The Material of the Perfect Stigmata, the Grafting Project

Breathing in the sea breeze, gazing at the clear sky, petting the koalas in the zoo, and experiencing the beauty of the world, the undeniable feeling of being alive becomes increasingly clear.

The girl held down the brim of her sun hat, listening to the soft rustling of the wind past her ears, seemingly forgetting all the bad experiences.

How many times has one actually died in the physical sense?

As the decay of the physical body gradually becomes natural, the weight of life begins to lie between illusion and reality.

It is only natural that someone who doesn't care about themselves and is used to completely ignoring their own existence will become utterly lost in the illusion of death and the reality of suffering.

Seele Fulei has forgotten how many times she has been reborn, just like the cold numbers recorded in the past, the immeasurable deaths revealed in them. Now, they can only leave scattered remnants in her memory, like a withered tree burning before it becomes charred, giving a hot and representative image of the past.

Severed limbs, blood gushing out like a fountain, a ripped throat, a torn chest cavity, the coldness of the force applied along the skin's surface, the emptiness of vision, the severed nerves...

These vivid yet gradually fading memories are evidence of the existence of real experiences, and each use of power seems to take us further and further away from our human identity.

At that time, her dark crimson pupils were like the red spider lilies that never faded, their magnificent crimson color blurring her senses and the world, completely sealing away and numbing the pain that was clearly linked to her consciousness.

The tangible sensations that could be grasped were already few and far between. The strange, fragmented feelings in the brain grew ever deeper with the continuous use of power, the repeated death of the body, and the gradual distortion of the mind.

Seele Fulei could sense that something elusive was being shed between the cycles of death and resurrection. That emptiness did not return with the restoration of her body; it was as if it had been permanently lost. Upon closer examination, she could only feel a sense of loss, but she could never quite pinpoint what it was.

In the quiet moments of daily life, when catching sight of the boy's face, a strange feeling would occasionally flash through one's soul; inexplicable sadness and guilt would always arise suddenly amidst the comfort of everyday life.

At these moments, she would urge the experiment to proceed as quickly as possible.

The little girl earnestly states that she will not feel pain no matter how she is treated, and only at that moment does she, who should be trying to take care of Mei's feelings, subconsciously ignore how much weight this action actually means to the girl.

Perhaps no one could have imagined that this alliance, established six months ago, would result in the two of them dragging each other down toward hell.

The price they paid will eventually be paid off in the not-too-distant future.

But at least for now, the spiral of suffering continues unabated.

This was the second time he and Seele had completed the game.

In the weeks following their outing, the game between the knight and the nun, in their attempt to save the world with their combined strength, finally came to an end.

The conditions for achieving ending one are simple: find all the memory fragments belonging to the knight before finding the final boss and entering the special CG.

This reveals that the nun's last three memory fragments are hidden in the Frost Dragon's Reverse Scale among the White Tower in the Far East, the now tainted and darkened Heart of Nature in the Silent Forest, and the broken world within the statue on the eighth thousandth stone step of the Eternal Shrine.

Here you will have two options: to search for memories or not to search for memories.

If you choose not to search for your memories, you will have an additional option called "Going Home".

Choosing to go home will end the game abruptly and decisively. The plot is roughly like a hero who has passed through his teenage years, puts down the best sword in the village, and also gives up his ideas of marrying the princess and causing trouble for the demon king. He bids farewell to his well-prepared team, chooses to go home to farm and get married, and has a profound realization.

The initial scenes in the epilogue were indeed warm and beautiful, but after only three years, all living beings on the continent fell into eternal slumber. Ancient frozen soil and pitch-black matter completely filled the field of vision, and the sky slowly fell, destroying everything.

The world is destroyed.

The conditions for achieving ending two are to kill the Frost Dragon, purify the Heart of Nature, destroy that shattered world, and thus retrieve all of the nun's memories to mend the final void.

The prophet of Myriad Phenomena Nation once said that this was the only way to save the world. Before she was bound to ashes by the threads of sin, she smiled meaningfully and sadly and said that only in this way could the oldest Miko in legend be found and the meaning of the existence of the [coffin] and [nails] be revealed.

The Undead Knight firmly believed that the prophet's words were true, for she had died for the world.

Thus, the white bone spear pierced the Frost Dragon's reverse scale, the pitch-black coffin contained the heart of nature, and the Dream Spike returned the world that never existed to its origin.

Then.

The nun thus became the oldest legendary Miko.

Su Qing'an couldn't forget the sadness that the little girl unconsciously revealed. He thought that the trope of the hero being the demon king had been used to death long ago, and even if it was meant to manipulate people's mentality, it wasn't a setting that could break their defenses.

However, if the person controlling this character is Seele hasn't played many games, it wouldn't be surprising if they felt a little sad.

Immediately, the boy looked at the screen and saw that the game had stopped as the little girl refused to operate the controller. He was speechless for a moment. Normally, after the CG cutscene, the game would start a forced battle.

