Without waiting for Kiana and the other two to answer, Hare walked off in another direction on her own.
"By the way, you're very concerned about Fu Hua's safety, right?"
Hare suddenly turned around and said: "Please rest assured… my Lord has no intention of harming her. He has only temporarily stripped her of her combat ability."
With that, Hare's figure disappeared like a dream bubble, just as suddenly as she had appeared.
Kiana, Bronya, and Mei exchanged glances and tacitly chased forward.
After finally spotting Hare's trace again, they heard her say: "Hmm… before we talk about my Lord, what were we talking about again?"
Bronya answered: "You said you are a crystallization of the Schariac Stigmata."
Hare nodded: "Mm, yes. Thank you, Bronya."
"Anyway, let's start with my identity."
"The term 'crystallization' is not a metaphor."
"I am not human, but a brand-new species brought to this world by the Stigmata Plan."
"Borrowing a classical term… you can call beings like me 'Eidos'."
"You may have encountered enemies in the previous maze that looked similar to me on the outside——they are Eidos Seeds."
"They are artificial life forms temporarily stuck in an incomplete state."
"Since they have not yet grown into full Eidos, they are driven by the instinct to reject outsiders."
"That is why, while you were trapped in the maze, they viewed you as enemies and tried to eliminate you."
"After all, the Stigmata Plan is still in its early stages——even the Stigmata themselves need some time to adapt."
Mei let out a scornful laugh: "You make it sound so light and easy."
"However, from what I can see… the so-called Stigmata Plan is about creating existences like you, beings that lie between humans and Stigmata?"
Hare pondered for a moment and said: "Mm, that's correct——as expected of Mei."
"It's just that… as products of the Stigmata Plan, we are actually the means, not the end result."
Kiana asked: "…What do you mean?"
Hare explained: "Like humans, we are merely carriers of civilization."
"However… saying it this way might be a bit too abstract——let me explain it to you with actual examples."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hare's figure disappeared again, forcing the trio to set off once more to find her.
This time, the moment they approached her after finding her, a strange string of dialogue suddenly entered the minds of the three.
"Before the Stigmata Plan is fully completed, humanity still has a chance to terminate it and find a better alternative."
A refuting voice immediately rang out.
"That kind of thinking is too ridiculous. It's like trying to teach ants on a plane to prove the Poincaré conjecture."
A puzzled voice followed.
"What is the Poincaré conjecture? The person who brought me into this world did not have that knowledge."
"Moreover… since you have already inherited wisdom and knowledge from humans, why compare yourself to ants?"
A pessimistic voice sounded at this moment.
"Humans cannot defeat anything… We are the same."
"That is the only thing they taught me."
A gentle voice appeared comfortingly.
"It seems the ideals you inherited have gone through too many sad past events…"
"It's okay. The fact that we can converse like this is enough to show that humanity can ultimately break away from predetermined tracks and fate… and so can we."
"Before the Stigmata Plan is fully completed, humanity still has a chance to terminate it and find a better alternative."
…
In reality, Kiana said uncertainly: "They… are talking in the mental world?"
Bronya said: "Rather than calling it talking, it's more like constantly repeating…"
Hare sighed: "Yes, after all, they are only Eidos Seeds and essentially cannot create new thoughts."
"Just like——ah, let's save this example for later."
Bronya immediately said: "Bronya hates it when people only say half of what they mean."
Hare showed an amused smile: "——But I also hate letting things slip or being tricked into revealing information, you know?"
Mei crossed her arms at this time and said: "Then can you openly tell me where these voices were collected from?"
Hare thought for a moment: "Mm, even though we had never met before… as expected, Mei, who was once a World Serpent member, is more reasonable."
"These voices were collected from human dreams——yes, from the humans the Stigmata Plan has already absorbed."
"Since you are interested… shall I show you some more?"
Another segment of dialogue from the mental world made all three present frown slightly.
"…"
Mei was silent for a moment.
Kiana then said: "…It really gives off a very uncomfortable feeling."
Bronya said thoughtfully: "However, about the fire——Bronya remembers that there was indeed a great fire in London in history."
"But that should have been hundreds of years ago."
Hare nodded: "Yes. For the Stigmata Plan, the civilization information it can capture is not limited to the present."
"All historical cultures… as long as they are civilizations created by humans, they have the chance to become nourishment for the Stigmata."
"Doesn't it feel quite similar to another thing you are familiar with?"
When saying this, Hare kept looking at Bronya.
The meaning of "another thing" was obvious.
Faced with Hare's gaze, Bronya maintained an expressionless face on the surface, but in her heart she thought: Strange… she seems to hold some indescribable emotion toward the Herrscher of Reason?
Mei spoke at this time: "You may have collected many fragments of human consciousness."
"But there is one thing I have found very puzzling from the beginning——why can a Stigmata Plan like this be used to fight against Finality?"
Hare explained: "Ah… you misunderstood, Mei."
"Strictly speaking, the Stigmata Plan is not a method to fight against Finality."
"The endpoint it can reach, you can call it embracing and transcending Finality."
Mei said in surprise: "Embracing?"
Hare said with some distress: "Oh dear, it seems Mei has heard this phrasing somewhere before."
"That being the case, as warriors fighting against Honkai, you must be very curious about where Finality comes from, right?"
"Although my Lord would also want to communicate these things with you in his own way…"
"Knowing some of the story in advance is probably not a bad thing."
Kiana thought: "You mean… World Serpent knows the origin of the Herrscher of Finality?"
Hare smiled and said: "Of course. After all, we are the successors of Fire Moth."
"It's just that… to tell this story, we need to change locations again. Make sure you can keep up, okay?"
