"Urgh! Ahh—"
A massive influx of mories flooded her mind, making her head feel like an overfilled dam about to burst.
Clang!
i forcefully stabbed the Key of the Extres into the ground to support herself, but the impact of the recent mories was so overwhelming that her legs slowly gave out, and she ended up slumping against the long blade, half-sitting.
"So this... is the end of the Previous Era..."
She rembered asking Michael a similar question when she first learned he was from the Previous Era:
"With your power, your civilization still fell? Is the so-called Finality... truly that powerful?"
"No."
She still recalled the cold smile that touched his lips.
"In a sense, our civilization wasn’t destroyed by Finality. It had already lost its reason to exist before that."
Not long ago, she had asked Elysia a similar question:
"So, Elysia, what really happened during the Twelfth Honkai Eruption? Why is even Eden so secretive about it with ?"
Her answer had been equally cryptic. She said the world could no longer be saved.
She said the Fla-Chasers had consequently lost the aning they had always fought for.
Connecting this to Kevin calling Michael a "traitor" in the present day, i had initially assud that during the Twelfth Eruption, Michael had betrayed the Fla-Chasers for so reason.
But looking at it now, under those circumstances, even if Michael had ultimately chosen betrayal, there wasn’t much to condemn.
Viewed this way, it was Michael, whom she had always thought spoke in riddles, who had actually been the most direct—the Previous Era was already irredeemably broken long before the arrival of Finality, beyond any hope of recovery, and thus naturally could no longer exist.
All the zombies here had been cleared out. i glanced at the portal she had erged from earlier. There seed to be no path forward; the portal displayed the pattern for returning to the main hall.
Since she was still weakened, she adjusted her posture and, without any inhibition, sprawled out in a starfish shape on the crimson floor tiles. Closing her eyes, she began to process the mory again.
There was no path forward, and the mory had ended abruptly with Elysia holding Michael’s hand at Hiko’s bedside. i hadn’t seen what happened next.
Given the vastness of the Elysian Realm and the tight-lipped nature of the Fla-Chasers, she suspected it would take considerable exploration to uncover the subsequent events.
She hadn’t always been impatient... No, perhaps she had always been straightforward and impulsive, only becoming different when she was with her...
Regardless, it was true that she now found it difficult to stop her mind from extrapolating beyond the mory’s cutoff point.
In her imagination, she put herself in Michael’s shoes, pondering what choices she would have made in his place.
Would she have truly destroyed the world in a fit of rage?
No. Although the thought flickered through her mind for an instant during the role-play, based on her understanding of Michael, he absolutely wouldn’t do that... well, at least not while Elysia still existed.
The most direct proof was that the Elysian Realm had been built according to Michael’s requirents. This indicated they had indeed defeated the Twelfth Herrscher. If Michael’s betrayal had begun then, how could humanity have possibly overco the Twelfth Herrscher?
Moreover, at the very end of that mory segnt, through Elysia’s perspective, she could clearly feel Michael’s resolve.
He was grieving, but he wasn’t despairing. His heart still held the drive and courage to move forward—this was the subconscious judgnt made by the Elysia standing beside him at that ti.
Although i couldn’t say she fully trusted Elysia yet, as she still hadn’t grasped her true motives, well...
At least in terms of understanding Michael, i didn’t think anyone in the entire Previous Era could surpass Elysia.
After all... they were the ones who had truly spent the most ti together.
But... betrayed by all of humanity, betrayed by the very people they had always protected, i finally understood the crushing weight behind Elysia’s words about "losing the aning to fight for."
She asked herself honestly, if humanity treated her and Kiana with such an attitude, what would she do?
Everyone understood grand principles like saving the world, but when the world itself desired destruction, what was one supposed to do?
"Hmph..."
i exhaled slowly, using the ti to recover her strength. Although she could rest just as well back in the main hall, and killing so zombies wasn’t physically taxing, the recent mory... even experienced from a third-person perspective, it was hard not to feel ntally drained. So drained she lacked even the will to lift a finger.
But i set a ntal tir—ten seconds. Lie here for ten more seconds, then get up and return to the hall.
While the Fla-Chasers spoke like riddlers, they never lied. If she pieced together everyone’s perspective on the sa event, she might glimpse the truth.
She began counting down silently: Ten, nine, eight...
But as she reached five, her eyes snapped open, narrowed slightly—she thought she heard faint, almost imperceptible footsteps.
She leaped to her feet, grabbing the Key of the Extres, and faced the newcor.
But when she saw the person’s face clearly, her mouth fell slightly open, her thoughts nearly grinding to a halt—
"Hi... Hiko?"