But why can the player still control the character even after it becomes a boss?

Is this the ultimate two-player game?

Even if Seele were to perform the "release into the sea" maneuver and remain completely still, all the healing items in her inventory would still be rapidly weakened by the ever-spreading dark sludge nearby.

The accumulation mechanism of the mana bar is similar to that of the power bar. In addition to the fixed mana cost, it also requires the payment of time. The so-called ultimate move is forced to stop after being released once, as the health bar is emptied.

The Undead Knight fell at the nun's feet, swallowed up into the void...

Su Qing'an looked at the character's still-present state after the rollback and the empty inventory, and said quietly:

"All our equipment is gone."

Seele pursed her lips and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Why do I have to kill my brother with my own hands? All this equipment and potions were basically farmed by Seele herself, while my brother was just slacking off and flirting with Sister Hua. He's so cunning."

Is this what's making you sad?

The boy glanced at the unusually long game time and felt a pang of guilt.

Although I've been going home on time every day lately, it's hard to imagine having enough time to grind for game items. The items in my inventory are basically all from the little girl's grinding, no wonder she's unhappy.

However, in reality, most of these props were actually created by Prometheus. The reason why the little girl felt a little sad was perhaps something she herself didn't understand...

Seele clenched her little fists and encouraged herself:

"Brother, you must use the Dream Spike next time to achieve a perfect ending."

Su Qing'an paused for a moment, his eyes glancing at the game screen, and replied softly:

Yes, it will.

If it's a teenager, they'll understand...

The answer to what she recently forgot.

The grafting experiment was a success.

The anticipated rejection reaction almost did not occur.

Judging from the effects of transplanting the remaining corpses, the Herrscher of Death's "Stigmata" does not cause any negative effects. According to data calculations, this phenomenon has already explained many key points.

The live experiments also attempted to use Honkai Cultist transported from other places as materials. After harming Seele herself, Mei's empathy for other comrades was very low, or rather, although it still existed, it was within a tolerable range.

The conclusion drawn from these dozens of lives is that transplanting the "Stigmata" of the Herrscher of Death does not cause any rejection, just as these flesh and blood tissues and even deeper things are incredibly gentle. However, the improvement of these death row inmates' Honkai Energy literacy is too subtle.

It's not so much that the effect is not obvious, but rather that it has no effect at all.

Theoretically, the grafting experiment should have yielded the expected results, but Mei speculated that something must be missing, which led to the current situation.

However, based on at least a week of observation, it can be concluded that the death row inmates who received the transplanted flesh did not experience any unexpected discomfort due to the experiment itself.

Even if the desired effect cannot be achieved, the risks of the transplant experiment seem to have been minimized. Assuming that these flesh and blood undergo rejection or rebellion, given the boy's idealistic ability to absorb Honkai Energy, his safety can be basically guaranteed.

Mei originally planned to continue her research before returning to consider some issues, but while routinely testing the blood of Su Qing'an against the Herrscher of Death's "Stigmata" for rejection, she made a new discovery.

Active.

Amazing activity.

A completely new activity.

The Herrscher of Death's "Stigmata" are essentially Seele Fulei's flesh and blood.

These methods of flesh and blood transplantation involve loading Nanobots into the body in particle form, then reassembling them into the corresponding posture.

The reason for this approach, besides being convenient and efficient, is naturally to prevent Su Qing'an from discovering anything unnecessary.

In fact, almost none of the death row inmates who underwent the experiments noticed anything extra inside their bodies, because these Nanobots- controlled particles were efficient and gentle, and the flesh and blood within them did not react in any way.

However, these "Stigmata," which should have been completely inanimate, reacted violently only to the blood in this test tube.

The Nanobots, which served as both the carrier and the disguise, were annihilated by the high concentration of Honkai Energy. The "Stigmata" spontaneously coalesced into Qiluo and mysterious band of light, which slowly rotated around the drop of blood like stars chasing the moon, resembling fireflies that never go out in an ancient forest, exuding an incomprehensible mystery.

Just as Mei was wondering what caused this scene, a continuous stream of light surged from below the experimental table, merging with it to create a more concise yet incomprehensible spectacle.

Half a minute later, she stared at the image inside the reinforced glass and fell silent.

The reagent that the robotic arm was holding was now empty; the blood had been contained within the "Stigmata" and transformed into a pure white glass bead.

Mei issued the order:

"Prometheus recorded and saved the previous footage, and the Sequence Number of the computing power are all sequentially arranged. I need to immediately conduct a thorough investigation and analysis of the Stigmata created by this accident."

Prometheus retrieved the surveillance footage and stated:

"Dr. Mei, all the flesh and blood in the 379 incubation chambers under the experimental table have disappeared. Based on the records, it is highly likely that they have all gathered into the sphere created by this 21-gram unidentified substance."

