---
"Next door? Elysia? Are we even talking about the same person?"
Fu Hua lifted her head in a daze, clearly puzzled by the situation unfolding in front of her.
Her expression showed deep confusion.
Why would Elysia appear at St. Freya?
If she remembered correctly, the Flame-Chasers were supposed to have... disappeared in the Previous Era's final collapse, right?
Even with just a brief understanding, Fu Hua had deduced that this world shared many similarities with hers.
At the very least, their histories progressed in largely the same direction.
So no matter how she looked at it, the idea of Elysia being "next door" didn't make any sense.
"Who exactly is this Elysia…?" Kiana asked curiously.
She had noticed Fu Hua's complex expression shift dramatically—
Clearly, this name had shaken her.
And that only made her even more curious—
Just who could possibly leave even the Crimson Immortal herself so surprised?
Since she hadn't yet deeply investigated World Serpent,
Kiana still had every reason to stay wide-eyed and curious.
"In the strictest sense..."
Fu Hua replied calmly,
"She was… a comrade of mine."
"That's why," she continued, "you can understand how her sudden appearance now would shock me so much."
Fu Hua's tone carried a trace of deep contemplation,
As if pulling from the very depths of the Sea of Recollections,
Trying to excavate the memory of that girl with a smile like dimples.
Even though those earlier memories had already fragmented, The image of that girl had never once faded.
Fu Hua realized something, perhaps even envied it a little.
She glanced down at the screen of a Shenzhou-made tablet, scrolling through the table of contents of a game's "Heavenly Chapter."
Sure enough, bold characters appeared on the screen not far away:
"Eternal Peaceful Realm"
A name strikingly similar to Elysian Realm.
"A comrade...? That would make her... hundreds of years old at the very least, right?"
Kiana gasped, first looking at Fu Hua, then over at Luo Mo, unable to hide her surprise.
Don't tell her...
Was she about to meet another ancient relic that was centuries old?
"Such small-mindedness,"
Said Bronya, who had recently won a joint tournament.
This younger version of herself shook her finger at Kiana with a calm expression.
After so many years, she now understood her boss's mindset when he developed this game.
No wonder he had to keep it secret from everyone.
Even if he had dropped subtle hints about "that" existence later on, It was probably just one of the many reasons behind his secrecy.
This kind of twisted humor...
Bronya totally got it now.
Seeing OG Kiana so clueless,
Excitedly looking forward to the story behind the script, Her expression and anticipation—
It was just too satisfying.
Especially since this Kiana was so much like the Kiana from her world...
It gave Bronya an extra sense of accomplishment.
"A few thousand years old?"
"Too small."
"Ten thousand...?"
"Mmm, now you're getting close."
Kiana's jaw dropped wide open.
No way—she really hadn't expected that kind of number.
Sure, she figured they were comrades—
But did that mean the class president was really tens of thousands of years old?
She only knew the Red Immortal had a recorded history spanning several thousand years.
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the class prez was in the tens of thousands range.
"...It's not as exaggerated as you're making it sound,"
Fu Hua said calmly,
"Time spent in cryogenic stasis doesn't count."
"Besides, if we're really talking about that person..."
"She'd definitely say something like,
'Time doesn't matter— I'm still a beautiful young girl!'"
Fu Hua massaged her temples.
This was one of the rare people she just didn't know how to deal with.
But truthfully...
She didn't feel much threat from her either.
What did concern her was—
If Elysia existed here, Then surely the other Flame-Chasers should, too... right?
Would Mobius or Su also be here?
Despite her worries,
Part of her heart gradually relaxed.
If they were all still alive in this world—
Then maybe... everything was fine after all.
"There's no point in speculating endlessly,"
Luo Mo said with a smile, his eyes starting to shine.
"Why not just go see for yourself? Let Fu Hua meet her old friend again... face to face."
He had always regretted not being able to witness every Flame-Chaser's story unfold directly.
To him, that was supposed to be something joyful.
For someone who had never seen it before, it would be one kind of feeling—
For someone who had, it would be an entirely different experience.
Not bad.
After a bit of investigation and listening to the explanations from OG Kiana and the others,
He could pretty much guess what point in the timeline they were at.
He just wasn't sure—
Had the Elysian Realm been destroyed yet?
Whether or not the Elysian Realm had already been destroyed—
Luo Mo wasn't sure.
"..."
"'Old friend'—calling her that..."
Fu Hua narrowed her eyes at him silently.
