Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

She raised her head and looked at the porthole above her head.

She could see the scenery outside the window through the porthole. She could see a blue and green sphere. The size of the sphere terrified Amiya, but at the same time a voice was telling her.

That is her hometown.

That is Terra.

Chapter 12: Originium and the Creator

Noah brought Amiya to a place that looked a bit like the control room of Rhodes Island. There were many instruments here that Amiya could not understand at all. These things were beyond Amiya's cognition. There were three metal spheres suspended in the air, rotating and entwining in a way that was completely independent of gravity. There were also lines intertwined with each other. These metal lines were connected and taut, but seemed to begin to move irregularly in three directions under some force. However, while moving, those lines would bind each other, forming a picture that was both disordered and seemed to have some kind of wonderful pattern.

Amiya was attracted by these strange instruments. Curiosity is something that all living things have. As a doctor without borders, Amiya's knowledge may surpass that of most people who have not graduated from prenatal education in Terra, but even so, she could not figure out how these things work.

As if realizing Amiya's doubts, Noah on the side began to explain.

"This is the control room of the spacecraft. Everything here is a dashboard. They may look a little different from the ones you've seen, but their functions are roughly the same."

"Roughly similar..." Amiya looked at these sci-fi-inspired things and thought that the so-called similarity between these things was probably only in the way they were used. Their accuracy, detection distance, and range were probably beyond her imagination.

"Are you interested in these?" Amiya finally met the owner of this place, or rather, the owner of this strange ship. She still believed she was still on some giant land battleship. She had no concept of a space battleship, or even the concept of the universe. So, based on her experience, she could only guess that this was aboard a super land battleship.

"...Yes...Yes, you are?"

"You can call me Precious." At this time, the mysterious woman finally came to the two of them. "I am the owner of this place, and I am the one who led you here."

-

"Is it really Priss's battleship?" Noah understood. Indeed, the structure here is somewhat similar to that of Agor's, and also has a similar structure to the human battleship in the administrator's memory. It is indeed a space constructed by Priss according to his own memory. Constructing a space that he is familiar with in the internalized universe of Originium is indeed something that Priss can do.

And—Princess, why are you wearing an administrator's clothes?

That's right, what Precious is wearing is basically a modified version of the Administrator's uniform. After all, the Administrator and she have different body shapes and heights, so she must have gone through many modifications to fit the uniform. But Eden doesn't have an official uniform. The Doctor and Precious each wear their own. So why is Precious wearing the Administrator's uniform here?

Noah has begun to feel that something is wrong——

"Where is this place?"

As expected, when Amiya asked, Precious responded with a smile.

“This is the Garden of Eden.”

"...I knew it." Noya covered her face, feeling the humiliation of watching her friend act out like a middle school student. Although she'd heard the term "Garden of Eden" from that strange self before, she hadn't been sure. Now she understood. This guy had constructed a Garden of Eden directly within the Originium-internalized universe, and even dressed as an administrator, pretending to be the owner.

Although the administrator probably won't mind...

This Precious clearly didn't realize that her cosplay in the internalized universe would be discovered by Noah. After all, she was quite normal when she met Noah... well, that wasn't quite normal, after all. Initially, she was seriously planning to take Noah's body, but she gave up after she obtained it. But at that time, Precious clearly didn't show herself to be an avid cosplayer...

"Ms. Precious, I brought Amiya back." At this time, Noah also saluted. Amiya didn't know what this etiquette was, but she also imitated Noah's posture and saluted in a proper manner.

"No need to be polite, Miss Noah." Precious smiled and nodded, then turned his attention back to Amiya. "Please don't be afraid. I don't eat people. I'm just curious about you. Miss Amiya, please follow me—"

Precious invited. In this situation, Amiya naturally had no intention of refusing the invitation. She followed Precious to the porthole, stood outside the huge transparent structure, and looked out under Precious's guidance.

"Did you see that? That's Terra—"

"…Tyra?"

"Your home planet, at least for now, should be considered your home planet. It is a planet with many similarities to Earth, so we chose to land here."

Amiya stared at the glowing sphere outside the porthole. To her, it was undoubtedly shocking.

