Elysia said with a smile: "Oh... what a bold statement, but it would be a lie to say I'm not happy."
"After all, Mei said she wants to know everything about me and develop our relationship further, so of course I'm very welcome..."
Mei remained completely unmoved: "I don't think I ever said anything like that..."
Elysia said: "Oh dear, the only thing that's not so great about a perfect girl like Mei is this one point. If she could be as frank as me, she would definitely be even more popular."
"Alright, let's shift the topic back to Elysia. After knowing my past, what does Mei want to know next?"
"Hmm, let me think... there are several suitable topics..."
"The choice is still up to Mei. Which period of me do you want to see next?"
Mei instantly thought of Kevin: "You said that you and Kevin got to where you are today step by step."
"So... where did your next step land?"
Elysia recalled and said: "Oh... I need to think about this one."
"The Fourth Honkai went relatively smoothly... Kevin tasted the fruit of victory for the first time, and the squad also met new companions..."
"After that was the Old Chrysalis crisis, but that was more Sakura and Vill-V's main stage; we could only be considered supporting roles..."
"The same went for what followed. During that time, Fire Moth was rushing about every day for big and small problems, but if we really have to talk about the next decisive event..."
"Maybe it was the Sixth Honkai. Mei should have heard of it."
Mei said: "The Sixth Honkai... I remember... the Herrscher born in that Honkai displayed human-like consciousness at the moment of death, which caused Kevin to waver."
"But... that was just an illusion, and humanity paid a huge price for it."
Elysia said: "Yes, maybe Mei can't imagine it, but in that era, cases where someone turned back into a human after becoming a Herrscher... as far as I know, there wasn't a single one."
"At that time, we chose to believe, and reality made us feel... how heavy believing can be."
"Perhaps from that moment on, some things were already destined."
"Like someone planting a seed—even if nothing is done, it will slowly take root and sprout..."
She placed her hand on the typewriter.
The content also turned into images appearing before the audience.
"Aunt Elysia..."
Griseo greeted the Elysia in front of her, who was 16 years old.
Elysia said: "No, you should call me Elysia sister."
Griseo asked puzzledly: "Why?"
Elysia said: "Because if everyone hears you call me that, they'll definitely be shocked."
"Everyone will wonder why. Did you see something they couldn't see?"
"The expressions on their faces at that time would surely be especially amusing!"
Griseo nodded: "Then... I got it, Elysia sister."
Elysia added: "Also, remember to call Dr. Mobius grandma."
Griseo asked: "Grandma... Won't Aunt Mobius get angry?"
Elysia said: "Oh dear, Griseo still doesn't understand. Compared to grandma, the title 'aunt' hurts a girl's feelings even more, you know?"
"But it's okay. You'll understand one day, and it won't be too late to change then."
Griseo said: "Mm... alright. I just feel like Aunt Mobius is so pitiful. Lately, she's been busy until very late and doesn't even have time to eat."
Elysia said: "Probably some urgent project, so she can't rest. How do you know?"
Griseo said: "Mom wants to go to Dad and can't stay in the lab anymore, so she's planning to introduce a new assistant to Aunt Mobius."
"I overheard them talking about the work handover... something about modification? Surgery?"
At this moment, Kevin walked past without a word.
Elysia glanced in the direction he was going.
"Oh, look at who's back?"
Griseo said: "Uncle Kevin seems like he didn't hear. And... his face looks very bad."
Elysia said: "Mm... after all, we just defeated the Seventh Herrscher, so he might not have recovered yet."
"Dr. MEI advised him to see a psychologist; he probably just came back from there."
"I'll go talk to him. Griseo, stay here by yourself for a bit, okay?"
Griseo said: "I got it, Elysia little sister."
Elysia said: "Good girl. Dystopia said she's coming back soon; just wait for her here."
With that, she went to find Kevin.
As soon as she got close, she felt a chill: "...Oh, it's really cold."
"..." Kevin was silent.
Elysia asked: "Are you going for the cold handsome guy route now? No wonder you're ignoring me. I thought you hated me. So heartbreaking."
Kevin's tone was extremely low: "Sorry..."
Elysia walked to his side: "I heard about it, the MANTIS project. So excessive, not even telling me."
Kevin remained silent: "..."