"Hm? Are you calling ?"
The woman wore all black, her arms crossed before her chest, perfectly accentuating her figure. The long hair behind her head drifted in clumps, indistinguishable from leaping flas.
"If you’re using the ancient Far East tongue, writing my na as Hiko isn’t wrong. But in the common tongue of the Previous Era, it’s better to call Hiko."
She tilted her head, offering a gentle smile. In i’s eyes, the woman gradually rged with the figure she had seen in the mory.
"They look exactly alike..."
"Hm? Are you talking about and that teacher of yours?"
Hiko chuckled softly.
Just as i was reeling in surprise, she spoke again, explaining herself:
"Raiden i, that teacher of yours is nad Hiko... right? Michael ntioned her to . Sounds like that young woman is quite similar to in both looks and personality."
"Mm, she really is... Wait!"
i quickly ca to her senses. Gripping her long blade tightly, her eyes fixed on Hiko, she simultaneously emitted electromagnetic waves, mimicking radar principles to scan her surroundings—a trick she had learned from Michael.
"The Elysian Realm is made of the Fla-Chasers’ mory data. You... shouldn’t exist here!"
"Good alertness, young lady."
Hiko nodded appreciatively. "But why would you assu that only the Fla-Chasers’ mory data exists in the Elysian Realm?"
"Hm?"
i frowned slightly, then realized... this woman calling herself Hiko... was right!
Because she had only encountered the MANTIS fighters known as Fla-Chasers in the Elysian Realm so far, she had gradually ford the misconception that this place was exclusively for them.
But thinking carefully, since i’s own mory data could exist here, it proved that ordinary people weren’t incapable of undergoing the mory data creation process.
Therefore, it seed perfectly understandable that more "ordinary people" might exist within the Elysian Realm.
As if reading her thoughts, Hiko explained softly:
"Actually, the initial Elysian Realm plan, the data version, didn’t consider including ordinary people. This was due to technical limitations—"
"The very first version of the mory data creation surgery was sothing non-MANTIS fighters could rarely withstand. Moreover, the data version of the Realm was limited by computing power. Even with processing capabilities equivalent to No. 17, it couldn’t guarantee the long-term stable operation of mory data for more than twenty individuals."
"However, Michael’s planned Bubble Universe version of the Elysian Realm is different."
"Firstly, by incorporating the consciousness transfer techniques Mobius researched for years, the mory data you see now is actually closer to a post-transfer consciousness than the original mory extraction thod."
"And the lack of computing power was addressed, firstly, by successfully turning the Twelfth Herrscher Core into the hub, and secondly, the Bubble Universe itself counts as a semi-real world, which saves over seventy percent of the processing power needed for world simulation compared to the data version. Naturally, it can accommodate more people."
The explanation sounded plausible, but a sliver of caution remained in i’s heart. While the Previous and Current Eras shared many similar Honkai Beasts, like Sangha, Parvati, and Vishnu, there were also many Honkai Beasts unique to the Previous Era, never seen before now.
For example, Honkai Beasts like Mitrá and Mahāmāyūrī, capable of manipulating ntal energy.
Since they existed in the Previous Era, they must also exist within the Elysian Realm.
i wasn’t sure if her status as a Herrscher would protect her from their abilities, but recalling the mories related to Michael, even he wasn’t completely immune before acquiring the powers of Sentience.
Hiko naturally saw her hesitation, but she rely smiled gently and offered no further explanation.
After hesitating for less than ten seconds, i finally nodded. "Alright, I’ll trust you for now."
She paused, shuffling towards the portal as she asked:
"But why haven’t you appeared all this ti before?"
i’s question seed to hit a sore spot. Hiko’s face flushed slightly, and she answered with a drawn-out tone:
"Well... everyone has their own routines, you know."
"So now... are you coming back to the main hall with ?"
"Mhm..."
i pursed her lips, tempted to ask why, but her direct questioning had already caused her enough trouble in the Elysian Realm. She thought better of it and chose to remain silent.
Hiko, observing her expression, naturally perceived i’s unspoken question and looked slightly awkward—she couldn’t very well tell the truth:
"Pardofelis has been too busy to track down lately, I’ve run out of booze, and I can’t find anywhere to restock. I can only co ask Eden for so."
Stepping through the portal, a wave of dizziness, fainter than before, washed over i. She remained expressionless, not even blinking.
Perhaps the dizziness wasn’t weaker; perhaps she, Raiden i, after nearly a hundred days and nights of constant exploration, had simply grown accustod to it, numb even.
Hiko beside her, however, stumbled slightly. i had to reach out an arm to steady her, preventing a fall.
