Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Noah looked up suddenly: "Will you kill her?"

The observer nodded silently. This action made Noya feel dizzy. She hugged Amiya tightly, resting her forehead on the girl's hair. Amiya's breathing became rapid, and her eyelashes trembled constantly, as if she was in great pain.

"Amiya? Can you hear me?" Noya tried to communicate through her consciousness. To her surprise, this time she felt a faint response—not words, but a series of fragmented images: the streets of Lateran, the sleeping Sakotas, the blue halo on the church spire... These images drifted across her consciousness like snowflakes.

In the underground space, Kal'tsit keenly noticed a change in the crystal cocoons of the two girls. The once uniform blue light curtain began to show pulsating lines, radiating from Amiya's chest and gradually covering the entire surface of the cocoon.

"Mon3tr!" Kal'tsit called out again. This time, the crystal monster successfully grasped a fixed object in the weightless environment and slowly moved towards the suspended cocoon. But just as its claws were about to touch the cocoon, a blue arc suddenly burst out, violently repelling Mon3tr.

Deep within his consciousness, Noah suddenly felt a strong tug. The systems within Amiya were attempting to establish a deeper connection with her. "No..." Noah gritted his teeth, resisting the pull. "If this continues..."

"It's too late to stop it," sighed Observer Amiya. She reached out and gently placed a hand on Noya's shoulder. "The system's choice of her wasn't accidental. Amiya's 'survival of civilization' trait resonates with the Originium authority, providing the perfect computing platform for the PCS."

Noah suddenly understood something: "Just like...your original evolution?"

The observer nodded. "But the process will be more... intense. The average human body cannot withstand this level of information shock." She looked at Amiya, who was curled up in pain. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you share her burden." The observer's eyes grew sharper. "Your soul foundation is strong enough. If we can establish a two-way channel..."

"Where will that lead?"

"...She will become your appendage. In other words, she will be similar to the Theresa in your soul. However, none of us know what the outcome of this possibility will be if we remove her from this memory."

The observer explained.

"The worst-case scenario is that even you might get caught up in it..."

"...But will this protect her?"

"……certainly."

"Then do it." Noah said without hesitation, "Bind her to me, please."

"..." The observer did not seem surprised. Rather, she had already thought of Noah's choice.

No matter what world you are in...your choice is still exactly the same.

Ultimately, the observer is also...Amiya.

"as you wish."

Chapter 68: Half-Observer

Time seemed to resume its flow on the pure white platform. The observer, Amiya's skirt fluttering gently, placed her hands on Noya's and Amiya's foreheads. Noya felt a cool sensation radiate from the contact points, a sensation that felt both like ice water seeping through her and like some higher-dimensional energy reorganizing her consciousness.

"Relax your mental defenses," the observer whispered softly, her voice resonating strangely in the space of consciousness. "Let me guide you in establishing the channel."

Noya tried to relax as instructed. She felt the Observer's power reach deep into her consciousness like fine threads, automatically avoiding her most intimate parts as they reached her core memories. This precise control astonished her—the Observer seemed to know the structure of her soul intimately.

Young Amiya twisted restlessly in Noya's arms. In her chest, the blue heart beat faster, and the data lines on her skin moved like a living thing. Noya could sense the girl's pain, and she gently stroked Amiya's back, trying to comfort her.

"Will it hurt?" Noah asked, looking up, with obvious worry in his voice.

Observer Amiya's expression softened. "Not for you, but for her... yes. The PCS system is integrating with her body, and this process is inherently painful. The binding we're performing will alleviate the pain slightly... but it's unavoidable."

Noah's fingers unconsciously tightened. She looked down at Amiya's pale face, tiny beads of sweat forming on her eyelashes. Was this decision truly the right one? She had to ask herself, but now it seemed there was no other choice. Amiya's death would cause the entire possible world to collapse. Just as Noah was a singularity, this possible world existed because of Amiya. If she wanted to stabilize the possible world, to protect the Amiya before her, this was her only option.

As if understanding Noya's hesitation, the observer continued, "But this is the only way to preserve her consciousness. Once the system is complete, her self will be completely reconstructed. And our binding... at least preserves the part of her that is 'Amiya'."

In the underground space, Kal'tsit noticed a shift in the crystal cocoon. The blue light began to stratify, the outermost layer gradually becoming transparent, allowing her to vaguely glimpse what lay within. She saw Noah hugging Amiya tightly, their foreheads pressed together, while a third white figure hovered above them. The scene reminded the medical operator of ancient religious paintings—the Trinity, a triangle formed by the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Father.

