"You're quite something, little lab rat. It's been a long time since someone piqued my interest like this. I hope the secret you're hiding inside that body of yours is worth it. Don't disappoint me."
"Hehe~ Relax. I guarantee you'll love it, Dr. Mobius. But if you want to know my secret, your current favorability level is far from enough."
"Oh? Are you saying I should work to please you? You really are bold... I hope you can maintain that composure when the time comes. Let's see if you can handle it."
Mobius spoke to Elias with a dangerous smile.
Blood that hadn't clotted in ten years, the strength to fight a Herrscher one-on-one, and those strange remarks he made earlier.
Mobius' instincts were telling her—the key to the evolution she had dreamed of might just be hidden within this boy.
"Uuu... Elias, I'm sorry, I think I messed up."
Seeing that her blood sample had led to Elias being targeted by such a dangerous woman, Elysia couldn't help but feel guilty. She definitely didn't want someone so important to her lying on a test bench!
Elias smiled and shook his head, then gently teased the little Griseo in his arms.
"It's fine, it's not your fault. But... Ely, do you want to know my secret too?"
"Of course! I want to know everything about you, Elias!"
Elysia replied without hesitation. Though they'd grown up together and traveled side by side for years, allowing her to learn many of Elias' secrets and personality quirks—
She still had a feeling.
What she knew was just the tip of the iceberg.
This boy was like a vast and unfamiliar ocean. Even after sailing it for so long, she had yet to reach its depths.
Especially the greatest secret—the treasure—was still hidden deeper, waiting to be found.
"Mm, I'm looking forward to you discovering everything about me, Ely. I never intended to hide anything from you anyway. If you want to know, I can tell you anyti—"
"Nope! That would be too unromantic. I have to find your secrets with my own hands, in the name of the Pink Elf Detective!"
"Haha~! Alright, I'll be waiting, my great detective."
Looking at the girl before him, determined to uncover every secret buried deep within his heart, Elias couldn't help but laugh aloud.
He rubbed his forehead affectionately against Elysia's.
Yes—this is how it should be!
There was nothing more boring than a mystery that simply gave away its answer. Elias longed for Elysia to understand him, to find every one of his secrets—
To become the one who knew him better than anyone else in this world.
Just like how he hoped to unravel every mystery surrounding Elysia—to know her completely, from body to soul.
"You two! If you're going to flirt, take it outside! Mobius' lab does not welcome any disgusting couples! Get out of here—go as far away as possible!!"
Watching the two lovebirds turning the air pink, Mobius grit her teeth and barked furiously.
She hated couples. Hated romantic relationships. Office romance was the worst. After all, that Griseo over there? The brat born from that jerk Ato seducing her research assistant!
That assistant took the longest maternity leave ever, and when she came back, her work efficiency plummeted. She even talked about quitting for good.
Said she might introduce a new assistant to take her place.
But who knew if the new one could handle the workload? Accept the no-holiday schedule, daily overtime, and three meals a day of instant noodles?
Not to mention, salary wasn't even guaranteed sometimes...
Let's just say this snake had absolutely no respect for labor laws!
She ought to be hung from a streetlamp!
"Romance is foolish. Just an excuse to justify primitive breeding instincts. Ever heard the saying? 'The wise do not fall in love, the foolish are trapped by it.' This lady will never fall in love in her entire life!"
Mobius scoffed disdainfully.
She snatched the glass container from Elias' hand and placed it under a microscope for close examination.
Unfortunately, under the power of the Herrscher of Rebirth, Elias' blood had already been completely cleansed—there wasn't a single trace left.
"That's a textbook flag if I've ever heard one, Dr. Mobius. Alright then, see you around."
"Goodbye, Dr. Mobius. Next time I'll bring you a pink dress to wear—as a little gift for the checkup."
"Scram!"
After staring fruitlessly into the microscope for a while and finding not even a single hair, the furious Mobius hurled the empty instant noodle cup at the two—but they dodged nimbly.
Elias then continued humming a tune to the little Griseo in his arms, preparing to stroll through the base with Elysia again.
In his mind, Elysia showing his blood to Mobius today was, in a way, a good thing.
At the very least, the snake had developed an interest in him.
Future interactions would be far easier now.
As one of the strongest scientists of the Previous Era—and perhaps the greatest biologist—Mobius' value in fighting the Honkai was irreplaceable.
