At those words, the air instantly grew heavy.
"Easy for you to say. That Welt guy, tch." Tesla turned her head in displeasure.
---------------------------------------
Present.
The moon.
Kiana held her forehead, her expression grave.
"Why would there be…?"
Memory is a very mysterious yet important thing.
For humans, memory is essential. Therefore, even the dullest fool would value it.
Yes, Kiana was one of them.
With no external stimulus in place and Kiana's mind, which had fallen into deep hibernation, it would be heard for her memories to be modified.
The problem now was, she didn't think of herself as invincible, but for someone to alter her memories while she was completely unguarded, even the golden retriever in her memories couldn't do that.
Just as Kiana was brainstorming in her head,
"Hey, hey, Kiana, do you copy? Please respond, do you copy?"
A familiar childish voice entered her ears. Kiana froze.
"Bronya? What is it?"
The moon's communication was working very well. Even separated by such distance, she could still stay in touch with her companions on Earth.
But no one was a child anymore. Bronya's responsibilities weren't light, and besides, wasn't it almost time for the jump route?
On the other side, Bronya cleared her throat and spoke.
"Just now, everyone's memories showed inconsistencies. Do you have any clue about this?"
"Eh!? Everyone's!?"
Hearing Kiana's reply, Bronya's expression changed: "You mean even you…"
"Mm, the situation is a little complicated, I don't know how to explain it clearly."
"Go over your memory once more. Everyone's gathering now. This matter is unusual."
"Okay."
...
Even after so many years, Lady Theresa still kept her figure the same, no changes, none what-so-ever.
Standing at the front, with dark circles heavily under her eyes, she swept her gaze over everyone present and spoke in a deep voice.
"I'm sure everyone knows the topic of this meeting, so let's not waste words."
"Mm, at standard time 03:56 hours, I received news that many people had memories surface that were unrelated to their original memories. Does anyone have objections to this point?"
"What objection? I've got a Godzilla staring at me in my head right now. If I hadn't scared him off with my firm gaze, I might not have even made it here." Tesla pouted.
"Let's just get to the conclusion. With so many of us, we should find a clue."
Bronya nodded slightly, then said,
"According to current reports, those blurry, even indistinct, memories in our minds really did happen!"
As soon as Bronya finished, Theresa brought up a projection she had long prepared.
It detailed the mental changes of all the people whose memories had been affected in such a short time.
The answer was: aside from the emotional fluctuations caused by those memories, everything else was normal, eating, drinking as usual, some even had their appetites grow, like finishing three buckets of instant noodles in one sitting.
"So, our topic today is that giant thing that looks like Godzilla, acts like Godzilla, and is Godzilla in every way."
Tesla tugged at her ponytail, her eyelid twitching.
Those familiar with Tesla knew that if not stopped, this lobster doctor would probably do something most would call bizarre.
"Tesla." Einstein calmly called her name. It turned out the words of an old friend worked.
Tesla snapped out of it, muttering under her breath.
"Ahhh! So annoying!"
"I've studied for so many years, and this is the first time I've heard the past can be altered. Isn't this saying that no matter how well we do now, if someone goes back and changes something, everything gets erased?!"
Tesla, furious, yanked her twin ponytails around wildly.
Just imagining it was terrifying enough to make one explode!
"So, do we have any way to confront this?" Mei raised her hand to ask.
Everyone looked at the only two scientists present.
When it came to academic matters, these two scientists had the say.
"No, impossible!" Tesla glared at the unlearned bunch, snorting.
"For whatever purpose, changing the past is nonsense. Maybe it'll be possible in the future, but with current tech? No way!"
Einstein shook her head in affirmation.
In fact, if not for a three-hour buffer, even with their experience, their response wouldn't have been much better.
The past was already set.
That was the truth fixed in everyone's consciousness.
Even that Archbishop, he couldn't forcibly overturn it.
He had spent 500 years trying to change the past only to find failure at every turn.