"It's... like a blue glass ball..." Amiya was short on words, so that was all she could say. But for Precious, it was enough. After all, if she had seen Earth without knowing the universe, she probably would have been able to describe it that way. It was like a groundhog emerging from its burrow deep underground and seeing the ocean for the first time.

This was something beyond their worldview and vision, and it was quite remarkable that they did not react with panic or questioning.

When ordinary people receive information beyond their knowledge, if it's only slightly beyond their scope, they might accept it. However, if the information transcends their existing worldview, they are likely to react with anger, suspicion, or even outright denial. This isn't because they're ignorant; on the contrary, these individuals are often the most knowledgeable among humans, intelligent individuals who have already built a skyscraper out of their knowledge and learning.

But precisely because they believe they have already stood at the door of truth, once someone tells them they have taken the wrong path, they will discover that the building they have constructed is just a false one, ready to collapse at any moment. This is even more unacceptable to those who pursue the truth - because it almost negates all their life's efforts.

——Taking the wrong path is even more terrifying than standing still.

This is also the advantage of young scholars. They are more receptive to new knowledge and are not stubborn or even skeptical of everything.

It's easy for them to change their thinking, which is why young scholars are more likely to find fallacies in existing theories than older scholars. Amiya was obviously among this group of young scholars. She immediately accepted this truth and was moved by it.

For someone like Precious, this kind of Amiya is obviously the side she appreciates more.

"For a scholar like you, you are indeed outstanding. Are you a doctor?"

"Yes." Amiya nodded honestly. "At first, I was just forced to do it, but I did study medical knowledge specifically."

"Very good." Precious was delighted. Perhaps it was because of the administrator's attitude, or perhaps because of the doctor's connection, that Precious, in Noya's memory, seemed to favor those who were willing to improve themselves. "And, regarding your story, I actually heard about it from Noya."

"...Ms. Noah..." Amiya glanced at Noah, who seemed completely unfamiliar to her. Ever since they'd met again, she'd sensed something was off about her. To put it bluntly, this Miss Noah was like someone else with Noah's appearance. Precious, clearly not intending to keep things in suspense, pointed directly at Noah beside her.

"She's been here longer than you, but her mind isn't as clear as yours. To prevent any problems with her sanity, I've temporarily implanted an AI into her consciousness to act on her behalf... Perhaps the explosion injured her somewhere, and now her consciousness is very hazy, but her awareness hasn't dissipated. You can understand it this way—her soul is still there, just dormant."

"Then... when will it recover?" Amiya asked anxiously, "Can you help Miss Noah?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with anything involving the soul. Our research on the soul is very touching, and the people who are truly accomplished in the soul are not here." Precious shook her head. The person she mentioned who was accomplished in the soul was actually the administrator. Her research on the soul was the most in-depth in the entire Garden of Eden, which was why Creation No. 0 was the one she came to study - because in terms of attainments in the soul, the research of the Son of Star who could directly pinch the giant beast with his hands was unmatched.

Both the Doctor and Precious's research on the soul was too simplistic, even superficial. Therefore, Project Zero could only be completed by the Administrator alone, and in the end, she even used her own soul as material. This price was not cheap. As a child of the stars, her soul was special, the only being that could nurture and repair other souls.

Creation Zero, which uses her soul, also has the ability to absorb and repair the souls of others - but this ability is attached to Creation Zero, not Noah herself.

Simply put, Noah's soul is not immortal like Creation Zero—

Although she could enjoy the treatment of restoration, it was obvious that restoration would take time, just like Theresa.

After Amiya woke up, Noah had actually fallen into this state due to the explosion, similar to being in a vegetative state, except that Noah's soul could repair itself.

The only person who knew this was probably Noah herself, as a bystander, and she knew this from the administrator's memory.

Precious, who had no idea about Creation Zero, naturally wouldn't have imagined that Noah, standing before her, was the Administrator's final creation. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have displayed such a confident expression.

"Don't worry. With AI assistance, her soul is stable—at least it won't dissipate." Precious thought it was his AI implant that stabilized the situation, so he informed Amiya according to his understanding. "She's safe now, and with the help of the repair chamber, she can return to her original place as soon as she wakes up."

Having said that, Precious's eyes fell on Amiya.

"But you're a little special... Little rabbit, tell me, how did you manage to maintain civilization?" Precious looked at the black crown that appeared on Amiya's head. She certainly recognized the existence of civilization. "This thing shouldn't appear randomly..."

