Not bad.

Professor Arche glanced at Sam Li, Moon Carver, Cloud Retainer, and the others, then slowly nodded.

"You must be the new generation of Void Hunters, aren't you? Quite impressive. If you were to enter Hollow Zero for some proper training—"

But before Professor Arche could finish, the New Eridu Public Security Director standing beside him hurriedly interrupted.

"Professor Arche, they're not the new generation of Void Hunters," the Director said nervously.

The tone in which Professor Arche had spoken—like that of a senior lecturing juniors—had startled her.

The Director quickly introduced, "This is Mr. Sam Li, this is Miss Xianyun, and this is Mr. Mountain Shaper. They hail from Liyue. We've just signed a treaty with Liyue to suppress Hollow Zero."

Upon hearing that, Professor Arche froze.

"...Suppress Hollow Zero?"

Having seen the horrors of Hollow Zero himself, he knew all too well how terrifying it was. With New Eridu's current strength, there was no way they could possibly oppose it.

Seeing his confusion, the Director explained further, recounting Sam Li and the Adepti's recent "achievements."

For instance, during their first encounter with Hollow Zero, they had slain several Destruction-class Ethereal—and even one World-ending-class Ethereal.

And within just half a month, Cloud Retainer and the other Adepti had suppressed over twenty hollows across New Eridu—each one at least A-rank or higher.

Not to mention, these Adepti could manifest their true forms—towering hundreds of meters tall—and could battle even Annihilation-level or World-ending-level Ethereal without faltering.

After hearing all that, Professor Arche stood there, dumbfounded, as though struggling to believe any of it.

Even though his holographic projection lacked clear facial features, everyone could imagine the expression of disbelief that must have been frozen on his face.

After a long silence, he finally muttered, "Adepti... Manifesting true forms?"

Even after witnessing countless bizarre phenomena deep within Hollow Zero—and even experiencing his own resurrection—Professor Arche still found the existence of Adepti difficult to comprehend.

Weren't Adepti supposed to be myths from the ancient era?

What shocked him even more was that these people weren't from New Eridu at all, but from another nation.

"Another... nation?" he murmured.

Was that concept even still relevant in this world?

Centuries ago, the last nation had perished. Since then, the word itself had nearly vanished, surviving only in the faded records of ancient history.

Professor Arche looked closely at Cloud Retainer, his voice softening. "To think that Adepti truly exist in this world..."

Cloud Retainer responded calmly, her tone serene yet carrying the authority of ages. "And this Adeptus never imagined life could persist in such a form as yours."

Professor Arche sighed. "In truth, I didn't believe it was possible myself."

He had merely made one final attempt before death—never expecting it would succeed.

At that moment, the Director stepped forward and asked earnestly, "Professor Arche, since the Adepti are here, please tell us—what exactly did you encounter inside Hollow Zero?"

Hearing her question, Professor Arche fell silent for a moment.

Then he began to speak slowly.

"I saw life... and I saw destruction. I saw hope... and despair. I saw desire... and..."

He trailed off, murmuring a string of cryptic phrases before continuing more clearly.

"In the deepest depths of Hollow Zero, I saw a strange, dreamlike world—where the dead gained life. Buildings walked upon the ground. Billboards soared through the sky. Utility poles slithered and crawled across the streets..."

Such surreal sights had also been witnessed by Sam Li during his own descent into Hollow Zero.

However, while Sam Li had seen only that first vision, Professor Arche had seen something more.

He had seen those living, once-dead objects gradually corrupted by Ether—until they turned into monstrous Ethereal beings.

According to his theory, given enough time, everything within Hollow Zero would eventually be warped by Etheric matter, transforming into some kind of Ethereal creature.

Of course, it was only speculation.

Professor Arche's mental state seemed unstable. His holographic image flickered, the projection growing more and more distorted.

Finally, he continued in a faint voice.

"In the deepest depths of Hollow Zero, I saw two gems—radiant with the light of both sun and starlight..."

Even now, he could clearly recall their appearance: the dazzling brilliance, the divine radiance they emitted. Without even touching them, one could feel their infinite power—the essence of hope, life, and creation itself.

If his guess was correct, those two jewels of sunlight and starlight were the true core of Hollow Zero.

The entire void, he believed, had been formed beneath that magnificent radiance and endless energy.

"When I first saw those jewels," Professor Arche said softly, "even I was captivated—fantasizing about using them to create a perfect world..."

Now, looking back, he suspected that the light of those gems could influence the human mind.

After hearing his account, Cloud Retainer fell into brief contemplation before remarking calmly, "Interesting. The jewels you speak of resemble the condensed remnants of a god's lingering resentment. If we destroy them directly, it should suppress Hollow Zero."

Mountain Shaper shook his head. "It won't be that simple. If the strange energy sealed within those gems leaks out, it could cause an even greater catastrophe."

Until they saw the jewels with their own eyes, the Adepti could not determine a precise method of dealing with them.

Still, Cloud Retainer and the others remained confident. Not only were several Adepti gathered here, but even the Geo Archon himself was present.

They had once triumphed in the Archon War and endured the Black Calamity.

How could two mere jewels possibly defy them?

As Cloud Retainer and the Adepti spoke calmly among themselves, Professor Arche watched them with mixed feelings.

"I, too, once considered destroying those two jewels," he said quietly. "But even near them, there were several World-ending-class Ethereal..."

He had died at the hands of those very entities.

In his final moments, he had used himself as an experiment—encoding his life data into the dennies.

Perhaps influenced by the power of the jewels, the surrounding laws of reality had become warped.

And to his astonishment, the experiment had succeeded.

Having told his story, Professor Arche expected Cloud Retainer to show at least some trace of fear before the might of those World-ending Ethereal.

Yet instead, the Adepti showed none.

Each one stood calm and confident, their eyes bright with determination—

as though they were already eager for the battle to come.