When Cecilia learned everything from Chen Ran, she finally understood why the Herrschers had gathered at the Babylon Tower.
The mysteries, oddities, and mockeries of fate wove a huge net at this moment, enveloping everyone within it.
Even the instigator, Chen Ran, felt a sense of suffocation from it.
As he elaborated on the cause and effect, he couldn't help but think: if the inertia of fate is so terrifying, does that mean that even after defeating Finality, the era he belongs to will still face destruction for other reasons?
So, is everyone's fate actually predetermined? Just like what Aponia saw.
Unless Elysia can sever all the threads of fate.
Chen Ran did not know.
He forced himself to smile and said, "But the bond between Wendy and me is truly hard to describe. It's just a pity that even with Wendy, I can't guarantee she won't be affected."
"On the contrary, it seems that Honkai is providing Wendy with even more protection."
"From this perspective, I still don't know what Honkai really is."
Even until he crossed into this world, the true nature of Honkai remained undisclosed.
"It's not just fate."
Wendy pouted and retorted, "Clearly, I've been working hard all along."
She paused, then looked at Cecilia and Kiana, saying, "After Chen Ran disappeared, I went to World Serpent and then found Bishop Otto."
"Bishop Otto is even more eager to traverse time. Even executing the Sirin plan was to prepare for time travel."
"Even if fate is corrected, he should eventually abandon such plans, at least you won't have to worry about him targeting you, Kiana."
The nearby Herrscher Sirin snorted, "That human, does he think he can decide everything? If I could go back, I would definitely take revenge..."
Before Herrscher Sirin could finish her sentence, Cecilia hugged her, "You can't think like that, Sirin."
She paused and said, "Trust me, give me some time, I will work hard to find a way that satisfies both sides, and don't let hatred blind your heart. A Sirin like that is not cute at all."
"How infuriating, do you think I'm a child?"
Although Herrscher Sirin said this, she did not resist Cecilia's actions.
Chen Ran teased, "Tsundere has no future; it's popular to be straightforward now."
He took a deep breath and said, "I will try my best to collect your blood, ensuring that you appear in the corresponding time and space, to make sure you don't get lost in the torrent of time."
"But for more people, I should be powerless."
To make them appear at the corresponding time nodes, he would need to rely on devices similar to Stigmata terminals to project life anchor points.
In other words, it meant turning their genes into Stigmata.
However, the first step is to make his body a machine for transporting genes.
This is not easy; even if he has succeeded before, it doesn't mean he will succeed again.
Because his body already has multiple gene information mixed in. Adding others' genes would only lead to more confusion.
Honkai Impact 3rd's full family bucket is not just talk.
Unless he directly turns Cecilia, Kiana, Raiden Mei, and others into Stigmata on their bodies, only then can he ensure that the consciousness genes won't be lost.
But for someone whose genes have already been fully defined, activating other Stigmata would mean doing the experiment he once did for Nuwa.
It would be a weakened version of the MANTIS experiment.
However, who here has done similar experiments? He is not at ease letting those without a research foundation do this.
But if he lets the people from Babylon Tower do this experiment? He is also not at ease with them.
Unless he lets Otto conduct the experiment.
"Cecilia, I can only trouble you to keep this matter confidential for now. I still need to think about some ideas."
Cecilia nodded, "I will stay in Babylon Tower for a few days."
"Kiana, Sirin, and Raiden Mei, you all follow me for the time being."
The three named individuals followed Cecilia out, each with their own thoughts.
Chen Ran couldn't help but feel grateful.
No matter what Cecilia's intentions were, at this moment, she was indeed helping Chen Ran share the pressure.
She took away the victim of this change in fate, allowing him a clearer environment to contemplate this step.
Wendy lowered her head and said, "Chen Ran, did I... do something wrong?"
"I shouldn't have brought Mei here; it would have been better."
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, you did very well."
Chen Ran gave Wendy a hug.
"Thank you for still believing in me and for still looking for me."
Wendy murmured, "Of course I want to find you; I've already entrusted everything to you."
She hesitated and said, "I really want to participate in your past, but I don't know how to do it."
Traveling through consciousness is not reliable because she can only rely on her own life to participate in the length of this world as a specific coordinate.
Once this time exceeds her lifespan, the coordinate nodes set by her consciousness will become blurred.
If it weren't for the fact that Chen Ran has her gene information, she wouldn't have been able to come to Babylon Tower at all.
But even so, the world Chen Ran is in is too far away.
A long fifty thousand years as a measure of time is a distance that even the Cosmic Juggernaut cannot reach.
The Herrscher Core on her body cannot support her in traveling such a long distance.
Not to mention, every minute and second she stays here consumes the energy of the Herrscher Core and her own consciousness.
If her consciousness reaches its limit, she will be forced to return.
Chen Ran patted her back, "There will be a way; there will definitely be a way."
He said, "Even if you can't participate in your past."
