The void rippled like water, forming a swirling vortex the size of a doorway. Through it, faint, hazy outlines could just barely be seen.
"Rozaliya, are we really supposed to be doing this?"
Liliya's young face showed a trace of unease as she glanced at her sister, who was skipping ahead cheerfully. "Let's save this area for later exploration."
"Eh?!" Rozaliya let out a cry of disappointment.
Her lively expression immediately dimmed, but deep down she also felt as though Liliya had stolen something important from her.
"Why not, Liliya?! This is the only place we haven't explored yet!"
To someone seeing the scenery of The Deep for the first time, it was nothing short of magical.
The dazzling beauty of it all made Rozaliya restless and full of energy—drag her sister all over the place in excitement.
Expressionless, Liliya crossed her arms in front of her chest and formed an "X" with her hands.
"Idiot Rozaliya, did you forget? This is one of the areas Mama specifically forbade us from entering."
"…Eh-heh, I forgot~" Rozaliya scratched her head with an awkward smile, sticking out her tongue in a playful, cutesy act before hugging Liliya tightly.
Their slender, petite bodies pressed close together.
Honkai Beast Assaka's genes had indeed granted them strength far beyond ordinary humans—but this was still a ruin of the Previous Era.
Some places carried risks even their power couldn't handle.
"Don't lean on me so much. Your brooch is poking me to death."
With dead-fish eyes, Liliya glanced sideways at Rozaliya rubbing against her cheek, then sighed helplessly.
She raised her small, delicate hand and pushed her sister away by the shoulder.
"What the heck, Liliya, you're so cold!"
"Wait—Liliya! Liliya, look!"
Still pouting from the rejection, Rozaliya suddenly tugged at her sister's arm, eyes wide with curiosity. "There's someone over there, isn't there?"
"Hm?"
Following Rozaliya's pointing finger, Liliya saw them too—two figures she had never laid eyes on before: a black-haired boy with a refined air and a slender green-haired girl walking at his side.
"Liliya, Liliya! That's a super super pretty big sister!" Rozaliya exclaimed, shaking her sister's arm as her gaze fixed on C.C.
"You're right, Rozaliya. She is a super, super pretty big sister," Liliya said in her usual flat, monotone voice, though her eyes lingered with curiosity.
"Hello there—you must be Rozaliya and Liliya?"
With the gentle smile of an affectionate older sister, C.C.'s voice carried warmth.
Nagami, however, had already taken a step back, quietly activating his Alpha Stigma Eyes to scan the small horns and long tails on the two girls.
The pristine beauty of her face, coupled with that serene smile, instantly lowered Liliya's guard.
As for Rozaliya, she was already completely won over.
This was the difference in approach between C.C. and Nagami—had it been him speaking, the twins never would have been this receptive.
"Eh?! Big sis, you know us?" Rozaliya blinked her wide eyes.
"Of course I do. I've heard Bronya mention you two often," C.C. said warmly, her expression unchanged.
Meanwhile, Nagami's figure slowly faded from sight.
He had already located the core structure of the Abyssal Eye and was preparing to begin his analysis.
From his preliminary scan, he estimated it would take several hours to fully break down the mechanism that linked it to the Quantum Sea.
That was about what he had expected.
After all, the Abyssal Eye was just a gateway.
For someone who had already begun unraveling the power of the Herrscher of the Void, this was child's play.
This problem? Not hard at all.
"Bronya?!" Rozaliya gasped with delight, clutching at C.C.'s lace sleeve. "Big sis, you know Bronya?! Where is she? Ever since she left for her mission, she hasn't come back in forever!"
"Yeah! Mama won't tell us what mission it is either. We've been wanting to go help her!"
Even Liliya, who had noticed Nagami vanish, found her attention captured by the mention of Bronya.
Bronya's status in Cocolia's orphanage wasn't an exaggeration to describe in three words: Queen of the harem.
Even girls like Seele, who outwardly seemed twisted, were in truth hopeless Bronya fans.
Of course, Cocolia would never tell her other daughters about Bronya's betrayal.
Instead, she had brushed it off with excuses about "secret missions."
Trusting Cocolia completely—and being easy to fool as children—the twins were kept entirely in the dark.
"Don't worry, Bronya's safe," C.C. reassured them, resting one hand on each of their heads, stroking their soft pink-and-blue hair. "She's with her real mother right now—in a very safe place."
"Her… real mother?!"
Rozaliya and Liliya exchanged a startled glance, their eyes wide, filled with confusion.
In their memories, there had only ever been one mother—Cocolia.
So what did "real mother" even mean? Could there be a fake one?
"What did you just say!?"
A disbelieving voice cut sharply through the air as three figures emerged from rippling distortions.
The two in the back instantly shifted into combat stances the moment they saw C.C.
This was The Deep's built-in spatial transfer system.
It wasn't just used to enter and exit this city buried 6,152 meters beneath the sea, but also to connect several key locations within.
The reason they hadn't fled immediately was obvious—C.C. was alone.
The truth that C.C. and Nagami were essentially one and the same was known only to the girls at her side and, beyond them, Otto, who had once tested it himself with a Void Archive mimic of Herrscher of Binding.
According to World Serpent's intel, she had supposedly gone down with the Herrscher of Domination in a mutual destruction strike.
Ever since, C.C. had vanished from the battlefield.
But if she was standing here now, that meant she had likely survived with only injuries.
Current intel also suggested that although C.C. had appeared alongside Nagami, her combat ability was far below his.
Still, it was worth noting: that electromagnetic cannon of hers—the one that nearly obliterated Chiyou—had drawn directly on the inexhaustible energy of Earth's ionosphere.
Under that storm of electromagnetic force, no satellite could have possibly observed her.
Any electronic device within her immediate vicinity would be rendered useless.
Very few knew the truth of who had fired the super-cannon that split the Pacific itself.
That was the advantage of "dual existence": an intentional gap in intelligence.
"Mommy!"
Two little girls rushed forward the moment they saw the leading figure, clinging tightly to Cocolia's arms.
But to their surprise, there was no familiar smile on their mother's face.
Instead, she wore an expression so complicated they couldn't even begin to understand it.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Cocolia stared at the elegant, smiling green-haired girl, her face a storm of disbelief—and a fear that something precious was about to be stolen away.
The children couldn't grasp C.C.'s words, but she did.
"Real mother" used in relation to Bronya could only mean one thing…
And yet, that should have been impossible! Pure fantasy!
"It means exactly what you think it does~." C.C. lifted a pale, slender finger, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Her refined smile lingered, golden eyes narrowing with noble amusement.
"Back in Nagazora City, I ruined your plans. My deepest apologies for that." Her smile brightened into a radiant grin. "So, I've brought you a special gift."
She raised a delicate finger, lips curving with mischievous delight. "From this moment on, I'll make sure the false, scheming mother you are vanishes from Bronya's heart, piece by piece. In the end, she'll be lost to you completely."
As far as C.C. was concerned, there was nothing worth saying to such a hypocritical, laughably ironic woman.
In her mentor's words: "Ugh. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting."
And if they stood as enemies, then she had no qualms about making Cocolia sick with a few well-placed barbs.
"No! That's impossible!"
"You must have deceived Bronya!"
The thought of losing her daughter completely drove Cocolia into a furious roar that shook the air.
But in the end, it was nothing more than impotent rage.