In the Herrscher of Thunder's room, she was sitting bored at her desk, looking sideways at the Stigmata Space's database, lost in thought.
*Click—*
Mei pushed open the door, walked in quietly, and closed it behind her. She leaned against the door, wiping away the tears that slid down her face.
"Raiden Mei, welcome. Welcome to our world!"
The Herrscher of Thunder opened her arms, looking at Raiden Mei with a playful yet joyful expression.
Mei took a few deep breaths, steadying her emotions from the joy and sorrow of seeing her deceased mother, and faced the Herrscher of Thunder who was opening her arms for a hug.
"No need to be so hypocritical. You're acting completely different from before. Such a drastic change, I'll take it as a provocation."
Mei placed a finger in front of the Herrscher of Thunder, stopping the little loli from hugging her.
The Herrscher of Thunder's eyes now held no hostility or jealousy, as if she wasn't the one who had been glaring at Mei and putting wasabi in her curry rice earlier.
"Hehe... then that's truly a shame."
The Herrscher of Thunder slapped away the finger pointed at her forehead, then turned back to her desk with an indifferent look, hopping back onto her chair with a little 'heave-ho'.
She sat properly, her hands placed peacefully on her lap, like a quiet, well-behaved lady, her mother's good girl.
"I like Mei very much, you know."
"Your previous behavior didn't seem like you liked me at all." Mei clicked her tongue, not believing the Herrscher of Thunder's words.
"Of course. When Mom's around, I definitely like Mom more~"
The Herrscher of Thunder said with a cheerful laugh, then her tone shifted, becoming serious. "Just like if Kiana were here, I would like Kiana more than you!"
"Let's not talk about these irrelevant things. We need to talk..."
Mei pulled out another chair and sat beside the Herrscher of Thunder, her expression no longer joking.
Seeing that Mei didn't want to chat idly, the Herrscher of Thunder couldn't be bothered to entertain herself.
"Go on, what do you want to talk about? What I know, what I don't know, I don't want to tell you any of it."
"?"
Mei tilted her head, then, with a speed invisible to the naked eye honed by long training, quickly reached out and patted the Herrscher of Thunder's head.
Before the Herrscher of Thunder could react and go into electric mouse mode, Mei threw out all her questions in a series.
"First question. Was that really my mother? Why do I have a feeling that something is off...
Second question, why was Mom resurrected, and why is she in this Stigmata Space...
Third question, have you been staying in the Stigmata Space without appearing because Mom is here?
Fourth, this might not be a question. I need your power. Whether I borrow it or take it by force, I need it...
Fifth, and why do you look like I did when I was a child...
Sixth, Herrscher of Thunder, you..."
The Herrscher of Thunder was about to fly into a rage and fight Mei, but she was overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. She covered her ears and slumped onto the desk, not wanting to move.
"Enough! Don't you know you're supposed to ask questions one by one?!"
"Yes, I know... but I thought that the great Herrscher of Thunder would surely be able to answer them all at once."
Mei nodded, then took the Herrscher of Thunder's small hand and looked at her expectantly.
"Could it be... that the mighty Herrscher of Thunder can't actually remember my few short questions?"
"How could that be!"
As soon as the Herrscher of Thunder heard Mei imply she couldn't do it, she immediately retorted.
"Listen up... it's just a few questions, watch me tell you right now!"
As the Herrscher of Thunder shouted for Mei to wait, she secretly used her authority as the Stigmata Consciousness to look through the historical records of the Stigmata Space, pulling up all of Mei's recent questions.
"I'll answer the first and second questions together. Let me tell you a cruel fact: she is not your real mother... In a sense, she should be my mother.
You should know the cause of the Third Honkai War, the real cause of your mother's death, and the matter of the Third Herrscher Core...
The Stigmata 'Thunder Soul' on our bodies was inherited, or rather, passed down from Mom. But it's different from normal inheritance...
Our Stigmata... is actually the same one as Mom's.
Ever since Mom gave birth to you, her Stigmata was no longer complete, causing her body to become consistently weak.
As you grew, the Stigmata within you also began to awaken...
But how can one Stigmata exist in two bodies at the same time?"
The Herrscher of Thunder looked up at Raiden Mei, her eyes seemingly filled with anger, yet also with a sense of helpless resignation.
Mei said nothing, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, trying in vain to stop the tears from flowing.
"Continue... I can take it..."
"Hah... As your Stigmata awakened, Mom's Stigmata began to disappear...
At that time, people's understanding of Stigmata was almost a complete blank. The existing technology was completely unable to solve this situation.
Between your life and Mom's life, Dad's first reaction was to sacrifice you to save Mom. But Mom chose you without hesitation, trading her life for yours...
Because of Mom's strong insistence, Dad had no choice but to throw himself into the laboratory, hoping to find a solution.
To be stripped of one's Stigmata is equivalent to having one's soul torn apart... The Stigmata became a deadly poison, constantly destroying Mom's vitality, eventually causing her to die in an extremely painful way...
Raiden Mei, she died right in front of you!!"
The Herrscher of Thunder practically roared the last sentence, but as if afraid of disturbing the mother who was still outside the room, she quickly covered her mouth.
By now, Mei was a mess of tears. The Herrscher of Thunder, as the Stigmata Consciousness, knew all these things, but Mei had been completely unaware.
All she knew was what Raiden Ryoma had told her: that her mother died of "cancer," and... ever since her mother died, Raiden Ryoma had barely spoken to her, rarely played with her, and even forbade her from going near ME Corp...
(Ryoma lost his wife and didn't know how to communicate with Mei. Plus, he looks very strict and intimidating, so in the eyes of outsiders and Mei... It seems there was no Homu Sword Saint in Honkai Gakuen 2, so Ryoma's image is pretty much... If you're bored, you can look up why Mei became the Herrscher of Thunder in Honkai Gakuen 2. Besides Cocolia and social pressure, it was also because Mei was afraid Ryoma would abandon her.)
Seeing Mei crying like this, the Herrscher of Thunder lost the heart to scold her and continued.
"Hmph, but your inheritance of the Stigmata was also incomplete, even more incomplete than what little remained of Mom's after she passed it to you.
Mom's pain could erupt in your body at any moment.
Having already lost Mom, Dad didn't want to lose you too. He became obsessed and frantic, beginning to venture into fields he had once been unwilling to touch...
So, after years of cooperation with Anti-Entropy, turning ME Corp into a terrifying military factory and experimental base, he found an almost insane method—to implant the core of the Third Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder, into your body, relying on the Herrscher's extraordinary power to complete your 'Thunder Soul' Stigmata.
After paying a huge price to seize the Third Herrscher Core from Anti-Entropy, Dad began the implantation surgery...
At that time, the Third Herrscher Core fused with your Stigmata, giving birth to me, the Herrscher of Thunder.
I should really praise Dad, because he is truly amazing. He not only successfully implanted the Third Herrscher Core into your body, but he also managed to seal me away directly...
It's just that no one expected someone would violently break the seal, frame Dad and send him to prison, and simultaneously trigger the Third Great Honkai Eruption..."