But now, the past was changing for real.
Whether good or bad, it was undoubtedly terrifying.
Today it developed positively, but what about tomorrow? The day after?
One day you might wake up to see a mass of golden hair waving in your face, Otto Apocalypse holding up his coffin lid, asking if you want fries.
The thought of such a scene sent shivers down Einstein's spine.
Best not to dwell on it, or your brain would break.
"Mm? Kiana, do you have something to say?"
Theresa, exhausted, noticed Kiana's hesitant look and asked.
"Ah, uh, Aunt Theresa, it's just that… I've already seen Godzilla before?"
"Hah, !?"
...
"Bronya, can you suspend the moon delivery service for a moment." Theresa's face was dark. With those black circles, her worn face actually looked flushed.
She was just short of cracking open Kiana's not-so-bright little head to see what was inside.
"Kiana, just spit it out already." Mei glared at her coldly.
If this weren't a video conference, her hand would already be at Kiana's ear!
Under Mei's gaze, Kiana shivered and hurriedly explained what she knew.
"A dream, it was through a dream."
Hearing Kiana's words, everyone frowned.
If the other party came head-on, they were confident they could hold the situation. But if it was through dreams… well, that wasn't unimaginable, considering Fu Hua and the Fenghuang Down.
But to affect reality through dreams…
"Wait, you mean that guy appeared from a dream?!" Tesla shouted.
"Suppose Godzilla was observing our world through dreams, and could enter through them. Then it's no wonder he suddenly appeared and disappeared in my memory." Theresa analyzed.
"Kiana, do you have a way to contact those people?" Mei furrowed her brows and asked.
"They disappeared in an instant, I can only confirm that there's no one of theirs around." Kiana shook her head.
According to what those people said, the place she was in was extremely remote, at least not included within the interstellar map. Even they could only detect it through special means and then use methods to contact her.
"As for Godzilla, he suddenly appeared in my dream, with one of their people beside him, but judging from the situation, it should be Godzilla taking the lead."
Knowing the key point, everyone fell into difficulty.
This matter was different from the past battles against the Honkai, where they would rush to wherever Honkai appeared.
Not knowing the location, not knowing the opponent's details, even the most brilliant strategist could do nothing.
And this also meant that faced with a past that might have had its trajectory altered, they were powerless.
At least most of those present could not provide help in this matter.
Seeing everyone so worried, Kiana decided to liven things up.
"Dr. Tesla, I have news about Welt."
"Really!" Tesla looked at Kiana in surprise, eyes lighting up.
Welt Young, the former leader of Anti-Entropy, who always fought on the front lines against the Honkai.
In humanity's long history of resisting the Honkai, his contributions shone like a star.
For such a great contributor's disappearance, everyone held deep concern.
'Sorry, Uncle Welt.' After silently praying for Welt, who was somewhere far away, Kiana spoke out about what she knew of him.
...
Astral Express.
"I can't shake off a bad premonition."
Adjusting his glasses, Welt's expression turned serious.
Years of combat experience told him that this kind of feeling usually came with disaster.
...
The universe was quiet, everyone developing steadily.
It was worth mentioning that the ecological device the IPC had ordered from Ruan Mei had already arrived.
The IPC immediately dispatched people to aid the planets they were supporting.
Facts proved that Ruan Mei's ecological devices were top-class in both efficiency and effect.
Even planetary ecologies already declared dead could be saved.
Because of this, Ruan Mei's reputation skyrocketed for a time.
Especially those adventuring outside, trying to resolve planetary crises, searched the universe for her traces.
But Ruan Mei's whereabouts were not so easy to find.
Even the IPC could not locate such a genius without preparation. Especially without a certain someone's help.
...
Morning.
Huohuo, who had risen early, quickly washed up.
Life in the Ten-Lords Commission was very orderly. Except for occasional overtime caused by major incidents, judges normally did not need to work extra hours.
