Conrad Coetzee swiftly and silently navigated the darkness of the Nightfall.

He had been separated from the ship for too long, and he should have been nostalgic for it, but he didn't. His mind was completely filled with frustration, amazement, confusion, and doubt, and he had no time to think about anything else. He was in desperate need of an answer now.

He knew that the person who was qualified to give him an answer was on the bridge.

Therefore, Conrad Coetze walked unhindered towards the bridge. He didn't hide his figure, and all those who passed him ignored his presence. This would have been unthinkable - everyone on the Nightfall who saw the Prototype would have expressed it on the spot, both in respect and in fear. But...... This is not "his" Nightfall.

The whispers of darkness on the Nightfall that belonged to him would not foster such a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere, nor would the Astarte warriors and mortals get along so peacefully. The corridors lacked the "ornaments" that should have been everywhere on the Midnight Lord's territory, and even the soothing and melodious sounds of music could be heard in some of the cabins...... It was the Nightfall, but he was very unfamiliar with it.

Still, he was pretty sure it was Nightfall, except that the massive lady had been dressed up in a different form in the hands of another person. This does not require evidence or logic, it is a conviction derived from instinct, because it is another possibility derived from the memory of Conrad Coetzes, which belongs to the domain of Konrad Coetzes. Although the control of this realm does not belong to him alone for the time being, it is just a small matter of making everyone on the road ignore his existence, and he can still do it easily.

No one is aware of his existence, so no one is there to stop him. Conrad Coetzes made it to the bridge, but before he could break down the door and ask questions of the owner of the Nightfall, he hesitated. He really didn't spend much time in the accident world along the way, but the observation of the original body still made him unconsciously notice a lot of things. He smelled a vague atmosphere as he went, a mixture of anger, shame, disgust, and worry. The people on the ship were doing some kind of work in an orderly manner, but it was not the state of a legion before the battle, and he was slightly suspicious.

This little bit of confusion was answered in an instant—Conrad Coetze's realm responded to him, and he instinctively knew what point of time he was in:

In the course of his life, he ordered the destruction of Nostramo, his own home planet, at this point in time.

He knew the cause and effect of the whole thing, and he had no regrets about his decision. But he'd just messed up three mortal lives—specifically, a trial in which the two sides exchanged lives, and Conrad Cotz had undoubtedly failed—and was incredulous about it. He wondered what this mortal, who had survived his life of having to deal with the original body, would handle it from his standpoint.

So he chose to quietly pass through the gate of the bridge - without that door being opened. Conrad Coetzes had figured out in a series of previous encounters that although it was similar in every way, it was not the physical world. Besides, this is his domain again, and it won't restrict him in the same way that it restricts the current owner of the Nightfall. With a few tricks, it's not too hard to penetrate solid like a subspace demon here, just as he made everyone he met along the way ignore him.

In the past, it would have been something Konrad Coetz would have been ecstatic to be able to acquire such abilities. There is no doubt that he will be able to truly become a Midnight Ghost, a perfect monster. But at this moment, it doesn't matter: he has too many questions.

He relied on cruelty and fear to demonstrate justice in his own life, but this proved to be unworkable in a mortal life. There was no doubt that the mortal had shown him that there was another way in a non-subjective way, but Conrad Coetz could not really see it.

What is it built on? How does it work? What will it lead to? How versatile is it – or can it be true in places like Nostramo or the Eighth Legion?

Conrad Coetzes glided silently through the darkness with so many questions, as if he were part of the darkness itself. The layout of the bridge was still familiar to him, and he saw some familiar faces: several members of the Nightbat Council, but it seemed that they now had other, more specific work to do; As a small group of black guards of the original body guard, they were heavily armed and wore helmets, but Conrad Coetze still identified a few specific people from the subtle disposition; Finally, of course, there is the "Primordial" surrounded by guards - a role held by a mortal in the rules of this realm.

Conrad Coetzes looked at the mortal who had dragged him into this tiresome drama from a dark spot, and came to the same conclusion once more: she was young, thin, weak, and nothing special in the eyes of a primordial. However, this is the kind of person who has succeeded in commanding the Eighth Legion with his own mind - although it is only a false illusion based on memory, the girl who is cherished in the center of the crowd has undoubtedly succeeded in winning the respect of all the children of Conrad Coetzes.

