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

The Herrscher of Sentience suddenly had a revelation, clenching her right fist and smacking it into her left palm.

"You know… after watching everything just now, I realized something."

"Could the Herrscher of Corruption have been drawn to Mobius's side… mainly because of the 'old Timer'?"

"I vaguely recall a similar case before, where someone dragged down other Flame-Chasers. It was also related to the old timer."

She glanced at Fu Hua's side, but when Fu Hua's gaze swept toward her, she quickly averted her eyes in panic.

"..." Fu Hua rubbed her temples, helplessly watching the Herrscher of Sentience chatter away.

She fully understood the challenges of dealing with a mischievous child.

Still… she had also noticed this awkward issue.

Had she once again inadvertently caused harm despite good intentions?

"...I think I understand what you mean," Mobius interjected. "Although the matters were related to me, this time… it wasn't Fu Hua's fault. The other party merged too deeply with the Elysian Realm… making it difficult to completely isolate them."

Mobius chose to explain on Fu Hua's behalf. She bore no grudge against her, even if there was a sliver of truth in the blame.

But everything was Vill-V's fault.

Unlike Fu Hua, Mobius had significant grievances against Vill-V.

"Tch, so this is the ending you're talking about, Mobius?"

Kalpas, unwilling to let Mobius have any peace, seized the opportunity to mock her. She had once ridiculed his death; now he could throw it all back at her.

"What, do you have a problem with it?"

Mobius replied calmly, holding Klein's small hand in hers, as if offering comfort to the other. A curious and useless gesture, she thought to herself, but decided to let it be.

"Who would have thought that our supposedly immortal Mobius would, in the end, display a hint of warmth? Remarkable."

Kalpas's cold voice lingered as he turned his gaze to Mobius, pausing momentarily before offering his evaluation with a slight nod.

"…And weren't you the same, Kalpas?"

Mobius squinted and responded leisurely, "The words you said at the end were equally surprising. Especially that scene with Aponia."

"Hmph—That woman…"

Kalpas clearly didn't want to linger on the topic. Even Rin had stopped troubling Aponia, so if he continued now, it would seem overly interfering.

But no matter what, he and Mobius couldn't get along.

"Boss~ The relationship between those two is awful," Kiana muttered, clicking her tongue in disapproval.

"Considering the rumors that they often traveled together, it's not surprising. Most of those stories were likely fabricated by the two of them. It's inevitable," Luo Mo explained softly.

Their hushed conversation didn't draw much attention from the others. Meanwhile, the rest had calmed their emotions, moving on from the news of Mobius's death.

But two individuals continued to focus on the unfolding in-game storyline. To the people of fifty thousand years ago, they were among the few who survived Mobius's lair.

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"Waaah—Sister Klein and Mobius… Doctor, your deaths were so tragic."

The expected sorrow was cut short when the name "Mobius" appeared. That sadness was forcefully swallowed back—a natural fear of life itself.

With her deeply ingrained caution, Danzhu chose not to comment further on Mobius, avoiding any potential consequences.

"It's unexpected… It seems Sister Klein indeed had a significant impact on the Doctor," she concluded.

ChangXuan spoke calmly.

"Wasn't that obvious from the start? The Doctor, she... she..."

Danzhu was so moved that tears almost choked her words, but she pushed through to say it aloud, "She really likes Sister Klein!"

"I'm already imagining the two of them being all affectionate. Even if yuri stories aren't everyone's cup of tea, the dynamic between an assertive Klein and a cold and aloof Doctor attacking her defensiveness… would make for an intriguing read!"

(TL: *my eye twitching*)

"..."

ChangXuan glanced at her. The touching mood vanished as quickly as it came.

"Danzhu, if you die suddenly one day, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. And revenge? That's off the table."

"The one who understands her, supports her forever, trusts her, and changes because of her…"

Danzhu wiped the corner of her eyes, her face full of longing and anticipation. "The story is already flooding into my mind!"

ChangXuan instinctively took a step back and scrutinized Danzhu. She had a strong feeling Danzhu was genuinely serious.

It seemed like she had been completely taken in by Luo Mo's nonsense. Was she really about to start creating manga about the Flame-Chasers?

"...Take care of yourself."

"And just so you know, you're not the Doctor's 'understanding one.'"

Considering it was her sister, ChangXuan reluctantly gave some advice.

