Wind swept through every corner of the city, uninhabited for years, scattering grey dust and flakes of keratin high into the air.
Michael stood at the anchor point, atop the tall building. This ti, he didn't head straight for his destination but leaned against the railing—so rusted it crumbled into fragnts at the slightest touch—and quietly surveyed the city called "Kaelenstadt."
Unlike the abandoned cities seen in the intrinsic world, sothing seed missing here.
Michael silently compared, quickly spotting the difference.
Humans, after all, weren't the sum total of all life. After humans completely abandoned a place, countless animals, insects, microorganisms, and plants would spontaneously fill the void, even in the face of pervasive Honkai Energy radiation.
At the very least, the usual "ho-invading" cats and dogs—or perhaps Honkai Beasts—would inevitably be present. Their paws would make the faintest sounds on the slippery moss, sounds almost imperceptible, yet signifying life, the hope of life that persists anyti, anywhere.
However, the city before him held only the unchanging ruins and rubble, aside from the flying ash and keratin powder left after all life was destroyed. Occasionally, so structures, unable to bear their own weight, would collapse with a trendous echo heard throughout the land. But while the sound was imnse, it had nothing to do with life.
He cast his gaze further east. If this weren't a Bubble Universe, he should have been able to see the streets reflecting the twilight.
This place was where many stories began, the starting point for many encounters.
And in the sa place, across a world, perhaps... it would also beco the end of a story?
Michael broke off the last piece of railing before him, ticulously grinding it into powder between his thumb and forefinger. Then, opening his hand, he let the wind carry the utterly rusted powder and dust together towards the horizon.
Humans, the pinnacle of creation?
How laughable.
They were actually just like this powder and dust. Before the sweeping, decisive wind, their only fate was to be swept along, blown to places unknown.
Michael leaped down from the rooftop. With every step he took, a sea of white flowers blood behind him.
Green vines pushed through the dry, cracked concrete road, enveloping one tall building after another.
If I don't add so greenery, the oxygen here will run out. Besides, I know she likes it.
And so, the city beca divided by him. Behind him lay a vibrant sea of flowers and forest; before him remained the cold, grey steel and concrete.
Only that splash of pink stood out starkly against the grey gloom, guiding Michael forward.
Neither seed to be in a particular hurry. When Michael crossed the stone bridge, he even deliberately stopped, looking at the nearly ruined railings, looking at the almost dried-up stream below.
Thinking back, every eting with the Elysia of this Bubble Universe seed to require a long prelude, a ti for each to decide what mood and attitude to adopt when facing the other.
To each other, they were extrely special existences—he was Michael, she was Ely, yet the connection established in his mory hadn't ford between them.
Yes, connection.
Michael had pondered this before: What was the fundantal difference between the Elysia in the Bubble Universe and the Elysia he knew?
Ultimately, it was connection.
Humans exist in the world, and whether willing or not, inevitably form connections with others. These connections help define "self" and also unconsciously draw people closer to one another.
"One person's feelings for another always stem from the connection, not the person themselves."
This was Michael's previous conclusion regarding the Bubble Universe Elysia.
However, these thoughts were rely built upon existing human ideas; they couldn't transcend the limitations of human cognition. For instance—when those thinkers and philosophers pondered this, they certainly wouldn't consider the relationship between another version of from a parallel world and another version of her.
Does the '' from another world count as part of the 'self'?
Does the 'her' from another world count as part of 'her'?
This wasn't splitting hairs for the sake of it. In this Honkai-infested world, especially given the choices Michael faced, the question warranted discussion.
If the 'her' from another world could count as 'her,' then Michael wouldn't need to worry at all about Elysia's sacrifice. But how could that be possible? This Ely, after all, hadn't experienced those stories with Michael, hadn't established that kind of connection. How could she possibly replace the real 'her' in Michael's heart?
But if she wasn't her, then why, when Michael first arrived in this Bubble Universe, couldn't he accept her mutual destruction with the Sixth Herrscher? And why now, with every eting, did a tense emotion always linger in his heart?
After pondering for so many years, Michael could only arrive at an extrely vague concept—human emotions, how could they be fully captured by cold language and text?
There are no absolutes in the world, and complex, ever-changing emotions are no exception.
Actually, if pressed further, one might offer the explanation of 'loving the house along with the crow living on it' [love , love my dog], but no matter how you put it, she couldn't replace her. Thus, the question lost its necessity for deep contemplation in Michael's mind.
It was just that every ti he ca to this Bubble Universe, his brain automatically brought the question up.
"Hi! Long ti no see!"
"Mm."
Faced with Michael's deliberately cool reply, Ely pouted dissatisfyingly, her gaze inevitably drawn to the sea of flowers behind him.
"If you want to pick one, go ahead."
Her gaze was so obvious, how could Michael not see it?
He pursed his lips and said, half resigned, half amused.
Only then did Ely smile, eyes curving, and bent down to pick the largest-looking flower.
"This... how do you put this in your hair?"
