Fu Zhu looked around in astonishment. He couldn't find any physical entity nearby. The synthesized mechanical voice must have been emitted by the system of this vast data array before him.
But why would it call him Master?
Fu Zhu couldn't figure it out, so he decided to just ask directly.
"Who are you? Why did you call me Master?"
However, there was no response. After its initial greeting, the voice fell completely silent.
Fu Zhu waited for a moment. After confirming that it had gone completely quiet, he reluctantly gave up on getting an answer from it and started heading deeper into the data array.
Along the way, the afterimages of [Cyrene] were everywhere. Even though she looked like a beautiful young girl, the scene was still more than a little creepy, even for Fu Zhu.
Walking between the towering data arrays, Fu Zhu couldn't resist his curiosity. He reached out and placed a piece of redstone on one of them.
"Shut down?"
Fu Zhu tried issuing the command. In the next second, the lights on the constantly flickering data arrays instantly went dark, and he could hear the distinct sound of a system powering down.
This came as a bit of a surprise to Fu Zhu. He was just testing it out, but he hadn't expected it to actually work.
He immediately became alert, ready to switch to spectator mode at a moment's notice.
Of course, it wasn't because he was afraid of any danger. He was worried that these data arrays were interconnected with the Emperor's Scepter. If he shut down the Scepter, the world of Amphoreus would surely cease to exist.
Never mind Tribbie, Cifera, and Castorice; he knew that March, Stelle, and Dan Heng were still inside!
He absolutely could not let anything happen to them.
If the Emperor's Scepter had really shut down because of his command, he would guarantee an immediate time rewind to one second before he issued the order.
Fortunately, the scenario he envisioned didn't happen. The surrounding environment remained unchanged, which also confirmed what Lygus had said: this place was indeed a section that had been severed from the Irontomb.
"Power on."
BZZT— The data arrays resumed operation.
The mechanical synthesized voice he had heard earlier sounded again at this moment.
[Identifying... Identification successful. Welcome back, Master.]
"Is it just a pre-programmed response?"
Fu Zhu was a little disappointed. He had thought the Irontomb's "brain" would be highly intelligent, but it turned out to be nothing more than some preset programs.
He still had no idea where to find the answer to why he was being called Master.
After walking for a while longer, Fu Zhu suddenly discovered that this "path of death" had finally reached its end. Ahead, the tall data arrays formed a solid wall, completely sealing off the area.
And right in the center of it, Fu Zhu saw a cube, similar to a Rubik's Cube, that was constantly emitting a soft, warm light.
[Seed of Memory · Demiurge]
"Demiurge?"
Fu Zhu was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this "Rubik's Cube" to actually have a name. At first glance, he had assumed it was some kind of operating system or data core.
Just in case, Fu Zhu gripped his Yamato and slowly approached Demiurge. Nothing happened all the way until he was standing right in front of it.
"Strange…"
Fu Zhu reached out a curious hand and poked the motionless Demiurge. He knew that not many things showed up on the minimap; architectural objects wouldn't appear as markers.
But this Demiurge was clearly marked as a neutral unit on the map. Why wasn't it reacting even when he was this close?
After poking it to no effect, Fu Zhu decided to just grab it and take it with him. But the moment he held it in his hand, another synthesized mechanical voice sounded in his ear.
'Not. Peaches.'
"Hm?"
Fu Zhu raised an eyebrow. The voice was synthesized, just like the one that had called him Master earlier, but Demiurge's voice sounded much more juvenile, like a small child who had just learned a few words.
'You. Are. Who.'
"Fu Zhu."
Although he didn't understand what was going on with this little guy, Fu Zhu felt a little intrigued.
Besides, it was called a Seed of Memory, a rare item indeed!
'Master.'
Hearing himself being called Master again, Fu Zhu corrected it with some exasperation, "Forget everything else, I just told you my name. You little Rubik's Cube, can't you even get a name right? It's Fu Zhu!"
'Master.'
Fine, whatever you say.
Fu Zhu placed Demiurge in the palm of his hand. He casually placed a block on the ground to serve as a chair and sat down, his eyes fixed on the cube in his hand.
He had finally found something that seemed capable of communication. There were some questions he needed to ask.
"Little Rubik's Cube, what's the deal with all the afterimages of Cyrene out there?"
'Cyrene. Is Peaches.'
"You… know her?"
Fu Zhu turned his head to look at the afterimages of Cyrene. It seemed they had all come for the Demiurge in his hand.
Fu Zhu pondered for a moment, then asked the Demiurge in his hand, "Can you tell me, what was Cyrene's purpose in coming to find you?"
'Peaches. Tell story.'
"Tell a story?"
Fu Zhu felt increasingly lost. He turned his head again to look at the remnants of those Cyrenes. They paid such a heavy price just to tell a story?
Just as Fu Zhu was thinking about this, Demiurge spoke again.
'Request. Find Peaches.'
Fu Zhu was surprised that this little thing could even request help from others.
"Why should I help you?"
'Searching… Conclusion: Master. Creates worlds. A kind person.'
While he could understand the individual words, stringing them together was somewhat baffling.
"I can help you, but on one condition. Afterward, you have to share all your data with me. Of course, it's useless even if you refuse."
He had already dusted Demiurge with redstone powder. He could control it at any time. Making it hand over all its data was a matter of a single command. The reason he was agreeing to help now was simply out of interest in this intelligent "Rubik's Cube."
Fu Zhu was very curious. Just how intelligent could Demiurge be? And why was it in this region? What was its relationship with the Irontomb's "brain" that Lygus had mentioned?
These were questions Fu Zhu felt he needed to understand.
Demiurge agreed almost without hesitation. Even its synthesized mechanical voice now seemed to carry a hint of joy.
'Thank you. Fu Zhu.'
Fu Zhu smiled and asked, "So where should I take you to find Cyrene?"
'Searching… Conclusion: Aedes Elysiae, coordinates generating…'