Merlot Heavenly Court.
There is no worldly palatial splendor here, only endless silver-white, streamlined forms, and a geometric beauty precise to the extreme. The massive dome is a simulated starry sky, with countless celestial bodies slowly moving along profound trajectories. Atop the high platform sits not a majestic throne, but a sleek, silver arc-shaped platform suspended in mid-air. At the edge of the platform, data streams pour down silently like waterfalls, reflecting the figures of two women standing at the pinnacle of the Known Universe.
Holy Keisha, the King of Gods and the founder of the Known Universe's order. She leaned casually against the edge of the platform, her long legs crossed and one hand supporting her chin, her long golden hair cascading over her shoulders like liquid sunlight. Her face was flawless, yet bore a calm indifference born from tens of thousands of years of vicissitudes. Those eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, were currently fixed on the detailed analysis report suspended before her—sent back by the Yunxi Squad—concerning the otherworldly warship calling itself the 'hyperion' and its distress signal. Her expression showed neither joy nor anger, only a deep, unfathomable contemplation.
Beside her, half a step behind, stood Heavenly Base King Hexi. Unlike Keisha's majesty that looked down upon all living beings, Hexi's temperament was more reserved and quiet. Her long silver hair was meticulously pinned behind her head, revealing a smooth forehead and deep blue eyes that seemed to contain endless wisdom and curiosity. She wore a silver-blue scholar's robe rather than battle armor, and she toyed with a polyhedron composed of pure energy that constantly shifted its form. Her gaze was similarly focused on the flickering data streams, her eyes shining with the sharp, focused light characteristic of a researcher facing an unknown subject.
"What do you think, Hexi?" Keisha finally spoke, her voice like the striking of the purest jade—calm, yet carrying an unquestionable weight. "A 'traveler' claiming to be from 'other World Bubbles,' piloting a warship with a mix of styles and strange energy signatures... carrying a heavily injured companion, broadcasting publicly to seek high-level medical technology, and using... some seemingly basic but fundamentally different 'knowledge' as bargaining chips."
Hexi did not answer immediately. With a light tap of her slender finger, the data stream before her instantly reorganized and enlarged. A structural perspective of the hyperion, simulated waveforms of its energy circuits, the residual spectrum of those so-called 'otherworldly rules,' and partial technical summaries provided by Artoria—arc reactor principles, AI logic frameworks, and Rune Energetics—were all presented with extremely high precision.
"Very interesting, isn't it?" Hexi's voice had a bit more warmth than Keisha's, along with a touch of investigative interest. "The warship's structure integrates features from at least three distinct technology trees; some parts resemble the energy usage of an aerospace-grade civilization, while others bear traces of... well, near-metaphysical rule interference. The energy signatures are mixed, but the core drive doesn't seem to be the Dark Energy or stellar energy we are familiar with, but rather some... more 'neutral,' more 'compatible' unknown form of energy."
She pointed to the 'otherworldly rules' spectrum: "Look here, Keisha. This residual fluctuation has fundamental differences from any known universal constants, Dark Plane information scrambling, or even the 'Void' side fluctuations we've theorized. It's not an 'error' or 'noise,' but rather... the'shadow' or 'leakage' of a complete, self-consistent rule system that is 'incompatible' or 'parallel' to our Universe's underlying rules."
"And so?" Keisha's tone remained calm, showing no bias.
"And so," Hexi turned to face Keisha, the curiosity in her eyes deepening, "this is unlikely to be the creation of some hidden civilization within the Known Universe. The rules of the Known Universe are unified; even if there were lost civilizations or unknown god-level beings, their technical foundations would inevitably be built upon the same set of physical constants and Dark Plane frameworks. There would be differences, but this kind of fundamental 'incompatibility' wouldn't occur. It's even less likely to be one of those monsters from Karl's Void research; the erosion of the Void is destruction and distortion, not the construction of a new, seemingly stable set of rules."
