39. Kal'tsit: "Great, They Bought the Bluff Completely" / 40. Gradually Converging on Sky Dome City

"Knock knock knock".

A knock on the door interrupted Himeko's vacant state of mind.

When Himeko came to her senses, she looked at the clock on the wall and realized that two hours had passed since Kal'tsit left the room.

"Well..."

With a slight sigh, Himeko quickly beckoned the people outside to come in.

"How was your rest?"

Kal'tsit pushed open the door and walked in, followed by a pink-haired girl peeking in.

This girl is probably the companion that Lady Kal'tsit mentioned...

"I rested very well, thank you for your help, Dr. Kal'tsit."

"You're welcome. As I said, you're just my patient." Kal'tsit nodded. "Let me introduce you. This is my assistant, Theresia."

"Hello, Miss Theresia, I am Murata Himeko. As the doctor said, I am currently under her care."

Theresia, with her usual smile, gently shook hands with Himeko: "Hello, Miss Himeko. As you can see, I am Kal'tsit's assistant. If you need any help, please feel free to come to me."

"Um... Dr. Kal'tsit." Himeko looked at Kal'tsit, who was busy doing chores, and finally made up her mind to speak.

"What's wrong? Is something still bothering you?"

"No, I want to... talk to you about Xia Ling."

Himeko struggled to finally say what she had been holding back in her heart.

"..."

Kal'tsit's expression changed slightly. She nodded slightly to Theresia, Little Ther then quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, I understand."

Kal'tsit brought a chair and sat down in front of Himeko's bed.

Himeko lowered her head, staring blankly at the blanket, not daring to look Kal'tsit in the eye.

"Just as you guessed, Xia Ling... is indeed a very important friend of mine."

"She has been in this world for two years. I met her almost at the beginning of her transmigration. During this time, my attitude towards her... has gradually changed from wariness to complete trust."

"The End of Time was given to me by her half a year ago. At that time, I was about to carry out a rather dangerous mission. She gave this thing to me mysteriously. However, although I was seriously injured that time, it was not life-threatening. I just regarded it as an ordinary talisman and have been carrying it with me ever since."

"Six months ago?" Kal'tsit paused for a moment. "May I ask... did you have any serious health conditions before that?"

"Yes, my Honkai Energy resistance is not high. After that incident, the doctor determined that I would not live for more than two years."

Himeko frankly explained her past poor health condition.

"Honkai Energy... I understand, you can continue."

"Just recently, because one of Xia Ling's students, who was also a good friend of ours, was captured by the Schicksal Headquarters, we rebelled against them. In the final moments, I was captured and taken into the Imaginary Space..."

"And Xia Ling... she came to save me..."

Himeko lowered her head, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Well..."

Kal'tsit let out a soft sigh and said nothing.

"I'm sorry, if only I had been more decisive back then... I'm so sorry..."

Himeko sobbed uncontrollably as she apologized to Kal'tsit. She couldn't quite explain who she was apologizing to or what she was apologizing for. Was she apologizing to Kal'tsit for not protecting Xia Ling? Or was she apologizing to Xia Ling, who was already dead?

In short, she finally released all the regret and sadness that had been building up in her heart.

In a daze, she heard Kal'tsit ask a question.

"Are you very sad right now? Xia Ling's death makes you feel very regretful and in pain, right?"

Subconsciously, she followed her heart and nodded gently.

"So, do you think that if you were the one who died, your friends, including Xia Ling, would also suffer the same grief?"

Unexpectedly, Kal'tsit asked a question that had nothing to do with the current situation.

With teary eyes, Himeko looked up, tears still streaming down her face.

"Here, wipe your tears and calm down."

Kal'tsit handed Himeko a pack of tissues and stood up. "Calm down and think about the question I just asked."

"As for Xia Ling..." Kal'tsit walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and said calmly, "Death is not her end. Her future may be longer than you imagine."

Himeko held the tissue she had just pulled out, staring blankly at the closed doorway.

"Ah?"

A moment later, having composed herself, Himeko left the room with a bellyful of questions.