She held the flower, poking it randomly around her head, only managing to ss up her hair into a tangled fluff.
"Heh..."
Michael couldn't hold back a soft chuckle, which she imdiately caught:
"Help put it on!"
"What?"
"Help put it in my hair!"
"..."
Unable to refuse her, Michael took the white flower. He first cupped her head, tidied up the ssy hair, and finally gently tucked the flower into the strands by her ear.
Actually, just looking at their personalities revealed the difference between the two Elysias.
Perhaps burdened by having faced the end of the world, the Elysia in this Bubble Universe was quieter most of the ti. She often wandered the cities alone, looking at the scenery, and didn't interact much with people.
But she had also experienced far less than the Ely Michael knew, so whenever she did speak, there was still a touch of girlish naivete.
But... it didn't matter anymore...
"This will all be over soon," Michael repeated in his heart, as if trying to deeply engrave this abrupt phrase into his mind.
Whether it was a prophecy or a prayer, distinguishing between them was no longer necessary.
The two soon arrived at the disturbingly empty base. Just inside the entrance, they saw a man of similar build and age to Michael. He sat in a lounge chair, holding a book, humming so incomprehensible tune quite loudly.
But the most speechless aspect was that he had a pair of striped underpants pulled over his head, with round holes cut out for his eyes and mouth...
In short, one glance suggested his ntal state was precarious.
"Imr?" Michael called out tentatively.
Actually, there was no need for tentativeness. There were only five humans in this Bubble Universe, and only one male among them. Who else could it be but Imr?
It was just... Imr's previous personality, while occasionally prone to childish acts like using Michael's underpants as an avatar, was overall definitely considered reserved and steady, especially considering the general childishness inherent in n.
His current appearance, however, made it hard not to think of Rin...
"Uh? Michael... Captain?"
He looked up in astonishnt, then hastily pulled the underpants off his head, chuckling dryly, unsure what to say.
"Make way, make way! Big brother, big sister, make way! Lift your feet! Move back! Quickly! Hahahahahaha!"
Accompanied by exaggerated laughter, a smaller figure burst out from a nearby door. She pushed two mops soaked with water, thoroughly mopping the entire room... thoroughly wetting the entire room.
Michael shook his head, stepped on her mop while gently pressing her shoulder, immobilizing Rin.
"Ah! Hey? Big Brother Michael!"
She tilted her head, studying him for a good while before finally confirming that the person who had arrived was indeed Michael.
"Ehehehe... Big Brother Michael, you're here! Does that an we can go back now?"
Michael glanced at Imr, who was clutching the underpants and looking down silently, then asked in return:
"Is there anything uncomfortable about staying here?"
"Huh?"
Rin's eyebrows furrowed along with her nose, and her lips puckered upwards, seemingly completely baffled by Michael's question.
"Uncomfortable? Nope! I think it's great."
Seemingly afraid Michael wouldn't believe her, she hastily added:
"I don't get dragged up super early by Sis to practice swordsmanship, and Pardofelis doesn't sneak away my snacks. It's just... it's just..."
"Just what?"
"Hehehe, it's just a little boring, and... I miss Sis a little..."
By the end, Rin's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"And you?" Michael looked at Imr.
"? I don't really mind. It's quite nice, actually. No missions, and Kalpas isn't around to bother . Think of it as a paid vacation."
"...I was asking why you had underpants on your head."
"Ah? That... cough cough... Don't worry about the details!"
Actually, even without asking, Michael could guess the likely reason—in an unchanging, confined space, facing the sa people day after day, saying the sa things...
Over ti, it would be hard to say ntal problems wouldn't arise.
Michael, who knew the entirety of [Seele's] story through the Stigma, was no stranger to this.
He suddenly felt a strong urge to apologize, not just to Rin and Imr, but also to Klein, and...
Imr, likely guessing what he was thinking, shook his head and spoke up first:
"It's okay, Michael. Compared to you guys fighting on the front lines, we've spent over a month in this Bubble Universe and failed to find any trace of the Mu Continent's Bubble Universe... It's truly a failure."
"Uh?"
If Imr hadn't ntioned it, Michael might have even forgotten the excuse he'd given earlier.
His expression remained blank; he just blinked, then suddenly spoke, catching Imr completely off guard:
"Actually, I ca this ti specifically to tell you so good news."
"Hm? What good news? Did they find the Mu Continent?"
"Er..."
Michael shook his head, looking sowhat troubled.
Lies were like that. Whether born of good intentions or malice, a lie was a lie, requiring an endless chain of subsequent lies to cover it up.
Unless soone could say without hesitation—Sorry, I was lying before.
Only then could the ceaseless cycle end.
But from Michael's perspective, very few, perhaps almost no one, could do that. Compared to the unknown consequences of exposing a lie, humans would rather bear an endless, heavy burden.
This was another manifestation of human contradiction—they clearly yearned for connection with others, desperately seeking warmth and companionship in this dark, cold world. Yet when others truly drew near, they would hide and conceal, using one lie after another to cover their true selves, always maintaining a certain distance.
