The Sea of Quanta

A large amount of rubble and ruins surround tower after tower, spiraling upwards in an overlapping pattern, weaving together a network of red torii gates with a surreal, technological feel.

The bright moon in the distance reflects against the pinkish-red sky like the evening glow.

Standing there was a girl who looked like a ghost, with black and red horns winding from her head. Her hair was a dark purple that matched her hair color, cascading down her back like a waterfall and covering the skin that was exposed on her back. Her eyes, which were the same color as her hair, were calm as a lake, gazing into the distance.

She wore a form-fitting garment that combined elements of a formal dress with samurai style. The skin revealed by this design was as white as milk, yet it occasionally flashed with terrifying lightning, making her a figure to be admired from afar but not to be touched.

Two different, yet both extremely menacing, arm guards appeared along the edge of the girl's slender arms, with a corresponding katana hanging on one side, further emphasizing the stern and sharp aura in her demeanor.

Before her stood only a wide road that seemed to lead to nothingness, and the torii gates and cherry trees with roots spiraling into the abyss along the way seemed to stand in the void.

What you see doesn't look like the scenery that exists in the real world.

This wasn't Raiden Mei's first time in this area, so she was already quite used to it.

About six months ago, after passing through a dark passageway and emerging from a winding tunnel in a corner of the World Serpent's sacrificial site, this newly appointed executive of the World Serpent arrived at a massive facility that lay dormant underground.

--Sea of Quanta.

This place houses the memories of thirteen Flame-Chasers from the previous era. Every member of the World Serpent has undergone baptism and transformation here.

Raiden Mei originally came seeking answers from the remnants of her past, but along the way she discovered that the trials she was undergoing were clearly different from those of the other World Serpent executives...

The girl's once calm and undisturbed state of mind was now filled with a sense of unease. Driven by this will, the Herrscher Core within her body was like the only funnel in the world, overflowing with massive Honkai Energy, bursting forth like a deeply condensed vortex.

A strong wind blew, and the cherry blossoms fell.

The crisp sound of stilts landing gradually intertwined with the thunder, transforming into a hollow sound like the tearing of the dome.

She transformed like lightning into a thin black and red line entangled with arcs of electricity, streaking towards the edge of this place.

But just before the seemingly finite road ahead reaches its end, corresponding grand paths and wondrous sights repeatedly emerge from the void, like a curved circle of space. No matter how fast one tries to reach the end, it will always be futile.

That is a full moon that can never be reached.

Countless Honkai Beast and ancient constructs, emerging from the cracks of memory, swarmed forward, weaving together to form a dense, honeycomb-like landscape, forcing the lightning bolt to halt in its tracks.

"This is so annoying."

The girl grew increasingly agitated. The two arm armors floating beside her seemed to draw their massive katanas on their own, summoning thunder that roared across the heavens and earth to unleash a wave of sword energy that swept away everything, clearing a clean area. She herself bent down and drew another katana, swiftly reaping the enemies that were as dense as locusts yet exceptionally large in size.

For a long, long time.

The area returned to its original desolation.

Raiden Mei silently gazed at the gate that appeared after the large number of corpses disappeared. It seemed to have a frame made of gold. Inside, there was a deep purple curtain that rippled under her gaze, eventually lighting up and outlining an unfamiliar runic pattern.

--It resembled a Tai Chi symbol surrounded by a disassembled Bagua, exuding a sense of ethereal beauty and the ancient charm of Shenzhou.

The girl paused for a moment, perhaps because success had come too hard to come by, or more likely out of a habitual mindset of accepting failure. Her eyes, which were slightly red as if they had been tinted with eyeshadow, turned up, and a rare, fleeting smile appeared.

She reached out and touched the pattern, and in a daze, she seemed to hear a familiar voice in her ear, like snowflakes melting, as light as an illusion that never existed.

The next second, the door and the pattern disappeared together.

The wondrous world that had previously resembled intersecting circles had vanished. Raiden Mei stood in the center of the magnificent palace, her eyelashes drooping, ignoring the decorative buildings with spring water spilling not far away, and looking at the pattern that had left a corresponding mark on the back of her hand.

