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"The specific effects still require experimentation, but we don't have those conditions right now." Spaciel and Su distributed the mental resistance drugs into the hands of several people; then, Einstein sent the drug's components and manufacturing process to the branch bases that had not yet completely fallen.
This would provide a preliminary stabilization for the various branches under constant attack, but ultimately, they had to return to the root of the problem.
"Dystopia, the thirteenth observation experiment—begin."
Inside the pod, Dystopia, her eyes closed, wore a localized expression of agony. Cold sweat continuously broke out on her forehead, and her temples bulged as if they were about to explode.
Lin did not focus his attention on this observation experiment, which had already failed twelve times. Instead, he caught a glimpse of Ato, who kept his head lowered, looking somewhat soul-crushed.
"..."
Blanca and Griseo had also been contaminated.
This was something Lin knew. As an adult, Blanca's mental consciousness was simply dormant like the other contaminated victims, but something seemed to have gone wrong with Griseo.
Whether it was because a child's mind was too fragile or because her brain simply couldn't withstand it, Griseo brainwaves were fading.
This strong man, who had survived countless battlefields, was now—as a husband and father—like a child who had fallen into the mud.
They could do nothing but watch Dystopia painfully and uselessly attempt to observe the consciousness world of the Eighth Herrscher.
"…Where is the other person?"
Ato raised his head. His bloodshot eyes and heavy words conveyed a message to everyone.
He was looking at Lin, and Lin looked back at him calmly.
"That person… is also a mental-perception type MANTIS, right?"
"..."
"I'm going to find her."
Leaving those words behind, Ato stood up and walked straight out. No one stopped him; they all just watched him leave in silence.
"I'm going too."
It was Lin who spoke. Before the others could react, he had already walked out and caught up with Ato.
…
"…You won't find the way."
This was the first thing Lin said after catching up to Ato, reaching his right side in a few quick strides.
"…You don't have an objection?" Although Ato was now so anxious he could barely control his pace, he still spoke to Lin in his usual tone.
"Why should I have an objection?" Lin asked in return.
"She is unwilling to participate in combat."
Lin paused for a moment, then asked with confusion, "Then aren't we going to go persuade her now?"
"I thought… no, it's nothing."
Lin didn't take the conversation to heart. When they arrived at the helipad, Prometheus—now back in her own body—had been waiting there for a long time. They boarded the transport plane without a moment's delay, and Prometheus piloted it toward the coordinates of the Deep End.
To others, the location of the Deep End was a secret, but to Lin, it was a place he had visited many times.
Since Vil-V built it, the Deep End had undergone multiple renovations. Now, even its creator, Vil-V, was not entirely clear on its internal structure.
But… Elysia knew.
Therefore, Lin knew as well.
He and Ato arrived at the Deep End as if traveling a familiar path. Lin first went to check the guards; unsurprisingly, all the guards here had been contaminated and were unconscious.
Seeing that they had all fainted here "properly," Lin and Ato stepped into the shadows of the deepest part of the Deep End.
…
Splash.
Aponia slowly opened her eyes. Her indifferent blue pupils reflected the figures of the two men walking toward her. She said nothing, quietly waiting for them to reach her.
Since coming to the Deep End, Aponia had made almost no requests of Fire Moth. Her only application was to add a small window to the back of her room to let light in.
At this moment, the sunlight was brilliant. A single ray of light shone directly in front of her. Before the bars, one man stepped forward and stood in the light.
"We need your help," Ato, beside Lin, said bluntly.
"…I… will not participate in combat." Aponia emotions were flat, as if she couldn't see the urgency on Ato's face, responding with an ethereal voice.
"I know you have a great deal of resentment toward Fire Moth, and I've heard your story from Lin and Elysia… but this has nothing to do with personal grudges now. Are you really going to just watch humanity fall into crisis and do nothing?"
"…I do not harbor any resentment toward Fire Moth." Aponia turned her gaze toward Ato, her thin, pale-pink lips parting slightly. "It is simply because… this is 'Destiny.'"
"What… Destiny?"
Ato failed to understand Aponia words. He looked at her in confusion, but Aponia had already closed her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Your wife will be sacrificed in this Great Eruption. And your daughter, due to the weakening of her consciousness, will be forced to undergo the Project Soldier surgery and become a MANTIS."
"You're talking nonsense—"
Ato was suddenly unable to speak. He saw Aponia open her eyes again, but within her sockets were not clear, jewel-like blue pupils, but an enchanting, ominous crimson.
As he locked eyes with those pupils that made one's entire body go stiff, he thought of one thing.
How did Aponia know about his affairs?
"This is your 'Destiny,' and it is theirs." Aponia "announced" to Ato flatly. "Now, 'Please' return."
Ato's expression changed abruptly. He looked at Aponia with a slight daze, appearing to forget the purpose of his visit in an instant. After casting a few confused glances at Aponia, he turned and left.
"..."
"..."
Then, only Lin and Aponia remained.
Lin stood in the light. Wearing his helmet, he did not look at Aponia but watched the retreating Ato.
"Can you help me?" Lin asked in an indifferent tone.
"…I can, but it will not help. The 'Destiny' that is about to happen cannot be changed."
"Why not try to change it?"
At that moment, Lin thought of Yama, his parallel-world self. Like Aponia, she had seen the future and firmly believed it was unchangeable—that no matter how one struggled, it was useless.
"Before today, I have written a total of seventeen books." Aponia turned her head toward a stack of notebooks in the corner. "I have already given seven people books describing their futures, encouraging and helping them to change 'Destiny.'"
"Among them were prisoners of the Deep End."
"Guards."
"High-ranking officials who came here."
"Soldiers on missions."
"But not one of them… changed their destiny."
"The process may have differed, but the result did not deviate by even a fraction from the Book of Destiny I gave them."