"It looks just like a little pufferfish, all puffed up and angry… mm… what do you think, Mei?"
"…"
Mei didn't respond to her question. Instead, she stared at her and asked: "You already knew Mobius's true purpose all along?"
Elysia said: "Oh my, Mei, why would you think that? If I knew, I would've helped you out long ago~"
"Didn't you hear everything I said to Mobius earlier?"
"It was only because she thought she could finally leave the Elysian Realm that she told me everything."
"Mm… how should I put it? It's like… your pet cat shredded your curtains and then came prancing over all proud to show off… something like that?"
Mei said: "All I can say is… good thing Mobius already left."
Elysia smiled and said: "If she were still here, I wouldn't have said it like that~~"
"Mm… maybe I would've swapped the metaphor to a snake and then said it out loud? Who knows~"
Seeing that Mei was still silently staring at her, Elysia said: "Alright, alright. Mei, don't always look so serious. The battle's already over."
"You've successfully defeated another Flame-Chaser. Back in the day, that was something none of us even dared to imagine."
"And she was way more serious about it than I am… you saw how she looked, right?"
"…Mm." Mei nodded. She had learned from Kevin that Artificial Herrscher was the strongest state for a MANTIS.
Elysia continued: "So, Mei, you can be a little prouder, a little happier… it's totally fine if you want to jump up and cheer, you know?"
Mei looked at her speechlessly.
Elysia pretended to be shy and went on: "Oh dear, could it be… you've actually been waiting for me all this time? Waiting for me to take the initiative and give you a big, big hug… or something like that?"
"It's totally okay, as long as you want it…"
Mei decisively refused: "…No need!"
And added: "There's nothing worth celebrating here. Fighting the Flame-Chasers wasn't the purpose of my visit."
"From the very beginning, I came here to seek the truth, and that has never changed."
"It's just… only recently did I learn that Flame-Chasers like Mobius—who pass on their legacy while harboring ulterior motives… might not be that rare."
"Take you, for example, Elysia… isn't your true purpose, just like the bow and arrow in your hand… always drawn but never released?"
Elysia showed no trace of panic, as calm as ever: "Me? I'm the same as you—never changed at all."
"As a bystander, quietly appreciating all the changes and surprises you've brought to the Realm…"
"That alone is more than enough to satisfy me~"
Watching Elysia walk away.
The viewers started discussing heatedly.
"I always felt like this Elysia isn't normal. Every Flame-Chaser probably has their own agenda."
"I agree. At first I thought the Flame-Chasers were all heroes, all good people, but now it doesn't seem that way."
"Mobius had such a terrifying plan and combat power. The one called a betrayer, Elysia, probably isn't much better."
"Don't forget the 'pink means black' rule. The more enthusiastic someone is toward you, the more they're plotting."
"Yeah, yeah. If you don't believe it, just wait for the real reveal later—she's definitely black, pitch black!"
"It's not fair to say that. I feel like Elysia is completely sincere, and her imprint is [True Self]!"
"It's hard to tell right now. We can only keep watching. Though she really is gorgeous."
"I've been through too much. I'm a bit scared of girls like this who are impossible to read. Mobius openly showing her goals is actually better."
"Everyone just relax and watch. I think Elysia's plotline is coming up soon."
"…"
Just when everyone was thinking that.
On the TV screen.
A line of text appeared.
It stated that Raven had informed Mei that Gray Serpent returned the Void Archives to Otto. To uncover the truth, Mei left the Elysian Realm, assisted Kiana during the battle against Otto, and in the depths of the core, she encountered [the Will of Honkai].
Finally, she returned to the Elysian Realm once more.
She came back to the familiar palace, but Mei's thoughts still lingered in that pure white space.
At that time, It was formless and intangible, impossible to describe—like… a blurry mirror.
It only reflected her own figure—so close, yet utterly unreachable.
Naturally, to her questions, It gave no valuable answers.
But in Mei's view, no answer was itself an answer. For the things It refused to tell her, she chose to seek clues from those who had once fought against It.
That was why she had returned to the Elysian Realm.
She fixed her gaze on Kevin and went straight to him, asking: "Kevin, there's something I want to ask you. And… I feel like only you can give me a relatively accurate answer."
Kevin remained silent as always: "…"
Mei asked directly: "The so-called Will of Honkai—did it already exist in your era?"
Kevin seemed puzzled: "Will of Honkai?"