There was no way they would ever understand Mobius. The fact that these former top students were slacking off in her lab already said everything about their attitude. Otherwise, they wouldn't have encouraged Fu Hua to defect when the Fire Moth Project began.

"Fair point."

Danzhu forced a smile. She had been genuinely moved just now. But... she blamed it on staying up late reading manga!

She had somehow replaced the characters in the story with the Doctor and Klein. Damn it.

The Doctor... surely wouldn't know about this.

--------------

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, another successful experiment of the Domination project opened her eyes again.

The Herrscher of Corruption looked at the Honkai beasts surrounding her,.creatures she had supposedly created—now attacking her. This was unbearable.

No matter what happened, even if hurt or betrayed, she had to love everything equally and resolutely.

But that, evidently, was no easy feat.

The Herrscher of Corruption found herself in a difficult position... one she had been in countless times before. She understood she might have chosen the most challenging role to play.

That emotion of loving everyone equally was a hard act to maintain.

"Which is why she is Elysia," Hua answered calmly, reaffirming her point.

But this only made the atmosphere between them even tenser.

"…Alright, alright."

The Herrscher of Corruption shook her head helplessly. The truth always revealed itself in the cruelest way. Not all data could be mimicked.

"Now, even I admit it," she said.

She admitted she couldn't imitate Elysia.

Even with the data that composed her, she still couldn't become Elysia. The choices Elysia made were ones she only realized the difficulty of when truly faced with them.

"Ha... hahaha—"

She stopped pretending, her laugh cold and chilling. Her narrowed eyes glinted with self-mockery.

She suddenly found herself ridiculous.

She had played the role of a clown in everyone's eyes, and in the end... only she thought her imitation was convincing.

But looking at Hua not far away, the corners of her mouth curled up, as if she were casually talking about something unrelated.

"But it doesn't matter. The solution is simple... For those things I can't bring myself to continue loving..."

"If they all disappear, won't that solve everything?"

Her gaze filled with malice turned to Hua. She abandoned her pretense of playing the "everyone gets along" role.

She now harbored murderous intent toward Hua.

In the next moment, a blazing fire pierced through her chest, erupting from within and splitting her apart.

The radiance resembled the death of a star.

The light came from inside her body.

It was the hottest temperature, erupting internally, from a power she had once corrupted.

The strength of the strongest Flame-Chaser, Kevin, exploded within her.

----------------

In the golden courtyard hall,

"Oh, oh, it's Kevin! Looks like he's finally making an appearance?~"

Elysia clapped her hands lightly, watching the last scene where flames burst from the Herrscher's chest with some anticipation.

But how did it explode within her? That was unclear to Elysia.

She hadn't done much voiceover work for this part, so she wasn't familiar with the details.

"Excited, Elysia? Even the Herrscher of Corruption, who had your data, admitted she couldn't mimic you," Mobius said.

"Hmm? What are you talking about, Doctor? Why would you think one person could completely replace another? Everyone is unique."

Elysia blinked and smiled warmly.

"Even if she chose to imitate Mobius, I would still firmly acknowledge her uniqueness."

"But losing her temper at the end... that's not cute at all."

She sighed slightly, perhaps worried about Hua's situation in the game.

"Tch. It's funny how the Herrscher of Corruption tried to mimic Elysia, only to end up in such a predicament."

"In every instance of so-called mimicry, when faced with someone who opposed her, she always chose to delete them..."

"Heh—"

Mobius chuckled coldly, full of mockery. The Herrscher really had no self-awareness.

And that... dared to call itself Elysia?

She had completely forgotten that she herself had once imitated Elysia's way of speaking.

But for her, it was merely a means to an end, just like taking preparatory steps during an experiment to increase the chance of success.

"Well, well, it seems my plan has dealt a significant blow to the Herrscher of Corruption," Vill-V said plainly. Facing the gazes of those around her, she added indifferently, "This is what the Magician insisted I announce right away."

"..."

Mobius stared at her for a moment before speaking coldly, "Clearly, it was I who made her completely unable to continue pretending to be Elysia."

It had to be said, there were plenty of people Mobius couldn't stand.

Or perhaps... she just had too much pride to admit otherwise.

"She said: 'Well then, wait and see.'"

Vill-V, forced into the role of messenger, conveyed the words. But it was hard to say whether she herself shared such thoughts. After all, every Vill-V considered herself a genius with her own pride... except perhaps the Id.

