Making Honkai Impact lll In A World Where Kallen Exists [Continuation]

In the Golden Courtyard,

As the situation grew increasingly dire, Mobius's actions were discovered by the Herrscher of Corruption, who had already begun corrupting Klein externally.

"Hmph—"

Mobius let out a cold snort, displeased that Klein hadn't followed her instructions immediately. Even more so, she was irritated that Klein didn't listen to her even when faced with danger.

Why act so recklessly?

Wouldn't everything be fine if she just left it to Mobius?

And that Vill-V… it was all her fault that Mobius couldn't replicate her own experimental creations. Now look, everything was falling apart, wasn't it?

"Klein~, next time, don't do this again."

Her sharp gaze swept over Klein, fixing on a position just to her left, where she could always see her.

Once again, a Herrscher trying to take Klein away from her.

Last time, she hadn't been able to protect Klein…

"…Mm." Klein looked at herself on the screen, her gaze calm and devoid of emotion.

But that was indeed something she would do.

The difference was… this time, she had chosen to go against the Doctor's decision.

Yet she didn't regret it. Even now, her rational judgment told her that sacrificing herself to defeat the Herrscher of Corruption was a worthwhile trade. Surely, the Doctor thought the same.

"Sigh… these old memories are always so full of twists and turns. You get used to it. Shall we continue, Mobius?"

The Herrscher of Sentience spoke nonchalantly, assuming the next scene would feature another fragment of history. But instead, the story shifted to focus entirely on someone else.

"Impressive as always, Mobius. You never leave much of an impression," she teased.

"…No need. I'm not interested," Mobius responded coldly.

The upcoming scenes… weren't particularly pleasant. If she ended up crying, it would be too humiliating.

Just imagining such an ugly display made her want to find a hole to crawl into.

"Oh? Do you truly not care? I, for one, am very interested in what happens to Mobius next~," Elysia said with boundless enthusiasm, her energy undiminished.

This was good…

Luo Mo watched her with satisfaction. The knife had only gone halfway, and Elysia had already built some resistance. She had only cried once at the cat's story.

But Luo Mo couldn't help feeling a faint sense of urgency… and frustration.

Wait, that feeling wasn't right.

A subtle thought crossed his mind.

(TL: heh– looks like we know who will be the Herrscher of Corruption)

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As time passed, Klein gave her utmost effort until her vision blurred and her hands stiffened, rendering her unable to move.

Her body slid off the control panel involuntarily.

Her blue eyes seemed to be closing slowly, unable to focus anymore. They were dim and lifeless, devoid of their former brilliance.

"This… should be enough."

Dragging her fading body, she spoke in a voice so faint it was barely audible.

Her life was like a flickering candle, on the verge of being snuffed out.

"Do you even understand what you've done?"

Mobius's projection narrowed her eyes, her lips tightening as her breathing grew heavier—a sign that she was truly furious.

"…"

Klein's response was a soft gasp, her senses growing duller, her face marked with traces of corruption.

Tilting her head slightly, she seemed to grasp what Mobius was saying.

"You're right… the more, the better."

She pressed her hands to the ground, trying to stand again, but quickly realized she couldn't. Her long sleeves covered her arms, which were likely also marked by corruption.

She agreed, but standing up was now an impossible task.

Indeed, the Herrscher of Corruption was a natural enemy to memory constructs, but for a weaponized doll like Klein, it was just as difficult to resist.

Willpower alone could not overcome everything.

"Enough!"

Mobius's anger finally boiled over. She had rarely felt regret for a miscalculation—those moments were few and far between, even considering her memories.

For a genius, the feeling of powerlessness was rare.

But when it did occur, it dragged them into deeper despair… and a burning desire to destroy everything.

A sorrowful melody played, low and steady, leading only to tragedy.

"You know this wasn't a rational decision."

"70%? Destroying the Sea of Quanta's equipment would have been the sure solution. Why didn't you do that?!"

"There's a reason, of course," Klein replied instinctively, habitually searching for a logical explanation for her choice.

After all, the one who had taught her to act purely out of reason was none other than Mobius.

But… at this moment, she thought, perhaps it didn't matter if she broke that rule just this once.

Everything had been rational until now. Acting on impulse just this once… wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Maybe I just wanted to think of it as a gift in return."

She gave an answer that didn't align with either of their styles.

"A gift? What, Klein… has the Herrscher of Corruption already destroyed your central processing unit?"

Mobius laughed sharply in exasperation, her tone cutting.

Stubborn, disobedient Klein… no longer the Klein who understood her.

What had happened to this world?