Pure white light swirled through Noya's consciousness, and she felt a strange touch from Amiya's fingers. It wasn't a simple temperature change, but a deeper contact beyond her five senses—as if someone had directly touched the very edge of her soul. Amiya trembled gently in her arms, beads of sweat forming on her eyelashes, seemingly about to fall in the stillness of time and space.

"It has begun." The observer's words echoed through her consciousness. Noya suddenly felt dizzy, her mind pulled into a higher-dimensional perspective. In this state, she saw three beings simultaneously: herself and Amiya, tightly embraced, a white figure floating nearby, and—most shockingly—a silver thread running through all three. This thread was composed of countless shimmering points of light, each a fragment of memory.

Amiya suddenly struggled violently. Noya looked down. The blue heart in the girl's chest was beating at a dangerous rate, and the data lines were spreading towards her neck like a living thing. "Hold on!" Noya instinctively tightened his arms, but found that he could not actually touch Amiya's body—their physical bodies were fading, transforming into a pure stream of information.

In the real world, Kal'tsit watched as the crystal cocoon became completely transparent. Trapped in the weightless environment, the medical operator desperately tried to get closer, but could only watch as the three figures within the cocoon gradually blurred. Most disturbing of all was Amiya's condition—the girl's body was disintegrating into particles of blue light. To Kal'tsit, this situation...was an irreversible collapse, perhaps a loss of control over her Originium skills, or perhaps the PCS system was forcibly draining civilization's survival.

“No…it shouldn’t be like this…” Kel’tsit’s nails dug deep into her palm. Mon3tr let out a sharp hiss, its crystalline body repeatedly colliding with the invisible force field barrier.

In her consciousness, Noya felt a warm, sticky liquid seeping into her soul from the point of contact. It wasn't a physical liquid, but the essence of Amiya's being—her memories, her emotions, and even the entire definition of who she was as an individual. Noya was horrified to find her consciousness expanding, flooding with countless unfamiliar images: memories of Amiya... memories that weren't hers, yet they held a vivid reality, as if they had always been a part of her life.

"Is this... fusion?" Noah asked tremblingly at the mental level.

Observer Amiya's voice chimed like a distant bell: "Not exactly. You are becoming the vessel of her soul, sharing her authority." With these words, Noah suddenly saw—not with his eyes, but with some newly acquired sense—countless parallel worlds branching out, each containing a different Amiya. In some worlds, she was a ruthless military commander, in others, she died young in the mines, and in still others… Noah closed his eyes in agony. The amount of information was beyond the human brain's ability to process.

"Focus on Amiya in your arms," ​​the observer instructed. "The system is recoding you."

Noah forced himself to focus. The girl in his arms had become translucent, blue data streams surging through channels as thin as blood vessels. Most alarming of all was the blue heart in Amiya's chest—it had swelled to three times its original size, its surface covered in pulsating lines, and each beat sent ripples throughout the space of consciousness.

“She can’t take it anymore!” Noah exclaimed. Cracks began to appear in Amiya’s body, like an overloaded circuit board.

The observer's expression finally showed some movement. "It's happening faster than expected... Noah, we must complete the final step now." She suddenly grabbed Noah's wrist and pressed it against the blue heart on Amiya's chest. "Accept her, all of her."

The moment they touched, Noya felt a torrent of information rush through her fingertips and into her soul. It wasn't a simple transfer of memories, but something more fundamental—Amiya's soul. The flames of these souls seared her nerves, leaving an indelible mark deep within her consciousness. Noya let out a silent scream, and countless holographic images exploded on her retinas: Amiya's past and future, the birth and end of the Originium, countless lives transformed into memories.

But in just a moment, Noah's soul captured Amiya's soul - although this possible world could not bear all the observers, so Amiya would inevitably be rejected by the world after her promotion, but Noah took a shortcut. Noah's soul was originally designed to carry the human soul of the entire world. It can be said to be a hard drive with infinite capacity. Now, Noah is like Amiya engraved into the hard drive, thus preserving Amiya's soul.

The price of this is that Amiya is basically completely bound to me...

