(I survived! I survived! I'm alive!)
The test subject that Elias had just rescued from the Disposal Pool now understood the ecstasy of surviving a calamity.
An indescribable emotion surged within its artificial body. Its single red eye shone brighter than ever before.
It touched its new body excitedly.
There was little flesh—mostly mechanical components. This was the body Elias had reconstructed using the power of the Herrscher of Death, healing its grotesque form and wrapping it in metal.
Though its performance wasn't powerful, compared to the broken remains that had been clinging to life in the Disposal Pool only moments ago, this new body was a miracle beyond imagination.
The joy of life filled its being.
It knelt before the white-haired boy, gazing up at the one who had granted it the right to live. Yet before it could even adapt to the artificial language system embedded within its new body...
"From today onward, your name shall be Gray Serpent."
"!!!"
Elias bestowed upon it the name that had always belonged to Gray Serpent.
To Elias, this was nothing extraordinary—simply something that felt right to do.
But to Gray Serpent, this act was enough to make its entire body tremble with overwhelming emotion.
The name Gray Serpent wasn't elegant, nor did it carry any profound meaning.
Even so, to the newly reborn creature, it was an inexpressible blessing.
Because this was a name, not a test subject number.
To be a being with a name—a simple and ordinary thing—was something that just moments ago, while drowning in the Disposal Pool, Gray Serpent hadn't even dared to dream of.
"I am... Gray Serpent. I am Gray Serpent!"
It repeated its name over and over like a child celebrating a gift.
"Oh? It can already talk? Elias, the body you made for it is quite impressive."
Mobius examined the newly reborn cyborg. It wasn't an ELF, nor a living human—something that existed in between.
While it lacked any great power, without question, this was a complete lifeform.
The serpent blinked, feeling the gift was perhaps too precious. But then, remembering the desperate will to live that Gray Serpent had shown earlier, she found it entirely reasonable.
She knew well that the boy before her was generous. As long as Elias found something valuable, he would spare no effort to nurture or reward it.
And she was also curious—how far could this hybrid of flesh and machine evolve?
"What should I... do?"
Gray Serpent looked up at Elias, trembling with both fear and devotion.
It felt strange—this new body housing its consciousness had, in mere seconds, given it the ability to speak and even basic knowledge. Until moments ago, it had known only how to survive.
For Elias, this had been a casual act. But for Gray Serpent, it was nothing short of a miracle.
"Please... tell me... my... mission..."
Gray Serpent believed this gift must have a price. It didn't know if it could ever repay the cost of its body, its name, or its life—but it wanted to show its willingness to serve.
It wasn't a calculation of benefit.
This consciousness, still new to existence, wasn't capable of such complexity yet. It was pure worship—and a plea.
Worship, gratitude, awe, and fear toward Elias—the one who had plucked it from death and granted it life.
"Mission? There is no such thing."
"Wh... what?"
"You desired to live. So I gave you the chance to live. That's all there is to it."
Elias crossed his arms, speaking calmly. He hadn't expected to witness the birth of Gray Serpent. Though the scene had been grotesque, the will to survive it displayed was truly beautiful.
For all the beauty in this world—this was one of Elias' creeds. Every will that fought with all its might deserved its reward. That was his sense of aesthetics.
Therefore, no matter what Gray Serpent might become in the future—
At this moment, at least, it had the right to live.
Moreover, Elias would never use a person's future to define their present. Everyone deserved a chance to change.
After all, even Kevin could evolve from an emotionless fanatic into a sunny, cheerful young man—so why couldn't Gray Serpent become a righteous one?
Truth be told, Gray Serpent was quite capable. Among all members of World Serpent, it was by far the most reliable and loyal. Considering the rest of the organization's higher-ups were a collection of eccentric monsters, that was saying a lot.
There was Raven, the money-obsessed mercenary always dreaming of buying her own private island; Jackal, the disgrace of World Serpent and its self-proclaimed "strategist"; Owl, Chen Tianwu, who would one day betray the organization; and Hare, who helped Bronya ascend as the Herrscher of Truth—effectively betraying them as well.
In the entire World Serpent of the Current Era, Gray Serpent was the only one who worked diligently and faithfully.
