"As for this body of yours..."
Imhotep scrutinized the female version of Otto before her, her eyes filled with perplexity.
"Aha... Looks like you've brought Dad's dark history back with you—"
"It was beyond my control—I needed a medium to enter this world, and the random lottery landed on her..."
"Wait a minute? Otto is your dad?!"
Miss Captain, who had been casually explaining, suddenly snapped to attention, staring wide-eyed at the unfazed Imhotep.
"Ah, that's right. So, Miss-in-Dad's-female-body, interested in applying to be my mom?"
"With whom?"
"Who do you think...? They don't call him Schicksal's Number One True Love Warrior for nothing."
"Kallen Kaslana... Has Kallen's fate been changed in this world?"
The Captain looked utterly incredulous, as if she'd just heard the most unbelievable news.
"Not yet, but it's close..."
Imhotep shook her head, denying the Captain's assumption.
"'Close' is good enough... Finally, a world where someone can truly resurrect Miss Kallen..."
The Captain sighed with emotion.
"So, what are you all doing in this world? This isn't a World Bubble, you know. The leaves on the Imaginary Tree aren't so easy to interfere with."
Imhotep wore a curious expression...
"Since you've asked so earnestly... Ouch—!"
"Bronie, why'd you suddenly hit me???"
Miss Captain grimaced, clutching her head as Bronie physically interrupted her speech.
"Ignore the Captain's sudden bout of insanity. She and the others came looking for me," Bronie explained. "A few months ago, while I was driving through the Sea of Quanta, I got hit head-on by something sinking rapidly toward the bottom. That reckless driver in the Sea of Quanta knocked me into a turbulent current... When I woke up, I was here. The Captain and the others must have followed the traces left by the turbulence to find this place."
"Ahem... That's right. The Sea of Quanta has been getting more and more unstable lately," the Captain added, rubbing her head. "At first, we thought Bronie had been knocked into some previously unnoticed World Bubble. But when we followed the trail, it led us to a world on the Imaginary Tree..."
The Captain spread her hands and shrugged.
"And we'll probably be stuck here for a long time... Well, actually, we were also swept here by the current. With the Sea of Quanta getting more and more unstable lately... even if I'm special enough to ignore it, my crew might not be. Anyway, we haven't dared to venture back down recently."
The Captain shook her head, a lingering fear in her eyes as she recalled the turbulence that had swept her entire ship and crew into this world.
"Turbulence in the Sea of Quanta? I've been there a few times... It always seemed pretty calm to me," Imhotep said, looking puzzled at the travelers from the Sea of Quanta.
"Ugh, don't even get me started. It all began around the time Bronie went missing... Hmm, you understand the relationship between the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, right? No need for an explanation?"
The Captain waited for Imhotep to nod before continuing...
"The Tree went completely insane for some reason, extending its roots deep into the Sea of Quanta as if trying to retrieve something. Of course, the Sea wouldn't just let it have its way, so the two entities started fighting... and they still haven't stopped."
"..."
"I think I understand what's going on now... Hiss... Is the Imaginary Tree always this overprotective?"
Imhotep sucked in a sharp breath and asked the Captain, "Miss Captain, how long do you think they'll keep fighting?"
"How long? To be honest, they've been fighting since the beginning; this time is just more intense. By our real-world time, it'll probably take about half a year for things to calm down... It seems you know the reason for this chaos in the Sea of Quanta, Miss Imhotep?"
"Oh, that... I might not only know the reason... I might also be the one who started it all~"
The white-haired girl offered an awkward smile.
"Huh?!"
-
"So, you're saying... you—no, I mean, Ma'am—a respected lady, the Divine Child of the Imaginary Tree... temporarily sealed a part of your divinity at the bottom of the Sea for a plan to 'Make Human Civilization Great Again'?"
"That's... more or less correct," Imhotep nodded.
"No wonder the Imaginary Tree reacted so violently... In its eyes, it must look like the Sea of Quanta kidnapped its precious little cub..." The Captain nodded in sudden realization.
"But... theoretically, the Imaginary Tree shouldn't have reacted this strongly... My other self should be dormant, unless I'm mistaken... For the Tree to react like this, someone must have been actively calling out to it...?"
Imhotep's expression turned to one of utter confusion.
"Ah, about that... Captain's experience speaking here—usually, when you think 'unless I'm mistaken,' that's exactly when you are mistaken..."
"That's an accident I can't afford to have..."
Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Imhotep forcefully pushed aside the nagging thought: Don't tell me I'm the one who screwed this up...
"But judging by the commotion the Imaginary Tree is causing in the Sea... this 'accident' might be stuck on a loading screen. You know, the kind that hits 99% and then becomes unresponsive..." the Captain offered, trying to console the sweating Imhotep.
"In that case, I hope it stays frozen for a few months..."
"...Wait a minute... If my other self is awake... why isn't she returning to reality or going to the Imaginary Tree to resurrect my mother? Why is she just wandering around the Sea?"
As if struck by a sudden realization, Imhotep's expression went completely blank.
"My dear beautiful lady," the Captain began cautiously, "is there any chance—and I'm just saying, maybe—that your other self... got lost in the Sea...?"
"...Absolutely not!" Imhotep averted her gaze guiltily, clearly having considered the same possibility.
-
Deep within the Sea of Quanta, a blonde girl, not long awakened, wandered atop bizarre geometric structures. She casually flicked the quantum crabs and jellyfish she'd been skewering on her sword tip aside, her face a mixture of bewilderment and furious frustration.
"You bastard! You left me a copy of everything except the coordinates to the Prime World, didn't you?! Just wait until I get back—I'll beat you to death!!!"
The goddess's roar echoed through the deserted Sea of Quanta, but with no one to hear it, only the lingering sound remained.
"Hello?! Is—anyone—there?! Help this poor child!"