Hare disappeared once more, and viewers across the country couldn't help but start discussing.
"I really see a bit of Elysia in Hare's character. I'm a fan now!"
"I think this subtle mix of wife and young girl vibe is simply addictive!"
"Hare and Mei are both so beautiful. The quality of beauties in Honkai Impact 3rd is just too high!"
"As if the handsome guys aren't high quality too. There's just fewer of them."
"…"
Inside the company.
As a character who appeared later in the story, Misteln or rather Hare was still quite worried.
She was afraid she wouldn't be liked by the audience.
But Kiana showed her the fan group on her phone and said with a smile:
"Auntie, look, I told you everyone would like you!"
That's right. Outside the plot, Hare was not only a college girl but also Kiana's aunt.
No one knew how Elysia found her and lured her into the company.
For people other than Mobius, it was like closing their eyes and opening them again, and somehow several new people had appeared in the company.
Even now, Mobius was staring at the plot on the TV with dark circles around her eyes.
How should one put it… even Hessian didn't dare to offend her at this moment.
On the TV.
The trio led by Kiana had once again experienced quite a lot of information from Eidos Seeds in the mental world.
Until they finally arrived at a certain place.
Hare, who had been waiting early, said: "Welcome to the Finality Crater."
"Hmm… if I had waited here from the beginning, could I have welcomed you with these lines?"
"…"
Kiana and the other two remained silent.
Hare continued without any embarrassment: "This place was once the stage where generation after generation of past civilizations fought desperately for their fate…"
"Humanity failed again and again, reincarnated again and again. Countless vastly different wills created similar fates, all ultimately frozen here."
"Kiana Kaslana, Bronya Zaychik, Raiden Mei."
"As Herrschers, you do not need to enter the cycle of reincarnation——what a fortunate yet sorrowful thing that is."
Mei frowned and asked: "…Reincarnation?"
Hare nodded: "Mm, the cycle of the world, destruction and rebirth. Didn't you also gather some information about it?"
"If it weren't for someone cutting the thread of fate fifty thousand years ago——this so-called reincarnation would continue to play out endlessly on Earth."
"But even though the thread has been cut… as long as humanity cannot fully coexist with Honkai, Imaginary energy will still continuously pour into the Cocoon of Finality."
"Catalyzing the birth of a new Herrscher of Finality."
Kiana's eyes lit up: "In that case, if we destroy that Cocoon of Finality…"
Hare suddenly said: "World Serpent also very much wants to do that, but it is impossible, Kiana."
"After all… to see the Cocoon of Finality, you yourself would most likely need to possess the power of Finality."
"Especially for you, Kiana…"
"That would mean you yourself would have to become the Herrscher of Finality."
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the audience outside the TV become excited, but even Mei in the plot couldn't help but look at Kiana.
In the silence, Hare said: "However… how could that be possible?"
"Discussing Finality is like discussing death…"
"No one can return from the world after death, so we cannot discuss what the experience of death itself is like."
"And if we use this metaphor——then what World Serpent is doing is redefining death."
Although Hare had tried her best to describe it in easy-to-understand terms, it still sounded abstract and difficult to comprehend.
"However, to be serious, my earlier statements about death were nothing more than self-righteous arrogance."
Disappearing and being found once again, Hare continued: "Although I can indeed walk at the boundary between dreams and reality."
"I do not possess the ability to transcend time and space and witness all truths."
"Just like the Finality wreckage on this Moon that has turned into ordinary rock. Because of what my Lord and all of you carry, it no longer awakens."
"And the reason I was able to break free from the vast Stigmata space and appear here and now is largely thanks to a senior who paved the way for me."
Mei asked in confusion: "…Senior?"
Hare nodded: "Yes, a senior. A senior who is guilty of all kinds of evil."
Just the words "guilty of all kinds of evil" were enough to make viewers across the country think of a certain Bishop.
His obsessive love, pure love, and that "guilty of all kinds of evil" trait had long been deeply imprinted in the hearts of all Honkai Impact 3rd audiences.
On the TV.
As if thinking of something, Hare gazed at Bronya and let out a nearly inaudible sigh.
Bronya spoke at this time: "What Bronya cares more about is probably another matter. You said that the giant Finality that looks like a stone statue no longer awakens because of what Kevin and we carry——what does that mean?"
Hare explained: "If all of you are anchor points in the vast ocean, then the Stigmata Plan behind my Lord represents this boundless sky."
"You stand firmly on the ground, while the Stigmata are ethereal… but the problem everyone ultimately needs to solve is actually exactly the same."
"Hmm, if you feel the previous metaphor was too heavy, we can also look at the issue from another angle."
"Promoting the birth of Eidos is not the fundamental purpose of World Serpent."
"It is merely a life form suitable for crossing Finality… used to carry the civilizations once created by humans."
Mei couldn't help but say: "You mean World Serpent has not found a way for ordinary people to directly cross Finality?"
Hare smiled: "You can understand it that way."
"After all, if we could even achieve that… why would everyone gather on this desolate Moon."
"And fight endlessly for their own different senses of justice?"
Kiana said at this time: "…From the perspective of subverting humanity and destroying lives, there is no difference between you and the Herrscher of Finality."
Hare did not deny it, but smiled and said: "Yes, that is exactly the difference brought about by differing standpoints."
"What is civilization?"
"Eras change, generations pass on. Different faces and similar stories flash by in turn, abstracted into vague consciousness and concepts."
"Eventually the faces become blurred, the stories are lost, simplified like those Eidos Seeds into existences without distinct personalities."
"…And the dispute between you and World Serpent lies in whether to regard this existence as the appearance of civilization or the essence of civilization."
Unknowingly, the conversation had turned into a debate.