The hypnosis wasn't completely effective.
This wasn't a concept-based ability, a form of forced hypnosis that one couldn't resist upon becoming a target.
Brian activated two abilities simultaneously, successfully planting a seed in Bronya's heart.
Coupled with the veil of mystery he had previously left this girl with...
There was great potential.
The daze in the girl's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by utter shock.
"How can you prove that?"
Just as Brian thought, his past self had left too mysterious an impression on Bronya, to the point that even this girl with a protagonist template couldn't draw a definite conclusion.
What if this guy really did know how to save Seele?
Bronya didn't want to miss any opportunity.
She gave Brian a moment to perform.
"Then how do you think you can save your sister?"
Continue the hypnosis.
And build up while tearing down.
Young Brian stood up, his tall and slender figure casting a long shadow over Bronya's face under the ceiling light.
"You didn't consider Seele Vollerei's opinion. I can forgive you on that point."
"But your desire to save her by sacrificing others is completely and utterly wrong."
"You know your sister's personality, and you know what she'll become when she learns that others died because of her; but you've been blinded by the obsession to save her, self-righteously choosing the lesser of two evils."
"Bronya Zaychik, you're just a selfish little kid."
The scene replayed.
The scene from their first meeting appeared again, filling Bronya's eyes with uncertainty.
She knew the consequences of doing this, but to save her sister, she couldn't care about that anymore.
She was never a champion of justice; she didn't care if her hands were stained with blood for her family.
The only thing that could change her decision was her sisters' opinions.
But until Seele was rescued, all of this was empty talk.
The girl's gaze firmed. "Only by rescuing my sister will we have the right to talk about these things!"
A cold arc formed on the young man's lips.
He bent down and whispered in the girl's ear, "Is that so?"
"Then what if I told you that you are destroying your own hope of saving your sister?"
Bronya's pupils quaked. "What... are you talking about!?"
Her eyes were horrified, her heart in unprecedented turmoil.
The effects of the hypnosis and suggestion were outstanding.
"After we parted last time, you must have gone back and searched for information related to the Sea of Quanta, right?"
"..." Bronya was silent.
She had indeed done so.
Anti-Entropy had excavated a number of Previous Era ruins, and she had once hoped that the advanced technology from the Previous Era could point her in a direction.
But Cocolia had little information on the Sea of Quanta, most of it related to the X-10 experiment; she had no renowned figures in the quantum field under her command, and all her results were based on the missing Dr. Schrodinger.
There was nothing in Cocolia's hands that could point her in the right direction, which was why Bronya was so desperate as to clutch at straws.
Brian said coldly, "It seems you really don't know. In the hands of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction, there is a ruin from the Previous Era."
"This ruin is a research facility from the Previous Era that can open a gate to the Sea of Quanta."
"You refuse to give up on Cocolia's plan, intending to aid a villain by turning Mei into a Herrscher. That is to offend the entire conservative faction."
"Who do you think you are? Do you think you are the Anti-Entropy Sovereign or the Schicksal Overseer, able to make this ruin work for you after offending the entire Anti-Entropy conservative faction?"
Bronya was silent, all her past convictions being shattered one by one.
"Do you think it doesn't matter if you don't cooperate with us, or even if you offend Schicksal?"
Finally, and most cruelly.
"Schicksal also has its own exploration plans for the Sea of Quanta, and they are very successful."
"By carrying out Cocolia's plan, you are offending Kiana. Offending Kiana is offending the Kaslanas, and offending the Kaslanas is offending all of Schicksal."
The young Brian's face was filled with sympathy.
He patted Bronya's shoulder with great pity and said, "You, all of your actions are running contrary to your own wishes."
"You are just as I judged you when we first met."
"All you're doing is forcing your sister from one dead end to another."
"Bronya Zaychik, you are an unqualified sister."
The exoskeleton on her legs lost its support, and the silver-grey-haired girl went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Even though her small face remained as calm as ever, her eyes were now filled with countless fears.
"I... am killing Seele!"
"That's right. Every action you take is killing your sister."
The demonic voice poured into her ears, the hypnosis seeping into her mind.
The snow-haired girl seemed to have been drained of all her spirit, her eyes lifeless, her posture stooped.
With the enhancement of hypnosis and suggestion, Brian's words were exceptionally effective, using the bluntest truth to make Bronya face the thing she was most unwilling to face.
Cocolia had offended Anti-Entropy's conservative faction, and completing Cocolia's plan would offend Schicksal.
She had offended the two forces most capable of saving Seele. Fulfilling her dream was a complete fantasy.
"I... can't do anything."
As the girl despaired, a hand lifted her delicate chin, forcing her vacant eyes to meet his.
"That's right, you can't do anything."
"But as long as you listen to me, I can give you the chance to enter the Sea of Quanta and rescue your sister."
A flicker of movement appeared in her silver-grey eyes before they returned to their lifeless state.
Young Brian had dosed her too heavily, leaving Bronya just one step away from complete despair.
She needed a little hope.
"Bronya, you don't have to be so desperate."
"You've only lost your way for now, but the whole world has not rejected you."
"Your adoptive mother may be a villain, but you are still a good child; Mei's father is an important figure in the conservative faction, and Kiana's aunt is the granddaughter of the Schicksal Overseer."
"As long as you cooperate with us, you can definitely fulfill your wish."
Hypnosis.
Mental suggestion.
The flames of hope rekindled in the girl's eyes.
Tear her down, then build her up.
Belittling her own efforts as worthless, while placing himself in a position of absolute correctness.
One couldn't say Brian's reasoning was wrong, but to trample on a young girl's spirit like this...
"Hmph! You scumbag, you're utterly despicable!"
The snow-haired girl pushed the door open, the camera shutter on her phone clicking incessantly.
That man had forced Bronya to her knees and done this to her!