Noya closed her eyes, attempting to shift her soul's form. She no longer viewed Amiya's memories as intruders, but imagined the boundaries of her consciousness expanding, like the universe expanding to create space for new stars. Miraculously, the pain began to subside. The surging memories no longer rushed around, but instead found their respective places like a flock of birds returning to their nests. She felt an ancient mechanism awaken deep within her soul—the inclusiveness of the immortal soul forged by the Administrator for her. To preserve the souls of all humanity, Noya's soul possessed the greatest compatibility. After all, she herself was an ark of souls.

Amiya's cubes suddenly stopped. Then, they flowed toward Noya in a more orderly fashion, each one blending seamlessly the moment it touched her skin. Noya was surprised to discover she could begin to distinguish the categories of memories: light blue ones were everyday fragments, golden-red ones were intense emotions, and deep purple ones were the algorithms of Originium craft... She could even actively retrieve specific memories, like consulting archives.

"Very good." The observer showed an approving look. "Now try to connect in reverse."

Noya tentatively extended a mental feeler toward Amiya's remaining consciousness. Surprisingly, she felt a clear response—not words, but a warm pulse of emotion, like hands clasped in the darkness. As the connection deepened, Noya realized she was gaining some of Amiya's abilities: she could see the locational blips of every Sakotha on Lateran, sense the computational progress of the PCS system, and even faintly detect ripples in other worldlines.

"Is this... the authority of an observer?" Noah whispered at the mental level.

"It's just a prototype," the observer warned. "Full access would fry a human brain. So the system chose to distribute the load between two containers."

Amiya's final cube also completed its transfer. The girl's form in Noya's arms completely dissipated, replaced by a core of blue light emerging from her chest. This core pulsed at a steady rhythm, gradually synchronizing with Noya's own heartbeat. An unprecedented sense of completeness overcame her, as if a missing puzzle piece in her life had finally fallen into place.

In the consciousness space, the figure of the observer Amiya began to blur. "The binding is complete," she said in a weary voice. "The PCS system will continue to complete the calculations, but Amiya's self-awareness will be preserved in your soul."

Noya looked down at the blue core of light in her chest. A subtle but clear thought wave emanated from it. She tried to call out inwardly, "Amiya?"

The light core responded immediately—not with words, but with a touch from the soul, as if Amiya was comforting herself.

"How long will she stay like this?" Noah asked.

The observer was as transparent as the morning mist. "Until you find a way to reconstruct her body. But be warned... from today on, your fate will be shared. You and she will be indistinguishable. Until death separates you."

"Wait!" Noah tried to catch the disappearing observer, "This change will-"

"Irreversible." The Observer's last words echoed in the space before he completely disappeared. "From now on, you will be each other's reflections."

With these words, the entire space of consciousness began to collapse. Noya felt a strong sense of falling, and the blue light core in her chest pulsed with comfort. Before she fell completely into darkness, the last thing she saw was the miraculous sight of countless world lines converging—Amiya, at the end of all possibilities, smiled at her.

-

The darkness gradually faded, and Noya felt her senses returning bit by bit. First came touch—the hard, cold ground against her cheek, then hearing—the faint sound of voices in the distance, and finally sight—the glaring white light made her squint instinctively.

"She's awake!" a hoarse female voice called out. Noah recognized it as Kel'tsit's voice, but it was more tense than usual.

Noya tried to push herself up, but her limbs felt as heavy as lead. A pair of medical-gloved hands grasped her shoulders and helped her slowly to a sitting position. As her vision gradually cleared, she saw Kal'tsit's bloodshot eyes and disheveled white coat. Behind the medical operator, the Pope and several notary public employees watched nervously.

"Amiya... Where's Amiya?" Noya's voice was hoarse, unlike her own. She instinctively reached for her chest, where she felt a familiar pulse—the blue light core was still there. This realization brought a slight sense of relief.

Kal'tsit's expression became even more complicated. "Don't talk yet. Your vital signs are still unstable." She gestured for her assistant to bring the testing equipment. "As for Amiya... we only found you. After gravity returned to normal, the crystal cocoon... dissolved, along with Amiya..."

Only then did Noya notice his surroundings. The underground space was a mess, smoke billowing from the PCS mainframe, and cooled blue crystals scattered across the alloy floor. Most disturbingly, the halos above the heads of all the Sakota—including the Pope—were much dimmer than usual, as if their energy had been excessively drained.

"How long... has it been?" Noah asked softly.

