Chapter 2

[Humanity has thrived for a million years, but only the last 400,000 years have been meaningful.]

[So, what were we doing during those million years?]

March 7th muttered to herself:

"Of course it was so you could ask such an idiotic question~"

Welt Yang, however, keenly noticed the number 400,000.

"400,000 years? Does it refer to the length of the entire civilization? Is it truly that ancient?"

[We hid in caves, huddled around small campfires,]

[fearing those things we did not understand—those explanations of how the sun rose, those monsters with human heads and bird bodies, those living stones.]

[So we called them "gods" and "demons," and begged them for forgiveness and prayed for salvation.]

As the voice sounded.

Blurred images appeared on the light screen.

It seemed to be the common ancestor of all humanoid creatures.

They hid in dim caves, surrounding a dying campfire.

Ancient ancestors carved strange symbols on stone walls, worshipping beings with great power.

However, in this uncivilized, ignorant era.

One man distanced himself from the crowd, looking directly at those "gods" and "demons."

Afterward, that man's followers grew in number.

Thus, the history of humanity's struggle officially began.

[Afterward, their numbers decreased, and our numbers increased.]

[As the things we feared became fewer, we began to view this world more rationally.]

[However, the things that could not be explained did not disappear, as if the universe were deliberately trying to manifest absurdity and the incredible.]

[Humanity can no longer live in fear. Nothing can protect us; we must protect ourselves.]

In the image.

Human settlements hunted beast herds, conquered floods, and built city-states.

The sparks of civilization extended to the horizon, and their footsteps stepped into the firmament.

Countless myths became part of life, and all mysteries were unveiled.

But.

That man discovered the secrets regarding the Aeons in this world.

The dark corners outside the common world of ordinary people.

[While others live in the sunlight, we must fight them in the shadows and prevent them from being exposed to the public eye.]

[So that others can live in a rational, ordinary world.]

In the darkness.

Flames representing life ignited and extinguished one by one.

But the followers' footsteps remained firm.

Secure...

Or destroy...

[We control, we contain, we protect.]

[We are... the Foundation.]

The grand and deep voice echoed among the stars.

Breathtaking.

……

Herta Space Station.

Inside Herta’s office, a cute-looking young girl stood there.

However, the doll joints visible at her articulations proved she was not a biological being.

She was a doll created by Ms. Herta in the image of her younger self, specifically for communication purposes.

Of course, it could also be considered Herta herself.

Asta was standing before the Herta doll, discussing intelligence regarding the "Foundation."

Herta:

"My screens here were also interfered with... It’s a bit hard to imagine how they managed to do that."

"I even suspect they didn't plant a virus, as there were no signs of a firewall breach."

Asta’s brow furrowed even deeper:

"Are you saying that this organization calling itself the Foundation is not using electronic warfare technology?"

The doll displayed a human-like expression, waved her hand, and said:

"Yes."

"This power is similar to a Path, yet it is not one of the 18 known Paths. I suspect there is a newly born Aeon."

Once Asta accepted this viewpoint, Herta said with some helplessness:

"The only thing I’m worried about now is that they have their eyes on my collection."

"Don't look at me like that; even though I leave that pile of junk in the storage room to gather dust, it is one of my few hobbies, and I put a lot of effort into them."

"If an Aeon wants to snatch things from a weak girl like me, I can only lie flat and let them take what they want."

"……"

After chatting for a while longer, once the Herta doll stopped moving, Asta knew the genius had gone to handle other matters.

Only then did she grumble in her heart:

"A 'weak girl,' you really can say that with a straight face."

"The only things capable of threatening an Emanator like you are probably Aeons."

……

The Luofu Luofu Xianzhou Luofu.

"Is this some Aeon's prank?"

"Nous the Erudition?"

So-called Aeons.

They can be simply understood as incarnations of the Dao, or gods in the DND system.

After a flash of vigilance, Jing Jing Yuan returned to his usual lazy posture.

As the Cloud Knight General of the Luofu, without any understanding of this so-called "Foundation," anything he did could be wrong.

The Luofu already had the internal trouble of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus; if he acted rashly, the consequences would be unimaginable.

And right now...

There happened to be someone specifically responsible for handling these troublesome matters.

His eyes shifted slightly, looking at Fu Bai Xuan, who had come to urge him to abdicate once again.

Fine, let’s see if she has grown this time.

"Lady Fu, I must trouble your Divination Commission once again."

Fu Bai Xuan frowned, looking completely unwilling.

That expression seemed to be saying:

[You found another excuse to avoid fulfilling our agreement.]

Jing Jing Yuan naturally saw through her thoughts and only managed to coax Fu Bai Xuan away with great difficulty.

Finally, he had time to continue pondering the "Foundation" matter.

Although the attitude the Foundation displayed was very similar to Qlipoth, the Aeon who presides over the Path of Preservation.

It belonged to the friendly faction.

But no one could say for sure to what extent their so-called "control," "containment," and "protection" would go.

Would they choose to destroy a civilization just because it refused to hand over "dangerous" things?

Just like the Luofu Luofu Xianzhou people of the past, who pursued immortality and followed the path of the Abundance, only to be met with endless plundering and destruction.

On the Luofu Luofu Xianzhou Luofu, there were many high-risk items.

For example, the Abundance relic—the Ambrosial Arbor.

Just then, the screen paused.

[Top 100 Foundation Containment Items Countdown!]

[Number 100: SCP-106, The Old Man!]

Two lines of text appeared in the projection.

Immediately after, people discovered that the electronic screens had suddenly returned to normal.

It was as if the Foundation had simply forced the world to acknowledge their existence.

The difference was that every electronic screen now had a Foundation icon; clicking it allowed one to continue watching the live stream and even send comments to interact.

Even the oldest glass screens were the same.

The massive projection in the sky continued.

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If there are characters you hope to see appear as easter eggs, feel free to leave a comment.

If there are SCPs you hope to see, you can also tell the author!

If there are any SCPs you hope to see, you can tell the author!