In the living room outside the room, Theresia had prepared three cups of herbal tea and was sitting at the table with Kal'tsit, sipping tea and discussing something in hushed tones.

"Miss Himeko, are you feeling any better? Come sit down and have something to drink."

Hearing the door open, Theresia waved towards Himeko.

"Thank you, Miss Theresia."

Himeko accepted the teacup from Theresia with both hands, but her gaze remained fixed on Kal'tsit as she asked the question that had been troubling her for a long time.

"Dr. Kal'tsit..."

What did you mean by what you just said?

"Just the literal meaning," Kal'tsit said calmly. "She won't really die, that's all."

"But at that time, her injuries... her entire chest was pierced, and even her heart was completely shattered..."

"Oh?" Kal'tsit raised her head, her gaze sharpening. "Who did this?"

"The Second Herrscher, Sirin ... but the real culprit is the Archbishop of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse."

"I understand. As for such injuries... perhaps they are nothing to Xia Ling. Maybe you have greatly underestimated her past?"

"Besides, Xia Ling should have told you that she escaped from a dying World Bubble, right?" Kal'tsit casually picked up her teacup, using the act of drinking tea to cover her face.

"Why don't you think about why she was the one who survived in the end?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, Himeko suddenly remembered what Xia Ling had mentioned to her before: that Xia Ling carried the last trump card of civilization, a bound item similar to Divine Key.

Seeing Himeko's thoughtful expression, Kal'tsit continued, "Of course, this is not something to celebrate. For her, it is not a blessing, but... a curse."

"She can only watch the people around her die one after another, while she has to continue to taste the bitterness of life. You seem to have been with her for a long time and should be able to sense that she has some strong self-destructive tendencies in certain things."

"That wasn't self-destruction, but rather a gamble she took to avoid witnessing another separation."

Chapter 39 Kal'tsit: Great, I've completely fooled you.

As for you...

Kal'tsit gave a faint smile, "From the moment you began to explain yourself, I already guessed the cause of your death."

"Someone with your personality... if I don't let you experience this feeling firsthand, you'll still recklessly burn yourself out next time. I've seen many people like this, and I've also said goodbye to many of them."

"So, I'm using Xia Ling's case to deliberately let you feel the burden that the living have to bear compared to the generosity of those who go to their deaths."

"You really are..." Himeko felt a little speechless, "You've gone to great lengths..."

"After all, Xia Ling paid the price of her life for this. If this can be used to correct your views, I'm sure she would agree with it."

"By the way, speaking of Xia Ling... if she weren't dead, why didn't she come..."

"Because her resurrection has a certain degree of randomness, in order to prevent her from encountering danger again because she resurrects in the same place, her resurrection mechanism has a set of uncontrolled and strict calculation methods to allow her to get away from the place of death to the greatest extent possible."

"Besides, she won't regain consciousness immediately. You might wake up even earlier than her."

Kal'tsit explained the resurrection mechanism she had devised just the day before as briefly as possible.

"However, during your coma, it seems that because the effects of End of Time are directly generated on the skin, when we found you, you were probably completely naked and wrapped in ice crystals."

"So..." Kal'tsit shrugged, "Those things you had before you died are probably gone forever. I hope you didn't lose anything important."

"It shouldn't be... wait, something's not right!" Himeko suddenly looked up. "The Plague Gem!"

"Dr. Kal'tsit, have you seen a red gem containing a high concentration of Honkai Energy and high intensity radiation?"

"Miss Himeko, if there is such a thing near you, then due to the high intensity of interference from these energies, we will not be able to accurately locate your location."

Theresia explained, "We detected the familiar energy fluctuations after a jump, and that's how we found you... If there were such a high-energy object nearby, we simply wouldn't have been able to detect the energy fluctuations of the End of Time."

"I see..." Himeko said somewhat dejectedly, "If that Herrscher Core is lost, who knows what serious problems might arise in the future..."

