i said: "I do have such a plan. From what I can see, Klein… or even the Kevin in reality—they might be able to provide greater help in this matter. But before that, I still want to hear what the Fla-Chasers think about it."
"In any case, I'm convinced that the answer I want lies with Elysia. And just as I was about to touch it… everything fell apart at the last mont."
"This makes feel like I've been toyed with by so unknown force."
"And from a very, very long ti ago, I've already been unable to tolerate this kind of toying."
Su asked: "Then, visitor. Would you mind traveling with ? Of course, in a different way from Kevin—most of my mind still needs to remain focused on observation."
i asked: "Another way… is it your unique ntal link?"
Su nodded and said: "Mm. I believe this can at least provide you with so minimal assistance along the way. And… rest assured, I won't engage in any prying. It will rely attach to the surface of your mind."
i agreed decisively: "No problem."
The two directly established a ntal link.
This kind of link was mainly for comrades injured on the battlefield who could no longer fight. For a powerful Herrscher like i, its impact on her was actually negligible.
Once everything was ready.
i went to find the Fla-Chasers who hadn't been present earlier. The first one she found was Eden.
"Mm… Miss i?" Eden looked a little drunk.
i asked directly: "Eden. Have you… seen Elysia?"
Su's voice rang in her mind: "Visitor, that's too direct."
i said: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Eden asked puzzled: "Ah? i… what are you talking about? You know what to do… yet you still co to find ?"
Uh…
i imdiately covered: "That was… referring to sothing else."
"I have so things I want to ask Elysia, but she seems to have disappeared without a trace—I've already searched many places."
Eden said: "This… isn't that natural? The Elysian Realm is originally her paradise. If she wants to be alone for a while, no one can find her."
"We all have tis when we crave solitude, don't we?"
i asked: "Has this happened before?"
Eden replied: "More than once. Ellie… she cares a lot about how everyone feels when she's not around."
"I once saw her alone at the desk, deep in thought… When I asked what she was doing, she said…"
"I want to write a long letter that anyone who sees it will miss by."
"Now, perhaps Ellie is secretly watching from sowhere, wanting to enjoy the sight of people missing her?"
"…" Su fell silent upon hearing this.
i then asked: "Then… Eden. What if Elysia really disappeared completely—I an, hypothetically."
"…"
Eden's lips moved, but she didn't give an imdiate answer. Or perhaps… her voice was swallowed up by sothing, absorbed completely.
On her body, there was a gravitational pull visible to the naked eye.
This lazy singer, in the distant past… had also once been a warrior.
"…Looks like I'm drunk. How embarrassing."
"Miss i, in my view… that kind of assumption simply couldn't happen."
Seeing Eden's state.
i also knew she shouldn't press further: "Sorry to disturb you, Eden."
"It's fine, Miss i."
After leaving Eden.
i quickly found Fu Hua: "Can I take a mont of your ti? Fu Hua."
Fu Hua said: "Please do. Ti isn't important to us."
i asked: "I rember… you periodically delete so unnecessary mories of yourself. But in your current state, doesn't that also an…"
"Each ti you lose a part of yourself?"
Fu Hua said: "i, I don't quite understand what you an."
"mory is proof that a person has lived. For everyone in reality, it's the sa as losing a part of themselves, isn't it?"
"This… sorry." i also realized her impropriety and asked: "Then, what about those deleted mories?"
Fu Hua replied: "They disappear completely and can never be retrieved."
i asked: "If—if you deleted all your mories at once, what would happen?"
"…?"
Fu Hua looked at i seriously and asked: "i… sothing has happened, hasn't it."
i said: "Sorry, for so reasons, I can't tell you truthfully."
"But I won't hide from you the fact that I'm hiding sothing from you."
"…I understand." Fu Hua didn't ask further, only saying: "As for your earlier question—if all mories were deleted, every trace of here would also vanish."
"For any Fla-Chaser who has already sacrificed themselves… it would an that the last things they left in the world no longer exist."
i asked: "Is there any possibility of redy?"
Fu Hua said: "As far as my understanding goes, no."
"I understand. Thank you."
Leaving the thanks behind, she quickly departed. In front of Fu Hua, she didn't need to disguise herself too much.
