Chapter 421

Mei offered a denial, arguing that the "future" wasn't actually like that, but rather that Aponia, through human intervention, made this future the future she desired—a possibility that also exists.

"That's the crux of the matter... Aponia is indeed the best psycho- Flame-Chaser among us, but to dominate all of the future is something that no human can achieve."

Su said this, but at this moment, Shen Gonglin thought of Otto. He was such a person. He led everyone to achieve the future he wanted. Such people exist. Even if he was an enemy, Shen Gonglin had to admit Otto's excellence. For five hundred years, he only cared about one person and then used everyone as pawns to achieve the future he wanted. Such a thing is really possible.

Thinking of the world I bear, this is proof that Alto can change the future.

"So that means, Sue, you believe that what Aponia said is true."

Mei frowned slightly. According to Sue, he should acknowledge Aponia's abilities, which meant he believed her prophecies, including the idea that she would kill him in a few days. This was absurd.

"What exactly is the nature of Aponia's power? Perhaps no one can give a precise answer—but if we are all puppets manipulated by fate, then she is also in it. The only difference is that she can see the strings binding everyone, nothing more."

You can only see it, but you can't make any changes. In some ways, it's better not to see it at all. Is this what Aponia's ability is like? Compared to Su's, it feels like big data analysis and a charlatan.

The more Mei knew, the more things she didn't understand. She felt like her head was about to explode. She felt like she needed to get close to Rin to relieve the pressure, or maybe find someone else to clear her head? Speaking of Raven Shen Gonglin? Wasn't Rin and Shen Gonglin playing cards with Elysia before? Why is she nowhere to be seen now?

"Well, if you're looking for Raven, she's over there. After all, she's the leader of the kids, and it seems she and Griseo quite well."

Shen Gonglin pointed to the two people talking. Griseo was standing barefoot on the sofa drawing, while Raven looked helpless next to her. Mei walked over curiously and heard the conversation that made her expression complicated. Raven, this guy is pretty amazing.

"Griseo, no, let's use a different way of addressing each other. I'm not that old yet."

Raven's lips twitched. This title put a lot of pressure on her. She wasn't ready for it. After all, "older sister" was obviously more appropriate. She really didn't know why Griseo would call her that.

"Okay... Mom."

Continuing to do as she pleased, Griseo uttered a term of endearment that nearly drove Raven crazy while she was drawing. The mercenary was about to correct her when Mei walked over to see what she had just heard. "Mom?"

"Raven, you guys... are making rapid progress."

The Herrscher of Thunder looked at Raven with a complicated expression. She hadn't expected Raven to have such a hobby. Although the other person might look a little older than her, no matter what, she wasn't old enough to be called "Mom." The book said that some people would become abnormal under high pressure. Could Raven be one of them?

"Hehe, now you have a chance to make fun of me, young lady. I don't know why she insists on calling me that... Is it because she spends so much time with children?"

Raven could only roll her eyes at Mei's teasing. She didn't even have a boyfriend yet, and now someone was calling her "Mom." It was a really strange feeling. With a daughter as big as Griseo, how old was she when she started... Sigh, she really didn't understand. She had teased Mei about being touched on the corner, and now Mei had found out that someone was calling her "Mom." It was truly a case of tit for tat.

"Oh, right, I was just talking to Griseo about the monster we encountered in the studio. I never imagined that it was one of her paintings."

They wanted to change the subject, and Griseo raised her hand to chime in.

"Yes, Mei."

Well, it seems she's been tainted by the Raven's influence again. Mei's expression was subtle. Just like Elysia said, Griseo is a blank canvas, but this time she's clearly stained with the Raven's colors.

"Ah... it's turned into me again. This is terrible. I don't want her to draw anything that's hard to accept."

Raven shrugged. "She'll become like this after spending too much time with Griseo, "Mei kindly reminded Raven. "If you don't want another ruthless mercenary to appear, you'd better be careful."

"You should also pay more attention to the time you spend with her... Wait a minute, what you meant was... that those monsters were created by Griseo after being influenced by someone else?"

Mei, keenly sensing the true meaning in the Raven's words, frowned slightly. Griseo had been influenced by someone else to draw those monsters to hinder them, and that influence...

"Well, let me make this clear first, this is just my speculation, and I'm not responsible for its accuracy. But, Griseo... she only starts painting after she's been touched by something. That is... letting the colors left by others detach and fall onto the paper."

Raven shared her speculation, though it was just anecdotes... It is said that although her paintings are ordinary objects that can be easily damaged, they can have some influence on the viewer's perception, and what kind of influence it is depends on who she was with before.

