Shiyu Qiluo

The world we'd grown accustomed to shattered along with the zombies on screen that tore apart the protagonist's skull.

As the film scene unfolded before her eyes, a strange black grease mixed with blood and brain matter bursting forth, the nerve-wracking moment passed, and the couple next to her, whose chatting and laughing annoyed Carole, dissolved into black dust at a visible speed.

When she discovered it, the entire movie theater was completely empty.

These remains, which had once proven the existence of the other party, were inexplicably pulled into the sky by gravity.

It might seem strange to describe it as being lifted high into the air in an indoor environment, but in reality, those black particles formed from the fusion of countless corpses were unnaturally raised high, trying to squeeze through the cracks in the ceiling to reach the outside world.

Judging from their intentions, the sky may well be the target of these [Ashes].

It was as if some mysterious force was calling these souls, along with their remaining ashes, to a paradise where they could be completely annihilated.

Carole, in a daze, stood quietly in place with the little girl beside her, watching the scene in silence, as if their nerves had been crushed by the immense reality.

This led them to foolishly stay in the same place even during such a crisis.

Whether it was simply sheer luck or not, aside from the two of them, the rest of the humans here had such low Honkai Energy resistance that they were not even qualified to be transformed into Zombie, so they were unexpectedly safe.

Considering this premise, perhaps the most foolish thing to do is to rush out in a panic.

Their accidental inaction is quite relevant to the current situation.

About a full minute later, the black ash that couldn't penetrate the ceiling fell weakly and softly, creating a terrifying rainstorm inside the room.

The fundamental reason for this "rain" is that the black ash is essentially a mixture of 99% Honkai Energy and scattered human remains.

At this moment, Canghai City was being swept into a huge vortex created by massive amounts of Honkai Energy. All the black ash was resonating with the branch vortices overflowing from this vortex, which is why the scene that Himeko saw from high above was successfully displayed.

At the same time, it also soaked the two poor little girls' beautiful hair all over the ground.

Even so, Shiyu Qiluo's brain remained in a state of utter stagnation.

This child is naturally timid; he only dared to come to see this movie after Carole photoshopped the movie title and changed the poster.

Having just experienced the trauma of watching a bloody movie and then encountering this incident, it's unlikely she'll regain her senses in the short term.

After showing that one bloody scene, the movie abruptly ended with a curtain call.

Carole stared at the now completely black screen; the entire movie theater had become a deathly silent world shrouded in darkness.

This horror movie was originally a prank she planned to bully Shiyu Qiluo. Carole even had a follow-up plan to comfort her, showing how well-prepared she was.

Yes, that's why Satou Yunona didn't come to watch the movie with us.

Although she was a bit cunning, she wasn't as bold as Carole, so to avoid being caught in the crossfire, she had no choice but to refuse decisively.

After taking about two minutes to calm down, Carole finally snapped out of her mental lapse.

At this point, being thick-skinned becomes an inexplicable advantage.

She first quickly cleaned the black dust off her head and from her collar, then casually patted her skirt before helping the still somewhat dazed girl beside her grope in the dark to tidy her appearance.

Carole ran her fingers through her gray-blue hair, carefully removing all the dust.

Although she herself knew that in this situation, such trivial details should be completely disregarded.

However Shiyu Qiluo has a rather severe case of mysophobia, and if this mental state is not handled properly, it could have very serious consequences.

While cleaning up the dust, her hands inevitably touched some private and soft areas.

Even so, Shiyu Qiluo's body remained as stiff as it had been initially.

Out of fear and a reluctance to face reality, Carole did not immediately attempt to use her phone for light or to call for help.

Aside from the instantaneous deaths of those people, the film's abrupt end is also a very ominous sign.

Will I still be able to communicate with the outside world?

What has become of the outside world?

In order to avoid getting an answer immediately, she instinctively chose to escape while trying to awaken her companions' consciousness.

Carole glanced at the dense darkness around them, Shiyu Qiluo's ear:

"Qiluo- chan, wake up! Even though we don't know what happened, staying here is dangerous no matter how you look at it."

Upon hearing this, Shiyu Qiluo blinked her blue-green eyes. Her slow turn of her head to glance at Carole was like an animation playing in slow motion, looking somewhat comical frame by frame.

"Isn't this Carole's prank?"

The little girl's sweet, bewildered voice, tinged with innocence, infuriated Carole. A surge of pent-up emotions welled up inside her, and she snapped, "..."

"Even if I wanted to bully Qiluo, I couldn't possibly pull off a prank of this level! Think about reality, reality!"

The girl held onto Shiyu Qiluo's shoulder while glaring at her angrily, but a moment later, the teardrops falling onto the seat softened Carole's attitude, which was gradually being crushed by fear and anxiety.

Of course, she knew what kind of person Shiyu Qiluo was. Her silent tears were already the greatest form of self-control; even she herself was trembling with fear. How could she expect the other to remain absolutely calm?

This is unreasonable; even in today's unreasonable reality, pursuing rationality is itself a foolish act.

But Qiluo- chan is my friend, and it's only natural to be tolerant of a friend's flaws.

Besides, if he were the only one left in the entire movie theater, even the most thick-skinned person would be at a loss and unable to think straight.

The reason I can still persevere now is that it's not the loneliness that gives me any sporadic moments of tenderness.

Carole took a deep breath for a while, calming herself down while also feeling a little guilty.

So the girl carefully considered her words and said seriously in a solemn tone:

"Qiluo -chan, you told me you wanted to become an idol, right?"

The little girl was trying her best to control her emotions; she knew that this was not the right time to act this way.

But even a glimpse of this cruel reality is enough to terrify any normal human being, and she was no exception.

