Chapter 503

Mei wasn't quite used to that kind of transition. She felt that a portal-like method would be more reasonable, even though strictly speaking, that method wasn't reasonable at all. But Mei was already used to it.

"Mei, this isn't a game. Or were you possessed by Bronya just now?"

Rarely having the chance to "lecture" Mei, Kiana put her hands on her hips and said with a bit of a laugh, "Teleportation portal, huh? Hinata wouldn't seem out of place with that kind of thing in the game."

To everyone's surprise, Kiana's joking remark received a very formal response from Mei. The formality and distance left Kiana somewhat bewildered.

"...I'm sorry. I've experienced many similar things in the Elysian Realm, so it's inevitable that I've developed some habitual thinking patterns."

The girl gave a somewhat formal apology, and now Kiana was the one who remained silent. The white-haired girl scratched her head, somewhat puzzled, but in the end she decided it was better to just ask directly; she didn't like the current atmosphere.

"Mei, why are you suddenly speaking so formally? Is it because... we're here?"

Kiana also realized this reason. There was only one reason that could make Mei suddenly become like this. After all, it was here that the two best friends had their first falling out.

Shen Gonglin was here too, how come he didn't feel anything? He's even leaning over the railing looking down now. Honestly, if you have a fear of heights, don't do this. I have to pull him back quickly.

"I...you're right. I used to be afraid to think about what happened here."

Mei looked at her hand and said this. At this moment, she felt that her mentality was the same as that of the male protagonist in the TV series who slapped his wife in a fit of anger. At the time, it was indeed very satisfying, but afterwards Mei really regretted it, which caused her to feel physically and mentally uncomfortable whenever she thought about what happened in this place.

The environment greatly influences and changes the person within it. Unlike the composure she displayed in the previous mental space, here she constantly hesitated over what to say, what action to take, and what emotion to express. A silence settled in, creating a distance between the two. This was the kind of situation where Shen Gonglin needed to ease the tension, but instead, he was just sitting there by the railing like a background prop. Honestly, that little good-for-nothing, hurry up and do something useful!

"Ah, I see... It seems the mental shackles aren't here either."

Kiana didn't know what to say at this moment. The girl could only stammer, "No, the atmosphere is too awkward right now. How can there be such an awkward atmosphere between me and Mei?"

Chapter 340 Domestic Violence Scene: A Return to the Site

"Yes, it's not just the mental shackles, there's nothing here except us... just like that day."

You can never escape what happened back then here. The relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of the conversation has disappeared. Although she really wants to restore the atmosphere to normal, it's not something that can be done by effort alone. Mei feels a little helpless. What should she do in this situation?

"There are differences too. For example, the atmosphere is obviously different from back then... Hey, Mei, come here! There's a hole in the wire mesh here, which makes it easy to look out at the scenery. No wonder you've been staying here Shen Gonglin long, the scenery here is so beautiful."

Kiana tried to ease the tension, and just then she noticed a rather large hole in the wire mesh fence. It was through this hole that Shen Gonglin had gone out and was leaning on the fence to look at the scenery. Kiana quickly ran over, and just then, the sun shone directly down from the clouds. There was no need to dwell on the past; wasn't the scenery right in front of her quite nice?

"Mei, come and take a look. I just don't know how such a big hole was made?"

Kiana waved to Mei, signaling her to come and see the scenery too. The question the girl was muttering to herself made Mei even more embarrassed. The girl became very shy, putting her hands behind her back and even her toes seemed to be awkwardly tapping the ground. Did she really have to say something so embarrassing?

"That...it seems to be..."

"I remember this! This hole seems to have been made when Mei beat you Mei and knocked you down from here. Kiana, you're really tough. If I were hit like that, I definitely couldn't take it, but you were fine in the end. You're amazing."

If Mei is too embarrassed to say it, Shen Gonglin can help her. She saw the battle between the two girls very clearly. Basically, Mei completely dominated Kiana. The Herrscher of Thunder was indeed stronger than the Herrscher of the Void who was corrupted by the core. The scene recreated in Kiana's mental world was exactly the same as it was back then.

Shen Gonglin, you don't need to add that!