--[[Floating Life]].

She was somewhat dazed.

This is... the Class President's mark.

"Wow, isn't this Hua's mark? We finally got it! That's wonderful, Mei! I'm so happy for you!"

The girl, who was overjoyed by this, sincerely offered her blessings while naturally moving closer to Raiden Mei.

She wore a white top, paired with stylish yet playful black arm warmers and a shawl, which accentuated her beautiful figure. Her lovely face was full of a radiant smile, and her long, elfin ears, along with her long pink hair tied in a ponytail, combined to create an approachable charm that could easily melt away any psychological defenses.

She can be described as a beauty with a very distinctive personality.

--Elysia.

This was the first Raiden Mei encountered after arriving in the Sea of Quanta, and also the Flame-Chasers she saw most often thereafter.

She has a lively personality and a cute appearance.

Not only does it possess formidable strength and an unknown past, but its captivating rhetoric and enigmatic attitude also create an air of mystery.

The young woman had a good opinion of the Flame-Chasers who had been guiding and accompanying her for the past six months. However, due to his overly intimate attitude, his words that were always carefully chosen, and the different evaluations he received from other Flame-Chasers, she remained somewhat wary of him.

Raiden Mei is willing to believe that Elysia means her no harm, but beyond that, she knows nothing.

People tend to keep their distance from, or even fear, things they cannot understand.

Elysia's attitude and behavior were exactly at a similar stage for Raiden Mei. She would not deliberately distance herself from her, but there was absolutely no reason for her to be overly close to her either.

Well, it has absolutely nothing to do with Kiana is far away in another region.

It was simply a conclusion reached based purely on rational judgment and thought.

She countered with a question:

"Elysia, there's still something I can't understand."

"Why is it necessary to obtain Hua's imprint to have any chance of contacting that [[Ashes]] with a sequence number of zero?"

Elysia said with a smile:

"Isn't this all so that Mei can have more hope of getting out?"

Despite the irrelevant response, Raiden Mei's expression remained unchanged, but her heart was filled with ripples of emotion.

Since that conversation with Kevin in 2017, the hidden place called Sea of Quanta has become like an immortal prison, binding him within.

Theoretically speaking, the Sea of Quanta is merely an underground facility of the World Serpent's headquarters.

In a game, this would be like a rather inconvenient dungeon, but if you really want to, you can spend the day in Sea of Quanta and go back to headquarters to sleep at night.

--Yes, some cadres did treat this trial like clocking in for work.

However, when Raiden Mei was about to go out, she discovered that the situation, which used to be as simple as opening a door to reach the outside world, had been distorted and changed.

The girl, who had been almost invincible since awakening her Herrscher powers, had only recently become familiar with and mastered her abilities in Theater of Domination, but even then, she couldn't get out of there no matter how hard she tried.

This made her question the meaning of life a little.

Raiden Mei initially suspected that it was a test given by the World Serpent Lord, with the aim of making her thoroughly understand all the secrets of the Sea of Quanta before allowing her to leave this place.

But thinking back to that person's personality, it becomes clear that this doesn't align with their behavioral logic.

Simply put, this is completely unlike something Kevin would do.

Moreover, even the Lord of the World Serpent cannot simply imprison a Herrscher in one place without altering the appearance of the external facilities.

In short, Kevin had absolutely no need to resort to such a roundabout method.

Therefore, based on the above, Raiden Mei can only conclude that some kind of accident occurred in this space of the Sea of Quanta.

The only struggle she could muster was to thoroughly understand everything here, and to hone her skills using the experience of those who came before her and the endless battlefields of this place, in order to find a way to break free from this confinement.

Half a year passed quietly in the endless battle, and her contact with the outside world was inexplicably and forcibly cut off. She was like a helpless island, not only worried about her own fate, but also even more concerned about how the situation outside would develop.

Raiden Mei chose to come to World Serpent so that her friends would no longer bear such a heavy burden. She wanted to have enough power to maintain the gentleness she wanted to give, even if it meant becoming someone else entirely.

