Chapter 1418: Lingering Issues

A clear holographic projection appeared above the silver-white pillar. Ophelia’s figure materialized before Highlord, once again adopting the same “form” she had used during the previous meeting: a carrier nearly identical in appearance to the real Ophelia Norton, seated on a pale golden throne. Behind her and around the throne extended a tangle of pipes and cables.

“Good evening,” Ophelia’s voice came through the projection, calm and serene as always. “I hope I’m not disturbing your rest.”

Tyr and the other Tirs standing nearby glanced at the holographic image of the Princess of Gondor, then at Highlord, hesitating before asking, “Should I step away? Are you planning to discuss something confidential?”

Highlord was taken aback by this. He shot a surprised look at the deep-sea “salt fish” — Tyr’s usual unreliability was so frequent that hearing her say something sensible now felt oddly uncanny.

“No need,” Ophelia’s voice responded immediately, her expressionless form betraying a faint hint of a smile. “It’s nothing that requires secrecy. Miss Tyr, don’t treat me as a stranger. I am the Veronica you know well. Back in Cecil City, we discussed many matters together.”

“…That’s true,” Tyr blinked, “but it’s still a bit strange all of a sudden… I’m used to dealing with ‘Veronica,’ and now seeing you in this form…”

“Alright, someone who’s always transforming herself and can even cut off her tail to create six clones shouldn’t be talking about others,” Highlord said with a glance at Tyr, then turned back to Ophelia. “Is there a problem on your end?”

“The core control system of the Deep Blue Well has been brought back online,” Ophelia said, her tone growing serious. “After initially repairing the perimeter pipeline monitoring system, I discovered some… previously undetected anomalies, possibly related to the activities of the Sentinels.”

“Previously undetected anomalies? Related to the Sentinels?” Highlord’s brow furrowed immediately. “Explain in detail.”

“I found that several energy conduits had been infiltrated and siphoned off. The output logs for those areas don’t match up. Additionally, some Iron Soldiers mysteriously disappeared, with their signal loss dating back to before the outbreak of the war. Due to certain system errors, these data slipped past my monitoring until now. The siphoned energy and missing soldiers likely explain why those Dark Priests suddenly grew so powerful and collectively ‘evolved,’ and why the Blight was later able to draw massive energy from the deep layers around the Deep Blue Well.”

“However, these aren’t major issues. The Sentinels’ conspiracy has been thwarted, and all system faults are being gradually repaired. The real concern is… while monitoring the ‘pulse flow,’ I received some signals from the deep zones of the Deep Blue Network.”

“Signals? Inside the Deep Blue Network?” Highlord seemed to realize something. “Could it be…”

“I suspect they are the ‘rune stones’ the Sentinels planted in the network,” Ophelia’s voice grew even more grave. “It appears that the deaths of the Sentinels and the Blight did not cause these rune stones to deactivate automatically. They are still operational.”

Highlord exchanged a glance with Amber. Both saw the same shock and tension reflected in each other’s eyes — what Ophelia had uncovered was undoubtedly a blind spot for everyone before. The war had been so vast, the victory so exhilarating, that after it ended, almost everyone was caught up in the joy of triumph, never considering that those rune stones planted deep within the Deep Blue Network were still active!

Amid the tension, Highlord felt a surge of gratitude: while nearly everyone’s attention had shifted to the complex affairs following the war’s end, thankfully, the Ophelia Matrix — that diligent ancient AI — was still meticulously fulfilling her duties. Without such vigilant eyes watching over the Deep Blue Network, who knew when the world would have remembered those rune stones?

“Could those rune stones still be carrying out the Sentinels’ orders?” Amber suddenly asked.

“Based on current data, there’s no need to worry yet,” Ophelia replied. “The signals collected so far are just regular transmissions and responses. Although the exact content still needs decoding, it’s generally clear these are rhythmic signals emitted during communication between the rune stones. There’s no sign of large-scale activity at present.”

