Welt's Unease

Hermes took a light sip of the coffee Himeko had carefully brewed for him, smiling as he watched the long-awaited reunion between Murata Himeko and Welt Yang in the distance.

"Himeko, this coffee of yours is truly extraordinary."

His brows furrowed slightly as he savored the coffee in his mouth, its flavors brewing into a dazzling, chaotic palette of colors. Only then did Hermes reveal a pleased smile.

To ordinary people, Himeko's coffee was a chaotic concoction capable of scalding a normal person's [stomach].

Back when he had still been a Honkai: Star Rail player, Himeko's coffee had even been dubbed a [Conceptual Weapon]...

Now that Hermes had sampled it out of curiosity, he finally understood the truth.

Only an exceedingly rare handful of people could truly appreciate the wonderful qualities of this cup of coffee.

"Hermes, I'm glad you like it."

Seeing the pleased expression on her friend's face after he finished the coffee, Himeko naturally knew he was not merely forcing out words of comfort. He had genuinely tasted its finer qualities. The corners of her lips rose slightly, and her mood brightened considerably.

"Still, although I already knew there were many similar flowers in the Universal Galaxy, I never imagined I would have such a marvelous experience myself."

Thinking back to her strange experience not long ago, when she had stood face-to-face with the woman also named Murata Himeko, Himeko could not help but feel something subtle stir within her.

How should she put it?

It truly felt like meeting a sister from another world, born of neither the same father nor mother!

"Still, I never expected Old Yang to have gone through something like that."

Remembering the complicated past Hermes had told her about between Old Yang and Murata Himeko, Himeko's eyes revealed a trace of realization.

"Don't overthink it, Himeko."

Hermes sighed and explained, "What happened back then cannot easily be judged as right or wrong. Old Yang feels guilty, but those matters truly cannot be blamed on him."

"Old Yang was the mainstay of his Hometown. To save the world, he gave up far too much and lost far too much."

"To everyone in Old Yang's homeworld, Welt Yang can truly stand tall and say that his conscience is clear!"

"And Murata Himeko understands that in her heart as well. It is only Old Yang himself who cannot get past that hurdle."

"Hehehe, let Old Yang figure these matters out for himself."

For the moment, Himeko put aside those complicated circumstances that could not be sorted out so easily. Then she asked curiously, "Hermes, you're just letting Herta run around outside? Aren't you afraid she'll cause some major incident?"

Himeko had experienced firsthand just how capable geniuses were of stirring up trouble.

This place had been painstakingly opened up by Hermes. Was he not worried Herta would ruin it?

Hermes merely smiled and said nothing in response to Himeko's question.

Himeko simply did not understand Herta's personality well enough.

For Herta, a place filled with such wonders would make her rein herself in carefully until she had thoroughly researched it, lest the project end before it had even begun.

Just then, Hermes's heart stirred slightly. Frowning, he cast a sliver of his gaze toward Teyvat.

"Strange. How could something like this happen over in Teyvat?"

"Hermes, isn't Teyvat Buer's Hometown? Did something happen?"

Murata Himeko, who had returned by then, heard Hermes muttering to himself and asked with some concern.

Almost anyone who had spent time with Buer would find it difficult to harbor ill will toward Greater Lord Kusanali—a woman of wisdom and reason, poised and elegant, yet immensely kind and compassionate toward all living things.

She was a true spirit, like the embodiment of nature itself!

"Buer... could she be one of the legendary 72 Demon God Pillars?"

Welt had followed her over as well, and he was quite curious about this.

"Teyvat is an extraordinarily wondrous world."

Speaking of it, Hermes could not help but sigh.

Then, bit by bit, he recounted the tale of that resilient world struggling in the depths of the Sea of Quantum.

"...And so, when the returning Thunder God Beelzebul once again came back to her nation and heard the prayers of countless subjects who, at death's door, still clung to hope, the Thunder God finally cast off all restraints and went completely mad..."

"The ancient Primordial Dragon Nibelungen, the Original Seven Dragon Kings, the Heavenly Principles, the Seven Archons of the Mortal Realm..."

As Welt listened to this somewhat familiar history of Teyvat, a subtle expression appeared on his face.

So the mythic epics recorded in the history of that shabby little planet from his Hometown had all been secret records of real events from other worlds?

"Oh, right, Old Yang. Come to think of it, the world of Teyvat actually has quite a connection to you."

Hermes looked at the former Anti-Entropy Leader and fell silent in thought.

"Your Excellency Hermes, what connection do you mean?"

At those words, Welt's heart trembled. He felt as though he had already developed a slight psychological shadow.

Ever since arriving in this cosmic starry expanse, he felt as if every place was full of familiar faces, as though Honkai were still chasing after him.

"Since that's the case, I won't hide it from you."

Though he felt somewhat reluctant to torment this weathered old man, Hermes ultimately said, "I've actually learned quite a bit about your Hometown, Earth, through certain means."

"And in Teyvat, Heavenly Principles seems to be Kiana Kaslana's counterpart from another dimension."

"There are quite a few similar cases in Teyvat. For example, the Thunder God Beelzebul we just mentioned actually has another name—Raiden Ei. And Raiden Ei once had an older sister named Makoto!"

The more Old Yang heard, the colder his heart became.

"According to my observations, the Raiden Sisters are the counterparts from another dimension of Raiden Mei from your Hometown and her second personality!"

"And now that Heavenly Principles has fallen, the Thunder God's situation isn't looking good either. If Raiden Ei cannot calm down in time, she may risk having her consciousness eroded away by Teyvat's Law of Erosion..."

Good heavens, didn't that line up perfectly?

Kiana, as Earth's god and the Herrscher of the End, had become Heavenly Principles in Teyvat.

And Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder, had become the Thunder God in Teyvat.

Did that make sense?

Of course it did!

On Earth, Raiden Mei had nearly fallen completely into darkness because of the millions who died in Nagazora City, becoming a puppet in the Honkai God's hands.

And now, Teyvat's Raiden Ei had also descended into madness out of guilt toward her tens of millions of followers...

Didn't that match up exactly?

Welt's body went rigid. The fist he clenched tightly had blue veins bulging densely across it...

On Earth, Raiden Mei had her closest friend risk her life to save her. But over in Teyvat, was there anyone who could step forward and wake her up?

At that thought, Welt could not help but grow deeply worried.