That doesn't mean much, the legionnaires are all genetic offspring of the Primordial, and of course they will obey, no matter what the hell the thing that is their Primordial is. Conrad Coetzes thought viciously. But when he thought about it like this, a complicated emotion came over him:

yes, no matter what the hell their original form is...... Even if it's a mortal, or even if it's a madman who only knows how to hide in the dark and talk to corpses......

For some motive that he himself could not fully comprehend, he began to hope that this mortal would have something real to offer, at least worth the price of his heir's respect. Even if he still feels that the vast majority of his children are just a bunch of scum and villains.

He hated them, hated them, and even wanted them to die, but the most hateful thing was that the genetic connection could not be severed. They are his sins, and he ......

Conrad Coetz refuses to think downward, instead turning his attention to the picture in front of him.

He was already very close, and he made no secret of his form. This was his domain, so everyone ignored his presence as he wished, except for the "primordial" who was surrounded in the center by the guards: a mortal girl, very young, never more than 20 years old, only five feet two inches, thin and petite even by the standards of a mortal woman.

But she just looked at him and didn't react specifically. They confirmed each other's presence in a meeting of eyes, but all communication stopped there.

Instead of wearing power armor, the teenage girl was replaced by a well-tailored nostramo-style women's gown. This may be due to the fact that there is no such thing as a "mortal-sized primordial-grade power armor" in Conrad Coetze's memory, which sounds ridiculous and will only seem more ridiculous, but it is not much better now. Her face is soft and delicate, and she can be called delicate and lovely among mortals; The skin was not the sickly pale of the Nostramo people, but a mild pale color in the dim and almost almost unlit light of the Nightfall; Her shoulder-length hair was as bright as the glow of the sun, and the light amber sclera in her eyes shimmered like a distant star hanging high in the sky—in short, she was too bright to be disconnected from the gloomy style of the dark dress she was wearing.

This contradiction and separation are natural. Conrad Coetzes thought that after all, this girl did not belong to Nostramo, and she should not even have anything to do with this evil planet. While thinking like this, he suddenly realized that he had somehow developed some unclear respect for this girl.

He knew the name of the little troublemaker: Rika Fujimaru, written in an ancient language that had died, and which had taken on occult significance because of its antiquity...... At least that's what the emperor, his father, said. Conrad Coetz was noncommittal, after all, he was already dead.

A soul that had already been judged had been forcibly dragged out of the prison of death by the Emperor, and bound in a strange trial by a mortal girl with an ancient name, and now it seemed that he was the one who had lost badly. The whole thing seemed so ridiculous that some of the details were no longer inquiring to Conrad Coetzes. He just wants to know where he lost now.

He patiently watched as the guards in the illusion reported their findings to the primordial in the illusion. The person who spoke was Shen, and he was not a child he hated, which made him feel a strange relief, perhaps because the heir he didn't hate was originally in this position.

He knew exactly what the report was about, so instead of listening attentively, he carefully observed Shen's pale face, which was not hidden by his helmet. The appearance of the original servant was exactly the same as that of Conrad Coetze's memory, and even the location of the scar was exactly the same (of course, after all, this was an illusion created based on his memory), but he felt that this Shen was slightly different from the one he knew in some way that could not be said.

Shen's report was detailed, but it didn't take much time. After the guard's words fell, silence returned to the darkness of the bridge. Everyone, including Conrad Coetzes, waited with bated breath for the mortal girl in the center of the crowd to make a decision, and she didn't make those present wait long:

"Please summon Jondo Skolewalker of the 45th Company for me." Rika Fujimaru quickly gave the first order, "I would like to hear his own testimony. ”

Shen nodded in agreement, but not so neatly in his movements. Conrad Coetzes was disgruntled to see that he was procrastinating. If it was under his command, Shen would never dare to have such a thought, because the order of the original body must be carried out immediately.

This is another difference, and Shen dares to do so for obvious reasons. It was evident that it wasn't just Conrad Coetzes who was a spectator who caught his hesitation, but the girl who received the position of the original body in a mortal body in the illusion was also aware of it.

She spoke, but not reprimanded: "You have doubts about this, Shen, please speak up as usual." You convince me, or I convince you...... This always leads to better decision-making and more determined executioners. ”

The mortal mind. It was indeed a new path, but Conrad Coetzes scoffed at it. The decision made by the original cannot be ignored, because that is always the best...... Is that so?

Thinking about the three failures he had just experienced, Conrad Coetzes began to have doubts about the view he had always believed.