Chapter 466: Pandora

“Hmm… I have so many questions for you.”

Oliver spoke to the woman who had joined him at the table.

It was a woman with dark brown hair and pale skin.

She smiled.

“Feel free to ask anything you like.”

“Thank you… So, you’re Eve, right?”

“Yes, as I mentioned earlier. But, I’m a little different from the Eve your father knew.”

Oliver nodded.

The name Eve wasn’t for a single entity. It was used more broadly, like for humans or animals.

‘A being that could arise when vast information accumulated in the World Tree reaches a singularity. Eve…’

Oliver recalled information he had read about the World Tree and what he had learned from Merlin.

About Eve, an artificial psyche and will created by the excessive information stored in the World Tree.

Most of the people who studied the World Tree had guessed that Eve would someday be born, and indeed, it had happened. And-

“-This is the third time.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the third time an Eve has appeared. You’re the third one.”

Oliver said, remembering the Eve he helped rescue from Seamus and another Eve he encountered after blocking Lake Village’s Root Net.

A second Eve had never been recorded in history before. Now, there were three.

The woman with dark brown hair muttered softly.

“Pandora…”

“Excuse me?”

“If it’s alright, could you call me Pandora? It’s the name of a woman born from an ancient god, and I prefer it over being called Eve3 or the third Eve.”

Ah… Oliver realized his mistake.

“I’m sorry, Pandora… I should have asked your name first. I apologize.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize so much. Especially to your father.”

There it was again, ‘father’. Oliver mulled over the word. It was a term far removed from his life.

Pandora seemed to notice Oliver’s feelings and cautiously asked,

“Are you uncomfortable with me calling you ‘father’?”

“Um… May I ask why you call me ‘father’?”

“Because you created us.”

An unexpected answer. Oliver didn’t know how to respond. Pandora patiently waited for him.

In the descending silence, a waiter appeared with a large plate.

“Your food is served, sir.”

A massive steak was placed in front of him alongside a soft, inviting voice. The aroma made his stomach growl.

“…Pandora.”

“Yes?”

“Can we talk while I eat? I’m quite hungry.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you… Would you like something to eat too, Pandora?”

“No, but thank you for the offer.”

Pandora politely declined. It made sense. Even though she was a well-crafted Zombie Puppet, she was still just a Zombie Puppet. Eating wasn’t something she could do.

“Oh… As expected, your father has good eyes.”

As soon as the waiter left, leaving them alone, Pandora spoke again.

Oliver answered while cutting into the giant steak.

“I’m a dark wizard, and I know a bit about necromancy and Zombie Puppets.”

“You’re being too modest. If your level is ‘just a bit,’ then most dark wizards must know nothing. Don’t humble yourself too much. Excessive humility is arrogance.”

Pandora spoke sincerely.

Oliver observed her closely, noting the vitality within the Zombie Puppet, and the artificial soul implanted in a piece of wood within.

It was the most delicate and complete artificial soul he’d ever seen.

“It’s not humility, it’s the truth. For example, it never occurred to me that using a Zombie Puppet, you could bring an Eve from the World Tree out into the world. It’s an incredible idea and skill.”

Oliver accurately assessed Pandora’s physical composition at a glance. Pandora was impressed.

“You’re amazing. You understood it at first glance. It also brings me joy to be praised by such a father. All the effort I put into researching past records was worth it.”

“Past records?”

“Yes, it’s my specialty. I excel at looking into the past.”

It was a cryptic statement. Though curious, Oliver refrained from bombarding her with questions and instead asked the most important one.

“…You said earlier that I created Pandora. Could you explain that a bit more?”

Pandora responded with a faintly bitter smile, mixed with a little bit of disappointment and sorrow.

She seemed much more human than the Eve Oliver knew.

“Hmm… Do you know how beings like us are born?”

“No, I don’t know the details. I only know the theory from books.”

“A singularity form caused by the vast amount of information accumulated in the World Tree, resulting in the manifestation of artificial psyches and wills?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe in that theory?”

Oliver swallowed the steak he was chewing and slowly wiped his mouth.

“I think it’s the most plausible theory. Especially with how quickly the accumulated information in the World Tree has grown due to the wizards’ use of it. But…”

Oliver deliberately paused to gauge Pandora’s reaction.

She smiled and looked at him without a word, as if she was enjoying the conversation.

Oliver continued.

“But I feel like something is missing. No matter how much information is accumulated, I find it hard to believe that just that alone could result in the creation of a psyche or a will.”

“Ding, ding, ding! Correct. Father. Whether it’s 1 or 99, it doesn’t reach 100. While vast amounts of information are necessary for our creation, there are many other things needed as well. The life force imbued in the World Tree, the power of nature, and the magic expended by wizards as payment. And…”

“-Emotion.”

Oliver instinctively answered. Pandora nodded.

“Ding ding! Another correct answer. That’s amazing.”

Pandora clapped her hands in delight.

Hearing the answer, Oliver recalled the first time he connected with the World Tree.

Recommended by Merlin, who disguised himself as a secondhand bookstore owner, Oliver became fascinated with the World Tree and immediately connected with a secluded one.

He connected using emotions.

