To most people, Mobius was a monster who could never truly die—no matter how many times she was killed, she would always rise again.
But almost no one knew that, deep down, she feared death more than anyone else.
She feared the unknown that came after it.
After becoming a fusion warrior, she gained an ability known as "Serpent's Shedding."
Though she could still feel the agony of dying, she could resurrect herself at the cost of slightly reducing her size—an act that appeared to the world as nothing short of a miracle.
This ability granted her an almost endless lifespan, allowing her to explore every possible path of human evolution.
But this time was different.
For the first time in ages, Mobius felt the terror of the unknown again—a primal fear that made her body tremble beyond her control.
If Nagami truly wanted to kill her, she wouldn't regress into her child form, nor an infant, nor even a cluster of cells.
No—she would die completely, on the most fundamental level, leaving behind not even an echo.
Memory bodies—these artificial "selves" were created by Mei through SO-1129 Simulation System.
It's a neural/memetic simulation framework, designed to emulate the consciousness of the Flame-Chasers with astonishing fidelity.
They also possessed every memory, thought, and personality of their original counterparts, perfectly indistinguishable from the real person.
But then… were these "memory bodies" and their originals truly two different people?
If they were, then what decided which was the real one?
—The soul.
Yes, the soul!
Throughout history, no one had ever proven its existence—but neither had anyone proven it didn't exist.
Even Mobius herself, with her vast biological knowledge, only began to faintly understand the concept of the soul during the Elysian Realm experiments.
It was something impossibly abstract, something that made even "Honkai" itself seem tangible by comparison.
Humans could only perceive their soul once they truly died.
The memory bodies of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers weren't ordinary ones—this was a secret Mobius only learned after her own complete death.
And the Elysian Realm does not contain real souls, but it creates living, self-aware digital beings that perfectly replicate those souls.
Except for Kevin and Hua, who had never truly died, every other memory body contained remnants of the original Flame-Chaser's.
Now, staring into those starry hexagram eyes before her, Mobius could feel that gaze pierce straight through her—down into the very core of her soul.
It roamed freely, studying her without restraint more invasive than being stripped bare.
And what terrified her most was the warmth hidden behind that gaze, the same kind of interest she herself once had when observing a lab mouse.
"After death, the soul gradually weakens and fractures. By using the residual fragment of consciousness stored within the Elysian memory body as a core.
A resonance between the original soul and consciousness data can synchronize the Flame-Chaser's soul algorithm to the vessel."
The gentle voice seemed to echo across thousands of years.
Mobius's delicate, beautiful face froze as she stiffly looked up at the smiling giant before her.
In this moment, she felt like a pet snake trembling in its keeper's palm—its tail rigid with fright.
"And from there, by fusing that algorithm with the memory body and using the World Bubble's power, we can reconstruct the original soul's structure and fine-tune it as needed."
Nagami's voice carried on calmly.
"Hmm, though the handling of souls is still quite crude, it allows the Flame-Chasers to fight the Final Herrscher at full power—sacrificing their lives if needed—and still leave behind enough of a spark to prepare for the next cycle."
He smiled faintly, his eyes soft with genuine admiration.
"Truly remarkable, Dr. Mei. To achieve this level of precision without even being able to see the soul."
Thanks to people like her—and Otto in the current era humanity could still live peaceful, ordinary lives.
In the previous civilization, it was also Mei's brilliance that allowed them to hold out until the end.
Even now, the modern world continued to benefit from her legacy; without the relics and data of that past era, Otto's accomplishments would have been impossible.
"The Elysian Realm Project is almost complete," Nagami continued.
The project itself was incomplete from the very beginning.
Originally, this place was meant to serve as a backup repository for the souls of the Flame-Chasers—an anchor point for the future, in case humanity ever discovered a way to recreate the original, departed souls.
But that vision died with Dr. Mei, long before she could finish it.
With no one capable of continuing her work, Kevin and the others eventually repurposed the system.
Maintaining and expanding it into a training simulation for future generations, or at the very least, a library of the Flame-Chasers' knowledge to aid those who would continue the fight against the Honkai.
Reconstructing a soul was a task that demanded patience and precision.
Yet with Nagami's Alpha Stigma Eyes, he could complete what Dr. Mei had once started.
Which also meant one thing— if Nagami were to destroy the Ether Anchors linked to the SO-1129 simulation system now, the Flame-Chasers, who once held the potential to be revived... would vanish forever.
Nagami turned his gaze toward the fairy-like scientist standing before him.
Her usual calm expression had been replaced by a look of grave tension— and then he glanced at Kevin, whose icy eyes reflected the same heavy concern.
Even though Nagami and Kevin had struck a deal and maintained a cooperative, even team-like relationship, this project was far too important to risk any mistakes.
And yet…
In the depths of Kevin's frosted-blue eyes, a faint shadow stirred—an unhidden sorrow.
"You don't have to worry," Nagami said softly. "I told you—my goal is to fight Honkai. You can believe that."
His voice was gentle, almost soothing, as he reached out and lightly brushed Mobius's delicate foot—still curled beneath the serpentine folds of her skirt in instinctive fear.
"The Elysian Realm is a wonderful project. I have no intention of destroying it."
Perhaps, in the past, he might have worried about the chaos that would come if all thirteen Flame-Chasers were revived.
But now… he didn't need to.
Even if they all returned in full strength, he could still handle them.
"I just want to ask," he said with a faint, almost casual smile, "All of that research that you do, if the fusion warriors can all be reborn this way… then what about you, Dr. Mei?"
Kevin's eyes flickered with pain, but Nagami didn't notice it.
He focused only on efficiency, unaware that his words were like salt on an open wound.
"…"
The elegant smile that had just begun to return to Mobius's face froze again.
Even Elysia, standing nearby, blinked in disbelief as her lips twitched.
She stared at the calmly smiling young man and thought—
'Did he… just say that?'
This guy…
Was he always this dense!?