Felicity didn't waste any time. The moment she sensed something was off, she promptly informed Welt and the others of her decision: she wanted to return to the space station immediately.
Given that the Astral Express had been delayed on Jarilo-VI far longer than planned—and considering the possible lingering effects of the Stellaron—Welt and Himeko exchanged a brief, silent glance and nodded in agreement.
They too had seen it—the Stellaron's apocalyptic eruption beyond the stars. If any residual energy had seeped into the Express, it could explain its unstable state. There was no room for carelessness.
Without further delay, the train changed course and returned swiftly to the space station's platform.
Asta was already there, waiting. She had been informed in advance by Herta, and as the train doors hissed open, she greeted them with a bright, enthusiastic wave.
"Feli~!"
Standing at the front of the platform, Asta's voice rang out like a melody. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her smile glowing like sunlight after a long winter.
"Asta? Why are you here?" Felicity blinked, caught off guard. By any estimate, repairs on the space station were expected to take at least fifteen working days. Their expedition hadn't lasted that long. Shouldn't Asta be swamped with work?
"What are you saying?" Asta pouted, her soft, pink lips forming a gentle curve. With a hint of mock resentment, she added, "Are you saying you don't want someone to personally welcome you back?"
"How could I not?" Felicity replied with a grin, shaking her head like a rattle drum. Without hesitation, she grabbed Asta's hand and declared in a dramatic voice, "Please elope with me in secret, Miss Asta!"
"Pfft…"
Asta burst into laughter. She didn't pull her hand away, instead replying in her usual sweet tone, "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. The truth is, Madam Herta received word that an important academic guest would be visiting. So we temporarily put aside other tasks to make preparations."
The space station operated under Herta's name, after all. Poor hospitality could tarnish her reputation. Everyone had been mobilized to ensure the welcome was flawless.
An important guest? Could it be… Screwllum?
Felicity's thoughts stirred. Herta had mentioned Screwllum in passing before. But he had always been a low-profile figure—he never visited with this much fanfare. Something felt off.
She turned to Asta again, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "Then… is it really okay for you to be here with me right now, instead of helping with preparations?"
"It's fine. We still have four system hours before the guest arrives. I just stole a little time to welcome my dear friend. No one will mind."
Asta smiled and gently squeezed Felicity's hand in return. "Come with me. Madam Herta is waiting in her office."
"Got it~"
Felicity nodded and followed her without hesitation—though she made sure to bring Stelle along.
--+--
Inside the Herta Office.
Herta was hunched over her desk, one hand fiddling idly with a puppet shaped exactly like Felicity, while her eyes—calm and emotionless—remained fixed on the data suspended before her in holographic display.
The office door swung open with a soft chime.
"Yohoo~ Herta, long time no see~!" Felicity called out in a playful tone, strolling in with a spring in her step.
"We just saw each other yesterday," Herta replied flatly, not even turning her head.
"Tsk, what I saw yesterday was my Herta doll. Today I see Herta's Herta doll. Two completely different concepts, okay?"
"…Your logic is flawed."
"..."
Stelle stood awkwardly by the door, blinking in confusion.
Why… why do I feel like I'm third-wheeling in a conversation between two people who share the same braincell?
"Alright, enough nonsense," Herta sighed as she finally turned toward the terminal. "Let's begin the test."
"What kind of test is it this time?" Felicity asked, tilting her head as her gaze landed on the Simulated Universe terminal. It looked the same as always. "It doesn't seem like anything's changed."
"You just need to go in," Herta replied nonchalantly. "This round is mainly for testing Stelle anyway."
"Hey, that's rude!"
Herta didn't flinch. "The purpose of this test is to verify whether the Simulated Universe still contains the same fatal bug as before. After several rounds of debugging and adjustments—done in consultation with other top minds—we've finalized this version."
She then added, with unnerving calm, "You can only truly wield your power after mastering it in a simulated environment. If you want to survive a battle against an enemy capable of killing you, you have to prove you're ready."
"…That sounds ominously reasonable?" Felicity shuddered slightly.
"And more importantly," Herta went on, "if you fully control your powers, they won't activate automatically when you die."
A lie.
Herta knew full well that if Felicity fell into unconscious death, the residual energy within her would surge on its own—violently and chaotically—just to repair her body.
But Herta said it with a straight face.
"Yeah!" Felicity was instantly convinced.
"…Where's Screwllum?" she asked, glancing around the room.
"He's still en route. You go test first," Herta said, then promptly shoved Felicity toward the simulation terminal like a bored older sister pushing her sibling into a haunted house. "Just do whatever you want inside. But don't lose your self-awareness again. That was a pain to clean up last time."
"Yes, yes, ma'am~" Felicity waved her hands in defeat.
Stelle stepped up beside her, eyes sparkling with curiosity. She was secretly excited to see what the latest Simulated Universe update had in store. After all, it was the only thing—other than trash-cleaning—that thrilled her.
Come to think of it, weren't both those hobbies… taught by Felicity?
She really is amazing.
That thought was her last conscious one before the world turned dark.
Darkness closed in.
Stars began blinking into existence, scattered like silver dust across the void.
No… way?
A creeping sense of dread settled into Stelle's heart.
Sure enough—when she looked up, her mouth fell open in disbelief.
Felicity was already floating, suspended mid-air and glowing with a radiant, emerald-green brilliance.
Above her, a new line of stark, white system text appeared:
[Simulation of Aeon Felicity]
"..."
Stelle's lips twitched. She had a bad feeling about this.
Felicity's consciousness sank deeper into the Simulated Universe.
And she realized it immediately—something was off.
Unlike the previous incident, the erratic thoughts that usually plagued her simply passed by like clouds—visible, but unable to latch on. Her mind remained calm, unshaken.
But her powers… her powers had changed.
Here, in this space, she could sense it—capabilities that were previously locked now lay bare before her. New commands, new instincts, new thresholds.
She raised her hands slowly.
"Engine of Creation," she murmured.
The phrase echoed like a divine invocation.
In a blaze of emerald light, she clasped her hands together.
From the ground, towering wooden pillars erupted—dozens, then hundreds—spiraling skyward in chaotic unity. They twisted, merged, and wove themselves into a titanic figure reminiscent of the mechanical giant she had once faced in battle against the Stellaron.
Stelle stared, jaw slack, as the monstrous construct rose to dominate the simulation space.
And then, in her mind, a phrase surfaced unbidden—
[That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by Titans…]
--+--
T/N: Lowkey every time a see a The Herta edit on my tiktok, the motivation to update this specific fanfic just fucking explodes.