Under the Earth light and starry sky, Dr MEI stood alone, gazing into the distance. In the end, she had convinced Kiana and the other two.
With MEI's help as their guide, Kiana had once again reclaimed her Herrscher powers and could now open the gate to the real world. She was ready to return—ready to part from this world.
As for preserving the entire parallel world, that possibility was minuscule—relying on uncertain constants barely approaching theoretical probability. The odds were stacked hopelessly against them. MEI didn't hold any expectations for such miracles—unless, like Otto, she had undergone immense, long-term preparations.
As the parallel world began to shatter and collapse, only she and Prometheus remained.
The world was being peeled away piece by piece, its existence stripped away—including the people who composed this world's very foundation. MEI had only a few fleeting moments left, but she silently watched, standing amid something special.
Every year, on this exact day, she would come here alone, quietly observing, in silence.
It just so happened to be that day again—so she willingly pushed all of this forward.
The moment the world fusion completed, this place became incredibly important to her.
Long ago, in the distant past, she had made a promise with someone—that across infinite time and space, they would accompany each other beneath the starlit sky.
"But forgive me for being blunt, Dr. MEI. Regardless of how small the probability of meeting in a fused world is, for someone wielding the Cosmic Juggernaut, this kind of convergence is something he could create at any time," Prometheus said calmly.
"But you, Dr. MEI..."
"Haha..." MEI chuckled softly.
Prometheus was stunned—after so many years spent with MEI, she could count the number of times she'd seen her smile on one hand.
"I see now... That really is how you think," MEI said. "Compared to the implications of an action, you care far more about its effectiveness."
"Well, even if the Fire Moth people would never admit it..."
"The reason they were willing to follow me so unwaveringly was precisely because—I am a romanticist, through and through."
MEI spoke quietly, as if to Prometheus, or perhaps to herself—an explanation.
She had never truly been a cold, unfeeling machine. If she had, so many people would not have chosen to follow her, even if what they saw most was her ruthless logic.
In reality, the vast majority didn't follow her because she was a cold-blooded executor. Just like the final plan left by the previous civilization—she had left behind not only the cold logic of the Stigmata, but also the romantic flame of hope.
From the very beginning, she maintained rationality as a goal only to carve out space for her emotions to exist.
"In truth, betraying the world I belonged to... was something I did because it's exactly what Kevin would have done. That's why, in this moment, it had to be me who did it too."
"I made this choice of my own will—it wasn't meaningless. Especially for the two of us."
"No matter what, from the moment I first accepted that clumsy but sincere boy, the relationship between us has never been fair."
MEI said gently, her eyes gradually becoming clearer as she watched their silhouettes fade into the distance and the world dissipated. Yet, she smiled.
There was a quiet sadness, but no regret.
"I sought the truth of all things. I wanted to lead everyone to stand against the Honkai—"
"But as a result, the time we had together was always so short."
"In the real world, there already exists a version of me who plays the role of ultimate rationality. I've fully cooperated with her to do everything we could for humanity's future…"
"So now, let me try doing something for that lonely boy."
Absolute logic. Absolute coldness.
These had always been MEI's labels, and the reason why she was seen as hope itself—the leader of the world.
In the past, the world needed someone like that.
And she had answered that need.
There was nothing to regret. She had simply chosen a path to save as many people as possible for the sake of civilization.
Only now, she no longer felt the need to.
This time, she wanted to do something—for that boy.
Romance, love, emotion... There are many words to describe it, but only one irreversible action.
"But he won't even know."
Prometheus looked at MEI's eyes, now shining with resolve—the one always called eternally rational.
And yet now... was this truly coming from logic?
She didn't understand. MEI had never looked like this in any memory she possessed.
"That doesn't matter," MEI replied.
"Prometheus, the essence of humanity... is the willingness to offer their lives for something that may not even be for themselves."
"You see it as a fatal flaw that could lead to humanity's destruction."
"—But that is precisely why I believe they can endure forever."
MEI smiled gently, ignoring the fact that her body was disintegrating. She continued to gaze at Prometheus with warmth—leaving behind this final blessing.
The one who had been seen by countless followers as a godlike figure vanished completely with the completion of the world fusion.
And at the same time, a similar sign appeared on Prometheus.
Within this machine-like body, something stirred.
She looked around, searching for a certain cold silhouette—to tell him what she now understood.
To tell that man—
"You, who were willing to betray the world for something… Know that I, too, would do the same for you."
But time had already run out.
She, too, was starting to fade.
Her hands turned to fragments of glowing light, dissolving into this dreamlike world.
