At that moment, Dan Shu, having received a glance from Nanook, had already been granted the authority of an Emanator.
She was already entertaining the thought of taking Fu Xuan's life.
The ones who saved Fu Xuan were her own Dharma Eye and Miss Elysia, who had expertly navigated her through the chaotic throng of Sanctus Medicus disciples.
The focus of the entire battle had never been on Fu Xuan.
Dan Shu was already certain she would achieve her goal; Fu Xuan's actions were as effective as trying to scratch an itch through a boot.
Just as Elysia was debating whether to clash with the disciples, Jing Yuan arrived with a large contingent of troops.
It was then that Mr. Yang finally saw the current-day Elysia with his own eyes.
During the time Fu Xuan was unconscious, Mr. Yang found an opportunity to speak with Elysia about the events unfolding on the Xianzhou.
He wasn't interested in Elysia's personal history.
Mr. Yang went straight to the heart of another matter.
"Elysia, in our world, you were a Flame-Chaser who sacrificed herself relatively early on, and you were also the Herrscher of Origin. In... your world... is it still the same?"
Mr. Yang wasn't sure what he was feeling; he simultaneously hoped for a "no" and a "yes."
The very fact that Elysia stood before him, alive and well, meant that another world held the possibility of defeating the Honkai.
This was an incredibly important matter for Mr. Yang.
Elysia found it difficult to explain. After a moment of thought, she decided to tell him the truth. "We can't really say we 'defeated' the Honkai. Rather than defeated... it's more like..."
Elysia chose her words carefully. "It's more like we turned all of humanity into the Honkai. I know this explanation is rather abstract. You can think of it as us turning everyone in the world into humans with power similar to the Kaslana stigmata."
Mr. Yang drew in a sharp breath. He had felt from the beginning that something about this situation was not quite right.
He never imagined that the Elysia from this other world had walked a completely different path.
If this Elysia was so different, he thought, then it was understandable that the other Kevin had changed as well.
Mr. Yang asked again, "Then what about Kevin? Why is he involved in the internal affairs of the Xianzhou? Why did he even change his name?"
This question was even harder for Elysia to answer.
She explained, "Kevin has already gone to see Dr. MEI. He has fulfilled his mission. The world of the new humanity no longer needs any Flame-Chasers or Valkyries."
"In our world, even the institution of marriage has completely crumbled. People now only pursue a certain kind of spiritual resonance and recognition. Everyone has surrendered their reproductive rights. We've truly achieved a new world where people can be with whomever they love."
"The reason you're seeing us isn't because of Kevin. It's because of Noldrei, because of [03]. He just happens to look a lot like Kevin."
"He was the one who wasn't satisfied with that kind of world, so he brought us out here to find new possibilities."
"The Earth now is ruled by the Kaslana royal family. If you have a Kiana in your world, that would be Miss K423."
"She is now the Emperor of Earth and is actively preparing for interstellar expansion."
Mr. Yang's face went numb. He had assumed there would be some differences between their worlds.
But he never imagined the gap would be this enormous.
While his world was fighting for its very survival, theirs had already dealt with the Honkai and was even using it to expand into space. From the way Elysia spoke, it sounded like she was about to unleash a storm of blood and fire upon the solar system.
"According to His Majesty the Emperor—that is, Noldrei—every timeline that gains authority over the Honkai, these people with the power of Finality, will hide their world so it won't be discovered by other civilizations with the same authority."
"Furthermore, according to research by our Empress, Dr. Tesla, the so-called parallel world theory has its problems. Parallel worlds shouldn't be so clearly divided; they shouldn't even have a tree-like branching structure. It's very likely that Imaginary Energy is secondhand energy."
"In a proper parallel world theory, a person should be able to exist in this world and a parallel world simultaneously. The motion of matter should be parallel, not two worlds forcibly split into two material realities. That's branching world theory, not parallel world theory."
Listening to all this, Mr. Yang felt a headache coming on.
He had subconsciously sought out Elysia for a chat because he had some familiarity with her character.
But who knew that while Elysia was indeed easy to talk to, the information she provided was enough to leave him feeling completely numb.
"Wait, Tesla? Empress? What is all this?"
Elysia explained, "She's the Empress. In theory, she's the only woman from the Old World to have married His Majesty the Emperor. Theoretically, our management is a group of people who all possess the authority to replicate the 'Cocoon'."
"No? Tesla? The Empress?!" Mr. Yang simply couldn't imagine someone with Tesla's personality being an empress and managing others.
"Don't be so surprised. Our world has already entered an era of genetic private ownership. See? Even a girl like me, Elysia, is obediently working for the Emperor, aren't I?"
Elysia had long since adapted to the new era. She even frequently got into arguments with others at the research institute.
Mr. Yang rubbed his chin, sighing helplessly. "I know Tesla quite well. She... she could accept something like this? I... how did I... how did I not see that?"
Mr. Yang imagined trying to build a palace on the moon and starting a harem. Tesla would probably show up on the spot and try to kill him.
This felt like history in reverse, didn't it?
Seeing Mr. Yang's expression of utter disbelief, Elysia realized she hadn't expected to meet a parallel-world Welt Yang either.
Elysia thought of the "Old Yang" from her world, the one canonized as a saint of Gene-ism, and then looked at the white-streaked Mr. Yang before her.
She asked curiously, "Mr. Welt, would you like to know what the Old Yang from our world—oh, that is, our Mr. Welt Yang—does for a living?"
Mr. Yang was genuinely curious now. He nodded. "What does he do?"
Elysia said, "He is the 'King' of North America. He's normally in charge of ideological governance for the region and holds the right to convene regular meetings for the stigmata organizations there. He's a powerful leader whose influence radiates from the Great Lakes region across the entire continent."
"He is also the creator and interpreter of Gene-ism, the ideology that forms the structure of our new society."
"All the new social scholars over there are Mr. Welt's disciples and grand-disciples."
"When people march in the streets and protest, they're all holding up portraits of you."
As Elysia finished, an expression of admiration appeared on her face.
Besides Noldrei, the person she admired most was Mr. Welt Yang, who had always managed to keep pace. Aside from the retired Overseer Otto, only Mr. Yang possessed such qualities.
This meant that this other-worldly Mr. Yang must have the same potential!