Mei said in surprise: "You don't know that name? Alright, maybe in the past, people called it something else."
"It is the concrete embodiment of the concept of Honkai, the sole entity that rules over all Herrschers—perhaps you could understand it as the god of Honkai."
Kevin said: "Indeed, some people compared Honkai to a deity and saw Herrschers as apostles of god. But in the end, it's just a metaphor."
"To fight against it, some needed to set up a target—an enemy that everyone could imagine and understand. They firmly believed that only then could the warriors unite."
"As for whether that target is a god or some kind of consciousness—as long as it's convincing, it doesn't matter what it is."
Mei said: "I understand, but what I want to ask is—perhaps it isn't just a metaphor?"
"The person who first proposed this metaphor did so only after personally witnessing the so-called Will of Honkai, and thus described it to the world in that way—this possibility exists."
Kevin said: "A reasonable inference, but unfortunately it doesn't hold."
Mei hurriedly asked: "Why?"
Kevin answered: "Because the one who first proposed this metaphor was Fire Moth. And the one who denied it… was also Fire Moth."
"…"
This matched what Mei had thought.
In the Kevin of the Elysian Realm's cognition, [It] did not exist.
Next, she asked Eden and Elysia as well, but both of them kept silent on the matter. Instead, Mei received another piece of news—Raven had disappeared within the Elysian Realm.
To search for clues about Raven.
Mei ventured deeper into the Elysian Realm.
While advancing, she pondered: "Raven… she clearly wanted to slack off here. Why would she enter the Elysian Realm for no reason?"
She followed the paths and anchors of the Elysian Realm, heading toward the shop Elysia had mentioned earlier.
Upon reaching the shop area.
On the ground, she indeed found some of Raven's arrow feathers.
This proved she had been here.
But as she followed the trail deeper, Raven's traces grew fewer until they vanished completely.
With no other choice.
She decided to return to the main hall first.
Hoping to ask others and find more clues.
As soon as she returned to the hall, she heard Elysia's voice: "Hello hello hello, one two three, hello hello hello, one two three…"
"Ah! Mei, you're back! The Mei who beat Mobius flat is back~!"
Mei asked: "…What are you doing? And this megaphone is…"
Elysia said: "I traded for this from Pardofelis! It cost me three crystal flowers."
"Durable and long-lasting, crystal-clear sound quality, and super sweet voice—perfect for promoting our strong and cute Mei, don't you think?"
"Look, it even has a recording function. Just press here and it plays automatically—"
Elysia pressed the switch, and the megaphone played her voice: "Ah… I really want to touch her horns… so curious, so curious!"
Mei: "…"
"Ah… um… ah." Even Elysia looked unusually embarrassed for once, then quickly resumed: "Right, look—it has a recording function. Just press here and it plays automatically—"
The megaphone played another voice: "Mm… how does this thing even work, Can? Do you know? Whatever, I'll just toss it aside. Maybe someone will want it?"
Mei asked: "Whose voice is that?"
Elysia put away the megaphone and said: "Alright, let's get to business. Remember the friend I mentioned earlier? Her name is Pardofelis, the owner of the Realm's shop."
"Pardofelis isn't great at fighting, but when it comes to gathering intel, she's the best among us. We still don't know where Natasha is, but if it's about finding someone, she can definitely help you."
"She seems to be restocking the shop lately. If you run into her, you can ask for her help~"
Mei nodded: "Got it."
It seemed Elysia didn't know Raven's whereabouts either.
She decided to ask the other Flame-Chasers.
A wave of scorching heat hit her face. Kalpas was not far away, staring at her and laughing wildly: "Haha… hahahaha…"
Mei asked: "Did something happen? You don't seem like the type to open with laughter."
Kalpas said: "Come here, Herrscher."
Mei said: "I think I told you before—my name is Raiden Mei."
Kalpas said: "Too complicated. I don't want to remember it."
From this exchange, Mei could already sense his attitude was different from usual… he seemed to be in a good mood.
Kalpas continued: "Names don't matter. As long as you know I'm calling you. So come here—I've got something to say to you, Raiden… Herrscher."
"…It's Raiden Mei." Mei walked over and asked: "What do you want to tell me?"
Kalpas said: "Haven't you always wanted to see the dark side of Fire Moth? Soon you'll get your wish…"
Mei said: "If I remember correctly, you weren't willing to talk about the Deep before. Why this time…"
Kalpas laughed: "Hahaha… that darkness may be worthless, but at least there… there's still one friend of mine."
