To kill an [Idea]—the only things Elias could immediately think of were Finality and Sa, and those weren't counters so much as sheer dimensional compression attacks.
"I can't think of anything that can counter your form of existence. An [Idea] isn't an ordinary human body—physical-level attacks are useless against you."
"Even if your body could be completely destroyed, as long as your connection to the Stigma Space remains—since you are, at essence, a crystallization of a stigma—you could immediately reincarnate."
"After all, my lance once opened the channel linking the Imaginary to reality, and an [Idea] is more an expression of 'will' than a life sustained by a beating heart. Unless the 'will' is erased or the Schariac Stigma Space is destroyed…"
Otherwise, as an [Idea], this Stigma lady could die countless times and still be reborn—Elias himself couldn't help but click his tongue at how absurd it was.
From the Schariac stigma woman's perspective, Elias—the one who brought her into being—seemed the likeliest to kill her. In truth, it was the opposite; one could even say Elias was the person least likely to kill her.
Because the 'will' she embodied came from Elias, and the essence of that wish was—to save others.
She was born from the world's most beautiful wish.
But she had become a monster that destroyed that very beauty.
A truly lamentable result…
"How could this be? No—this shouldn't be! There can't be an indestructible existence. Master, I beg you, you must be able to take my life back!"
The Schariac stigma woman was frantic. She placed Elias' hands on her neck and kept pressing, trying to use his hands to strangle herself.
Elias shook his head, thinking, My stigma, do you think my hands are some special weapon?
Though these hands had slain countless Honkai Beasts, several Herrschers, and many humans, it was all in the name of saving and protecting what is good—and your existence is goodness itself.
Although your manifestation has gone wrong, turning you into an avatar of death, no one can deny that the Schariac stigma—whose reason for existence is salvation—is, at its core, good.
"It's useless. Give up. I can't do it."
Elias loosened his grip from her pale throat. He could not strangle the very wish to "save others." Instead he cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears, feeling deep sympathy for her tragic form of existence.
"Master, please tell me what I should do. As your stigma, I have committed the sin of sullied redemption. I am a monster that should never have been born! A curse unworthy of being the Schariac stigma!!"
The Schariac stigma woman hurled curses full of hatred—not at Elias, but at herself.
She hated how contradictory she was.
She hated that she had sullied Elias' great work.
She hated that she could not even die.
As an [Idea], she had one final path: forcibly awaken a stigma slumbering within someone. If she could find that one-in-ten-thousand "stigma-apt candidate," someone might be able to accommodate her existence.
But this was the Previous Era!
Stigmas and the Stigma Project did not yet exist!
That completely sealed off the only road to self-redemption for the [Idea] lady!
"Why—why must it end up like this…"
She sank to her knees in despair.
She recalled the hundreds of times she had sought death—locking herself in caves no one could find—but it was useless; the will of a stigma/person could not be killed.
Her existence continuously emitted vast quantities of Honkai energy, yet even if she did not demand death, merely imprisoning herself was impossible.
Her mode of existence was unstable; she would occasionally slip back into Stigma Space from the real world, only to uncontrollably manifest again soon after.
That meant she was, in a sense, "free."
No one could imprison her—not even herself. Not even Vill-V's [The Deep End] could contain her.
If she could, she would gladly throw away that so-called "freedom."
"I can't do anything…"
Tears—the symbol of humanity—streamed uncontrollably from the [Idea]'s eyes. Elias felt deep sympathy and pity. He raised his hand and embraced the stigma spirit born of himself.
His mind raced, seeking a way to save her.
She should not have been doomed to such a tragic existence.
"I'm sorry, my stigma. I can't grant you death. But… perhaps I can save you."
"W-what?"
"Let's try it. Perhaps now, I can fill the gap you lack."
As he spoke, Elias activated the Herrscher of Rebirth's power. Within the white flowers, a soulless body took shape.
The Schariac stigma girl's eyes widened—not from shock at Elias' power. As his stigma, she knew all her master's abilities well. Such things, seemingly miraculous, were trivial feats for him.
Her shock came from the fact that three whole seconds had passed—and the body hadn't died. Even without a soul, even if it couldn't be called human, it was still undeniably alive!
Yet despite being so close to her, it hadn't been killed by her Honkai energy. That left her utterly astonished.
She turned to Elias, trembling uncontrollably, desperate to know what he had done to achieve such a miracle!
"So it really works… thank goodness."
Elias exhaled in relief. When he tried it, he hadn't had any confidence at all.
"H-how did you do that?!"
The stigma girl pressed him urgently.
She had tried countless times these past days. No one could survive within ten meters of her—not even an Emperor-level fusion warrior!
But Elias only shook his head with a smile.
"Actually, I didn't do anything."
"Impossible!!"
"Truly. I made no adjustments to that body. If I must say what allowed it to survive… it's simply because I'm standing beside you right now."
Elias opened a portal of the Herrscher of the Void and pulled her through. The two appeared in a nearby town. The stigma girl was startled.
She thought, In the next second this town will become hell, everyone will die…
One second, two, three…
"Eh? Why? How is nothing happening?"
Three seconds had passed, yet everyone was alive. Her ceaseless release of 30,000 HW of hyper-concentrated Honkai energy hadn't killed anyone.
For a moment she thought she was dreaming. But then she remembered—she couldn't dream. Though she could construct and manipulate the dreams of others.
"It seems Mobius can stop her research now. My current state is the exact opposite of yours. Wherever you walk, Honkai energy surges and multiplies. Wherever I walk, it is suppressed and erased. The two of us cancel each other out."
Elias crossed his arms, feeling his turbulent Holy Blood calming down significantly.
"So easily…?"
The stigma girl was dazed. That the death she carried could be neutralized so simply left her almost numb. Yet it wasn't "simple."