"You should worry about yourself first, rather than focusing on the core." Kal'tsit took out her medical record book and began to read it, "After using End of Time, everyone may experience different aftereffects depending on their own physical condition. These reactions can be mild or severe, or even nothing at all."

"But in any case, this is not a problem that can be ignored."

"So, if you don't have anything urgent to do, my suggestion is that you stay with me for now." Kal'tsit finally revealed her purpose. "Generally speaking, if there are no problems during the six-month observation period, then there is a high probability that there will be no more problems."

"During this period, you should try to minimize combat. Of course, to maintain your skills, you can still do daily training."

"You healed me, so of course I'll listen to your advice." Himeko nodded. "However... could I possibly contact some of my old friends to let them know I'm safe and sound...?"

"Of course I won't stop you, but my advice is that it's best not to." Kal'tsit shook her head slightly. "Judging from your brief description and the information Theresia brought back, your enemy, Schicksal, clearly has enough control over the world."

"Your so-called 'reporting that you're safe' will probably also be simultaneously announcing to this organization called Schicksal that you're still alive."

"It seems that even with Xia Ling's help, you are still at a disadvantage in the fight against Schicksal. Why don't you take advantage of this fake death to temporarily get out of their sight and wait for an opportunity to act?"

"I reckon Xia Ling will make the same choice. Who knows, you two might even bump into each other at some point?"

"This..." Himeko pondered for a moment. Considering the current combat strength of the Far East Branch and Anti-Entropy, and with neither she nor Xia Ling present, they were indeed at a complete disadvantage, just as Kal'tsit had said. Even if she rejoined the team, she might not be able to go to the battlefield in a short time.

In that case, hiding them as a surprise force is not a bad idea.

Moreover... Dr. Kal'tsit doesn't seem to be from this world. If she had the help of a "local" like herself, it would be much more convenient. It would also be a way of repaying the kindness of her healing her.

"Then I'll follow your advice, doctor, and trouble you for a while longer."

"Yes, of course you can." It was Theresia, who was standing next to her with a gentle smile, who answered her, "It will be more lively with one more person. Besides, if no one joins, the concentration of riddles here will exceed the limit."

"Language is simply the expression of the inner world of the creatures on this earth. It is not important, and the way it is expressed is just a matter of the user's habits. Rather than rejecting a language or learning a language, listening or trying to understand it may be more important."

"Look, she's doing it again." Theresia smiled helplessly at Himeko.

Himeko had a feeling that spending time with Kal'tsit wouldn't be boring.

At this moment, in one of the World Serpent's bases.

"The conflict over Schicksal has come to an end. Now, the Far East Branch has joined forces with Anti-Entropy and is officially in opposition to Schicksal."

"Cocolia's rash intervention in Otto's plans resulted in a major blow, and the radical faction she belonged to was also devastated and has almost no value to her anymore."

"After welcoming back the Honored Master, this line can be completely discarded. However, we still need to make use of its last bit of value."

The Gray Serpent took out the intelligence they had collected and began to discuss it among themselves.

"The problem now is, where do we find a Herrscher Core that can free the Honored Master from the Sea of Quantum?"

"The whereabouts of the Herrscher of Reason and the Herrscher of the Void are unknown. The Herrscher of Thunder is well protected in Anti-Entropy, and we can't defeat the Herrscher of Wind."

"The only Herrscher Core that is not currently visible is the core of the Herrscher of Flamescion, but it seems that it was also lost in the Imaginary Space after the deaths of Murata Himeko and Xia Ling."

"If there's really no other way..." one of the Gray Serpent said, "Then we'll have to use the core of the Divine Key."

"We have two Divine Key, but they are both very important. We should not use them for this kind of thing unless absolutely necessary."

"Therefore, my suggestion is to start gathering materials and have one last communication with the Honored Master before the operation in Abyssal City begins, to ask for his opinion."

"In that case," the Gray Serpent, seated at the head of the table, concluded the brief meeting. "Everyone, prepare yourselves and try to establish contact with the Honored Master within a month."

Chapter Forty: Gradually Converging on Changkong City

"Well..."