But to Michael, what did lies matter? What did truth matter?
In the face of the impending Finality, everything lost aning.
Or perhaps, as he had told Hua, he had a way to reverse everything, a way to make all the pain the Honkai brought to this world cease to exist. To accomplish this, he only needed to do sothing trivial to most humans in the near future. After taking that step, all human troubles would be nothing but fleeting clouds to him.
Or maybe, things had already reached this point. Humanity was just one step away from facing the end. There was no need for concealnt anymore.
"You can return to the intrinsic world."
"Uh? Ah?"
Imr frowned. Michael could see he had sothing he wanted to say, but the words were like unsecured sheet music, blown away by the wind to a place consciousness couldn't reach.
After so ti, Imr finally spoke slowly:
"But, the plan to search for the Mu Continent hasn't been fully implented yet..."
"That plan itself wasn't important. Even if we found the Mu Continent's Bubble Universe, we don't have the ability to reconnect it to the intrinsic world without damaging it."
"..."
Imr's lips opened and closed uselessly. He imdiately asked:
"Then us... then our purpose in coming to this Bubble Universe was..."
"That's right. I deceived you."
Michael's gaze swept over Rin, who lowered her head guiltily. Michael gave a self-deprecating smile:
"Actually, you probably suspected this already, right? A task as important as searching for the Mu Continent's Bubble Universe would surely require a large team, composed of various specialists. It would be impossible to include a young girl like Rin.
"Besides, such a plan would necessitate close contact with certain departnts in the intrinsic world. Yet, over the past month, only Mobius, Sakura, and Kalpas occasionally contacted you via Genius, and they never ntioned work. It's hard not to beco suspicious."
"So..."
"The reason you can return to the intrinsic world is because the Eleventh—no, more accurately, because the Tenth Honkai Eruption is over."
"The Tenth? Eleventh? So quickly?"
Imr first exclaid out of habit, but he wasn't a fool. Within two or three seconds, he reacted, understanding the true aning behind Michael's words.
"You don't an..."
"Exactly. If you and Klein hadn't been hiding in this Bubble Universe, you likely would have beco... individuals of the Tenth Herrscher."
While Imr was still puzzling over the aning of "individuals," Rin impatiently pointed at her own nose and asked:
"What about ? What about ?"
She had an ominous feeling—that the "you" in "you can return to the intrinsic world"... might not include her...
"We'll talk about your situation later."
Michael gently ruffled her hair, then looked towards Elysia, who had been leaning against the doorfra smiling silently from the beginning:
"Klein is with Dr. i, right? Let's go. Let's send these two back to the intrinsic world first. There are people waiting impatiently over there."
The subsequent arrangents went smoothly.
i knew the general situation completely. Of course, even the parts she didn't know, she had learned from the i of the intrinsic world via Genius.
As for Klein, she seed ntally much better off than Imr and Rin. After all, here she was also working under Dr. i, not much different from working under Mobius in the intrinsic world.
However, compared to Mobius's 'work 25 hours a day' workload, life in the Bubble Universe was far too leisurely. i was only concerned with two things: Project Stigma, and the technology to materialize consciousness into mory bodies, i.e., the Elysian Realm project.
In fact, Klein's workflow involved completing tasks and handing them to i, who then transferred them via Genius to the i in the intrinsic world, who then passed them to Mobius, who then assigned the next batch of tasks...
Rounding it up, Klein was still working for Mobius, just that the information lag gave her significantly more free ti.
So, when Michael inford her she could return to the intrinsic world, she was excited, but also felt a slight reluctance.
Regardless, returning to the world she knew was ultimately a good thing.
Michael opened a spatial rift. Without hesitation, Imr and Klein stepped through.
Rin's mouth hung open as she looked longingly at the darkness, before Elysia gently guided her away from i's laboratory by the head.
"How's the Elysian Realm project progressing?"
Michael casually pulled over a stool and sat down.
i rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking sowhat tired:
"If we followed the original plan devised by 'that ' and Mobius, we could start implenting the plan right now, start creating the mory bodies. And... it's already a bit late."
"aning, my proposed plan isn't currently possible?"
"Yes. The original Elysian Realm plan relied on the abilities of psychic-Sensitive MANTISes, coupled with data terminals, to create a world similar to a taverse. This is achievable with our current technology."
"...Could you please stop trend-chasing."
"Hm?"
"Nothing, continue..."
"But your current request is for this world to actually exist in the form of data..."
"Can't be done?"
"Mm..."
"A model like Aponia and The Deep... Okay, that's a purely spiritual world, lacking the possibility of coordinating mory bodies."
"Mm, yes, that's correct."
Michael narrowed his eyes. He knew things weren't that simple. If it were truly impossible, i would have rejected his revised plan outright long ago, not left room for maneuvering like this.
"Just say it. What's missing?"
"Just like you told them earlier, you yourself are actually well aware, right? To complete this project according to your goal, what we currently lack is an Authority that hasn't appeared yet—the Authority to control the data world."
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