After reading the message Kafka sent, Elio was completely stunned.
What what what—what is all this?!
The power of Finality had already receded. αWolf should have been rejected by the universe and returned to where she came from.
So how could she still remain in this world?!
What went wrong?!
At that moment, Elio closed his eyes and began mobilizing the power of Finality to conduct an inspection. It did not take long before he discovered the anomaly—and the source of it lay in the Soul Gem invented by Herta.
This object could even contain a soul that was rejected by the universe itself—a soul that did not belong to this world?!
The Soul Gem, which Stelle often jokingly called a "Magical Girl Transformation Device"—though it was in truth a Path amplifier—actually possessed such a miraculous function?!
After being thoroughly shocked, Elio swiftly waved his little cat paws across the keyboard, informing Kafka that αWolf's consciousness still existed within the Soul Gem. He also asked Kafka to inquire on his behalf:
How exactly did the Soul Gem store the soul of someone from another world?
...
On the planet Punklorde, Kafka felt her phone vibrate. She opened it and immediately saw Elio's reply. She froze on the spot.
The reason αWolf could remain in this world and avoid rejection by the universe was not due to Finality, nor any other Aeon.
It was Herta's creation?!
A creation that most people had judged to be nothing more than a simple Path amplifier was actually capable of isolating the universe's rejection of a soul from another time-space?!
Even Terminus could not accomplish such a thing. More precisely, if Terminus forcibly kept a soul from another time-space within this universe for an extended period, the universe's rejection would gradually transfer onto the Aeon.
Over time, the accumulated rejection from the cosmos would reach a terrifying level—so overwhelming that even Terminus would be unable to withstand it.
Yet now, after αWolf took residence within the Soul Gem, her soul remained stable and secure, without suffering the universe's rejection.
Unbelievable.
Kafka was deeply astonished, and a strange expression surfaced on her face.
αWolf, residing within the Soul Gem, sensed this and immediately demanded in a raised voice, "What? Are you Stellaron Hunters planning not to return my power to me?"
Kafka shook her head. "Of course not. I'm simply surprised and intrigued that you're still able to remain in this world."
"This wasn't done by the Stellaron Hunters?" αWolf, within the gem, paused slightly. "Wasn't this item called the Soul Gem something you gave to Silver Wolf?"
Kafka shook her head again. "Naturally not. Keeping a soul from another time-space here long-term while isolating the universe's rejection—Terminus could achieve that. But according to the original plan, you were supposed to return to where you came from. After all, Silver Wolf has already obtained the power of the Invincible Player Cartridge."
"If it wasn't the one behind you who did this, then how am I still here?" αWolf muttered. Then she seemed to realize something and demanded again, "What exactly is this Soul Gem?"
"This plug-in level item known as the Soul Gem was researched by Miss Herta," Silver Wolf spoke at that moment, her gaze turning toward Herta nearby.
Herta?!
The αWolf Soul Gem flickered violently.
In truth, in her own timeline, she also knew Herta. Of course, their statuses were not equal.
After all, she had replaced Polka Kakamond, the Fourth Seat of the Genius Society, and become the new master of Device IX. A mere Herta was beneath her notice.
Of course, she was also familiar with that timeline's Herta research—Solitary Waves Theory, Fortune Glue, the Simulated Universe... Herta had studied many things, but absolutely not the Soul Gem.
So what was going on with this Herta? How had she developed Soul Gem technology?
A flood of doubts flashed through αWolf's mind.
At that moment, Kafka stepped forward and asked Herta directly: How did the Soul Gem manage to allow a soul from another time-space to remain in the local universe?
Both αWolf and Silver Wolf tensed, listening intently.
As for αWolf, she had already realized Herta's extraordinariness. At the very least, the Herta of this timeline was extremely special.
As for Silver Wolf, she now more deeply understood just how extraordinary the genius called Herta truly was—she had even managed to keep a future αWolf here.
If αWolf could remain, then in the future, could both αWolf and Silver Wolf play games together?!
Playing games with herself—if that could be realized, it would surely be an excellent gaming experience!
So she had to listen carefully to Herta's answer, to confirm whether αWolf remaining inside the Soul Gem would produce any side effects.
