Chapter 217: World Famous
Painting: "Kiana in Anti-Entropy"
[After comforting Pardo, Mei grew increasingly uneasy. She didn't believe that mysterious individual had brought her there just to let her rest properly.
So Mei first sought out Eden, obtaining some information about Aponia and the Depths from her, but it didn't help much with the current situation. Afterward, she found Sakura.
Through Sakura's perception, Mei detected Aponia's [presence] on herself. Later, while continuing to exchange information with Sakura, she once again arrived at the Depths. Amidst the repeated sounds of [Please], just like last time, Mei was completely led by her, with no initiative in her hands at all.
Deeply influenced by the Elysian Realm's culture of enigmatic speakers, Mei still didn't understand why Aponia had set her sights on her. When Mei awoke again, she had returned to where she was conversing with Sakura, who was looking at her with concern.
After Mei regained full consciousness, her expression turned grim. Faced with this situation, no matter what secrets Aponia held, Mei had to take the initiative—she couldn't let herself be led by the nose any longer!]
[March 7th]:"Enough already, these riddlers all over the Elysian Realm—even Penacony's inhabitants are more straightforward than you all."
[Silver Wolf]:"Now I understand why Kevin wanted to 'communicate' with his 'good friend' like that. One [Please] and even Kevin would have to obediently listen."
[Fu Hua]:"It seems Aponia truly means no harm... but her worldview... appears even more twisted than Kevin's. Is this a side effect of being a MANTIS?"
[Pardofelis]:"No no no, Sister Aponia was already like this back when she was a nun at the orphanage in Twilight Street."
[Stelle]:"You Flame-Chasers, really..."
[Understanding this, Mei immediately went to the hall to find Elysia.
When Mei arrived, Elysia already knew what she was looking for. "Look at your expression now—[I really want to go there, I really want to see her again]—this complex and intense emotion is practically overflowing~" Mei felt speechless and completely unwilling to engage with Elysia's teasing.
"So, what exactly is the [Depths]...? Is that also part of Aponia's abilities as a MANTIS?"
"Ah, that's not it.
As mentioned before, the Elysian Realm is a space constructed from the memories of the Flame-Chasers. Thirteen flowing consciousnesses disperse and converge, weaving together this vast and magnificent world."
"But some people... their memories are simply too intense, their colors too vivid, so much so that they can exist independently without needing to merge with others' perceptions."
"And what you saw—the [Depths]—is such an example. It's a [Domain] born solely from Aponia's own memories."
"Precisely because of this, everything within this domain is created by Aponia's [subjective] perception. Its appearance is quite different from the historically real Depths."
"Rather than calling it [memory], it would be more accurate to say... the Depths within the Elysian Realm is more like Aponia's [inner world]."]
[Black Swan]:"I see. So the Elysian Realm is a memory world constructed from thirteen consciousnesses. The Depths within it represents Aponia's memories, making it semi-independent from the Elysian Realm itself."
[March 7th]:"Looking at Aponia like this, I bet there's some deep secret! Otherwise, why would her memory world materialize as a special space!?"
[Stelle]:"Exactly! Even the possible 'bad woman' Elysia doesn't have such a space!!"
[Mobius]:"Hmph, who said this [traitor] doesn't have one?"
[Kiana]:"She actually does!?"
[Elysia]:"Kiana, do you want to enter Elysia's heart too? That's fine You and Mei can both come~♪"
[Stelle]:"That certain fairy is at it again, luring innocent girls to the Elysian Realm."
["Eden said you could help me reach the Depths."
"My, Mei... that statement of yours is quite bold~"
Looking at Elysia pretending to be shy, Mei felt thoroughly confused. "After me and Mobius, you want to walk into Aponia's heart too?
I never expected you to be such a dangerous girl~"
"That's not what I meant."
"Even if that's what you meant, it's fine~ I said during our first meeting—I don't dislike naughty girls~"
"But, reaching the Depths... well, even for me, that would be a very, very difficult task."
"Perhaps... I might need a little help from Mei~"
"My help? If it's something I can do, then of course..."
Mei's words abruptly stopped. She noticed Elysia's gaze directed at her—as usual. Then, those eyes slowly moved upward, upward... finally stopping at just the right angle. There was nothing there except her horns. "Mhm~♪"
Mei looked at Elysia's mischievous expression, wanting to speak but holding back. "Let me think, this should be... callback to earlier foreshadowing?"
Mei watched stiffly as Elysia approached, those cute little hands gently stroking her horns... "Mmm..."
Elysia satisfiedly stroking the corner gently, Mei clenched her teeth, but couldn't help making a cute sound. "Mmm...?"
Hearing such sounds, Elysia's interest heightened even more. For some reason, Mei's subsequent sounds became even stranger.
After everything was done, Elysia couldn't help but comment: "Wow... this is really... completely different from what I imagined..."]
[Theresa]:"Why does that sound so... weird?"
[Kiana]:"E! LY! SIA! I swear eternal enmity with you!"
[Stelle]:"World famous painting 'Kiana in Anti-Entropy'!"
[Kosma]:"So you too..."
[Eden]:'This is really... truly Elysia's style.'
[Qingque]:"It seems Miss Mei's horns also have a nervous system."
[Sparkle]:"And they appear to be quite sensitive too~"
[March 7th]:"Could you all please stop describing it in such strange ways..."
[Sampo]:"Not that old Sampo here wants to say it, but if everyone's so serious all the time, where's the fun in that?"
["Alright alright, that's enough~ Thank you for satisfying my curiosity—this will keep me happy all day♪"
"So, the method to reach the Depths..."
After intimate contact with Mei, an even happier Elysia said: "Don't worry~ I'll do my best, true to my word. We'll depart when you're ready♪"
Only then did Mei feel satisfied and prepare to leave, when she suddenly remembered to look around—if no one was there, she could pretend nothing happened. (Just now... hopefully no one saw...)
Then she made eye contact with a certain Raven. Both felt awkward, left speechless as they looked at each other.]
[Sparkle]:"Wow~ Doing strange things with Elysia that you don't want others to know about, only to have Raven witness everything~"
[Kiana]:"I told you not to phrase it so strangely!"
[Raven]:"Sigh... I hope I won't be silenced for this?"
[Stelle]:"World famous painting 'Kiana in Anti-Entropy'!"