"I don't know." Amiya gave a very honest answer. "I don't know when it was in my head... The preserver also told me it's called the survival of civilization, but I really... don't know much about it."

"...I see." Seeing that Amiya had no intention of lying, Precious nodded. "Alright, let's put that aside for now... I invited you here for another reason besides asking about the origins of your civilization's survival."

"...What?" Amiya blinked. For some reason, she felt a little panicked, as if her fate was about to take an irreversible turn.

"Little rabbit--" At this moment, a voice came from behind her.

Her appearance made the entire cabin seem gloomy. Amiya turned her head and saw a person wearing a black hood. She was slightly taller than Precious, but quite thin.

But Noah knows her identity...

Doctor, unexpectedly at this time, the doctor appeared here.

This shows that in this world, the Doctor and Priss seem to have been internalizing the existence of the universe. Perhaps this is why Priss seems to be gentler in this universe. If it was Priss from Noah's original world, he probably wouldn't be so gentle to Amiya.

"I have seen the suffering this land has endured, I can see it all... so, I have long longed to end these... disasters that I caused with my own hands." The doctor's words were very sincere, but Amiya quickly caught a key word in the doctor's words.

"A disaster created by my own hands...?"

The doctor stretched out her hand, and a raw stone condensed out of thin air in her palm, a typical Originium. Amiya had come into contact with it countless times and had a certain understanding of it, but she had never thought that... Originium... was man-made.

Countless people on Terra have conducted research on Originium, and people's feelings towards it are quite complicated. Originium has established Terra's most prosperous Originium industry, but it has also brought endless disasters. The severe disasters brought by mineral sickness have made this land miserable, but even so... Amiya has never imagined that Originium is actually man-made.

This devilish Philosopher's Stone... is actually man-made.

Chapter 13: Climbing Hands

"I created Originium not for you. In fact, we didn't anticipate your presence—or more precisely, we didn't anticipate your strong allergic reaction to it."

In order to prove this, the doctor simply picked up the Originium in his hand and stabbed it into the palm of his hand. Amidst Amiya's exclamation, the Originium did pierce the skin. According to Amiya's common sense, the doctor should be infected with mineral sickness in a very short time, because the dust of the active Originium will flow to the heart with the blood. If he does not take blocking drugs in time, the consequences will be disastrous.

But the doctor raised his hand, his palm pierced, and showed it to Amiya, as if to assure her that he hadn't lied. Originium wasn't a deadly poison to them. Even with a pierced palm like this, they wouldn't be possessed by it. This truly defied Amiya's common sense... In such a short time, Amiya's common sense had been shattered twice, and she expected more... more shocks to come.

"This is the situation. I don't ask for your forgiveness. I simply want to express that my original intention was not to harm you. In fact, based on my observations, you are now also somewhat influenced by humans. Your evolution and civilization are all born out of Originium. You can even say that Originium has shaped every aspect of you. Although I don't want to claim so... Originium has indeed become a part of you. And Originium was created by us—in other words, human consciousness shaped you. The fact that you are so similar to us is proof of this."

We are so similar—

Amiya then noticed that both the Doctor and Prisseth actually looked no different from the Terrans, except that they didn't have extra ears and tails. Moreover, they called themselves the creators of Originium, a title that was obviously not meant to scare Amiya. From fabricating Originium out of thin air to letting it pierce her palms at will, she seemed to have been demonstrating to herself the harmlessness of Originium in their hands.

only……

"Are you...our...creator?"

Amiya has come across similar concepts in many sects. Some sects worship Originium. They believe that Originium is a gift from the Lord, and that the power of Originium has shaped the current Terra civilization. The original sin in humans causes Originium to attach to sinful people. They regard the infected as sinners, and the infection and suffering are the process of sublimating their souls. They also believe that everyone is sinful, so they will even actively infect themselves with mineral disease.

At first, Amiya thought that the Lord they spoke of was just a fantasy, or an abstract concept, but in a sense, they were right.

Because now, the creator of Originium is right in front of Amiya.

“We are not the Creator.”

The doctor shook her head. As a scientist, she never wanted to claim to be a god.

"This is—science. Although it seems too far-fetched to you, it even seems almost miraculous."

