Mei 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 Flame-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 moment."
"This makes me feel like I've been toyed with by some unknown force."
"And from a very, very long time ago, I've already been unable to tolerate this kind of toying."
Su asked: "Then, visitor. Would you mind traveling with me? Of course, in a different way from Kevin—most of my mind still needs to remain focused on observation."
Mei asked: "Another way… is it your unique mental link?"
Su nodded and said: "Mm. I believe this can at least provide you with some minimal assistance along the way. And… rest assured, I won't engage in any prying. It will merely attach to the surface of your mind."
Mei agreed decisively: "No problem."
The two directly established a mental link.
This kind of link was mainly for comrades injured on the battlefield who could no longer fight. For a powerful Herrscher like Mei, its impact on her was actually negligible.
Once everything was ready.
Mei went to find the Flame-Chasers who hadn't been present earlier. The first one she found was Eden.
"Mm… Miss Mei?" Eden looked a little drunk.
Mei asked directly: "Eden. Have you… seen Elysia?"
Su's voice rang in her mind: "Visitor, that's too direct."
Mei said: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Eden asked puzzled: "Ah? Mei… what are you talking about? You know what to do… yet you still come to find me?"
Uh…
Mei immediately covered: "That was… referring to something else."
"I have some 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 times when we crave solitude, don't we?"
Mei 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 me by."
"Now, perhaps Ellie is secretly watching from somewhere, wanting to enjoy the sight of people missing her?"
"…" Su fell silent upon hearing this.
Mei then asked: "Then… Eden. What if Elysia really disappeared completely—I mean, hypothetically."
"…"
Eden's lips moved, but she didn't give an immediate answer. Or perhaps… her voice was swallowed up by something, 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 Mei, in my view… that kind of assumption simply couldn't happen."
Seeing Eden's state.
Mei also knew she shouldn't press further: "Sorry to disturb you, Eden."
"It's fine, Miss Mei."
After leaving Eden.
Mei quickly found Fu Hua: "Can I take a moment of your time? Fu Hua."
Fu Hua said: "Please do. Time isn't important to us."
Mei asked: "I remember… you periodically delete some unnecessary memories of yourself. But in your current state, doesn't that also mean…"
"Each time you lose a part of yourself?"
Fu Hua said: "Mei, I don't quite understand what you mean."
"Memory is proof that a person has lived. For everyone in reality, it's the same as losing a part of themselves, isn't it?"
"This… sorry." Mei also realized her impropriety and asked: "Then, what about those deleted memories?"
Fu Hua replied: "They disappear completely and can never be retrieved."
Mei asked: "If—if you deleted all your memories at once, what would happen?"
"…?"
Fu Hua looked at Mei seriously and asked: "Mei… something has happened, hasn't it."
Mei said: "Sorry, for some reasons, I can't tell you truthfully."
"But I won't hide from you the fact that I'm hiding something from you."
"…I understand." Fu Hua didn't ask further, only saying: "As for your earlier question—if all memories were deleted, every trace of me here would also vanish."
"For any Flame-Chaser who has already sacrificed themselves… it would mean that the last things they left in the world no longer exist."
Mei asked: "Is there any possibility of remedy?"
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 somewhat curious: "Visitor, forgive my presumption… you don't usually seem to trust others this much."
Mei said: "She isn't 'others' to me. Though there's still a long span of time 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 Mei couldn't clear them all at once for a time.
"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.
Mei said in surprise: "You call this… a little assistance?"
Su said: "A mere parlor trick, not worth mentioning."
With his help.
Mei's path forward became unimpeded.
She soon found Mobius.
"Oh…? Little white mouse?"
"Didn't I say I don't want anyone bothering me?"
Su reminded: "No, she didn't say that."
Mobius immediately sensed him: "Ha? Su is actually moving with you? Hmph… his taste is getting worse and worse…"
Mei asked: "You can hear him?"
Mobius said: "Of course not—but sensing his existence isn't difficult at all. What did he say?"
Mei 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 me. I'm not like you people."
Mei said: "Mobius. The typewriter has already confirmed Elysia's… death notice."
"Hmph, that's just a waste of time." 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 me 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."
Mei nodded: "Mm, I can see that."
Mei 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?"
Mei 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.
Mei sighed: "No progress at all."
Su replied: "After all, it happened suddenly and is unprecedented."
He could even sense the mutual concealment.
Mei 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 moment.
Mei appeared in the main hall of the Elysian Realm.
Su said: "Visitor, I can only accompany you this far."
Mei 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 mental link broke—
For a few seconds, a strong sense of exhaustion lingered on Mei, 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 memories to surface in her mind for no reason at this moment.
She recalled a passage of unknown origin that her father sometimes read to her when she was young—
The people we love will one day come running back. Back to the new world, to that upright and glorious morning—we must take good care of them.
After experiencing some things, she understood that those people might not necessarily come 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, Mei was stunned: "This… I'm back in the Elysian Realm again?"
"…That really was the exit. I didn't see wrong."
"Was someone interfering with my perception in the mental space? No… Su hadn't left yet at that time. 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 mental 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 extreme 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 came 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 come 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 me—whether I'm dead or alive."
Aponia said: "…That doesn't sound like something you'd say."
"Stepping into this place without her permission… also doesn't seem like something you'd do."
"Kevin, have you finally decided… to fulfill your responsibility as leader?"
Kevin said: "That typewriter was deliberately destroyed."
"…Oh?"
Aponia said somewhat 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 moment."
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 moment.
But… before Kevin could frown, she withdrew her hand again.
—Her hand. It rose out of habit, and fell out of respect.
"…You tell me yourself. I believe you also dislike meaningless embellishments."
Kevin said simply: "A large number of archives were left there, all with identical content—[Elysia died]."
"…"
Aponia was silent for a moment 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 came 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 mean?"
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 me 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 came 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 me? Staying with me—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 me on this, Kevin. Aren't you… about to do something similar yourself?"
"Since you've chosen to come here… you won't stand by for other matters either, right?"
"But I… still need to stay here. Though I've discovered some clues…"
"To see the full picture, it still requires some time. Honestly, I'm no longer accustomed 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?"