"You really make it sound like you're up to something."
She could clearly sense it—
The subtle pleasure he was getting from this wasn't from any mental illusion or trick.
It was just a martial artist's instinct. Something felt... off.
"I know, I know, Red Immortal. I didn't mean anything bad!"
BANG!
Next to them, the version of Kiana holding the Stigmata of Victory suddenly leapt up like she'd remembered something.
She raised her right hand in a mock-gun gesture and pointed to her own temple—
Mimicking the sound with her mouth: Bang!
It was a perfect impression.
Fu Hua's emotions grew even more complicated.
And in that moment, she realized something—
Having all your secrets and past exposed so directly…
Was not a pleasant feeling.
"Otto, huh..."
Fu Hua rubbed her temples,
As if the long-lost headache had returned to haunt her.
She sighed helplessly.
"Well then, let's go have a look at that Golden courtyard next door.
For some reason, I feel like that name has popped into my mind before..."
"Alright. I'm curious too," said the Herrscher of Flamescion Kiana with a smile.
"If it's really just next door, maybe we can even have lunch with Lady Cecilia. That would be nice... I wonder if Mei will…"
Her mood had clearly been lifted, affected by the lighter tone from her alternate self.
That kind of childlike sincerity—it made her a little envious.
But the moment she opened the door, she froze.
Right there, walking from the other direction,
Was a pink-haired girl leading Mei.
That girl's smile—yes, it was beautiful—
But it instantly triggered Kiana's dislike.
Too close to Mei!
No, wait—maybe that's this world's Mei...
Still! What the hell!
She quickly spun around, eyes darting back to the Kiana who was standing beside her own Mei.
That one was still standing there, chatting and smiling—more like her St. Freya self.
Compared to that...
The pink-haired girl walking with Mei had a far more distant and cold demeanor.
It was clear she didn't want to get close—
But the other girl's relentless energy gave her no room to escape.
"MEI!!"
Kiana cried out loudly and, unable to control herself,
Darted forward—nearly launching herself into Mei's arms.
The Mei who had been walking alongside Elysia turned her head at the sudden voice,
Already analyzing the situation in her mind—
But before she could even react, she was tackled into a full-on hug.
Warmth.
A familiar body shivering slightly in her arms.
A familiar scent.
That silver-white hair brushing against her cheek.
She didn't need to confirm it—she knew instinctively.
It was her Kiana.
The Kiana she had been missing and longing for.
Without thinking, she gently patted the girl's head,
Quietly soothing her.
-----
Just a little earlier...
For Raiden Mei,
Exploring the Elysian Realm wasn't boring per se.
But in recent days, her investigations had made very little progress.
The 10-day deadline Aponia mentioned was approaching rapidly—
And Mei still hadn't found any breakthrough.
She could only suppress the growing urge to charge straight into Kalpas' territory
And instead, continued her search through every forgotten corner of the Realm.
The monsters in the Elysian Realm appeared randomly—
Often taking on forms from various memories.
As for the gates she encountered—
They also appeared randomly, each one marked with a symbol from the Flame-Chasers.
Except...
If a gate didn't belong to any known Flame-Chaser,
It would display a big question mark as a placeholder.
By now, Mei had developed a fairly solid understanding of how the rules of the Elysian Realm worked.
But in this moment—
She stood before a door unlike any other.
There was no Flame-Chaser symbol.
No question mark.
Nothing.
Just a completely black void, like swirling starlight inside an eternal night.
What was more important...
She had nearly collected all the Flame-Chasers' sigils.
Almost every sigil-linked door had already been encountered.
She hadn't obtained Aponia's or Vill-V's yet,
But it wasn't as if she hadn't seen them before.
There shouldn't be a reason for the Elysian Realm to hide one this deep inside.
And yet...
She couldn't bring herself to walk away.
No matter what was behind this door—
As long as it contained any trace of hidden information about the Elysian Realm...
"Could it be that one final Flame-Chaser is still being hidden?"
"No... That seems too unlikely.
It's more probable that this is a place where many secrets of the Flame-Chasers converge—
A door that no one wants to open..."
"Secrets... So then—what kind of secrets are important enough to be hidden... here?"
At that thought, she stopped hesitating.
Her eyes were firm.
She stepped forward decisively.
She never expected what came next...
What appeared was a scene so familiar, it almost hurt.
The distant academy building stood tall,
Its large clock embedded in the tower face, ticking calmly just like in her memories.