As for Herta herself, who had just been questioned by Kafka, she was inwardly puzzled.
The Soul Gem can house a soul from another time-space?
Was that supposed to be one of its functions?
As the inventor, I don't even know that!
Herman, who heard Herta's inner thoughts, silently reflected.
The Soul Gem was indeed capable of containing a human soul. More precisely, in the worldview of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, this technology could even transform a person's soul itself into a Soul Gem.
One could even say that the physical body was merely a shell—the soul was the core.
And in that worldview, Magical Girls could freely traverse time and space without suffering any rejection from the universe.
Homura was exactly like that. She made a wish to Kyubey to become a Magical Girl capable of time travel, walking again and again along the path of saving Madoka.
After thinking this through, Herman spoke seriously to Herta, "Perhaps this is what you would call a miracle and magic. Congratulations, Herta... With the help of the Stellaron Hunters, you've successfully developed a new function of the Soul Gem."
"That doesn't seem particularly useful to me," Herta communicated inwardly with Herman. "On the contrary, it's very useful to the Stellaron Hunters. Now that they know what the Soul Gem can do, they could pull souls from the future and station them inside it."
Herman teased, "Then who knows—maybe in the future, you'll even encounter a Soul Gem fused with the soul of Rubert III."
"Stop, stop, stop. I absolutely do not want to see that," Herta replied inwardly. Then she lifted her head and said to Kafka, "The Soul Gem being able to house a person's soul—isn't that perfectly normal? If it couldn't, why would I name it that?"
Kafka said, "That does make sense... but the issue is that it doesn't only contain souls from this time-space. It can perfectly contain even souls from the future, allowing them to remain without being rejected by the universe."
"Hmph." Herta snorted lightly. "The Soul Gem is my invention. Its function is naturally far more than what outsiders assume—that it merely amplifies one's Path. Isolating the universe's rejection of a soul from another time-space—isn't that perfectly reasonable?"
"After all, it is my creation."
Herta's voice was brimming with self-admiration, yet no one present could refute her.
After all, the Soul Gem she had created had indeed contained a soul from another time-space, allowing αWolf to evade the instinctive rejection of the universe.
In the end, Kafka sighed inwardly.
Just as Elio had said—Herta was a genius of the highest unpredictability. In her hands, technologies of infinite possibility would be born.
Take the Soul Gem, for instance. At first, many people had regarded it as nothing more than a simple Path amplifier.
When Herta initially claimed that the Soul Gem contained miracles and magic, many dismissed her words as exaggeration—empty boasting.
Yet now, the Soul Gem had perfectly shielded αWolf from the universe's rejection. That alone was a miracle on a cosmic scale.
After all, even Aeons found such a feat difficult to accomplish.
After her moment of reflection, Kafka swiftly typed Herta's response and sent it to Elio.
After reading it, Elio fell into deep silence. At the same time, a thought rose within his mind.
If the Soul Gem invented by Herta concealed the power to contain souls from future timelines, then what about her other inventions? Could they also harbor immense, undiscovered potential waiting to be unearthed?
With that thought, Elio once more began observing the future. Yet this attempt was no different from before—he still could not see through Herta's destiny.
Then another crucial idea surfaced.
If the Soul Gem could retain αWolf's soul, then could it also retain other high-level combatants from the future?
For example—the Lord Ravager who would set the cosmos ablaze: The Third Emperor.
Or perhaps even the Eighth Lord Ravager, who possessed both the power of a general of The Hunt and the power of Destruction.
As Elio continued thinking, he reached a conclusion.
It should be possible. And the Soul Gem could likely retain them as well... But if those beings remained, what awaited the cosmos would probably be even greater chaos.
So better not.
After all, the faction of Finality—the Stellaron Hunters—did not seek to destroy the universe or plunge it into chaos. Their goal was to guide the cosmos toward that singular future and rewrite the ending of Finality.
Summoning powerful beings from the future—or even the past—to fight for the Stellaron Hunters could only serve as a trump card, not something to be used lightly.
The more beings from other time-spaces were summoned, the more unstable the future would become. And the more unstable the future became, the harder it would be for him to observe destiny.
After reaching this point in his thoughts, Elio licked his fur.
