Meanwhile, deep within The Deep, Cocolia stood alone.
She silently gazed into the Deep before her.
In her hand was an old photograph.
It showed five familiar faces standing together—Rozaliya, Liliya, Sin Mal, Bronya, and Seele.
For a brief moment, Cocolia simply stared at the photograph.
Her expression was impossible to read.
Then she slowly looked away, turning her gaze toward the depths of The Deep.
Back on the Hyperion
SYSTEM: "Beeep… beep…"
Einstein immediately looked toward one of the monitoring consoles.
Her expression changed.
Einstein: "Unexpected fluctuations in The Deep? What happened?"
She quickly began examining the readings.
Einstein: "I'll have an engineer bot check it out."
SYSTEM: "Beep."
A nearby engineering robot activated.
Sechs: "Greetings. May I be of service?"
Einstein immediately frowned.
Einstein: "Switch voice prompts off."
Sechs: "Voice prompt: OFF."
With the voice prompts disabled, Einstein took control of the engineer bot and guided it deeper into The Deep.
The deeper it travelled, the more unusual the readings became.
Then—
Another warning appeared on the display.
Einstein: "An alarm. I need to get around it."
Einstein carefully controlled Sechs, guiding the robot around the alarm system in an attempt to avoid triggering it.
The bot moved forward.
Then another warning appeared.
Einstein's expression darkened.
Einstein: "More alarms…"
She carefully manoeuvred Sechs around them one by one.
The deeper the robot travelled, the more complicated the security systems became.
Einstein successfully managed to dodge another alarm.
Then—
A strange sound came through Sechs' communication system.
Garbled Noise: "…"
Einstein froze.
The transmission continued.
Garbled Noise: "…Gem of Desire… do it…"
Einstein narrowed her eyes.
Einstein: "…?"
She leaned closer to the monitor.
Einstein: "Someone else at The Deep?"
The distorted voices continued.
Garbled Noise: "…According to plan… Einstein will enter the Eye…"
Einstein's expression immediately became serious.
Then another fragment came through.
Garbled Noise: "…Do not harm the children…"
Einstein's eyes widened slightly.
Einstein: "That must be Cocolia. She's planning something."
She listened carefully.
Einstein: "Who is she talking to?"
The transmission crackled again.
Garbled Noise: "About that thing…"
Garbled Noise: "…We've received intel… Judgment of Shamash…"
Einstein immediately recognized the seriousness of the conversation.
Then—
Garbled Noise: "Wait, Cocolia…"
The transmission suddenly stopped.
SYSTEM: "…"
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a distorted voice suddenly came through the system.
Garbled Noise: "…You've been followed."
Einstein's eyes widened.
SYSTEM: "Buzz…"
The screen violently flickered.
The connection with Sechs immediately disappeared.
Einstein quickly checked the system.
Einstein: "We've been compromised."
She attempted to reconnect with the engineer bot.
Nothing.
Einstein: "Sechs is no longer operational. It's probably captured."
Einstein slowly stepped away from the console.
Einstein: "…"
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Einstein: "(I think I've heard that voice before…)"
Her expression became increasingly serious.
Cocolia is hiding something. I need to contact Madam Theresa.
Einstein quickly turned away from the console.
She didn't notice the presence behind her.
A mysterious figure had silently entered the room.
Before Einstein could react—
A gunshot echoed through the area.
Einstein's eyes widened.
She stumbled forward.
Then collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
The mysterious assailant stood behind her.
???: "…"
The figure looked down at Einstein.
???: "Discretion is better than valor. Secrecy is also a useful skill."
The mysterious assailant slowly lowered their weapon.
???: "But you've made a fatal error, Einstein."
The figure took a step closer.
???: "Scientists do need discretion, but a spy needs something else."
A brief silence followed.
Then the mysterious figure spoke again.
???: "This planet is out of safe places."
Far away from the Hyperion—
Massive amounts of Honkai beasts suddenly began rushing toward The Deep.
Their roars echoed through the darkness as an enormous swarm advanced.