Only Elias could do this. After all, to neutralize someone carrying 30,000 HW of Honkai energy, one had to possess at least the same level themselves.
And only Elias did.
"I can't give you death. But I can give you salvation. Now, only the problem of [unstable existence] remains. But… that shouldn't be too hard."
"What do you mean?"
"As long as you use me as your anchor, even if you return to the Stigma Space, the next time you manifest, you won't randomly appear elsewhere and cause harm."
Elias turned his back to her. After all, in a sense, he was her home.
The Schariac stigma still resided on his back. Elias could serve as this [Idea]'s anchor point for moving between reality and the Stigma Space.
As long as she descended at his side each time, the traits of erasing and amplifying Honkai would cancel each other out, and she would cause no harm.
"As for the sins already committed, you can make up for them in the future by doing good. You're my stigma after all—and an [Idea] at that. Have a little faith in your abilities."
"..."
The Schariac stigma girl looked at Elias in silence, crystalline tears spilling from her eyes despite herself.
All she had wanted was death.
Yet Elias had given her salvation.
She trembled, raising her arms to embrace the white-haired boy who had created her. A moment later, her choked sobs filled the air.
The [Idea] could only think how fortunate it was that he was her creator. If it had been another Schariac instead, they surely would not have been able to turn her despair into hope.
"Thank you… thank you, Master."
"It's alright. The nightmare is over now."
Elias returned her embrace, patting the stigma girl's back to comfort her. He thought, though it was by chance, he truly had rewritten a tragedy.
(Perhaps it's a blessing it was me who caused her birth. If it had been Cecilia like in the original story, even saving everyone might not have been enough to cover the cost.)
After all, not everyone had the Herrscher of Rebirth's power—to restore themselves even after exhausting their Holy Blood.
And through this, the stigma itself had undergone an evolution, perfectly negating the [Idea]'s harmful effects.
In the original story, Cecilia had been killed by that fraud with a Honkai Fissile Bomb after using [Lilium Sanguineum].
If she had survived, perhaps she too could have achieved a mutual balance with the [Idea] like Elias just had.
That way, "Hare" wouldn't have lost control in the original story and slaughtered so many in Siberia. Hmph. It was all that fraud's fault! Entirely his fault!
"Right, there's still one very important thing left to do."
"Hm? Important?"
"Yes. I need to give you a name. Calling you 'Schariac Stigma Girl' is far too long, and '[Idea]' sounds strange. As the one who gave you life, I think I have the right."
Elias looked at her with anticipation. (Cecilia, I've done what you could not—don't mention it~)
"Of course, my Master. Please, choose as you wish."
The [Idea] thought, her Master really did love naming people. Wasn't it he who had named that Miss Pink Elf as well?
What sort of name would she be given?
She found herself anticipating it, lips curling upward… This was perhaps the first true smile she had shown since her birth.
"Misteln! Misteln Schariac!"
Elias didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately bestowed upon her the name that should have been hers all along.
The stigma girl's eyes widened in surprise. With her innate vast knowledge, she instantly understood the origin of the name.
"Misteln… is that mistletoe?"
...
"That's right. In some myths, mistletoe represents [death]. But in others, it is deeply tied to [life]. And of all the pronunciations for mistletoe, 'Misteln' is the most beautiful. I think it suits you."
"It's a wonderful name… but isn't it too beautiful for me? I don't think I deserve it."
The [Idea] spoke hesitantly.
She had loved the elegant, lovely name the moment she heard it. But when she thought of all the sins she had committed, she felt unworthy.
Most of all, she felt unworthy of bearing the name 'Schariac,' the surname symbolizing the 'Saint of Salvation.'
"There's no such thing as being worthy or unworthy. No one is born worthy of their name. A name is always a blessing for one's future. So it's decided."
Elias raised his hand and patted her head.
"From now on, your name is Misteln Schariac! You're part of my family now."
"Your… family?!"
The [Idea]—no, Misteln—widened her eyes in shock, feeling even more unworthy.
How could she deserve to be Elias' family? He was the savior who traversed time, while she was a stigma-curse that brought only death by existing—she could even be called his stain.
"Why such a big reaction, Misteln? From a practical standpoint, you really could be considered my family. And calling you that will save us a lot of trouble. For now, I don't want people to know you're an [Idea]."
Elias' expression was subtle.
Unless Elysia asked directly, he wasn't planning to reveal that he came from 50,000 years in the future.
Though he had already thought of a way for the two civilizations to coexist without interfering with one another, he hadn't carried it out yet. He planned to reveal the truth only after solving that enormous problem.
Thus, Misteln, the [Idea] born from the Schariac stigma of 50,000 years later, had to hide her true identity for now. And conveniently, everyone had already guessed she was related to Elias by blood.
"Emmm… but should I call you older sister or younger sister? Daughter is definitely out of the question!"
Elias scratched his head in distress. Calling her "older sister" felt strange. Calling her "younger sister" didn't quite fit either, since Misteln was already so "mature." And if he said "daughter"… Fire Moth would explode that very day!
"...Hehe~"
Watching Elias struggle over her identity, Misteln couldn't help but laugh.
Since coming into this world, she finally had something to feel happy about—that she could now stay by Elias' side in human form, instead of merely existing as a mark on his back.
At this moment, Misteln's fate had changed.
Her future would no longer be like the original story, where she sought only death and supported the Stigma Project from the shadows.
Instead, she had gained a brighter path.
She would become a Redeemer: atoning for the deaths she had caused with her actions.
She would become an Origin: the progenitor of the Schariac name that would be passed down to the Current Era.
She would become a Recorder: someone who would forever preserve every moment of the white-haired boy's life—the boy who had brought her into existence.
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