Reappearing Past

[Act One, Ariel.]

The illusory voice descends upon the soul, [bewitching] weaves a net, [consciousness] deepens emotions, [domination] corrects and assists.

After the Abyss Flower Domain was sealed off, Su Qing'an's thoughts were confined to his body, and his increasingly sluggish will could only bow down under the entanglement of the three powers.

Before he could fully grasp the meaning of Ariel, the light before him reached its zenith.

The clear blue sky reflected in my deep blue pupils, and the leisurely white clouds swayed slowly, blending into the sky. The swirling breeze brushed past my nose, and the simulated fragrance that filled my lungs gave my still-active brain a sporadic stimulation, soothing my numb heart.

The girl sat on a bench in the square, surrounded by laughing and talking tourists. Looking ahead, she saw white doves fluttering and scattering in all directions as the fountain surged. Light scattered along with the rising mist, creating rainbow-like arcs of light that fell into the corners of her eyes, adding a touch of brightness.

Seele held some breadcrumbs in her hands, which seemed to be food for feeding pigeons, but she just stared blankly at the sky until the birds gently pecked at the delicate touch of her palm. Only then did she lower her eyes and look at the little animals. Her lips moved for a while, as if she was a little scared, but she couldn't bear to drive them away.

The white dove's feathers were exceptionally clean, yet they offered no advantage compared to her excessively pale and delicate skin. Pale blue veins spread across her slender limbs, extending from her exposed fair wrists to within her wide sleeves before disappearing, leaving behind an impression of fragility and fragility.

She looked at the tiny creature that wouldn't leave her palm and asked softly:

Are you hungry too?

The bird's eyes reflected her drooping eyelashes and delicate eyebrows. The light in her pupils was dazzling, as if she were a saint who had pityed the world, yet she also revealed the innocence and purity of a child. Her lips were very pale, but the smile that appeared when she turned up was very warm.

If such a child were born into an ordinary family, he would probably be very likable.

She will be cherished and nurtured with love and warmth as she grows up and chooses her own future.

The white dove, carrying the last crumb of bread, flapped its wings and flew away without a backward glance.

But...

There are no "what ifs" in this world.

The virtual world came to an end, and her daily leisure time came to a close. The girl awoke from her six-foot-long white bed, with soothing music playing from the radio. As she looked up, the surrounding scenery came into view.

It was a clean and solemn room, predominantly a research lab in shades of gray. Apart from the bed, the only other furniture visible was a long table embedded in the edge of the steel wall, a virtual screen on it that emitted a faint glow, and finally, a medical machine placed beside the bed.

Seele's once radiant eyes dimmed, but she quickly composed herself, pulling herself out of the thousands of times she had felt lost and lonely.

It's lunch break time, as usual, and the projection screen above the medical machine will, as always, tell her what she needs to do next—even if it's been repeated hundreds, thousands of times.

Since arriving at this orphanage, which at least retained some traces of the outside world and offered a few scraps of human warmth, her life with the other children had become so dull and monotonous.

Here, the small requests allowed after lunch breaks and experiments are the only bright spots that break the monotony of the word.

But if given the chance, no child wouldn't want to see the real outside world.

Unfortunately, everyone knows that such a request will not be granted.

The end of the virtual experience also means the end of lunch break.

At this moment, the adults also began their respective work, Seele had to prepare to leave the room and face the remaining instruments and routine, numbingly monotonous conversations.

Before leaving, she took a few fruit candies from under her pillow and stuffed them into her pocket.

This is the girl's only remaining treasure.

Although she was a little reluctant, her best friend was going to participate in an experiment today, and she hoped that these few fruit candies would make Vivian a little happier.

Seele didn't know exactly what experiment Vivian was going to participate in, but she had a vague feeling of unease. However, no matter how her intuition warned her or how her emotions surged, all she could do was give her a few candies that were worth little money in the outside world.

They were all caught in the cracks of racial survival, but as weak, powerless, and unwise children, the struggles and resistance they could muster, the hope and warmth they could convey, were all too insignificant and scarce.

The heavy white door slowly opened, and she stepped out of the room, glancing at the transparent glass wall on the other side. That was the isolation area for the children, and unless accompanied by a researcher, no one could or would be able to get close to it.

Sometimes, the girl couldn't help but fantasize about whether there was a real sky outside that glass wall.

Seele wasn't stupid; she knew she couldn't leave the research institute no matter what, but if she could get out for a short while, even just to catch a glimpse of the outside sky, that would be nice.

The girl lowered her eyes, avoiding the adults who were all wrapped up in white coats, and went into a room. She sat down in the chair opposite the desk and glanced at the other chair next to her.

Vivian and herself were both managed by a researcher.

Whether this was intended to save manpower or out of consideration for the children's mental health, she didn't know, but having a stable peer to interact with in daily life was indeed a happy thing.

