【The first is Energy: drinking deep from the rivers of the Imaginary in hopes of refining endless gold. You see the badge of the Technology Research and Development Department; the Interstellar Energy War has yet to end.】

【The second is Life: attempting to piece together genes and grasp the pulse, yearning to find the most suitable vessel for wisdom to dwell in. Its pupils are crafted of metal, its wings carved from wood, and its chest thunders with a beating heart.】

【The third is Integration: nesting with particles and using energy as branches, hatching the Grand Unified Theory from a servant's egg to interpret the decomposition and reorganization of all things.】

【The fourth is called Future: resembling both a butterfly and a ripple, seeking to divine an answer to whether the universe is deterministic or chaotic, until the future is perfectly predicted.】

【These are the four great universal enigmas. Upon their proposal, deafening cheers brought the curtain down on this banquet.】

【The power of Rupert II, who once swept across the universe, was now held in their hands. Even the most obscure Scholar excitedly planned the use of Staff after the meeting, though they might never witness the true form of the legacy until their death.】

【It seemed everyone had forgotten one fact—this wisdom did not belong to any organic life present.】

【“We are like a pack of hyenas, gnawing on the scraps they left behind, yet we are so full of ourselves.” Pativia lowered her head helplessly, and Stelle heard her distressed sigh.】

——

Harry Potter.

“Perfectly predicting the future?!” Ron gaped. “Isn't that just like the Xianzhou's Divination Commission? Doesn't the Xianzhou Yuque's ‘Ten-Directional Photonic Seal Realm’ perfectly solve this enigma?”

At the thought of Professor Trelawney always trying to find the Divination Commission's future-predicting technology through the Celestial Screen, Ron felt like laughing. Even if one obtained the technology for perfect divination, applying it to reality would require external devices like the ‘Matrix of Prescience’ or the ‘Ten-Directional Photonic Seal Realm.’ These were things Hogwarts could never hope to build.

“Indeed, the Xianzhou Luofu has already perfectly solved the problem of ‘predicting the future.’ I bet the Intelligentsia Guild has visited the Divination Commission quite often to ‘exchange academic experience,’ haven't they?” Hermione nodded, her finger unconsciously curling the corner of a page. “But I've always been curious: does the Xianzhou's divination technology prove that the universe is ‘deterministic’? If the future can truly be perfectly predicted, does human free will still exist?”

“You have too many questions,” Ron said with a pout. “If you ask me, of course it exists. If free will didn't exist, then if they divined the end of the Xianzhou, they might as well just sit around and wait for it to happen.”

“And have you noticed? The second of those four problems has also been answered by the Xianzhou.”

“Life?”

“Yes, though more accurately, it was answered by the Denizens of Abundance who oppose the Xianzhou.”

“That's why the Intelligentsia Guild has always wanted to study them.” A flash of realization crossed Hermione's eyes. “If the Intelligentsia Guild were allowed to study 【Crimson Moon】, this question would likely be answered very quickly. The Borisin enslave thousands of worlds in the universe, and their bodies are the greatest mystery. I have a feeling... the Intelligentsia Guild will eventually create a hybrid of humans and ‘Borisin’—retaining human thought while possessing a Borisin body and environmental adaptability. But if they really succeed, would such a person still be considered an Abomination of Abundance?”

——

【One percent of Staff will rival a fleet, one-tenth will annihilate stars, one scepter will transcend cognition, and a thousand scepters will govern the universe.】

【Decomposing cognition, reversing decay, stretching space, creating planets—the stories of Staff are mixed with too much hearsay and delusion, but facts prove that the fabrications of most onlookers cannot even reach the surface of a genius's creation. Such technology, however, had previously been used for mere slaughter.】

【“Your research proposal has been approved.”】

【Looking at the notification on the panel, Pativia turned her gaze toward Stelle. Before applying for a scepter quota, she hoped to get some reference from this old classmate. However, she herself had no clue about the Guild's evaluation criteria.】

【“If you could get all of the Emperor's Legacy, what would you do?”】

【“Become the King of the Universe,” Stelle said with a pout, then asked back, “What about you?”】

【“I'd figure out that strange signal first,” Pativia's answer was tinged with hesitation.】

【Stelle logged into Staff quota application interface, where topics and projects were measured by value. Based on this, she would gain the qualification to carve up the scraps of Staff's computing power.】

【“Please enter a searchable project number. According to Article 21 of the Scepter Management Committee, you will be given the computing power you can control.”】

【“8674 - Crop Cultivation on Frontier Planets.”】

【“Search complete, project value under review.” The system's voice was gentle, using the optimal amplitude to evoke goodwill based on the theories of the Perfect Evolution School. “Review complete. Your quota is one ten-thousandth of the computing power usage rights. May you find the truth on the path of 【Erudition】.”】

——

A Certain Scientific Railgun.

“One-tenth of a scepter can annihilate stars...”

Misaka Mikoto was dumbfounded. Although she had guessed that those planet-sized machines appearing in space could be used as weapons, this power... “Simply put, with a thousand scepters... Rupert II could easily destroy an entire galaxy with a flick of his finger.” Touma Kamijou's tone was heavy. “As a killing weapon, Staff's efficiency is top-tier. But killing organic life is probably not Staff's fundamental purpose... Since it mimics Nous's way of thinking, Rupert II's goal is self-evident.”

“So, why did Nanook let such a universe-sweeping madman go?” Misaka Mikoto really couldn't understand. “Rupert II's efficiency at 【Destruction】 is much higher than Phantylia's, isn't it? Phantylia put so much effort into destroying the Xianzhou and still failed. In that time, Rupert II could have destroyed who knows how many galaxies and civilizations!”

“Maybe Nous beat him to it?” Touma guessed. “But for someone like him who perceives himself as inorganic life, he probably stopped caring long ago whether an Aeon recognized him. Whether an Aeon glances at him or grants him power, he will follow his established path.”

“But honestly, I feel like Earth's continued existence is thanks to Polka-Kakamond. If not for her, the universe might have been destroyed during the first Emperor's War...”

——

【One ten-thousandth of a scepter's usage rights—the same value as her mysterious signal. Feasibility, applicability, economic prospects, and the standard answers of a black-box assembly.】

【Stelle interfaced her consciousness with Staff.】

【A glimmer of light flashed before her eyes, and in an instant, she felt as if she had fallen into a sea of stars woven from pure logic code.】

【The trillions of lines of code were like the tides on a beach, rising and falling with the access of countless other Scholars. Computing nodes hovered like stars overhead, converging into a glowing river that flowed quietly along topological channels folded from curved surfaces.】

【Stelle felt her consciousness stretch within the boundless data stream, like a grain of dust permitted to kiss the spine of the galaxy.】

【However, this sensation lasted only dozens of seconds before being disrupted by a crude and ugly encoding program interfering with the holographic synchronization.】

【It was the Armed Archaeology School.】

【Their construction crew was installing the final thermal insulation components for the engine. For a moment, Stelle was washed away and swallowed by a massive flow of information... She had to disconnect immediately.】