This action actually made Su sowhat curious: "Visitor, forgive my presumption… you don't usually seem to trust others this much."
i said: "She isn't 'others' to . Though there's still a long span of ti between us, Fu Hua is Fu Hua—that's all."
"I see…"
As soon as Su finished speaking, countless monsters appeared.
These monsters were clearly much stronger than the ones encountered before; even i couldn't clear them all at once for a ti.
"No need to worry, visitor. I'll provide you with a little assistance."
"Causality Wheel."
As the words fell, powerful psionic energy spread out, and all the surrounding monsters were cleared.
i said in surprise: "You call this… a little assistance?"
Su said: "A re parlor trick, not worth ntioning."
With his help.
i's path forward beca unimpeded.
She soon found Mobius.
"Oh…? Little white mouse?"
"Didn't I say I don't want anyone bothering ?"
Su reminded: "No, she didn't say that."
Mobius imdiately sensed him: "Ha? Su is actually moving with you? Hmph… his taste is getting worse and worse…"
i asked: "You can hear him?"
Mobius said: "Of course not—but sensing his existence isn't difficult at all. What did he say?"
i said: "He said… an old person shouldn't speak in that tone."
Mobius completely disbelieved: "You really can't lie, little white mouse."
"If there's nothing, don't bother . I'm not like you people."
i said: "Mobius. The typewriter has already confird Elysia's… death notice."
"Hmph, that's just a waste of ti." Mobius's tone returned to normal: "Is Su still there? Let him listen well—"
"You're only regretting it now, aren't you? If you had followed what I said earlier instead of obstructing over and over… things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"That woman… she killed herself. Otherwise, I could have had all of you basking in the sun in reality long ago."
Su decisively spoke: "It seems we won't make much progress here either."
i nodded: "Mm, I can see that."
i asked again: "So, this matter… are you completely unwilling to get involved?"
Mobius's snake-like pupils stared at her: "Little white mouse, do you think we've only ever lost one person?"
i said: "I don't think that."
Mobius said: "Then what are you still asking? I won't turn back, nor will I stop."
"No matter… who we lose."
After leaving Mobius's location.
i sighed: "No progress at all."
Su replied: "After all, it happened suddenly and is unprecedented."
He could even sense the mutual concealnt.
i pondered and said: "Su, I've still decided to go check in reality. Klein… perhaps she can provide technical help from another angle."
Su nodded: "…Indeed, it's worth a try at least."
"Visitor, I'll help you return to the exit of the Elysian Realm. After that… we'll each do what we can."
The next mont.
i appeared in the main hall of the Elysian Realm.
Su said: "Visitor, I can only accompany you this far."
i said: "That's already enough. Thank you. I won't be gone too long."
Su said: "Perhaps never returning would be wiser for you."
"But I won't interfere with your path… choose for yourself, visitor."
"Thank you." Without warning, the power left by Su was abruptly withdrawn as the ntal link broke—
For a few seconds, a strong sense of exhaustion lingered on i, refusing to fade.
She stepped into the persistent darkness of the passageway, waiting for the light to shine again.
The lingering influence of the psionic-type MANTIS still remained faintly in her consciousness, causing certain mories to surface in her mind for no reason at this mont.
She recalled a passage of unknown origin that her father sotis read to her when she was young—
The people we love will one day co running back. Back to the new world, to that upright and glorious morning—we must take good care of them.
After experiencing so things, she understood that those people might not necessarily co back, but… what about that so-called morning…?
"…Have we arrived?"
Light gradually appeared ahead.
Once her eyes adjusted and she could clearly see the surrounding scenery, i was stunned: "This… I'm back in the Elysian Realm again?"
"…That really was the exit. I didn't see wrong."
"Was soone interfering with my perception in the ntal space? No… Su hadn't left yet at that ti. It would be hard for anyone to do this without him noticing."
She decided to return to the main hall first.
But she found that no matter what, she couldn't actively return to the main hall.
Not only that, the monsters were growing stronger and stronger, appearing continuously until she was exhausted…
With Elysia's whereabouts unknown now, if she died in the Elysian Realm, there was a high chance she would truly die…
She tried to hold on and keep fighting…
But the overexpenditure of ntal energy left her no choice but to collapse.
