Dongfang Qixing smiled and said, "You should understand what I mean. This is a tactful inquiry."
The mysterious woman reacted, "Oh, you're asking about my stance?"
The audience was already dumbfounded.
Asking about the stance of Nous… but he was actually asking about this woman's stance?
Just who in the world was she?!
No one expected this Trailer to stack its lore this hard!
...
: Holy crap! Big studios really go all out with the material!
: Dongfang Qixing actually showed up!
: That's one of the founders of the Interastral Peace Corporation!
: So 'asking Nous's stance' was a roundabout way of asking this mysterious woman's stance?
: My god, this mysterious woman feels like a bigshot too!
: So damn satisfying! That's the flavor!
: This is insanely hype, everyone!
...
From the very beginning, the audience's excitement never died down.
They stared at the screen with burning eyes.
And on scene, the mysterious woman calmly said, "My answer remains the same. This is a moment that is destined to occur."
Dongfang Qixing asked again, "Will you only take action when that moment arrives, Lord of Silence or should I say Lady Polka Kakamond?"
Polka Kakamond replied, "Before the infection appears, there is no need for treatment."
Dongfang Qixing said, "Even if He ends up facing the same fate as Tayzzyronth?"
Polka Kakamond remained indifferent. "That is why I am making preparations."
Dongfang Qixing laughed. Although his face could not be seen, it was clear that this great figure was laughing happily.
"Then that proves we've reached a cooperation, under the names of Dongfang Qixing and the Lord of Silence?"
" ..."
"Remember to cover it up."
After saying this, the Lord of Silence vanished.
Everyone stared at this segment in confusion.
Polka Kakamond, a genius society member and one of the founders of the Interastral Peace Corporation, what kind of cooperation had they reached?
And what did "cover it up" even mean?
Yet just after Dongfang Qixing and Polka Kakamond reached this mysterious agreement, Dongfang Qixing stood in place, pondering the immense implications hidden within it.
Then he walked over to his desk.
After long years of development, the Interastral Peace Corporation now possessed many departments.
Dongfang Qixing's gaze settled on three of them.
The Cargo Division, the Public Relations, Outreach, Engagement, and Trade Division and the Technology/ Decryption Division.
The heads of these three departments were Korapao, Telora Farnsha, and De Wayne respectively.
Recently, undercurrents had been surging within the IPC.
These department heads were seeking new directions for development, hoping to strengthen their own influence.
However, the memory-bubble technology promoted by Telora Farnsha, head of the Public Relations, Outreach, Engagement, and Trade Division had been rejected, leading ground to the adoption of the Synesthesia Beacon Technology promoted by Korapao, head of the Cargo Division, who was cooperating with the Intelligentsia Guild.
Within the IPC, this was widely seen as a sign that Telora Farnsha had lost support.
Recalling the Lord of Silence's request, Dongfang Qixing had already made up his mind.
Telora Farnsha's position would not be touched.
On the contrary, she would continue to receive resources and be placed in competition with the other department.
It was a very simple personnel arrangement.
No one would think that these matters had anything to do with the major events that were about to occur.
...
The scene shifted once more.
This time, the changes of the universe were presented from a more macroscopic perspective.
The Interastral Peace Corporation's trade network was expanding at a rapid pace.
Mechanical life was flourishing.
Its integration with organic life was proceeding smoothly as well...
On many planets, families composed of both organic and Intellitrons had come into existence.
In this era of savage cosmic growth, all civilizations lacked only the courage to expand.
The two department heads within the IPC thought so as well.
After gaining the IPC's support, Telora Farnsha continued to push forward aggressively, even working closely with her former enemy Korapao.
Together, they controlled the circulation of wealth.
They also pioneered markets for inorganic life, using contracts and a credit-based currency system to bind entire interstellar trade networks to their core.
On the surface, their cooperation with these planets was cloaked in the goal of "shared prosperity."
But at its core, it was outright colonialism.
