54. Elysia: "That Pretty White-Haired Girl Is... I Found You, Didn't I?" / 55. The Fourth Ending Failed to Trigger?

The Journey to Tomorrow

[Critical load point +5; hope +3 when Kiana, Himeko, or Xia Ling are in the team.]

[This leads to different endings for the story.]

Kiana held the flame in her hands, her gaze somewhat blank.

In a daze, she seemed to see many people in the firelight.

"What's wrong, Kiana?"

"It's nothing... it's just that this flame is very warm..."

"If you like it, you can take it with you for now." Xia Ling blinked. "After all, it's not like you have to keep your collectibles in your backpack."

Kiana's eyes lit up with joy, and she nodded emphatically.

After leaving the second level, the two immediately stepped into the Third Floor — the Ash-Forged Labyrinth.

This time, the two were not so lucky. Xia Ling looked left and right and found that the route on this floor was extremely abstract.

If they want to experience gains and losses again, their path is almost locked on one road, and they will miss a shop and a Wish Fulfilled.

The good news is that there is a very special point on their route.

Having determined the route, Xia Ling quickly got to work. In the first two nodes of the Third Floor, since the Unexpected Encounter didn't spawn, the two were forced to fight a regular battle.

The Unexpected Encounter after the battle did not lead to Kiana's long-cherished Sirin -themed Alternate History, but rather to the orthodox Sarkaz Alternate History.

Interestingly, this Alternate History is somewhat related to Kiana, because the name of this point in the story is "Bug-Kaz".

That's right, at the node, the two encountered the Kiana's "distant cousin," a large insect with sharp antennae and a ball of thread.

Seemingly due to the system, the Bug-Kaz seemed to recognize the two as its "kin" and enthusiastically offered Kiana "some lunch."

Even paramecia in the Hengheli are insects, after all.

After a warm exchange and receiving two final wishes, Kiana bid farewell to this enthusiastic "distant cousin".

"Sister Xia Ling... so not all insects in your world can just self-destruct..."

"This kind of thing is not common even in our world..." Xia Ling retorted silently, "Besides, I think its friendly attitude means it probably considers us as one of its own kind."

"Eek... I don't want to be an insect. Even if I were to become an animal, I'd at least become a cat or something..."

Kiana shrank her neck, seemingly thinking about what she would look like if she really turned into an insect.

However, her attention was soon drawn to something else.

"Sister Xia Ling, what is that?"

Kiana pointed to the purple teleportation node in front of her and asked.

"This is good stuff... I guarantee there's something you'll want to see inside."

Xia Ling pulled Kiana along and led the way inside.

[Mind Boundary]

You notice a crack in the corner. An immature idea was born from it, but it couldn't be perfected. Looking at the scene through the crack, you decide...

[Use ideas to fill the gaps (Consume two strands of ideas to enter the Bizarre Chapter)]

A branch that cannot bear fruit can only become nourishment for other stories (gaining a glimmer of inspiration)

"No problem, this is exactly what I've been waiting for!"

Xia Ling directly provided two ideas. During yesterday's trial, she had entered the Bizarre Chapter several times, where there was a high probability of Unexpected Encounter. And what they were lacking now was precisely that.

With a slow energy fluctuation, the environment around the two suddenly changed, transforming into a battlefield filled with smoke.

"?"

A string of question marks appeared above Xia Ling's head.

Even in the Bizarre Chapter, the overall environment should be within the Soul Furnace. The scene before us doesn't seem like entering the Bizarre Chapter at all; it's more like entering a certain node.

Of course, this question was quickly answered. Although it couldn't solve the problem, the system was always very proactive in informing users of the issue.

[Host, there's a problem again!]

"I've already seen it, so just tell me the conclusion!"

Xia Ling said irritably.

[Ahem, this time it's not entirely because of me...]

[How to put it... it seems that due to some peculiar power possessed by the host, this power has influenced the generation mechanism of the Bizarre Chapter.]

While exerting influence, it also resonated to some extent with the graffiti that the host carried Graffiti of the Hope Era.

Finally, using a concept and a segment of the host's memory as a template, this Bizarre Chapter was directly constructed.

"Huh? It's my turn to construct history this time?"

[This might not actually be a fabrication of history... because I discovered that the source of this memory isn't the host's imagination, but rather a piece of what the host witnessed.]

D-skirt Yierlin san Emu Cage Qi Si Ba [Ah, host, I finally understand why this history is so strange.]

[Because one of the people involved in this memory is a retrievable object for the system, therefore...]

"Alright, system." Xia Ling covered her face. "You don't need to say anything more. I already know what's going on."

Looking at the pink-haired figure walking towards her in the distance, Xia Ling couldn't help but sigh.

"Bizarre Chapter, get to the Second Honkai Outbreak of the Previous Civilization!"

Chapter 54 Elysia: That pretty girl with white hair... I found her?

"Another Previous Civilization?"

Kiana gasped in surprise.

Theresa had mentioned her weapon Previous Civilization when she was at the academy, and Fu Hua also explained her Previous Civilization during their exchange this morning.

Now that Kiana has heard news about the Previous Civilization once again, she is naturally filled with curiosity about this generation.

"It should be... this is indeed my memory, though not the kind I experienced firsthand, but rather something I heard others tell me..."

"As for the reason... well, it's too complicated to explain at a glance."

Kiana found it strange; Xia Ling rarely showed this expression. She seemed somewhat embarrassed and awkward.

