Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

[In the end, it was still Mei who backed down. She was too young, too young to involve herself in any major matters.]

[Though Mobius had once judged her to be someone who perfectly balanced reason and emotion, she was only sixteen this year... She had yet to attain such resolve.]

[A young girl in love—even a bookish girl had her own wishes. Other than Mobius, no one cared about a sixteen-year-old girl.]

[Humanity's numbers steadily declined, while the advance of the Stigmata Warriors continued to spread. With both measures proceeding at once, the proportion occupied by the Stigmata Warriors... rose at an absurd rate.]

[Perhaps humanity truly was about to bring an end to its millennia-long reign.]

[The Herrscher of the Void's abilities were simply too broken, and the only divine maiden with such abilities had buried herself at the New Maginot Line for that nearly nonexistent chance of saving everyone on the defensive line.]

The Moon

"Alaya, I'll have to rely on you from here on. I'm sorry for placing such a heavy responsibility on the two of you."

Mobius gave the girl's head one final rub, and the other party responded hazily.

"Actually, Doctor, you should call me the Prometheus Prototype, or No. 0."

On the vast Moon, only two artificial intelligences remained: Alaya and Prometheus No. 17. Perhaps more would be added in the future.

But for now, excluding the use of Herrscher Cores to create prototypes, this series had only gradually begun meeting Mobius's requirements by No. 17.

Mobius spoke softly. "No. Compared to those cold numbers, you and Prometheus should both have names of your own."

After a long silence, Alaya took the initiative for the first time and grabbed the corner of the doctor's clothes.

She raised her head. "I still don't understand what I should do. If we continue the previous process, we will most likely repeat the same mistakes."

"Then let those two Herrschers appear earlier in the next cycle. Consider it a warning for humanity, and while we're at it, cut off those two freaks' Authorities."

Mobius seemed not to have thought it through—or perhaps it was an answer she had considered countless times and spoke without hesitation.

"Remember to choose children who are a little more foolish... If possible, choose some who have suffered more. Every civilization has people it has wronged."

Elysia: I Was Reborn

[Prometheus No. 17 had originally been intended to ease Alaya's burden; it could also be called an auxiliary unit.]

[But humanity did not have that much time. Alaya took everything upon herself, while Vill-V, the greatest inventor, worked with Aponia to personally pry open Honkai's back door.]

[They had probably gone mad, placing all hope on a Stigmata Project—a Stigmata Terminal jointly created by Herrschers and... human bodies.]

[What if something went wrong?]

[With their species' survival at stake, and under that unhurried pressure, humanity united as one and rapidly climbed the tech tree. But time was simply far, far too short.]

[From 80% to 60%, then 40%, and finally 3%, Vill-V and the others finally perfected every aspect of the Stigmata Project.]

[Then they cleared it!!!]

"I told you we couldn't lose this round. If we did, I'd eat my helmet." An Yu took off his headset, ready to get some proper sleep.

But someone's dream had not yet ended. Who knew how much time had passed.

The story returned to that very first day. On that day, She fell from the sky. People looked up, and thus they saw the stars.

The stars and moon delivered God's daughter, but humanity's response was far from perfect. God's daughter was forced to wander.

Elysia loved to smile and act spoiled, always making everyone reluctant to part with her.

Yet no one knew that the long dream had left the little girl unable to distinguish the past from the future. She truly wanted to wake up. This dream, so real, was constantly strangling her hopes.

It was only a dream... just a dream. Why could it stir up so many emotions in her? Yet this hatred and obsession felt so real.

On the day the New Maginot Line was razed to the ground, she shakily stood up. The barren earth was devoid of life, while the Herrscher was as calm as if she had merely eaten a small piece of bread.

This world should not be like this. Our civilization should not be like this. sob

She once again set off on a journey around the world, but no longer to find the end of the Earth. The Elysian Realm would be at the end of the world, but the world was round, and she no longer had time to search for her little home.

She arrived at the core of World Two: the Fire Moth, still an archaeological organization that had yet to transform into a new type of organization.

"What do you want with me, little one?"

Mobius, returning home from work with her hands in her pockets, looked at the filthy little girl who was gripping the hem of her clothes tightly. She relaxed slightly.

Elysia raised her head. "Professor, this time, we have enough time."

"Wake up, sis. How late were you up last night?"

An Yu helplessly shook his older sister awake. Morning light was breaking outside the window, and the breakfast he had bought downstairs was already laid out in the living room.

But his sister's schedule seemed to have become messed up again.

Elysia groggily opened her eyes and let out a sleepy mumble. But the moment she saw An Yu's face, she jolted awake, then blankly stared around her.

"Sis? Can you tell how many fingers I'm holding up?"

An Yu held out two fingers and kept waving them before her eyes.

Elysia reached out, instinctively wanting to touch Xiao Yu's cheek. An Yu was a little helpless, but he did not resist.

"Breakfast, sis."

He pulled her pajama top back up over her slipped shoulder, then rubbed her head.

"..."

Elysia nodded gently, her feelings tangled. Yet outside the window, dawn was breaking. That familiar voice carried the scent of sunlight, and the boy's helpless expression was just as familiar.

"I had another nightmare." Her tone was unsettled, carrying an inexplicable hint of distance.

An Yu froze, then instinctively crawled two steps forward and pulled his sister into his arms.

