A Sudden Dream

"Oh, by the way, Xia Ling, Kiana was supposed to take her B-rank Valkyrie promotion exam today, right? How did it go?"

Highmore asked curiously.

"Ahem, shall I explain this?"

Elysia raised her hand.

Since she was able to peek into the system space at any time, Elysia has been visiting the system space almost every day. Among them, what interests her the most are the few Herrscher are in training or active service.

Therefore, Elysia watched Kiana's advancement exam with great interest throughout.

"Kiana has been working really hard lately, spending all her time in the academy headmaster's private training room. Now, Miss Fairy estimates that her true strength may have already surpassed the level of a normal B-rank Valkyrie."

"If you include her armor with its hidden capabilities, she might even be able to put up a fight against A-rank Valkyrie?"

"Elysia, you just spoil her. You didn't tell her anything about how she almost missed the exam, barely passed the written test, and ended up with a much lower overall score than Mei and Duck Duck."

Xia Ling glanced at the smiling Elysia and added helplessly.

"Perhaps Himeko's injury was a big blow to her, or perhaps the training room really worked. In any case, I successfully avoided becoming a laughing stock among transmigrators."

"Looks like we can relax a bit these days..." Flame Willow asked with a sigh, "What about Xi?"

"Study hard and make progress every day..."

Xi slumped listlessly on the table. "Otto's schedule is really packed... Now I feel like Rita and Durandal spend more time at home than I do..."

"The good news is that the secret weapon for stacking boxes is now usable."

"It took Durandal half an hour to finish just one painting, but brute force might be easier for her."

"So if any of you encounter any problems, you can tell me. Although there are only five paintings superimposed in the Dream Weaver Castle Model right now, it is already usable."

"Also, try to avoid spending time under Otto's nose. After all, when you use those paintings, you're consuming my Honkai Energy. If you consume too much, Otto might notice something amiss."

When she noticed that three pairs of eyes were fixed on her, Highmore snapped out of her reverie.

"My situation is a bit more complicated..."

"The Oceania Branch Leader is dead."

"?" ×4

"According to the investigation, the death was caused by a plane crash, which was an accident."

Highmore shrugged. "This is what my friends from Sea Creatures told me, from an official announcement that hasn't been released yet."

"But didn't you say he had just finished consolidating his power? How could he possibly die at this time?" Xia Ling asked, somewhat incredulous.

"I'm curious too, but I don't know." Highmore shook her head. "I didn't overly saturate the flora and Sea Creatures of the Oceania Branch, and besides, this didn't happen in their sight."

"However, what I am certain of is that, for some reason, the Branch Leader's former confidants were turned by Dr. Ryan."

"The power structure in Oceania is in complete chaos right now. A bunch of people are practically beating the dog out of its head, and Otto doesn't seem to care at all. He's just watching the show."

"But thanks to them, Wendy and I had a period of peace and quiet."

"However, the bad news is..."

"The bad news is that once their internal problems are resolved, they'll deal with your issues, right?" Xia Ling's expression was somewhat grave.

"To be precise, it should be only me. Wendy's part of the experiment has been basically abandoned. Strictly speaking, in the eyes of those higher-ups, she now has only one function: a vessel for those Desire Gem."

"Huh? Aren't they really worried that Wendy will Herrscher transformation?" Elysia was very puzzled. "Besides, doesn't Schicksal have the technology to seal the Herrscher Core? Why do they have to use a cute girl to do this?"

"According to their thinking, if Wendy could become Herrscher transformation, she should have Herrscher transformation long ago. The reason she has evolved into her current state must be because she lacks certain conditions."

Highmore relayed the views of the research team from Oceania.

"However, they did not know that Wendy would become Herrscher transformation two years after the gem was implanted, although she would be quite weak even after becoming Herrscher transformation."

"So, our current relaxed state should be considered the calm before the storm?"

At the end of the meeting, Xia Ling summarized it in this way.

Ending Remarks

Hello everyone, this is Kiyomitsu, who's so busy during graduation season he's Klein.

So, did this epilogue come a little unexpectedly?

That's indeed the case, since according to the original outline, there was a plot point after the third volume.

However, when I was organizing the detailed outline recently, I found that the ratio of Volume 3 to Volume 4 might be a bit unbalanced.

The original plan for Volume 4 was to cover the main storyline up to the time Schicksal War, but this part of the story... only features Wendy in a relatively coherent long segment.

Kiana's illusion cannot be written because Sirin's storyline has other arrangements, and the first and second chapters are relatively short. Therefore, in order to avoid the situation where the third volume has seventy or eighty chapters while the fourth volume only has thirty chapters, I have decided to distribute some of the content from the third volume to the fourth volume.

Next up is a preview of the plot for Volume 4.

In the third volume, Xia Ling's various clones have completed their initial arrangements, and things are going very well. However, at the same time, Xia Ling also experiences the effects of changing the world line for the first time.

In the upcoming fourth volume, this influence will intensify further. Xia Ling will soon face a foreshadowing that has been buried since the beginning of her transmigration, namely, our beloved Yingyingying.

Faced with Sakura Samsara that is vastly different from the original work, how will the story unfold?

Furthermore, the previously turbulent Oceania finally saw the outbreak of conflict, and as time went on, Highmore's situation became increasingly precarious.

As the main storyline unfolds, Wendy's time to Herrscher transformation of Reason is drawing ever closer. Just then, Highmore discovers that Ryan, whom she has always looked down upon, is not as mediocre as he appears on the surface...

In short, all the stories will unfold in the upcoming fourth volume.

Tomorrow, Volume Four—a completely different starting point for the story—will begin!

Chapter One: A Sudden Dream

"Hmm..."