So… this was the Herrscher of Corruption's doing, wasn't it?

"…Perhaps."

Klein's vision grew increasingly blurred, and even Mebius, who was right in front of her, began to fade into a haze.

She had seen similar scenes before—images of someone nearing their end.

"Actually, what the Doctor left behind back then… wasn't just that recording."

"And so, I must also…"

Her voice grew softer and her words slower.

"…No one here is rushing you."

Mobius spoke coldly, but her heart tightened as she looked at Klein's frail state.

"Sorry…"

Klein's voice was faint, barely audible unless one stood close.

How pitiful…

"Back then, the Doctor should have entered the stasis pod with us…"

"But when I returned to the lab, she was already gone…"

"Other than the recording you've seen, she only left me a single message…"

"For so long, I couldn't understand what she meant… back then, she said…"

"…"

"...?"

Klein opened her mouth, but she couldn't hear her own voice.

The corruption had worsened again, and the module responsible for her speech had completely failed.

She could no longer say a word.

The true final words of the real Mobius were meant to be revealed in her next sentence.

But Klein was powerless to deliver them, and Mobius no longer cared.

Mobius closed her eyes briefly, her eyelids trembling. When she opened them again, she saw Klein's impending demise—her trembling, self-destructive hand.

Just like Gray Serpent before her, Klein had made the same choice. The most effective way to halt the spread of the Herrscher of Corruption was to destroy the host.

Klein reflected on her design and reached toward the critical component that kept her functioning.

This… would end it all…

But just as she prepared to act, she found herself suddenly unable to move.

She had been stripped of the ability to act.

The sluggishness in her body made her question what had gone wrong. According to her calculations, she should have had enough time to neutralize the threat she posed. Was her estimate incorrect?

She quickly realized, however, that it wasn't the Herrscher of Corruption who had stopped her, it was the Mobius standing before her.

Klein looked at Mobius in shock.

Had Mebius used those manufactured replicas against her? Weren't they meant to be used against the Herrscher of Corruption?

"Don't you think you're being a little too presumptuous, Klein?"

"I gave you life. You don't have the right to dispose of it so casually."

"…?"

Klein couldn't respond; her speech module was destroyed. She could only look at Mobius's slightly cold expression.

But… why?

She had already prepared the replicas. And wasn't she already beyond saving?

Wait…

Suddenly, Klein felt the traces of corruption leaving her body. She realized why Mobius had claimed she could save her.

As the first successful subject of the Dominance experiments, Mobius had taken all the corruption affecting Klein into herself, redirecting it into the Elysian Realm.

But… if that were the case… wouldn't the Doctor…

"This way, any possibility of connecting the Elysian Realm to the outside world is completely severed."

"Yes, and it's all your fault. Now… I'm really going to die."

There would be no more opportunities to reach the outside world. She would be entirely claimed by the Herrscher of Corruption.

Mobius sighed, covering her face with one hand. Her expression was one Klein had never seen before, a mix of sorrow and an indescribable feeling that comes when life approaches its end.

Was it a form of trust? A glimmer of hope? Or a final moment of nostalgia?

"You're the one who acted recklessly first, Klein."

Mobius's tone was almost childish, pointing out that Klein had been the first to abandon rationality.

So, it was Klein's fault that she had chosen this path, wasn't it?

"Oh… wait, I'm not as foolish as you."

"Don't think you're so important. I… was merely trying to complete my own infinity."

Mobius stubbornly swallowed the childish words she had just uttered. Even in her final moments, she refused to express her true thoughts.

But her actions were the clearest expression of how she truly felt.

"Klein..."

"Klein?"

Mobius called softly, but there was no response. At some point, the small figure before her had closed her eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.

She had been on the verge of collapsing for some time now.

Such burdens were simply too heavy for a doll to bear.

"…How pitiful."

With an unreadable expression, Mobius approached Klein. "You don't even have the strength to say goodbye, do you?"

"Still, perhaps that's for the best."

"A snake… would never want anyone to witness its end."

"Sleep well, then. When you wake up again… you'll be 'free'."

At this thought, a trace of reluctance flickered in Mobius's heart.

When Klein awakened again, the responsibilities she had upheld for fifty thousand years would be no more.

She would have to find a new reason to continue existing, to face an uncertain future with her own will.

For a mechanical lifeform, that was no easy feat.

As for the real Mobius, the one from reality, what were the final words she left to Klein? That was something Mobius feared she would never know.

She had asked Elysia about it, who said it was part of her missing memories. Elysia never lied.

But it didn't matter. At this moment, Mobius understood.