"I will definitely find a way to let you participate in my future."
"Trust me, I'm not that easy to take down."
Just as they were chatting, Chen Ran's communicator rang.
"Wait a moment, it's Otto."
He frowned, a bit uncertain about Otto's intentions. Could it be that Wendy's matter has been discovered? Did Cecilia report him?
No, Cecilia shouldn't be that kind of person.
It can only be said that Otto has other means to monitor here.
Wendy instinctively wanted to hide, but Chen Ran stopped her.
"We can't hide it, but don't worry; we don't need to be afraid of him."
Chen Ran's heart had its own confidence.
He answered the call.
Then, he heard Otto's cheerful voice.
"Congratulations, Wendy."
"You have once again found your lover through time."
"And because of you, I can also glimpse some secrets of time."
Otto smiled brightly, then looked at Chen Ran, "This is our first meeting from my perspective, Chen Ran."
"I think we have a basis for cooperation."
…
…
"Hehe, Sirin, you're done for."
In the classroom built in Babylon Tower, Bella made a face at Sirin, "I saw Teacher Cecilia go to the principal's office. It must be because Sirin's grades are too poor, and Teacher Cecilia went to report."
Sirin stubbornly said, "I'm just a bit bad at math, but... but I'm good at other subjects. Teacher Cecilia isn't going to report."
Avrora, on the side, laughed and said, "Bella, don't tease Sirin. Teacher Cecilia has a daughter too; she can't stay here forever."
Avrora's words made Sirin pause slightly.
"Avrora, are you saying Teacher Cecilia will leave?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Bella said carelessly, "Lady Cecilia is a Valkyrie, and the mission of a Valkyrie is to fight. There are no tasks here."
"So that's why I said Sirin is done for." Bella said carelessly, "After Teacher Cecilia leaves, the one teaching us math definitely won't have a temper as good as Teacher Cecilia's."
"Sirin is doomed."
Sirin suddenly stood up and left the classroom.
Bella was taken aback, "Silly Sirin, what are you doing?"
"Going to the principal's office!"
For Sirin, she had already adapted to life with Cecilia here.
Cecilia is gentle, strong, and very patient with Sirin. Although their time together was short, Sirin felt a motherly care from Cecilia.
If her mother were still alive, she would probably teach her with the same gentleness and patience.
She couldn't bear to see Cecilia leave.
But...
Even if she has to leave, Sirin won't stop her; she will thank her properly and say goodbye.
This is what her mother often taught Sirin, to always be grateful to those who help her.
Bella puffed up her cheeks, "Silly Sirin, don't be so impulsive."
She also rushed out after her.
The two little girls ran down the corridor, with a hint of urgency in Sirin's eyes, while Bella panted behind her.
"Silly Sirin, stop! Do you want Teacher Cecilia to hate you?"
"You are the silly one, Bella the big silly!"
Sirin ran even faster.
Bella muttered, "Hmph, clearly your grades are worse than mine."
"Lady Cecilia hates people who are undisciplined the most. Silly Sirin, if you still want to be a Valkyrie... Ouch."
Sirin suddenly stopped, and Bella crashed into her.
The two stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Don't just stop like that, silly Sirin."
Bella's eyes were watery from the impact, then she got up and pulled Sirin up.
"Are you okay, Sirin?"
Sirin was pulled up by Bella but remained silent, staring ahead.
Only then did Bella realize what was in front of them.
Another Sirin appeared before them.
"Hey, hey, hey, how can there be two Sirins?" Bella was confused.
And Herrscher Sirin looked at Bella, her lips moving.
"Long time no see, Bella."
"And... the former me."
Behind Herrscher Sirin, Raiden Mei looked nervously at Cecilia.
"Lady Cecilia, is this okay?"
"Why would it be a problem?"
Cecilia said, "I believe Sirin can handle this well. Whether it's Kiana or Sirin, they both need redemption, don't they?"
She looked at Kiana, slightly apologetic, "Kiana, I will definitely help you, but right now we need to resolve Sirin's issue first. Please understand."
Kiana nodded, "I understand, thank you, Lady Cecilia."
"If you don't mind, you can call me 'Mom' as well, even though I'm only in my twenties this year," Cecilia said with a warm smile, showing no concern that this was the clone of her biological daughter.
She knew that the fault lay with Otto, and had nothing to do with Kiana.
Kiana was also a victim in this matter.
With Cecilia's wisdom, she had yet to find a way to achieve a win-win situation; she could only take it step by step.
Not only did she need to ensure Kiana's future existence.
She also had to prevent Sirin from becoming the Second Herrscher.
And one more thing, to stop the tragedy of the Second Honkai Eruption from occurring.
This was difficult, perhaps not simpler than defeating a Herrscher.
But Cecilia had to face this challenge.
She paused and said, "Although my view of Bishop Otto has changed because of this matter, I think we will still need to cooperate with Bishop Otto; there are many things he cannot be kept in the dark about."