"Seventeen hours and thirty-eight minutes." Kelsey answered accurately, pressing the stethoscope to Noah's chest. She suddenly stopped and asked, "What is this?"

Noya looked down and saw a faint blue light emanating from her chest through the fabric of her clothes. The light pulsed in sync with her heartbeat, creating a wondrous play of light and shadow. She could sense—no, she knew with certainty—that it was Amiya's presence. An unprecedented sense of connection allowed her to sense Amiya's state without words: exhausted but peaceful, like a child sleeping soundly after excessive play.

"I'm here." A childish voice echoed directly in Noya's mind. It wasn't a sound in the auditory sense, but more like the vibration of thought itself.

[Amiya? Can you hear me?] Noah responded tentatively in his consciousness.

[Hmm… I’m a little sleepy…] Amiya’s consciousness fluctuated like a dream mumbling, [So many stars are spinning…]

Noah stroked the crystal on her chest and whispered - she is Amiya.

Chapter 69: Two Kal'tsit

"This is impossible..." Kal'tsit's mind was filled with a wealth of knowledge instilled by the prophet, and she also had a deep understanding of the ancient civilization. But even so, she couldn't understand what was happening now. How could a living person like Amiya turn into... a crystal? And this crystal didn't look like Originium...

"I know it might be hard to accept right now." Noah sighed, "But I can only ask you to trust me. I won't hurt Amiya. I have no choice but to do this now."

No one anticipated the PCS system's rampage. Fortunately, even after migrating most of its AI modules, the PCS itself was still able to maintain the network supporting the Sakota Aura, preventing Lateran from completely collapsing. The Pope, understanding the situation as force majeure, did not hold Noah or Kal'tsit accountable. The rampage was classified as top secret, unknown to anyone other than the Pope, Noah, Kal'tsit, and Outcast.

Noah also spent a long time adapting to the connection with Amiya. Observer Amiya also said that their promotion was incomplete. To be precise, it was the combination of Amiya and Noah that made them Observers. The power of Observers was divided into two. It was for this reason that they were not rejected by the world - for example, Observer Amiya could no longer enter any world in her true form and could only use projection.

Beings of this rank, such as Observers, could potentially cause the destruction of the material world simply by entering it, and would naturally be rejected by the world itself. This was the main reason why Observer Amiya could not directly assist in the fight against the lumberjacks. It was like a human being could destroy an anthill, but it was difficult to capture the queen without destroying the anthill itself. After freezing countless worldlines, Observer Amiya knew she could not truly reverse the tragedy of every world.

But this time it’s different…

There should have never been a [semi-observer] like Noah in the world. Noah's situation is special. She has some of the observer's powers, but is not excluded by the world.

This is undoubtedly a situation that observer Amiya has never seen before, and what kind of changes will this variable bring?

Noah had never thought that he could obtain this power in a retrospection...but the price was too high to be accepted.

Amiya became a part of her, although it was not her original intention, but this was already a fact... Even if she left this possible world and returned to her original world, this connection would not be severed. Their souls were completely bound together, and even the barriers between worlds could not cut them off. After the incomplete ascension ceremony, Noah did feel what the observer's perspective was.

To use a more understandable metaphor, when an observer observes the real world, he must be very careful, because everything in the real world is fragile in the eyes of the observer. Any action of the observer may cause the collapse and bugs of the real space, just like a person facing a very complex code without comments. Any change may cause unpredictable consequences.

As expected, only after becoming an observer... can one understand the observer Amiya...

Kal'tsit's fingers trembled gently on Noah's chest. The blue crystal seemed to have life, pulsing with Noah's breath. The medical operator's rational mind told her that this completely violated medical common sense, but the facts before her forced her to believe it.

"This... this is completely beyond my comprehension." Kel'tsit's voice was much lower than usual. She took off her stethoscope. Her hands were shaking, which was extremely rare for her and was enough to prove her disbelief. "Is Amiya's consciousness really still in this crystal?"

Noya nodded gently, her palm resting on the crystal on her chest, feeling the warm pulsation emanating from it. She could clearly sense Amiya's presence—not through her five senses, but through some deeper connection. Amiya's consciousness was like a pinprick of light floating in a warm ocean, faint but unmistakable. The experience was both strange and wondrous for Noya, like suddenly gaining an extra sense.

[I'm here...] Amiya's consciousness trembled slightly in Noya's mind again. [Dr. Kal'tsit looks worried...]