When Shen Gonglin interrupted, Mei felt even more embarrassed. She was angry at the time, so she did hit him a little too hard. After all, he wouldn't have let her go if she hadn't hit him hard. But now that the matter was brought up again, she felt so embarrassed that she just wanted to die.

"Ah, I see... I see. No wonder I didn't remember it. But perhaps it can improve the star rating of the Senba Academy observation deck? I mean, in the sense of having an unobstructed view."

Kiana was also a little embarrassed, but there's a good side to everything. Even though this was the result of her being beaten up, it seemed to make it easier to enjoy the scenery, so it wasn't a bad thing... Hopefully, saying this would make Mei feel better and less embarrassed for Mei.

"... Hmm. That's really a Kiana- esque idea."

Kiana's efforts had yielded a small success, and Mei relaxed and walked to her side. Shen Gonglin lay in the middle, and the two girls stood on either side, gazing at the distant scenery. Kiana took a deep breath, and a look of delight immediately appeared on her pretty face. After completely relaxing, the feeling here was indeed very nice.

"Ah, not only is the view great here, but the breeze is also very pleasant."

"Yes, it's a pity that we didn't have the mindset to appreciate everything back then."

Following Kiana's example, Mei relaxed as well. It was a bit strange; had the scenery here always been this beautiful? Why hadn't she felt this way before? Was it because of a change in her mindset? Mei shook her head. Now, it seemed she could slowly appreciate the scenery before her from various angles.

"Then let's make up for it all at once! The next spatial transformation... I don't think it will happen anytime soon. If I'm not mistaken, that transformation should be related to my emotional fluctuations. As for whether it's related to the emotions themselves or the intensity of those fluctuations, I'm not so sure."

Kiana said excitedly, the previous awkwardness had disappeared. She trusted Mei, which is why she was able to enter the depths of her own consciousness. Although she had the help of Shen Gonglin, Kiana really wanted to reconcile with Mei completely, and this place was the most suitable place for it.

"Well, since we're all in your mind's eye, maybe going with the flow is the best approach."

Mei Shen Gonglin hadn't said a word from the beginning, and then the two of them fell silent as well. The difference was that Shen Gonglin was enjoying the irresistible allure of being high up, despite her fear of heights, while the two girls were silent for other reasons. Generally speaking, most people prefer to avoid silence in conversations, as if it were a pair of scissors constantly cutting away at the feelings between two people. When silence accumulates to a certain extent, the conversation loses its meaning.

Just like the prime-time dramas that Shen Gonglin often watches, many things are triggered by silence, so every time Shen Gonglin watches TV, he gets so angry that his liver hurts. "Why don't you say something? Why don't you ask something?" This kind of infuriating development makes the drama very, very long... But Shen Gonglin just likes to watch it, but he doesn't like this kind of thing happening around him.

However... Kiana and Mei's silence now seems different from that situation. For them, this silence allows their thoughts to merge, and they can then understand more of each other's feelings.

"Mei."

"Um?"

After a long while, Kiana suddenly called out Mei's name, and the girl who had been standing beside her responded immediately. This feeling... Shen Gonglin felt a bit superfluous here. Could it be that the real situation was as Bronya said, that Kiana and Mei were a couple, and she was just a third party?

This realization suddenly gave Shen Gonglin a strong urge to run into Bronya's arms and cry her heart out. So, people really do become the people they hate most? Shen Gonglin had always considered herself a warrior of pure love; this kind of plot involving the second of the twelve zodiac animals shouldn't be happening to her.

Chapter 341

"It's nothing, I just suddenly wanted to call your name."

Unaware that Shen Gonglin beside her was already contemplating whether to back down and wish the two of them a long and happy marriage, Kiana smiled as she looked at Mei. The feeling of receiving a response when she called Mei's name was wonderful; Mei was right beside her, responding to her calls. Kiana had never imagined that something like this would be so important.

"Then... Kiana?"

Following Kiana's example, Mei called out her name, which made Kiana smile foolishly.

"Actually... about that day... at first, I felt like I hadn't had a chance to tell Mei a lot. But then one day, I suddenly realized that it wasn't really about what I said, because Mei couldn't possibly not understand what I was thinking."

Speaking of the time when the two separated, Kiana was filled with regret at first. If she had explained those things to Mei clearly, would Mei have chosen not to do that? Kiana was indeed troubled by this thought for a long time. But then Kiana suddenly realized that Mei could not possibly not understand her true feelings. She was Raiden Mei, she must understand.

