26. Elysia: Don't You Think You Inherited the Origin Powers a Little Too Thoroughly? / 27. Theresa's Smartest Episode Yet

After a long while, Sirin's crying finally subsided, but she didn't raise her head. She remained in that position and said in a muffled voice:

"Sister Xia Ling, I had a dream..."

"In my dream, I became the Herrscher of the Void..."

"..." Xia Ling paused in her movements, a look of affection appearing on her face.

"That dream must have been very painful..."

Sirin did not answer, but after a moment of silence, she spoke her next sentence.

"Sister Xia Ling, that dream was reality, wasn't it?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: Elysia: Didn't you inherit the Origin a little too thoroughly?

"You already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"

As Xia Ling said those words, she could feel Sirin's body trembling slightly.

She simply climbed onto the bed, allowing the girl to bury herself completely in her bosom, feeling the familiar warmth and comfort.

"Those things, did I really... do them?"

"Why me... Why am I the Second Herrscher...?"

Sirin unleashed all the grievances and questions that had been swirling in her heart for so long.

Xia Ling didn't answer. She could tell that Sirin wasn't begging for Xia Ling's answer; it was just a way of venting.

A kind of... catharsis over fate.

"Sister Xia Ling..."

There was a hint of weariness in Sirin's voice.

"Why did I have to have that dream...? Is this... punishment for me...?"

No, that's not it.

Xia Ling's tone was very firm. "That's not punishment, Sirin."

"That is... the hope I want you to grasp, Qunqi Lingba Wusi Liuqi Qi."

"The happiness you experienced was what Sirin longed for most before she died: family, friends, care, happiness..."

"She never had these things in her lifetime, so she left this longing to you, who were born from her echoes."

"But... precisely because she didn't experience these things, you, as the one who truly inherited Sirin's memories... have never felt this warmth."

"I don't think this is fair. You can see from Kiana that the original Sirin shouldn't have been like this."

"But because of these memories, you will be burdened with her hatred from the very beginning, and then be constantly entangled by such negative emotions. In the end, you will even accept that you are Sirin's evil."

"So, I've decided to give you another possibility. I want to know, if you also had a pure white beginning, would you become the evil of Sirin?"

"Look around you, Sirin, the answer is obvious, isn't it?"

Xia Ling gently stroked the girl's upturned hair and looked out the window.

"The world within the Herrscher Core reflects the mental imagery of its inner consciousness. Before you experienced that dream, you never had any such mental imagery, right?"

"Because your heart is a blank. All you have are Sirin's memories, not Sirin's feelings... Even hatred, you haven't personally experienced."

"And now... look at this room, your heart is already telling you the answer, isn't it?"

Xia Ling smiled happily, "I'm so glad, Sirin. I didn't misjudge you, and you haven't disappointed me either."

"You're still that silly little thing who likes to snuggle up to me and Elysia when you're upset, aren't you?"

"Waaah..."

Sirin's eyes reddened, and the emotions she had finally managed to calm down welled up again.

"You arranged other people's lives without saying a word. Sister Xia Ling, you are so selfish."

Sirin's voice was somewhat sore.

"How am I supposed to face Kiana, how am I supposed to face Teacher Himeko, how am I supposed to face all those who died because of me...?"

"I know, Sister Xia Ling, you might say it wasn't my fault... but even so, I can't face them with a clear conscience..."

"I can't do it, I really can't..."

"Why couldn't you be a little more ruthless and just let me die a dazed and miserable death as the villain...?"

As expected... Xia Ling sighed inwardly.

This is another problem that needs to be overcome to save Sirin: whether it's the Second Honkai Outbreak, the Honkai 3rd that Sirin caused at Schicksal Headquarters, or Himeko, whom they thought was dead...

The situation behind these events is complex. Although it can be said that Otto is largely to blame, the issue is not about who is responsible, but rather that Sirin firmly believes that this is the responsibility she should bear.

Even in the original work, the Queen directly admitted that it was her sin and told Kiana that if she inherited her core, she would inherit everything, and Kiana accepted without hesitation.

It can be said that neither Sirin nor Kiana, even knowing that Otto was behind it, chose to take all the blame upon themselves in the original work.

This is a matter of mindset, not something that can be changed by a simple piece of advice or overnight. And the current Sirin is clearly the same, because she is Sirin.

She carried too many sins on her shoulders, so heavy that she could hardly move.

"There will always be a way, Sirin, but all of this depends on the fact that there is no hope as long as we are alive."

"But... I really don't know how to face my sister. I don't even dare to communicate with her through the core now..."

"That's normal."

