[Upon receiving the urgent order from the Overseer, Theresa immediately rushed to Siberia.]
"The Babylon Laboratory is the second-largest research facility under Schicksal, housing the world's third-largest Honkai reactor.
With an advanced team of 322 researchers across systems, weapons, energy, and other departments—yet all of them mysteriously vanished at midnight…"
Reading the report, Theresa suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
A wasteland… dead of night… and mysterious disappearances… Could this be ghosts?!
No! For Cecilia and little Kiana, I have to pull myself together!
Her small, delicate hand tightened around Kiana's photo, steeling her resolve.
The Schicksal aircraft landed on the snowy plains, the howling wind whipping through Theresa's hair as she brightened at the sight of the person waiting for her.
Theresa: "You're… Patricia! Long time no see!"
After exchanging intel with Patrick, Theresa decided to investigate the Babylon Lab's surveillance room together.
[Kiana]: "PFFT—HAHAHAHA! Aunt Teri, I never knew you were scared of ghosts!"
[Theresa]: "Shut up! Ghosts are terrifying, okay?! You can't even see them!"
Her words resonated deeply with ghost-fearing folks across both worlds, earning a flood of likes.
[Rita]: "Lady Theresa, would you like to visit a haunted house together?"
Seeing the usually composed Theresa so spooked made Rita—a self-proclaimed Theresa enthusiast—find her even more adorable!
[The two arrived at the surveillance room.]
Patrick's fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up footage from that night.
Patricia: "From the recordings, the researchers vanished into thin air. No one else was near them… But these white static distortions are odd."
Theresa shivered.
Theresa: "Those distortions… they look like human figures. Pale silhouettes… Could they be… ghosts?!"
Patricia: "No. Ghosts don't exist in this world. Most supernatural phenomena are caused by Honkai energy. This is no exception.
Look—this is the historical data from Babylon's Honkai reactor. Last night, its output suddenly dropped to zero for five minutes."
Theresa rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Theresa: "The reactor must hold clues to this incident."
Patricia: "That area is saturated with high-density Honkai energy. Ordinary humans can't withstand it—only Valkyries can enter.
Theresa, let's head down and investigate."
Theresa: "J-Just the two of us?!"
Patricia: "Yep. Just us."
[Sushang]: "Wait… so ghosts aren't real?!"
[Otto]: "If only souls truly existed. Alas, the world permits consciousness to find new vessels but forbids vessels from gathering scattered consciousness."
[Herta]: "Oh? You seem quite knowledgeable about consciousness, Otto. Care to exchange notes sometime?"
[Otto]: "Naturally. I'd be delighted."
[Tail]: "Our world has energy-based lifeforms like us Sui—formless entities—but we're not ghosts!"
[Xueyi]: "Though I serve as a judge of the Ten-Lords Commission and am technically deceased, my consciousness was uploaded before mara-struck degeneration. I am no ghost either."
[Theresa]: "Even if you explain it like that… knowing ghosts aren't real doesn't make them any less scary!"
[Soon, the two reached the reactor zone of Babylon Tower.]
In the eerie, desolate environment, Theresa trembled.
Theresa: "A-Any progress? I keep feeling like a ghost's gonna jump out any second…"
Patricia: "Nothing yet… but there are faint traces of Honkai energy here. Why only in this small spot? We'll need a spectrum scanner."
Then, teasingly trying to lighten the mood, she added:
Patricia: "Who knew the mighty Theresa—a warrior who slays Emperor-class Honkai Beasts—would be afraid of ghosts? Adorably unexpected~"
Just then—a desperate cry echoed through the halls:
??? (Voice): "H-Help!! Is anyone there?! Please… save us!!"
Terrified, Theresa immediately assumed it was a ghost and nearly burst into tears.
But Patricia, ever the composed adult, analyzed it calmly.
Patricia: "No… That's a human girl's voice!"
[Stelle]: "Whoa! This just got even creepier! A deserted, haunted place suddenly echoing with a girl's screams?!"
[March 7th]: "Classic horror movie setup right there!"
[Durandal]: "Strange… This doesn't match what I learned from historical records."
[Tesla]: "**** Otto! Your ******* cover-up is finally crumbling! Now everyone can see your ******* crimes!"
[Meanwhile, at St. Freya Academy—]
Principal Theresa, who rarely ever reviewed archives, was frowning over documents about the Second Honkai War.
If Durandal had doubts about that era, it made sense—she hadn't lived through it.
But why did Theresa's own memories feel off?
Considering what Anti-Entropy had said—that Otto had altered history—why did her memories align with the records?
The realization hit her:
Something must have happened during the Second Honkai War that even Grandfather didn't anticipate… Did he modify my memories too?
I need answers from him. Theresa glared toward Schicksal's floating island.
[Siegfried]: "Otto! We're not done talking about the Second Honkai War!"
[Kiana]: "DAD!! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THESE YEARS?! NOT EVEN A MESSAGE?!"
[Siegfried]: "Sorry, Kiana… I had things I needed to do. Let me explain—"
[Aha]: "Fight! Fight! Need me to toss you a signal axe?"
[Herrscher of the Void]: "Filthy, greedy humans… Watch closely as your sins are laid bare!"
[Theresa]: "The Herrscher of the Void?! You're still alive?!"
[Herrscher of the Void]: "Heh. Soon, I shall return—and humanity will know suffering."
After dropping that ominous declaration, she went silent, ignoring all further pings in the chat.
[Vill-V]: "See? Even if she despises humanity, she's brimming with emotion and self-awareness—nothing like the puppet we faced back then!"