Grand Sea of Flowers, the Final Game of Hide-and-Seek

Seele thought, this is the last day.

If this is the only way to achieve the most perfect ending, then even if the price is eternal damnation, she would gladly accept it.

The only difficulty in completing that plan using the power of the Sixth Herrscher lies in the final step.

And now, the most difficult key has also found a perfect way to achieve it.

That method that ensures Seele Fulei and... herself are not forgotten.

She spent the whole day trying to be different from the real Seele, such as eating the green peppers seriously, speaking frankly and earnestly about how she should feel shy when she acted coquettish, and many other tiny details that no one noticed.

While the girl was trying to fulfill Seele's slight regrets, she also cunningly obtained things that Seele had never been able to acquire.

My brother patted my head earnestly.

Even that final agreement was renegotiated by himself using wordplay.

That's enough.

I'm already very happy.

The orange nightlight cast a soft halo, illuminating that face with a slightly ethereal quality.

The girl lay obediently on the bed, her deep blue eyes closed, counting the real things she had acquired from false memories and personality, trying to memorize them little by little.

But what's the use of remembering all of this?

The Herrscher of Death clearly knew that she didn't have much time left to live.

Even the deepest and most beautiful memories and emotions will turn to [Ashes] after death, leaving no trace whatsoever.

So why meticulously count these distant things that will never be reached again? It's bound to make you feel a little sad.

The Herrscher of Death is different from others. Having survived to this day through the shell and core of Seele Fulei, she understands that there are some things that even death cannot completely erase. This is the reason why she was born into this world.

The girl knew, of course, that she could not leave her mark in the same way, but such a case still had a profound impact on her.

She was a bad child, but even bad children can be obedient at times.

This is a journey from which there is no return, so it is essential to carefully count your luggage and treasures before setting off.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to everyone before I left.

Whether it's Sister Mei, Sister Hua, or Brother, they are all very perceptive and intelligent. Any hint or even explicit farewell will attract unnecessary attention.

That won't do. Even if you've thought about being a little impulsive and saying goodbye properly, you can't allow any accidents to happen in this one area.

The next day.

The weather was fine and sunny, with clear skies and light clouds.

Seele brushed her teeth carefully, puffing out her cheeks and making purring sounds like a cat, her lips covered in white foam.

A moment later, as the girl blinked, water droplets rolled down her eyelashes.

She gazed at her youthful and inexperienced reflection in the mirror and whispered:

"She can't act like this."

"It needs to be even less like her."

As she wielded her powers, her deep blue eyes were swallowed by a dark crimson, and her orange-blue hair was instantly dyed a gradient of pitch black mixed with dark red. Her expression was indifferent, and when she parted her lips, it was difficult to see any genuine smile.

His temperament transformed from gentle as a spring breeze to bloodthirsty indifference in the blink of an eye.

The ability to manipulate biological cells was enough for the Herrscher of Death to transform her appearance into a completely different form within seconds, but in the end she still maintained the original form of this body, only changing her hair and eye color as distinction.

This half-hearted reason, besides respect for Seele Fulei, inevitably carried a touch of reluctance, but most importantly... it was because she cared deeply about that final wish.

The girl clutched the hem of her white dress, the one she wore when she went out with her brother that day. She felt a little reluctant to part with it, yet also a little expectant.

Seele murmured:

"Give it a try, try the dress-up game she used to play with Prometheus."

A subtle and faint sense of Honkai Energy intertwined and covered the original clothing, completely rendering the dress in black. The style was only slightly adjusted, but the huge change in the overall color scheme resulted in a completely different first impression than before.

She looked at herself in the mirror again and felt inexplicably happy.

It's different now, isn't it?

The change in appearance is like gaining something new that belongs to you, giving you a subtle sense of satisfaction.

But in an instant, the girl sensed the two auras in the house that were constantly forming an intricate cycle with the Honkai Energy of heaven and earth. She pursed her lips, feeling a little lonely and sad.

She took a deep breath, suppressing all her emotions and sorrow, and slowly extended her palm in front of the mirror.

As the five fingers closed, the Herrscher Core pried open a door that had been sealed away for a long time. With each degree the fingertips lowered, the passage connecting to the Imaginary Space became clearer.

The mirror cracked in the aftershocks, and the fragments tumbled and fell. Time seemed to stand still, and in this frame, hundreds of mirror fragments reflected her face from hundreds of different angles.

But the storm still subsided, just like fleeting youth.

