Honkai Double Traverse, Bringing Xilian to Honkai Impact 3rd

"You little shrimp, don't you dare think you can break through this young lady's defense and kill Jiang Cheng—you'll never be able to do that in this lifetime!"

The boisterous girl, the cold girl, the earnest girl. It was unclear which one was the true girl, but at this moment, the moonlight truly stood before Jiang Cheng.

With a body of flesh and blood, she transformed into the purest of shields.

Bronya swung her lance once more, but Kiana caught the tip directly with her fingers. She glanced at Raiden Mei.

Well.

You acted so cool before, so why are you getting beaten so badly by a little shrimp on the side of the road now?

So, you only use your strength on me, huh?

This is a complete insult to Jiang Cheng's unreserved trust. He never once tried to escape from start to finish! He didn't just disappear without a word, leaving no trace behind.

Kiana clicked her tongue in disdain, then took a deep breath and stepped forward—

"You masterminds behind the Honkai."

"Don't think you'll get away with this!"

Grey Snake: Miss Aili, Gravity Suppression (Modified)

Circling the right edge of the shell crater, Xilian was desperately searching for Jiang Cheng, reciting the prayer she had yet to master over and over again, when she saw a mysterious figure walking slowly out of the shadows ahead.

"Xilian... no, allow me to call you 'Aili.' That should be your true name, shouldn't it?"

"Who are you..."

The pink-haired girl furrowed her brows slightly.

The mysterious person before her could only be described as mysterious.

His face was covered by both a black hood and a cyan-green mask, and only a crimson glow could be seen where his eyes should have been.

His body was completely shrouded in a black trench coat, his footsteps veiled in shadow; not a single inch of skin was exposed from head to toe, and his hands were encased in gloves.

"I am someone who has been looking forward to your reappearance."

At this moment, the expression revealed was one that would have left Cocolia dumbfounded—

It bowed slightly.

"Aili."

"Allow me, Grey Snake, to extend an invitation to you."

"You should already know that the world is an infinite cycle, and similar flowers bloom time and time again. Therefore, you have the right and the qualification to know the truth. The truth of this world."

As the other party spoke, Xilian, vaguely sensing something, grew increasingly serious.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Invite you."

"And if... I refuse?"

Her slender fingertips tightened around the Ritual Sword.

Her lake-blue eyes reflected the figure before her like a clear spring—that inhuman figure.

"You do not have the option to refuse."

Its voice was cold, devoid of any human quality. It sounded like the friction of cold, hard machinery.

"But I am going to refuse your invitation! I have to save A-Cheng, and I don't have time to waste on you!"

Without hesitation, she swung her sword—

The attack, which had always been unstoppable before, met a target that could hold its own for the first time.

It raised its arm, catching the crescent-shaped tip, and the crimson light looked down from above.

"It seems your ability to choose is quite poor."

"However, I will help you make the choice again."

Xilian immediately stepped back, pulling the Ritual Sword away from the creature's arm.

"I'm afraid I don't see it that way~"

Her gaze remained fixed on the arm she had just struck. Unlike the effortless ease the black-robed mystery man had displayed, she could see a clear, small gash on its wrist through the black sleeve.

No.

It could only be called a notch.

There was no blood or tissue fluid flowing from it, nor were there any signs of muscle twitching or distortion; instead, a silver light shimmered faintly, like fractured steel.

An iron... man?

Still, it was manageable.

Please wait just a little longer for me, A-Cheng~?

Xilian gripped the Ritual Sword tighter, her delicate fingers holding it with a mysterious rhythm, the Oronis Prayer poised on her lips, ready to be uttered at any moment.

"----!"

Just as the battle was about to erupt, a dull, rhythmic thudding echoed through the air, sounding like countless blacksmiths hammering steel in unison amidst the swirling dust and smoke.

Xilian looked toward the dust in confusion, only to find herself locking eyes with a pair of exceptionally strange orbs.

Her gaze drifted downward, revealing the owner of those eyes.

--A young girl.

A girl with slender limbs and a delicate frame.

