Chapter 62

In her quest to reach the Deep, she encountered numerous dangers at the hands of Chakravartin and even clashed with the third Apponia.

In the end, what awaited her in the Deep was Elysia, whom she had met as soon as she entered the Previous Era Elysian Realm.

After all that, it feels like we've come full circle.

What do you think Raiden Mei must be feeling right now?

Elysia: "Oh dear, Mei, you shouldn't pay attention to these little details. You know, this is the biggest secret of the Previous Era Elysian Realm. When you found out it was me, weren't you a little confused, yet also a little excited?"

Raiden Mei: "No."

[Congratulations to Elysia for receiving the reward: Pendant "Flawless True Self".]

[Description: A pendant specially crafted for Elysia; its use increases her charm by 50%.]

The pink pendant fell into Elysia's hands.

It is as beautiful as a flower, as dazzling as starlight, as noble as a throne, and possesses a freedom that rivals that of birds and poetry.

Like a little girl who has received candy, Elysia linked her arm with hers and shook it proudly.

Elysia: "Wow, this is something I really love! Mei, look at me, haven't I gotten even prettier? Am I the cutest girl in the world?"

Raiden Mei: "I'm not a magic mirror, asking me won't help."

Elysia: "I'm so sad, Mei. You're making me sound like a bad woman who's bullying Snow White."

Pardofelis: "Sister Elysia is already the most charming; the pendant is merely the icing on the cake, enhancing your beauty."

Elysia: "Pardo's getting better and better at talking."

Pardofelis: "Hehe, I call this 'discretion is the better part of valor,' all thanks to Sister Elysia's excellent teaching."

Elysia: "My skin is getting softer and softer, and my body curves are becoming more and more perfect. The system even gave me a pendant. Isn't this going to make me a woman burdened with sin? Oh dear, what should I do?"

Raiden Mei: "..."

Mei said she didn't want to talk. You Pink Fairy who only thinks about touching her horns is so naughty.

[In the scene, Raiden Mei has passed Apponia's test and arrived at the Deep. Ahead is the final door. Apponia stands beside her, explaining things word by word.]

"Mei, do you know? There was once another who, too, resolutely ran towards an already predetermined ending. From beginning to end, I couldn't see her fate."

"So I thought things had taken a turn for the better; she accomplished something I couldn't do, in a way I didn't know about."

Unfortunately, the outcome of their fate remained unchanged.

Their glorious civilization can no longer be found, not even in the sand.

"So, you've chosen to seek the answer in the Previous Era Elysian Realm?"

Raiden Mei frowned.

"No, I choose to remember everything about that person, with the gifts God has given me. I record every moment our lives intertwined, and I will carefully review them over the long years."

"I saw how she survived, how she fought, I saw her walk through the mud, I saw her crowned with thorns, and she attended her the Last Banquet in new clothes."

In that person's life, Apponia found what she had always been missing.

Even in the face of an inescapable fate, things can be changed, and an inevitable ending can acquire a completely different meaning.

"Just like I am now, that day she stood before me and told me about her fate of dying in ten days."

Apponia recounted the details slowly and deliberately.

Fourteen days later, the new gift Eden had prepared for her would be completed, and joy and anticipation would still be in her eyes. Sixteen days later, Kevin's birthday would arrive, and she would hum a lullaby, leaving him one last gift.

"Mei, you understand now, right? You've both made the same choice."

Even if the future cannot be changed, you must decide the process by which you reach that outcome.

This is something that Apponia has always lacked.

As a person blessed with the ability to see destiny, she tries to change it, but suffers the bitter consequences of not being able to change it.

But as the price for being able to see through fate, Apponia unconsciously ignored the process, ignoring the most important link.

Even if the ending is the same, the process can give it different meanings.

Kiana: "You've said so much, but I still don't understand. What does Apponia mean? And why is Elysia the biggest secret of the Previous Era Elysian Realm?"

I don't understand.

Perhaps because they had stayed in the Previous Era Elysian Realm for too long, the Himeko always felt that the Flame-Chasers were starting to be infected by the riddle man, and that their words always made you guess.

Eden: "It's probably because there was someone similar before who made the same choice as Mei, using her own power to change the process instead of dwelling on the outcome."

Eden: "Even facing death, she accepted it with equanimity. In her final ten days, she continued to paint a picture of hope and the future with her true love, until she happily walked towards the end of her life."

Raiden Mei: "I can sense that the person Apponia was talking about is very great... Elysia, could she be talking about you?"

Although she could guess who it was, Mei found it hard to connect the eccentric Elysia with the person Apponia was talking about.

Elysia: "Yeah, it's me. Mei, aren't you moved by my greatness... Oh right, you don't seem to know the whole story yet."

Theresa: "Elysia, what exactly did you do? Why has this become the biggest secret of the Previous Era Elysian Realm? Stop keeping us in suspense!"

Is it fun being a riddle solver?

Were you Flame-Chasers infected by the Riddler virus?

Believe it or not, the Dean of the Academy will pull out Judah and instantly riddle the riddle-solver!