----------------

A flashback to Kevin's last words before he dissapeared,

"Wait for me to return, and we'll go back to yesterday."

He had always believed his close friend would never break their promise.

But he never imagined that "yesterday" would be recreated in such a way.

Amid ruins reminiscent of Longsky City, high-rise buildings stood covered in moss, with rain falling softly, giving the place a dreamy, surreal hue.

Su found himself here. Although the scenery surprised him, it wasn't unfamiliar.

Or rather, both he and Kevin found it eerily familiar—no different from the aftermath of the calamity 50,000 years ago. It was here that they faced the greatest turning point in their lives.

As a Psychic MANTIS, Su's abilities were now entirely ineffective. Struggling against the erosion within his body left him powerless to locate the person he was searching for.

"Come one, come all! Pick any treasure from the shelves! Ten times compensation for fakes, but no refunds or exchanges!"

The voice of a cat-eared girl calling out to customers reached his ears, and he immediately recognized who it was.

It was Pardo.

Sure enough, this place was exactly as he had expected.

The "safe place" Vill-V had mentioned in the Elysian Realm was indeed here... inside the Herrscher of Corruption.

Here, he could find those who had been "deleted" by Vill-V.

But... there was something different about Pardo compared to the one in his memory. Not only was her tail missing, but she also acted as if she had no idea who he was. This left Su feeling troubled.

With innocent, curious eyes, Pardo looked at him. Her blue pupils sparkled with wonder. When Su introduced himself, she misunderstood and thought he said "Uncle." It clearly wasn't her intention, though.

What intrigued her more was Su's mention of "business."

After pondering for a while, Su decided to ask her about someone. Even though she had lost her original memories, Pardo might still have her innate talents.

"His name is Kevin. He's about my age, with silver-white hair…"

"Ah… Ah—! Are you talking about the Prince? How could anyone not know about him?"

Pardo exclaimed in surprise and quickly stepped aside to lead the way. She chatted with him as they walked.

It seemed that name was quite renowned here.

Hearing Pardo refer to Kevin as "the Prince," Su felt his heart sink further.

---------------

In the hall,

"Ehehe… So this is what I look like without a tail? But… those ears, wait, are they hair accessories or real ears?"

Pardo wore a conflicted expression as she muttered, her face clouded with hesitation.

"Huh—Pardo, you're alive again!"

Elysia clapped her hands enthusiastically, as if Pardo had truly died earlier. Overcome with emotion, she hugged Pardo tightly and spun her around twice before stopping when Pardo frantically smacked her shoulder.

"Pardo… I really thought you were dead back then…"

"Ugh… uh, Elysia, you're too into the story. Snap out of it already."

Pardo looked aggrieved, trying to make her let go.

Too tight!

(TL: Pardo is being buried by Elysia's chest~)

"Ahem—" Elysia coughed awkwardly and finally released her.

Little did she know, Pardo might meow again and "die" once more.

"...Come to think of it, Kevin's nickname at Thousand Feathers Academy was 'the Prince,' right? Hmm… He was quite popular, too."

"So, they just reused that nickname? Hmm~?"

Elysia, now fully energized, gazed at Kevin mischievously. Her teasing eyes gleamed with mischief as she unearthed a piece of his embarrassing history.

"…"

Kevin remained silent, his expression utterly cold. Faced with his friend's relentless teasing, he... didn't know how to respond.

The best option was to wait for her curiosity to fade.

"That's unlikely... Kevin didn't like that nickname, especially after meeting Mei and becoming a MANTIS. It became even rarer to hear."

Su spoke slowly.

Kevin glanced at his friend, unsure where he had picked up such a sense of humor.

Sure enough...

"Oh? Like… Kosma?"

"When Kosma does something childish and gets caught, he tends to stay alone in a corner for a long time. I've heard this kind of behavior is called… a boy's shyness?"

Her eyes suddenly lit up—not in brightness but from the curiosity and interest in her heart, creating a similar effect.

Of course, it wasn't anything like the laser eyes Vil-V had demonstrated before.

"…" Kosma stayed silent.

He had no idea how the topic had shifted to him. What did he even do?

But the silence shared between the two of them felt oddly connected, almost as if they shared a common thread.

Kosma's idol had always been Kevin, and in this respect, he had learned well—too well.

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