"Yes, it's hard for her to accept this situation." Noah responded in her mind, "But I will explain it clearly."

"I can hear Amiya's voice," Noya whispered, her fingers gently drawing patterns on the surface of the crystal. "Not with my ears, but here." She tapped her temple. "It's like... a resonance of thoughts."

Kel'tsit took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She pulled out a portable scanner and began a full-body examination of Noa. The data on the screen showed that Noa's physiological indicators were completely normal. Aside from the unusually high energy readings in her chest, there were no pathological changes. What puzzled her most was that the crystal seemed to have established some kind of connection with Noa's neural tissue, yet it was neither Originium nor any other known biological material.

"From a medical perspective, this is a miracle," Kel'tsit muttered, her brow furrowed. "There's no rejection reaction, no tissue necrosis... It's as if this crystal has always been a part of her body."

"Aren't there enough unexpected things now..." Noah sighed, "Kel'tsit, we must be honest now... After all, it has come to this. This was never my intention, but perhaps this is also an opportunity."

Noah clenched her fists. For the first time, she felt as if she had a way to fight the lumberjacks... When she merged with Amiya, Amiya also gained all of Noah's memories, including the fact that she was essentially revisiting a memory belonging to Amiya, the observer. Amiya accepted this very quickly. Perhaps it was because their connection eliminated all secrets, or perhaps it was because they already trusted each other. In short... Amiya and Noah had the same idea.

Although the current situation is not what the two wanted to see, since it has already happened, they will use it as a new bargaining chip.

"what do you want to do?"

Kal'tsit looked at Noah's expression and hesitated for a moment before asking.

"I want to... cooperate." Noah extended his hand to Kel'tsit, "I have an immature idea."

-

In Noah's mind, a grand plan that he had never thought of was unfolding. If it was almost impossible for one world to fight against the lumberjacks, then... what if he went to a parallel world to look for possibilities?

Now Noah has mastered the ability to jump between different timelines. Theoretically, the development of each world is different, and they can integrate these developments and concentrate all the advantages. In the past, all worlds could not connect with each other, and it was almost impossible for different worlds to communicate. But now it is different. There is an existence that can intervene in each world and will not be rejected by the world - that is Noah, the semi-observer, so connections can be established between each world.

If the power of one world cannot defeat the lumberjacks, then the power of all worlds must be combined...

When this idea first came to her, Noah thought it was a bit far-fetched, but the more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed to her...

"Alliance of Parallel Worlds?" Kel'tsit's voice was filled with obvious suspicion. "Are you proposing the formation of an interdimensional army?"

Noya's fingers gently stroked the glowing crystal on her chest. She could feel Amiya's consciousness listening intently. This wonderful sense of connection made her mouth curl up unconsciously.

"Not exactly an army." Noa chose his words carefully. "More like... a knowledge base. Each parallel world has a different development path, with different technology trees, social structures, and the application of Originium techniques. If we can integrate this information..."

Kel'tsit suddenly interrupted, "Wait, are you sure this cross-dimensional information exchange won't trigger a butterfly effect?" Her medical background made her instinctively worried about the possible chain reaction. "Altering the historical node may lead to even worse consequences."

[Dr. Kal'tsit is always very thoughtful.] Amiya's consciousness wavered, accompanied by a warm smile.

Noah nodded slightly and turned to Kal'tsit. "That's why a semi-observer like me is needed. I can see the branching points of world lines and precisely control the nodes and scope of information exchange." She paused. "Simply put, a true observer is like a giant walking on thin ice. Every step could cause the ice to shatter. I, on the other hand, am more like a child wearing special ice skates. Although I can also see the world lines beneath the ice, my 'weight' is not enough to crush the ice surface. Instead, I can more flexibly mark locations on it."

Kel'tsit raised an eyebrow at the metaphor. She crossed her arms, her white coat rumpled from the previous chaos, but this didn't diminish her dignity in the slightest. "Prove it to me," she said bluntly. "If you can truly see parallel worlds, tell me what Kel'tsit is doing in those other worlds."

"...Really?" Noah blinked. "Let me be clear, your experiences in different parallel worlds are different, so you might do things you would never do in your own world."

"You tell me first, what the specific situation is, I will make my own conclusion--" Kal'tsit didn't care. She, an immortal, had basically seen all kinds of situations, and she had seen a lot of real things.

"Then...I told you?" Noah took a deep breath.