Although we have the opportunity to see the other children occasionally, we don't have much time to talk to them. Everyone's schedule is very full, and they can only move around in their own fixed areas during their free time.

So, except for the three fixed group recreational activities each month, Seele has difficulty interacting with other children. Since many of them are her good friends from the orphanage, she looks forward to these activities.

"Number 51, Vivian won't be coming today."

The sound that reached her ears interrupted her thoughts. The girl paused for a moment, then looked at the female researcher who was already sitting behind the desk. Her lips moved, but she hesitated to speak. She knew she couldn't get an answer, or if she did, it would be meaningless.

"Why?" Her voice was soft and faint, timid and confused, but she still managed to ask the question.

The researcher's expression was concealed by a special mask, making it impossible to discern the emotions conveyed on her face. She silently operated the virtual screen, sealing the data of codename 50, named Vivian, into another file, erasing all sub-data, before finally looking up at the girl and stating:

"The medical machine in number 50 is showing a red light; she's not feeling well today."

Seele asked with some concern. She carefully placed a few fruit candies from her pocket on the table and asked:

"Could you help me give these candies to her?"

The female researcher remained silent for a moment, her coffee-colored eyes lowered slightly, and she did not immediately choose to meet the other person's gaze.

Experimental specimen Serial Number VJKA13809.

She mentally processed the cold words, her gaze lingering on the little girl's excessively thin and pale arm. Her emotions, which had been wavering, subsided only to surge again.

This is work, work that can determine the future of humanity.

The researcher calmed himself down, took out some fruit candies and a vacuum-packed cake from his pocket, placed them on the table, and said softly:

"I'll give these to number 50; you can take your candies back."

Seele's gaze lingered for a moment on the brightly wrapped fruit candies. On the surface of each candy wrapper were letters and numbers she had secretly written, which, when pieced together, formed a blessing.

What was originally just a gift turned into the last words Vivian could say before the experiment.

So she firmly shook her head and pursed her lips, saying:

"No need, I don't like sweets. Could you please give them all to Vivian for me?"

That's a lie.

The researcher silently gathered the candies and placed them in another pocket to distinguish them from his own, while the girl's expression changed from disappointment to normalcy.

She did not expose the lie.

Because she lied too.

Compared to the beautiful and seemingly lovely lies before her, the lies she uttered were exceptionally cold and cruel.

The failure rate of the Sea of Quantum experiment was alarmingly high, so the experiment was able to be conducted ahead of schedule.

Vivian, who was supposed to set foot on the experimental site tonight, embarked on her journey to the experiment after saying goodbye to Seele yesterday.

And the result...

It is death.

The candy Seele had given away was no longer available; the cakes and sweets in her pocket were gifts for another child who was about to participate in the experiment.

Such a reality is far gentler than telling the truth.

At least, Seele would feel that her gift had reached Vivian, which could be considered a small consolation.

However, the researchers failed to discover the numbers and letters the girl had secretly written on the candy wrapper, and the higher-ups did not cancel the children's brief monthly gatherings.

This means that all so-called solace will eventually be cruelly annihilated, and sorrow and pain will become an endless spiral, giving rise to an abyss of despair.

In her daily life thereafter, Seele could clearly notice that the number of children was decreasing rapidly at a strange rate.

The little girl hadn't actually counted the total number of children, but the fact that she had fewer and fewer friends in the orphanage laid bare this reality, making the unease and loneliness in her heart even more profound.

In the past, when there were fewer children, the adults' response was that they had been transferred to another research institute.

The current phenomenon is being responded to with the same reasoning.

But this time is different.

Those children who were "transferred to another research institute" participated in experiments before disappearing, and were never seen again.

Vivian was like that, and so were her other friends.

She vaguely understood that the experiment might be dangerous, but she couldn't stop the adults' decision.

The girl tried to steal the researcher's badge and escape to find someone very powerful to rescue everyone, but she was in an area under constant smart surveillance, and her little actions would soon be discovered.

From beginning to end, Seele never stepped out of the world outside that glass wall.

She still didn't know if the sky outside was the same as in the virtual world.

The experiment would end, and she could only cling to this baseless delusion, clinging to a sliver of hope.

But it wasn't until all the friends she'd made at the orphanage disappeared, and as Seele gazed at the unfamiliar faces of the children, that she vaguely understood the answer.

--This experiment will not end.

Finally, I forget when, the event, which was held three times a month, was canceled.

"Number 51, you need to participate in the experiment tomorrow night."

This sentence shattered the monotony and increasing stagnation of life, heralding an end and a conclusion.

The little girl's expression froze slightly, but she didn't seem particularly scared or sad. She silently finished the cake that the person had handed her—a cake she had never eaten before, full of artificial flavoring—her eyes and brows remaining lowered as always, obedient yet empty.

