"I don't think we have met before," Priest Lee said with a gentle smile.
Bronya tensed. Everyone in these world bubbles seemed to remember her, yet she never knew what kind of connection she was supposed to have with them.
"You're Fathers friend, the weird priest." Joachim muttered.
Father Otto's eyes widened. "You're here… I thought you weren't coming."
"I owe you one, after all," Lee replied simply.
Bronya felt conflicted. Her memories of Lee were few, only the brief time in Nagazora, and for a short while after, but Lee had always left an impression she couldn't quite name. There was something about her, a sense that she viewed the world through a lens entirely unlike anyone else's.
She would laugh at the oddest things, making jokes to herself that nobody would get. One moment she spoke with impossible knowledge, the next she feigned ignorance and asked questions so basic they made no sense.
Bronya had once suspected Lee might be part of Anti-Entropy, or perhaps a Schicksal agent operating under deep cover. Yet Lee's Schicksal file had been nearly empty, so empty It didn't even make sense as someone trying to hide something, for those, the files looked just like every other person.
Whenever asked about her past, she'd evade the question, either going silent or spinning stories so absurd that it was clear she was just amusing herself.
She had even claimed to be an alien once. No one had taken her seriously, of course. That was simply how Lee was, unpredictable, irreverent, and laughing at the world for reasons only she understood.
And then there was her strange ability, the power to erase Honkai Energy itself. Bronya had seen it only a handful of times, years ago, back when they'd first met.
These world bubbles drew from real memories. Perhaps… she could learn something new from this version of Lee.
"What do you mean," Joachim asked cautiously, "about what you said before? That you had the answer?"
"Well, little one, I have been responsible for quite a few deaths myself," Lee replied. "Though most, quite unintentionally. I have learned to live with it. As for the second part, will God bless those who kill in the name of goodness?"
Lee's hand rose toward the amulet at her chest, one Bronya recognized. She had seen it only once before, on the day Lee returned with that ELF and a new battlesuit. They had shared a meal, and Bronya had asked about the pendant. Lee had called it a seed of abundance.
"Of course it's not a real seed of abundance," Lee had said back then, "but I can embed enough Abundance Energy into it for whatever I need to do."
It had been the first time Lee spoke of her power in any real way. After that, their contact had dwindled to occasional texts. Then, silence. Lee had vanished, presumed dead, one more soul claimed by Otto's schemes.
Lee lifted the amulet, and its golden radiance flooded the dim room. "Receive divinity—the miracle of the Abundance!"
Now, she stood before them once more.
Suddenly, the purple lines on Priest Otto's face started glowing with the same golden light, before fading entirely.
Bronya shielded her eyes as the light spread. The purple lines etched across Father Otto's face flared brightly, then faded, dissolving into nothing.
"Whoa, how did you do that!" Joachim's face lit up in awe.
"Lee…" Father Otto began, then let out a weary sigh.
"This is the power of Abundance. THEIR omnibenevolence is well known throughout the universe. However, little known is THEIR hatred of the Honkai, for which THEIR Path will completely eliminate if they come in contact." Lee explained.
"Abundance… THEIR omnibenevolence? God?" Joachim asked hesitantly.
"Lee." Father Otto's tone grew firm, cutting through the air.
"You might want to leave, little ones. We can speak again in a bit. Me and Father Otto here have some things to settle." Lee grinned and gently ushered them toward the door, mock pushing them out with exaggerated gestures before closing it behind her.
"Who was that? I've never seen anything like that before," Seele said, still staring at the door.
"They're Father's friend," Theresa explained. "We've never met until now, but Father mentioned her not long ago, said she might be visiting soon."
"I don't think she's the same kind of priest as Father Otto," Seele remarked.
"Father once said that Priest Lee believes in the Abundance, and that she claims it's the source of her power," Theresa said thoughtfully. "I've never heard anyone else mention the Abundance as a God before, though."
"I don't think the Abundance is a God," Bronya said. "Lee once told me she followed something called the Path of Abundance. Just now, she said THEIR omnibenevolence is well known, and that THEIR Path will completely eliminate the Honkai. Kiana… someone I knew once mentioned that Lee prayed to someone called Yaoshi. I think Yaoshi is the name of the being she follows, and the Path of Abundance is their doctrine."
"You seem familiar with Lee." Theresa observed. "How did that happen?"
"It was… a long time ago." Bronya said vaguely, hoping they wouldn't press further.
"But Lee said she didn't recognize you." Joachim pointed out.
