Published at 10th of July 2026 6:50 am

Chapter 4298: Disbelieving Technologist

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CLACK

An automatic door opened, revealing Ria to a gigantic lab that stretched farther than even her senses could make out, leaving her feeling a little unsafe in that environment. She had come alone. Her friends, unfortunately, weren’t allowed to attend the arranged meeting with the Esoterist, much to their chagrin, especially Misha’s.

The place was eerily dark despite faint signs of light emerging from various screens, projections, and esoteric substances, almost giving the lab the feel of fantasy. The temperature was chill, matching the darkness, while the faint hum of cooling systems hung in the air.

What drew her attention was a man who sat at a massive empty desk with no screens or terminals, engrossed as he stared at the wall. He wore what seemed an extraordinarily powerful and advanced exosuit, composed of a smooth, dark-gray substance that covered his body uniformly.

He waved his fingers midair, as if swiping left on tabs on a touch screen, before turning towards Ria with a judgmental gaze. "Well well well, if it isn’t the baby princess."

Ria’s eyebrows furrowed at those words. She didn’t like being pejoratively called a baby, but she was here diplomatically, so she controlled an impulse to retort.

"Your Excellency Esoterist, I am Princess Ria Quarrier Silas Kandria, here on behalf—"

"Yes yes, I know who you are." He waved her off, interjecting in an uncaring manner. "Have a seat."

He snapped his fingers, causing a small table and a couch to appear opposite him, unceremoniously gesturing for her to sit opposite him.

She simply sat opposite him while he sized her up.

"My vice president did tell you that the Kandrian Empire would have to pay for every second of time that you waste, correct?" He raised an eyebrow. "I can assure you that my time is very expensive. It will make even the endless pockets of your nation hurt."

He was clearly wary of having his time wasted.

"Rest assured, Mr. Esoterist, I have no intention of wasting your time."

"Great!" The man smiled at her. "You have sixty seconds to earn the rest of this meeting before I boot you out. Go."

She did a double-take. "Just sixty seconds?"

"Tick tock, young lady. It’s fifty-five seconds now."

"Wha—" She paused before immediately getting to the topic in a rushed manner. "I wanted to inquire about technology that you might have that can identify even well-disguised infected worlds once on them or with samples of them or something like that."

"And?" He raised an eyebrow. "You could have just sent a note of inquiry to my administration. Why the hell did you want me in this meeting? What was this about increasing the supply of esoteric matter? Are you wasting my time? You’re wasting my time, aren’t you?"

She stiffened. His absolutist position on the timeframe she had to make a value proposition forced her to reveal her cards sooner than she would have liked.

"Fine," she heaved an exasperated sigh. "I have the ability to detect and sense infected worlds. Across the galaxy. It’s a sensation that I’ve developed because of some strange relationship with the universe; informational quantum entanglement or something between my consciousness and the Universalis Mensis."

Her amber eyes sharpened. "I can detect infected worlds right now at this very moment. And I can take anybody there if I wanted."

The Esoterist stared at her with a dubious expression before scoffing. "You must think I’m a fool. Get out. I’ll be billing the Kandrian Empire a million alliance credits for this."

He couldn’t be blamed for the knee-jerk reaction towards what were frankly absurd claims on paper. A material engineer like him tapped out the moment he heard ’special relationship with the universe.’

Before she could even defend herself, however, another voice interjected.

"She’s not lying, Azazel."

STEP

STEP

STEP

From the shadows, a hemosapien man wearing a doctor’s coat and thin spectacles emerged, swirling a cup of tea with a spoon. The Esoterist turned towards him with an expression of ridicule. "Oh, come on, don’t tell you’re buying this pseudoscientific bullshit?"

"I wish you wouldn’t insult the field of integrated informational dynamics that I have pioneered," the Psyker heaved a soft breath before turning towards Ria with a smile on his face.

"Ria, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?"

Ria stared at him with an expression of surprise. "You... you’re that doctor...What are you doing here?"

She recognized him, of course. Her father had had the man examine her and speak with her many times in her childhood, although the visits stopped as she grew older.

"I work here," he simply replied, sitting down only for a chair to materialize exactly at the right spot and moment. He brewed his green tea, tossing the spoon away, only for it to dematerialize.

"By ’work’ he means leech off my resources while providing help occasionally," the Esoterist grumbled.

"I like to think that quality matters more than quantity," the Psycher simply replied, taking a sip of his tea. "I helped you with your extreme plan to replace your sensory cortexes with biotechnological neural organoids, did I not? You’re only alive because of me. I lend my expertise to countless projects, including projects that have benefited all of humanity, like the invention of mass-produced, low-cost neural inlays."

"You were responsible for that?" Her eyes widened.

"In part, I worked with your uncle Julian for that project along with another old friend of mine," the Psycher replied with a thoughtful tone. "These days I just—"

"This isn’t a therapy session," the Esoterist growled. "Why did you vouch for her bullshit earlier? ’Informational quantum entanglement’? Give me a break."

"It’s not bullshit," the Psyker gently pushed back. "You should hear her out."

He turned towards the man with a patient but pointed expression. "You... you better not be messing with me. You mean to tell me that her consciousness is in some state of entanglement with the universe? I’m supposed to buy that shit?"

"It’s the truth," the Psycher spoke with a calm tone of voice. "I have verified it myself. To be more specific, her mind is in a state of entanglement with the universalis mensis such that her cognition is attuned to understanding the sequence of causality that unfolds within the scope of her senses, most prominently within her immediate surroundings. And..."

He turned towards her.

"I believe that she is telling the truth about this matter regarding being able to sense and detect infected worlds."

He turned back to the Esoterist.

"You have always complained about the supply shortages of esoteric matter; if you were prudent, you would make use of this opportunity, for your sake and humanity’s sake."

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