Ophelia seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing, “Previously, the Deep Blue Well’s monitoring system failed to detect these rune stones. I suspect the Sentinels deliberately controlled them to evade my surveillance or used some technology to shield themselves. But now that the Deep Blue Well is receiving signals emitted by the runes, it may indicate they have entered an unguarded, automatic operational state. In a way, that’s a good thing.”

“On standby, huh… From a ‘not causing trouble’ perspective, that’s good. But just thinking about all those ticking time bombs buried deep in the planet’s magical network makes it hard to sleep…” Highlord muttered, wincing. “Is there any way to ‘fish’ them out?”

He instinctively glanced at Tyr. “Like how the Sirens did it back then…”

“That’s possible, but not easy,” Tyr, who had been quietly listening, spoke up immediately. “Our sisters have already tried. Elemental beings like the Sirens can safely swim through the Deep Blue Network, so theoretically, they can locate those rune stones drifting deep inside. But the problem is the sheer scale of the network… it’s enormous.”

Tyr’s tone was troubled, and Highlord nodded in agreement. “Indeed. The Deep Blue Network is the planet’s power system, and it extends beyond the physical world. Its tributaries run through all realms and elemental domains. Finding every rune stone in such a vast network is no small task, especially since we have no idea how to navigate it.”

“That’s actually a minor problem,” Tyr mused, stroking her chin. “No matter how big the network is, it has limits. Navigation difficulties can be gradually overcome by identifying patterns. The real issue is that it spans all elemental domains, which complicates things. You know, our relationship with the native elemental beings isn’t exactly great…”

“Weren’t you only on bad terms with the native water elementals? Maybe the wind elementals who joined them in fighting you?” Amber’s eyes widened. The shadow assault goose was sharp enough to realize the Sirens’ antics were even more colorful than she’d imagined. “How come now it’s all elemental beings?”

Tyr’s face flushed with embarrassment. She rubbed her hands nervously and muttered, “…I didn’t experience the early Elemental Wars, but I heard that after the Queen tried the ‘gassy’ ones, she created pearl-bearing and hot-drinkable ones too…”

“…Holy crap!” Highlord swore he’d never opened his eyes that wide in his life. “Wow, you fish are elemental bullies?”

So, in the eyes of the world, the Sirens — usually gentle, friendly, and overall comic relief like a whole clan of comedians — were actually feared as ruthless tyrants in the elemental realms?

Tyr looked equally awkward. Hearing Highlord’s teasing, she nearly rubbed her hands raw — if Sirens’ body temperature could rise, she was probably boiling by now. “Back then, we were clueless. The elemental beings on this planet are strange, and different elemental species communicate in completely different ways. Their survival methods are extremely insular. For a long time, we couldn’t even tell if the ‘little things’ near elemental rifts or engine leaks were natural phenomena or just sea creatures. Ugh, our ignorance back then was truly sinful…”

Sensing the atmosphere growing increasingly awkward, Tyr quickly waved her hands and added, “But we didn’t fight the earth and fire elementals too harshly. After dealing with the native water elementals, we had some friction with other elemental realms but eventually figured things out. Later, the Queen even brought local specialties and sisters to apologize in person. Everyone came to mutual understanding and signed peace agreements… Though, even with peace, relations remain a bit tense.”

Highlord’s mouth twitched as he glanced at the deep-sea salt fish. “Can I ask what you mean by ‘mutual understanding’ exactly?”

“I’m not sure of the details, but according to sisters who participated in the ‘friendly visits,’ the elemental lords of earth and fire were apparently quite… horrified when they saw we could freely enter conflicting elemental domains,” Tyr said uncertainly. “They seemed to think it was a shocking, unprecedented thing, and that’s when they let bygones be bygones… By the way, why do you look so weird?”

“…I’m just especially glad you’re on our side,” Highlord said, feeling a pounding headache. After a full day of meetings, chatting with this sea caterpillar was the most exhausting thing — his sanity was shaking violently by the second. “Alright, let’s not dwell on history. Back to those rune stones, Ophelia… Ophelia? Are you listening?”

“Ah, I am,” Ophelia’s voice sounded as if she’d just snapped out of a daze. Even an AI’s sanity could be shaken by the Sirens’ worldview. “I’m listening.”

