios Chapter 118 A World Without Alicia
Chapter 118 A World Without Alicia
……
This certainly didn't belong to Seele; it was something Seele took from the Fire Chaser's social gathering dinner earlier.
But the taste was exactly the same as the one she had tasted at first.
The first bite was the taste I experienced when I was starving amidst the ruins.
That's the sweetness of redemption.
The second flavor is the taste of sadness at parting amidst the torrential rain.
That's called subtle honey.
"..."
Seele handed a piece of chocolate from her pocket to Seele the World, and asked earnestly, "Seele, is this yours?"
World Bubble Seele was both surprised and delighted: "How did I end up here?"
Just as she was about to take the chocolate, Seele gripped her wrist and asked, "Where did you buy this chocolate?"
World Bubble Seele tilted her head in confusion: "This was given to me by A-Yun, what's wrong?"
Rather, this chocolate is proof that World Bubble firmly believes that "her experience is not fake."
Seele covered her face and sighed, feeling increasingly unable to understand this world.
She turned around abruptly to look at Yun Fuyu, then looked away again amidst the latter's bewildered gaze.
Forget it, he probably knows even less than I do, so there's no point in asking.
……
Arrived at the base of the World Bubble Moth.
The white-haired beauty, Kaiwen, broke away from the main group and met up with Mei first. She then quickly returned to the group and, on Mei's behalf, invited them to a meeting.
The participants in this discussion were: on one side, only Mei, Möbius, and Keven (the bodyguard); on the other side, Seele*3 plus Cloud Rain.
(Fu Hua has already secretly run away. Her strong control over Yun Fuyu's consciousness has taken a toll, making it unsuitable for her to remain in the Sea of Quanta.)
As soon as she sat down, Seele couldn't wait to ask, "Dr. May, is there really no such person as Alicia in this world?"
Mei nodded with some confusion: "Although I don't quite understand what you mean, I have indeed never heard of the name 'Alice' before."
Mebius sauntered from the side, "Elysia, an eternally beautiful and flawless paradise, who would dare to name it that?"
Indeed, for example, a low-end version of this name is similar to "Wang Meili" or "Zhang Menghuan," while a more affordable alternative is roughly "Ying Xue Hanling." Not everyone can pull it off.
Still unwilling to give up, Seele asked, "Then, Erinis? Argona? Are there any myths or legends related to these two names?"
Mei pondered for a moment, but she wasn't sure. After all, there were countless myths in the world, and she wasn't some omniscient deity.
May then instructed Prometheus, who was on standby, to look through the database and told everyone to wait a moment.
Prometheus is an artificial intelligence developed by May, possessing astonishing computing and comprehension abilities. After linking the entire Firemoth database, she becomes her best assistant.
Hei hope had indeed seen Prometheus, but that Prometheus was merely one who had escaped from some bubble of worlds. The true Prometheus of the pre-civilization era had long since been utterly destroyed.
The ghosts wandering in the sea of quantum mechanics have long been accustomed to similar people and similar things.
Yun Fuyu, who had been deep in thought, suddenly interjected, "Argona, I seem to know it somewhat."
Argona will eventually awaken the dead, and the grieving ghosts will become His dreams.
The towering structure of the world will eventually crumble, and the bubble of dreams will shatter. — This is the echo of the primordial land that Yun Fuyu has forgotten.
Seele nodded: "I know some of it. Among them, Argonaut is the tower of the world, and Elginis is the world of dreams."
Seele suspected that Erinis actually referred to their pre-civilized world. Because to Seele of the present civilization, wasn't that just a dream? Only, a dream that wasn't beautiful at all, but filled with sorrow and mourning.
But Alicia's existence refutes this conjecture that "the world is an illusion."
After a moment of silence, Prometheus brought good news—
"After searching, there is one result related to 'Argona' and one result related to 'Elginis'. Do you need a more detailed explanation?"
Mei nodded gently: "Mm."
Prometheus said expressionlessly, "Elginis is a folk legend, the most beautiful thing in dreams, reality, soul, life... encompassing all concepts. In the legend..."
This legend is exactly the same as the one Seele heard Anise tell. But it doesn't seem surprising; there's likely an Anise and her homeland in this world bubble, so it's not unusual to have similar myths and legends.
Mebius suddenly interjected: "So, Elginis and Elysia actually mean the same thing?"
Mei nodded in agreement: "However, Elginis is ultimately a dream, while Elysia is a fantasy world in the story, a home that encourages people to pursue and build."
"..."
Prometheus continued, "As for Argona, it is the pivot in folk mythology that maintains the stability of the world. If Argona falls, the world falls. In short, it is the tower of the world."
The towering edifice of the world will eventually crumble, and the bubble of dreams will shatter...
Yun Fuyu murmured the echoes she couldn't even remember, and dared not imagine any further.
Seele quickly interrupted the conversation: "Dr. May, have you made any discoveries about the anomalies in the World Bubble?"
After all, it's Mei. Putting all the previous and present civilizations together, and ranking Otto and Einstein together, Mei is undoubtedly the most learned and intelligent one.
If Alicia represents the spiritual core of the pre-civilization story, then May embodies its rational essence. (Personal opinion)
Does such a learned and talented PhD have any knowledge of the anomalies of the world bubble?
Mei did not disappoint. She nodded and said, "Four years ago, shortly after I joined the Firemoth, I realized that this world was merely a bubble within the Sea of Quanta. At that time, I felt some regret about the truth of this world and began to try to see if humanity's power could break through the world barrier and enter the Sea of Quanta."
"..."
———Story Divider———
At that time, May contacted an expert who specialized in the theory of the quantum sea—Dr. Einstein.
At the young age of nineteen, Einstein told May that the power level of the World Bubble was inherently inferior to that of the Intrinsic World, and that exploring the Quantum Sea was simply a pipe dream.
But Mei did not give up and remained determined to continue down this path.
An extremely coincidental thing happened.
One day, Einstein suddenly contacted May, saying that he had detected information from outside the world bubble. They had just finished discussing their joint research when the whole world suddenly shook, as if it had collided with something strange.
This event is known to the world as "divine punishment." From that day on, the intensity of the Honkai increased dramatically, and the Herrschers began to descend.
———Story Divider———
After Mei finished recounting this story, Shijiepao Xier was stunned and murmured, "In my memory, Ayun came to the orphanage after that day..."
Both events are equally memorable, and I would never forget them.