Dreams and Reality's Rift

Shao sat by the hospital bed, gazing quietly at the girl lying there with her eyes closed. The moment he remembered was different from the one before him, yet their final outcomes seemed to be the same.

"Disaster ..." Shao held the girl's hand and pressed it against his forehead. "I'm sorry... this time, I still couldn't protect you... our future shouldn't be like this, but perhaps the torrent of fate is truly unstoppable..."

The girl's sleeping face was peaceful and serene. Her complexion wasn't pale, as if she might wake up at any moment and smile, saying to him, "Amo, you were tricked, weren't you? It was just a little prank!"

He so desperately hoped this was just a little joke she was playing on him. As long as she could wake up and talk to him like before, what did it matter if she played a few more jokes like this? After all, a joke is just a joke, but she was always by his side, and he could still see her every day.

He thought he was mentally prepared, but when the same experience happened again, he found that he was not prepared at all, and the sadness was even more intense than before.

They have opened their hearts to each other, and they should have no regrets.

Although the journey he took this time was quite different from the last, at this moment, he was still just as helpless and at a loss as before.

He resisted her departure, yet could only watch helplessly as she left once again, powerless to do anything about it.

(Now... maybe I can understand how Feng felt back then... Although he and Elysia were completely estranged at that time, he tried his best, but in the end he could only watch Elysia go through her original ending, watch her final sacrifice... He knew everything, but he couldn't do anything about it...)

Shao sighed deeply, but it was unclear what he was sighing about.

Suddenly, the door to the ward opened, and Kevin walked in.

"You really are here... no, you've been here all this time..." Kevin glanced at Disaster lying on the bed. "Come with me. You're not helpless. There are things you can do."

"... What can I do?" Kosma said in a low voice. "What can I do? I can't locate the Eighth Law, I can't fight the Eighth Law in the spiritual world, what can I do, what have I done... Kevin, I don't need words of comfort."

Kevin frowned, then stepped forward, picked up Kosma, and walked out. He was Fusion Warrior now, but Kosma wasn't, so picking up Kosma was incredibly easy.

"... Kevin, what are you doing? Put me down!" Kosma gritted his teeth. On one hand, it was uncomfortable to be carried by Kevin, and on the other hand, did Kevin really not consider his extremely low body temperature? How did it feel to be carried by that sub-zero hand? Even through clothes, it would cause frostbite!

"At least let Disaster and I be in the end..."

"If you continue like this, she really won't be saved!" Kevin said coldly, carrying Kosma as he walked towards Mobius's laboratory. "Listen carefully, the Eighth Law is different from the Eighth Law we knew before. This time you have a chance to save Disaster!"

Kosma stopped what he was doing and looked up at Kevin in disbelief. "What... did you say?"

"I can't explain it in detail, but you just need to know that this time, to defeat the Eighth Law, you need to rely on Vishnu's power. Do you understand?" Kevin said. "This may be your last chance."

Kosma was silent for a while before saying, "... You should put me down first, I'll walk over by myself..."

When Kosma arrived at Mobius's laboratory, he found that the group had even prepared the experimental equipment, as if they were just waiting for him to arrive.

"... Could you let me know what's going on first?" Kosma glanced at the various equipment that had been prepared, and his eyelids twitched. Why did he have a feeling that this group of people had planned this all along?

"Alright, lie down on the operating table first. We need some time before the surgery to ensure your body is in a stable condition to receive the procedure. I'll talk to you during that time," Mobius said calmly. "If you don't want to be left without saving Disaster, I don't mind telling you slowly now."

Kosma lay down on it. "... Let's begin."

It's just a Fusion Warrior surgery, right? He's been tormented by Vill-V's magic a few times already. Compared to Vill-V's magic, the Fusion Warrior surgery is nothing.

Come to think of it, neither Vill-V nor Rovoc seem to be here...

While waiting for his various indicators to reach the standard for surgery, Mobius finally spoke, "This time, the Eighth Law was a mess caused by Admil... I really didn't expect that guy to directly replicate a inferior version of the Stigmata Project based on only a vague concept, and even give birth to the Eighth Law..."

Was the Eighth Law created by Admil?

Kosma was unsure what to say, or rather, what expression to make. Admil was, in a way, his teammate, though they hadn't really interacted much in his past life. After all, Admil was a member of the Fallen Angel Admil... This feeling was like being betrayed by a teammate, yet it didn't seem like it was his teammate's fault...

Very complicated...

"After this incident is over, if Admil isn't killed by Maple, you might consider kicking him a few times." Mobius glanced at the vital signs monitor. "Keep calm, your blood pressure is a little high."

Kosma: "..."

How can you expect me to calm down?

"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it in detail. Anyway, after Admil discovered the source of the Eighth Law, he immediately uploaded all his research data to me. As for the plan to subdue the Eighth Law, according to... well, whether it's Yu Feng or that woman Elysia, they will choose the plan that's best for everyone." Mobius seemed a little displeased. Zhu Yufeng might choose the most efficient plan, but if other people he cares about get involved, he will change the plan, unless there is really no other way.

He is the epitome of double standards.

"The plan for the punitive expedition..."

In the world of dreams.

"So... the life I'm experiencing now is just a dream, isn't it, Seele?" The old director sat on the steps of the orphanage, watching the children play and frolic. "It really is... a beautiful dream..."

Seele lowered her eyes. She probably already understood that this dream world seemed to be pieced together from the dreams of countless people. However, the old dean's dream did not seem to have been completely pieced together with the world created by the Eighth Law, so this place was independent from other places.

