In Arknights, I Became Griseo at the Start

Both body and will were incinerated in intense pain... finally turning into a pile of dirty ashes.

"...What just happened?"

Koschei, regaining his senses, stood in his mansion, recalling his momentary distraction.

"How is this possible... How could the mighty Ursus be divided... How dare these ants!"

"I will return, snakes cannot be killed... Ah, how is this possible! Ahhh!"

"What just happened?"

"Awoo~"

After yawning, Griseo blinked her moist, big eyes and then stopped her brush.

It had taken nearly the entire night, and with dawn approaching, she had finally finished the second painting, simultaneously creating a perfect closed loop for the Black Serpent.

Tonight, besides coincidentally unlocking Mobius, Griseo could also deal with the Black Serpent, a somewhat troublesome entity.

"..."

Just as Griseo was about to rub her misty eyes and rest, the azure Knight silently appeared beside her.

"...?"

Upon appearing, Mister Knight gently grasped Griseo's slender wrist, stopping her from rubbing her eyes.

Then, from who knows where, he produced a basin of water and a towel, tenderly wiping the little girl's hands.

It was only then that Griseo noticed the paint on her hands, which had gotten there at some point.

"Thank you, Mister Knight..."

?;

After cleaning the paint off Griseo's hands, the azure Knight vanished once more, becoming invisible.

Griseo, after rubbing her eyes with her clean little hands, took down the recently finished painting from the easel, hopped off her stool, and walked towards the bedside.

Although she had created a nightmare loop for the Black Serpent, there was still one more task she needed to complete.

Reaching the bedside, Griseo placed the painting in her hands next to Talulah, whose body was covered in black mist, and picked up her brush again.

As the colorful brush gently touched the painting, brilliant colors exploded outwards, the surface of the painting began to distort, and it started absorbing the black mist from Talulah's body, bit by bit.

When the last wisp of black mist entered the painting, the Talulah depicted in the painting, previously entangled by the black mist, quickly transformed into a coiled black serpent with its eyes tightly shut, as if trapped in a nightmare.

"Ugh... so sleepy."

Griseo, the little girl, was currently in a strange state of being very happy... yet very sleepy.

But this time, she could finally relax completely. The Black Serpent was now contained within her painting; all she had to do to defeat it was tear the painting up.

Of course, Griseo had no intention of doing so yet, as her Grandma Mobius hadn't been unlocked.

Once she unlocked her, she planned to give the painting containing the Black Serpent to Taluh as a second gift.

"..."

Blinking her half-open eyes, Griseo glanced at Talulah, who lay on the bed, dreaming of who knows what, likely influenced by the painting. Suddenly, she had a bold idea.

With her new idea in mind, she began to act again.

Griseo first put away the painting in front of her, then carefully climbed onto the bed, slowly moving towards the dragon girl.

Finally, she lifted her smooth, snow-white bare feet... and straddled Talulah's waist.

"..."

Then, Griseo's small face remained expressionless, but her eyes were filled with a smile as she raised her brush...

After everything was done, Griseo finally lay down on the bed again. Although staying up all night had no real effect on her as a Fusion Warrior, she was truly exhausted now...

And if Griseo were in the Honkai world right now, given how little she had slept tonight, Aponia would have "kindly" urged her to go to bed long ago.

"Hoo..."

Gently turning over, Griseo reached out and hugged Talulah's slender, warm dragon tail, then slowly closed her big eyes.

"Anan... Taluh..."

ps: Speaking of which, I only realized belatedly that because I haven't played the story for a long time, I forgot a detail.

That is, I've always written "Aunt Mobius" as the protagonist shouted, but in reality, the one who was tricked by Ellie was called Grandma. I'll fix it later.

Please give me some votes. Chapter 2 today should be updated after 12 PM because I have other things to do tonight.

Chapter 22: Abandon Illusions, Begin the Struggle

In the early morning, just as the sun peeked out from the sky and cast its rays, everyone on the snowfield gradually woke from their sleep and began to move about the camp.

"..."

Talulah, lying in bed in the tent, slowly opened her eyes. However, unlike her usual early rising... at this moment, her eyes were filled not only with confusion but also with sadness and guilt.

But when her gaze focused and she clearly saw the scene before her, her pupils instantly constricted... her face filled with shock.

Then, Talulah quickly sat up, wanting to check the current situation. It was at this moment that the sensation and pull on her tail made her involuntarily turn her head.

When she clearly saw the cute little loli hugging her tail, her previous memories instantly flooded back, making her understand what had happened.

But it was precisely because her previous memories had returned that Talulah's mood became even more shocked. She looked down at her palm and whispered softly, "This is... the magic of painting?"

"Mmm... Tal... Talulah."

As if sensing the movement beside her, Griseo stirred slightly, then tightened her grip on Talulah's tail, murmuring drowsily.

"Hoo—"

Hearing this, Talulah let out a deep breath and stopped moving her tail, allowing Griseo to continue hugging it. Then, she reached out and gently stroked Griseo's soft hair, as if to confirm if she was real.

?;

At this moment, even though all her memories had returned, Talulah still felt a sense of having lived through another life.

In last night's dream, she had experienced everything from having it all to having nothing, all by herself...