Everything seemed like a fixed fate—an unchangeable truth.
But... perhaps MEI had foreseen this outcome, which is why she chose a way of explaining it that was different from the past. As if she had already predicted that, after her death, Prometheus would have a long journey ahead of her that was originally meant for MEI herself.
At a moment when things seemed beyond saving, a faint voice emerged:
"There's no need to worry. Although the form is somewhat special... you will survive peacefully."
In this space, where Prometheus had assumed it was just the two of them, a third voice unexpectedly echoed. And along with it, her previously vanished fingers gradually reappeared—returning to their original form.
A gentle, illusory figure slowly materialized in the space—it was Mistlen. She smiled, with a trace of regret in her expression.
Prometheus realized the strange sensation—it came from this: MEI's words had not been meant for her alone.
This space had never only held her and Dr MEI. There were three of them.
But unfortunately... the Mistlen couldn't save Doctor Mei. All she could rescue was the purely data-based lifeform—Prometheus.
---
In Golden Courtyard.
"Hmm... Compared to this world, are you really more important?"
Elysia frowned slightly, then relaxed her brows and giggled as she looked at the aloof white-haired man in the distance.
No one knew exactly when it started, but MEI's chuunibyou-like lines had somehow etched themselves into everyone's memories, with a few especially poetic ones spreading widely, burned into their minds.
"..."
Kevin said nothing. He just silently cast a glance in Elysia's direction.
He didn't make any statements, but MEI's actions had clearly stirred something in him. 'So... that's what she thought?'
In a timeline that didn't belong to either of them, she had done something so incredibly romantic.
Even if he never knew, even if she wasn't there... in her heart, she had once planned to give up the entire world for him.
In that moment, something shook violently inside him.
---
"This is really... such a grand fantasy~" Vill-V murmured softly, her eyes reflecting a hint of nostalgic emotion.
Of course, she wasn't exactly fond of the former leader she had once worked with, especially at the end. But MEI's actions did stir a bit of sentiment.
In the face of the Honkai apocalypse, far too many people had suppressed their true selves—some even becoming hollow shells of who they once were.
They had all sacrificed so much, far too much.
Madness, pride, emotion, heroism...
Words representing what they had lost or gained. And now, they all felt a little blinding.
"I didn't expect that from beginning to end, MEI still held onto a thread of romantic longing. She chose to help Kiana and the others at this time... all so that on this very day, fate could determine whether she and Kevin could truly meet again?"
"I feel fortunate to have met a MEI who made a different choice in this fractured world. I wonder, at the end of her life... could she have truly fulfilled her wish?"
Eden gazed at the text carefully, her long rose-gold hair fluttering with an intoxicating aura as she gently sipped the fine wine in her hand, letting her emotions flow with the written words.
A tragic story with an uncertain ending—it would always move the hearts of many.
"I believe... she did fulfill it." Kevin closed his eyes gently, his voice soft yet resolute.
"MEI really is such a romantic, huh? Always playing the role of the ultra-rational scientist... yet suddenly pulling a move no one could've expected. It's almost refreshingly cute~"
"Step-by-step logic and planning, yet in the final moment, she reveals—it was all just to meet you. Really gets the heart beating fast."
Elysia gently patted her chest, her cheeks flushed with warmth, sparkling stars in her eyes betraying how touched she truly was.
She had never really understood MEI's inner thoughts before. All she knew was that the originally gentle-hearted girl had matured far too quickly into a leader. But she never expected... that MEI's actions had been rooted in something so deeply emotional.
"Doctor..."
"Ah, Klein... you're not thinking I'd be like Mei, letting myself be swayed by emotion, are you?"
Mobius shot a glance at the small green-haired girl beside her, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.
"Hmm~"
Elysia's gaze drifted toward them, raising an eyebrow at Mobius' tough talk.
In her heart, she mused: hadn't Mobius already made that clear enough? Choosing to sacrifice herself to save her creation, and even entrusting her with an infinite legacy...
You could hardly call that 'purely rational' behavior.
Still, the doctor was pretty lacking in romance. Maybe she needed a proper lesson.
-----
In the Voice Recording Room.
"Mei, you know what I'm going to say."
"No... and I don't want to know."
Mei covered her face with one hand, exasperated. Those cringy chuunibyou lines—she really didn't want to remember them. Could they please just let her off the hook?
"Hehe~"
Kiana wrapped an arm around Mei's shoulder, laughing like a goofball.
"Dr MEI..."
Fu Hua's eyes carried a trace of reminiscence—perhaps because of the memories she had been affected by. Toward the woman who had raised the flag of hope in utter despair, all she felt was admiration.
