The mont they stepped through the portal.
The sensation in his hand vanished abruptly, and a flash of alternating black-and-white light flickered before his eyes, as if traversing through ti.
The process didn't last long—re seconds later, Lucian opened his eyes again.
An endless horizon stretched before him, the night sky above crystal clear, with constellation-like shapes vividly visible across the cosmos.
In this vast, boundless space, Lucian felt infinitesimally small.
Just as he wondered where Callya had gone, several star gates suddenly appeared around him, and Callya's figure flickered into view ahead.
"…I see… sothing… in the depths…"
Lucian cautiously watched Callya's figure. She seed to exist in a different ti, as if she had entered this space long before him.
"I'll go… catch it… you… co find …"
Her words were laced with static, making it hard to discern their full aning.
Still, Lucian understood her intent.
The next second, Callya stepped through one of the star gates.
Lucian paused briefly before following.
A white light flashed before his eyes again, with vague, fleeting images passing by, only to disappear quickly.
The surroundings shifted instantly—no longer the starry expanse but a ruined space.
A phantom of Callya appeared ahead, and Lucian's Pangu Terminal suddenly chid.
"Honored Guest! Are you okay? I can't believe we got through…"
Lucian quickly asked, "What happened?"
"There was an issue with the dive. I'm pulling you out of the star chart now!"
Beatrice's voice carried a hint of self-bla, but Lucian interrupted, "Wait—"
"I've entered a space, and there's a phantom of Callya ahead. Let
check out the situation here first."
Beatrice hesitated, "Is that so…"
"Alright. For so reason, your terminal's connection is unusually clear. Stay safe, and we'll keep in touch."
Lucian acknowledged her and followed Callya's phantom.
"I sealed my mories, letting the past return to a blank void."
"…Was that right or wrong?"
"That guy left without a word, and she made her choice too. Why…"
Lucian watched the phantom, lost in thought.
This wasn't the Callya who entered the star chart with him but the Callya of the past—Lady Flora—since this star chart contained her information.
Left without a word… perhaps referring to .
From Shorekeeper's crystal mories, it seed he had only told Shorekeeper and Rover about his departure from the Black Shores.
Lady Flora's phantom continued, "After all these years, I've co back here."
"I won't stay at the Black Shores, gazing at mories."
"Ugh!" The phantom clutched her chest, visibly in pain, "My body… can't hold on much longer… Heh, I need to find a place to sleep."
With that, Callya's phantom vanished.
Lucian guessed this was likely the cave from twenty years ago, when Callya sealed her mories and left the Black Shores.
Seeing the path ahead blocked, he contacted Beatrice, "Alright, pull
out of the star chart."
Beatrice acted swiftly, and Lucian's vision went dark as he was instantly pulled from the starry sea back to the Black Shores.
Beatrice apologized, "Lucian, I'm so sorry. That escaped star chart is trickier than we thought… It was my misjudgnt."
Lucian shook his head, "No need to bla yourself. Do you know where Callya is now?"
"After I entered the portal, she imdiately lost contact with ."
Beatrice: "Callya is still inside the simulated space of that star chart."
"It lured and trapped her while sinking deeper into the starry sea—that's why you couldn't move forward."
"Also… Callya found the star chart's core. Without her, it might have slipped away in the chaos."
"By the way… what did you see just now?"
Lucian recounted the vision of Lady Flora's phantom.
"I see…"
"There's still a way. We'll create a symtrical copy of the star chart for you, which should let you reach the place you couldn't before."
"But since the template has mutated, you might experience multiple jumps through star chart worlds, and you may not reach the correct destination in one go."
"You'll need to find the right historical node."
Lucian asked, puzzled, "The right historical node?"
"You an, after entering, I might see different possibilities from different tilines?"
Beatrice nodded slightly, "It's a bit complicated, but yes."
In other words, in this copied star chart, he might see versions of Lady Flora that differ from her true mories.
For example, while the real Lady Flora was one of the few survivors of Petalfall Village, this star chart might depict a scenario where Petalfall Village was unhard, and Lady Flora never joined the Black Shores.
"I understand. Let's begin."
Beatrice opened the portal again, "Stay safe. I'll assist you."
…
Before him was an impenetrable tal wall, covered in tangled, intricate tree roots that even blocked the central gate.
In front stood a familiar little robot wearing a straw hat.
Lucian approached and recognized it as the robot from before, which had left the recording about Petalfall Village. Its na was KU-Plant.
It was moving back and forth anxiously.
"!!"
"It's Mr. Lucian…"
Lucian asked, "What's going on?"
"Mr. Lucian, the super-frequency Resonator Lady Flora has broken her restraints and left the dical pod."
"She's currently in the room ahead. We need you to intervene, stabilize her condition, and return her to the dical pod."
"Lady Flora is still in a critical state, with impaired cognition, language barriers, weak behavioral control, and poses a high threat to Black Shores' internal facilities."
"Additionally, regarding your inquiry about the other residents of Petalfall Village: it's been confird that all have perished."
Lucian's brow furrowed. Only Callya survived?
This didn't seem to be the correct historical node. The real history had a few survivors from Petalfall Village, not just Callya.
"When did I bring Callya back to the Black Shores?"
KU-Plant answered, "Half a month ago, Mr. Lucian."
Lucian nodded slightly. This must be the Black Shores from five hundred years ago.
"Please stabilize Lady Flora quickly. Remaining in a severe overclocking state will cause further strain and harm to her body."
KU-Plant turned toward the gate ahead, sealed by thick branches.
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