At first, the world was chaos.
There was no light, nor darkness; no beginning, nor end.
All that remained here was pure nothingness.
In this nothingness, she was born.
"…Ha…"
The first thing to arrive was sound.
A soft note fell into the chaos, rippling out faint, soundless waves—as though calling to someone, as though commemorating someone.
"…?"
Then came light.
That light was good, for it parted the chaos, illuminated the darkness, and dispelled the original nothingness.
That light was so faint.
That light was so bright.
"Ah…"
More and more specks of light poured in, carrying sound, carrying color, carrying a certain soft warmth.
The light cascaded down, flowing across a tranquil lake surface, stirring waves in the water.
Like seeds, like new sprouts, like a flower still in bud, gradually unfurling within the void of chaos.
Consciousness gradually clarified. Toward that ever-intensifying light, she opened her eyes—
Her eyes reflected the world, and the world reflected her form.
A gentle breeze brushed across her cheeks, welcoming her arrival.
She too parted her lips slightly, as though responding to the great expectation.
"Waa…"
A single cry.
This was the first sound that girl—who would one day walk through life with a smile—brought into the world.
…
The diligent gardener found a pink-haired little girl beneath the tallest tree outside True Town. She slept peacefully there, like a daughter of nature.
The gardener brought the girl back to town and sent her to the orphanage beside the church.
The girl was lively and adorable, always smiling and acting spoiled. The townspeople all adored her.
In the season when spring snow first melted, she stood at the church door and offered freshly picked flowers to every passerby.
In the season of warm sunshine, she weeded the orchard together with the other orphanage children, looking forward to this year's harvest.
In the season when fallen leaves danced, she learned to speak, pasting leaves of every color into pictures and weaving them into stories to read aloud to everyone.
In the season of silver-white snow, she drew the shapes of musical notes in the snow and sang gentle songs in the winter forest.
The girl was like a gift sent by the forest. No one knew where she came from, but everyone accepted her.
Her innocent smile always touched the softest parts of people's hearts.
It was just a pity—she still had no name.
Everyone wanted to give the girl a beautiful name, yet no one could ever settle on the single most perfect choice.
A young little girl asked her: "You still haven't decided? It's so inconvenient without a name."
She shook her head: "Mmm… but none of these names are cute enough!"
The young little girl said: "But I think Ataraxia and Theia both sound really nice."
She shook her head vigorously: "No no no, a name is very important. I have to pick the one I like best for myself! Ah, Marian, you're sneaking cookies again—you'll never grow tall like that!"
Marian hurriedly denied it: "Eh? Y-You're seeing things! I wasn't sneaking cookies!"
Time passed day by day.
The girl continued to look forward to her name.
Until a year later, the day she had been brought to town arrived once more. The orphanage matron placed a picture book beside the cake she gave her.
"Wow—thank you, Mother Celia!"
The girl hugged her very first gift tightly and opened it under the winter moonlight.
"Wow…"
It was a fairy tale adapted from an ancient legend.
The legend spoke of a paradise lying at the end of the world.
The protagonist set out on a journey to find it, yet everyone said that paradise did not exist.
The protagonist never gave up. He traveled on, searching tirelessly, enduring countless hardships until he finally reached the end of his journey.
And there was nothing— the legendary paradise truly did not exist.
But the protagonist did not give up. Standing at the edge of the world, he shouted—
If paradise does not exist, then I will create one myself!
Thus he embarked on an even longer, even more arduous journey.
His goal shifted many times, and the path was full of twists and turns.
But because of this, more and more people gathered around him.
People who shared the same will advanced together toward the dreamed-of destination until finally…
"They cheered, embraced one another, and sang for the realization of their dream."
"They finally arrived at paradise. It was right there—at the end of their journey. People shouted with joy, calling out its name—"
"Ah…" The girl's eyes widened.
Moonlight quietly fell, illuminating the final word of the story.
"That's it…"
"Flawless paradise… eternal paradise…"
"Mmm… mmm! Name… my name!"
"My name is… Elysia!"
…
After watching this segment of Elysia's memories, Mei sighed sincerely: "This is… Elysia's childhood."
"It's hard to imagine she once had such innocent, tender days—like… a new bud still waiting to bloom, full of curiosity toward everything in the world."
Fairy Ellie said: "That's perfectly normal! No matter how brilliant a flower is, it all starts from a seed."
Mei couldn't help but chuckle: "True, but seeing it on Elysia still feels a little surprising."
"After all, the way she usually is has left such a deep impression. Seeing her this well-behaved actually feels unfamiliar."
Fairy Ellie said: "Oh? Somehow it feels like there's a hidden meaning in that."
Mei asked curiously: "But at this point, was she already a Herrscher? She looks completely no different from an ordinary human. The Herrscher of Human… that name really catches my attention."
"Right, I remember Vostok-51 was once blockaded by Fire Moth in history. Does that incident have something to do with this?"
Fairy Ellie replied: "Then we'll have to look around nearby. Maybe there are memories of related events left behind?"
"Mm, let's go take a look."
The scenes of memory surfaced once again.
"Can we go home now… Mother Celia?"
Celia nodded gently and said warmly: "Mm, those people made a mistake. Everyone is fine. As an apology, we received a large amount of compensation."
"Wow! Then we can buy so many cookies!"
"But… what exactly were they looking for? They even gave everyone physical examinations—three times already…"
"I don't know. But didn't they say everyone was fine? That's enough!"
"…"
Listening to her friend's words,
Elysia did not speak.
After dinner, as usual, the girl stayed behind to help the adults clear the dishes and wipe the table.
After cleaning was finished and the matron had said goodnight to every child,
the girl nervously tugged at the hem of her clothes.
