"An Imaginary Construct?"
"Or an Imaginary Spirit Construct?"
Before the thoughtful Lu Xing could even speak.
The "Angel's" slightly questioning tone had already sounded within his spiritual world.
The light, gentle, and calm female voice seemed to possess a magical quality, washing away all "excessive" emotions from his soul, spreading a sense of comfort from the inside out that permeated every corner of his mind.
So far.
This was the first time the "Angel" had initiated contact.
As for the question "she" raised—"Imaginary Construct" or "Imaginary Spirit Construct," their full names should be [Imaginary Construct] or [Imaginary Spirit Construct]. They were a type of autonomous lifeform born from the Imaginary Space (whether they possessed intelligence depended on individual variation) and were generally used to maintain the stability of the Imaginary. Alternatively, they would obey the will of the "Tree" and actively launch wars of annihilation against "irregular" beings (civilizations) or quantum monsters.
There were many types of "Imaginary Constructs," most of which possessed some degree of a humanoid appearance, and their color schemes were predominantly pure black and fluorescent gold.
That's right.
In the eyes of a civilization that had seen the aforementioned "species," Lu Xing's current form looked like a massively magnified "Imaginary Construct."
In other words.
Although he didn't know what kind of dealings they'd had—whether the "Imaginary Constructs" had participated in the annihilation of their civilization or appeared as comrades in the fight against Quantum Beasts—the civilization represented by the "Angel" had definitely seen "Imaginary Constructs" before.
However.
Even knowing this didn't help Lu Xing much in understanding this civilization. At the same time, he couldn't explain the reason for his familiarity with the "Angel" based on her voice (spiritual fluctuations) alone.
"..."
The unanswered question.
It made the already somewhat awkward silence stretch even longer.
But at a certain point—Lu Xing didn't know what the other party had discovered, but the "Angel's" spiritual power did indeed fluctuate with extreme clarity for a moment.
It was as if...
After a long period of judgment, the other party had finally confirmed her guess, and posed a new question in an inquisitive tone:
"Are you—"
"That guy who was bleeding all over the place?"
"..."
"?"
"!?"
"!!!!!"
The majestic body of the Imaginary Emperor trembled as it never had before!
Lu Xing did his best to conceal the spiritual fluctuations that had nearly surged up like a wave, and forcibly "interrupted" his own urge to scratch at something—it was a subconscious gesture Lu Xing had when he was still human, a way to conceal his emotions.
When he had no hands, Lu Xing couldn't make this gesture; and by the time he could, he had never encountered such a situation again.
No language could express Lu Xing's shock at this moment.
Spiritual communication between Honkai Beasts was direct and efficient. If it weren't for an extremely precise translation, a phrase like "bleeding all over the place" would never have appeared. For her spiritual fluctuations to be automatically translated into those words, it required Lu Xing's "own self-perception at that time" to match it perfectly.
When would the phrase "bleeding all over the place" be mentioned?
The memory that was gradually awakening in Lu Xing finally surged forth from the depths of his mind. The timeline began to stretch continuously towards the distant past—the Mu Continent, the Herrscher of Sentience, the Herrscher of Ice, the Knight Captain... the Assault-class Honkai Beast!
"Xiao..."
"Xiao Zi!?"
How could this be possible!
This angel-type Honkai Beast before him, possessing the combat power of a strong Herrscher... was actually the "newbie monster" that Lu Xing had "released" back then!
It wasn't that Lu Xing had a bad memory, but that no normal person would ever think in this direction!
Over ninety percent of the Australian continent's surface had been burned to ash by the Herrscher of Flame. The number of legions the old Emperor had left for Lu Xing back then was less than one-twentieth of their peak strength. The large and the weak had basically all perished in one incident or another.
Who could believe that an ordinary Assault-class with no special characteristics could actually survive such a catastrophe!
Not only that.
If that question could be answered, then how could the Quantum Sea be explained?
Lu Xing was certain that when he had parted ways with her, Xiao Zi was still a common Assault-class Honkai Beast, not even a "Variant." For an Assault-class to enter the Quantum Sea, it wouldn't even need any external force; it would be completely eroded by Quantum energy in an instant... let alone having "mixed into" one of the World Bubbles!
What was even more outrageous was Xiao Zi's current strength.
The "Angel's" body bore extremely obvious traces of modification by the World Bubble's civilization; she was not like this before she entered. But even if it was modification... Lu Xing considered his own power progression to be extremely fast (after all, he could hold his own against the cheaters from the Flame-Chasers), but that was only after countless battles and schemes to reach his current state.
But Xiao Zi...
Lu Xing grew curious.
The native civilization in this World Bubble was actually able, and willing, to strengthen and modify an external Honkai Beast as a companion—what kind of resolve could have driven them to make such a choice?
Compared to the Previous Era's humans.
If they had possessed such a "style," there probably would have been no need for him... perhaps there would have been no Final Herrscher, or even a Current Era to speak of.
"It really is you."
Perhaps it was due to the long battles.
Or perhaps her passion had been worn down by the hopeless struggle in this sunless world.
Although Lu Xing could sense "joy" in Xiao Zi's spiritual fluctuations, the emotion did not last for very long.
However.
This did not diminish the "surprise" of their reunion.
Hearing Lu Xing call out "Xiao Zi," a name that went from unfamiliar to familiar, a name no one else could possibly use, the "Angel"—no, Xiao Zi—had also confirmed her own guess.
Lu Xing was the first living being Xiao Zi had ever come into contact with, and also the key to awakening her "self." This memory was deeply embedded in the depths of her mind—it was only because the changes in his energy and physical form were so exaggeratedly large that Xiao Zi failed to recognize him at first... or rather, she didn't dare to.
"Why are you here?"
Although it wasn't a perfect fit, this feeling of "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" indeed caused Lu Xing's emotions to stir for the first time in a long while. The last time this happened was when he resurrected Cheche. As for before that...
That was back in the time of the old Emperor.
"Why?"
Xiao Zi's voice paused for half a moment.
Then, as she raised her head to look up at Lu Xing, she spoke slowly:
"To live a good life as a living being."
"Isn't that..."
"What you told me to do?"