"... Mmm." She suppressed a sob and forced out the answer from her throat.

Carole hugged Shiyu Qiluo, stroking her head, wanting to convey real warmth through these physical intimacy and give the other person space to vent her emotions.

She said softly:

"An idol, after all, is someone who ultimately stands on a stage in front of thousands of people and is responsible to all the audience members."

"Even if such a person is afraid of others' opinions, afraid of not doing well enough, and saddened and sheds tears after a less-than-satisfactory performance, once she stands on the stage, she will definitely try her best to do her best."

"I know what kind of person Qiluo- chan is. Even if all of this is difficult for you, you still want to become an idol, right?"

Shiyu Qiluo buried her head in the girl's chest and rubbed against her, the girl responding with a sob.

"Um."

Carole parted her lips and murmured with a smile:

"I said before that Qiluo -chan sings terribly."

"... Um."

"But even so, at that time I never said that Qiluo- chan could never become an idol."

She remained silent, yet understood the meaning behind those words better than anyone else.

After Shiyu Qiluo earnestly shared her ideals, only Carole carefully observed the girl's passion and pure love for those ideals beneath her tone-deaf reality.

No matter how many flaws and seemingly impossible obstacles Shiyu Qiluo faced, Carole believed that she deserved respect for daring to set her sights on this goal, for not being discouraged by ridicule but working hard silently.

This respect undoubtedly reached Shiyu Qiluo's heart, which is why, despite being pranked on her weaknesses several times, her relationship with Carole remained good.

Carole said softly:

"I'm scared too, Qiluo."

"I don't even dare to take out my phone now; I'm afraid I'll see the unpleasant reality."

"If the world really ends like in the movies, then my original dreams will be impossible to realize, and the same goes for Qiluo."

"Maybe many, many people outside are dying just like here, dying inexplicably and irrationally."

"My original dreams, aspirations, reasons for living, and goals have all been shattered by this reality."

The girl unconsciously tightened her grip on the other person's waist, and tears of resentment welled up in her golden eyes.

It is only natural to feel fear and sadness; there is no normal person who can be unafraid of this situation.

She gritted her teeth, trying her best to suppress her sobs, and uttered the words clearly:

"That's so strange, isn't it?"

Shiyu Qiluo felt the warmth of the tears dripping onto her neck, and in a daze, she stopped crying.

Carole suppressed all her emotions, trying to comfort herself, who felt so useless; she had already tried her best.

If Shiyu Qiluo cannot respond appropriately to this tenderness, then she will never become the best idol in her own heart, nor is she worthy of being the other person's friend.

"... Don't cry," her voice was a little hoarse, still faintly tinged with sobs, but it carried a firm strength:

"I will have the backbone to be an idol and face all realities."

"But even if the world really ends and I can't be an idol anymore, it doesn't matter. I will become an idol in my own way."

The girl tried to smile in the darkness; her radiant smile was clearly unseen by anyone, yet Carole inexplicably felt a hidden warmth and comfort within it.

Shiyu Qiluo said earnestly:

"When the time comes, Carole will become my first fan, just like we agreed before. Even if I become famous in the future, I will never forget Carole."

Carole wiped away her tears with her sleeve. Crying was rather shameful in the eyes of the usually timid woman, and she muttered:

"Qiluo- chan has no chance of becoming popular. Even if she does, half of the reason will be because the clothes I design are too cute."

After the two of them vented their emotions briefly, the practical problems were finally laid out before them.

Assessing the current external situation should be the top priority.

If this is just a legend of divine disappearance from the East or some other localized mystery, then perhaps the way the two of them cried and worried before was just silly.

However, both Shiyu Qiluo and Carole wished that their tears were just foolish actions, so that their once warm and loving life could be embraced back into their arms.

From the perspective of wanting to know what's happening outside, checking external information by taking out a mobile phone is undoubtedly the fastest way.

After several unsuccessful attempts to unlock the screen, the two had to accept that the phone was now just a piece of scrap metal.

In this way, what seems like the least reliable option—going out to confirm—has become the only solution at present.

Carole calmly analyzed the situation based on common sense and years of experience watching movies:

"You can't go outside, Qiluo- chan."

"In movies, all the supporting characters who panic and run away are the first to die."

"When you know nothing, sitting still might seem like a passive approach, but it's the only safe course of action if you're feeling secure for the time being."

"The movie's progress bar should have already reached two-thirds of the way through the plot, so we'll wait about half an hour. If everything is normal in the outside world, a cleaning robot or staff will come to collect the trash and clear the area."

"If it doesn't, then there really is a problem, and we'll consider other solutions then."

This was a fairly good deduction for an ordinary high school girl, and even Shiyu Qiluo, who knew the other person very well, was a little surprised after hearing it.

She asked in confusion:

"Even though movie theaters don't have progress bars, and you always turn off your phone while watching movies, how do you know there's only a third of the story left?"

Under normal circumstances Carole would never have told the truth, but in the current atmosphere, she felt that telling the truth would actually help ease the tension.

Carole then looked away and said something that made Shiyu Qiluo's face darken.

"... In order to scare Qiluo- chan without scaring myself, I sacrificed the enjoyment of watching the movie and gave myself a spoiler in advance."

----!

The sudden, deafening crash of something breaking through the tightly closed door instantly pushed the two girls, who had just managed to calm themselves down, to their breaking point.

There is absolutely no need to speculate anymore regarding whether something has happened outside.

The hopeful wait was shattered in an instant.

As outside light poured into the room through the collapsed building, Carole's eyes, filled with terror, reflected the image of a monster resembling a white elephant, and she succumbed to despair.

Emperor-class Honkai Beast - Ganesha.