The girl was silent for a moment, then she said:

"Excluding all other possible factors, perhaps I can only attribute the crux of the problem to Mr. Su's blood."

"Although I don't like unexpected situations and hate things that appear out of nowhere and are incomprehensible, this is a good thing."

"I have a premonition, Prometheus."

"This bead is something that cannot be replicated with current technology; it is a truly perfect replica of the Stigmata material on the Herrscher of Herrscher of Death's body."

Mei gazed at the lifeless, Stigmata- like substance and murmured:

"But I'm also very uneasy."

Prometheus used the detector matched to the testing platform to compare the obtained data report in detail with the previous "Stigmata" data, and listed all the comparison examples within three seconds, drawing the following conclusion:

"Dr. Mei, as you said, our preliminary assessment suggests there's an 89% chance this bead perfectly replicates all the Stigmata material on the Herrscher of Herrscher of Death's body."

"Based on a detailed preliminary comparison, it would take at least a year to achieve the exact same result."

The girl glanced at the data above and sighed in response:

"This proves that if this accident, or rather, this inevitable event, hadn't happened, the idea of grafting wouldn't have been a method to surpass the original Stigmata Project."

"A year may not seem like a long time compared to the results we've achieved, but unfortunately, we don't have much time left..."

The doubts that remained in Mei's heart were not resolved by this conclusion.

There is nothing mysterious about the boy's blood. If one had to point out something special about it, the only conclusion that the blood belongs to Su Qing'an is that it is his.

Even if Seele Fulei and Su Qing'an had a very good and close relationship, things shouldn't have turned out this way.

In Mei's view, pure emotion cannot be the reason for such a phenomenon. No matter how irrational something is, it still has basic rules. Even if emotion can be transformed into some kind of power, it must go through some medium, form, reason, and other elements before the conditions for emotion to be transformed into power can be met.

While there is indeed a connection between Su Qing'an's own blood and Seele Fulei's own flesh and blood, there is something missing that she can understand.

There must be some information inside that we don't know, causing a difference in understanding, which in turn has led to the current confusion.

Perhaps the problem lies in... that aspect.

If that's the case, then the current outcome isn't entirely incomprehensible.

The best explanation for the answer is to use the unknown to explain the unknown. But if that's the case, then perhaps she needs to reconsider and be more cautious about subsequent experiments.

She paused for a moment, then continued:

"Continuing to systematically eliminate all risks is already an extreme luxury."

"We don't have time to waste. After another thorough analysis, basic experiments, and related records are completed, let Mr. Su proceed with the transplant."

After making this decision, the weight of the burden in my heart seemed to lighten for a moment, but what followed was an unparalleled sense of guilt.

Mei vividly remembers the expression on the boy's face when he gave her the answer, and the sorrow and unwavering belief that flickered in his dark eyes.

Su Qing'an truly uttered those words with the resolve that he would rather die than let Seele Fulei pay any price.

At this moment, everything the girl does is tarnishing the purity and gentleness of this answer sheet. Regardless of the reason, such behavior is undoubtedly a betrayal.

Mei has no regrets.

But it is precisely because of the lack of regret that this guilt becomes even more deeply ingrained.

Mei could no longer stay in this laboratory filled with unpleasant memories. She walked through the Soul Steel Tunnel to the large garden that used to be planted in the staff quarters. The equipment projected a blue sky and a near-perfect gentle breeze, but this still could not alleviate her increasingly anxious emotions.

And just like a scene from long ago, the white-haired youth looked at her with a warm smile, greeting her naturally, his tone unchanged:

"Mei? It's rare to see you here."

Kevin, as was his custom, invited:

"I'm about to go eat, wanna come together?"

Just when he thought he would be rejected on the grounds of experiments and research, the girl unexpectedly agreed softly:

"Good."

Mei took a sip of the congee. After making the definite act of eating, both Prometheus and Kevin seemed to be happy about it. She glanced at the person opposite her.

After being tempered by the war, the student-like air he once possessed had been covered by a cold and ruthless temperament. However, in front of him, Kevin would easily revert to his old self, as if time had not changed the distance between them.

At least, that's how Kevin sees it.

Mei chose to spend time going against her usual efficiency-first approach because she was gradually becoming unable to bear the sorrow that was becoming increasingly ingrained in her bones. Based on the self-examination report she received a few days ago, she made a rational judgment.

If things continue like this, I might break down before the Fusion Warrior Project is even fully successful.

Therefore, it is necessary to find a reasonable way to alleviate the situation.

The optimal solution is to find someone you can trust to confide in.

There is probably only one person in the entire world who meets these criteria, and that person is Kevin Kaslana.

Mei didn't want Kevin to hate her, but she also loathed this selfish behavior.

But this straightforward and girlish mindset, along with self-loathing, ultimately succumbed to rational consideration.

She made her choice.

That is, to tell Kevin the truth.