Before long, some planets could no longer endure it and rose up in rebellion against the IPC.
Because these especially harshly exploited planets were mostly on the outer edges of the trade network, this was the prelude to the major war that would come to be known as the Borderstar Trade War.
As time passed, some inorganic planets also began to erupt in rebellion.
But to Telora and Korapao, this was nothing worth worrying about.
As long as wealth continued to circulate, they could firmly control these planets, and control the universe itself.
Using this as capital, they would ascend to even higher levels.
Gradually, some scholars pointed out that the actions of Telora and Korapao would trigger even greater disasters.
Their oppression was destined to meet resistance. In response, the Interastral Peace Corporation remained silent.
And amid this chaos, which seemed insignificant on the surface, a major event shook the entire universe.
Louis Fleming, one of the IPC's founders alongside Dongfang Qixing, announced his retirement and declared that he would no longer participate in any formal or informal activities related to the IPC.
And during Louis Fleming's retirement speech, the power of the Path quietly descended.
Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance manifested for the first time!
It turned its gaze here and held a brief meeting with Louis Fleming.
It was far too sudden! And far too inexplicable! The audience was completely stunned.
First Dongfang Qixing and Polka Kakamond, and then Louis and the Aeon of Remembrance!
One heavyweight figure after another appeared in succession. Yet it all felt strangely unmotivated and shrouded in Mythos.
But the audience could sense it, these story fragments, these characters, must be connected by some hidden thread.
Including the appearance of an Aeon!
After Fuli vanished, Louis said nothing and left quietly.
From that day on, the world never saw Louis Fleming again.
However, this universe-shaking event did leave behind a few revelations.
The Candelagraphos of the Intelligentsia Guild wrote down three paragraphs about the memories, drawing three revelations.
The first was the Erudition's calculation: Nous would calculate that the universe will undergo three unchangable moments.
The second was the Finality's prediction: A silk accessory suitable for women will bring about the end of a world-shaking war.
The third was the Enigmata's riddle: THEY leave no question, but the answers are "blood" and "flower.".
Once the Candelagraphos's research report was released, it immediately caused a massive uproar.
Factions across the universe all began trying to decipher the revelations left behind by the Aeon.
However, this wave of fervor only lasted for a short while before it gradually faded away.
Because how could mortals possibly decipher the profound intentions of an Aeon?
Everyone simply went back to eating and drinking as usual.
But later it was said by some scholars that, it was not that the universe lost it's interest in the three revelations from Fuli, but that the Enigmata, Mythos took action to erase the scope of the revelations.
....
: Holy shit, this is getting way too intense!
: One universe-level event after another, Aeons appearing back-to-back!
: To be honest, I didn't understand a lot of the details. I don't get what this has to do with Rubert, but Fuli seems like a good Aeon.
: Their trying to save the universe from being destroyed by the Anti-Organic Equation.
: But Mythos straight-up covered up Fuli's prophecy! Damn, these two Aeons are really sworn enemies.
: So if we count Elation and Equilibrium from before, that makes four Aeons who have clearly taken a stance in the Mechanical War.
: Fuli wants to help, Mythos won't allow it, so what about Aha and Equilibrium?
....
The comments swept past.
And the story officially entered the scene that viewers most feared seeing.
The beginning of the First Mechanical War!
And its cause was the discovery of the Anti-Organic Equation.
Logically speaking, it should never have leaked during development.
And even with the Intelligentsia Guild, or any other scholars, cracking a genius's hidden work was nearly impossible.
But it happened anyway.
The Anti-Organic Equation was discovered, and Rubert had already fallen into slumber, unable to make further refinements.
No one knew where the discovery had originated. But regardless, all scholars began researching the equation.
As they researched. They also began to question.
Why would Rubert do such a thing?
When certain people looked back through history, they uncovered the "truth" within layers of fog.
The actions of Telora and Korapao were dragged back into the light.
It turned out everything stemmed from the IPC's oppression of inorganic life!