Raiden Mei quickly said, "I can try to contact my father; he is also a knowledgeable scientist, and most importantly, ME Corp is not bankrupt at this time."
"I also want to do something for Kiana."
As the financial backbone of Anti-Entropy, ME Corp supported various research by Raiden Ryoma.
Raiden Mei felt that her father should be able to help.
Moreover, she believed that experiments involving time required the wisdom of more people to participate.
Cecilia hesitated and said, "Before that, let's discuss it with Chen Ran. He should have more information."
"In fact, by the time you all arrived here, fate had already become a mess. So, we can only continue to explore."
…
…
In the Babylon Tower, in Sirin's room.
Herrscher Sirin was surveying the room, her eyes hiding a hint of envy.
Compared to when she could only squeeze into a cold prison cell with several orphans, Sirin's living environment had improved significantly.
Although she still lived with several roommates, there was a warm bed, each person had their own separate compartment, and there were independent bathrooms and showers.
Moreover, they were allowed to keep plants and pets, and the bedroom had free snacks and a super large refrigerator.
All of these were provided free of charge by the Babylon Tower.
And the only thing Sirin and Bella had to do was study.
Living a carefree life had always been Herrscher Sirin's greatest desire. Now, she had finally realized that desire.
Bella quietly asked Sirin, "Sirin, what should we do now? My brain is a bit overloaded."
"Don't say your brain is overloaded; mine is a bit overloaded too."
Sirin covered her forehead with one hand and whispered to Bella.
Her forehead had hit the ground because of Bella's collision.
There was no bleeding, but it should be swollen; Sirin felt a large bump on her forehead.
She desperately covered it with her hand, afraid that others would see and laugh at her.
At this age, Sirin had already developed a sense of self-esteem; girls are naturally vain, even if she was only 12 years old.
Bella whispered, "But she is so fierce; clearly as short as you, and it turns out you will become so fierce in the future."
Upon hearing this, Sirin couldn't help but feel proud, "Hmph, now you know how powerful I am, right? The future me will definitely be... ugh."
Because she spoke too forcefully, her forehead hurt again.
Herrscher Sirin listened to all the conversations and couldn't help but look at her past self with a complex expression.
"So I used to be so... adorably foolish."
She had to admit that the former Sirin was truly innocent to the point of being cute.
She felt a mix of anger and envy.
Only those who live carefree lives have the right to be adorably foolish.
Those who have been battered by life can only afford to be foolish once.
"Idiot, put your hand down."
Sirin looked at Herrscher Sirin, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered her hand.
But she saw Herrscher Sirin covering her own forehead.
"Although I don't have the Gem of Serenity, I still possess a bit of related authority."
Sirin felt a warm power surge in her forehead, and then the pain disappeared.
She looked at the other self with the same face and couldn't help but exclaim, "So amazing."
"How did you do that?"
"You'd better not know about this," Herrscher Sirin paused and suddenly asked Sirin, "By the way, you want to become a Valkyrie, right?"
"Yes," Sirin replied, "Big Sister Lewis is my idol!"
"One day, I will have the same powerful strength as Big Sister Lewis!"
In the girl's perception, a Valkyrie like Lewis was the most powerful Valkyrie.
Bella disdainfully said, "Come on, Sirin, didn't you see that your future self hasn't grown taller? So, the one who will become a powerful Valkyrie in the future must be Bella."
Sirin and Herrscher Sirin simultaneously glared at Bella.
Height was her eternal pain.
Herrscher Sirin snorted, "Only childish people think Valkyries are powerful, but since you maintain this innocence, that's quite good."
"After all, you can never become that kind of person again."
After she arrived here, she realized that Sirin would not become a Herrscher.
Because there was no soil here to nurture a Herrscher.
Unless Sirin encountered a major change, but under Chen Ran's protection, would there be such a change?
Herrscher Sirin had to admit that Chen Ran was indeed capable; in any case, the result was that Sirin would be well protected.
She paused and said to Sirin, "But if you want to become a Valkyrie, you must be careful of a person named Otto. That person is not a good person."
Sirin and Bella nodded, somewhat confused.
Herrscher Sirin suddenly felt a bit gratified.
"I am the embodiment of Sirin's malice towards the world."
"Live happily, Sirin."
Herrscher Sirin disappeared.
Before Sirin could react, she was gone.
Sirin only felt a warm sensation on her back, a bit of swelling.
If Chen Ran were here, he would definitely know that this was actually the process of the Stigmata gene being activated; Herrscher Sirin connected with Sirin in this way through her will.
If anyone harmed Sirin, the power of the Stigmata would awaken Herrscher Sirin, becoming her guardian.
But if Sirin suffered multiple injuries and used Herrscher Sirin's power too much, Herrscher Sirin would gradually take over Sirin's body and become a Herrscher again.
This was Herrscher Sirin's last bit of trust in this world.
This was also a slight deviation in fate.
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