"Why... do I get the feeling Bronya's mood was a little strange just now? Is it because of the cognitive and memorial dissonance caused by the overlapping timelines? Or is she feeling a sense of unease and indebtedness towards me?"
As Xin Yu left Bronya's residence, although he had been focused on the game, it didn't mean he was oblivious to Bronya's obvious abnormality.
"Forget it, I won't worry about it. If she runs into trouble, she can just find me. If there's no trouble, I won't interact with Bronya too much, so nothing unexpected should happen. My body has also recovered to the normal state a human should have. Time to head back."
Xin Yu glanced at the time and saw that it was already close to eight in the evening. He had already requested leave for the time he was rewriting the past, so this didn't count as skipping class. To prevent the time correction from erasing the fact that he had requested leave, he had specifically anchored that event in the timeline beforehand.
Although anchoring a person in the timeline to make them immune to any changes in the past is something Xin Yu couldn't do yet, given that it's a characteristic that, on some level, transcends time itself.
However, he could now set a non-living object or an event that didn't affect too many people's time and fate in stone.
Xin Yu returned to the small villa and saw Kiana and Raiden Mei sitting on the sofa.
"Xin Yu... you've worked hard."
Kiana looked at Xin Yu. The changes to the timeline would go unnoticed by most people. Only those with a certain connection to Xin Yu would retain their original memories. To the vast majority of the world, the altered history was the only history they had ever known.
Therefore, Kiana knew what Xin Yu had done. She knew that he must have paid a significant price for it. The reason he didn't want to see her and Mei for so long was that he didn't want them to see his wretched state and worry.
But how could they not know? They were just tacitly waiting for this big boy to come home.
Raiden Mei stood up and walked to Xin Yu, taking his hand in hers. "Xin Yu, we won't blame you for the things you want to do. Saving others is not something that should be condemned. When you're weary, we hope even more to be your support. Even if it's just looking after you in some small way, or helping with a tiny task... so, can you entrust yourself to us, just a little?"
"...It was I who didn't trust you enough. I've made you sad."
Xin Yu admitted his mistake. Then, as if completely letting down his guard, he closed his eyes, and his entire body suddenly lost its strength, falling into Raiden Mei's arms.
It wasn't that his body was still unwell; he just wanted to be held by his lover. He just wanted a bit of warmth, that was all. It was his small, selfish wish.
Raiden Mei held Xin Yu. His body was very light. Despite being nearly 1.8 meters tall, he couldn't weigh more than fifty kilograms at most, which was already incredibly light.
Xin Yu had already tried his best to maintain his human form, but ultimately, he couldn't make himself exactly the same as a human. There would always be discrepancies. After all, his current body contained no bones or internal organs whatsoever.
Raiden Mei easily lifted Xin Yu in a princess carry. Don't underestimate the power of a Herrscher and awakened Stigmata user! Forget the current Xin Yu, even if it were a massive steel coil, the current Raiden Mei could lift it without batting an eye, and it wouldn't even be much of a strain.
A seemingly sweet and soft young woman's body contained power far exceeding that of any carbon-based lifeform, and her skin was still soft and supple to the touch, not at all what you'd expect from someone with such strength.
Honkai, it's pretty amazing, isn't it?
Kiana watched Raiden Mei, a little emotional. The Mei who had recovered her sense of self had really become much more assertive and proactive. If it were the old Mei, she would probably be blushing and flustered if Xin Yu fell on her.
But now she could carry Xin Yu upstairs without a change in expression... wait, upstairs!
Kiana's mind conjured some restricted, R-rated scenes that wouldn't pass censorship. She then shook her head. What was she thinking! Xin Yu was an old-fashioned person; he wouldn't do anything before marriage. The time she made him wash her back, didn't nothing happen?
Instead of thinking about all this nonsense, she should be thinking about how to deal with the rewritten history! Recent history has changed! All the knowledge points she had memorized were now completely useless!
"Wuwu! Why is it like this?! I finally managed to memorize it all. Why are there so many new historical figures and several new key historical turning points? Wuwuuu~"
Kiana wailed, mourning her wasted efforts and the impending final exams.
Xin Yu was carried upstairs by Raiden Mei. He was initially relaxing, but it wasn't until he was tossed onto the bed that he reacted, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
"Mei?"
Xin Yu looked at Raiden Mei, who was now standing by the bed and looking at him. He didn't quite understand what the Raiden Mei who was staring straight at him wanted to do.
"Xin Yu, how big is the gap between you and me, really?"
Raiden Mei asked.
"It's huge. Even though you are now a complete Herrscher of Thunder, your current power poses no threat to me at all. A purely energy-based attack is basically zero damage to me until it reaches a certain threshold. Even close-quarters combat would have little effect on me."
"To defeat me, your power level would have to reach the same level as mine—enough to shatter a planet with pure energy—or you would need to possess a conceptual ability on the same tier as mine, like time and space."
"Simply put, it's either stats or mechanics. One of them must surpass or be equal to mine; otherwise, you can't fight me."
Xin Yu didn't hide or deceive her, bluntly telling Raiden Mei the gap between them.
"...I want more power, Xin Yu. I also want to one day stand by your side, to be able to shield you from the wind and rain in front of you, to be able to use the sword in my hand to cut a path through obstacles for you."
"Xin Yu, I don't want to just stay behind you. I won't allow myself to be so cowardly. So, I want to obtain more power."
Raiden Mei stated her thoughts directly. She didn't know how to chase after Xin Yu's shadow, so asking him directly was the best way.
"I understand. The cultivation method I practice is not suitable for others. In my knowledge, the easiest way to obtain immense power is only one kind: Path Power."
"Mei, do you want to come with me, to see the vast, boundless cosmos? Out there, beings stronger than me are everywhere. I might not even be considered strong there."
"I'm willing. If we leave, what about Kiana?"
"This will be a trip to a future timeline; it won't affect the present. So we can return the second after we leave, and Kiana won't have to worry."
"...Okay."
Raiden Mei hugged the seated Xin Yu, feeling a small thrill, like sneaking her friend's snacks behind their back.
In the next moment, the two of them vanished.
Kiana, meanwhile, was completely unaware, continuing to memorize the knowledge points from her revised history textbook.