Vill·V's attempt to soothe the situation clearly had no effect whatsoever. Mobius proposing an experiment? Who would believe that?
"You two… are cooperating?"
"Why not?" Mobius shrugged nonchalantly. "If everything goes smoothly, she'll definitely get to see that ultimate, unbeatable, explosive salvation she's been dreaming of~"
"Oh? The way you described that… reminds me of how a certain friend used to refer to Kiana – 'the super adorable, almighty savior Kiana-chan,' or something like that," Vill·V teased with a calm smile.
Elysia's eyelid twitched. She didn't even need to guess – she already knew exactly who that "friend" was. But… why bring them up now?
"Is Luo Mo involved too?" she asked, frowning slightly. From what she understood, he wasn't the type to take initiative… It sounded strange, but most of his plans tended toward prearranged contingencies or countering moves as they came. He wasn't the kind to stir things up proactively.
"That part, not really," Vill·V admitted, even though the word "honest" didn't quite suit her, "but I suspect this outcome was within his expectations. Mobius successfully persuaded me with her experiment."
"What… do you mean?" Elysia still couldn't wrap her head around it. Her thoughts were a complete mess. Although she had heard some whispers and did have some suspicions, Mobius's direct confession did reassure her somewhat.
What scared her the most? Obviously, it was the possibility that Mobius's plan might be so unspeakable that it couldn't even be put into words!
But if it could be stated outright, that meant it was at least visible and, to some extent, within the range of normal human comprehension... even if Mobius's definition of "normal" didn't necessarily align with the rest of the world.
"Twelve Herrschers… no, to be precise, thirteen Herrschers with distinct powers – now all belong to our side," Vill·V said confidently, raising a finger as if to emphasize her point.
"…You sure are doing a lot of guessing. I never discussed this with you," Mobius shot her a glare, clearly displeased. That was the downside of being too close – anything she did ended up being scrutinized by this woman. Even though she occasionally peeked at Vill·V's inventions, the constant attention was still uncomfortable. She really hoped the other woman would learn to respect boundaries.
-----
In the Game.
All the doubts, frustrations, and resentment they once held instantly vanished the moment they saw her face.
The Herrscher of Sentience, carrying the complete memories of Fu Hua, felt an unprecedented shock.
In the next moment, her violet-red eyes flew open wide, startling the Herrscher of Sentience into a long step backward. She pointed with trembling fingers.
"You—you—you… how are you even alive?!"
Rewinding time to the moment the Herrscher squad reunited, they had indeed fulfilled their wish. With someone's tireless guidance, they finally encountered the mysterious mastermind they had been seeking.
And just as they imagined, the person was indeed the Herrscher of Sentience —one they had even met before.
Although this person kept giving vague excuses for being in this alternate world, her behavior differed greatly from what they had expected. Still, knowing her consistent past conduct, they wisely chose not to argue and simply listened in silence.
"With just one snap of her fingers, it was as if fate itself responded—an unknown yet beautiful force that had blanketed the entire alternate world retreated, seemingly out of fear for her." The Herrscher of Sentience continue narrating,
"After that, the air, the gears, and all the once-silent elements of the world began moving once more."
"That's what happened. Do you understand now?"
From the perspective of the girls, the Herrscher of Sentience stood ahead, chatting with Dr. Mei as if they were long-lost acquaintances, even taking the time to explain things to the new arrivals.
According to her account, she was practically the hero who saved this world.
Oh, right, and also the one who rescued the three of them from their lost path.
"—Wait a minute. That can't be right at all, can it?" Kiana rubbed her head in frustration. Just how much of this world's setting had been twisted by this woman's improvised narrative?
A fair question—and definitely one that required further scrutiny.
Bronya and Mei stood at either side, both looking rather helpless. This was the kind of situation that needed a professional to handle the Herrscher of Sentience.
Anyway, after confirming that the mysterious guide meant no harm, the three girls followed the instructions and broke through a rift—only to be transported here.
A… base on the Moon within the alternate world?
Compared to the desolate scenery, what truly caught their attention was the figure standing before them—someone with Mei's face, yet more mature and exuding a natural aura of leadership.
She stood calmly, beneath the stars.
Mei had already guessed who the other person was. In moments of peace, she had heard many stories about her from various perspectives, most of the time through people close to her.
— Dr MEI.
"…No matter what the process was like, the result is indeed what it is. It was your arrival that allowed this world, covered in dust and submerged in destruction, to experience a brief glimmer of revival right before its end." Dr MEI adjusted her glasses and spoke calmly.