However, she was soon stunned by what she saw that was even more shocking.

The pink-haired girl who had been seen from afar seemed to have discovered something. With a speed that Kiana could barely see, she quickly came to them, picked Xia Ling up, and rubbed her face against hers.

"Xia Ling! I didn't expect to see you here too?"

"Oh, so you're an acquaintance of Sister Xia Ling?"

Kiana was startled to see the pink-haired girl who suddenly appeared, but she relaxed when she saw that Xia Ling showed no resistance to her affection.

Since it's someone Sister Xia Ling knows, then there's no problem. But, why would Sister Xia Ling actually show such a soft expression...? Kiana suddenly felt like she'd gained a lot of strange new knowledge.

However, it seemed that Sister Xia Ling's gaze had just turned somewhat murderous. Would she be silenced because of this...?

"Oh, right, Xia Ling, this beautiful white-haired lady is..."

Xia Ling's lips twitched imperceptibly. Pretend, just pretend. You don't even know her? Of the Big Three, this is your favorite.

However, she cleared her throat and began introducing herself to everyone.

"Let me introduce you. This is Elysia, a very important friend of mine."

Xia Ling paused, then couldn't help but add, "If Kiana encounters danger, Elysia will be your greatest safe haven."

"But if you're perfectly safe, maybe Elysia will be your biggest... mmm mmm mmm!"

Elysia immediately covered Xia Ling's mouth, and then poked Xia Ling's ticklish spot with her other hand. Xia Ling immediately let out a strange cry and dared not speak anymore.

Kiana immediately felt a gentle gaze fall upon her. She looked up and met Elysia's smiling eyes.

"I... I'm called Kiana..."

Subconsciously, Kiana blurted out her name, but halfway through, a hint of melancholy flashed in her eyes.

Kiana... Can I still call myself that name now?

"You should smile more!"

Suddenly, Kiana felt two fingers pressing against the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile onto her face.

"How can such a lovely girl always look so gloomy?"

"That's what makes her smile so cute, huh? I guess I just can't resist a gentle and beautiful girl like Kiana."

Kiana was a little stunned. She looked to Xia Ling for help, but only received a helpless look in return.

However, considering that Kiana is currently going through a period of emotional trauma, if she were to contract Elysia, she might never be able to leave Elysia for the rest of her life.

In order to prevent Kiana from falling into Elysia's clutches, Xia Ling resolutely decided to sacrifice herself to attract Elysia's attention.

"Ahem, so, Elysia, how did you get here?"

Xia Ling spoke up.

"Hmm... this is a difficult question to answer. It's probably similar to the situation last time?"

Elysia knew that Xia Ling didn't want to reveal too much about the system's details in front of Kiana, so she spoke vaguely.

"Last time was..." Xia Ling suddenly realized that Elysia was obviously referring to the situation when she first entered the system. In other words, was it because the system was copying Elysia's data again that Elysia took advantage of the loophole?

"However, I do know a bit about the situation here. Judging from the surroundings, it seems to be the story of me stealing Mobius's badge and then defeating the Herrscher of the Void."

"Defeated the Herrscher of the Void all by herself... Is Miss Elysia that amazing?" Kiana couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Just call me Elysia, but defeating the Herrscher of the Void... isn't as easy as I thought~"

Elysia shook her head. At that time, her body was still relatively immature. Her control over strength and physical strength were far inferior to what she would become later. Therefore, her words were not exactly humble.

"But Xia Ling, why would you...?"

"I was conducting trials with Kiana... but due to some unforeseen circumstances, the main content of the trials was filled with Sirin's memories."

Xia Ling sighed and continued, "After that, I took Kiana into a Bizarre Chapter, and then we were inexplicably pulled into a node formed by this part of my memory."

"I did have some doubts at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it should be because of this thing."

Xia Ling took out one of her collectibles.

"Graffiti of the Hope Era... This collection is essentially a graffiti depicting the harmonious coexistence of different races. Herrscher and humans can certainly be considered different races, and it's not surprising that this wish itself could be associated with Elysia."

"If I hadn't changed the Hatred from the Age of Vengeance... I might have directly targeted the Herrscher of Restraint from the previous generation."

"So, it was another... accident?"

Elysia initially wanted to say it was another of the system's strange operations, but then she thought that it might also be related to the Origin Aura she had left in Xia Ling's body, so she quickly changed the subject.

"However, do you want to test the strength of the Herrscher of the Void from the Previous Civilization? That might be... a bit difficult."

"Huh? Is it because the Fire Moth completely sealed off that area?"

Xia Ling was taken aback, but quickly figured out the reason.

However, Elysia denied her statement.

"No, it's not because of that, but because... the battle actually ended a long time ago..."

"Huh?" ×2

A slightly embarrassed expression appeared on Elysia's face. "Because after I came here, I thought I needed to deal with the Herrscher of the Void before I could leave... so I just sneaked in and took care of the Herrscher of the Void."

"Although I'm using a relatively immature body from the beginning, my combat experience and control over my abilities are not what they used to be... So, dealing with the Herrscher of the Void might not be that difficult for me?"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Xia Ling covered her head. "The problem now is not how you will solve Elysia's problem."

"I previously thought that the condition for us to leave this node was to kill the Herrscher of the Void."

"But now Elysia you've dealt with the Herrscher of the Void, what are we supposed to do at this point?"

Chapter 55: Failed to Trigger the Ending 4?

"Well..."