"What is it, Elysia?"
Elysia said anxiously: "I… I have something I want to say to Mother Celia."
The tension in the girl's voice surprised the matron.
She knew Elysia, just as she knew every child here.
She took the child's hand and gently encouraged her to continue.
Elysia gathered her courage: "Mother Celia, I… I want to leave here."
Celia said: "Leave the orphanage? Oh… do you want to become an apprentice at the bookstore? After all, you love storybooks so much."
Elysia shook her head: "No, that's not it… I want to leave the town."
Celia asked in surprise: "Leave the town?"
Elysia explained: "Those people who came here and took everyone away earlier… they…"
She hesitated whether to say it.
To keep her from worrying,
Elysia said: "…they made me realize how big the outside world is! So I want to go out, to see it. I want to be like the protagonist in the picture book and search for the paradise at the edge of the world!"
"…"
Celia looked at this flawless, adorable little girl.
Just as she understood all the children, she also understood Elysia.
A gentle light flashed in her eyes: "Alright then. I'll prepare traveling supplies for little Elysia."
Elysia said in surprise: "Eh? Mother Celia… you're not angry?"
Celia said: "How could I be angry when Elysia has found her own dream?"
"But when you're out there alone, you must be very careful. The outside world is very big, full of unknowns and choices that you will have to face yourself."
"But don't worry about what's right or wrong—just follow your heart. Elysia has always been a clever and kind child. Mother believes you can take good care of yourself."
Elysia nodded happily: "Mm… thank you, Mother!"
Celia continued: "These next few days, make sure to say goodbye to the neighbors. Everyone here likes you so much—they'll definitely hate to see little Elysia go."
"I'll go to the general store tomorrow and stock up on more food for you. Ah, and we need to add a few more outfits—girls should dress up nicely, after all."
"Right, I should also find your Uncle Kimir and have him make you some basic self-defense tools. Oh dear, there's so much to do…"
And so, amid everyone's blessings and farewells, the girl shouldered her pack and set out on her journey.
Finally.
She climbed the highest hill outside town…
"Wow…"
"So many lights… so many houses… so many… so many…"
She marveled at the sight before her.
The lights of countless homes gathered and twinkled under the night sky, forming a magnificent painting.
The little town she once thought was the entire world was merely a tiny speck of light in this vast canvas—easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention.
Yet it was precisely these faint specks of light, flickering and changing, that gave birth to this ocean of radiance.
"So… beautiful!"
She finally found the right word.
It was pure, spontaneous joy—an exclamation from the depths of her heart.
Such a beautiful world made her sink into enchantment without realizing it.
"Hehe… next… it's time to go find my paradise!"
After watching this segment of memory, Mei sighed sincerely: "Elysia had such a wonderful mother."
Fairy Ellie said: "The children and adults in town all liked her so much!"
Mei said: "Precisely because she grew up in an environment like this, she turned out the way she did later, right?"
"So the anomaly Fire Moth detected wasn't a false alarm—Vostok really did give birth to a Herrscher."
"They even conducted multiple investigations, yet in the end they never noticed her existence."
Fairy Ellie thought for a moment: "Maybe that's Elysia's special privilege—super charm that makes everyone love her and never suspect her?"
Mei said: "Regardless, she sensed something was wrong and chose to leave."
Fairy Ellie said: "Elysia… was a little scared."
Mei speculated: "She probably didn't understand the cause and effect. She just wanted to protect the town and its residents."
"She must have been very reluctant to leave this place. Otherwise, she would have slipped away without saying goodbye during the first search."
"The first Herrscher—an existence born even earlier than the First Herrscher… yet everything she did ran completely counter to every Herrscher of that era?"
"What exactly was her Authority? Why would Honkai give birth to such a special Herrscher…"
"It's strange—how were these memories from Elysia's childhood preserved? She shouldn't have met any of the other Flame-Chasers back then, right?"
Fairy Ellie said: "Don't be impatient, cute human. The journey through memories is very, very long. Your questions will be answered later."
Mei nodded: "Mm, you're right. One person's life… is unimaginably long."
"Next, she's going to travel the world. We should get to see a very, very long stretch of memories." Fairy Ellie guided Mei to continue watching Elysia's memories.
Watching her leave the small town as a child…
Watching her embark on a journey with no end…
In the time that followed, she walked through cities, mountains, villages, and wilderness…
She encountered many things and met many people.
She once listened to a choir's gentle hymns amid the ruins of a church.
She once shivered under a cloak beside a disused station.
She once sat in a resplendent theater, awestruck by heavenly voices on stage.
She once wept together with a rain-soaked alley and the city at night.
She once passed a lush school building and peered through the fence at children her own age.
She once witnessed horrifying rituals from the edge of an isolated village crowd.
She once crossed to cities in the east and paused amid bustling streets.
She once returned to streets at dusk and sat on a worn stage by the roadside.
She once stepped into remote mountain estates and took in all the partings and reunions of the world.
She once visited the heart of the world and etched humanity's joys and sorrows into her heart.
The girl's footsteps covered the world.
Each fleeting encounter gradually shaped her soul.
She received kindness from strangers and was warmed, moved, and encouraged by it.
She also suffered inexplicable malice—deceived, used, betrayed.
Like day and night, the good and evil of the world split her journey in two—one side light, the other shadow.
At that time she still could not understand why such contradictory things could coexist and thrive within human hearts.
But she believed that the twinkling lights she had seen truly existed.
"In the end… the Earth is round. The world has no edge at all."
"Just like the book said—paradise really doesn't exist…"
"If that's the case…"
"If paradise doesn't exist, then I'll create one myself!"
"It has to be an especially, especially beautiful paradise!"
"And then… I'll name it after myself—"