However, her gaze lingered a little longer on Mei, examining someone who looked so similar to her. Naturally, she was curious about this counterpart.
"No, I'm not really curious about that… Herrscher of Sentience …" Kiana lightly waved her hand and looked toward the Herrscher of Sentience ahead, her expression complex and difficult to describe. — Why was she acting like a follower, just agreeing with everything the other person said?
She looked like some sort of subordinate!
Moreover… even Dr MEI, when speaking, made sure not to interrupt or refute her. Was this still the same "little Senti" she knew?
Kiana didn't understand, but she was deeply shocked.
The Herrscher of Sentience noticed Kiana's strange expression, and suddenly realized the awkwardness of her own situation. Silently, she took a step forward, trying to stand beside MEI from the trio's perspective, chest puffed out confidently — yet the moment she let her guard down, her admiration and trustful demeanor resurfaced immediately.
It was all that old Timer's fault!
The Herrscher of Sentience raged internally, but still couldn't escape MEIs overwhelming aura.
She couldn't help but recall the scene from when they first met. Back then, her heart was full of despair, holding an extremely pessimistic view of humanity's future. But the moment she awakened… everything changed again.
Had she returned?
"As you can see, this is a world fragment on the brink of destruction. Previously, to prevent the Honkai's influence, we placed an uncertain portion of the Imaginary Tree's Sea of Quantum into this space… That's the area you all experienced earlier."
"And the guide… fortunately, despite it being our first meeting, Hua was willing to follow my suggestion and use her powers. For that, I am deeply grateful."
Dr MEI spoke gently, glancing toward the Herrscher of Sentience beside her and revealing a warm smile.
"…Hua?" Mei showed clear confusion.
"Ugh… You! How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me by that outdated name."
The Herrscher of Sentience clearly didn't appreciate the gratitude, pouting and grumbling in protest.
"Hm? Did you say that…?" MEI still kept her gentle smile, then nodded and chose to respect her wishes. "Alright then, I'll go with what you prefer — let's call you 'little Senti'?"
"You… I…!"
The great Herrscher of Sentience flushed red in anger, stomped her foot, and clenched her fists tightly.
"What do you mean 'what I prefer'? I never called myself that!"
-----
Meanwhile, at the company — in the recording studio:
"Looks like you actually enjoy being called that, huh, little Senti~"
Kiana cheerfully patted her on the shoulder, smiling playfully.
Honestly, the way "little Senti" behaved inside the virtual world matched exactly with Kiana's image of her: a snap of the fingers shaking the entire world — it was so fitting for the version she wrote.
"I told you, stop calling me that! Who'd want to be addressed like that!"
The Herrscher of Sentience was still visibly annoyed.
But as for where the nickname "little Senti" came from, there was no doubt it had something to do with a certain man.
The Herrscher of Sentience clearly knew who it was and gave that person a furious glare, making Luo Mo feel slightly awkward.
"Uh, oh great Herrscher of Sentience?"
Luo Mo noticed her face screaming "hurry up and coax me," and attempted to speak sweetly to her in a conciliatory tone — only to receive a cold snort in return, and a haughty turn of the head.
"Is that supposed to be an acceptable way to settle this?"
She raised her eyebrow, yet waved her hand as if signaling him to hurry up and continue talking.
"By the way, will there be a few more dedicated lines or scenes for our dear 'little Herrscher' in the script?"
Luo Mo caught on quickly and leaned in beside her, ready to listen closely and negotiate some perks for his friend.
"Hmm…"
The Herrscher of Sentience drew out the sound, visibly tempted.
"Couldn't I get some outfits just for me? Changing costumes would be so convenient~ Look, the others have theirs, don't they?"
The Herrscher of Sentience blushed slightly, murmuring softly with a hopeful tone.
"Not yet… But honestly, have you considered it? Like, Fu Hua for example?"
Luo Mo pondered a moment before replying.
He hadn't expected her to be so enthusiastic about swapping Valkyrie costumes in the game. Could it be that skins were even more appealing than Stigmata?
Hmm… he still felt real-life outfit customization was way more fun.
Well, excluding what happened to Luna and with the duck-duck.
"A… really? That's allowed?"
The Herrscher of Sentience mumbled, eyes now sparkling with excitement.
She wondered how she could've forgotten this detail. Come to think of it, maybe she really could share outfits with that stubborn old Timer... If so, they could directly farm gold from him! Plus, with the two of them experiencing costumes together, wouldn't that be double the benefit?