She wanted to find that guy's whereabouts. Quite some time had passed since Eighth Law separated her from him, but when Eighth Law locked her up here, he hadn't forgotten to "lock" the path leading to where she was, so she couldn't find it for the time being...

This made her increasingly irritable, and the old dean's dream also made her feel quite unhappy.

The old director was the one who took her in when she was a homeless person, so she was naturally grateful to him. Including the old director, more than half of the children in the orphanage were infected by the Honkai during the Sixth Great Honkai. Even though she had deliberately tried to absorb the Honkai Energy that erupted, she still couldn't block it all...

According to the researchers of the Fire Moth, they were all people with no future...

Honkai Corrosion Honkai, without sufficient funds to support treatment, it is no different from a terminal illness. Mobius did develop a drug that could effectively curb the progression of the disease and even improve it, but the cost was too high. Su tried everything he could to reduce the cost of other parts, but he could not solve the problem of the scarcity of the central drug "Honkai Antibody".

A portion of Admil's research on the Stigmata was also based on Su's research data. If it is successful in the end, it may be able to significantly reduce the cost of the drug.

"Unbeknownst to us, so much time has passed... That disaster seems so distant now..." The old dean seemed somewhat sentimental. "Even Dr. Admil said that my days were numbered... He was an excellent Scholar, and although he may have had some shortcomings as a human being, he truly devoted himself wholeheartedly to fighting disasters..."

"That guy..." Seele clicked her tongue. Mentioning Admil reminded her of when she removed the Herrscher Core, and the guy's comment that "it's a girl" made her blood pressure spike. As for the rest... Su was originally in charge of dealing with the Honkai Disease of the old dean and others, but later, because Su had too many people to take care of, Admil took over a part of it.

"I was just wondering if I could see the children grow up, but... since it's a dream, I probably can't see it in a dream, right?" The old headmaster chuckled self-deprecatingly. "After all, even if the dream unfolds according to my wishes, I can't just imagine what the children will look like when they grow up."

Seele opened her mouth, as if to say something, but in the end, she didn't know what to say.

Perhaps we can offer some words of comfort to the Dean?

What's the point of offering comfort? Does saying he'll definitely see it? That guy Admil already told him he doesn't have long to live, what else can we say?

... It seems someone is coming.

Sensing the presence of another consciousness, Seele gripped her scythe tighter, preparing to go on alert. Just then, she heard Aponia's gentle voice. "Don't be nervous, Miss Seele, it's me."

"Aponia?" Seele frowned, looking at the gentle-looking nun before him. "How did you end up here?"

The old dean turned around and glanced at us, then stood up with some difficulty. He smiled and said, "It seems that Seele, your companion has arrived. It looks like you have a way to wake us up? Alright, you two chat first, this old man will take my leave."

After saying that, he left.

"I remember you located the Eighth Herrscher from other people's dreams, which means that other people's dreams have also started to merge?" Seele asked.

"Yes, the Eighth Herrscher is gradually merging everyone's dreams. However, because Feng is currently fighting the Eighth Herrscher, the speed at which the Eighth Herrscher is merging dreams has been greatly slowed down," Aponia said.

"Then what are we waiting for? We have to go help." Seele frowned.

"No matter how many people participate in the battle, the impact won't be significant." Aponia shook her head and said, "In this world, the Eighth Herrscher is close to immortal. Before I found you, Maple had already killed the Eighth Herrscher several times, but each time the Eighth Herrscher would be reborn unharmed."

Seele clicked his tongue again. "Is this considered an early Finality? What are we supposed to do? Just watch? We can't kill her, are we just going to waste our time here?"

"Don't be impatient. Mobius and the others have already devised a battle plan," Aponia said, looking at Seele. "One of the keys to it is you, Miss Seele."

"I?"

"We need someone to fight the Eighth Herrscher for control of the Dream Realm, someone to fight the Eighth Herrscher hold her back, and another person to devour the Dream."

Seele pondered, "The Eighth Herrscher is that blockhead, and the one who devours dreams is that taciturn Kosma, right? And then, you want me to fight for control?"

"That's right." Aponia gave an affirmative answer. "Because in order to compete with the Herrscher for control of the mental world, one must have qualifications equal to hers. In other words, you, who were once Herrscher and are now a mental Fusion Warrior, have the highest probability of success in carrying out this plan, and I will be your assistant."

Seele glanced around the orphanage and then said, "What should I do?"

"Admil will provide us with a back door, and that is the opportunity."

In the school of my dreams.

"Ha... why isn't Mr. Feng here yet?" Disaster chuckled and slumped onto the table. "Could it be that their class meeting has gone on until now? Isn't Mr. Feng never late for class? He's faster than us when the bell rings."

"...We can study on our own first," Kosma said.

"Ah... the more I read, the sleepier I get. Amo, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when Teacher Feng comes." Disaster Dobby yawned, placing the book in front of her. She didn't know why, but she just felt incredibly sleepy, and she didn't know how long she would sleep...

It doesn't matter how long it takes, anyway, Amo will definitely wake me up.

Amo would help her catch up on the lessons she missed. This kind of life... was ordinary, but she liked it very much.

"Ouch!" Disaster was suddenly tapped on the head. She looked at Kosma with a resentful expression. "What are you doing, Amo?"

"You can't sleep now, Disaster," Kosma said seriously, looking at Disaster. "You can't fall asleep here."

"Why?" Disaster asked, puzzled.

"Because someone will worry about you." Kosma looked at Disaster and smiled gently. "Do you remember the closing ceremony that night?"

"Of course I..." Disaster suddenly paused. Had she... forgotten something?