She paused and spoke the words that made Keisha's brow twitch almost imperceptibly: "This is more like... something from the 'outside.' Another... 'Universe'? Or perhaps a 'neighbor' that is completely independent of our Universe Bubble and has different rules?"
"Parallel Universes? Multiverses?" Keisha shook her head slightly, her tone carrying a rare hint of near-denial. "They exist in theoretical deductions but have never been proven. Karl has studied the Void for tens of thousands of years and hasn't found any conclusive evidence. Now, a person flying a battered warship and holding a half-dead companion comes along saying she's an 'otherworldly visitor,' and we're supposed to believe her?"
"The evidence is right before us, Keisha." Hexi pointed at the data. "This 'hyperion,' its very existence, is the strongest evidence. Then there are the technical overviews she provided—energy principles that are unbelievably clean and efficient, an AI framework that is highly anthropomorphic yet has a completely different logical foundation, and that 'Rune' theory that directly links energy with'symbols' and 'concepts.' None of these are natural extensions of our Universe's existing technology tree; they are more like... fruit from a completely different 'tree.'"
"But that is precisely the greatest source of risk, Hexi." Keisha sat up straight, her gaze becoming sharp. "The unknown means uncontrollable. It means a potential threat. Her ship can pierce through universal barriers, which means she, or the existence behind her, possesses power we cannot comprehend. Is her goal truly'seeking medical aid'? Or is she using it as a springboard to infiltrate, observe, or even invade our Universe? Does the 'knowledge' she provides hide logic bombs, cognitive pollution, or some kind of rule trap we cannot detect?"
Keisha's voice echoed in the empty royal court, carrying the absolute rationality of the King of Gods and a nearly paranoid desire to protect order: "The order of justice was not easily won; it was bought with the lives and blood of countless Angel sisters. We cannot simply introduce a completely unknown, motives-unclear 'variable' that poses a high potential threat just because of 'interest' or 'curiosity.' To be safe, my opinion is: refuse direct contact. We can provide the minimum humanitarian aid in exchange for some of the 'otherworldly samples' she provided for research, then courteously escort her out. We will strictly monitor her movements but not allow her to enter the core area of the Angel Nebula, let alone contact any high-level technology."
"Refuse? Monitor? Escort her out?" Hexi's voice suddenly rose, her scholar's calm replaced by a rare trace of excitement. "Keisha! You are being narrow-minded! You are fearing the unknown!"
She took a step forward, her blue eyes staring directly at Keisha: "Yes, the unknown brings risk. But the unknown also means opportunity! It means new knowledge, new possibilities, and new power! Thirty thousand years ago, when we female Angels were oppressed by the Tiangong Order, it was because we mastered genetic technology and Dark Energy applications that the male Angels had not yet studied deeply that we were able to overthrow tyranny and establish Merlot! If we had been like you are now, refusing all exploration and change because of 'unknowns' and 'risks,' we might still be shivering under Huaye's rule today!"
"The two are not comparable, Hexi." Keisha's tone turned cold. "Overthrowing Tiangong was a struggle within our civilization, based on a deeper understanding of our own Universe's rules. But she comes from the 'outside.' We know nothing of her Universe's rules; her goodwill could be a disguise, and the knowledge she provides could be poison. Rashly accepting her could bring unforeseen disasters to us, and even to the entire Known Universe."
"But if we choose closure and exclusion because of fear, then what is the difference between us and the male Angels of the past who refused to acknowledge the potential of female Angels and clung to an obsolete order?" Hexi did not back down, her silver hair swaying slightly due to her excitement. "Keisha, look at this Universe! Demons are festering, Karl is conducting his Void research in the shadows, Lie Yang is holding onto its corner, and other civilizations are either weak or chaotic. We Angels seem powerful, but how long has it been since our technology and our philosophy had a truly meaningful breakthrough? The 'order of justice' needs to be maintained, but maintenance does not mean stagnation!"
She pointed to the hyperion's data, her tone resolute: "This is a window! A window to glimpse a completely different rule system! The fact that her ship could come here shows that universal barriers are not absolutely insurmountable. Her companion is heavily injured, which shows they are not invincible; they have weaknesses and need help. She sought aid openly and candidly instead of sneaking in, which shows she is at least superficially willing to follow a certain 'order' and 'rules' for negotiation. This in itself is a signal!"
