In truth, Mobius's conclusion wasn't wrong.
It's just that the one who suddenly lashed out wasn't Aponia, but...
Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
With slight hesitation, Elysia controlled Eden to deplete Aponia's HP bar.
Then she realized—things weren't as bad as she had feared.
As it turned out, Aponia was using her ability to touch all of Elysian Realm at once, conducting a kind of "full-system scan to eliminate viruses," which sent her into a trance-like state.
Her earlier attack on Eden had simply been a reflex.
"Please forgive my lapse."
"It's nothing, my friend. More importantly, tell me what you discovered."
At Eden's words, Aponia gave a small nod and began explaining her findings.
During her "full scan," she detected a shadow—possibly linked to the anomaly in Elysian Realm.
After thinking it over, Eden asked whether Aponia could try to touch that shadow again.
Aponia nodded and opened her arms to activate her ability.
Here in Elysian Realm, she was this realm itself.
She was the one who walked the path of heaven.
[Past sins have arrived before me; I shall not flinch—I shall embrace them.]
Light flared outward.
It was as if countless hands reached for the farthest reaches of the sky.
And soon, under her embrace, a third party arrived in the sanctuary.
The sky darkened at his arrival, as though the world was about to fall into a bottomless abyss.
Or perhaps... he was the abyss itself.
"Why... is it you...?"
At this moment, many players familiar with MiHoYo's writing began to sense the incoming cliffhanger.
The writers would absolutely not reveal who Aponia had seen.
Unfortunately... they were wrong again.
The writers were operating from the stratosphere.
Ending it here? Not even close.
In-game, Aponia let out a surprised exclamation.
"...Kalpas??"
Players: …
Players: ???
They froze for a moment, then their expressions filled with disbelief.
What? Brother Kalpas? Why did he show up in the Deepest Depths?
And wait—is it really the real Brother Kalpas who came here? Or is it an imposter?
Could it be that both Kalpases were destroying things along the way... cough, fighting their way to the depths?
The players turned into a hive of "why"s, their heads full of questions.
They urgently needed answers from the story.
But...
Too bad.
Seeing the sudden perspective switch in the game, Elysia's expression twitched slightly.
To be honest, she was... getting used to this? No way! You can't get used to this kind of thing!
Still, no matter her speechlessness, the main story already had its sequence set.
So, she could only keep watching.
The game shifted back to the amusement park—where Vill-V, Yaesheng, and Pardofelis formed a small trio.
"Perfect!"
Pardofelis stood with hands on hips, looking very pleased. "I hereby declare that I've been completely cleared of suspicion! From now on, I'll join the detective team and help you investigate the truth of this case!"
"Mei-nee, next time you check memories, let me come too! I have to prove that everyone is innocent!"
[But if Pardofelis proves that everyone is innocent... wouldn't that make Mei the most suspicious?]
[Is it possible that when she says "everyone," she includes Mei too?]
[Right, hasn't it already been pretty much confirmed that the one stirring trouble in Elysian Realm is the Herrscher of Corruption? Don't tell me Mei's going to take the blame for that?]
Seeing Pardofelis's overflowing confidence, Mei rained on her parade a bit.
"I doubt we'll get many more chances like this. I don't believe the other Flame-Chasers will just sit around and let us flip through their memories like pages in a book."
And just as she finished speaking—
Another person, one who would definitely not refuse, arrived at the amusement park.
It was Hua.
She rushed to Mei's side in a slightly panicked state.
"Thank goodness—you're all here."
Seeing the serious look on Hua's face, Mei instinctively tensed up.
"What happened, Hua? You don't look well."
Hua immediately responded, "Something very serious has occurred. I and—"
Before she could finish, Vill-V cut in.
Vill-V: I know you two are in a rush, but please hold on a second.
She suggested using the Consciousness Collector—it would be more efficient and trustworthy that way.
Hua paused and looked at the others in silence. These were once her trusted comrades, her teammates in battle.
But the cloud of suspicion now wedged between them had become a deep rift. Doubt and interrogation had become shadows hovering over everyone.
At this moment, she had to decide whether she still chose to trust the people in front of her.
"I understand. What do I need to do?" Hua said.
Seeing her response, players couldn't help but sigh from their hearts—Hua really is an honest soul.
If it were anyone else—even in a normal situation—they probably wouldn't agree to let others pry into their memories.
But Hua agreed so readily.
Truly—you don't have to trust anyone else, but you can always trust Mama Hua!
...
With Hua's consent, Mei used the Consciousness Collector on her.
This time, Pardofelis entered the memory together with her.
The first memory was from the Seventh Eruption—when Hua's squad leader Himiko became the Herrscher of Flamescion.
The players saw Hua collapsed in the ruins not far away.
They wanted to help her.
But—this was just a memory. A past that had already happened. They couldn't do anything.
All they could do was sigh... and move on to the next memory.
This time, it was inside the hall of Elysian Realm.
Of course, the setting of the memory wasn't the main point.
What mattered was who appeared in this memory of the Elysian Hall.
Hua—and... Elysia.
Seeing that familiar pink figure—
Players paused in unison.
...It's been a long time.
Until Elysia's cheerful and unchanged voice rang out.
"What a coincidence, Hua! Meeting you here again—I'm guessing you came here just to chat with me, right?"
Hua shook her head earnestly. "Not really..."
"Ehh? Really?"
Elysia gave a playful look. "Even if that's the case, you should've fibbed a little. Denying it outright is way too hurtful."
Hearing Elysia's voice, seeing her typical reactions—
The players' feelings grew more complicated.
They suddenly missed the old days in "Elysian Realm."
Those relaxed, comforting days... well, maybe "relaxed" is pushing it.
Back then, they used to sigh that Elysian Realm was one of the few places in Honkai Impact 3rd that could warm the heart.
Coming back to Elysian Realm felt like coming home.
And now?
What has Elysian Realm become?
Elysia... Kevin...
So cold. So fragmented.
How could anyone still call this a paradise?
There's just no way to smile anymore!
This world is not beautiful at all! Waaa!
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