Elias: (I look forward to us developing a more... intimate partnership in the future, Dr. Mobius. You and I—Herrscher of Rebirth and top-tier biologist—together we might just spark some real surprises. Maybe even crack that heartbreakingly low success rate of the Fusion Warrior experiments.)
Just then—
A flash of inspiration hit Elias.
He recalled a certain illicit act committed by Mobius, as recorded in the Elysian Realm storyline.
"Seems like the chance to get closer is right in front of me, Mobius."
A look of anticipation flashed through the boy's eyes.
In truth, ever since arriving in this world, the more Elias interacted with the Valkyries, the more he realized—
The version of them recorded in the game was only the tip of the iceberg. A mere thousandth of their full selves.
At least for Elias now—
These people were no longer just characters in a game. They were real, living individuals, just like him.
So to think that reading their backstories and clearing their arcs meant he truly understood them—
That would be arrogant self-deception.
Elias understood: only by speaking with them directly, witnessing with his own eyes, acting with his own hands—
Could he come to know the real them.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
"Damn it... Not a single cell left. And he only wiped it with his hand."
Mobius frowned as she stared at the glass container.
"Good, very good. You've only made me more curious, little lab rat. You won't escape my grasp. But... you'll have to wait. There's a more important subject waiting for my attention right now."
Mobius glanced at her research application for the Second Herrscher's remains. Two days had passed—and still no response.
The Fire Moth upper management had long since been dissatisfied with her. Mobius knew full well—they likely wouldn't grant her access to the Second Herrscher's body.
But...
"So what if they don't give it to me? Anything I want, I'll take. Elias or the Herrscher corpse—it's all mine!" The snake clenched her fist with full confidence.
Mobius did things her way—why ask for permission?
And so, later that night, a sneaky green silhouette quietly slipped into the Herrscher remains storage chamber—
Then promptly lifted the Herrscher of the Void's body and dashed back to her lab.
...
Inside the brightly lit laboratory...
Mobius stared at the Herrscher of the Void's corpse on the operating table with excitement. A surgical scalpel in each hand, her eyes shimmered with boundless fanaticism and curiosity.
Even if the Herrscher of the Void were to be resurrected this moment, one look at Mobius' expression might just scare her back into death.
"Huff huff... huff huff huff~ So this is how a Herrscher's body is structured... The internal organs are the same as a human's, but everything aside from the heart is essentially nonessential. Fascinating!"
The scalpels moved in her hands like a conductor's baton leading a symphony.
No matter how powerful the body once was in life, in death it could only become material for human experimentation. The deeper Mobius dissected the Herrscher before her, the brighter her eyes shone.
From the bottom of her heart, she marveled—
What a beautiful lifeform.
Mobius wasn't referring to the Herrscher's physical beauty, but to the body's structure far beyond human limitations, and the terrifying powers it once displayed.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, she muttered to herself:
"Why must humans be confined to a single form? If only humanity could become something like Herrschers... Wouldn't that be glorious..."
Her breathing grew heavier again.
At the same time, her hands moved faster and with greater precision. In just two short hours, she had completely deconstructed and reconstructed the Herrscher's body.
Wiping the light sweat from her forehead with her lab coat sleeve, Mobius turned her gaze to a golden gem beside the body—that was the Gem of the Void, the Herrscher's Core.
"I see now. The Herrscher's body evolved purely to contain the Core... But after a quick calculation, even an evolved Herrscher vessel can barely sustain three Cores before it begins to collapse."
Mobius' eyes now held a trace of contempt and disappointment as she looked at the body.
"Even having surpassed humanity, there are still limits, huh? So Herrschers... aren't perfect either."
She sat on the edge of the operating table and picked up the Core, studying it in her hand. Deprived of its host, the Gem of the Void had lost its luster.
"If someone could withstand four Cores, five... or even more—what would they evolve into? It's so tempting to imagine. But for now... my priority is to become a Herrscher myself."
Mobius made up her mind to attempt it.
She pressed the Gem of the Void against the center of her chest—closest to her heart.
"Tch. Nothing..."
Minutes passed. Her body heat nearly warmed the Core—but it gave no reaction.
Mobius let out another sigh of disappointment.
But just as she was about to resume her research, the lab door suddenly opened.