"Is that so...? And vice versa, right? When I first arrived at World Serpent, I suffered from insomnia almost every night. I understood why I couldn't sleep, but I couldn't solve it. So later, I simply used that time to think. What I thought about most at the time was how to avoid that war that shouldn't have happened... For example, leaving everything to Shen Gonglin, or having us all calm down and have a proper talk. But in the end, I couldn't find the optimal solution that I imagined."

Mei shared her thoughts with Kiana at the time, and afterwards Mei reviewed the events many times, but after much thought, she couldn't come up with a suitable solution, because neither of her desires to stay or to save Kiana was wrong.

"Since neither of us is wrong, it's difficult to persuade the other party with words... I think Shen Gonglin, you must have realized this too, which is why you haven't intervened yet, right?"

Mei looked at Shen Gonglin. Although she had obtained the power of the Herrscher of Thunder at that time, it would have been quite easy for Shen Gonglin to stop her if he wanted to. After all, even now, Mei was not confident that she could defeat Shen Gonglin. There must be a reason why he did not stop her.

"Ah... yes, that's right, that's what I was thinking at the time."

Shen Gonglin nodded calmly. It was fortunate that Mei was overthinking things; otherwise, could Shen Gonglin have said that she was frightened by their brutal fight? What if she tried to break up the fight and they both attacked her?

"Since there was nothing wrong with it... it was inevitable that we would do some extreme things back then."

Kiana clearly agreed with Mei's statement. Yes, no matter what, it seemed that a fight between her and Mei was unavoidable... It was more like she was being tortured by Mei than actually fighting.

"Yes, perhaps this is what they call growing up. We still hold similar beliefs to those we did back then, but we no longer need to convince each other. And the difference... perhaps lies in a subtle sense of proportion."

Kiana remarked with a sigh, "Growing up... Looking back on what happened between me and Mei now, it's really quite funny. If only I had felt this way back then..."

"If we could have opened our hearts like we do today when we were at Bell Pepper Curry, when we were in Sky City... then all the twists and turns in between wouldn't have been so painful. On the other hand, if we hadn't had that impulsive moment, we might not have grown as we are today, and we wouldn't be who we are now."

As expected of Kiana, who has become the class representative, Shen Gonglin was filled with respect after hearing her words. This girl was as silly as a Kiana in front of her, but now she was so mature in front of Mei. Shen Gonglin couldn't even say such a thing. Sure enough, you still have to discipline your children. Look how mature she is now after being disciplined.

"So, Kiana's conclusion is that it was worth it for me to fight you back then?"

Mei's mood lightened, and the girl raised her eyebrows. According to Kiana, that fight was very meaningful and left a deep impression on her. If that's how Kiana grows, Mei wouldn't mind giving her a few more beatings.

What to do when your child is disobedient? Just give them a beating.

"No, no, no, Mei, it's wrong to use violence at school. We should solve things with a pillow and blanket fight."

Fearing that Mei might actually have such an impulse, Kiana quickly explained that it was better not to say anything that was detrimental to unity. Kiana didn't want to grow in this way. The two of them couldn't help but laugh out loud at the same time. In that instant when their eyes met, they clearly felt that the last remnants of the invisible barrier that had once stood between them had finally dissipated along with their laughter.

"Mei."

Kiana straightened up, bracing herself against the railing, and then looked at the girl next to her and called her name again.

"You know, during the time I first returned to Helios, there were many things I didn't tell anyone, many decisions I made. I either kept them deep in my heart or carried them out on my own. At most, I would talk to Rin Shen Gonglin about them... And among so many other people, the one I was least willing and least dared to share with was Mei, which directly led to our later separation."

Kiana recalled that time when the only person she could confide in was Shen Gonglin. However, Shen Gonglin often disappeared, and there were some things Kiana didn't want others to know, which led to the situation she had become. At this point, Kiana suddenly stopped talking. The girl felt as if there was a transparent film around her mouth, stopping the words that were about to come out. But... she had to say it.

After rehearsing her words in her mind once more, Kiana spoke.