The villa, entirely constructed of Soul Steel, immediately noticed the anomaly. The collapsed ground melted into cold, liquid metal, which slowly extended along her ankles. At the same time, a bright red alarm blared throughout the entire Soul Steel Prison.

The shattered mirror dissolved into the writhing soul steel and merged into one color. In an instant, the virtual device that had extinguished the false scenery ceased to function, resulting in a vast expanse of darkness and a ceiling that suddenly collapsed, resembling a prison.

But none of this could hold her back.

The soul steel attached to the skin withered and turned to ash, and the deep purple mist slowly bloomed like a flower in the palm. The sweeping storm supported the closed shell to form a skeleton that did not belong to it. The bright red light band surrounded it, stripping away and repelling everything. Honkai Energy was converted into heat energy, and power dissolved matter, making the world a new and refreshing place.

The girl's toes dangled slightly as she floated in mid-air, gazing at the sunlight streaming in from the outside world, finding it dazzlingly bright.

Tons of Soul Steel were reduced to dust particles that swirled in the light, like a heavy snowfall.

She suddenly remembered that it had snowed heavily the day her brother brought Seele back.

But this time it's different, and it has to be different.

Seele glanced at the two life forms rushing towards her, composed herself, and a smile appeared on her lips as she spoke.

Goodbye, Sister Hua.

It's 8:15 in the morning.

The outer perimeter of the Soul Steel Prison was completely shattered, and the Herrscher of Death successfully broke free from her restraints.

At 9:14 AM on the same day.

Large amounts of purple fog have begun to permeate parts of Brisbane, and four-figure numbers of people have already lost vital signs. As the situation continues to spread rapidly, it would not be surprising if the city's total population of two million died within a single day.

Thus, the individual Seele Fulei, formerly known as experimental subject VJKA13809 and now the Herrscher of Death, was recognized by the world as a true berserk being.

The trajectory of the Honkai Fission Bomb has been corrected, but faced with such an unsolvable power, the higher-ups attributed all the mistakes to Mei, believing that she should bear all the responsibility.

The higher-ups wouldn't be foolish enough to hold someone accountable at this point, but given that Soul Steel Prison is a research institute for studying living Herrscher, Mei, who possesses the greatest knowledge of the matter, is the best candidate to find a breakthrough.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Fusion Warrior Project experiment, which was already halfway through, was forced to be halted.

Inside the experimental chamber, Kevin, who had been undergoing the experiment, was still Awakened due to the lingering effects of the anesthetic.

Fu Hua, as a soldier of the Moth to Fire, was urgently transferred to the front line to assist the rest of the personnel. No matter how anxious and worried she was, she could not escape her responsibilities, nor could she change things beyond the limits of her abilities.

And Su Qing'an...

Even though he himself had similar agreements with Mei and Seele, let's set aside the former for now and look at the latter from the perspective that abandoning one's own agreement in order to keep the agreement is more contradictory.

Su Qing'an grew increasingly disgusted with himself for being unable and powerless to keep his promise. This reality of being forced to breach his inner walls added bricks to the mountain of self-loathing that had already accumulated. However, while feeling the pain, he was still overwhelmed by a deeper layer of emotions and chose to activate [Udu-dust • Critical] to chase after the silhouette of the Herrscher of Death.

Mei, the only one remaining in Soul Steel Prison, sat in her still intact underground office, her beautiful but pale face filled with bewilderment. She sensed the Honkai Energy within her body relentlessly gnawing at her organs and flesh, and whispered:

"Was it... my fault?"

There is no definitive answer, but attributing it to oneself is an inevitable outcome.

Mei believes that the current situation is entirely due to Seele's long-term exposure to experimental torture, which pushed her will to its limit, allowing the Honkai Consciousness to find a definite opening and take advantage of her vulnerability.

The straw that broke the camel's back was undoubtedly the cruel experiment conducted on the Herrscher Core. As such, I must bear all the responsibility and face the current tragic situation.

The girl did not dwell on her emotions for long; she understood just how serious the chain reaction caused by the current situation was.

Given the clear occurrence of mass deaths, even if the Herrscher of Death were to revert to her original harmless demeanor, she would no longer be able to convince the general public, soldiers, or even the upper echelons to accept her continued existence in this world.

The so-called Soul Steel Prison became a joke with absolutely no credibility after being easily torn apart.

In this situation, even if Mei truly had no other means to imprison a living Herrscher, and even if she did have other methods, her failure would make it difficult for her to regain the trust of others.

