Elysia returned with the greatsword.
Of course, before that, she had cleaned herself up properly, at least so she wouldn't look like she had traded something strange for it.
'The more I think about it, the weirder it gets.'
Ely told herself she wasn't that kind of "shameless" woman. At worst, she was just a little bit of a tease.
Kevin seemed to have never expected Noldrei to offer such good terms. He had never even considered following in the footsteps of Overseer Otto.
He hadn't realized that Otto hadn't simply died, but had instead charged into the Imaginary Tree.
By using the power of the Cocoon of Finality, he had stolen authority over the Imaginary Space and used it to attain a truly godlike body.
Kevin could now indeed follow Otto's path...
"Revive... MEI...?"
This was a path he had never imagined. For a moment, Kevin was lost in a daze, reminiscing about the past.
Elysia gave Kevin an affirmative answer, nodding. "That's right. He said that by invading the Imaginary Tree, one can create another world of possibility. In that world, MEI is still alive..."
Kevin waved his hand. "Let me be alone for a while. I need to think this through myself. No matter what... thank you, Elysia."
He left, carrying the greatsword, without giving Elysia a definitive answer.
Elysia knew Kevin's mind was in turmoil. He probably hadn't considered the possibility of reviving MEI for tens of thousands of years.
But would the MEI from another world really be the same? Or would there be different choices under different circumstances?
Elysia had no way of knowing. She was actually more curious about what the "her" from another world would do.
Since one Otto could do this, then theoretically, there must be countless "Ottos" who would do the same.
At that point, would history still be history? Surely death and sacrifice wouldn't become cheap, would they?
It was rare for Elysia to think so much. Ever since meeting Noldrei, she even had to wonder if there was something wrong with her whenever she smiled.
'What a guy, always making things difficult for people.'
Elysia decided to go play with Grandma Mobius. Since they were both new life forms reshaped by Noldrei's body, they naturally felt closer.
Mobius was suddenly struck with the idea of Noldrei making Kevin charge the Tree.
In that instant, Mobius's mind went blank.
She felt there had to be a grand conspiracy in all of this.
But based on what Mobius knew of Noldrei, this probably wasn't a conspiracy. It was more likely that Noldrei just hadn't told them the full story.
So, at this moment, she needed to deduce what would happen if Kevin really did charge the Tree and create another world where MEI was alive.
"Elysia, I think you should sacrifice yourself again and get more information from Noldrei."
Hearing Grandma Mobius's words, Elysia's legs went weak on the spot, and she nearly collapsed to her knees, trembling.
If she went through that a few more times, she really would be assimilated.
She had just barely escaped from that pile of girls, so why was Mobius trying to push her back into the fire pit? Who on earth told Noldrei that that kind of method was a form of punishment? No matter how you looked at it, this was all the fault of some weird doujinshi from the Far East.
"No, no, I don't dare. Mobius, you should just go yourself."
Elysia hastily shook her head and changed the subject. "Let's just think about what to do if Kevin really decides to revive MEI."
Mobius pondered for a moment. "Let's start with the result. The result of charging the Tree is the creation of another, similar world. That world has us, the Previous Era, MEI, and also the Honkai. It's basically identical to the home world."
"We can draw this conclusion from Otto creating a world with Kallen in it. A world extremely close to the home world would appear, and at the same time, another identical Elysia would appear... Wait a minute...?!"
"Does that mean... a completely identical Cocoon of Finality would also appear?"
After saying this, Mobius fell silent. She figured that if such a situation were to occur, it would be extremely advantageous for Noldrei.
"I see, I see!"
Mobius had a sudden epiphany. She had never known how to use one Cocoon of Finality to create another, to make the Cocoon reproduce its own kind.
So, it was by using the power of the Cocoon of Finality to obtain authority over the Imaginary Space, and then using that to complete the re-replication of the Cocoon.
The world over there didn't matter, nor did the people. What mattered was that powerful beings like Otto and Kevin now had a way to use the Imaginary Tree to mend their regrets.
Elysia blinked, understanding what Mobius was saying.
She touched her lips, wondering if Noldrei really had such intentions. To use the power of the current Cocoon of Finality against the power of the past Cocoon of Finality—this was undoubtedly like taking an answer key to go back and conquer the Honkai of other worlds.
Elysia asked doubtfully, "So, you're saying that Shigure Kira's ability to try and replicate the Imaginary Renormalization group was actually borrowing the resonance between the two energies of Honkai and the Imaginary Space?"
Mobius nodded. "That's right. Sa is the same. Compared to the troublesome work of accumulating energy bit by bit, Noldrei definitely prefers the simple and direct method of fishing to get his work done."
Elysia bit her lower lip. She too felt that Noldrei might indeed have such thoughts.
But she still felt that Noldrei wasn't that kind of person.
When Noldrei communicated with her, he never showed any ill will towards Kevin. He wouldn't even deliberately guide anyone to do anything.
"No, he's a person who firmly believes in the theory of contradictions. He doesn't believe his guidance can bring about any results; rather, he trusts that the internal contradictions of society will push people to that position. The matter of whether Kevin revives MEI isn't actually related to any social contradiction; it's purely his personal help for Kevin."
Elysia rejected Mobius's speculation.
This brought a playful smile to Mobius's face. "Do you think the ruler of a world would be a good person?" she said mockingly. "Even he himself doesn't think he's a good person."
She said that, but Elysia still insisted that Noldrei wasn't that kind of person.
He wouldn't do anything that was completely unnecessary for him. If he really needed someone to charge the Tree, Noldrei would directly state his needs to Kevin.
For a being who always laid his own needs bare, Elysia didn't think Noldrei was such a dark and scheming fellow.
Mobius couldn't be bothered to persuade her. She waved her hand dismissively. "Get lost. I have my own experiments to do. Believe what you want, but this is what I think. That guy is a complete and utter bastard."