Meanwhile, on the planet Punklorde, αWolf turned her gaze toward Herta.
"You are special. At least in the era I lived in, you never researched something called the Soul Gem."
The Herta's heart stirred at those words. She understood that in αWolf's timeline, she most likely had never obtained Herman's Research System.
Without it, she would have been unable to activate World-Shaking Wisdom and acquire the knowledge related to the Soul Gem.
If nothing unexpected had occurred, then in αWolf's timeline, that Herta's upper limit was most likely that of an Emanator—unable to achieve further breakthroughs.
After pondering this, Herta responded calmly, "Just as Silver Wolf and you are different, I am also different from the Herta you knew. I have no upper limit."
Upon hearing this, αWolf let out a sigh. "A Herta without limits? The Herta I knew once fought Polka Kakamond—the Lord of Silence and master of Device IX—and suffered complete defeat."
"In the end, the one who defeated Polka Kakamond and took control of Device IX was me. Yet even I could not break the upper limit and ascend to a higher level."
After saying this, αWolf tried to detect even a trace of discouragement on Herta's face.
But Herta's expression remained as calm as the surface of a lake—utterly unmoved.
Only then did she speak slowly.
"The reason the version of me you mentioned lost to Polka Kakamond was because she was countered by the Knowable Domain. Polka's Knowable Domain connects to Nous—it is far too suppressive against geniuses."
"As for how you managed to defeat Polka, it was most likely because of the Path of Elation. That Path is full of chaos—even the Knowable Domain cannot fully predict it."
"And your reason for replacing Polka and taking control of Device IX was to search for a way to break the upper limit. But judging by the result—you failed."
"As expected of the genius who developed the Soul Gem. Your analysis is flawless," αWolf said with admiration in her voice. "I tried many things to break the level cap. Replacing Polka and taking over Device IX was merely one attempt. Unfortunately, it ended in complete failure."
"In the end... I fell into despair. And eventually became what I am now."
"You have proven your uniqueness by developing the Soul Gem," αWolf continued, her tone turning serious. "Do you think that the you of this universe can do better than I did?"
"Without question," Herta replied with her usual confidence. "An Emanator is by no means my endpoint. I will research everything in the cosmos—including the Aeons. Even the Droidhead is no exception."
"As expected, no matter the era, you are consistently self-absorbed," αWolf laughed. "But I believe that with your uniqueness, perhaps you really can do it."
"Stop laughing." Silver Wolf quickly grabbed the Soul Gem on her body and protested, "You said earlier that I couldn't break the level cap. But when it comes to Herta, you suddenly believe she can surpass it? You're seriously underestimating me."
"That was simply clear self-awareness," αWolf replied calmly. "And Herta is indeed special, isn't she? Even Kafka was surprised that the Soul Gem could contain a soul from another time-space."
"There is no doubt that the technologies invented by Herta possess functions that even the slave of destiny could not foresee."
After finishing her analysis, αWolf cast a sideways glance at Silver Wolf.
"As for you—you're still too weak. I simply cannot see any possibility of you breaking the upper limit."
"Hah?!" Silver Wolf immediately flared up. "What nonsense are you spouting? I just beat you!"
"Tch. Do you really think I wasn't holding back?"
Silver Wolf's face flushed. "Holding... holding back?"
αWolf chuckled. "Still haven't realized it? If I hadn't held back, do you think you could have severed my arm and obtained the power of the Invincible Player cartridge?"
"...!"
Silver Wolf fell silent. After a long moment, she ground her teeth.
"Let's fight again. But this time—as a game. In this era, I'm ranked first on the gaming leaderboard. So in this match, you are absolutely not allowed to hold back."
"I'm the strongest in the future world. Do you really think you can win if I don't hold back?"
"I will win!"
The exchange between αWolf and Silver Wolf crackled with gunpowder.
A game battle between the strongest of the present and the strongest of the future was about to begin.
Meanwhile, on a higher dimension beyond their perception, the gazes of the Aeons had already quietly turned toward Punklorde.
The reason was simple.
Through various means, They too had sensed the arrival of αWolf from another time-space—and her stabilized existence under the effect of the Soul Gem.
And that was enough to draw Their attention.