"Coming Clean" / Herrschers of This Era...

Since he was already prepared to use the World Bubble of the Sea of Quantum as an excuse, Gwen didn't mind explaining it to the two of them and finding a source for some information he already knew.

"Parallel world?"

Upon hearing Gwen's words, Kiana couldn't help but gasp—

This is one of the few things Kiana has heard in class, and it's relatively interesting compared to others.

"Yes, it's the parallel world we talked about in physics class."

Gwen nodded and smiled.

"Although it's a parallel world, to some extent, I guess I've seen the future."

"So Gwen, what do you see in the future?"

"Am I now incredibly powerful?"

Upon hearing this, Kiana didn't doubt its authenticity and immediately asked excitedly, even forgetting her slight doubts about Gwen's evaluation of her.

"Yes, in the future I see, Kiana has already become Valkyrie on her own..."

Looking at Kiana's somewhat dirty little face and the expectant expression, Gwen couldn't help but chuckle, but there was also a hint of emotion in his smile.

"Hehe, as expected of me..."

Upon hearing this, Kiana did not become overjoyed as Gwen had expected. Instead, she unexpectedly revealed a hint of reserve, which made Gwen's smile deepen.

However, compared to Kiana's ecstatic expression, Mei also noticed the wistful look in Gwen's smile.

263

Chapter 263 "Confession"

For once, Gwen didn't tap Kiana on the head while Kiana was smugly pleased with herself. Instead, he turned his gaze to Mei, meeting the girl's inquisitive eyes.

Gwen smiled and said, assuming Mei was also curious about what her parallel world self was like:

"Of course, Mei also performed exceptionally well, playing a pivotal role in humanity's fight against the Honkai."

"Um..."

Hearing that her future was promising, Mei felt a little more at ease because of her weakness. She nodded slightly, not showing the same joy as Kiana, but a slight smile still appeared on her lips.

"In those parallel worlds you saw, did we successfully Honkai Gwen?"

Upon hearing that both she and Mei had become incredibly powerful in the future Gwen had envisioned, Kiana asked almost instinctively.

After Kiana finished speaking, the training room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the three of them could only hear each other breathing.

"..."

Facing Kiana's hopeful gaze and Mei's worried look, Gwen gently shook his head and broke the momentary silence with his words.

"If we defeat the Honkai, those parallel worlds probably won't turn into World Bubble, leaving only fragmented information behind."

However, despite discussing such a heavy topic, Gwen's tone was quite relaxed, which greatly relieved the pressure that had risen in their hearts from Gwen's head shaking.

What is the World Bubble?

Before Kiana could speak again, Mei keenly caught the proper nouns in Gwen's words.

"Um...

Mei, have you ever heard of the Buddhist saying, "One flower, one world; one leaf, one Bodhi"?

Gwen tried to explain it to the two in the simplest and most understandable way possible.

"To use an analogy that may contain errors—"

Our world is like a leaf in this sentence, and countless leaves, just like our world, grow together on a tree called the Imaginary Tree.

Some leaves, if they are not growing well or are damaged by pests, will fall off the tree and land in a special area called the 'Sea of Quantum'.

And the original world thus became World Bubble.

Ultimately, just as fallen leaves decompose under the action of microorganisms in water, those World Bubble also dissolve in the Sea of Quantum, occasionally leaving a faint echo.

And that's where the information I received came from.

"..."

Neither of the two girls spoke immediately after hearing Gwen's explanation; instead, they silently processed the information in Gwen's words.

In the silence between the two, the atmosphere in the small training room inevitably became heavy.

After all, no matter how thick-skinned a person is, they cannot remain indifferent to the possibility of the world being completely destroyed.

"Alright, that's just a parallel world after all. Let's not treat it as our future."

Seeing the worried expressions on their faces, Gwen reached out and patted them on the shoulder, smiling as he spoke.

"After all, I don't exist in those parallel worlds."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Kiana instantly snapped out of her inexplicable worries and stared wide-eyed at Gwen.

"Is there no Gwen in a parallel universe?"

Mei, standing nearby, also cast a surprised glance at them.

"Well, so far, I don't exist in those parallel worlds I've seen—"

Perhaps they didn't survive that Honkai, perhaps...

In short, my existence has brought this world into the picture, and it has already tangibly changed some things—"

Seeing that both of them had their attention drawn to him, Gwen casually glanced at Kiana and said with a smile.

"At least, Changkong City still exists safely, and Mei can go back to her hometown anytime she wants."