But the current situation is clearly going against the original intention. No one can say for sure how many significant wars will take place in this world that is gradually Honkai in the next six months, how many people will die in the torrent of natural disasters, and even less does anyone know... how their beloved companions are doing.

Despite her best efforts to calm herself, Raiden Mei grew increasingly anxious and uneasy, and she had no choice but to try asking the familiar Flame-Chasers if he had any solutions to the problem.

After all, the essence of the Sea of Quanta is a world in which the memories of thirteen Flame-Chasers are intertwined and entangled by related technologies.

If something truly amiss has occurred with this large facility, then as an outsider, I would obviously need to cooperate with Flame-Chasers to more easily break the deadlock.

However, Fu Hua is the easiest to talk to and provides very direct information, knows very little about this. As for Flame-Chasers, who can talk well, is not a riddle teller, and can provide help, there are very few of them. On top of that, they also need to consider each other's compatibility and relationship, which is simply torture.

In the end, Raiden Mei obtained the crucial information from the Pink Fairy Lady.

That is, [[Ashes]], an existence other than the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, with Sequence Number of zero.

According to the other party, the memories of the thirteen Flame-Chasers were stored and preserved using technology provided by Doctor Mobius, and they themselves were all part of the Sea of Quanta.

Therefore, assuming that there really is a problem with the Sea of Quanta, the help that the Flame-Chasers Memory, as part of this place, can actually provide to Raiden Mei, an outsider, is actually very limited.

However, [[Ashes]] is different. He is not part of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers' system, and the technology and methods for storing memories were not given by Mobius. Instead, they were preserved by Dr. Mei at Prometheus's mainframe using her own methods, long before the plan for Sea of Quanta was proposed. Therefore, they are fundamentally different.

This memory was placed here after Mei and Mobius discussed the subsequent Sea of Quanta project, but for some reason it was not directly integrated into the core system of Sea of Quanta.

All the Flame-Chasers knew [[Ashes]], yet they all kept quiet about it.

Even Kevin Kaslana, who has always been like a glacier freezing all his emotions, would reveal some emotions that were not usually his forte when this name was mentioned.

Since entering the Sea of Quanta, Raiden Mei has learned many things that have been stirring up the wounds of these Flame-Chasers. She awakens their many memories, whether pleasant, nostalgic, or hateful, all in order to extract the answers she seeks.

Even after awakening as Herrscher, her personality underwent some obvious changes, but her inherent gentleness and compassion remained.

Therefore, even though achieving their goal inevitably involved touching on the other person's sore spots, the girl, after understanding [[Ashes]]'s special feelings towards some Flame-Chasers, tacitly refrained from mentioning them further.

--At least that was true before we had to.

This has led to Raiden Mei not knowing anything about this person even now, not even knowing their name. She only knows that the person is special, but she didn't expect that they would be so special that even the Sea of Quanta System had not been completely integrated into them.

This means that the other party could potentially become a breakthrough or even an aid for one to escape from the outside world.

The reason she repeatedly tried to obtain the mark called [[Floating Life]] was because of Elysia's suggestion.

--[Oh dear, even I can't get close to that person. If Mei really has to find him, she should at least get Hua's mark.]

At this moment, Elysia keenly noticed that the girl's mood was off. She appropriately put aside her teasing nature and understandingly gave the answer directly:

"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore."

"The reason is simple: [[Ashes]] and Hua are a couple."

"Although he's so withdrawn that he hardly wants to talk to anyone, he's a complete exception when it comes to Hua."

"If you can get Klein to help pinpoint his exact location, and with the [[Floating Life]] mark, [[Ashes]] will definitely be willing to meet you, even just for Hua's sake."

So that person and the Class President were a couple. No wonder they needed the [[Floating Life]] imprint.

... Wait, did she suddenly hear something completely outside her comprehension?

Raiden Mei was almost stunned by this unprecedented news for a moment. She carefully chose her words and couldn't help but ask:

"But based on my conversations with Hua over the past six months, I haven't sensed anything amiss about her having that kind of relationship."