Unlike Alina's bystander perspective, everything Talulah dreamed of last night felt like a personal experience.

Whether it was Alina's death, her own sadness and hatred, or finally being controlled by the Black Serpent and watching her companions die one by one... it was all incredibly real.

So real, in fact, that when Talulah first opened her eyes, she started to doubt if she had been reborn, back two years ago...

However, she also noticed that her situation was not entirely the same as in the dream. There was an extra... cute but formidable little one who had changed the course of the story.

"I originally thought Alina was exaggerating, but I didn't expect..." Retracting her hand that was stroking Griseo's soft hair, Talulah chided herself in a voice only she could hear.

"?-?)?"

Although very sleepy, because someone kept patting her little head, Griseo finally slowly opened her eyes, squinting to survey the situation.

But when Talulah's face came into view...

"???)!"

Startled, Griseo's sleepiness dissipated considerably. But she quickly reacted and remembered that the marks on Talulah's face were actually her own doing.

"Ah, sorry, I got a little excited and woke you up."

Seeing Griseo startled, Talulah subconsciously softened her voice and said softly.

"Mmm... It's okay, Sister Talulah, are you up so early?"

Saying that, Griseo rubbed her half-open, sleepy violet eyes and sat up.

"Yes, it's about time, and it'll be breakfast soon." Nodding again, Talulah reached out and stroked Griseo's little head.

"By the way, I'm also planning to talk to Alina later. Griseo, thank you for your painting."

"Mmm... It seems to have had some effect."

"No, it wasn't just some effect. It was a huge help." Hearing the little loli's words, Talulah felt a bit helpless, even amused.

After all, the effect seemed so powerful to her, yet Griseo described it so casually as "some effect."

The dream was gone... nothing that happened in the dream occurred in reality, but Talulah's mindset had become more mature and pragmatic.

At this moment, the fighter Talulah, who had abandoned her naive thoughts, had returned. She would treat reality as a new life, abandon illusions, begin the struggle, and lead Reunion forward.

"..."

Listening to Talulah's words and seeing the mature aura of growth she had gained overnight.

Griseo blinked her big eyes and began to seriously consider the consequences of her being discovered drawing on Talulah's face.

After thinking for a while, the little loli concluded that at most, she would get a scolding, and Alina might even defend her.

With this conclusion, someone quickly put her mind at ease...

Then, as if remembering something, Griseo opened her system panel and glanced at Mobius's unlock progress.

Hmm... 48%, this progress was higher than she had expected, but not entirely surprising.

After all, the paintings Griseo had made last night had affected not only the Black Serpent on Talulah but her entire consciousness. Anyone related to it couldn't escape...

This was the domineering power of Griseo's paintings, especially

since they were drawn with the Black Serpent's own colors, making the impact on the Black Serpent even greater.

Earlier, Griseo felt that "Griseo" couldn't defeat the Black Serpent, not because it was truly impossible, but simply because she lacked the means or the opportunity to defeat it.

Because although she knew Talulah was possessed by the Black Serpent and could see some differences, she had never actually seen the Black Serpent.

In this situation, Griseo's paintings could affect the Black Serpent, but she couldn't actually paint him and seal him within the artwork.

So, yesterday was truly a stroke of luck. By chance, the Black Serpent was caught off guard and manifested on his own, allowing the little loli to swoop in and pick up the prize.

However, Griseo currently has no intention of sharing this good news with Talulah. The reasons? First, she hasn't finished plucking his scales yet. Second... she's sleepy again.

This body's sleep schedule is just too good. She hadn't felt tired last night while immersed in her painting, but now, her primary state is simply exhaustion.

"Little Griseo, I thought you went to bed quite early yesterday? Why are you still so drowsy this morning?" Talulah asked curiously, looking at Griseo, who had relaxed her body and was about to lie back down on the bed.

"Mmm... Because I painted two more pictures last night and didn't sleep." As she finished speaking, Griseo had already fallen back onto the bed.

"Huh? Why did you suddenly paint two more pictures? And children shouldn't stay up late, especially not all night!"

"Waa... Mmhmm, Talulah, good morning..."

Listening to Talulah's lecture by her ear, Griseo responded softly a few times before closing her eyes again.

ps: I didn't fully understand the Black Serpent's abilities, but he won't be appearing again in the subsequent outline, so I've decided to have him exit the stage here.

I'm about to pass out from tiredness. I think I'm even more tired than Griseo. Goodnight, everyone.

Chapter 23: The Little Deer and the Dragon

"You..."

Looking at the little one who had fallen asleep soundly beside her again, Talulah wore a helpless smile. After gently covering Griseo with the blanket, she carefully got out of bed.

Talulah's emotions were complex at this moment, yet she was also very happy, completely unaware of any abnormality in herself.

She now planned to wash up a bit, then go out for breakfast, and perhaps find Alina to discuss the upcoming situation and deployment.

However, before Talulah could even start washing up, someone else had already come looking for her.

"Talulah, are you awake?"

Alina's gentle voice came from outside the tent, causing Talulah to stop what she was doing and quickly walk towards the entrance.

If she were meeting someone else, she might have paid more attention to her appearance and asked them to wait outside for a moment.