And the TV screen switched to Kevin's side.
"Am I too late?"
The answer in his heart was obvious—even in the most extre guesses, dealing with that lady would still require a considerable degree of accident.
Yet why here… was it so deathly silent?
He looked around without deliberately raising his voice.
Anything that ca from his mouth carried weight—even a murmur—and would be plated with the cold iron of an ultimatum.
"I am Kevin."
"Now, I'm coming in."
"All the flows have converged here. Aponia, what are you investigating?"
In the TV screen, Aponia was floating in midair as if in prayer. In front of her were several monsters guarding her.
"…Mm?"
"…"
"I see… Indeed, only you could walk here without making a sound."
She looked past Kevin's shoulder—at the path he had co from, clean and peaceful.
Yet any attempt to approach her should have originally left… utter devastation.
"Those creations… didn't even cause you the slightest hindrance?"
Kevin said: "Because they don't dare look at —whether I'm dead or alive."
Aponia said: "…That doesn't sound like sothing you'd say."
"Stepping into this place without her permission… also doesn't seem like sothing you'd do."
"Kevin, have you finally decided… to fulfill your responsibility as leader?"
Kevin said: "That typewriter was deliberately destroyed."
"…Oh?"
Aponia said sowhat surprised: "Sorry… earlier, I gathered everything I could possibly call upon here, trying to sort out certain threads."
"It seems that while I was doing that, I missed what happened outside. Please wait a mont."
She raised her hand and slowly approached Kevin.
Deciding to use a more effective way of communication to obtain the experiences she didn't know at this mont.
But… before Kevin could frown, she withdrew her hand again.
—Her hand. It rose out of habit, and fell out of respect.
"…You tell yourself. I believe you also dislike aningless embellishnts."
Kevin said simply: "A large number of archives were left there, all with identical content—[Elysia died]."
"…"
Aponia was silent for a mont before asking: "Do you still think it's as objective as before, Kevin?"
Kevin said: "At least we've never seen an exception. That's why you hid it there."
"…Besides that, there was another archive recording information related to the Twelfth Herrscher."
Kevin paused, only continuing after confirming the necessity of what ca next.
"More precisely, it's related to SAKURA's sister."
"…"
Aponia said: "So that's how it is. You see, Kevin—the causes we planted with our own hands, we can't avoid them in the end, can we?"
"Looking at it this way… the anomalies I discovered earlier weren't without reason."
Kevin asked: "What do you an?"
Aponia said: "Kalpas has also disappeared from the Elysian Realm. Like SAKURA, he shows signs of data anomaly."
"And on the other hand… only SAKURA could be considered a companion he would acknowledge here, right? Even if he himself would never admit it."
Kevin asked: "So you also suspect… SAKURA already knows about that matter."
Aponia said: "If we're just talking about knowing, perhaps she noticed it long ago. Saying 'confirming' might be more appropriate. After all… she had already discussed severing Discipline with Kalpas."
"SAKURA… her revenge against is probably coming soon."
"Otherwise—why would I let Griseo leave my side in such turbulent circumstances?"
"You seem… not to agree?"
Kevin said: "Until there's more evidence—I won't easily underestimate my comrades."
Aponia said: "But we still need to prepare early, don't we? We've already borne too many lessons that ca too late."
"Aponia."
"Mm?"
Kevin asked the question he cared about most: "Why did you give the key to Griseo?"
Aponia countered: "Then do you think it would be better if it stayed with ? Staying with —this person who is about to be swept into the storm?"
Kevin said: "This isn't a responsibility she should bear, and it's most likely beyond the weight she can carry."
Aponia said: "Please trust on this, Kevin. Aren't you… about to do sothing similar yourself?"
"Since you've chosen to co here… you won't stand by for other matters either, right?"
"But I… still need to stay here. Though I've discovered so clues…"
"To see the full picture, it still requires so ti. Honestly, I'm no longer accustod to this kind of situation."
Kevin said: "I also have things I must do."
Aponia said: "You still won't openly share your thoughts. Then…"
She suddenly stopped.
"…Kevin?"
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