"...We're going to the hospital."

Before Elysia could object, An Yu tightened his arms slightly around the bend of her legs and her thighs, easily lifting her up.

"Xiao Yu..."

"I'm here. It's okay, I'm here."

That sudden distance made An Yu instinctively irritated, but the bond they shared as family made that irritation vanish in an instant.

He pressed his forehead to his sister's and confirmed that she did not have a fever—only another mental issue. He sighed inwardly once more.

Elysia did not react. She merely leaned naturally into An Yu's arms, raised her head, and stared at the ceiling. A moment later, An Yu gently pressed down on her little head so that it would not hit the doorframe.

"Eat first."

As she woke, everything in the dream began to blur. Dreams were supposed to be blurry, it seemed. But as before, even blurred, the long dream still left her confused.

"We're going to the hospital!"

"Eat first!"

Elysia wrapped her arms around An Yu's neck, lifted her little head, and moved so close that their faces became almost flat abstractions in each other's eyes.

"...Eating first works too. I'll take leave from the boss while I'm at it." An Yu took the first step back.

"No need to take leave."

Elysia struggled free and jumped to the floor. Her fair bare feet landed on the boards as she put her hands on her hips, her pink pajamas hanging loosely from her frame.

"I think... last night, I probably missed my best friend."

An Yu: ...

No, you absolutely did not.

If you missed your best friend, you would not show such distance toward your own little brother. Though that emotion had flashed by only for a moment, it felt unrealistic.

It was rather hurtful. Everything that had happened lately had hurt An Yu.

It would be impossible to say he had never held any feelings for his sister, but in truth, emotions had to be considered from many angles.

But his sister stubbornly insisted that was it and refused to go to the hospital. There was nothing An Yu could do... In the end, they were both adults. If the other person refused firmly, there was nothing you could force.

"Why didn't we have noodles this morning?"

She bounced around the room without any thought of finding her slippers.

"I wanted to give myself some nutrition. Every time we have noodles, you steal my fried egg."

An Yu muttered under his breath, while Elysia pretended not to hear him.

"But porridge and buns are nice too."

Elysia bit into the filling. It was juicy and tender, a little hot inside the bun. She gently licked it, and the taste of reality brought her soul fully back.

"Xiao Yu!"

She carefully set the bun aside, then suddenly slapped the table and stood up.

"...What is it, sis?"

Why were you suddenly making such a fuss?

"The soup inside this bun is delicious, don't you think?"

Perhaps because she had not eaten buns in so long, this long-lost flavor made Elysia miss it dearly, just as she missed everything from when she and Xiao Yu had gone to school together.

But it was fine. Soon, they would form a band and perform passionately in the city center!

She would constantly strengthen reality's anchor points and save her little world! Then... she would ask the professor. The professor was the smartest and safest person.

An Yu stared blankly for a long while before understanding what his sister meant.

He complained, "Why don't I just give you the filling too?"

"Really?"

Elysia blinked her lively eyes.

I...

An Yu choked up, then laughed. "Fine, fine. It's all yours. Your happiness is what matters."

Really, it was only one or two buns. At worst, he could buy another meal when he went to work.

Besides, being able to make his family so happy over such a small thing was totally worth it.

Elysia pursed her lips and smiled in satisfaction. This was what reality should be like! Hopefully, the professor could explain this sort of thing to her.

Good Grief

[Someone's dream continued. Train: Welcome to Nagazora City.]

[In the vast carriage, everyone was crammed together. Only a muscular man with cold, sharply defined lines sat off to the side, occupying a huge area by himself.]

[Do you still remember your wish, Kevin?]

[The train arrived at the station. Kevin adjusted his hat, turned back coldly to glance at the others, and thought, Good grief. Are even thirteen-year-old children going to be frightened?]

[He strode toward the train doors.]

[Kevin had always been a greedy child, so greedy that he had three ultimate dreams.]

[He hoped everything would go smoothly in the future.]

[He hoped he could be with Mei forever.]

[As for his third wish...]

[Another image surfaced in his mind: Elysia, the girl who was always smiling, clutching her head as she despaired on a bench. In the end, the earth was barren and cracked, the trees withered, and his companions left him one after another.]

[The strongest Divine Key, Judgement of Shamash, shattered into several pieces, and he could do nothing.]

[Whether Mei's judgment about the Cocoon had been wrong, or whether the Herrschers had sought revenge for their own selfish desire for power, he no longer had the heart to distinguish.]

[Stigmata. Fusion Warrior Chimera. Launch the final fearless charge.]

[Humanity would surely defeat Honkai... That was his third wish.]

When the dream ended, the restless girl in his arms shifted gently. Mei seemed to have encountered something terrifying in her dream... such as Kevin, covered in muscles with cold, sharply defined lines.

"Good grief. Although this strange scene and the dream's ending are a little different, I received all of it."

Before he could quietly wallow in sorrow and put on a cool, handsome expression, Mei woke first and forcefully cupped Kevin's cheeks... Thank goodness! Thank goodness! It was a dream!

Kevin could die in the dream if he wanted, but he absolutely could not be covered in muscles and grow to over six feet tall at thirteen! That would give her nightmares for days to come.

After calming down for a long time, Mei said in a trembling voice, "Kevin, I think I had a nightmare."