Luo Yi

Passing through the passage made of flowing data and starlight, there was no spatial distortion or weightlessness as expected.

It's more like taking a single step and instantly transforming the world.

The view before me suddenly opened up.

No longer the deliberately Tranquility valley of a mental hospital, but a huge office filled with futuristic technology, yet with a certain... indescribable "personal collector" style.

The high dome casts a soft, even light, and all around are huge bookshelves that reach the ceiling, but they don't hold books. Instead, they hold faintly glowing objects sealed in transparent cubes... planet models? Or some other strange, indescribable creations.

In the center of the room was a huge, suspended desk composed of constantly flowing data and star charts.

Behind that desk, a high-backed swivel chair that looked exceptionally comfortable was facing away from them.

Footsteps echoed in the silent space.

The high-backed chair slowly turned around.

When Luo Li saw the face of the person in the chair, her breath hitched, and her pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.

That face...

That face was exactly like his own!

The same sharp, angular features, even down to the subtle curve of the corners of the eyes.

But that's only his face; his hair is pinkish-blue.

The man's eyes were completely different from the cold, lifeless look he had after experiencing slaughter, or the blank, empty look he had just awakened from a deep sleep.

It was a kind of... bright gaze that seemed to pierce through infinite wisdom, contained the swirling of stars, and carried an almost superhuman curiosity and desire to explore.

In his eyes, everything in the world was merely a formula and data waiting to be analyzed.

He was wearing a well-tailored, futuristic white lab coat adorned with subtle blue glowing patterns.

"You've finally made it this far."

The person spoke, their voice clear and melodious, possessing a unique magnetism that seemed to resonate with the air, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to Luo Li's own voice.

A bright, excited smile spread across his face as he stood up from his chair, opening his arms as if to welcome a long-awaited work of art.

Welcome to the Herta Space Station —one of my many personalities.

Luo Li stood frozen in place, her mind blank as if a bomb of information had been dropped on her.

Personality?

One of many personalities?

Herta Space Station?

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Lu Jingheng and Kong Yan'er beside him.

Lu Jingheng, still surrounded by a pale blue stream of data, nodded slightly to the person with the same face as him. "Main body, mission complete."

Kong Yan'er, grinning, played with a deck of cards that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, winking at Luo Li: "Surprised? Unexpected? I'm the main character, the grand finale!"

Let me reintroduce myself.

The person who looked exactly like Luo Li smiled, his tone carrying a sense of pride as he introduced his own collection.

"I, Luo Yi, am the 85th seat of the Genius Society, and also... a member of the Pure Child of Anāsrava."

He pointed to Lu Jingheng: "This one, you can continue to call him Lu Jingheng, or you can call him 'the data manager,' he's my most capable 'summoned creature,' responsible for managing and maintaining the data stability of my little toys."

He then pointed to Kong Yan'er: "And this one, the Elation Emanator, found my 'experiment' quite amusing and voluntarily joined in."

Luo Yi's gaze returned to Luo Li, who was tense and frozen, and her smile deepened.

"As for you, my dear ' Luo Li '... you are one of the many personality fragments that I split off from, carrying specific 'variables' and 'possibilities'."

I will place you in my carefully crafted 'sandbox' to observe your growth and evolution under different 'plotlines'.

He snapped his fingers.

The surrounding environment changed instantly.

The scene of the office receded like the tide, replaced by an endless virtual space composed of countless stars and streams of data.

In the center of the space, suspended, is a Miniature Universe model that emits a soft white light and seems to contain the entire galaxy within it.

Countless planets orbit within it according to predetermined paths, and the birth of life, the rise and fall of civilizations, war and peace... everything unfolds in a way that is accelerated billions of times.

"Look, this is one of my masterpieces."

Luo Yi's voice was filled with obsession and fervor.

"With the help of Ms. Herta's Simulated Universe technology, and the countless fragments of Remembrance I collected during my travels throughout the universe... I have successfully created this miniature, highly compressed universe!"