The war between the Herrscher of Death and humanity could only end in bloodshed.

Mei's ascent to godhood will come to an abrupt end. It takes continuous success and perfection to elevate someone to godhood, but only a few drops of filth and flaws are needed to bring someone down from their pedestal.

If things really do come to that point, no one knows what direction the future will take.

At this moment, Mei no longer even intended to try to talk to Su Qing'an or persuade him not to take the dangerous step of continuing to search for the Herrscher under these circumstances.

She understood the other person's feelings and knew she couldn't stop it.

"Dr. Mei, the virus sample is ready."

Suddenly, a data message and voice message popped up and entered the terminal. The girl stared at the data for a moment, then quickly retrieved the data with the number VJKA13809 from the database.

After comparison and initial testing, Mei revealed a bitter smile. Suppressing the pent-up pain and sorrow in her chest, she took off her glasses and murmured:

"Seele... what exactly do you want?"

The girl felt the increasingly burning pain in her body, coughed for a while while frowning, then indifferently injected the Anti-Honkai Potion into her vein, enduring the stinging pain, and softly instructed:

"Prometheus, connect to Mr. Su's communicator. I have something I need to tell him."

The communicator's signal has been/interfered with.

But Su Qing'an didn't care about any of that. For a long time, the duration of [Udu-dust • Critical] had been hovering around three seconds.

The Little Feather itself doesn't consume too much energy, but the boy's true physical limit is only within fifteen minutes. Once that number is exceeded, the body will have to repay the portion of the [Stigmata] that has been overdrawn.

However, if the connection breaks, the lifespan will be halved, and the hope of achieving a perfect Stigmata will be lost.

In order to preserve his fighting strength after truly catching up with his opponent, Su Qing'an had to switch back and forth between the state of [Udu-dust • Critical] and the state of soul resonance being deactivated, in order to delay the arrival of the [Stigmata] disconnection.

Perhaps he didn't even understand why he continued to chase after the Herrscher of Death.

This should have been something to be thankful for.

Seele Fulei's soul was annihilated by the Honkai Consciousness, and her body was taken over by the other souls.

The Herrscher of Death, possessing the perfect personality of the other, has trapped herself in a vortex of entanglement, unable to make any effective decisions.

What appears to be a tragedy to others is not what the boy, who already knows the truth, sees.

This is a natural scene, as it is not surprising that a soul created by the Honkai Consciousness could abandon this identity at any time and become a true Herrscher.

Even though the war they will face will be very difficult, it will not be a bad thing for Su Qing'an.

He could naturally find relief from this and truly accept Seele's death and fate. Even if he still felt sorrow and despair, his wounds would have the potential to heal, instead of gradually collapsing under endless torment as he is now.

Why take unnecessary risks to search for the Sixth Herrscher's whereabouts?

Su Qing'an couldn't help but ask himself the same question again.

This is a betrayal of the agreement, irresponsibility towards oneself, torment of those who care about oneself, and an act devoid of any meaning.

Have no idea.

The boy himself couldn't find the answer. He couldn't understand what he was thinking, nor did he understand what he should do to achieve the absolutely right and happy ending.

Perhaps he simply didn't want to live anymore, so he used this universally accepted excuse to seek a grand death. Or maybe he still couldn't accept the reality that Seele was dead, so he foolishly chose to fly like a moth to a flame, as if there was still something precious in it.

But... perhaps Su Qing'an had also come to an answer in her heart.

That Herrscher of Death, who was exactly like Seele Fulei, and who would frankly act coquettishly towards her, had already taken a place in her heart.

So even though her survival would cause him turmoil, pain, and sorrow, the boy would not allow her to easily commit an unforgivable crime and thus completely disappear from his world.

Human beings are such contradictory and ridiculous species. Even with the rationality to clearly distinguish all situations, the perseverance to overcome all obstacles, and the noble and beautiful soul, they will still continue to move forward on a path that they know is utterly foolish, until they reach their end.

Seele Fulei did not kill anyone.

The purple mist was a wondrous virus she constructed using her powers. Its sole purpose was to cause the vital signs of a person to disappear, entering a state of suspended animation that consumed almost no energy and was extremely realistic.

The "death" state of these tens of thousands of people can be naturally lifted in about a week, and with Mei's existence, things can be completely restored to normal within three hours after the matter is resolved.

The girl believed that Mei's ability to access the virus sample for just a few minutes would provide the answer, and that during the time she was being studied as a living Herrscher, Mei's understanding of the Herrscher Authority was far greater than her own.