No matter what, she couldn't be worse off than Bronya or Theresa when it came to wardrobe options, right?! ...Well, at least not in the game.
But imagining it, she could already foresee what "Little Senti" would do next — a theft case involving the Red Immortal outfit might break out at any moment.
"What are you two whispering about?" Fu Hua frowned, sensing something was off. Normally, when the two of them were whispering, the subject was usually her. If they were talking about others, they wouldn't even bother to lower their voices!
"Speaking of which, why does Little Senti admire that Dr MEI so much? She doesn't show that kind of admiration to other heroes," Kiana asked.
"..."
Fu Hua hesitated, unsure how to phrase it, but Little Senti didn't hesitate at all and spoke up: "Because she was the leader of the Previous Era civilization. Comparatively, like how Kallen or Otto play those roles here, she was the leader who carried the fate of humanity — the only one the entire world could trust."
"Even though Kevin bore the title of Savior, in the Previous Era, he was just MEI's shadow. Everyone believed that if humanity had any hope of salvation, it would come from MEI — only from MEI."
Her explanation was casual but clearly based on deep thought and logic. It seemed to come from a plotline she had pondered for a long time.
Of course, she'd never admit it was just her being "afraid" of MEI — blame the old Timer for that one.
-----
In the Game.
After some teasing passed between them, they began to discuss what to do next.
Dr MEI was open with everyone and didn't shy away from explaining the truth of this world. After they reached an agreement with the successors of Fire Moth, it became clear that this world existed as a tool left behind by the Stigmata Project — a frozen world, allowing her to silently simulate fate and search for a path to victory.
This simulation space was called the "Land of Exile." It was created so the Stigmata Project couldn't immediately imprison people — in return for a chance to simulate fate, it also trapped people in an unending purgatory, neither alive nor dead.
After Bronya and Mei explored one area, Dr MEI led Kiana and Little Senti to a broken bridge.
Though it symbolized a broken bridge, in reality, it connected to the true core of the constructed world — the final junction to the digital plane. It required the full power of the Herrscher of Sentience to complete the connection.
But first, they had to restore Kiana's full power.
"If Aponia or Su were here, this wouldn't be a problem. But as it stands, we lack a strong psychic-type fighter..." Dr MEI casually glanced over at Little Senti.
"...Ah. This is difficult. Just where can we find someone who matches our wavelength?" Mei frowned deeply, sighed, and put on a completely "helpless" expression.
"...You?!" Little Senti pointed at her, shaking and speechless.
This was obviously just provocation — all three of them could see it plainly. Kiana looked a little worried; wasn't this method a bit too simple?
Even for Little Senti, surely—
But no, almost instantly, the familiar warp of mental space unfolded again. The air was thick with anger.
"If there are shackles... then I will be the one to break them!!"
Clearly, Little Senti was very angry. And the consequences would be very serious.
Even a basic taunt could be effective against a certain type of person.
She couldn't exactly lash out at Dr MEI, so her only choice was to take it out on Kiana. Just as well — she'd always been bitter about that two-versus-one fight last time!
---
In Cecilia's Villa
"Being toyed with again ~" Shigure Kira chuckled softly.
"Indeed. Even on their first meeting, the other party could easily grasp Little Senti's personality," Theresa sighed, her small face tense.
So this is what it means to be a leader people instinctively follow, huh? Just three sentences, and she already had the Herrscher working for her. Impressive.
Even though Little Senti had a preconceived positive impression of MEI, Theresa felt that even without it, MEI could've still found the rhythm to communicate with her easily.
Theresa was taking serious notes.
"Hmm... she really is a lot like Mei. And that Kevin from the Previous Era? Very similar to Kiana," Cecilia said, resting her hands on her thighs and propping her chin lazily. Her long white hair flowed down like a waterfall, and her turquoise eyes looked a bit sleepy.
As expected of the former strongest Valkyrie — her perspective was quite unique.
"And me? Mommy~ ☆" Sirin leaned in, trying to insert herself into the topic.
"You... Hmm, you're quite like that Magical Girl Sirin. Don't you want to try on that messy Magical Girl outfit?" Cecilia's lazy gaze lit up. When it came to styling her daughters, she was always full of passion and insight.
"Ah... fine, alright," Sirin pouted. More than just similar — I am that Magical Girl, aren't I?
But what kind of answer had she been expecting anyway? Somehow... there wasn't a clear answer.
...