"But from a certain perspective, we did interfere with your evolution—"

Precious explained that she was well aware of Amiya's confusion. If they knew that oil and coal were actually placed in the bottom of the earth by someone, they would probably be as shaken as Amiya.

Originium is the foundation of the Terra world and the starting point of their science and civilization, but this starting point was created by others.

As the doctor said, their original intention was not to hurt anyone. In fact, Originium is also one of their means of self-protection. In the distant deep space, there is a terrifying thing that even they cannot understand, and it is watching covetously, and Originium is their trump card.

The doctor thought further - she had considered the situation where humans failed, and if humans failed, Originium would naturally become the support of future civilizations.

Originally, she wanted to give a gift to future civilizations.

However, this gift was too heavy for future generations, and even caused long-term suffering to the civilization... This was something she had not expected.

"...Sorry, it will take me some time to process this..."

Amiya clutched her head. The shock she'd experienced today had far exceeded her capacity to bear, and her trembling was understandable. She felt as if her mind no longer belonged to her, as if a butter knife were stirring it wantonly. To use a pre-civilized adjective, it could be said that Amiya had lost too much SAN, and it was a mercy from the KP that she hadn't gone into a temporary frenzy.

After seeing Amiya's situation, the doctor and Precious decided to postpone the popularization of science to Amiya. After all, they had been waiting for a long time and didn't mind waiting for another day.

So, Noah (the AI-hosted version) brought Amiya to a cabin that looked like a dormitory. Amiya sat on what was probably her bed and let out a long sigh. She had encountered too much today. No matter how mature Amiya was, she had her limits. This was clearly beyond her ability to handle. What she wanted most now was someone to rely on... In the past, that person would have been Miss Noah.

But now Miss Noah...

Amiya raised her head and looked at [Noah] who was standing in the room in a daze. According to those two people, Miss Noah was not awake yet... The one here was just a mechanically hosted version... That's why she was in a daze.

Amiya stood up and walked around Noah. She noticed that Miss Noah's eyes seemed to be following her all the time. When Amiya stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her, she didn't react at all. Although she had Miss Noah's appearance, she was still just an AI inside. Amiya felt a little complicated. She stretched out her hand and touched Noah's arm, and she whispered.

"Ms. Noah... I missed you so much."

Although she had no normal concept of time when she was in the sarcophagus, she could clearly feel that a long time had passed... Perhaps those people who never waited for them to come back had already judged that the two were dead.

Who would have thought that the two of them would actually meet again in the Originium...

Thinking about it this way, isn't Originium the place many people talk about going to after death? So, it's not wrong to say that the two of them are dead.

She guided Noah's palm and gently placed it on her cheek.

There is temperature...

That was the temperature of Miss Noah. Although she was inside the Originium, the touch and other sensations were the same as normal.

Speaking of which... Miss Noya is in a coma now... So, no matter what I do to Miss Noya, she won't know, right?

Amiya blinked and suddenly had some bad thoughts.

"...Should I not continue watching..." Noya was already covering her face. Why was she watching this scene... Is this some kind of torture? The self in another world was being tortured by Amiya in another world...

No, Amiya is a good girl, she would never do that kind of thing!

Noah quickly shook her head. In her impression, Amiya was a good girl who would blush even when holding hands. She must have been led astray by Margaret and Mace. Her mind was full of thoughts about that kind of thing. How could Amiya do this!

"Miss Noah..." Amiya pulled Noah to the bed and sat her down. Then, with a mischievous smile, she collapsed onto Noah's lap. Amiya had wanted to do this for a long time, but she felt shy doing it with the usual Miss Noah. Now seemed like the perfect time. She adjusted her position, looked up, and sniffed Miss Noah's unique scent. She suddenly felt at ease.

With Miss Noya around...it's really easy to feel at ease.

It's just a knee pillow...it can always be forgiven, right?

Amiya thought to herself, of course she didn't know that Miss Noya in another world would be looking at her memories in the future, she was just acting coquettishly to Miss Noya.

After all, no matter how mature she is...she is just a child who has just become an adult.

"Ms. Noah...can you talk to me?"

"..."

"I know the real Miss Noah is still asleep, but... I really want to talk to you. I really want to tell you what happened to me today, and then ask you to tell me what I should do."