Hanya and Xueyi's cases were exceptions.
But Huohuo rising so early meant she was refreshed, while Tail was just annoyed.
"Hey hey hey, what are you doing, running out every morning at dawn? Don't you know how to live? If you don't sleep, I still need to sleep!"
Tail rubbed its imaginary sleepy eyes and poked half its body out of a mirror, glaring fiercely at Huohuo.
"Stare-" Jiiiiiiiiiiiii.
Unfortunately, this trick only worked at the beginning.
Over time, though Huohuo was sometimes still startled, she was no longer that little girl crying in the corner.
She was now a big girl crying in the corner!
"Lady Hanya hasn't been in a good mood lately, I want to spend more time with her." Huohuo whispered.
"Oh come on, what's that ghost woman's mood got to do with you? If you really want her happy, I think you could just do all her work for her, that would definitely cheer her up."
"Don't say that about Lady Hanya, or I'll tell her."
"Alright, alright, I'm scared of you. Only you still act like a child tattling, really hopeless."
Tail's whole body went numb.
'Do you have to drag me into it when you're trying to comfort someone? Because of you I'm waking earlier than chickens and sleeping later than dogs.'
'That gloomy Ten-Lords Commission is unbearable for even me.'
'I don't know how you tolerate working in that ghostly place, I would have quit ages ago!'
Stuffing Tail back into her tail to shut it up, Huohuo ran off to find Hanya.
Aureate Elixir Furnace.
The ancient sea was silent, calm and still.
Hanya gazed at the flourishing scene before her, her heart heavy.
She was not in a bad mood.
She was just thinking about how to restore Xueyi to normal.
At the very least, she had to make Xueyi change her bad habit of not caring for her own body!
But even after serving as a judge for years, in this matter Hanya had no clue.
The best method she could think of was letting Xueyi return to life.
But a method that worked for herself was clearly unsuitable for Xueyi.
Unless a body could be created that could perfectly contain Xueyi's soul.
But that was no less difficult than when they had once revived after dying due to Shuhu's influence.
Now there was no second Abundance Envoy to help.
"Ah, " The more she thought, the more troubled she became.
Hanya's heart was full of mixed feelings.
"Gazing here won't accomplish what you wish for."
A pleasant incense wafted to her nose. Hanya wasn't very familiar with incense, but she could tell its owner had put in effort.
Lingsha of the Alchemy Commission.
"Lingsha" Turning, Hanya met Lingsha's gaze.
Looking at this judge, Lingsha smiled faintly, eyes carrying laughter.
"Though the Aureate Elixir Furnace is beautiful, it still cannot compare with the Dragonprayer Terrace or the splendid Scalegorge Waterscape. Could it be Judge Hanya prefers this scenery?"
Faced with Lingsha's deliberate teasing, Hanya's lips curved into an almost imperceptible arc, her reply calm.
"Though Aureate Elixir Furnace may not be as beautiful as the two places you mentioned, it has its own charm. Hanya likes it."
Though the Aureate Elixir Furnace's scenery was now much lovelier than before, it still retained its unique grace. In Hanya's eyes, this was like the current entanglement between herself and her sister.
Something that made one unable to look away.
Lingsha, who had treated countless people, could easily read Hanya's thoughts.
"With such heavy thoughts, this doesn't suit a relaxing holiday. Though the Ten-Lords Commission is extremely important, its environment is very oppressive. Relax, otherwise it will harm your body."
Lingsha hadn't known Hanya and Xueyi for long, but since the Scalegorge Waterscape bordered the Alchemy Commission and also had an entrance to the Shackling prison, she had heard of the sisters' ways, so she understood them somewhat.
Hundreds of years of bond, was not something words could describe.
After a moment of silence, Lingsha slowly spoke: "As for what you mentioned before, the Alchemy Commission cannot do it."
...
"Frequency steadily rising, source stable..."
Checking over the oddly-shaped instrument again and again, Herta hummed a tune.