"Eden told me these things. It is said that Griseo's painting, which she left behind after having a contact with Chakravartin, almost caused an entire city to be destroyed by internal strife."

Raven told Mei what she knew; Griseo's abilities were indeed quite troublesome.

"Is that so...? So, because the Elysian Realm is a space constructed by cognition, she can also create near-physical monsters here?"

Mei was quite surprised to learn what Raven wanted to say. She looked at Griseo, who was quietly painting over there. Sure enough, none of the Flame-Chasers were simple.

Chapter Seventy-Two: Klein the Cat

"That's right, but they're not necessarily monsters. To be precise... they're probably manifestations of a person's inner self. The ones we saw before were probably Kosma. He's not simple to make the monster inside him so obedient."

Raven shrugged and explained that they had seen what Griseo before. The enemy should be the inner mirror image of Kosma. It seemed that this girl could transfer the traits of others that she had picked up onto the paper based on her interactions with them. Raven's gaze couldn't help but linger on Shen Gonglin. If it were him, what kind of scenery would Griseo paint?

Hmm, Shen Gonglin was also thinking about this question. If she spent more Raven with Mei and Mei, she would probably draw an exploding island and a Kiana.

"In that case... I'm really looking forward to seeing what Griseo will draw next. But is it alright for us to discuss these things in front of her?"

Seeing Griseo obediently drawing as if she hadn't heard anything, Mei felt that the two of them were acting inappropriately. These were not things that could be said in front of her. Raven, on the other hand, curled the corners of her mouth. This Red Dragon was indeed a bit naive.

"What? You don't really think of her as a child, do you? No matter what, she is Flame-Chasers. The things she has experienced are probably far beyond what you and I can imagine. So, Miss Mei, don't underestimate anyone here, or you will definitely suffer."

After saying that, Raven pulled Griseo away. Although following her would make her sarcastic and mean to others, it was still better than being around Mei. Raven thought that if this child were to develop Mei's personality... Paintbrush, Submit to me.

That scene felt a little strange.

She said not to treat Flame-Chasers like a child, but Raven probably really did treat Griseo like a child. However, this does fit her personality. At first, Mei realized what the real Raven was like. Mei was indeed very interested in Flame-Chasers's story, but she clearly had more important things to do now. Aponia, could she only passively wait for her to call her?

"Mei, smell it and see if it smells like instant noodles. I think I can smell instant noodles."

Shen Gonglin wrinkled his nose. For him, with his heightened senses, the smell of instant noodles was indeed quite strong. Did they still sell instant noodles in the Elysian Realm? The only person Shen Gonglin could think of was Pardofelis.

"Indeed, I smelled it too, it must be over there... um? Klein?"

Reminded by Shen Gonglin, Mei also smelled a somewhat familiar scent. Kiana often ate this kind of food back in St. Freya, but Mei, who was very particular about nutrition, loathed it. Following the smell, Mei and Shen Gonglin saw Klein lying on the ground playing with a cat...

Wait a minute, Klein? Playing with a cat?

Under the curious gazes of Shen Gonglin and Mei, Canned Food warily watched Klein in front of it, its chubby little legs retreating in fear. As Canned Food walked further and further away, Klein's tired little face was filled with confusion. Strange, why didn't it come over?

"Come here, a little closer."

Klein and tried to lure the Canned Food over. She really wanted to study the Canned Food, but this attempt was very ineffective. After the Canned Food made a sound, it ran away completely and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. It was strange. Why didn't it come over?

"... Klein, cats aren't interested in instant noodles."

Unable to bear watching any longer, Mei stepped forward and explained to Klein that the little doll-like girl was holding a bowl of instant noodles and looked very confused. If Mei didn't explain it to her, she might think about it all day.

"Really... I haven't had much experience with small animals before."

So that's how it is. Cats aren't interested in instant noodles, which is why I didn't call the cat over. It has nothing to do with me; it's just because of the instant noodles.

"I didn't expect... you would suddenly have this kind of time."

This little doll girl is usually responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the entire Elysian Realm. Every time Mei sees her, she is very busy. Overtime is a daily routine for her, so she was quite surprised to see that she had the leisure to Mei with the cat here.

"No, it's an experimental subject. It's part of the job. It's strange, and maybe we can do some research on it. I've seen it too few times before. I wanted to seize the opportunity this time, but unfortunately it got away."

It was hard to see any regret on Klein's expressionless face. It turned out it was still because of work. No wonder this girl had no time to play with cats. But she said that her behavior with the Canned Food was also part of her job. Was there anything special about that cat?

Her combat strength seems similar to that of Pardofelis; she doesn't appear to be particularly powerful.

"You mean... Canned Food?"