Elysia continued: "You have something this good and don't share it with me? Is it to secretly surpass me? Fire Moth's open and covert struggles? Kevin, you're so sly now."
Kevin said: "...Thank you for comforting me. But... I want to be alone for a while."
"...Oh." Elysia also felt a bit upset.
Kevin said dejectedly: "Sorry."
Elysia said: "You've already said sorry twice; that phrase doesn't suit you."
Kevin said: "... MEI said the same."
"But whenever I close my eyes, I see Himeko... she's standing there, smiling and reaching out to me. It's like we're back at that night's dance... You're there, Dr. MEI is there too..."
"...You know? When I swung that sword, her face had the same expression..."
"..."
"...Just like the Sixth Herrscher."
Elysia also fell silent: "..."
Kevin took a deep breath: "...Sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up."
Elysia said: "It's okay. I'm actually pretty happy—after all, I'm in your dreams every night."
"Maybe... you do need to be alone for a bit. I won't bother you then?"
She had just turned to leave when she heard Kevin say: "Elysia, I'm afraid of that dream... even more afraid... of waking up from it..."
Elysia said: "Don't worry about it, Kevin. You just... haven't met a good doctor yet..."
She left the room.
She looked around and called Griseo's name.
But there was no one; Dystopia must have taken her away.
"Then..."
"You're the one who said sorry first, so don't blame me, okay, Kevin?"
She quietly doubled back to Kevin's door, and faint voices of lowered conversation came from inside.
Though she could only hear fragments, the content was enough to make Elysia's eyes widen.
The so-called MANTIS project brought Kevin great side effects; this chilling cold that kept people away also meant he could no longer embrace his beloved Dr. MEI.
Seeing this.
Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company, break room.
Theresa looked at Kevin and said: "Laugh! Why aren't you laughing anymore? Weren't you laughing so happily just now, saying this is exactly you? So what now? You can no longer embrace your Mei."
Because Kevin loved showing off his affection in front of everyone, it had built up resentment from many against him.
In the company, he was the one with hatred second only to Hessian.
Kevin immediately said: "This is the director being jealous of how deep my relationship with Dr. MEI is! Deliberately not letting us be happy."
Then he added: "But it's fine! He promised me he'd give me and Dr. MEI a good ending in the drama."
Kiana immediately chimed in: "No way... there are still people who believe in the dog director?"
Uh...
For a moment, even Kevin lost confidence.
He quickly looked at Hessian.
Hessian said: "Don't worry, I guarantee it's a good ending. Your relationship will definitely move audiences across the nation."
Kevin relaxed: "That's good. You guys should worry about yourselves. Hmph! I'm going to watch TV in peace. It's so moving; I don't lose out with my scenes."
"Tsk tsk... go eat your noodles!"
Theresa retorted and turned back to the TV.
On the TV.
Elysia arrived at Mobius's lab.
Seeing her arrival, Mobius said: "...Yo, I never expected you'd be the one coming to me about this, Elysia."
Elysia said: "That's a bit much, Mobius. You know full well I don't want to fall behind Kevin, nor behind you. Hmm, the former is already impossible, so the latter... I'll fight for it no matter what."
Mobius gladly agreed: "Sure, I'll let you cut in line. Of course I'm happy to... personally pick a way for you to die."
Elysia said: "That won't do, Mobius. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I prepared before coming here. Elysia's fusion factor... has to be one of a kind, right?"
After reading this printed material.
Elysia also sighed: "Yeah, there are such memories too—times when I was helpless and powerless."
Mei said: "Kevin never walked out of that shadow. In the Seventh Honkai that followed, he was forced to cut down a former comrade again... No wonder... he became a different person."
Elysia also sighed: "During that time, he suffered from severe psychological illness and even wanted to escape from his companions at one point. But I always felt it wasn't his problem—it was the psychologist's. He could have come to me."
"If that were the case, the first one to become a MANTIS definitely wouldn't have been him."
Mei said: "Regarding your surgery, I remember Mobius always had doubts."
Elysia said: "Hmm, that's probably because she was always looking forward to what side effects the super mutation factor would bring me, but the result disappointed her greatly... or rather, made her envious? Dr. Mobius has a girl's little thoughts too."