She sat atop an unusually tall Titan Mech, its original blue-iron coating repainted into a dazzling gold. She had intervened in the battle with near-arrogant flair, and behind her, dozens of blue lights flickered clearly through the overwhelming smoke.

Seeing this, Xilian bit her lip, her teeth clicking together. She knew exactly what that meant.

"Hey, Grey Snake, do you need my help?"

She grinned, unreservedly baring a mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth.

"You may, Xing."

Grey Snake surveyed her and the towering machine beneath her coldly, then nodded slightly after a moment of silence.

"But do not harm her."

"Don't you dare try to boss me around!"

She turned her head away in dissatisfaction and snapped her fingers.

In Xilian's rapidly constricting pupils, the steel creation kicked up dust, took heavy, measured steps, and arrived with a thunderous momentum--

"You, can you just give up and let yourself be taken away by this thing called Grey Snake without a scratch?"

A scene straight out of a myth unfolded before their eyes.

Kiana swung her heavy fists, and the human body that should have been pulverized into nothingness at the first impact was actually holding its own against the steel construct.

"Screech--!"

One could even faintly see sparks flickering—the kind that only appeared when steel ground violently against steel—burning so hot they seemed to ignite the air and raise the temperature of the world.

And clearly, the performance of this era-surpassing mech was not enough to satisfy certain people.

"Bronya, my most excellent daughter, hurry up."

The cold command was issued from the screen—

There was no room for refusal; it pierced straight into the depths of her brain as an irresistible directive.

"Understood, Mother."

"Project Bunny, fire mode, activate."

The girl with slender limbs and pale skin, who seemed to know nothing of the world, issued the order coldly.

There was no surrounding electromagnetic field, no dissipation of energy—the barrels on Project Bunny's arms shifted, and without any warning, an electromagnetic pulse erupted from them.

--Too fast to react.

Kiana could only take the hit head-on, her instinctive dodge only serving to minimize the area of impact.

Her clothes evaporated, exposing her slender waist. Beneath the delicate navel, framed by the line of her abs, her porcelain-white skin was scorched a deep, flushed pink.

"As expected of the Kaslana bloodline. Your value is second only to the Third Herrscher. I can hardly wait to dissect every secret of your body."

"However."

On the screen suspended in mid-air, the tall woman, who viewed herself as superior and in control of everything, sneered coldly.

"Without a Valkyrie battlesuit, without weapons, how long can your stamina last? What can you possibly do?"

The corners of her mouth curled upward.

"--You can do nothing."

"And I."

Cocolia lifted her head, proud as a swan, her posture as if she were declaring her intent to the entire world.

"Cocolia will soon become the hero who opposes the Honkai. The research I lead on the Third Herrscher will lay an unshakable foundation for the world. Humanity will soon march toward victory, the threat of the Honkai will become insignificant, and I will use this to crush Schicksal and forge my own Floating Island high above the sky."

Her voice paused at this moment, her gaze falling from on high, landing on him as if bestowing a favor.

"A lowly little bug like you--"

"It is only natural that you cannot comprehend my greatness."

The voice from the screen continued, buzzing incessantly like a fly. But Jiang Cheng could no longer hear it.

Those taunts and boasts had become nothing more than irrelevant background noise; his entire focus was occupied by something else.

--Moving forward.

Jiang Cheng rushed toward Raiden Mei, and just as he sprinted, a cold sneer echoed from the screen behind him.

"Feel regret and wail wantonly for this."

"Because of your insults, I have decided to bring you a deeper, most intense despair."

Cocolia's voice carried the delight of a victor, like the preparatory movements of a cat toying with a mouse. She raised her right hand, encased in a military sleeve, and snapped her middle finger and thumb together with force.

"----?!!"

Footsteps.

Stopped.

Powerless to resist, the arrival of Welt (revised)

--Why?

No one would provide an answer.

For a split second, Jiang Cheng even suspected that time had stopped. From head to toe, every joint, muscle, and bone was pinned down by some invisible force, unable to move.

Only the sensation of his body continued to transmit.

It was something called pain.