"Yes, according to the information, when Pardofelis's memory entered the Elysian Realm, the cat also appeared. However, she should not have kept any feline animals in reality."

Klein nodded. It was precisely because of this peculiarity that she wanted to study the cat properly. Unfortunately, it showed no interest in instant noodles, something Kevin clearly wouldn't do. So how could she attract the cat? Should she use Pardofelis to lure it over?

"Klein, are you saying that this cat never existed in reality?"

This is quite interesting information. According to Elysia, the Elysian Realm is an existence woven from the memories of thirteen Flame-Chasers. But Pardofelis has never owned a cat, so why would Canned Food appear here?

"It's not certain yet, but there are indeed many similar cases. The Elysian Realm is a space made up of memories, and memories are always very subjective. So many things here are closer to the subjective perception of the memory owner than to their original appearance in reality."

Klein slowly explained, feeling that his workload had increased again. He had to handle all these anomalies himself. There was so much work, and he didn't have any time to rest. He was really tired. Did the job that Shen Gonglin mentioned before, where you work eight hours a day and have a day off every week, really exist? That would be heaven.

Chapter Seventy-Three: Peeping into People's Hearts

"Indeed...someone once told me that the Deepest Place of the Elysian Realm are completely different from reality."

Mei nodded, wondering if the doll-like girl in front of her was considering the possibility of changing jobs again. She didn't know if Klein's words or the opinions of others corroborated this point. The Deepest Place, this mysterious place was completely different from the Elysian Realm in reality.

"Hmm, that might just be one example. As for the living creatures that resulted from this, I've only ever seen that one feline... By the way, could you please help me dispose of the experimental subject?"

As he spoke, Klein held up the food box in his hand. She wouldn't eat the instant noodles inside, and it seemed that attracting the Canned Food hadn't worked either, so he could only ask Raiden Mei to deal with it.

"This... I'm sorry, but I'm in agreement with that cat that I'm not interested in it... Let's go, Shen Gonglin, this kind of fried food is unhealthy."

Shen Gonglin was very tempted by the instant noodles, but Mei pulled him away without hesitation. She wouldn't care if Shen Gonglin wasn't around, but as long as she was by his side, she wouldn't allow Shen Gonglin to eat such junk food. Besides, Klein had just reached in and taken the noodles out of the instant noodles, which was very unhygienic.

To say you want to eat instant noodles in front of yourself, the Herrscher of Food? That's an insult to yourself.

"Don't eat that stuff anymore. If possible, I'll try to make you something to eat. Go see if Pardofelis has any ingredients... Ugh, it feels like this again..."

Before she could finish speaking, the familiar dizziness surged into her head again. Mei held her forehead, her consciousness gradually drifting away. She felt that she was gradually getting used to this feeling. For example, now, when she fell down, she could find the most comfortable way to fall.

"Shen Gonglin... I'm entrusting myself to you."

Mei collapsed into Shen Gonglin's arms, her consciousness once again venturing into that the Deepest Place. Looking at the girl in her arms, Shen Gonglin felt quite helpless. Well... she'd get used to it.

Sigh, as expected, it's this place again... Can't she just teleport herself directly to the front of that "prison"? Every time she makes me run these hundreds of meters, is it some kind of twisted sense of humor?

Looking at the familiar darkness before her, Mei sighed deeply. Then, the girl could only run forward as always, and Aponia's voice rang in Mei's ears as promised. This kind of mind control ability is really annoying.

"You're getting calmer, Mei. Please, come before me, just once more..."

Mei couldn't resist this suggestion, but that didn't mean the girl had no temper. She arrived at the prison door, but still couldn't see Aponia's face clearly in the darkness. She sat upright in front of her, just like when they first met.

"If you are truly as sincere as you describe yourself, then don't use the word 'please' on me anymore. I've noticed your methods, Aponia. Every time you utter that word, you're exerting an influence on my mind... almost like hypnosis, and it's hard to avoid. Even if I can sense something is wrong, I still can't refuse your requests. The most outstanding psycho-sensory Flame-Chaser, you certainly don't disgrace that title."

Mei said this sarcastically, sounding very sincere on the surface, but this wasn't the first time she had given herself that kind of suggestion. Even though she could sense it, she still couldn't defend herself. This feeling was really bad. No wonder Chakravartin treated Aponia that way. Mei felt that she deserved it.

"Even after all this time, Mei still seems more inclined to assume malice towards me?"

Her tone was as gentle as ever, but Mei could clearly hear the regret in it. The girl could only roll her eyes. If she didn't want her to speculate like this, she should just be honest. She was always like a riddle-maker. How could she imagine things in a kind way? This Aponia was really strange.