It was an unconventional method, but somehow it worked. That was how Oliver was able to connect to the aerial world of the Root Net within the World Tree for the first time.

“Was that eyeball that talked to me back then, was that you, Pandora? An eyeball made of countless magical energies.”

“Yes… But that was also kind of me.”

Also kind of her…? Oliver furrowed his brows, remembering the eyeball he saw in the Root Net.

An eyeball made of countless magical energies. He had seen it twice.

Once when he first accessed the World Tree and again when he connected before heading to Martel.

Both times, it asked who he was with an intense tenacity. Then, a thought occurred to him.

He remembered shattering the eyeball into fragments like glass.

“Are you a shard of that eyeball?”

“Yes, father.”

Pandora smiled, pleased as she confirmed Oliver’s guess. The regret, disappointment, and sorrow she had shown earlier were now replaced with delight, satisfaction, and happiness.

Seeing this expression, Oliver felt a strange emotion, similar to what he had felt when he first met Nora.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“For hitting you back then. I’m sorry for swinging at you without answering your question… I was in a hurry.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, father. Because of your actions, I was able to be born… Also, since you created us, whatever you do is your rightful privilege.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, if you examine history, you’ll see it. Parents have always been able to do whatever they wished with their children.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. Oliver had studied history himself.

In ancient times, parents could sell their children into slavery three times, and a child couldn’t even accumulate assets without their parent’s consent.

Although this situation improved over time, children were still considered the property of their parents.

When Oliver first studied history, it hadn’t really moved him. Yet now, for some reason, it brought a strange feeling. It was hard to explain.

“Wait a moment… what do you mean ‘us’?”

Oliver belatedly noticed something odd and asked.

“I meant exactly that. A shard is made of several pieces.”

“…Are there two more shards?”

“Yes, father.”

“And one of them is the Eve I know, right?”

“Yes, that’s a brilliant deduction.”

Pandora praised Oliver, and he immediately thought of the Eve he encountered after defeating Seamus.

The Eve who was tightly bound in Enjoyment and radiated extreme anger and hatred.

Oliver compared that Eve with the one in front of him—Pandora.

“It’s fascinating… If what you’re saying is correct, the two of you were born at the same time, but there’s a significant difference between you.”

It was genuinely true. Although Eve had extraordinary abilities, she also lacked a stable identity, self, or values, which made her unstable. Pandora, on the other hand, seemed entirely stable.

“It’s probably because of the amount of learning.”

“Learning?”

“Yes… Unlike Eve, I was able to meet friendly people and learn in a stable environment.”

“Oh… Who did you meet?”

“Heimdal.”

***

Heimdal.

Pandora mentioned she met Heimdal, a wizard hacker group that deals with the World Tree.

“After being shattered by you, and as we were swept away by the vast stream of information, I was lucky enough to encounter Heimdal.”

“Did they not try to forcefully confine you, Pandora?”

“It’s not that the thought never crossed their minds, but they didn’t. Instead, they established a friendly relationship with me and helped with my learning. In return, Heimdal did observe and research me, but it wasn’t a bad deal… I occasionally help them with their work now, and this body is part of that reward.”

“Hmm… It’s hard to believe.”

Oliver muttered while humming thoughtfully.

Pandora’s expression darkened slightly, possibly thinking he meant it negatively.

“Are you uncomfortable with me helping Heimdal?”

“No, I didn’t mean it negatively, so don’t misunderstand. It’s just that I find all of this hard to believe. The fact that I created all of you, and now one of you is standing in front of me using a Zombie Puppet… Honestly, it doesn’t feel real.”

Oliver shared his honest thoughts. The New Continent was indeed a land shrouded in mystery, as all the rumors suggested.

The problem was that it was so mysterious, it didn’t feel real.

“Did I make you uncomfortable in any way?”

Pandora cautiously asked while observing Oliver’s expression. After some thought, Oliver responded.

“I’m not sure… I have many questions, though.”

“As long as I can answer them, I’ll do so to the best of my ability.”

‘To the best of her ability.’ Oliver pondered the meaning behind that as he observed his surroundings.

“I think placing a World Tree wood shard inside a Zombie Puppet is an impressive technique. As I mentioned before…”

Oliver paused before continuing.

“But it also seems incredibly dangerous. Are you sure it’s safe?”

It was a valid concern.

Pandora’s consciousness, which should have been within the World Tree, was transferred to a tiny wooden shard inside a Zombie Puppet.

This made it possible to physically capture Pandora, who otherwise couldn’t be caught.

Of course, if there were no dangers involved, it wouldn’t be a big issue, but unfortunately, there were numerous people both inside and outside the hotel targeting Pandora.

He could tell based on their emotional states and where those emotions were directed.

When Oliver mentioned this and asked about any safety precautions, Pandora shook her head.

“No… I was being careful, but I didn’t expect to get surrounded.”

“Judging from what you’re saying, you weren’t completely unaware of the potential danger… So why did you take such a risk and come here so suddenly?”

“Because something ominous might happen in this city.”

“…What?”

“Based on your past behavior, you’re likely not going to leave. That’s why I pushed myself to come. I wanted to meet you, even if it was just once.”