Just now, Gwen vaguely saw a fleeting golden glint in Kiana's eyes—

"Was it because of the illusion created by Hiyori that the pufferfish revived prematurely?"

Gwen smiled, but a sense of urgency crept into his heart.

"Could it be that in other parallel worlds, Changkong City..."

Upon hearing Gwen's words, Mei's heart tightened—

Although she experienced the most painful period of her life in Changkong City in the past six months, it was, after all, her hometown, where most of her past laughter and memories resided.

"Yes, it was used as an experimental site by Cocolia, which triggered an artificial Honkai, which in turn led to the Third Honkai Eruption, reducing the population to less than one-tenth and turning it into a near-apocalyptic wasteland."

Gwen nodded slightly, giving his answer.

"..."

Upon hearing Gwen's answer, Mei did not question it. She simply pondered for a moment, then looked at Gwen with a complex expression, her voice somewhat hoarse, tinged with relief.

"Thank you, Gwen..."

Although she only heard it from Gwen, Mei could still guess that the final Third Honkai Eruption was related to the Conquest Gem she possessed.

The population of Changkong City, which once numbered over ten million, has dwindled to less than one-tenth...

Even if I'm also a victim, even if there are many people Mei dislikes among them, if something like that really happens...

Mei couldn't imagine what she would be like.

"You're welcome. We're friends, aren't we?"

Gwen smiled and extended his hand to the girl.

"Um..."

Looking at Gwen's smile, Mei, with complex and unreadable emotions in her heart, nodded vigorously and reached out to shake hands with Gwen.

"That Cocolia guy..."

Kiana glanced at Mei with lingering fear, then began to grit her teeth at the already dead Cocolia—

Despite being a victim of the Honkai disaster, she didn't think about how to survive after being saved by her mother. Instead, she wanted to recreate the disaster... She's just bringing shame to her mother!

"Alright, stop thinking about that guy I killed."

Seeing this, Gwen rubbed Kiana's head to bring the girl back from her dissatisfaction.

The discovery of the purple pufferfish showed signs of premature awakening, Gwen didn't want Kiana to fall into overly extreme emotions—

If he just reached an agreement with Otto, and then Kiana suddenly Queen's Arrival, that would be a huge mess.

"Ugh, you'll stunt my growth if you keep touching my head."

Kiana slapped away Gwen's mischievous hand, muttering to herself, then suddenly realized something was wrong and stared at Gwen with wide eyes.

"You're saying you killed that scoundrel Cocolia?"

But wasn't she killed by that super cool red mecha?

Kiana's sharp mind, activated by the massive amount of information Gwen revealed, keenly sensed that something was amiss.

"Hmm~"

Gwen smiled without saying a word, but the hint of smugness in his smile already told the answer.

"Was that really Gwen?"

Seeing Gwen in this state, even Mei, whose emotions were incredibly complex at the moment, couldn't help but be surprised.

"I was just lucky to gain the qualification to use that power..."

After a casual remark of modesty, Gwen briefly recounted his preparations to the two of them...

1. Jpg.

264

Chapter 264 The Herrscher of This Era...

"So..."

On a bench in the training room, Kiana rested her head on one hand, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Gwen, are you a robot now?"

As she spoke, Kiana looked inquisitively at Gwen's collar, as if she wanted to see if a metal lump had been replaced under Gwen's clothes.

"..."

Gwen, on the other side of Mei, thought Kiana was just being childish, but she couldn't help but cast a worried glance at Gwen.

Kiana, what do you think?

Upon hearing Kiana's conclusion, Gwen remained silent for a moment, then smiled kindly at Kiana, whose face still bore the marks left from before.

"Forehead..."

When Kiana met Gwen's kind gaze, she instinctively shrank back, realizing that she might have guessed wrong.

However, with a quick glance, Kiana revealed a reserved smile.

"Of course I hope Gwen is alright."

"Um?"

Gwen glanced at the unusually quick-witted Kiana and said in a deliberately serious tone.

"It can't be said that everything is completely fine."

What are the potential long-term effects?

Does it feel like being a robot, like in the Homu Adventure "?

Upon hearing this, Kiana disregarded everything else and asked anxiously.

On the other side, Mei also grabbed Gwen's hand, seemingly wanting to check if there was anything wrong with him.

"It's not a big problem—"

It seems that his physical abilities have undergone an abnormal surge, to the point that he accidentally crushed a few cups.

I expended quite a bit of effort to adapt to this power; otherwise, I wouldn't have been sweating profusely just now when testing your strength.