"Now, she's left that place. Thinking that we'll meet again, I'm so excited every nerve in my body is trembling, Herrscher."
"You have a friend like that too, right? Hm?"
Mei replied bluntly: "…You have friends? Honestly, that's pretty hard to believe."
Kalpas snorted coldly: "Hmph. You think I'm a freak… a beast? Aponia won't mind. She's the same kind as me—no, she's even crazier, more twisted than I am."
"If I'm a freak, then she's an abomination. Otherwise, who else would treat the Deep as their home?"
Mei said: "Aponia… I've heard that name. A powerful psychic-type MANTIS, right?"
Kalpas nodded: "Yeah, psychic-type. The disgusting kind."
"That's exactly why I had to wait so long. But for this one thing… I'm willing to be patient."
"Someday, I'll tear her apart, piece by piece… Those hands everyone envies—I'll throw them into Aponia's blood and watch them get completely stained a filthy red."
?
Mei looked at Kalpas, puzzled, and asked: "…Didn't you just say she's your friend?"
Kalpas countered: "Yeah, so what?"
"…"
Mei was silent for a long time before finally resolving to ask: "Just to confirm—although I've been here for a while now, Kalpas… you've never once considered me a friend, right?"
Kalpas said: "You can dream about it when you're asleep. Other times…"
Mei felt relieved: "No problem, just asking casually. And… I'm actually glad you said that."
.....
This conversation had two parts that caught her attention.
Aponia…
And the Deep…
Next, she asked others about Raven's whereabouts.
She got a bit of information from Klein—Raven was still in the regular areas of the Realm.
So she chose to enter the Elysian Realm again.
As soon as she entered, she found the surroundings completely different. What used to be Previous Era architecture had now become pure wasteland.
Mei was puzzled: "Why did the starting point change to here?"
Even Elysia, who always appeared, was gone…
Just as she thought that.
Elysia appeared in front of her: "Hi, Mei! Finally found you!"
"Elysia?" Mei was a bit confused—it was too coincidental.
Elysia sighed and said: "Sigh, I don't know what happened, but the Realm suddenly turned into a total mess."
"Even shared intentions can't let us know each other's directions anymore. Luckily I had this little thing to locate you."
She shook the object in her hand: "Mm, what's it called again? Eye of the Enlightened? Or Kevin's Armament Model 24? Anyway, it's a device specifically for searching and locating Herrschers. I traded one crystal flower for it."
Mei was a little surprised—this thing was worth less than the megaphone earlier?
Elysia continued: "Of course, I also brought you another piece of good news—guess who I traded with?"
Mei asked: "…Pardofelis? She's back?"
Elysia said: "That's right! This is a rare chance—don't miss it. I've already opened the path to the shop for you. Hurry up, or… she might head out again."
With Elysia's help.
The path ahead opened.
Mei stepped directly into the passage.
And appeared in front of the shop she had seen countless times before.
At the low table in the shop, a cat-eared girl was lying on the table counting silver coins.
Her ears twitched slightly. Sensing movement, she turned around: "Eh? A customer?"
Mei greeted her first: "Hello, Pardofelis."
"Huh? How do you know my name?" As soon as she asked, Pardofelis realized: "Oh… you must be the guest Elysia-nee mentioned. She told me about you."
"Welcome, welcome! No need to be polite—just call me Felis, or Pardo, whatever feels natural. Feel free to browse anything on the shelves. Fake goods get tenfold compensation, no returns!"
Mei said: "Those two slogans probably shouldn't be next to each other, right?"
Pardofelis stared at her for a moment and said: "Ah, wait—could it be… you're Miss Raiden Mei?"
Mei nodded: "That's me."
Pardofelis exclaimed excitedly: "Wow! The real deal! Elysia-nee told me so many stories about you! A successor with horns on her head—who just arrived not long ago and already became everyone's favorite. Then turned around and beat up Snake-nee for the peace of the Realm—"
"Oh, Snake-nee is Dr. Mobius. That's what I like to call her."
"You're way too awesome! When Snake-nee gets serious, even a hundred—no, two hundred of me couldn't beat her!"
Mei was speechless: "…"
Pardofelis didn't mind at all and asked: "So, Mei-nee, what do you want to buy today? Perfect timing—I just got a fresh batch of new goods from Vill-V-nee's workshop… ten thousand."