Elysia: "Hehe, after all, you don't know [that] identity yet. Once you find out, you'll be shocked! Will Mei be so moved that she'll cry her eyes out and beg me to touch her horns?"

Raiden Mei: "Some things are best left to dream about."

Mei quickly covered her head with her hands to make sure that her horns hadn't grown out due to the chain reaction caused by the trial card.

Elysia, you still haven't given up on her horn!

Chapter 100 Thirteenth Herrscher

Pardofelis: "Sister Elysia, why are you still laughing at a time like this? I have sand in my eyes."

The cat rubbed its red eyes.

The day Elysia sacrificed her life to unite the Fire Moth is still vivid in my mind.

It's clearly not Sister Elysia's fault; she's the most united and beloved member of the Fire Moth.

Yet, this very person, so great, was willing to sacrifice his life for the selfishness and conflicts of others.

Elysia: "Pardo, don't cry, Pardo, be good. Sister Elysia hug you, I'm still here."

Pardofelis: "I'm not crying, the Canned Food is crying."

Canned Food: "Meow!!!"

The noble give their lives for the base; if Apponia were here, she would surely start her theory again.

As Elysia looked at the person in the picture, she prayed in her heart that one day she too could be freed from her sins.

[In the scene, Apponia leads Raiden Mei forward. This time, she does not stop her, but instead guides Raiden Mei towards the deepest part of the Previous Era Elysian Realm.]

"Please move on. Instead of talking to me about these uncertain things, you should go and see your own kind."

A staircase leading to the Deep unfolds, leading to a large door that holds the secrets of the Previous Era Elysian Realm and the answers Raiden Mei has been searching for.

"A fellow traveler? That means your companion from these past ten days? The one who guided me through this trial at just the right moments."

"Yes, just like she said, Mei won't let anyone down."

Apponia clasped her hands together.

"Your quests along the way, the meaning of the existence of the Previous Era Elysian Realm, the secrets guarded by the Deep... you are now qualified to go there."

"Qualifications... Was everything you did before just to help her test me?"

She went so far as to make false prophecies and even fight with herself, all just to test whether she was qualified to stand before that person.

Raiden Mei found it incredible.

"I had my own selfish motives, but that's all. I've been waiting for someone like you to come along, and now my wish has come true."

Go ahead, she's waiting for you.

Apponia led Raiden Mei forward until they reached the deepest door, which could be opened with a gentle touch, revealing its most obscure mysteries.

"This Previous Era Elysian Realm is about to face its final fate; let us bid farewell for now."

"..."

Raiden Mei turned around and walked step by step up the ladder.

Apponia prayed behind her, each word and phrase sacred and solemn, like an indelible Precepts.

--Before me.

There is no creation in the world.

If anything is eternal and indestructible.

So it is sinking into my body.

Open that door to the end.

"... a noble and pure soul."

The Setsuna Raiden Mei opened the door, a familiar voice reached her ears.

She stared in disbelief at the Pink Fairy before her.

Elysia —it really is you, you wicked woman who tried to touch her horns!

"You've finally arrived."

Elysia sat on a bench, surrounded by blooming flowers, with blue butterflies fluttering their wings around her.

"Well... let me reintroduce myself. Elysia, the second of the Flame-Chaser, the True Self. And your other identity... you probably already guessed it."

"However, when you actually stand before the Thirteenth Herrscher... hey! How does it feel?"

Mei has gone through a long period of reflection on her Previous Era Elysian Realm, but it seems as if she has returned to her starting point in an instant.

Just like the first time we met.

Theresa: "Wait! The Thirteenth Herrscher? Aren't there only twelve Herrscher? Or is there a mistake in Schicksal's database?"

Bronya: "Headmistress, shouldn't our focus right now be on why Elysia, Flame-Chasers, became Herrscher?"

Theresa: "Oh, right."

The Thirteenth Herrscher, Elysia.

Neither the database of Schicksal nor the records left by the Previous Era have ever mentioned this person or this identity.

That means that people from the Previous Era erased the fact that it existed in order to hide certain truths.

Raiden Mei: "Elysia, shouldn't you explain to us that you are the Thirteenth Herrscher?"

Kiana: "Yeah, they kept it from us for so long."

Elysia: "Is it strange? I remember your St. Freya Academy already has one, two, three... a total of four Herrscher. I thought you weren't surprised by Herrscher anymore."

Theresa: "..."

What you said actually makes a damn good point.

Perhaps, as Elysia said, they are no longer surprised by the existence of the Herrscher.

When the students from the St. Freya Academy learned that Elysia was the Thirteenth Herrscher, they simply expressed their amazement with an "Oh~", without feeling much excitement.

Danzhu: "Four Herrscher in total, enough to buy in bulk."

Cang Xuan: "One academy, four Herrscher —isn't this a sign of Honkai?!"

Theresa: "Uh... Teacher Himeko, did you hear that? Four Herrscher in one class? Shouldn't you reflect on your professionalism as Valkyrie instructor?"

Himeko Murata: "I... sigh."

Teacher Himeko wanted to explain, but what came out of her mouth was a long sigh.

What could she do?

Teaching Valkyrie to train a whole bunch of Herrscher, that's something else.