Aleph was fine when he entered the lounge. However, when he left, he demonstrated signs of being listless. If not for his shoulder-length hair, his reddened ears would've been noticeable.
Nevertheless, his strange behavior was noticed by Anna who was in a lab gown.
"Major Anna… How was it?"
"It didn't hurt. If it weren't for the agreement, I wouldn't have known about the bomb."
The two had a brief greetings before Aleph walked away. His back was reflected in Anna's eyes. She was about to enter the lounge to have a talk with Mei when a thought entered her mind.
'Did something happen between them? Sir Aleph and Director Mei's affairs are known to everyone…'
*****
Tap.
Tap.
The fifth institute was infamous for its numerous corridors. They were all built with steel, hence the slightly futuristic architecture. The place is a mess for newcomers as one could easily get lost, but not for Aleph.
His footsteps slowly headed towards Mobius' private laboratory.
'I mean… this much… it's reasonable…'
Only stone men wouldn't react to Mei's declaration, more so it was Aleph's first time receiving such a thing.
'I shouldn't prolong this… I need to think of a way… to break this stalemate…'
Just then, he felt slight movements on top of his head.
Meow.
Aleph nearly jolted. He took the cat on his head and examined her.
"She's still not awake. But then…"
The black cat moved its paws slightly, attempting to grasp his arms. Other than that, she soon returned to normal.
"Ugh… Great Sage, have you finished cross-analyzing?"
{Result: An approximate of five more hours is needed for detailed results.}
"Alright… thanks."
Aleph began irresistibly petting the cat. His elemental sight gave him an idea where there were people. It allowed him to blatantly take the black cat on his arms without anyone passing by.
Strangely enough, this petting session was enough to calm his frantic thoughts down.
Only when he was approaching Mobius' laboratory did he snap out of it.
'...Oops.' He thought. 'This is your childhood friend, not a real cat!'
In a hurry, he placed the cat back on his head. His motor skills were enough to ensure the cat didn't fall off.
Aleph stepped inside the familiar laboratory. It was still cold, figuratively and physically. All sorts of reagents, piled papers, computers, and encased specimens could be seen. The room was wider than the average office block.
Amidst everything, a green-haired woman stood.
The moment she turned her head around and looked at him, her eyes narrowed. He was completely reflected in Mobius' snake-like eyes.
'Something's definitely wrong.'
Her gaze lingered on top of his head before examining his microexpressions. She didn't see anything out of the norm due to Aleph's deliberate preparations.
Unfortunately for him, he underestimated a woman's intuition.
'When he returned after the fight with the herrscher or…' Her thoughts halted as her eyes became even narrower. 'That director.'
Unless they were living under a rock, everyone by now would've known about the past between Aleph and Mei. It was a popular gossip within Fire MOTH, to the point most soldiers heard about it at least once.
Her complicated thoughts were hidden inside her head.
"You sure took your time. Is there anything worth sightseeing here that I don't know of?"
"...Maybe."
She somehow felt something else from his tone. It prompted her to stop what she was doing. She returned her gaze to him before asking:
"Then… What is it?"
Once again, time nearly went into a halt for Aleph. It was at this moment he realized he hadn't fully recovered from what he heard from Mei. He wanted to scratch the itch in his heart—one that was done through the usual teasing.
But then, it seems like he wanted to imply something more than usual.
'Why can't I… my brain isn't functioning well today..!'
Compared to himself that fought against honkai fearlessly, the Aleph now was shaken up.
'There are two ways… to do the usual or shift the topic…'
Aleph soon realized that changing the topic wasn't viable. He would be treating Mobius like a fool and make her discover something was wrong.
Simply put, he shot himself in the foot—placed himself in checkmate, even.
Everything returned to normal. His skills related to Great Sage were halted.
"You."
"..."
It became extremely silent. Aleph could hear the operation of the air conditioners within the room.
After a while, he saw Mobius' widened eyes return to normal.
"Is that so? Why don't I show you around my dissection table?"
"...No thanks. At least not now."
Hearing Aleph's response, Mobius caught a crucial word.
"Not now..? Are you willing to become one?"
"If it helps you, I will."
Not expecting to hear such serious replies from him, Mobius attributed it to his current strange state.
She continued organizing the research papers in her desk before she walked over and handed it to him.
"I need an assistant for the first batch of volunteers..."
*****
It has been twelve hours since the fifth major eruption at daybreak. Aleph was currently resting in his familiar dorm room inside the fifth institute.
Somehow, his level of familiarity became nearly the same as the third institute's.
'The allegations might become true. Those at the third even reduced my supposed workload just to drag me back…'
He thought of some funny things before he turned serious.
Looking at the cross-analysis done by Great Sage…
{Result: Numerous signs have pointed out to the subject Kurumi Tokisaki being severely injured by another force. It possesses a trace of creation that nulled her body from recovery. Currently, the power of [Worlds' Light] took most of the force's attack…}
'That silver-haired girl..!'
The findings drew a story in his mind.
The silver-haired girl was an enemy. For some reason, she targeted Aleph right after he managed to enter Kurumi's world. Then, she persistently chased after Kurumi while the latter used his somewhat special artifact to evade her. It was either that or the silver-haired girl wanted something else, which explains why she didn't directly attack Kurumi.
{... further analysis revealed the artifact's lack of power. A huge source of special energy is required. Magicules of normal nature have a 24.44% chance of working…}
In the end, Great Sage pointed him out to the artifact's main problem—lack of energy. It was the main reason why it "shattered", rendering it unusable until he retrieved it at Nagazora.
'Magicules… no, it should be on the level of cursed energy. If it doesn't work…'
Aleph prepared himself to find other alternatives.
For now, he took out the fourth Sephira Crystal fragment. As usual, it came in the form of a shattered crystal.
"The power of a soul…"
Click-!
He took another step further to transcendence.