Its form felt so real, so clear—
As if time had peacefully smoothed out the rough edges of everything that had passed.
Green grass spread at her feet.
Not far away, a fountain was spraying drops of water into the air.
They struck the patterned stone ground with little splashes and sparkling droplets.
She heard the chattering of people, the sweet scent of moist earth, the distant laughter...
This scene—
It felt like a beautiful dream.
So warm and familiar that, for a moment, she truly believed she was hallucinating.
She blinked repeatedly,
Trying to clear her mind and freeze the flood of memories rushing through her like a tide.
She took a deep breath, bent down—
And touched a small sprouting leaf.
Tiny. Familiar.
So easily overlooked.
But it was real.
Undeniably real.
She slowly lifted her head to gaze at the surroundings again.
"This really... isn't a dream?"
"St. Freya Academy? I'm actually... back at St. Freya?"
She murmured to herself,
Her deep violet eyes full of confusion.
But the salty sea breeze in the air—
And the unique floral fragrance of the island—
Made it feel too vivid to be fake.
Suddenly, a gentle gust of wind swept by.
And in the next instant, her eyes were covered by a pair of soft hands.
Darkness enveloped her vision,
Leaving only the lingering scent of flowers hanging in the air.
"Heehee~ Mei, guess—guess—who~ am~ I ♪"
A mischievous voice teased her playfully,
Barely suppressing its laughter.
Strictly speaking, the girl hadn't really tried to hide herself.
She had simply seen Mei standing there dazed and couldn't resist messing with her a little.
Who could blame her?
After all—that's just the kind of thing a beautiful little fairy would do.
"..."
Mei didn't answer.
She was already dealing with the headache that came from bumping into Elysia the moment she entered this world again.
But now she was just curious—
How had Elysia done this?
Could she really rebuild a whole scene from Mei's memory, without resistance?
That was...
A little unbelievable.
Clearly, Mei still couldn't tell the two versions of Elysia apart.
And frankly—
The one she was dealing with right now might even weigh a little more...
Yes, the pink-haired "Miss Fairy" might be slightly heavier...
(T/C: pffffft! Excuse me?!)
"Don't mess around, Elysia," Mei said flatly, exposing her immediately.
The girl released her hands and took a few cheerful steps forward,
Clasping her hands behind her back and smiling sweetly at her.
She was studying Mei's face intently.
And since the girl was so boldly looking into her eyes,
Mei had no choice but to meet her gaze.
"Ahhh, that's my Mei~ As expected of you, seeing through me right away!"
"So tell me~ did your heart go ba-dump when I hugged you? Hmm? Did you get a little excited? ♪"
"Sorry. Not even a little. Stop with these childish jokes, Elysia."
Mei's voice was cold.
She didn't understand the point of recreating St. Freya like this.
Bringing her back to her memories—
What, just for fun?
"Hmm hmm~ Speaking of which—how's the outfit?"
"The Thunder Herrscher battle suit looks great on you! I only saw it once before, you know~"
"I'd love to... touch it, just a little bit? Can I? Just a little?"
While Elysia continued chattering,
Her eyes kept flickering toward something above Mei's head,
Looking slightly off-center.
"You... You're not actually...!"
"..."
Mei fell silent.
She stared at Elysia—and realized something was wrong.
Outfit...?
Why did this Elysia assume she was wearing her battle attire right now?
"Now that you mention it, you feel kind of different from before too."
"Are you in a bad mood? Did you fight with Kiana?"
Elysia's questions flowed rapidly.
Mei frowned.
She didn't answer.
But even she could sense something wasn't right.
Even if it was a tiny detail—
Even if it seemed insignificant—
This Elysia felt different.
If she had drawn her blade just now...
There was a real chance she could have struck her down.
More than that—
The sensation of their closeness, the physical presence...
It wasn't the same.
Something's off.
---
"So, want to come sit with me for a bit?"
"The golden courtyard is still huge, and Vill-V made some delicious food again~"
"Come on, let's hang out ♪"
Elysia's eyes sparkled, full of anticipation.
Mei hesitated for a moment,
Then nodded slightly.
Definitely not because I'm curious about what Vill-V cooked.
---
Meanwhile—
Elsewhere in the same realm,
A small green lifeform stood in front of the same mysterious black door.
It stepped forward to try entering—
And passed right through it.
Surprised, it backed away, staring at the door again.
Confused...
But now even more curious.
Why couldn't it go inside?
(T/C: get lost Corruption. U stay out)