When the door was pushed open and the brown-haired man walked in holding a cup of hot water, Himeko felt her heart throb violently.
Her hand clutching the pen behind her back tensed abruptly, but there was no murderous intent or hostility in the gesture.
Even her most basic sense of alertness vanished, only returning a moment later as Himeko's thoughts caught up.
"Yo, Himeko. It's been a while." The man at the door had been gently closing it, as if afraid of making too much noise.
When he turned and saw Himeko sitting on the edge of the bed, the brown-haired man was slightly taken aback, then gave her a gentle smile.
"..." Himeko's movements were like a jammed robot. She stared at the man for a long time before she could squeeze a few simple syllables from her dry throat.
And those few simple syllables were enough to identify the man before her.
"...Dad?"
Murata Ryusuke smiled and walked over, placing the cup of water on the nightstand. Then he pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Himeko.
"What's wrong? Has it been so long you don't even recognize your own dad's face anymore?" Ryusuke's face constantly held a gentle smile, making one feel as warm as a spring breeze.
Elite, gentle, understanding, sharp... Upon first meeting him, anyone would plaster these labels onto Ryusuke.
He was like a researcher who had stepped straight out of a novel, a manga, or even a teen idol drama—a man who could be called perfect in every aspect.
But only Himeko knew just how "awful" the man standing before her truly was.
She thought she would never see this man again in her life. For that, she had fled to the Far East, the furthest point from Future City, and deleted all of his contact information.
Aside from Future City's cutting-edge science news, Himeko had no other way of getting information about Ryusuke.
And after the Great Eruption, Himeko had completely pushed this face, this person, and everything he had done to the back of her mind. The various experiences after the Eruption filled every corner of her life, leaving her no spare energy for reminiscence.
She thought that someday in the future, when Fire Moth was completely stable and she had retired, she might casually recall these things and see this face again in her memories.
Perhaps she would have forgotten him completely without realizing it, letting her post-Eruption life take center stage...
She had even considered that this man might have also survived the Great Eruption and joined Fire Moth. In that case, with her on the front lines and him at the very back, they could still avoid ever meeting.
But she had never imagined that she would meet this man again in such a way.
And...
Why could this man still smile so normally after seeing her? Just like... just like—!
Just like in her memories... He had never changed.
"You... Why are you here?" Suppressing the emotional turmoil in her heart, Himeko strove to maintain her composure as a soldier and began to actively gather intelligence.
"Where is this? And what time is it?" Himeko rapidly fired off a few basic questions. Murata Ryusuke's reaction was clearly one of confusion.
"This is Sapphire City. It's 5:05 AM on December 1st," Ryusuke answered, a hint of inquiry in his eyes. "As for why I'm here... well, I'm an external personnel from Future City, here to participate in a joint project with a local partner."
"What project in Sapphire City could possibly attract you?" Himeko's tone was blunt. As a city focused on economic development with almost everything imported, what project could Sapphire City possibly have to attract her father?
The only thing Himeko could think of was the materials science research in Sapphire City's university labs. She had heard a bit about that research, and the only reason Ryusuke would be here was to personally handle the transfer of some material.
But the more likely possibility was that this guy, Murata Ryusuke, was lying to her. Just like he always did.
The urge to turn and leave had never been stronger. However, everything around her was unfamiliar, and Himeko had to start with something she knew to get more information.
"Sigh." Ryusuke raised a hand to his neck, stretching the sore muscles and sighing. An expression of polite awkwardness appeared on his face. "In that case, just think of your old dad as being here on vacation."
His tone was as intimate as if there had never been a rift between them, making Himeko's hand behind her back clench even tighter.
Only to then release it powerlessly.
Himeko wasn't one to easily lose her composure, but just like the saying, "A man doesn't cry easily," Himeko's composure held "only because the grief had not yet struck."
With just a few short sentences and two simple gestures, Murata Ryusuke had dealt a heavy blow to Himeko's mental defenses.
Pulling herself out of the negative emotion of "why can this guy still smile so nonchalantly," Himeko began to analyze the information Ryusuke had revealed.
December 1st, early morning, Sapphire City...
Based on Himeko's current knowledge, there were only two explanations that perfectly fit the situation: an illusion, or time travel.
Either she had stepped into some kind of illusion constructed by a Herrscher, or she had been transported to Sapphire City a few months ago by a Herrscher or some other supernatural force.
"Since your questions are answered, isn't it time for Dad to ask one?" Ryusuke looked at Himeko and asked with a smile. "Why did you suddenly appear at the door to my room?"
Himeko couldn't answer, because Ryusuke's question itself was new information to her.
So I just "suddenly appeared"? That made "rebirth" even less likely. As for whether she had time-traveled or was trapped in an illusion... Himeko felt the best way to verify was to meet this timeline's version of herself.
As for the so-called "rules of time travel" and the "grandfather paradox," Himeko, a quasi-doctoral student who had almost moved to Future City with Ryusuke, found the whole thing mostly ridiculous.
And after "confirming" from Shu that the current world's structure was based on the Imaginary Tree, which incorporated set theory, such hypotheses seemed even more like unfounded fears.
If a tiny change in the "past" could cause earth-shattering changes now, wouldn't everything Otto had done have already thrown the world into chaos?
Although, he had indeed thrown the world into chaos.
Of course, there was another reason Himeko wanted to meet her other self. In this situation, anyone she talked to would only provide a one-sided story. Only when she stood before her other self could her own existence become irrefutable proof.