"Here, I am the creator! I can manipulate any rule, any variable, at will!"

His fingertip pointed to a planet shrouded in dark red clouds in that Miniature Universe.

"Including... dropping a tiny 'virus' and watching how it stirs up waves in a civilization."

Luo Li's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand!

The vampire virus... he released it?!

As for why Castorice traveled through time...

Luo Yi's smile turned somewhat playful. He looked at Luo Li, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate his soul and see the deepest scars in his heart.

"Of course, it's my arrangement—perfect as a 'catalyst' to unleash your inner potential."

"And that 'system'..."

He chuckled and shook his head, as if he were talking about a harmless little trick.

"It's just a small tool to guide you through the 'script' I've set, collecting data on extreme emotions like 'anger,' 'hatred,' 'despair,' and 'obsession.'"

Once you've completed your task, its mission is over, and naturally, it has no further reason to exist.

Luo Yi opened his arms as if to embrace the entire Miniature Universe, his voice carrying an ultimate ambition. "My true purpose is to create... an existence that transcends ' Fuli '!"

"That's why I named all the personality fragments I put into the sandbox ' Luo Li.' 'Li' in dawn breaks through the barriers of Remembrance and paves a new path to becoming Aeon!"

He looked at Luo Li with burning eyes.

"And you are the most successful one so far! You have successfully merged with the essence of the Seven Deadly Sins, growing from a cold piece of data into a real life form with unlimited potential! Although... you are still far from being Aeon."

Luo Li felt her worldview crumbling bit by bit.

All his pain, all his struggles, all his losses... were just a meticulously designed "experiment"?

The appearance of the Castorice, the system's mission, the vampire's doomsday... are all just a drama orchestrated by this madman who claims to be his "main body" in order to create a god?!

Oh, right.

Luo Yi seemed to remember something and looked at Luo Li with great interest.

"I've always used a method... well, one that's easier for you to understand, to let the 'children' in my miniature universe learn about some interesting things happening in the real universe from the perspective of ' Trailblazer.'"

He paused meaningfully.

"For example... Honkai Impact 3rd: Star Railway?"

A thunderclap seemed to explode in Luo Li's mind!

Honkai Impact: Star Railway... Is it real?!

Those storylines, those characters, those tales that took place on the Astral Express, Amphoreus, and Belobog... are they all real?!

"It seems you've thought of something."

Luo Yi nodded in satisfaction, his voice like a devil's whisper, guiding Luo Li's memories.

"Then, let's recall the ending of Amphoreus version 3.7..."

"The Iron Tomb was defeated, Amphoreus was reborn, Cyrene a transformation..."

"And the Castorice..."

Luo Yi's fingertip gently touched a point of light representing Amphoreus in that Miniature Universe.

"As a member of the Chrysos Heirs, she sacrificed herself alongside her comrades in the final battle."

"It transformed into a golden arrow that purified the Iron Tomb Virus."

Her Remembrance are preserved in ' The Book of Ifs '...

Boom--!!!

Luo Li was struck dumb, staggering back a step, her face instantly turning ashen.

sacrifice...?

Saved in "Book of Ifs"...?

He abruptly looked up, staring intently at Luo Yi, his voice hoarse and trembling with disbelief:

"You... what did you say?! Castorice... died in the ending of Amphoreus?!"

The girl Castorice, who traveled through time to be by his side, fell in love with him, bore him two daughters, and then mysteriously disappeared...

In the original "plot," he had already... sacrificed himself?!

So who did he encounter...?

That shy, dependent Castorice who calls him "husband"...

Could it be... could it be just...?

Looking at Luo Li's devastated state, Luo Yi's smile grew even brighter, as if she were admiring a perfect work of art.

"Don't rush, don't rush..."

He tried to comfort her softly, but the comfort sounded more like a cruel mockery.

"The power of Remembrance is truly amazing."

"Especially in my hands, the fragment of the ' Remembrance ' Aeon..."

His eyes gleamed with a deep, cold light, like a starry sea.