A Story Because of You

[Spread, spread, until it fills every corner of the world.]

[One day, It fell from the heavens, and people looked up, and saw the stars.]

[I am a Herrscher, but I also want to become human... just like... Her.]

[At least... there's still room to make things right...]

Countless memories flooded into her mind—some familiar, others utterly foreign—throwing her thoughts into chaos for a moment.

"Huh? Wasn't I in Siberia? What's this in front of me..."

The scene before her couldn't be called related to Siberia; at the very least, it was completely irrelevant.

The architecture before her was rather bizarre. Buildings stood amidst rubble and ruins. The rubble and ruins coiled around towers, intertwining to form structures resembling birds, as if proclaiming themselves the center of the world.

Cherry blossoms bloomed among the buildings, their drifting petals seemingly dyeing the entire sky pink. A lone moon hung at the horizon, as if embedded into the scenery.

Before her lay an open plaza, paved with neatly cut stone tiles.

"This is... the Sea of Quanta!? But Kevin's still squatting in the ocean—how did I end up here..."

"Hey, how do you feel??"

A familiar voice rang out, making her instinctively look around, but she couldn't find its source.

"It sounds exactly like Elysia's voice from my memories... Still, this illusion is pretty convincing."

Enoshia was certain that if it were the real Elysia, seeing her like this, the first thing she'd do is ask why they looked so alike, then confidently claim it was because her foundation was good—no matter what color she turned, she'd still be beautiful.

Without needing to be prompted, she'd come out and get close on her own. How could the infamous lesbian of the Sea of Quanta hide her head and tail in front of a girl who looked just like her?

Most importantly, though, she was the Herrscher of Corruption. The Herrscher of Corruption in the original Sea of Quanta was detestable, but there was no denying her power. Aponia herself had acknowledged: in data space, the Herrscher of Corruption was akin to the End.

Yet even when "Elysia's" voice appeared, she couldn't locate where it came from. This could only mean this place wasn't the Sea of Quanta at all.

"If only this weren't an illusion," Enoshia sighed helplessly, then called out loudly:

"You're not her, and you can never become her. Just like that other version of me from another world, you're a clumsy imitator."

"Elysia" didn't get angry: "True. This is a dream generated from a person's innermost desires. What you desire most is to go to the Sea of Quanta and meet the real Elysia. But as the Herrscher of Corruption, you're nearly omniscient and omnipotent in the Sea of Quanta's space, so it's easy for you to realize this isn't the real Sea of Quanta."

"Huh, neither denying it outright nor flying into a rage."

The illusion admitting it was fake caught her off guard. By normal logic, if someone realized the scene before them was false but didn't wake up immediately, the illusion should keep luring them deeper into indulgence.

But... persuading someone to drown in a dream was never something Elysia would do...

"Because I'm an illusion generated from your memories of Elysia. Like a character made by a programmer, every word and action follows my code. A character without knees, no matter how intelligent, can never jump." Her tone was utterly calm.

Completely independent in thought, free from external control—more like a new life born from reading someone's memories and remixing them than an illusion. It was quite different from how the Herrscher of Reason deceived people's minds. But that made it feel more real. If the real Sea of Quanta weren't a data space, and I weren't the Herrscher of Corruption, and if Elysia weren't so special, I might have actually fallen for it.

"Not coming out to meet me?"

"No need. Since I'm different from the her in your memories, I won't use her appearance to meet you and make you feel like Elysia's been severely OOC'd."

Her level of self-awareness was far higher than that Herrscher of Corruption's.

"Tell me everything you know."

"Greedy, aren't you? But I'll tell you honestly. After all, the real Elysia always responds to your expectations, no matter when... Hmm, where to start... Got it. From your perspective, I am indeed an illusion created by the Herrscher of Frost based on your memories."

As a creation of the Herrscher of Frost, "Elysia" didn't know much. For instance, why the Herrscher of Frost had such strong regenerative abilities and could create illusions—these key questions she naturally had no clue about.

Still, Enoshia gleaned quite a bit of information. For example, her voice was Elysia's because the person she most wanted to see right now was Elysia. Who you dream of depends on your greatest wish.

"One last question: how do I leave?" Having been awake this long and still here, clearly there was a special condition to exit.

"Without outside interference, the person you most want to see disappears from the illusion world. The most common method... is to personally kill the one you most want to see."

Enoshia clicked her tongue. This ability, whatever its origin, was truly terrifying. Even knowing it was fake, personally killing him or her would take immense courage. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but worry for Sirin, Shub, and Old Yang.

Because the most important people in their hearts were already gone forever. If they were to see the deceased again, they'd probably wish time would stop forever.

"Looks like you're done asking? Then my reason for existing is over." "Elysia's" voice was calm, but Enoshia felt something was off.

"Are you going to..."

"The real Elysia sacrificed herself for the possibility of the next civilization. I'm not her, but my values should be no different. If sacrificing myself could increase the chance of the one who came here escaping this predicament, I'd do it too... Maybe, as an illusion, it doesn't count as sacrifice?"

Her voice was full of doubt, yet also very firm.

"More than an illusion, you're like an Elysia from a World Bubble far enough from the Eigenworld. Though vastly different, some inner qualities are the same."

Though she only heard her voice without seeing her face, Enoshia felt her smile from the heart.

"Thank you. Though my life is very short, and we couldn't form any deep bond, I still helped you. Even if my entire existence can be summed up in a few lines, that's still a story that exists because of me. I think that's what the Elysia in your memories taught me."

"Hmm... In a way, we could be considered kindred spirits. Once you find the part you're missing, you'll understand what I mean."

With "Elysia's" self-sacrifice, the entire illusion collapsed in an instant. Her surroundings turned pitch black, but in one direction, sunlight seemed to seep through. If she kept walking that way, she should return to the Siberian snowfields.

But after thinking it over, she decided that as the Herrscher of Corruption, causing trouble inside the Herrscher of Frost's body would be far more effective. So she deliberately went the opposite way, actively possessing the Herrscher of Frost's body. The surroundings immediately went dark again.

After walking for an unknown time, she spotted a few faint lights—seemingly half-open doors.

Just as Enoshia was about to approach and inspect them, one of the doors suddenly swung open, bursting with blinding light. Enoshia instinctively covered her eyes.

When the light faded, a person stood before her—none other than the freshly resurrected leader of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang.