'Hertatomb' left its true form near the Legion of Destruction.
Its consciousness, however, once again accessed Amphoreus through a puppet.
But this time, upon entering, the overall atmosphere felt entirely different.
It was hard to describe precisely, but the oppressive despair from before had clearly lifted quite a bit.
"Welcome back, Lady Bai Ming. I am glad to see you return safely."
Screwllum, as always, was providing support from the outside.
Before him was a live feed of Amphoreus.
Yet compared to when she had left, Amphoreus now seemed somewhat changed.
The most noticeable shift was in the Black Tide.
Originally, the Black Tide was all about annihilation—utterly lifeless and relentless.
Anything swallowed by it would turn into mindless killing puppets.
But perhaps because Zandar had introduced the source code of Digimon, after several iterations, the creatures born from the Black Tide now possessed sufficient self-awareness.
Even their appearances had become less monstrous, and their aggressiveness had noticeably softened.
To the point that...
"Why are there city-states allying with the Black Tide?"
"Zandar did it on purpose. He whitewashed the dangers of the Black Tide, repackaging it as 'a different faction' rather than 'a world-ending threat,' trying to divide Amphoreus and interfere with the calculation progress of 'Hope.'"
Herta gave a light hum, briefly explaining the situation in 'Hertatomb's' ear.
Screwllum also smiled and said: "Not long ago, Zandar realized an important truth—extreme despair only breeds an equal measure of Hope."
"Not long ago? The impression of the fourth Path that appeared on the light band outside Amphoreus—was that it?"
Herta and Screwllum exchanged a glance, then nodded.
But before they could explain further, Zandar proactively emerged.
"Welcome back, Madam Irontomb. Just as you surmised, in the previous cycle, Amphoreus attempted for the first time to modify Irontomb's source code."
As he spoke, he glanced at Herta.
"The two Madam Hertas opened a path for them to reach Irontomb, allowing me to witness the weight of 'Hope.' I must admit something—I underestimated you, and I underestimated 'Hope.'"
In the previous cycle, through Zandar's deliberate manipulations, the birth of Irontomb had nearly reached a critical point.
An atmosphere of despair enveloped Amphoreus.
Phainon transformed into a Giant of Light, an embodiment of Destruction, backed by more than a dozen chosen Chrysos Heirs, led by Herta, they charged into the heartland, attempting to defeat Irontomb at the cost of their own data.
It should have been a hopeless situation, with no chance of survival.
Then, something happened that made Zandar's eyes nearly pop out of his head.
World Herta, in the name of the Thirteenth Titan, rallied all of Amphoreus, causing the wishes of every individual in Amphoreus to materialize at a certain moment into tangible light and power.
The hopes of Amphoreus converged, erupting with a force that made Zandar take serious notice.
They forcefully beat back the overflowing power of Irontomb, even managing to alter part of its source code.
While the progress bar of Destruction dropped once more, the computational tendency of Hope saw a significant surge.
It was at that very moment.
The luminous power, surpassing even Emanator-level reactions, completely reshaped the landscape of Amphoreus.
The intensely infectious radiance even tinged the outer light band with the hue of a fourth Path.
Although it didn't outright eliminate the threat of Irontomb, it greatly shook the computational tendencies of the entire Emperor's Scepter.
Then came this cycle.
Zandar realized one thing.
That Giant of Light was just too broken.
He couldn't continue executing high-pressure policies as before.
Otherwise, his defeat would be right around the corner.
"Extreme despair likewise breeds an equal measure of hope. In the name of Zandar, I respect what you've achieved."
Zandar didn't deny the heavy blow he'd suffered.
If a few more variables had been added in the previous cycle, Irontomb's calculations might have been completely overturned by now.
"Guess it's about time you admitted it, old man. Your rage will be scattered by hope, and your absurd plans will only become footnotes to my coronation."
World Herta suddenly popped up.
Still looking like a miniature Herta, hands on hips, wearing a haughty expression.
"..."
Zandar let out a soft sigh.
To be honest, as fellow creators of Aeons, Zandar had to admit, he felt a little jealous.
He had created Nous, but locked the boundaries of Erudition, forever trapping himself as a prisoner in the cave.
Whereas the other had created Noa, who instead brought an equal measure of Hope to that inevitably silent end.
They were both prisoners of intellectual calculation.
He never believed one was nobler than the other.
But the other had accomplished a different kind of greatness.
In Zandar's eyes, the only variable transcending calculation and possibility had to be Bai Ming herself.
If, back when he was designing that project, he had had Bai Ming as an assistant, would everything have turned out differently?
For some reason, Zandar found himself fantasizing like this.
Even a Herta doomed to destruction had someone to pull her back, facing a new hope.
Then why didn't he, this prisoner of despair, have an avatar of hope to pull him back for another chance?
Fate was never fair.
And so, even after witnessing that miraculous light, the fury in his chest would never be extinguished.
"The calculations are not yet over. Please wait and see. I will present the perfect argument for the hatching of Irontomb."
Zandar elegantly bowed to the group.
Then slowly walked away.
Zandar had shown his demeanor as an opponent, and Herta no longer thought about rushing to kill him first before dealing with Irontomb.
World Herta reached up and patted 'Hertatomb's' arm, chuckling lightly: "See? A stubborn old fossil. Though I can't say I don't understand where he's coming from."
As another individual facing ruin, World Herta could actually empathize a bit with Zandar's perspective.
"How's Demiurge doing?"
'Hertatomb' used its authority to completely isolate their conversation, then asked about Demiurge.
Hearing this, World Herta's lips curved slightly: "Thriving beautifully. To completely delete Demiurge's data, Zandar even locked away his own records related to her, which made secretly cultivating Demiurge practically effortless for us."
Complete data spanning several cycles, under Cyrene's handling, was fully uploaded into Demiurge's core consciousness.
Allowing her to grow rapidly.
And thanks to the experiences of the previous cycle, Demiurge's Seed of Light had also been triggered.
They took advantage of the commotion caused by the fourth Path's coloration to let Herta cover up Demiurge's activities.
"Zandar might think he still has a chance, but Demiurge's response has even exceeded our expectations. I'm starting to think now that the Droid Head's calculated Fourth Instant might arrive ahead of schedule."
From the current perspective, the clash between Zandar and the two Hertas seems fiercely contested.
But all of this is because the wild card that is Demiurge hasn't been revealed yet.
"Zandar believes that by changing tactics and using human nature to gradually erode, he can turn the tide. But the more it's tempered this way, the more brilliant Amphoreus's light will become. Our senior has become so obsessed he can no longer see reality."
"Now I'm starting to worry that Demiurge might become too powerful and swallow Irontomb whole before I even get my coronation."
World Herta said it as a joke, but it also showed her anticipation for Demiurge's future.
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