"In this respect, Elysian Realm has taught me enough lessons, but your ability truly exceeds my imagination. That pendant... the so-called connection you speak of, is it a bridge to strengthen this ability? When my will began to be manipulated by you, it naturally fulfilled its mission, just as you said."

Mei shared her thoughts, which were her analysis of the situation she was facing. Aponia remained silent for a short while before Mei spoke up.

"So, you're not going to argue?"

"Of course, I've been misunderstood too many times already, so what's one more time? It seems that Mei's investigation into me has gone quite deep."

In the dark shadows, Aponia seemed to shake her head. No matter how she explained, it was useless. Let the misunderstanding be. It wasn't the first time anyway. Mei couldn't stand her "giving up" behavior. If you say it's a misunderstanding, then explain it! You're like a riddle-maker all day long. Nobody likes that.

"... Yes, no one denies your judgment on so-called fate. Although I still can't understand it, my reasons for refuting it... are not strong enough."

Recalling the attitudes of the other Flame-Chasers towards Aponia's prophecy, Mei was at a loss. She wanted to refute it, but her reasons were not enough to support her thoughts. It seemed that as long as Aponia said it, it would definitely come true.

"I see. Well... could you please come a little closer?"

Unexpectedly, Aponia once again gave her a suggestion. Everything was just as Mei had thought. As long as Aponia said "please," her body and will would be out of control. But even if Mei understood this, it was useless. As usual, Mei took a step forward and approached the cell, and Aponia reached out and covered her temples.

"I'm sorry, I can be impulsive sometimes. Just this once, please forgive me. Oh... not only is the investigation thorough, but a plan to fight against it has also been drafted... that's amazing, Mei."

Having seen through Mei's thoughts, Aponia praised Mei, while the Herrscher of Thunder contracted. This kind of intrusion into one's thoughts... Enough!

"Very perceptive. I almost saw what happened when you, that girl, and Shen Gonglin were together—I didn't mean to. So, do you want to change the fate I saw?"

Chapter 74

Releasing her hand from Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder, now free, quickly jumped away. She looked at Aponia warily. In just a moment, Aponia had already learned what she was thinking and the actions she was preparing to take in response to her "prophecy." This person was truly terrifying and detestable.

Moreover, now that she knows his plan, then...

"That was originally the case, but now... I'm going to make other plans."

Mei said in a deep voice. She hadn't been unaware of this possibility. Aponia's ability was truly annoying. Yet, after being imprisoned, Aponia seemed undisturbed. Her voice remained gentle, so gentle that Mei could imagine the smile on her face in the darkness.

"Do you think a plan that's already been exposed is pointless...? That's alright, Mei, just go for it. This is... an inevitable part of growing up."

Not minding Mei's attitude at all, Aponia gently encouraged Mei, like an adult watching a mischievous child. Mei and stared at Aponia behind the iron bars for a long time before Mei again. "The only way?"

"Yes... Whether it's you, me, or anyone else, after learning about the existence of so-called fate, who doesn't believe they can change it? It's such a pity, why did it end like that? You understand that it's unavoidable... yet you have to leave. Mei, just do what you think is right, if... this will allow you to have that pleasant feeling before you leave, without the illusion that you're just waiting to die."

This person's words are really infuriating. She said so much, putting on an attitude of "come at me, I'll definitely win. "Mei really wanted to give her a good whack on the head, with those two horns. Did she think she was being self-satisfied?

"...That's not an illusion, Aponia, but I really do want to see you again. You've been avoiding the issue until now, but today, I want to hear you say for yourself...whether you can really do that."

Taking a breath to calm herself down, Mei abandoned her immediate urge to draw her sword and kill Aponia. She had been summoning herself to this place while restricting Shen Gonglin's access, which indicated that she was Shen Gonglin, or rather, of some ability Shen Gonglin possessed. Although Mei wanted to handle this matter herself, she wouldn't mind seeking help from Shen Gonglin if she were in real danger. Given their relationship, what was such a thing?

Mei would never put herself in danger because of some inexplicable sense of face.

"There's no need to doubt it, Mei. I can indeed see fate... and in most cases, down to the smallest detail. It's unchangeable... otherwise, I could have prevented many things from happening a long time ago."

Aponia's answer was exactly what Mei had expected, and she hadn't anticipated getting anything out of her. However, from Aponia's words and attitude, Mei still gleaned some information that she wanted to know.

"Okay, I understand."

"Mei, are you trying to judge whether I'm lying by reading my expressions? Mei... when I'm lying, no one can tell."

As if she knew Mei's plan, Aponia said in a leisurely tone, and Mei would no longer be disturbed by her.