Therefore, in order to prevent their plans from being disrupted, large-scale communication disruption is one of the necessary measures.

Seele Fulei needs to make Su Qing'an believe that she is now a Herrscher of Death, no longer controlled by this personality, and an apostle under the control of the Honkai Consciousness, in order to achieve her ultimate goal.

Therefore, no flaws can be detected.

This virus is just one part of the plan. The more crucial aspect is that the older brother possesses the ability to observe souls, allowing him to almost instantly discern whether someone has formed a connection with the Honkai Consciousness.

To prevent this fact from becoming the biggest flaw, the Herrscher of Death proactively linked with the Honkai Consciousness the instant she was away from the Soul Steel Prison.

However, at the moment of connection, with her almost pathological willpower and boiling emotions, she stabilized the connection to the level of a normal Herrscher while forcibly and unilaterally blocking the other party.

The Herrscher of Death has become the only Herrscher that the Honkai Consciousness has been able to deal with since it was shaped.

The already incredibly twisted Seele Fulei underwent an even more morbid personality distortion after inheriting the Herrscher of Death, who was no longer alive. The emotions that arose from this were completely beyond the reach of any manipulation or control.

However, this does not mean that the influence of the Honkai Consciousness is meaningless. At least Seele Fulei's current actions of spreading harmless viruses are being maintained by her desire not to be truly hated by her brother. Otherwise, it would not be surprising if the ever-increasing number of people faking their deaths immediately turned into real deaths.

But this was still a very unexpected event, one that even He could not have foreseen. Seele Fulei's soul was clearly crushed into dust, but the legacy of her emotions and personality completely reversed the situation into the ridiculous state it is today.

The Herrscher of Death, taking everything given to her by the Honkai Consciousness, is playing a game of make-believe witnessed by the whole world.

This is a stage play where no one will get hurt and everyone will be happy; it is also her first and last game of hide-and-seek with the boy.

Seele knew Su Qing'an too well, so she knew he would definitely come no matter what, and yesterday's agreement was for that reason.

From the very beginning, she had no intention of making the boy abide by this vague and unrealistic promise.

Seele Fulei understood from the beginning that in such a world, even if a young girl were willing to never go to war, she would eventually have to face the unavoidable war.

The agreement at that time was only to ensure that Su Qing'an could still live in the world before the perfect Stigmata was developed.

But now that she has a better way to solve all this, there is naturally no need to require compliance.

Besides... she understands.

She understood that the boy was someone who couldn't suppress his emotions and couldn't properly care for himself.

Therefore, what we can do is not to suppress, but to give.

Seele Fulei had always been powerless to do anything about this, but now... she could.

Then naturally we should strive to do our best.

The girl glanced at the figure thousands of meters away and pursed her lips.

The Herrscher of Death's power concerns the manipulation of biological cells, so she is destined to be unable to increase her speed to an insurmountable level like the Third Herrscher and Fourth Herrscher.

If it weren't for the fixed time limit of [Udu-dust • Critical], and the fact that it allows for full combat ability when facing an opponent directly, it wouldn't be difficult for Su Qing'an to catch up with or even completely intercept him.

In reality, she didn't care about being intercepted; rather, this was the outcome she wanted.

Brisbane is not as crowded as Sydney and Melbourne; it is much quieter.

The Brisbane River divides the city in two, with the north and south banks facing each other across the river, each with its own distinct layout and characteristics.

It's the height of summer, a hot season for Brisbane, where even winters are unusually warm.

But when you stroll along this street, the huge tree canopy, the deep blue that stretches across your vision, and the clear Jacaranda, blooming freely in the wind, give an impression of solitude. Just by looking at this scene, you can feel tranquility and depth.

A pale purple mist wafted through the cool and secluded Jacaranda, and the girl stood in the middle of the street, her soft figure swaying the hem of her black skirt. Her bright red eyes were slightly lowered, reflecting the silent boy in front of her.

A faint smile curved her lips as she glanced at the sparse crowd not far away.

Thus, the epidemic brought death with ease.

Countless Jacaranda fall softly, their colors blurring into a sea, calmly gathering into gentle waves.

They drifted and scattered freely with the wind swept by the mist, while those dark pupils reflected the figures falling like straw, slowly turning into a crimson color that contained endless sorrow.

[The true meaning lies within, but I have forgotten the words to express it.]

Just like the scenery, so too are people.