"If [[Ashes]] and Hua Zhen were truly a couple, you would often see them meeting in the Sea of Quanta."

And to be honest, Class President during his time at the St. Freya Academy, an immortal Shenzhou for five thousand years, and one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Moth to Fire.

Raiden Mei's impression of this acquaintance was formed through a gradual process of painting, but she couldn't find any trace of worldly romantic feelings in it.

Responsibility and righteousness are the shackles that Fu Hua is used to, which have both propelled her to where she is today and bound her as she walks alone.

Therefore, this news had a mind-blowing effect on her.

Elysia rarely showed a somewhat helpless smile:

"Mei, it's natural that you can't see this. In fact, even if [[Ashes]] were standing right in front of us, we wouldn't be able to sense each other."

Raiden Mei frowned at first, but did not refute.

Elysia is not unaware of her own powers, and has actually fought against them. Given this understanding, her assertion suggests that [[Ashes]] possesses a unique ability to conceal itself, and to an absurd degree that it can ignore electromagnetic induction and Honkai Energy Domain.

Before she could even ask, the Pink Fairy Lady continued her complaints naturally:

"Ugh, Mei, you have no idea how hard it is to approach this person. He uses that invisibility ability [[Ashes]] that erases his presence almost all the time. I didn't even get to say a word to him while he was alive. I remember being quite upset about it for a while."

The girl's expression turned strange upon hearing this. She truly hadn't expected that there were people in this world whom even Elysia couldn't get close to. Even someone like Chrono-Chaos, who was like a mad beast, could have a good relationship with this person and even show an incredibly gentle attitude.

According to this Pink Fairy Lady, Chrono-Chaos is described as someone who, while sometimes irritable, also has a well-behaved and gentle side.

... Social arrogance is nothing compared to this.

Having been deeply impressed by Chrono-Chaos, Raiden Mei found it hard to imagine what kind of person [[Ashes]] could possibly be who could make the other party suffer such a defeat.

She couldn't help but ask:

"It sounds like... [[Ashes]] has a rather peculiar personality. Is he really that hard to approach?"

"To be frank, I've almost never met someone you couldn't get along with, even if that person had that ability."

Elysia smiled radiantly and replied:

"Oh, Mei, you're admitting we're very close? That makes me so happy!"

Raiden Mei remained unfazed, emphasizing her words as she repeated:

I said almost.

Elysia laughed nonchalantly and said:

"Okay, okay, I know Mei, you've always been a shy girl. Let's move on from this topic."

She continued:

"Hmm, you're asking why I haven't even spoken a single word to [Ashes]?"

"Oh dear, even I can't get close to someone who can erase my existence. I actually wanted to use my acquaintance with Hua to talk to her."

This person said in a very serious tone:

"But don't you think that from Hua's perspective, it's strange and makes her feel insecure that a lovely girl like me suddenly wants to get to know her boyfriend?"

"Although Hua is also very cute, this sense of crisis and possessiveness is, after all, a human instinct, and it's hard to control no matter how you look at it. And since I'm so understanding, it eventually just fizzled out."

"Besides regularly observing the two of them, I've also been busy dealing with the matters related to the Moth to Fire."

"As for [[Ashes]]'s personality?"

The girl's smile faded slightly, and her pink pupils darkened a little.

"That person, aside from being aloof, was an absolute saint, a kind of good-natured person through and through."

... A saint?

This is not an evaluation that can be given lightly.

Raiden Mei said softly:

"It sounds like there are many stories behind it."

"But more than that, I'm curious about our initial topic."

"If Hua and [[Ashes]] were a couple, I think based on my interactions with her over the past six months, I wouldn't have been completely unaware of it."

There must be something I don't know about in this situation.

"Whether it's why Hua himself can't freely grant the [[Floating Life]] mark like you can, or why we can't just have Hua take me to find [[Ashes]], I think it's all related to this."

"If I want [[Ashes]]'s help, I need to at least know some basic information about him and Hua; otherwise, the cognitive differences that arise during our communication will create a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Elysia, since you're willing to tell me how to get close to the other person, you shouldn't be stingy in telling me about these things, right?"