Xia Ling wiped away the tears from Sirin's eyes and said with a smile:

"It is indeed very difficult to ask you to go out and face reality right now."

"So... you know what? Your Sister Elysia once said something."

"When you don't want to move forward, why not stop for a while?"

"Then, look around you, look behind you..."

"Look..."

"We'll always be here."

Xia Ling unleashed all her remaining abilities, and her power rapidly spread outwards as she and Sirin embraced.

In an instant, the area of this mental space, supplemented by Xia Ling, expanded from the original two small houses to the entire town.

"Sister Xia Ling..."

Sirin stared blankly out the window; she could even see the familiar amusement park in the distance.

"Just like in my dream, isn't it?"

"Wait, Sister Xia Ling, what's wrong with your body...?"

Sirin suddenly panicked. She realized that Xia Ling's body was becoming somewhat illusory.

"Don't worry... it's just that we're running out of energy this time."

Xia Ling gathered her remaining energy and bid farewell to Sirin.

"I know you may not be able to accept such a cruel reality yet, and you may not be able to face those you have hurt in the past."

"But we still have time... You can stay here for a long time."

"Well then, Sirin, I hope... you can get over your grief as soon as possible and think carefully about what I just said."

"If one day you're ready to face reality, tell me this..."

Xia Ling gathered her last bit of power into a somewhat transparent pink crystal flower, and her figure shattered instantly in front of Sirin, with all the remaining energy poured into the crystal flower.

Within its core, Xia Ling's final echo reverberated.

"Elysia and Bella are both worried about you, and so am I. We'll both be outside... waiting for you."

"..."

Sirin sighed and carefully picked up the crystal flower.

"What a willful older sister..."

Then, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes again.

This time, however, the expression on her face was not one of pain, but rather one of relief.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Theresa's Smartest Episode

"Call..."

In the early morning, Kiana rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up in bed with a yawn.

Although she should have had enough sleep last night, the dream she had kept her very alert for the first half of the night.

The same thing seemed to be happening to Xia Ling. Kiana glanced to the side and saw that Xia Ling showed no signs of waking up and was still fast asleep.

I have a feeling that Sister Xia Ling wasn't the only one in my bed last night... Who could it be?

Kiana was thinking in a daze when she suddenly heard a series of rapid beeps.

It seems to be a message from Sister Xia Ling... so early?

Kiana reached over Xia Ling's body and took the communicator.

"Huh? It's the headmaster?"

Seeing Xia Ling still sleeping, Kiana hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

"Xia Ling? Something's wrong... wait, Kiana?"

"It's me, Headmistress. Sister Xia Ling is still sleeping. What's wrong?"

Seeing Kiana's disheveled hair, which clearly indicated that she had only just gotten up, Theresa paused for a moment before saying, "How come Xia Ling got up later than you today... Oh well, you're fine too. I was originally planning to have Xia Ling call you to come along anyway."

"Anyway, you two hurry up and get ready, come to the bridge. There have been some changes in the situation in Changkong City."

"Okay... I'll wake Sister Xia Ling up right away."

A few minutes later, Kiana and Xia Ling arrived at the Hyperion's bridge. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Xia Ling saw Theresa seemingly having a heated discussion with Tesla.

"Since you're here and time is short, I'll get straight to the point."

Upon seeing the two approaching, Theresa immediately ended her conversation with Tesla and said...

"This morning, the concentration of Honkai Energy in Changkong City increased by several levels compared to before."

"How could this be? Everything was perfectly normal when I was in Changkong City!"

Kiana's voice was filled with undisguised surprise.

"If this had happened half an hour ago, I think we would have been just as confused, but now that question has been answered."

Tesla brought up a semi-transparent screen and pulled it in front of Xia Ling and Kiana.

"The reason for the sudden increase in the concentration of Honkai Energy in Changkong City is undoubtedly this."

"That **** Otto directly opened an Imaginary Singularity in Changkong City using the Second Divine Key!"

"They must have sent only a very small number of people, and they left immediately after opening the Imaginary Singularity, which is why we didn't find them."

Theresa looked rather grim as she explained.

"We cannot determine the purpose of Schicksal opening this Imaginary Singularity; perhaps it's to verify some conjectures, or to collect some data..."

"However, one thing is certain: if we don't turn this off soon, the consequences will be terrifying."

"Currently, due to the soaring concentration of Honkai Energy in the vicinity, many Honkai Beasts have appeared around the settlement of Changkong City."

"To protect the residents of Changkong City and shut down the Imaginary Singularity, we undoubtedly need to split our forces into two groups."

"When I came here, I felt that this matter might be very bad, and that I might be going against Schicksal again."