Judging by this, Hiko probably rarely ventured out, unable to adapt to the discomfort of portal travel even after fifty thousand years.
"Eh? Eden isn’t here..."
Looking at the empty lounge area, Hiko’s face couldn’t hide her disappointnt.
i scanned the surroundings and silently added:
"It’s not just Eden who’s not here; the other Fla-Chasers aren’t either... Even Elysia..."
This remark clearly piqued Hiko’s curiosity:
"Hm? You often see the Fla-Chasers gathering in the lobby?"
"Hm? Yes, why?"
"Who all have you seen?"
Hiko raised an eyebrow, a look of novelty on her face.
"The first one I t was Elysia... then Eden, Kevin, Su, Sakura, Class Rep... Hua, Pardofelis, Mobius, Kalpas, Aponia, Griseo and her family, Kosma and Dystopia, and Vill-V. And i, of course."
"Right, so basically, you’ve t all the Fla-Chasers?"
Hiko spread her hands, looking i up and down, an unreadable expression in her eyes.
Just to be safe, i silently took a step back.
"Is there a problem?"
"Of course, there’s a problem—i, you don’t really think the Fla-Chasers just like hanging out in the lobby for fun, do you?"
"Uh? Isn’t that the case?"
i frowned, thinking it over, only now realizing that Raven had ntioned this to her long ago, but she hadn’t paid it much attention.
After all, she was a Herrscher. For such a unique existence, arguably neither friend nor foe, to proactively enter the Elysian Realm, it would be stranger not to attract the Fla-Chasers’ attention, right?
But Hiko knew that wasn’t the whole story. So what if she was a Herrscher? Which Fla-Chaser didn’t have the power to defeat a Herrscher head-on... alright, apologies, Pardofelis.
But generally speaking, the Fla-Chasers had dealt with plenty of Herrschers. Even if i was a Herrscher fighting for humanity, besides Elysia, the others wouldn’t be that interested—it wasn’t exactly novel.
The reason they appeared before i so frequently could only be due to one thing: recogni...
Computing power.
Hiko shrugged and said:
"Co on, i. You can think of the Elysian Realm as a retirent ho. Everyone living here is already retired. Occasionally popping out to offer so experience to the youngsters is fine, but most of the ti, people just want to live their own retired lives."
"Hm... Is it still related to the Twelfth Herrscher?"
Hiko had been walking towards the lounge area on her own. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but turn back and scrutinize i again.
"What is it?"
"i, you’re very perceptive. I think I understand... Heh, never mind."
"...I was just guessing."
Hiko hopped onto the raised lounge platform, relaxing completely and sinking deep into the sofa. i hesitated for a mont, ultimately choosing to walk up the steps properly, finally sitting down about half a ter away from Hiko.
During this ti, Hiko had already leaned over the display cabinet and expertly grabbed three bottles of wine.
"Uh... If you do that, won’t Eden get angry?"
Although i had truly never seen Eden angry, Hiko’s bold actions still made i gasp.
This... wasn’t much different from stealing, was it?
Hm? Stealing? Pardofelis... Alright, perhaps the Fla-Chasers had a higher tolerance for this sort of thing.
"Don’t panic, i. Eden and I sorted this out long ago."
Hiko gave a sly smile.
"She has far too much wine in her collection. But well, like most collectors, during her early, less affluent days, she acquired so pieces that aren’t top quality but that she can’t bear to throw away. So, she generously waved her hand and left all these for . Anyway, I only have one requirent for wine—as long as it gets drunk."
Alright, that sounded... very much like Eden.
Hiko expertly opened a bottle with her bare hands, took a large gulp, and her cheeks instantly flushed as red as her hair.
She murmured softly:
"And besides..."
"Besides what?"
i whipped her head around. Hiko wore a sowhat sorrowful expression; perhaps the alcohol was making her reminisce about the past...
i had suffered quite a bit from pestering people with questions, especially at Kalpas’s hands. Over ti, she had learned to curb her curiosity slightly.
However... there was actually one more thing she had always wanted to ask. Eden had drunk wine in front of her before, and Elysia had offered her snacks. As far as she knew, there were no production departnts in the Elysian Realm, yet this place was considered semi-real. So, how were these things created?
She had a hunch that if she asked, Hiko would definitely answer—because she was so similar to Hiko... no, Hiko was so similar to her.
While equating the two wasn’t entirely accurate, their resemblance in appearance and personality was too strong. She was certain Hiko wasn’t the type to speak in riddles. If she didn’t want to answer, she would simply close her mouth.
But that was still better than hearing a bunch of ambiguous phrases that sounded like sothing was said, yet nothing was revealed.