Elysia pondered for a moment, then answered seriously in a calm tone:

"Mei, you should know about the Tragedy of Restraint, right?"

"The Fusion Warrior who survived that incident are known as the Thirteen Flame-Chasers."

"As for why [[Ashes]] isn't included in this list, I think you already have the answer yourself."

Raiden Mei nodded silently.

The reason is obvious: the person whom all Flame-Chasers kept silent about died before this numbering system was established, so naturally he wouldn't be included. However, countless Fusion Warrior died in the war of the Herrscher of Restraint, yet only this person was given the title [[Ashes]] by Elysia.

The reason behind this likely stems from a correspondingly heavy past.

She continued:

"But he did not die in the Tragedy of Restraint."

"Besides those present, only a few High Command of the Moth to Fire, as well as Mobius and Dr. Mei, knew about this."

"At that time, everyone was helpless against the Herrscher of Restraint's abilities and could only fight to the death. In the final moment, Hua prepared to use Udu-dust to try to stop the enemy's power for a moment. Finally, Kevin and the others were responsible for seizing the opening and attacking at that moment."

"But an even more terrifying and unprecedented catastrophe has occurred."

"Fuxi —he was like a god, an existence existing in another dimension."

"When she appeared, our war was in a state of 'time standing still,' and that was indeed the case."

"Fuxi possesses a spacetime axis independent of the Proper World; she easily killed the Herrscher of Binding and crushed that Herrscher Core."

"This process was like a frame of the world being ripped out of our view at the time. One second we were fighting to the death, and the next we could only see dust floating in the sky and torrential rain pouring down like a waterfall."

The weight of these words is far too heavy.

The power of the Herrscher of Restraint had long been deeply ingrained in people's minds. This terrifying enemy, who seemed to specifically restrain both sides, almost ended the struggle and resistance of the previous era before the Finality.

Even such an existence was arbitrarily erased...

Moreover, an independent spacetime axis? Faced with such an absurdly exaggerated enemy, how did the previous era manage to hold out until the Finality?

It's important to understand that even after the Tragedy of Restraint, the Previous Civilization struggled for quite some time.

Raiden Mei chewed over this unheard-of and horrifying past, sighing at the various upheavals and hardships of that era, while also wondering what kind of extraordinary being Fuxi was. She asked:

"Is Fuxi the Herrscher?"

"The kind that manipulates time and space?"

Elysia shrugged and said:

"My first reaction was similar to yours, Mei, but unfortunately the answer isn't that, or rather, it's the opposite: Fuxi is human."

"To be precise, it is a unified consciousness formed from the collective souls of all the humans who died due to the Honkai."

"She was discovered by [[Ashes]] from the ice layer of a lake much earlier. Initially, due to her ability to purify all Honkai areas, she was considered a secret weapon left behind by Previous Civilization, an ancient human warrior."

"Unfortunately, although the first thing this young lady Awakened was to settle accounts with the Herrscher had the strongest Honkai energy, at that time, all the surviving humans in the world had trace amounts of Honkai Energy within them, and they were also included in her list of targets for elimination."

Raiden Mei took a deep breath:

"This doesn't sound like an interesting story."

"If the elements of Fuxi's birth were due to the shared obsession and souls of humanity who died in the catastrophe of Honkai, then this era undoubtedly fulfills that condition."

Elysia shook her head and said:

"No, Dr. Mei said that Fuxi is a unique miracle."

Even if nothing else happens, even if this era replicates the experiences of the previous one, no other similar existence will be born.

The girl breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, and then asked:

"Given the scope of this purge, the Fusion Warrior are probably no more friendly to her than the Herrscher. But the fact that you're standing here and talking about [[Ashes]] and Hua means you must be connected to that person."

Elysia nodded and said:

"[[Ashes]] dragged Fuxi into a World Bubble outside the Proper World, plunging him into a long period of dormancy."

She paused, her tone ethereal:

"At the cost of souls and lives."