"I know that Mei's emotions tend to fluctuate more than others when faced with the same thing that concerns me. But Mei, you rarely show it. You just silently tolerate and accept everything about me, and give me guidance and help when needed. From the first meeting to our reunion, it has always been like this."

Gazing into the girl's purple eyes, Kiana finally told her what was on her mind.

Chapter 342 Open Your Mouth, Eat Grain

"To fight for all the good things in the world... This is my belief, and my promise to Teacher Himeko. And in my heart, Mei... you are a very special existence among all these good things. Precisely because you are special, I hope that you can put yourself... in a more important place than me or the world."

Kiana spoke earnestly and sincerely, and after saying this, the girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally said it. Once, she had received words from Mei that carried immense weight in anyone's heart. Mei had once said that Kiana herself was more important than the world. And Kiana had been waiting for the right opportunity, not because she needed a response, but because she wanted one.

Kiana knew that even if she told the other person her true thoughts, it might not be the answer they wanted to hear. But at this moment, she still wanted to convey her feelings to them in this way.

At this moment, Shen Gonglin felt a bit superfluous. Should she not be here at all? Shen Gonglin really felt that if Kiana and Mei didn't get married on the spot, things would be in a mess. She was indeed superfluous. Now, standing here, Shen Gonglin felt awkward to the core. She felt like she was just taking pictures while the two of them were pouring their hearts out to each other.

Can't this end quickly? This is like luring a dog in to kill it. Shen Gonglin feels like she should just disappear like one of those miserable second male leads. She thought she was the rightful male lead, but now it seems... Bronya, I miss you so much.

Sighing, Shen Gonglin began to miss Bronya. No wonder she and Little Herrscher of Consciousness didn't want to get involved; they didn't want to be fed dog food like this.

Young master, open your mouth and eat.

"So, what does Mei think now?"

Kiana was completely taken aback that Shen Gonglin was already considering how much dowry to give when the two of them got married. She looked at Mei, while the other girl remained silent for a moment. She seemed to be rehearsing her words in her mind as well, knowing that she needed to respond.

"I think that many times, people's thoughts and actions are contradictory, because the world does not necessarily allow us to choose the outcome we want most. Perhaps in the near future, I will face another difficult choice that could change our fate. At that time, I may not be able to answer as decisively as I did before."

This might be a two-way street. Shen Gonglin felt embarrassed and awkward, but the two girls felt that they were getting closer and closer in this exchange. Mei gave her response to Kiana's question.

"I will hesitate, I will think, I will weigh things. Because the weight of everything in the world in my heart has been constantly growing as I walk with you. But in the end, the person who gave me this opportunity to grow and made me start to like the world is you, Kiana."

Mei spoke these words slowly. Apart from love, friendship had supported her to this point. In the end, Raiden Mei didn't have any deep feelings for this world before. Everything she did was just what a person should do: survival instinct, hard work... As for loving this world and fighting for all the good things in it, Kiana is undoubtedly one of the indispensable elements of that beautiful world.

But if I say this now, Shen Gonglin should have no problem with it, right? Thinking of this, Mei glanced at Shen Gonglin and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Mei didn't have any particular reaction. After all, saying that Shen Gonglin was the most important person and Kiana was the next most important Mei at this time felt a bit out of place for the current atmosphere. Fortunately, Shen Gonglin didn't seem to mind.

Mei was mistaken. Shen Gonglin was concerned, extremely concerned. This guy was always petty, how could he not react to something like this? And the reason he wasn't responding now was... he genuinely felt like he was being superfluous. He felt the atmosphere between the two of them was perfect, the kind of perfect harmony where nothing could get through. After thinking it over... it seemed like it would be more appropriate for him to be with the Class President or Bronya?

Those who are exceptional will always be exceptional themselves. Rin Shen Gonglin is now tasting the bitter fruit of this. No wonder the Class President and the others never approved of Kiana's idea of wanting to marry her. They probably expected it. She only had that idea because Mei wasn't around at the time, and she needed someone to rely on. But now that Mei is back, it seems... she no longer needs her?

Ugh, this feels awful. Calm down. This isn't the time to think about this. We're busy saving the world. Even though Shen Gonglin has a quirky personality, this isn't the time to lose my temper.

"Thank you, Mei. You're just as important to me. I... am very happy."

