In the cold, orderly space of the Arbitration Mechanism headquarters, the afterglow of teleportation had yet to fully fade when the primarchs' figures solidified.
The faint melancholy of parting with the Astral Express still lingered on their faces, but they swiftly regained their composure. Their gazes became sharp and focused once more, like warriors returning to a familiar battlefield.
A soft glow lit up nearby, and the executor with pink hair and crystal-like eyes—Elysia—appeared before them with a smiling face, as though she had been waiting for them all along.
"Welcome back, heroes of the journey~?" she greeted them brightly.
Seeing Elysia's face, almost identical to that of Cyrene, who had sacrificed herself on Amphoreus, stirred the softest part of Sanguinius's heart. She instinctively stepped forward and gently embraced Elysia, her voice carrying a nearly imperceptible catch. "That's wonderful... You're all right... That's truly wonderful..."
But in the next instant, she came to her senses and quickly let go, taking half a step back with grace and a trace of apology. "My apologies, Executor. I was discourteous."
She realized that the woman before her was a powerful Hilling executor, not the girl who had resolutely gone to her death in another universe.
Elysia did not mind in the slightest. Instead, she stepped forward and gave Sanguinius another warm, firm embrace, her voice carrying a familiar gentleness. "It's all right, Sanguinius. I truly received that concern and joy of yours~?"
After releasing Sanguinius, she looked at the puzzled primarchs and explained with a smile, "The 'Cyrene' you met in that universe, the 'Lady Herta' you know, and any other similar beings you may have sensed... they really were us. Before joining the Hilling Empire, we each followed our original destinies in our respective native universes."
Her words were like a stone