“Then about retrieving those rune stones…”

“I actually have a new idea,” Ophelia interrupted before Highlord could finish. “Extracting all the rune stones from the Deep Blue Network is an almost impossible task — even if the Sirens think it’s ‘doable,’ that’s on their ‘time scale.’ For ordinary mortal civilizations, something that might take hundreds of thousands of years isn’t very practical. But from another perspective… leaving those rune stones in the network might be an option.”

“Leaving them in the network?” Highlord guessed her meaning. “You mean those rune stones could be useful to us?”

“That’s a ‘possibility,’” Ophelia said seriously. Though this was a newly formed idea, it was clear she had run countless simulations in her processing units. “Although the Sentinels and Dark Priests nearly destroyed this world, based on the rune stone samples the Sirens salvaged and intelligence from captured Dark Priests, the rune stones they planted are essentially control nodes. As a purely technical system, these control nodes might be usable for purposes beyond world destruction.”

It was a plausible yet unsettling thought. Highlord’s tone grew solemn. “…You believe the Sentinels’ control system could be safely repurposed in other fields?”

“In essence, these rune stones originate from the Voyager technology. Based on my analysis, other planets with suitable conditions should also have ‘Deep Blue Conduits’ similar to the ones on our planet. The technology behind these rune stones was likely initially used for planetary terraforming or similar purposes,” Ophelia explained her thoughts. “From the Voyagers’ perspective, this was probably just a form of… ‘land reclamation,’ or a basic infrastructure project akin to ‘waterworks.’”

“To a super-civilization, what they call ‘waterworks’ might be an apocalyptic flood for a primitive society,” Gawain said gravely. “I get what you mean. The ‘prototype’ technology behind those rune stones might just be some fundamental civilian utility for an advanced civilization. Used properly, it’s harmless or even beneficial. But the key question is whether we’ve reached the level to actually ‘use’ it correctly. If we suddenly had technology that could alter a planet’s environment at the push of a few buttons, that might not be a good thing for the Alliance right now.”

Amber, standing nearby, nodded quietly, quickly grasping Gawain’s concern. “After all, pressing a button is easy—but the consequences of pressing it might be beyond our current capabilities.”

“I’ve considered that as well,” Ophelia said calmly. “That’s why I said it’s only a ‘possibility.’ The reality we face is that the control nodes embedded in the Deep Blue Conduits are almost impossible to fully remove. For the foreseeable future, we have to live with the fact that the planetary power system is essentially rigged with a bunch of ‘bombs.’ Since we’re destined not to dig them out, it’s better to understand them as much as possible rather than do nothing. And when I talk about ‘control’ and ‘utilization,’ those are just inevitable byproducts of this research process.”

“…And even if we don’t study them, there’s no guarantee some other dark cult—like the End of All Things sect—or some other group won’t stumble upon these ‘stones’ for their own reasons,” Amber’s mind was now fully engaged. She frowned slightly. “Isn’t that how a lot of horror stories go? Some lost, desperate dark sorcerer falls into a sealed forbidden zone of an evil god, gains its power, wreaks havoc, and only after a ton of supporting characters and the protagonist’s entire family die can the demon lord be defeated. But if the people who sealed it away had just sliced the evil god up for study and left behind an instruction manual, maybe none of that would have happened…”

“Although your example is a bit problematic, it does make some sense,” Gawain glanced at Amber, then lowered his head slightly, thinking as he spoke slowly. “Indeed, those rune stones have sunk into every corner of the conduits. Apart from Ophelia’s current ability to remotely receive their signals, it’s nearly impossible for us to retrieve them all. Since these things are destined to remain deep within our planet for a long time, it’s better to understand them more… Even if there are risks, it’s better than being helpless when something unexpected happens.”

“But then again, based on the signals Ophelia is receiving remotely right now, do we really have any way to ‘control’ those nodes?”

Ophelia’s calm voice came through the screen, tinged with a hint of anticipation. “That… will take time.”

(End of chapter)