Mobius was still immersed in her memories when Van's hoarse monologue suddenly echoed in the air.
"I thought... we could carry victory after victory, and welcome a tomorrow that belongs to us."
"But I was wrong..."
The moment the voice fell, the warm, peaceful daily life instantly twisted and shattered, replaced by an all-encompassing scene of catastrophe.
The shadow of the Honkai loomed over the world, comrades falling one after another.
Immediately after, Mobius witnessed one heart-wrenching scene after another,
The arrival of Domination, the tragedy of Binding, the rampage of Corruption.
This world, already on the brink of collapse, teetered even closer to complete ruin.
The image froze at the very moment the End descended.
Mobius saw Van standing amidst the ruins of the End, hearing his hoarse voice, "Behind every victory... the price was everything we had left...
"And in the end, even this 'everything' vanished before the End."
Standing in the center of the ruins, he raised his head, looking at the scarred and devastated land, "We gave everything humanity had, and what we got in return was barely half a day of reprieve. So... what was it all for?"
Just as Mobius was about to step forward, the scene suddenly began to rewind, time rapidly reversing.
Van's whisper lingered in the collapsing space.
"Is there a chance... that the path I followed was wrong from the start....."
"That I could never do anything, that I couldn't protect anyone..."
"Maybe the only thing I could do... was to take the person most important to me away before destruction arrived..."
Finally, the scene froze again, on the very street where they first met.
The black-haired boy was still holding the long sword stained with purple blood, standing amidst the ruins.
And in the very next second, Mobius's pupils suddenly contracted.
She saw the boy in the ruins suddenly toss aside his weapon and turn toward her, reaching out his hand, "So... come with me, just the two of us..." His voice carried a dangerous allure, "Let's leave this place, and go to a world without Honkai."
———
Faced with Van's invitation, Mobius fell into a brief silence.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, suddenly...
BOOM!
The entire space trembled violently, the ground undulating like crashing waves.
While struggling to steady herself, Mobius sharply sensed some kind of restraint within her loosening.
"Mobius, will you come with me?"
Receiving no response, Van asked again, but in his words, Mobius caught an unnatural anxiety.
Looking at the longing in his eyes, Mobius sneered coldly, "I refuse."
"Why?"
"Because..."
Before the words had fully fallen, Mobius suddenly moved. Emerald-green liquid lashed out like venomous snakes, coiling tightly around him.
"That man is not someone who would say such words. No matter how desperate the situation, no matter the cost, he would fight with everything to achieve his goal, not wallow in self-pity like a clown."
Though unable to move, the smile on Hanabi's face didn't fade, "Isn't there a chance that this is Van's deepest thought~"
Hearing this, Mobius suddenly laughed, her smile growing brighter and sharper.
She slowly leaned in close to Hanabi, her finger tracing along his cheek, "And that's where you and him are different... and also your biggest flaw... you nameless, third-rate actor~"
A flash of anger passed through Hanabi's eyes, and just as he was about to speak, Mobius launched her attack.
The tendrils binding her suddenly transformed into sharp spears, thrusting straight toward his body.
Yet, at the instant before they could pierce through him, Hanabi's body scattered into countless flower petals, dissipating into the air.
"The little mouse runs fast, huh." Mobius snorted coldly. "But next time I catch you, you won't have such good luck."
She stared at the drifting petals, eyes narrowing with a thoughtful glint.
This dreamscape was too real, every detail perfectly restoring their past.
"Something's wrong..."
Mobius glanced around at the gradually collapsing dreamscape, her brows slightly furrowed.
How could this Hanabi know so much about their past?
Unless... someone had provided her with detailed information. And that someone must be someone deeply familiar with them.
"Vil-V..." Mobius's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "Looks like we need to have a good chat."
———
[Somewhere Else]
After leaving the dreamscape, Van and Sirin entered the intricate maze of dreams.
Just as the two were about to move forward, Hanabi's voice echoed from every direction.
"Oh my~ looks like our dear savior has run into some trouble, trapped in a maze built by his own companions. How does that feel?"
Hearing this, Sirin's shoulders unconsciously drooped.
If it hadn't been for her naivety, things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Sensing her sadness, Van gently patted her head in comfort, "Don't worry, no matter how big the maze is, it has an exit. We'll find a way out."
Then, Van raised his head and spoke toward the empty air, "Masked fool, now I believe it, you're just a pawn pushed to the front. If Vil-V had told you how I broke through her maze before, you wouldn't have said something so stupid."
For a moment, unease welled up inside Hanabi, but she quickly forced it down.
After all, according to Vil-V, this dream maze wasn't just any maze, it was a living, sentient labyrinth.
Aside from its intricate, ever-shifting pathways, it reset its entire structure every five minutes.
That meant, if someone couldn't find the pattern and escape within five minutes, they'd be trapped forever.
Yet, before Hanabi could react, she saw Van's hand begin to gather a dazzling light.
"Wait! You're not actually going to....."
Hanabi's eyes widened, a ridiculous thought flashing through her mind.
In the next second, a deafening explosion ripped through the maze.
When the smoke cleared, Hanabi stared at the shattered, crumbling walls, the corner of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"Brute-force breaking?! Since when is that a valid method of breaking a maze?!"
Only now did she finally understand why the Steam Queen had insisted on running repeated pressure tests after building the maze.
'So this was the reason!'
Unexpected, but... thinking about it, it actually made sense.
Like that old saying, if you kill all the enemies, that's one way to infiltrate.
Blow up the entire maze, and naturally, the maze is "solved."
At that thought, a deep sense of frustration welled up inside Hanabi.
This... this was probably the first time she had ever encountered something like this...
'Wait!'
Hanabi froze.
Fragments of unfamiliar memories suddenly surfaced in her mind.....
That same crushing sense of defeat, that same violent, brute-force breakthrough, though the scenes and opponent were blurry.
"This is..."
She furrowed her brows, trying to recall, but no matter how hard she tried, the details wouldn't come.
Yet that strange familiarity lingered, as if, somewhere in the endless pursuit of her so-called pleasure, this kind of defeat... was not the first time.
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