She voiced her question. Hiko paused slightly upon hearing it, then laughed:
"That question? I thought they would have answered that for you already."
"I... never asked..."
"Hahaha, right. Actually, this issue is also the biggest difficulty in placing ordinary people into the Elysian Realm—unlike MANTISes and Herrschers, we can’t survive on Honkai energy alone. However, although I don’t understand how he did it, Michael solved this problem."
"How did he solve it?"
i leaned forward, clearly curious.
"Well, like this."
Hiko held out her hand, and a brand-new Surtr abruptly materialized, lying across her lap.
"As long as it’s sothing that existed in our mories, we can manifest it within the Elysian Realm. So, it really doesn’t matter even if I drink Eden’s favorite bottle, because these things never truly existed, yet always exist."
"This... is the First Herrscher’s... No, Michael isn’t always in the Realm. Then the Eighth... No, that’s not right either, Fenghuang Down is with Class Monitor. Is it really just the power of Corruption? It feels like more than that."
"That, I don’t know."
Hiko spread her hands matter-of-factly.
"In that case, the Elysian Realm truly lives up to its na. After all, the ability to manifest things from mory should be able to compensate for many losses, right?"
"Perhaps."
Hiko offered an insincere smile. Clearly, she didn’t think this ability was as wonderful as i described.
After all... things existing in mory were things already lost. Manifesting them only served as a sharper reminder of everything one had once lost. They lacked the power to create or move towards the future.
This was a pain that i, who hadn’t yet lost enough, couldn’t empathize with yet.
"But speaking of which, i, is there sothing you still don’t know?"
"Hm?"
Hiko seed determined to tell i more. She composed herself and leaned close to i’s ear, whispering softly:
"Many of the people in the Elysian Realm... are actually alive."
"I know that, Kevin, Class Rep, Mobius... Wait, you said many? Many ans..."
i’s eyes widened in disbelief. She felt things shouldn’t be as outrageous as she imagined, but if not, why would Hiko emphasize it?
"That’s right. To be precise, the Fla-Chasers you et might not just be mory data, but rather exist in a superposition state of mory data and their original selves. The most typical example is—i."
"Hoo..."
i’s chest rose and fell rapidly. The impact of these few sentences was no less than the earlier mory influx.
"But, ordinary people’s lifespans shouldn’t reach fifty thousand years, right? Uh... No, I think I know how Michael did it."
Weren’t the two doctors from Anti-Entropy the best examples? And the Abyss Flower that put them in that state belonged to Michael in the Previous Era.
Her breathing gradually steadied. It was strange; although her previous interactions with the Fla-Chasers had often been unpleasant, learning that they were alive, or at least that most of them were, actually brought her a sense of relief?
It was like— "They may not have gotten the perfect ending they deserved, but at least it wasn’t the worst possible outco."
When she looked up again, her gaze towards Hiko was already sowhat fervent. After being in the Elysian Realm for so long, she had finally found soone who would tell her everything without reservation!
So she pressed on while the iron was hot:
"Captain Hiko, I saw earlier that you were severely injured during the Twelfth Honkai Eruption... After that... what exactly happened to the Herrscher? How did you eliminate it?"
"Well... I don’t know."
"..."
Hiko’s reply was blunt and direct. i was disappointed, but it made sense; lying critically injured on a hospital bed, how could she possibly know what happened later?
"However, I do know a little about what happened afterwards."
"!"
Hiko took another swig of wine, her gaze hazy as she looked up at the chandeliers in the hall, slurring her words slightly:
"I had a relatively lucid period while on the hospital bed. At that ti, Michael and Elysia ca to see ."
"Michael... he held my only remaining hand back then and said: Captain, rest well. When you wake up again, you will definitely be in the Elysian Realm."
"I opened my mouth, struggling to force out one word: Twelfth Herrscher."
"He said again: Don’t worry, I have a way to defeat the Twelfth Herrscher. Leave everything to ."
"I smiled. Then, he tucked an invitation card into my hand and also smiled at , saying: It’s a pity, but Elysia and I are having a wedding before defeating the Herrscher. Regrettably, you won’t be able to attend as our guardian."
"Wedding?"
"Yes, a wedding."
i held her head, searching her mories frantically for that word—she seed to recall hearing about this sowhere before!
Ah!
She rembered!
It was when she saw the flashback of Canghai (Sapphire) City earlier. She had gossiped and asked Elysia if the two of them had ended up getting married.
And Elysia’s reply was—
"The first ti, and the last ti, my mories synchronized, it seed like wedding preparations were underway. It’s a sha, I have no personal mory of experiencing it."
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