"Dr. Mobius, don't you think you've had enough fun for one night?"
"Hm? Elias, what are you doing here?"
Mobius frowned as she saw the boy who had left such an impression on her earlier that day. Instinctively, she stepped in front of the operating table—but it was a meaningless gesture.
After closing the door behind him, Elias yawned and strolled over, spotting the Herrscher's corpse immediately.
"Whoa, Doctor, you really work fast. You even dug the Core out and stitched everything back up after? Nice, nice—that saves me the trouble."
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Seeing Elias lift the body and prepare to leave, Mobius panicked. Her research wasn't done yet!
"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious, Dr. Mobius? I'm here to save you."
"Save me? Don't be ridiculous!"
Mobius raised her scalpel and pointed it at Elias.
Though she had never set foot on the battlefield, the aura she released in that moment was terrifying beyond belief.
"Little lab rat, put the Herrscher down. Only in my hands can her secrets be unraveled. Only I can find the way to turn humanity into Herrschers—and surpass them!"
"Become a Herrscher? Surpass Herrschers? Heh~ Dr. Mobius, maybe instead of questioning me, you should ask yourself—what is it you truly want?"
Elias regarded the scalpel before him as if it didn't exist.
His golden eyes stared straight into Mobius' own.
As if questioning the very depths of her soul.
In that moment, Mobius felt like her heart was being gripped by an invisible hand. But she clenched her teeth and met his gaze head-on.
"What I want is simple. Through my own hands—I will ascend and become divine. I will evolve humanity into gods!"
"Can't say that sounds simple at all. First off, becoming a Herrscher doesn't mean becoming a god. Even gods can be killed. Second... what's so wrong about being human?"
At this point, Elias was gripping the upper half of the Herrscher of the Void's body, while Mobius clutched the lower half.
The two had begun a tug-of-war with a Herrscher's corpse as the rope.
"What's so wrong about being human?"
That one sentence seemed to trigger something. Mobius' mind began to drift back through her past.
...
Her mother had died giving birth to her. Mobius was born unique—able to speak and reason from the moment she opened her eyes. A child born with knowledge.
Her father was a doctor.
Even after losing his wife, he remained devoted to his patients and faced life with strength—until a terrifying illness came for him.
Honkai disease. Incurable, untreatable.
Once infected, her father's personality changed. Mobius watched the man who was once a strong, kind doctor spiral into rage and despair.
No medicine could cure him.
In fact, the side effects of treatment only further broke his mind.
And the Honkai energy slowly destroyed his body.
That once loving father began to beat his daughter.
But Mobius didn't feel hurt or sad—only that the man before her was pathetic. Laughable and grotesque.
So she told him directly:
"You look disgusting. I will never become a human like you."
On her ninth birthday, while enduring her father's abuse, Mobius stared at him mockingly.
And made her vow.
"I will bring evolution to humanity. No disease, no drug, no tragedy will ever humiliate us again like this. I will never let humans become monsters like you."
After that unforgettable birthday, nine-year-old Mobius left home to forge her own path.
And now, hearing Elias ask, "What's so wrong about being human?"
Mobius felt a fire ignite in her chest.
"What's wrong with being human? Hah! We die from terminal illnesses. Lose our minds to side effects of drugs. Collapse from the tiniest bit of pain. I... I will not allow it! I will bring humanity perfect evolution!"
She yanked harder on the Herrscher's legs.
"You said you were going to save me? That's laughable! I'm the one saving humanity! Now let go—immediately!"
"Dr. Mobius, I don't know what kind of flashback you just had, but you can't win against me. Don't waste your strength. Besides..."
Elias took a deep breath and shouted:
"I really am here to save you—
To save next month's research budget!!!"
"...Huh?"
Mobius froze on the spot.
"You've had your fun, now put the Herrscher back before you get caught! Don't you know Fire Moth already discovered the body was missing? Don't you still want your funding next month? If you can't even afford instant noodles, how do you plan to evolve humanity?!"
"Ugh..."
Mobius went bean-eyed.
This boy... was actually helping her?
But just as Elias lifted the Herrscher's body to sneak it back into storage—
It was too late.
Bang bang bang!!
Loud knocking slammed against the lab door from outside.
"Fire Moth! Open up!! Dr. Mobius, we know you're in there! Hand over the Herrscher of the Void's body immediately!"