Mobius never fot her goal. The success of Project Soldier was but one of the things that pushed her envisioned “evolution of humanity” forward. She khere was still a lot to do when it es to it.
Her snake-like pupils expressed i in the small bck cube in Aleph’s palm.
“This small thing looks like a toy, but it is a treasure held dearly by another civilization. You know, the ohat reside in this vast universe.”
If there was something that could describe the Evolution Cube, it was the words “I don’t know how it worked, but it is what it is.”
Their creators, the Evolutionary Civilization, did not uand the reason behind its creation. It was simir to Aleph’s case that led to the creation of something far beyond their current capabilities.
The Evolution Cube’s impacts were there to see. They wouldn’t have rehemselves Evolutionary Civilization without the cube’s help.
“This cube could optimize gene structs. It enhahe current genome and removes their fws. If a person ied with a fn gehey would be matched perfectly.”
Aleph’s words allowed Mobius to uand why the cube was valued by aire civilization. She already saw the effects it’ll bring to humanity.
It was, in the greatest sehe artifact that best answers her wishes.
“ I touch it?”
Seeing her ask with an unusual amount of enthusiasm, Aleph was briefly caught off guard.
‘...Right. This answers her goals… The evolution of humanity…’
“Sure.”
Aleph pced it atop her hand without aation. Mobius then looked at him briefly, a surge of emotions rising on her chest. The fact that he gave it to her without aation speaks volumes of his trust.
For a moment, the evolution cube did not matter. Her inal i in it slightly waned as she was swept by the tides of emotions she rarely experienced.
It e that. Mobius remembered this moment in her heart. She set herself to focus on seeing what made this bck cube special.
‘Later…’
Unbeknownst to Aleph, he wasn’t the only one who felt such chaotic urges.
The two tinued iing like this until Mobius gave it ba. Knowing Aleph had to use the evolution cube in an airtight room, she said:
“I will be watg you.”
“...Alright.”
Somehoh felt some kind of inexplicable feeling when he heard these words.
Looking at Mobius’ departing back, he sensed a feeling simir to Mei’s and Kurumi’s, the two women he could never win against.
‘Am I overthinking it?’
He decided to face it ohe time es. He wasn’t someone who would back down in a fight, after all.
Five mier, Aleph saw Mobius beyond the thick gss. The surroundings of this airtight room began to ge. The internal oxygen tanks operated.
“Hum.”
He tested it and found that the soundwaves died out ohey reached the walls.
Click.
Upon pressing the perfectly embedded button oop of the cube, several lines appeared on its body. The cube began floating as bck particles began to appear in rge numbers.
[tacted a new form of energy. Parsing avaible information…]
[Data has been added to the Embryonic Power System.]
[Avaible version: Cursed Energy, Honkai Energy, Dark Energy, Evolutionary Energy (New)]
Aleph did not have the time to appreciate the prompts as the bck particles started f a co around him.
When the particles began tag his body, he swiftly lost sciousness.
*****
It was a field full of flowers. The pce was the embodiment of a ‘prairie’, a sight that could not be found in the human world. It ecial pce that resided deep in a certai. It was a realm separated by the so-called textures of humanity—a gap that separated the “fantasy” from “reality”.
Fp-!
Swoosh-!
Aleph’s eyes opeo the sight of aremely huge bck dragon nding in front of him.
Unlike most dragons told in myths, or even the one Fire MOTH faced during the sed eruption, the bck dragon was ohinner side. Red lines decorated its entire body.
Sou-!
It used its two ‘legs’ to nd into the ground. It thes two ‘arms’ to prone in a lower position—to lower its head a its visitor.
Strangely enough, the flowers that should have been broken remained unharmed. The gust of wind swept through Aleph. His surroundings were under a metaphysical pressure that tehe world’s ws. Its sheer presence was enough to distort spad turtlefield into something favorable to it.
“We meet again, ior of mine.”
“Um. I did not expect this meeting.” Aleph replied.
“So did I. Truly, unimagireasures beyond one’s knowledge.”
Albion pointed out the Evolution Cube he had used. His gaze was directed towards the clear blue sky.
Aleph looked at it and saw the sight of bck particles slowly creeping at it.
“An artefact of this calibre would be of i even to the great characters of my time.” Albion muttered. “It is but a misfortu falls short of its purpose.”
The two were currently in a mental ndscape—a special spaed by Albion’s remaining thoughts.
With Albion’s pleted remains, it was as solid as it could ever be. Even to its death, its strength pares to that of gods.
Thus, the Evolution Cube’s fun of f a ‘geo ie with its user did not pletely work. After all, that ‘genome’ was her than Albion itself.
“Is this sidered cheating? You know, there were the trials you gave me…” Aleph asked awkwardly.
“It is thy strengths to acquire an artefact of this kind. It does not t as such.”
Upon hearing Albion’s response, he breathed a sigh of relief.
‘It’s close… but I o do it.’
With the sixth Herrscher going missing for fifteen days, Aleph needed all the help he could find. Despite his energy reserves increasing more than twice than before, plus all the other rewards he got, he wasn’t fident he could fight against the ‘Herrscher of the End’.
Its main strengths are its authorities. Without a way to deal with them, Aleph is at a disadvantage.
Moreover, it was also importaests the Evolution Cube’s effects first befiving it to others.
‘I deal if something bad occurs.’
Aleph was more fident to deal with ued acts through Great Sage and Elemental Sight.
Fortunately, it did not occur here.
“Before thy departure, I want to impart thee of knowledge.” Albion suddenly spoke, its wings fpping slightly. “Oed to thy greatest adversary.”
“The Co..?”
The dragon billions of years old casually dropped a bombshell.