In the middle of the night, Theresa suddenly opened her eyes.

The sheets beneath him were soaked with cold sweat once again.

"It's... that dream again..."

"Ugh, I feel so uncomfortable all over, it feels like..."

What's wrong with me lately?

"Maybe I should ask Xia Ling tomorrow. She always seems to have some strange methods; maybe she can find out what happened to me..."

The next day.

"So, that's why you've been dozing off in the office every day these past few days, and why you've been so mysterious and refusing to say anything?"

When Xia Ling was summoned to the office, the veins on her head bulged.

"You always bother me when you have nothing better to do, but now that something's really wrong, you don't say a word, do you?"

"Huh? So, you all knew all along?"

"My dear Dean." Xia Ling pinched Theresa's delicate face and squished it wantonly. "We are not blind. We can see the bed sheets with unexplained wet stains that appear behind the villa every day."

"And because your enormous amount of water output is so inconsistent with bedwetting, we almost suspect that our headmaster has entered the... Waaah."

Before Xia Ling could finish speaking, Theresa, whose face was flushed red, covered her mouth with a kiss.

"You little pervert, what kind of weird thoughts are you having? That's the cold sweat I get when I wake up from nightmares last night!"

Xia Ling quickly raised her hands to signal surrender, and Theresa then released her hands.

"Alright, alright... So, let's get back to the main topic."

Xia Ling's expression turned serious. "What kind of nightmare were you having?"

"I... I don't know..."

Theresa shook her head in frustration. "After I wake up, the memory of that nightmare vanishes without a trace, leaving only an unusually painful palpitation, as if I experienced something incredibly terrible in the dream..."

"However, as the number of times increased, I gradually retained some impressions of that dream. The reason seems to be that I might be repeating the same dream most of the time?"

"So, what impression did you leave on me?"

"I remember... it seems there were only... cherry blossoms, villages, shrines, death... and a name."

"In that dream, they seemed to call me... Yae Rin?"

"..."

"I understand, Theresa." Xia Ling concealed the turmoil in her heart. "I need some time to prepare regarding your question."

"I will try some things in a day or two."

Late at night, Xia Ling slowly sat up in bed.

After sorting out the situation with her other clones within the system, Xia Ling discovered that things seemed to have taken a completely different path from the original story.

She was too shocked to think about it in the morning, but after returning to the system space in the evening, the group discussed it and discovered an important problem.

She originally thought that Theresa's current situation corresponded to the "Return of Grace" chapter in the comics, since both the nightmare and the characters matched perfectly.

However, when they checked their memories that night, they discovered that in the "Return of Grace" chapter, Theresa did indeed enter Yae Sakura's Stigmata Space, but the role Theresa played was not Yae Rin, but Kallen.

That's not the key issue. The main problem now is that in the original manga, if you die in the Stigmata Space, you will also die in reality.

If Theresa is playing the role of Yae Rin, then based on both her description and Yae Rin's original fate, she should have died more than once in the Stigmata Space.

But her reaction was merely that she had a nightmare, broke out in a cold sweat, and was listless the next day.

"However, I know the root of the problem. When Theresa faced Yunna in Changkong City, she should have been defeated again, and then Yae Sakura took over her body to fight in her place, which is how she won the battle."

"But because of my appearance, Yae Sakura didn't have to make a move this time, and we already defeated Yunna."

"But... this kind of variable shouldn't have such a big impact..."

"... As expected, just to be on the safe side, I still need to go and check the Stigmata on Theresa's body myself."

Xia Ling tiptoed off the bed, casually put on a piece of clothing, and then quietly activated her ability.

The next second, she appeared in Theresa's room.

Theresa, fast asleep, had a furrowed brow, as if she were having that nightmare again. As she writhed restlessly, the blanket slipped off to the floor, revealing large patches of her youthful, delicate skin.

Xia Ling did not conceal her Honkai Energy fluctuations during the teleportation. Himeko is still in the hospital, and only Theresa can detect these subtle fluctuations in the villa.

But...

"Something's definitely not right... She's sleeping too soundly. Even with my obvious Honkai Energy fluctuations, she didn't wake up. I'm afraid her consciousness is completely trapped in that Stigmata Space."

Xia Ling reached out and nudged Theresa, and sure enough, Theresa didn't react at all.

Seeing this, Xia Ling became bolder in her actions.

Reaching out, Xia Ling gently unbuttoned Theresa's nightgown, then completely removed it. She then turned Theresa over, and sure enough, Xia Ling saw something she had expected.

On Theresa's smooth, white back, a faint, vivid, blood- Stigmata appeared, now shimmering slightly.

Xia Ling gently placed her hand on the Stigmata; the touch was delicate and smooth, perfectly matching her skin.

"Something's not right... Is this Stigmata...?"

"Forget it, I'll find out if it's Stigmata or not by trying it."

As she spoke, Xia Ling activated her ability.

After all, the Stigmata Space is also within the scope of her ability to invade. If possible, she could directly activate her ability to open a door to the Stigmata Space, which might be able to get to the root of the problem.

However, things were not as simple as Xia Ling had imagined.

"Huh? No response?"

Xia Ling was slightly taken aback. If Theresa entered the Stigmata Space at this moment, she would definitely be connected to the Stigmata Space, and she could then invade it through this connection.

But now it seems... this Stigmata is clearly working, but I can't feel any connection between Theresa and the Stigmata.

Could she really be dreaming?

Xia Ling was at a loss for what to do.

"Forget it, professional questions should be answered by experts. Let's go to the Elysian Realm and ask Vill-V about the Corrosion Key."

After taking a picture of the Stigmata and restoring Theresa's clothes to their original state, Xia Ling arrived at the Elysian Realm, her mind heavy with worries.