The Deep — Unknown Location
???: …
???: "Discretion is better than valor. Secrecy is also a useful skill."
???: "But you've made a fatal error, Einstein."
???: "This planet is out of safe places."
Einstein: "…!"
Einstein slowly regained consciousness.
Her head throbbed, and her vision swam as she struggled to push herself back onto her feet. The room around her was dim, cold, and unfamiliar. For a moment, she had no idea where she was—or how long she had been unconscious.
Einstein: "Where am I?"
She steadied herself against the wall and looked around.
Einstein: "Looks like I'm still in The Deep."
Einstein examined her surroundings, searching for any signs of her attacker.
Einstein: "My attacker didn't kill me. Perhaps I'm still of some use."
A voice suddenly came from outside the room.
???: "You're finally up."
Einstein immediately became alert.
Einstein: "…! Who's there?"
She cautiously approached the door and looked through the opening.
The dim lighting made it difficult to see at first, but as her eyes adjusted, the figure outside slowly came into focus.
Then Einstein froze.
The stranger had short brown hair and blue eyes. Her clothing was dominated by black, white, and green, with a white hood-like garment marked by broken grey stripes.
But the most striking feature was her face.
Half of it appeared to have been quantized, distorted into an unnatural mixture of purple and blue hues—as though part of her physical existence had been replaced by the Sea of Quanta itself.
Einstein stared in disbelief.
???: "I wish you could see that precious look on your face."
Einstein: "Schrodinger? Why are you here? Didn't you…"
Schrodinger: "Bad case of energy imbalance, loss of physical form, and vanished into the unknown?"
A faint, almost amused expression crossed Schrodinger's face.
Schrodinger: "Indeed. That accident destabilised my physical existence and transformed me into a quantum entity."
Schrodinger: "For decades I was kept on the other side of the "door"."
Einstein's expression hardened as memories resurfaced.
Einstein: "We've been looking for you, but you left no trace."
Schrodinger's expression became more distant.
Schrodinger: "I've seen familiar faces on the other side, but now I'm sure they're not the people I used to know."
She looked toward the dark passage beyond the room.
Schrodinger: "In layman's terms, I fell to the bottom of the Sea of Quanta. It's a blank, empty world."
Schrodinger: "I managed to get out but lost my "beacon" to return to this world."
Einstein listened carefully.
Schrodinger: "And then you activated that device."
Einstein's eyes narrowed.
Einstein: "That device being the Eye of the Deep?"
Schrodinger shook her head slightly.
Schrodinger: "I've no idea what you did. You were the only one I knew amongst these people."
Schrodinger: "Ambient energy levels are now off the charts. Even in my bubble universe, I knew something was off."
Schrodinger: "All this energy came from a single point that I can't approach."
Einstein immediately understood.
Einstein: "It's the Gem of Desire. Someone touched it."
Her expression grew serious.
Einstein: "What exactly happened in the Sea? Tell me what you know."
Schrodinger turned away from the doorway and began walking down the corridor.
Schrodinger: "Let's talk along the way."
Swoosh…
The indicator light above the door shifted from red to green.
With a mechanical click, the door unlocked and slowly opened.
Einstein stepped out, keeping a cautious eye on Schrodinger.
Whatever had happened inside the Sea of Quanta, it was clear that Schrodinger knew more than she was saying.
And now, Einstein had another reason to reach the truth.
Schrodinger: "Our conversation will take a while…"