A.N. Readers and Interactions fell off a cliff, this is why you gotta never miss a day man.
After Su placed Durandal's unconscious body at the base of the tree, leaning her back against it. Shamash suddenly floated forward.
"Su." it said simply.
"Shamash," Su responded in the same tone before turning to face me.
"Miss Lee, we meet at last," Su said.
Interesting. Durandal was Bianka, and I was "Miss Lee."
"I have a couple of questions for you, and about your observations using the Seed of Sumeru" I stated.
The scene I had just watched play out was quite similar to what was shown in the Second Divine Key comic. However, some of the things Su described were a little different. I wanted to know if the mechanism worked differently, since the Second Divine Key manga actually has several retcons, or if it was just the result of different wording via the butterfly effect.
Note that in the original comic, Su specifically points out that the parallel universes he shows Durandal are NOT bubble worlds in the Sea of Quanta, but part of an infinite subset of parallel worlds.
This should be impossible given my understanding of the structure of this world, which I got mostly from the system, and from my knowledge about the HSR universe. But it also might just be Su bullshitting Durandal, like some of the other things he had said.
Still, both Su, who mentioned "Unique Singularities," and Elio's "Script," which also contains "Critical Nodes," sound remarkably similar. Perhaps the being Su speaks with after his death is Terminus?
Su seemed to notice the calculations on my face and smiled slightly.
"We have met in possible futures, but only recent possible futures. Ever since your arrival, almost all Unique Singularities have changed to feature you as a prominent actor, the first time this has ever happened," Su said.
"Something I wish to know," I said. "What exactly is the Seed of Sumeru observing? You have stated that the Second Divine Key can 'identify the infinity of possibilities.' What exactly does that entail?"
Su continued to smile. "For the longest time, nearly 4,000 years, I observed bubble universes in the Sea of Quanta. However, due to their very nature, they were all 'failures,' and I was unable to find a solution to defeating the Honkai. Recently, though, I have turned my observations toward the Imaginary Tree itself. Upon observation, what was revealed to me were possibilities of the future."
"It's only been 1,500 years since you trapped Kevin in the Sea of Quanta," I noted.
"Yes. However, I have been using the Divine Key ever since my awakening from the Great Hibernation, with only occasional breaks to check on the real world," Su explained.
"These 'possible futures'—do they all branch from the present?" I asked.
"When observing possible futures, there are many key points, Singularities, where a single decision can make a difference. The possible futures expand rapidly, so I can only observe short distances into the future before turning back to explore different outcomes. This has not been particularly helpful, much like Aponia, who claimed to act with future knowledge, only for it to end badly every time. I can only see a limited future, which constantly grows out of date as Singularities are set in stone. I have been unwilling to leave and influence the outcome, but now, I can influence it here."
System?
[System: What? I am busy… Oh.]
Oh what?
[System: I just ran through the playback, your guesses are correct, Terminus is influencing Su's observations, otherwise they would be unable to see anything except the presence of various branches when observing the imaginary tree.]
Playback?
[System: Everything is being recorded for recordkeeping and archival.]
I smiled, "Looks like a guess of mine was just confirmed."
"Glad I could be of service. Based on the most recent possible futures I have observed, this should be your guess about my connection with this Terminus. It is interesting to know the source of my future knowledge — even if yours is still unknown to me. Aeons, an interesting concept."
Looks like the me's in every possible future decided not to spill the beans, which was good. That decision had been made long ago, nice to know I kept it.
The interesting thing was that the key points had changed with my arrival, or the system's, which was expected. We really were from outside the Imaginary Tree itself.
"Another interesting thing," Su continued, "is that in almost every single possible future, besides those in which you die early, you manage to achieve your goal. This is mainly due to outside interference causing the convergence of possibilities. This is why I have not pinned my hopes on you. You will always leave, whether or not the future is one where the Honkai is defeated."
That was quite interesting, looks like the system was being helpful after all, or it was just Terminus manipulating outcomes towards the inevitable end.
Terminus is said to have traveled backwards in time from the end of the universe.
Elegy mentions that Terminus appears at every moment of Finality, bringing prophecies of the future.
Whatever that means.
Kafka mentions "In the future that Elio chose", but also mentions that the possibilities are endless in the same scene.
Basically, it was all fucking confusing as shit.
Finality isn't described as the end of everything, but rather a new beginning. All things come from Finality and return to Finality.
Again, Hoyo really likes reusing themes, across genres and scales.
Basically everything is Amphoreus all over again. No wonder so many Aeons were interested in how Aphorius played out, it was basically a small-scale test of the structure of the entire Imaginary Tree.
Like Lygus stated, Aphorius is not a place where multiple paths collide, but where multiple paths "fight to the death".
According to Nous's calculations and the whispers of Terminus, Destruction is the last Path. After it, the number of Paths will only shrink.