It could only be,

"The future… is the last infinity I will create for you."

"Goodbye, my only understanding one."

The virtual image of Mobius opened her arms toward Klein, who was fast asleep on the sofa, and gave her a gentle embrace.

Even though… there was no warmth to feel from the contact.

Even though this was yet another farewell, never to meet again.

But she was willing to give all the warmth she could to this singular and irreplaceable being who understood her.

She wouldn't let anything happen to her again, no matter the cost.

---

[She's so gentle, ahhh!]

[The hardest entity in the Realm... what sorrow.]

[Mobius! My Mobius!]

[Is this what you meant by all 'happy and heartwarming' plotlines? (crying)]

[So cruel, I can't stop my tears...]

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In the Golden Courtyard,

At first, the atmosphere of the interaction was lighthearted, but as it transitioned to Klein's tragedy, the mood grew somber.

Elysia, who had weathered countless emotional upheavals, quickly sensed the sharp turn toward heartbreak.

But it was already too late to avoid it.

Like a frog in warm water, the gradual twists led the story to its low point, to the scene where Mobius faced death for her sole confidante.

For the Flame-Chasers, death seemed inevitable.

Unlike Bronya and Kiana, Elysia understood the reality,.she didn't buy into the idea of "all four surviving."

But even death differed in its forms. Mobius's behavior before her demise was entirely distinct from her past.

The so-called immortal serpent did not display much ugliness, nor did she maintain her cold and unfeeling demeanor. She seemed like a completely different person, yet made a choice similar to others.

The Herrscher of Sentience passed her the controller she had attempted to hand over earlier, but Mobius only glanced at it and ignored it.

It was merely the final act of death.

A snake does not yield to death, nor does it fear it.

Besides… did anyone expect her to shed tears like Elysia?

Even though the sorrow in her heart was no less than Elysia's, Mebius would never reveal her emotions so openly.

"...Doctor?"

Klein tugged at the hem of the garment before her and looked up at Mobius, her eyes filled with some confusion and surprise.

…Indeed, those were the exact words the Doctor had left her fifty thousand years ago, word for word.

"Hm? What is it, Klein? Look at the video—you're the one who made me let loose for once."

"Have you forgotten how I usually teach you?"

Mobius squinted at Klein beside her, her tone faint.

Though the words were sharp, there wasn't much blame in her voice.

"...No," Klein shook her head. "I just… I thought no one could change your mind or plans, Doctor... except for funding."

"The times you've changed your goals mid-course… are almost nonexistent."

"..."

Mobius glanced at her. For a moment, she couldn't argue against the claim that funding could alter her plans.

But even that was the result of rational calculation for the optimal solution.

It wasn't a true change of heart.

"So, have you realized your mistake? If not, I could have dealt with the Herrscher of Corruption myself… saving me from having to hear Vill-V show off in front of me."

She snorted lightly, clearly dissatisfied.

Klein was momentarily at a loss for words. What she had meant was that she shouldn't have been able to influence the Doctor's plans… but was the Doctor instead emphasizing Klein's importance to her?

Importance… Klein understood her own uniqueness. But no matter who it was, the Doctor would never let someone stand in her way.

Moreover… wasn't the Doctor someone who so desperately sought immortality?

Would she really face death for her?

"Counterpoint: Don't use me as an excuse. The betrayal came from Vill-V's group. How could we take pride in that?"

The Expert Vill-V adjusted her glasses and spoke softly.

"Tch…"

Mobius frowned deeply, feeling slightly irritated. Was she even going to argue about this?

"Sigh… Truly surprising, what an emotional scene. Who would have thought Mobius would face something like this…?"

"It really exceeded my expectations, Mobius~"

Elysia, moved by the interaction between Klein and Mobius just now, felt her eyes grow slightly misty but quickly forced the tears back.

She wouldn't cry just because of a touching plot.

The cold and aloof Mobius, the Mobius who never compromised in the face of death… had made a decision ruled by emotion for Klein.

By the principle that the majority is correct, she was probably wrong.

But Elysia didn't think it was a mistake.

She adored such a storyline and offered heartfelt praise.

Eden felt the same. The piece of music used to amplify the emotions in this scene had been completed at Luo Mos request.

Used here… it indeed stirred her emotions.

"Mobius…"

Bronya closed her eyes briefly. She had once considered studying under Vill-V or Mobius to enhance her abilities… but her boss had stopped her, suggesting she watch the story unfold first.

She could only say… neither of these two were particularly kind people.

Most of the limited kindness Mobius had was reserved for Klein.

And for that, Bronya was glad she hadn't rushed into a decision.

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