And later, when explaining the situation to others, two Himekos would be much more convincing.
Of course, Himeko suspected she wasn't the only one who had "traveled." Kallen, Fu Hua, and Natasha might have arrived here even earlier. This was another point she had to confirm.
With her next course of action now clear, Himeko glanced again at Ryusuke, who was calmly waiting for her answer. The frustration in her chest churned a few times but ultimately remained unvented.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing," Himeko said, her tone perfunctory and stiff. She then stood up to leave. Ryusuke didn't try to stop her, but watched with a smile as Himeko walked past him without so much as a second glance.
It wasn't until Himeko closed the door and left that a flicker of dimness appeared in the eyes of Ryusuke, who remained seated.
He turned to look at the cup of water he had brought in. The surface was already still.
But perhaps due to the force with which Himeko had closed the door, tiny ripples appeared on the once-still surface, leaving faint traces on the side of the cup before returning to calm.
Then even those traces vanished into the water.
After leaving the room, Himeko quickly walked down the corridor, descended the stairs, and stepped into the night of Sapphire City.
If ARC City's nightscape made one feel like they had stepped into another world, glimpsing another facet of human society's prosperity, then Sapphire City blatantly displayed humanity's most prized prosperity before all night-dwellers.
The air here was thick with the scent of commerce, noble without being extravagant.
This wasn't a den of debauchery and extravagance like the City of Sighs. There was no "carpe diem" hedonism here. On the contrary, everyone here was focused on the long-term future.
This was the commercial center of the entire Chinese mainland, the city that best embodied the word "prosperity" in the entire world.
The moment she stepped into the night, this long-lost prosperity made Himeko pause for a moment before she hurried away under the lights.
The important thing now was to find a communication device and call her other self, far away in the Far East.
It was the middle of the night. While it was a bit rude to wake her Far East self from her sleep, since the target was herself, Himeko felt no psychological burden.
Then she would have that self find Otto and use his connections to book a flight for the morning. If everything went smoothly, Otto would bring everyone to Sapphire City by around 1 PM.
She hoped the existence of two "Himekos" would be enough to convince Otto. But getting Otto to believe in the coming of the Great Eruption and bring Kallen and the others to Sapphire City would probably still be very difficult.
She wasn't good at negotiations. Even if her own existence was powerful proof, the thought of having to face Otto directly gave Himeko a headache.
I need a reason that will absolutely convince Otto... If only I could make him see something related to the Honkai with his own eyes...
But the Honkai appeared in an instant, like a perfectly sealed dam suddenly collapsing—it came without any warning.
Before a disaster strikes, no one knows it's coming.
Even Future City hadn't detected the Honkai's existence... Or did they really not detect it?
Himeko suddenly began to doubt whether Future City had truly been caught off guard by the Honkai's sudden attack, just like them.
It didn't seem like Future City's style... because the "original story" Shu had shown them clearly explained that the Honkai was periodic, not a sudden, explosive outbreak like the one they had experienced.
If what they experienced was an anomaly... then what about this new Herrscher that had suddenly appeared inside the Sapphire Pearl?
Rising Honkai Energy concentration, the appearance of a Herrscher... This was a completely normal, even textbook, sequence for a Honkai eruption.
If their experience was special, why was this one back to normal?
If it was a one-time anomaly, there was nothing more to say. The world is full of strange things; something completely unexpected popping up was perfectly normal.
But two "anomalies" forced one to consider whether they were really anomalies at all.
One "anomaly" is a coincidence. Two means the "anomaly" has become reproducible, and a third is just a matter of time.
Compared to the possibility of two separate anomalies, the idea that Future City was hiding something was a much more convincing answer.
But... what could Future City possibly be hiding?
That Future City where the stars of humanity shone? The one that gathered all the top talents in science, literature, arts, and politics? The one that once tried to lead all of humanity to the stars...
Why would it hide something so important from the outside world?
Headache...
Himeko hadn't expected the first problem triggered by this Herrscher's appearance to be of this nature.
Before this Herrscher appeared, Future City was still an unwavering ally of humanity, merely temporarily out of contact.
But with the appearance of this Herrscher, Future City's position instantly became ambiguous—neither friend nor foe.
Becoming enemies with Future City? Heh, interesting.
Shu, at least, would probably explode on the spot.
Himeko didn't know what was happening in Future City, but it could at least serve as a topic to grab Otto's attention.
Otto, who had spent a long time in Future City and was practically steeped in its culture, was very interested in information about it. If she could produce some evidence, even just corroborating evidence, convincing him would be mostly done.
...Done, my ass.
In the end, it still came down to evidence. There might be evidence in Future City, but while getting from Nagazora to Sapphire City only required a plane ticket, getting from Sapphire City to Future City required an application, an appointment, and at least seven days of registration and investigation.
As for forcing her way into Future City... only someone like Shu could even entertain such a thought. Only they themselves believed Future City didn't develop military capabilities. Did they really think those 365 White Cell arrays in orbit were just for stargazing?
Her train of thought came to a halt. Himeko stopped her hurried pace. She was now standing in front of a rather shabby alleyway. If Shu were here, he would recognize it as the place where he first encountered the dual-blade zombies.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Himeko stretched her muscles and retied her somewhat loose, fiery-red hair into a tight ponytail.
The next moment, Himeko walked into the alley, unhesitatingly lifted her foot, and kicked the gate at the end. The flimsy gate with stickers on it was kicked down with a thunderous *CRASH!*.