(Besides, it's one of Honkai Impact 3rd's Three Literary Masters. It'd be a shame to let it die now. Besides, it's likely going to end up working under me anyway—so why not save it?)
Such were Elias' thoughts.
"..."
Gray Serpent stared blankly at Elias. It had received life and a body simply because it desired to live. Using its newly formed mind—one capable of connecting to a network—it processed this revelation endlessly.
At last, it found only one word that could describe him: God.
Mobius watched this scene with intrigue. This mechanical being, born only moments ago, had already developed faith. That was truly fascinating to her.
She couldn't help but marvel at Elias' overwhelming charisma—how swiftly he had subdued Gray Serpent's will.
Perhaps it was because Elias, as a Chimera, had reached such a high state of existence, combined with his unique understanding of life and effortless self-expression. To lower beings like Gray Serpent, he indeed appeared divine.
"Gray Serpent, right now you possess only the will to survive. But a life that exists merely to avoid death holds little value. So... go and find the purpose of your existence."
"The purpose... of living? How should I do that?"
"How would I know? Everyone's life is their own canvas. I have no intention of painting someone else's picture. Whether you end up drawing childish scribbles or a masterpiece that goes down in history—that's up to you."
Elias crossed his arms. He had no interest in controlling another's destiny. Even though he held the power to define Gray Serpent's very purpose, his nature rejected such an act.
Life should be free. Even the most insignificant life was a precious and sacred possession.
"In any case, go see the world for yourself. I won't impose any restrictions on you. Ah—but don't do anything illegal, got it?"
Elias made sure to add that last warning.
He knew well what Gray Serpent did in the original timeline—forming a mechanist cult, founding a society that viewed Honkai as divine baptism, and running a black-market organization that hoarded Honkai weaponry.
Though it lacked raw power, its intellect and knack for causing trouble were impressive indeed.
Still, Elias preferred not to deal with such nuisances. Why not just live a normal, happy life instead?
And so, before Gray Serpent could even comprehend what was happening—
It found itself tossed out of the Fire Moth base.
Gray Serpent: "..."
Out on the street, it wore a black hooded jacket.
Its limbs and eyes were bionic prosthetics. A white mask covered its face, revealing only the crimson mechanical right eye. On the mask was a black emblem of two crossed daggers.
If not for the "Silver Moth with Burning Wings" insignia on its clothing, passersby would've already called the authorities.
(Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?)
The classic three questions echoed in Gray Serpent's mind.
But it couldn't be blamed—because right now, it was utterly lost.
Just moments ago, it had been struggling for its life in Mobius' Disposal Pool. Then, Elias had granted it a new body, a name, and the freedom to live.
Before it could even react, it had already been thrown outside the base—forced to begin a new kind of survival. The only comforting thing this time was that the difficulty had dropped considerably. At least it wasn't starting from the hell-level challenge of the Disposal Pool.
However, the map now spanned the entire world—and that was simply too overwhelming. Gray Serpent's brain almost crashed trying to comprehend it.
As it stared at the bustling streets before it, cars rushing past and crowds moving endlessly, it realized it had no idea where to go.
So it simply stood there for over half an hour, quietly watching the vastness of this new "map," replaying the image of the white-haired boy who had given it life. Gray Serpent began to ponder its own existence.
"Yes, to live. I must live... but not just live."
"The freedom and life I have now are a great gift from Lord Elias. So I must—must give them meaning."
"I need to understand this world first. This body bestowed by my Lord is convenient—I can learn most of this world's knowledge at any time. Then I'll find something I can do—something that can help him in return..."
Gray Serpent muttered to itself. Its mechanical hand clenched tightly. Then—it found a nearby bench, sat down, and began to read The Constitution.
(I can't do anything illegal—that was Lord Elias' command. Hmm? This book is thicker than I expected...)
...
Elias didn't know what Gray Serpent would become in the future—but he didn't particularly care. To him, it was merely a small side event.
Still, he thought Gray Serpent might make a good philosopher someday. After all, it had a quoting habit—and as far as villains went, it carried far more class than Cocolia.
At least its manner of speech was cool and refined.