"We could have just swapped, you know?"
"Actually, I don't really like this practice of gradually blurring the line between humans and Honkai beasts..."
"Fire Moth also tried other things... like artificial life and gigantic robots. You can guess whose idea that was."
"If they had succeeded in the end, the story would have taken a completely different direction."
Mei said: "But you ultimately chose the MANTIS."
Elysia said: "Who told Kevin to perform so outstandingly? People saw hope in him—you know, it's far more precious than victory."
"There are many ways to achieve victory, but for hope... people usually don't have many choices."
"..." Mei fell silent; the reasons behind this were too无奈.
Elysia continued: "But if Mei thinks this is a heavy story, you're way off."
"At that time, the selection criteria for MANTIS were quite strict, completely controlled by Mobius's lab. Sacrifices were inevitable... but the success rate was guaranteed, relatively speaking."
"Soon, Fire Moth had eight MANTISes."
Elysia's fingertip lightly tapped the typewriter.
"And this... is what I wanted to show Mei."
Fairy Ellie said: "Oh! This archive is a photo."
The scene in the photo was Kevin, Dr. MEI, Hua, Elysia, SAKURA, Kosma, Dystopia. Kevin stood in the middle holding a sliced cake, with a faint smile on his face; everyone was very happy.
Elysia said: "This was the birthday party everyone threw for Kevin not long after."
"Oh my, I looked so good back then—of course, I always look good."
Mei said in surprise: "Really unexpected. That Kevin could laugh so... like an ordinary person."
Elysia said: "That's a rude way to put it. But I understand what Mei means."
"After all, around Dr. MEI, Kevin is just a big boy. He clearly wants to get even closer to her but worries about freezing her, and he's happy for her feelings...
"This is also the Kevin you know."
"Dr. MEI is the same. Only in front of Kevin and me does she act like a girl."
"Look, SAKURA also showed her carefree side. I've always thought such an expression suits her."
"Aponia and Mobius weren't there, but they prepared many fun gifts."
"That was also the first time we saw Hua in a dress; everyone teased him about it for a long time."
"Dystopia performed her telekinesis cake-cutting skill for everyone—and pretended to mess up, deliberately cutting Kosma's portion very small."
"He was so disappointed at the time but couldn't say a word. In the end, everyone shared some of their cake with him."
"Oh my... so many things really happened."
"Even in those times, there were such happy memories."
Mei said: "...But after knowing the outcome, past happiness... will turn into sadness, right?"
Elysia said: "Mm... maybe... there would be a faint melancholy."
"But I think that shouldn't be pain, but joy."
"Joy for once having a certain happiness, anticipation for miracles still appearing in the future."
"See, things always have two sides, don't they?"
"After going through all that, Kevin could still remember... how a person should laugh."
Elysia continued: "But if that photo hadn't been kept back then, Mei might never have seen this scene until the end."
"It would also be hard to see SAKURA and Dr. MEI all dressed up, Kosma before his horns grew, and Dystopia and Hua...
"But now, you've not only seen them but remembered them. Isn't that something joyful? At least, I'm very happy."
Mei also agreed: "Indeed... I can feel the meaning behind this memory, and... it really is easy to forget."
Elysia said: "Mm-hmm, I knew Mei would understand me."
"But... as you said, the outcome is important too..."
"Look, even in the Elysian Realm where everything is set in stone, people still value the outcome."
"For example... you can't mention Kalpas's hometown... you can't eat what Mobius gives...
"You can't refuse Elysia's requests... you can't tell SAKURA..."
"Hm? Tell me what?" SAKURA, who had arrived at some point, suddenly asked.
"Eh?!"
Elysia was a bit flustered by her sudden appearance and immediately changed the topic: "Ah... SAKURA? Um... oh dear, can't hide it now. I was just telling Mei how good you looked that day."
SAKURA also followed their gaze to the photo.
She said: "This photo is... from that time, huh. Really nostalgic."
Mei asked: "SAKURA, are you here for Elysia?"
SAKURA said: "Ah, no. I just happened to see you two and got curious. What are you doing?"
Fairy Ellie said: "Hehe, don't be too shocked when you hear this! They're experiencing this Eternal Paradise Effective Information Flow Big Data Processing Center Visualization Terminal—"