"Ah, Kevin, Kevin... and Otto too... sigh."
"Those two are really alike—one chose to save a person when they could have saved the world; the other chose to save the world when they could've saved a person. Romance and love really are confusing. I kinda want to crack open their heads and see what's going on in there."
"Kevin could go see her any time, but he never does."
The Herrscher of Sentience sighed with emotion.
She honestly didn't understand the two of them at all. Sure, they were admirable in their own ways, but they were also ridiculously stubborn.
(T/C: *Looking at Luna and Captain. Kallen and Otto... frustrating Couples*)
"Do you think Dr MEI succeeded in the end?"
Fu Hua couldn't help but ask Griseo, clearly invested in her old friend's fate—even if it was just as a memory.
Griseo only shook her head. Whether it was possible or not... she said nothing.
To meet, or not meet—it was ultimately just a fleeting moment. After that, they'd part ways again.
For now, she would keep that illusion alive.
She had already found what she was looking for—and of course, she would hide it from Herrscher of Sentience. After all, the five-part video she edited was about to air soon. She had to prepare properly.
"Kevin... he would never treat someone else as a replacement for MEI."
"To him, that MEI is one of a kind."
Mei said this softly to the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Yeah, yeah, I know~ But still... seeing her just once wouldn't hurt, would it? Constantly stabbing us with emotional knives doesn't help anyone."
The Herrscher of Sentience shrugged, mumbling to herself..
Taking it, she suddenly thought of something. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she stared at Luo Mo and asked:
"Hey, Luo Mo, since Prometheus has returned to this world, do you think Kevin will see MEI? No matter how you look at it, those two are the most likely to meet again."
"That's even more impossible for me to know. After that incident with Su Lu, I haven't seen Kevin again."
Luo Mo shook his head and said, though he was a bit curious about it too.
"Alright, then I'll ask him myself when I get the chance. It's not like he can do anything to me." Senti clenched her fist confidently, making a decision right away.
-----
In Cecilia's Villa.
"Dr MEI..."
"Although the actual experience wasn't as dramatic as the records describe, I did indeed come from a parallel world near the Moon. Dr MEI… has also already left."
Prometheus's inorganic voice echoed in the room. She was in low spirits, trying to sound melancholic and sad, but unfortunately, she couldn't express emotions that way.
Even though, deep down, she really did feel a bit downcast.
"This really is… incredible. The leader chosen by the previous civilization turned out to be... someone like that? It's a bit unexpected, huh?"
Shigure Kira scratched her head awkwardly, her blue eyes blinking in slight confusion.
"Indeed, she's completely different from the Dr MEI recorded in historical documents.
But maybe that's exactly the kind of person who could write the 'Void Fire Seed Plan' — a person with an extreme sense of romance." Mistlen smiled softly, still curiously observing Cecilia's behavior.
"Have you guys actually seen your Sovereign in real life?" Cecilia asked, curious.
"Of course… we have. Though it was only her silhouette from behind. In a distant time and space, the two of them gazed at each other from afar. But when they were within reach, they chose not to meet face to face."
"To know each other but never truly meet… I guess that might be the best possible outcome."
Mistlen said with a helpless sigh. Still, she couldn't chase after the Sovereign to ask for answers.
"Hmph…."
Prometheus let out a very human-like snort.
Perhaps she was imitating one of the personality traits she had learned while staying at the Academy…
---
In the Game.
Connections between worlds began to shift.
On the moon in the Certified World, Li Sushang was quarreling with Seele, Durandal was busy contacting the others, when suddenly —
The ground began to tremble violently.
A silver glow shimmered in the air as space distorted. The scenery shifted dramatically.
Amid a blinding white light, several familiar figures appeared.
The Herrscher group who had been trapped in the parallel world were now reunited with Durandal, Seele, and Li Sushang.
The reunion between the two sisters (Kiana and Durandal) was warm yet slightly awkward.
Durandal's concerned gaze made Kiana a bit flustered, while Seele hugged Bronya off to the side.
Meanwhile, between Li Sushang and Senti, the atmosphere was tense — full of gunpowder.
When Li Sushang brought up the man that Asura woman had mentioned, warning them to be cautious, Senti immediately jumped up to refute her —
Even she alone had survived fighting Kevin for five years, so why should they be afraid when there were so many of them now?
"Five years?" Mei frowned, clearly skeptical.
She had never seen this person fight before and didn't believe this kind of Herrscher could do it.
"…Well, it's true he didn't go all out,
but I also held back a bit at the time too!"
Senti scratched her head, unwilling to admit defeat.