Having received Mei's answer, Kiana felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and her thoughts began to drift freely. Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed. The girl instinctively gripped the hand of the girl in front of her, and as she reached out her other hand to grab Shen Gonglin by the railing, the scene around them had already shifted. Thankfully, none of them were hurt.

"Where... is this place?"

Having regained her footing, Shen Gonglin looked around at the somewhat bizarre scene with a puzzled expression. It seemed they still hadn't returned to Bronya's side, but this scene...

"The world has changed again... But where is this place? It looks like Changkong City, but..."

Looking around, Kiana felt reassured that Shen Gonglin and Mei were by her side, but the surroundings were unfamiliar. She shouldn't have been to a place like this before. Where was she?

"I think this might be... my memory. Perhaps because of my arrival, the thought space that should have been centered on you was affected. Do you remember? When you were riding Belenaus, trying to close the Imaginary Singularity of Changkong City, you were attacked by imaginary creations. And this is where Belenaus crashed."

Mei has a strong memory of the current scene. The broken stone bricks in front are where Belenaus fell. Back then, in order to protect herself who was chasing Kiana, it blocked the fatal blow from the Tree of Void Divine Remnant.

Chapter 343

"At that time, it protected me. After that, its consciousness completely disappeared."

Mei revealed Belenaus's fate, a story that evoked deep sadness. It seemed that Shen Gonglin had tried to preserve its life force, but despite summoning Kalki so many times, it only displayed the abilities of a weapon. Within that drastically altered body, its former consciousness seemed to have vanished.

"I see... So that's the origin of Kalki, right?"

Kiana's mood inevitably soared. She knew the origin of Belenaus; it had once been one of Sirin's best friends, Bella, and now... Sirin was gone, and so was it... No, the Herrscher of the Void, she was still there.

"Belenaus ... no, it's better to call her Bella. When I was confronting the Herrscher of the Void, Bella supported me more than once. Without her help, I couldn't have overcome my inner demons and defeated the Herrscher of the Void. But... as a phantom within the Herrscher Core, she eventually disappeared. I owe Bella a thank you."

She thought of the Honkai Beast soaring through the sky. Without her help, she wouldn't have gotten to where she is today. But when she wanted to thank her, it was already too late.

"Me too... Now that I think about it, the reason she saved me was actually very simple: because I'm your good friend, because she was afraid you'd be sad, or perhaps, simply because we both have a bit of Sirin in us..."

"Hmm, Bella... her good and evil are both very simple. And precisely because of this, it would be biased to define her existence based on just one aspect. From the perspective of someone outside the world, there is probably neither absolute evil nor complete good in this world. We can say that Bella and Sirin are both slaves to the Honkai, prisoners of fate. But the World Serpent, or Kevin... aren't they the same?"

It really is completely different from before. Shen Gonglin looked at Kiana with a lot of surprise in her eyes. Kiana would never have said these words before, but now she has grown to such a level. Or is it because she is with Mei that Kiana has become the way she is now? Thinking about it, could it be that she is the only factor that is hindering Kiana's progress?

Because Kiana would never consider such things when she's with me, it seems like I'm just casually playing around with Kiana, which seems a bit... not quite right?

Unaware of what Shen Gonglin was thinking, Kiana continued to express her opinion: from this perspective, Kevin was nothing more than a prisoner of the Honkai.

"If the Stigmata Plan means an eternal dream, then it's tantamount to forcing everyone in the world to become prisoners of fate... or even worse, right?"

Kiana clenched her fists. Being trapped in someone else's dream was an experience familiar to Kiana. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable, so if she could, Kiana wanted to take her destiny into her own hands. With that thought, Kiana instinctively reached for Shen Gonglin's hand, but the girl stood to the side with her arms crossed, seemingly lost in thought. Honestly, how could she be so oblivious?

"As an organization, the World Serpent claims to help humanity break free from its fate. But in reality, as an existence that has continued from the dark side of the Flame-Chasers, it has always ignored the fate of ordinary people. It worships civilization but disregards life. For example... suppose there is a staircase in front of all of us. If we climb to the top of this staircase, we can face the Honkai. The conflict between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy occurred in the process of climbing up step by step."

As Mei once worked for World Serpent, Mei is qualified to say this: World Serpent is indeed a very strange organization.