Chapter 216: The Deepest Place
[Before even starting to look for Pardo, Mei found Mobius in the main hall. The moment Mobius saw Mei, she began her sarcastic remarks:
"Well now, look who's here... [Miss Mei who knocked Mobius flat]...should I be calling you that now, my adorable little lab rat?"
"Mobius...what a rare sight. It feels like I haven't seen you in ages."
Mei didn't question Mobius's sarcasm or how she knew about that incident - with Elysia's personality, that news had probably already spread throughout the Elysian Realm.
Regarding the new abnormality occurring in the Elysian Realm, Mei naturally suspected Mobius was involved first thing, but this time Mei was truly wrong about Mobius.
Moreover, Mobius mentioned the existence of a magician. As for this magician's identity... Mobius had absolutely no intention of revealing it, hoping to see Mei being led around in circles by her tricks.]
[Vill-V]: "Looks like it's my turn to make an appearance next. I hope the little surprise you prepared for Mei doesn't disappoint me, future me!"
[Elysia]: "Actually...I'm still quite curious about who's better at cooking between Mei and Vill-V♪"
[Raiden Mei]: "? Vill-V also studies cooking?"
[Vill-V]: "If I want to do something, I can accomplish anything!"
[Stelle]: "Good, very spirited!"
[Mobius was determined to watch Mei make a fool of herself and had no intention of answering any of Mei's questions. Since she couldn't get answers from Mobius, Mei went to Pardo's little shop.
At this time, Pardo hadn't left yet. "Hey, Sis Mei, you're back! What are you looking for today?"
"To be honest with you, I just finished taking inventory and found some leftover unique items from a few years ago that never sold. I'm planning to offload them at low prices now. Would you like to see if there's anything..."
"There is indeed something that interests me among these - that golden pendant looks quite special."
Mei might as well have directly said the pendant was hers, but who was Pardo? Having experienced many such caught-red-handed situations, she remained completely unflustered:
"Wow, Sis Mei, you have such great taste! This pendant was one of the best-selling items back in the day. I struggled for a long time before deciding to keep this last one."
Facing Mei's questioning, Pardo spun story after story, but Mei had no intention of playing along with Pardo's games. She directly pointed out the pendant's origin.
Pardo had no choice but to return the pendant to Mei. But when Mei took hold of the pendant, that ethereal voice reached her ears: "...You are, you've finally come."
The next moment, Mei immediately lost consciousness.]
[Honkai: Star Rail·Seele]: "After going around in such big circles, Mei still got caught by Aponia. Is this the power of prophecy?"
[Silver Wolf]: "Destiny, kid!"
[Kafka]: "Aponia's prophecies...it's like seeing the destination, so no matter what, fate will always reach that ending."
[Honkai: Star Rail·Himeko]: "And Elio's prophecies are like seeing the possibilities of fate, then relying on you Stellaron Hunters to guide fate toward your desired outcome?"
[Herta]: "It seems...Elio and Aponia's abilities only appear similar on the surface, but their core nature is different."
[Kiana]: 'So then? Why is she targeting Mei?'
[Raiden Mei]: "Don't worry Kiana, I'll be fine!"
[When Mei regained consciousness, she opened her eyes to find herself in a pitch-black corridor. Mei understood - this was the place Raven had mentioned before.
During this time, an alluring voice kept echoing in her ears. Mei's consciousness was blurred, and she could only instinctively follow the voice, moving forward continuously. "Come here, unfamiliar traveler."
"I... have always been waiting for your arrival."
"Unfamiliar traveler, could you tell me your name?"
"Raiden Mei."
Only after saying her name did Mei realize she seemed to be losing control of herself. "You...who are you?"
The voice gently said: "... [Please] forgive me, Mei. Right now, I cannot answer your questions."
"That would only create deeper confusion for you, even misunderstandings...this is not my wish, so [Please] believe me. Neither I nor this prison mean you any harm."
"Well then, just treat this place as a temporary resting spot...or perhaps...an empty space that exists solely for our meeting."
Although Mei remained vigilant, under the influence of that voice, she found herself completely unable to resist. It was as if her mind no longer belonged to her - whatever she [Asked] Mei to do, Mei would comply.
But Aponia seemed to only want Mei to rest properly and didn't cause her any harm. Thus, under Aponia's guidance, Mei fell into a deep sleep. When Mei woke up, she found herself back in the familiar main hall.]
[Tesla]: "***Another first encounter defeat! As the Herrscher of Thunder, does Mei really have so little power in the Elysian Realm?"
[March 7th]: "Maybe consider what the Flame-Chasers actually do?"
[Stelle]: "Professional matchup!"
[Kalpas]: "Aponia!!"
[Fu Xuan]: "Her ability..."
[Silver Wolf]: "If we replace Aponia's [Please] with [Listen to me], it would sound even more like Kafka's 'Speech Magic'."
[Raven]: "But...why? Aponia went through all this trouble just to make Mei rest properly there? I mean, why!?"
[Qingque]: "The victim shares their victim statement."
[Elysia]: "Ahem, like I said, Aponia is a very kind person. Why would she want to hurt Mei?"
[Kiana]: "That's exactly what you said about Mobius too!"
[As Mei collected herself, she saw Pardo crouching worriedly beside her: "Wahh...Sis Mei, you're finally awake!"
"Pardo, tell me, what happened?"
"I don't know either!
You just took my pendant and suddenly collapsed. I couldn't wake you no matter what, so I had to bring you here!"
At this point, Pardo finally couldn't hold back her tears: "Wahh, Sis Mei, I thought you would never wake up...when you suddenly fainted, I was so scared the fur on my tail stood straight up!"]
[March 7th]: "This counts as one of the few normal people Mei has met in the Elysian Realm, right?"
[Stelle]: "Where is that normal!? But this cat is just too good!!"
[Elysia]: "Quite adorable, isn't she? Our Pardofelis♪"