The researcher silently handed Seele the candy from her pocket; it was the only thing she could do.

It was such a hypocritical and despicable tenderness.

Seele took the candy, gently stroking the pristine wrapper. Her fingertips trembled as they touched the smudged ink on the words. In an instant, it felt as if a thunderbolt had passed through her entire body. The emotions that had accumulated to the point of numbness in her chest surged like a tidal wave, washing away the emptiness and sorrow, and igniting an intensely fierce rage for the first time in her life.

Yet she remained quiet and lonely, silently stuffing candies into her lips one by one, carefully unfolding each candy wrapper.

The girl silently chewed and swallowed the candy. She silently pieced together a short sentence from the remaining writing on the candy wrapper, her lips slightly upturned.

Seele and Vivian are best friends forever.

Seele calmly raised her head to look at the stunned woman, but she didn't know that tears were already streaming down her face. She grabbed the woman's clothes tightly and pulled that face, which had always been out of reach, close to her.

The girl looked into those bewildered eyes, which held a hint of helplessness, pursed her lips, and tried her best to swallow back her sobs. She asked, bewildered:

Why are you giving me candy?

"Why didn't you just not give it to me in the first place?"

The double entendre was met with a long silence.

Some questions can never be answered.

The boy felt heavy-hearted and sorrowful. The scenes presented in the theater made him feel as if he had transcended a distant time and space, truly empathizing with Seele Fulei at that time.

Why are you giving me candy?

The words that I once remembered now held a much deeper meaning.

His consciousness was hazy and confused, and his instinctive resistance crumbled under the surge of this emotion.

Someone is whispering:

[Act II, Prospero.]

The experiment proceeded as scheduled, but an unexpected event occurred along the way, leading to his own liberation.

The world of the Sea of Quantum is very cold, like an endless journey, or like the stars hanging in the sky. They seem close, but they are actually light-years apart. They will never intersect with it, and it can never be redeemed.

I might as well just die like this.

Whenever the thought of death arises, those warm faces and those withered bones transform into a heart-wrenching hatred and rage that surges up in her heart, telling the being named Seele Fulei that she cannot stop here.

And so she drifted silently in the endless crevices of the sea, awaiting her inevitable decay.

Seele thought that if she were designated as Honkai Herrscher now, she would definitely go down the path of destroying everything she saw and heard.

But this path, which originated in the original timeline, ended with that person's unspoken, yet gentle, gestures.

The boy's face, shrouded in shadow against the backlight, was indistinct, yet it broke the long-standing loneliness and cycle that had permeated Canghai City like an invisible man.

At first, Seele Fulei was at a loss. After experiencing something like that, anyone would lose their naivety and would no longer easily believe in the kindness and help of others.

Love without reason is so cloying and empty, like down feathers swaying in mid-air, without a place to land, not knowing when it will truly fall, nor when it will come to an end.

[If Seele is willing, you can treat me as your older brother.]

He gave just the right response, as if he saw through my confusion, thus dispelling that emptiness and detachment.

Before the age of 14 Seele Fulei rarely experienced happiness and warmth in her life. She was used to being used as a tool, and even though she wanted to resist, she was still instilled with such distorted and difficult-to-distort ideas.

The little girl knew her own nature well. She hoped to build a shell different from the one she had before, to become less cowardly, less clumsy, and less naive. Otherwise, even without the oppression and exploitation of the laboratory, she would not be able to cope with all kinds of bad people and the rules of the outside world.

Thus, Su Qing'an encountered Fulei, who was vastly different from her original Seele. In their silent interactions, she gradually peeled away her hedgehog-like sensitivity and distrust, and the armor forged by glaciers eventually melted away in the undeniable warmth.

Despite her growth, Seele Fulei is still a young child.

If she could grow up slowly under Su Qing'an's long-term care, perhaps the twisted aspects of her personality could be improved, and she could then truly become independent and step into the outside world.

But the Third Honkai Outbreak arrived as expected, and the environment she had just become accustomed to, along with her loved ones, drifted away from her.

The frail girl once again loathed her own powerlessness. Being so young, she couldn't obediently understand this perfectly normal state of the world, nor could she escape the reality that even piling up time couldn't help that person.

Everyone will realize the limits of their own abilities at some point in the future.

Seele Fulei understood her limits when she was 14 years old.

But this weak and powerless woman found an existence with unfathomable limits.

--Mei.

Go help the brother who pulled me out of the abyss.

I'm going back to the abyss for your experiment.

The alliance between the two was thus established.

The truth that Seele Fulei and Mei tacitly chose to conceal.

Yet, to this day, it slowly reappears in the increasingly lifeless eyes of the boy.

There are no divine gifts in this world; it's just that someone is silently choosing to bear the burden for you.

That so-called perfect Stigmata had its foreshadowing laid from the very beginning.