Hexi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, but the light in her eyes grew even firmer: "More importantly, Keisha, have you thought about it? If she dares to broadcast a request for aid so directly and 'clumsily,' does she really have no trump cards? Is she really not afraid of being swallowed whole by us, the Demons, or the Styx? If there really is a civilization behind her capable of cross-Universe navigation, even if only in a technical sense, would they not have a backup plan for the worst-case scenario?"
Her words caused Keisha to fall silent for a moment. Only the silent flickering of data streams remained in the court.
"You mean..."
"I mean," Hexi's tone returned to its usual calm wisdom, but her words were sharper, "refusal and expulsion might be the worst choice. This could push a potential, communicable 'visitor' to the opposite side, or worse, let her fall into the hands of the Demons or Karl. Think about it: if Morgana or Karl obtained this 'otherworldly knowledge,' even just a part of it, how much impact would it have on the balance of the Known Universe?"
"While acceptance, or rather, 'controlled contact,' might be a choice where risks and opportunities coexist, but the opportunity is greater," Hexi continued her analysis. "We can place her in a controlled area, and I will personally be responsible for contact and assessment. We can meet her medical needs to a limited extent while gradually exchanging knowledge in depth to assess its value and risk. If she is indeed harmless and valuable, we can establish a limited cooperative relationship. If she harbors ill intent... on our home turf, under our strict monitoring and the suppression of the Sky-based Computing Cluster, she won't be able to stir up any trouble."
She looked at Keisha and said slowly: "Keisha, we are the strongest civilization in the Known Universe and the maintainers of order. If we don't even dare to contact or research an otherworldly traveler who came alone with clear intentions of seeking help, how can we face the truly 'outside' threats that may appear in the future? Do we have to wait until disaster strikes to realize that we have fallen behind because of fear and conservatism?"
"If you fall behind, you will be beaten." Hexi's final words were soft, yet they struck heavily at Keisha's heart. This sentence evoked the darkest and weakest years of the female Angels from the depths of their shared memory.
Keisha fell into silence again. She gazed at Hexi for a long time, then looked back at the data concerning the hyperion and Artoria. In those eyes that saw through all things, light shifted as if she were performing countless simulations of possibilities and weighing them.
The atmosphere in the court was so heavy it almost solidified. Two thirty-thousand-year-old rulers were engaged in a fierce clash concerning the future direction of their civilization over a sudden 'anomaly.'
Finally, Keisha let out a soft breath and leaned back against the edge of the platform, her indifferent posture of looking down upon all beings showing a very slight loosening.
"...You've convinced me, Hexi." Her voice returned to a state of calm, but beneath that calm, there was a hint of decisiveness. "Not because of curiosity, but because of your final reason—we cannot give up the right to understand potential greater threats and... possible opportunities just because of possible danger. Especially when the other party has already proactively come to our doorstep."
She raised her hand, and a command was sent out silently.
"Notify Yunxi to guide that 'hyperion' to the'Silver Moon' subsidiary research galaxy's Third Observation Station. Activate Level 3 Protection and the Silence Field. You, Hexi, will be in full charge of this contact. Preliminary medical assessments and technical exchanges are permitted, but all contact must occur within an absolutely controlled environment, and all exchanged information must undergo triple verification by the Sky-based Computing Cluster. Additionally, notify Yan to put her squad on standby to respond to any... accidents that may occur."
"Understood." Finally, a satisfied curve, filled with a strong desire for inquiry, appeared at the corner of Hexi's mouth. "Leave it to me, Keisha. I will 'entertain' this 'guest' from afar properly."
She turned, her silver hair drawing an elegant arc in the air, her eyes flashing with excitement for the unknown and the absolute confidence of a scholar.
"Now then, let me go and see what kind of... surprises this traveler from the 'outside' and her interesting ship can bring us."
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