The "War between the Aeons".
It was safe to assume that even if I managed to leave this branch, things won't exactly be smooth sailing.
Interestingly enough, Terminus, according to Elegy again, is supposed to be asleep.
However the system said that it had "Talked" to Terminus.
I guess the system had been enough to cause it to "Wake".
Maybe that was the reason why my prayer had been answered so quickly, and why exactly it had been so tailored to my situation.
The system was one of the only true "outside" variables, and the ability to travel to infinite worlds would surely appeal to something like an Aeon.
Especially since, like I planned, I might become part of the war between the Aeons — through the Astral Express, or Elio.
Maybe the only reason they haven't interfered more is because of the system itself, or because of the other Aeons.
Surely everyone with a stake in the war between the Aeons was watching events quite closely?
I wonder if I could have called out to any Aeon, and they would have granted me power.
Well, that was interesting, but other than that, I hadn't really learned much.
As if reading my thoughts, Su finally spoke again. "I will tell you how to achieve your goal. Through my observation of possible futures, you should know of Otto's future. To reach the 'Outside,' as you call it, you must channel immense amounts of raw Imaginary Energy into the Divine Key. The Divine Key can handle raw, untapped Imaginary Energy, since the core of the Herrscher of the Void is based on the power of a complete Authority from the Imaginary Tree, not on Honkai Energy."
"Can I power it using Path Energy?" I asked.
"Theoretically, yes. However, the Path Energy you possess is nowhere near enough. And since it is another collapsed form of Imaginary Energy, like Honkai Energy, you would need much more of it than raw Imaginary Energy. The only true way to reach 'Outside' is through the energy provided by a true Imaginary Singularity, in other words, a true Herrscher core," Su explained. "You should be able to provide enough energy if you integrate a core of the Herrscher of Dominance into the power source. Each core of the Herrscher of Domination is connected to the same Imaginary Singularity. When Otto becomes a dual-core Herrscher, combining the singularities, the energy provided should be enough to complete the transfer, regardless of Otto's ending."
"Thanks for being so un-cryptic. So unlike your usual self, and the other Flame-Chasers," I noted.
"Actually, you leaving is better for me. It helps take away the attention you attract and significantly reduces the number of key points, and therefore possible futures, back to their original levels. Your presence causes more deviation, mostly negative. The odds of success improve if you leave," Su noted.
"Thanks." I said dryly.
"In addition, in most possible futures, you put on a 'show' before leaving. Most of the time, this significantly improves the possible outcomes."
That was certainly interesting. I'd thought about it before, but I would have to give it much more thought now.
"I have some questions," Shamash interrupted. I had completely forgotten they were even here.
"Ask away," Su said, although his smile said he already knew what the questions were.
"What should be my top priority?" Shamash asked.
"Please help Miss Lee with whatever she requires. Your presence is not necessary to defeat the Honkai," Su said.
I am guessing that Shamash was having doubts upon learning that my true motive wasn't exactly to defeat the Honkai, so much for the loyalty.
Though that might have been shaped by Durandal, whose biggest motive was defeating the Honkai, which could have subconsciously influenced the "reprogramming." Without that, maybe Shamash would have tried to turn me into a shish kebab as soon as they woke up.
I was about to ask if I could bring Shamash with me when Su preempted me by saying, "Miss Lee requires your help to control the Divine Key. While the power of the Divine Key comes from the Imaginary Tree and is therefore compatible with Imaginary Energy, the control system was created by the Honkai and uses Honkai Energy, with which Lee is not compatible."
Yippee.
"So what exactly happens now?" I asked.
"Now, we wait and watch." Su said, making a gesture in the air, causing an image of Durandal to appear floating in the air.
Durandal was wearing a labcoat, and was currently wiping the tears of a crying child with glowing purple lines on their arms, a sign of Honkai disease.
I spoke up about something that I was curious about.
"What exactly is the point of all this? Are you really testing Durandal? Or is this more of a trial to overcome."
"I chose to help Bianka long ago. Besides you, she is my only avenue of influencing the real world, forcing futures towards the ones that I would like."
"So basically, she isn't your first choice of someone to influence, I guess that would be Kiana Kaslana right? But Durandal will eventually be close to Kiana, and needs the battlesuit in order to help defeat False God Otto right?"
Su didn't speak, continuing to watch Durandal.
"Hey, here's a question."
Su sighed.
"When Otto is attempting to alter the past, he threatens to destroy the entire timeline and reverse it, bringing everyone at Kolosten back to the past. However in the end, he is defeated which is what he wanted in the first place. If they hadn't been able to defeat him, would he have followed through and erased the timeline, sending everyone to the past? Or was it a bluff?"
"Why do you think I plan on upgrading Bianka's battlesuit?" Su said simply.