After dealing with Gray Serpent, Elias accompanied Mobius for a healthy lunch, and then interceded on behalf of ELF Klein, managing to get her a full two-day vacation.
Klein: "Thank you... thank you, Elias. I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd get two whole days off in a row. Did I just pre-spend all my future rest time in one go?"
Elias: "...Klein, maybe you should transfer over to my side like Prometheus did."
Seeing how cruelly overworked she was, Elias couldn't help feeling sympathy. Mobius, you're too much, he thought. At least treat Klein better!
After all, if nothing went wrong, Klein would eventually be the one maintaining the Elysian Realm.
That meant no rest for fifty thousand years...
Later, Elias told Mobius about the [Fifteen Flame-Chasers]. Though she mocked it as childish, her actions spoke otherwise—she accepted the insignia with honest curiosity.
Then she invited Elias onto her operating table, saying she wanted to study his Chimera physiology.
But Elias declined, because he had just received a message—his custom order from Vill-V was finally ready.
...
"Welcome to~ Helixcraft!"
"Uh, every time I hear that, I hallucinate the words 'Theater of Domination.'"
Inside Helixcraft, Elias couldn't help but chuckle as Vill-V made her dramatic entrance under a spotlight. Still as flamboyant as ever, he thought.
"Vill-V, are the things ready?"
"Of course~ Whether it's the Divine Key or the Black Box, everything's been prepared. Come check the goods, Elias."
Vill-V nodded, snapped her fingers, and with a loud duang, several large objects fell from the ceiling. Elias twitched at the sound, thinking, Thank goodness they're made of reinforced steel.
The first object was a massive golden cross.
"Tada! The Eleventh Divine Key—Key of Binding: Oath of Judah! Considering the Herrscher of Binding's theme, I designed it in the style of a religious cross. What do you think? Doesn't it just shine with divine splendor?"
Vill-V proudly patted the Oath of Judah.
"...I've seen it so many times that it's honestly lost its impact," Elias muttered quietly.
He recalled how, back in the Current Era, he had also set his sights on the Oath of Judah.
Elias had tried several times to extract the Herrscher Core of Binding from within Judah and install it into his own Key of Blankness—but each attempt had been stopped by Theresa.
Now, however, Vill-V had followed his specifications and added a hidden function to every Divine Key.
With the press of a secret button, Elias could eject a Herrscher Core automatically. The button only responded to his fingerprints, so there was no risk of anyone triggering it accidentally.
"As expected of you, Elias! To stay so calm before such a display of genius invention—should I explain its rated powers one by one?"
"No, no need. Just get to the point—show me what else this Divine Key can do."
Elias crossed his arms, curious to finally see what other functions Judah possessed. He strongly suspected that what Theresa knew wasn't the full picture.
"Alright! Watch closely, Elias!"
Vill-V's confident smile gleamed brighter than her machines.
As always, the brilliant inventor who never failed to surprise from unexpected angles did not disappoint.
For the next half hour, Vill-V demonstrated one hundred different functions of the Oath of Judah.
Maglev flight capability, automatic substitute operator mode, child-tracking system, self-cooking module, gaming companion mode, transformable furniture configuration—
And even...
"Oath of Judah, 42nd Zeroth Power—activate! Sacred Saber!"
"What the—?!"
Elias' eyes widened in disbelief. Before him, the Oath of Judah unfolded like a weapons chest.
But instead of thirteen golden spears, the compartments were filled with umbrellas, brooms, toy guns, plungers, shovels, and other household tools.
At the same time, the top and bottom opened up like a multi-tool Swiss Army knife—revealing screwdrivers, scissors, pliers, forks, frying pans, kitchen knives, and more.
"Vill-V... I'll admit—you're a genius," Elias said, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath.
"Ehe~ Surprised? Impressed? Behold—the Key of Binding, Oath of Judah! The ultimate Divine Key for home and travel! It even has a top-grade AI system built in. No matter the problem, just leave it to Judah and it'll handle everything!"
Vill-V proudly puffed out her chest.
"...Yeah, with something this all-powerful, no wonder Theresa ends up spoiled rotten by Judah in the future," Elias said, his expression somewhere between admiration and helplessness.