Their capital exploitation, their extreme suppression, and the malice imposed upon life itself.
That feeling eventually reached Rubert's logic core. It all made perfect sense.
Once this theory was proposed, it immediately gained universal approval.
There was no explanation more logical than this.
Otherwise, why would Rubert create the Anti-Organic Equation?
Because he hated humanity. He hated organic beings!
And after gradually defining Rubert and the Anti-Organic Equation in this way, the IPC did something even more jaw-dropping.
De Wayne from the Technology Department actually sent people to Mechanical Empire (Rubert's mechanical world), attempting to steal the original Anti-Organic Equation!
They were planning to commit theft right under Rubert's nose! Absolutely insane!
As this group of mercenaries made their way toward Mechanical Empire, they encountered countless difficulties along the way.
Such as being hunted. And being attacked.
But whether by luck or coincidence, a Masked Fool mixed into the mercenary ranks.
In short. Through a series of encounters filled with joy and coincidence, the mercenaries finally arrived before Rubert.
At this point, the audience had completely lost it. Because even without thinking, they could guess who this Masked Fool was, or who he was acting under.
The reasoning was simple. Before falling asleep, Rubert had set up a data firewall for himself!
And was a bunch of mercenaries really supposed to just stroll right in?
At minimum, this required a genius-level individual, or power on an equivalent level.
....
: Fuck! This is way too absurd!
: Seriously, what the hell is this jokester trying to do?
: Does he just want to see the universe burn?
: Or does he want chaos, or maybe he just wants to see the machine emperor die?
: Tch… no matter which it is, for Aha, it doesn't really make a difference.
: Honestly, compared to the droid head, I think the entire universe banding together to kill Aha would be the proper move!
...
In any case. These reckless mercenaries truly made it to Rubert's planet.
When they faced this emperor, they were utterly shaken.
And at that moment. The Masked Fool spoke:
"Heehee, organic or inorganic, neither is a good machine. I'm going to tell you all a story!"
"Listen carefully! This Rubert here actually is..."
The mercenaries watched the Masked Fool's mouth move again and again, yet no sound came out.
"Idiot." One mercenary cursed angrily.
He thought he was being toyed with.
It looked like the Masked Fool was about to say something shocking, only to fall silent at the crucial moment, treating them like clowns!
No one paid attention to the Fool anymore.
But no one noticed either, that in a dimension beyond their perception, Mythos appeared once again, obscuring the Fool's words.
At that moment. The mercenaries finally made contact with Rubert.
For reasons unknown. At the instant of contact, Rubert learned all of the mercenaries' memories.
And the mercenaries, likewise, learned Rubert's memories.
Their minds were instantly overloaded by the sheer volume of data and exploded on the spot.
And Rubert opened his eyes.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The Aeon of Elation, Aha, suddenly disappeared from the place letting out a burst of uncontrollable laughter.
It was unclear whether He was laughing at Mythos's futile efforts, or laughing at Rubert.
In this grand joke, Mythos was also played by Aha.
He thought that Fool was Aha. But in reality, that was not Aha at all.
Aha had been watching this place the entire time, anticipating Mythos
And likewise having already created a plan.
...
PS: The entire Mechanical War storyline, including the Borderstar Trade War, has been merged in, because too much was missing and had to be filled in manually. Key information will not deviate and will absolutely appear. All narrative directions will ultimately converge into the version presented in Gold and Gears. If you notice differences between this plot and certain texts in Gold and Gears, explanations will come later, Rubert's image in others' eyes, as seen in Gold and Gears, will also be explained next.
PPS: While writing this, I realized just how insanely secretive the Honkai: Star Rail writers are. Rubert, Rubert II, the Scepter, Amphoreus, and even Nous, all of them are intricately connected. You could even say it's a single thread stretching across countless Amber Eras....
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T/N: Guys, let me know if you find it any different from the Simulated Universe: Gold and Gears. I have not played it yet, so I won't be sure about the storyline.