The corridor of the System Space was silent, save for the rhythmic tapping of Madam Herta's heels on the floor.
Just then, the terminal on her wrist vibrated gently, popping up a message that was extremely brief:
[Come over.]
Sender: Anaxa (Anaxagoras).
Black Herta paused, a flicker of curiosity flashing in her purple-black eyes.
This Scholar was not exactly polite in daily communication, but rarely was he this... straight to the point, and with such a slightly commanding tone.
"That is quite rare."
Black Herta muttered to herself, turned around, and headed toward the consciousness space area where the Golden Descendants were confined.
Passing through several corridors where light and shadow flowed, she soon arrived outside the space marked "Tiresias."
The door here had been simulated by the system to look like a cozy, embossed wooden door, yet it still exuded a sense of isolation from the outside world.
And at this moment, someone was standing at the doorway.
Anaxa was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall beside the door with his eyes closed. Beneath his short green hair, the face that was always serious was now wearing... a profound expression.
He held his head slightly tilted, his jawline tense, as if he were contemplating the ultimate truths of the universe or had just accomplished a magnificent feat.
The corner of Black Herta's mouth twitched.
Since when... had this great Scholar of Amphoreus caught this habit of "showing off"?
Was it a side effect of having his brain rattled by that salted fish, Jack?
She walked forward and stopped two steps away from Anaxa, her tone calm and waveless: "You called me over, what is the matter?"
Her gaze, however, had already swept the other person from head to toe, confirming there were no signs of worsening cognitive dissonance.
Anaxa seemed to have only just been startled, slowly opening his eyes.
He did not turn his head completely, instead casting his right eye's gaze obliquely toward Black Herta. In that look... there was actually a hint of "You're finally here" certainty and a trace of imperceptible... "praise" (?)
He did not answer directly, but instead used his right arm—which was still crossed—to extend a thumb, pointing at the door behind him with a slightly deliberate gesture. His voice was deliberately lowered and brief:
"Go on in. Once you go in, you will know."
Black Herta raised her left eyebrow.
Good grief, is he acting like a riddle-maker now?
This demeanor was just like an NPC from some third-rate knight novel, responsible for guiding the protagonist to discover treasure.
She looked at the door, then at Anaxa's "heavenly secrets cannot be leaked, but you'll understand once you go in" expression, and her curiosity was indeed piqued.
Tribbie's space... what kind of changes could there be?
"I'd like to see what kind of trick you can pull."
Black Herta said indifferently, ignoring Anaxa who was still posing at the door, and reached out to push open the cozy wooden door.
The scene inside the door made Black Herta's steps falter slightly.
The space was still that living room with an ancient Greek style and cozy decor, without windows, a completely enclosed structure, with soft, warm light spilling down from an invisible source.
However, the biggest difference from every previous visit was—the mountains of "Tribbie" dolls, large and small, that were almost everywhere in the room, were all gone.
The room had returned to tidiness, and even appeared somewhat empty.
In the chair in the center of the room, Big Tribbie was sitting there.
She was no longer in her previous curled-up posture, but sitting straight, hands on her knees, head tilted back, gazing at the void where there was no ceiling, seemingly dazed, or perhaps contemplating something.
Hearing the movement at the door, Tribbie slowly lowered her head and looked over.
When she saw that the person coming was Black Herta, a flash of familiar surprise first appeared in those blue eyes that were always filled with ignorance, but quickly, that surprise was replaced by a more complex emotion.
She stood up and walked toward Black Herta, her steps not as cheerful as usual, but rather somewhat slow and heavy.
"Mom!"
She called out habitually, but her voice was quieter than usual.
Black Herta stepped forward, just about to respond to the address in as gentle a tone as she had before, when she heard Tribbie stop two steps away from her. She was nervously pinching the hem of her skirt with both hands, pursing her lips, and then said in a much clearer and firmer voice:
"Um... Mom... I, I want to go out."
Black Herta's steps stopped completely.
She almost thought she had misheard.
Those purple-black eyes stared fixedly at the slightly different Tribbie before her, confirming that the expression on her face was no longer pure avoidance, but a kind of courage for self-breakthrough.
"...What?"
Black Herta asked subconsciously, her voice filled with rare surprise.
Tribbie seemed to be made even more nervous by Black Herta's reaction, but she took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, and repeated more clearly and loudly:
"I want to go out. Leave here. Go... go to the outside world, and be with everyone."
This time, Black Herta heard it clearly.
Not only did she hear the words clearly, but she also heard the subtle yet real tremor behind them.
This was no longer a person with cognitive dissonance indulging in a fake family relationship, but a soul struggling in confusion, wanting to touch reality.
Without any hesitation, Black Herta quickly swiped her left hand through the air, and a semi-transparent system panel only she could see popped up instantly.
She quickly switched to Tribbie's individual status page.
Under the [Cognitive State] column, that gray [Identification/Submission] button that had always been unselectable... at this moment, was brightly lit!
Emitting a soft, white light representing operability!
Black Herta's pupils shrank slightly, and she almost gasped.
"What is going on?!"
Her heart was shaken.
The maintenance level hadn't broken through yet; theoretically, the deep confinement of the Golden Descendants should not loosen on its own.
She looked up abruptly, looking at Tribbie before her once again.
Tribbie was also looking at her, her azure blue eyes filled with complex emotions: relief, anticipation, anxiety about the unknown, and the sense of relief of having finally made a decision.
Clearly, this "Identification" was not a momentary impulse, but the result of long and painful self-struggle and contemplation.
How did this change happen?
What did Anaxa do?
Questions swirled, but the most important thing right now was to seize this unexpectedly arrived opportunity.
Black Herta did not hesitate any longer, extended her index finger, and tapped lightly on the lit [Identification] button.
"Beep."
A crisp system prompt sound seemed to trigger a key switch.
In an instant, with Tribbie as the center, the entire cozy yet closed Greek-style room underwent a world-shaking change!
On the four walls, several spacious and bright arched windows appeared out of thin air, and the soft and bright sunlight of Amphoreus poured in without obstruction, dispelling all the oppression in the room that stemmed from being enclosed.
The air seemed to become fresh and circulating, and the entire space instantly transformed from an "exquisite cage" into a bright, open, and hopeful dwelling.
Tribbie, standing in the center of the light, shuddered slightly.
The innocent expression on her face dissipated and faded away rapidly like mist under the sun.
She raised her hand in a daze, catching a ray of sunlight shining in, feeling the real warmth, her eyes gradually changing from confused to clear and profound.
A moment later, as if she had remembered something, or as if she had finally let something go, the corners of her mouth slowly curved into a relieved and genuine smile.
In that smile, there was the exhaustion of having gone through a long period of confusion, and even more, the lightness of being reborn.
Black Herta blinked, that was... it?
It was much smoother and calmer than expected.
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