If Bronya could display emotions as easily as others, she would have looked distinctly nervous right now.
"Like I said, it was a long time ago. She probably doesn't remember The Bronya." she replied at last.
Just then, the door creaked open again. Lee stepped out, smiling as she said, "Little Joachim, Father Otto wants to speak with you."
Bronya tilted her head slightly. "You're not that big yourself, Sister Lee."
"Sister Lee~~" Lee echoed cheerfully, clearly amused. "Actually, I'll let you in on a little secret, when I was blessed by the Abundance, I haven't aged a bit. Who knows how old I really am~"
That was certainly a very Lee thing to say.
"But little Bronya, aren't you an interesting one? Care to join me?" Priest Lee gestured toward the back door, already making her way outside.
Bronya hesitated briefly, then followed. Seele trailed close behind.
They stepped into the cold again, snow crunching under their boots as they followed Lee's tracks. The wind bit at their faces.
Then a soft, distant voice echoed through Bronya's mind,the voice of the Fenghuang Down feather.
"Be careful. I can't read her mind at all. While she appears in Otto's memories, I was not present for those events, and I have been with him for a long time."
Bronya's eyes flicked toward Lee. The priest slowed her steps, a faint, knowing smile curving her lips before she stopped at the edge of the hill and sat cross-legged in the snow.
"Little ones, you're not from around here, are you?" Priest Lee said softly.
Bronya immediately tensed, ready to summon Project Bunny if necessary.
"No need to be so nervous. I'm fully aware of the rather thin nature of this world," Priest Lee continued, tone almost amused. "It's painfully obvious. This is just another failed extrapolation by the Cocoon of Finality, abandoned and reclaimed by the Sea of Quanta. I have no quarrel with you, outsiders."
"So you know this is a bubble world?" Seele asked.
"Of course. Research into the Sea of Quanta was conducted fifty thousand years ago, in the Previous Era. They knew all about it back then," Priest Lee replied casually.
Bronya's mind stirred. She herself had entered the Sea of Quanta through the Eye of the Deep, a relic from that very time.
"What do you mean by extrapolation? And what's the Cocoon of Finality?" she asked.
Priest Lee smiled faintly. "The Cocoon of Finality, a form of conceptual device. It is a parasite upon the Imaginary Tree, and it is the source of the Honkai."
Bronya froze. A conceptual device? A parasite on the Imaginary Tree? The source of the Honkai!? How could Lee possibly know something like this?
"Haha, your dazed look is quite funny, little Bronya," Priest Lee said with a light laugh. "But I assure you, my information is accurate~ In addition to being a Pathstrider, I happen to be a historian as well. I specialize in the Previous Era's."
"Previous Era's? As in… plural?" Seele's tone suddenly shifted, her whole demeanor transforming.
"Interesting," Priest Lee mused, eyes narrowing slightly. "So you're the little stigmata. I expected your eyes to change color."
Bronya turned sharply toward Seele, watching as her expression softened again, her usual anxious gentleness returning as though nothing had happened.
"What just happened?" Bronya asked, bewildered.
"Your friend just so happens to have a little guardian angel," Priest Lee explained. "One of the Previous Era's many gifts to humanity."
"We can talk about this later, okay?" Seele said quickly, shrinking back a little.
Bronya's thoughts raced, echoing Lee's earlier words. The source of the Honkai… multiple Previous Eras… failed extrapolation…
"It's all very complicated to explain," Priest Lee went on, "but for now, all you need to know is that the Honkai… well, you can think of it as a kind of trial."
"A trial? It's more like a natural disaster…" Seele murmured.
"It's only somewhat like a trial," Lee replied. "It's a form of endless extrapolation, solving for a solution."
"And what exactly is it trying to solve?" Bronya asked quietly. "What's the solution to the trial?"
Lee's smile returned. "I don't know."
Bronya's heart sank. Of course this random version of Lee wouldn't have the answer.
"Don't be so sad," Lee said gently. "I might not be able to answer that question yet, but I can answer others. Anything else you want to say? As a priest, I accept confessionals. I guarantee absolute confidentiality, what could be more private than speaking with someone from another world?"
"How do you know all this?" Bronya pressed.
"Like I said, I am a student of history. In addition, I'm also what you might call one of those secret big-shot powerhouses you read about in novels. I was actually in the area to threaten… I mean, persuade some people to work for the right cause. As well as to obtain something I needed."
"Who is Yaoshi?" Bronya asked next.
Lee's smile faded slightly. "Actually, that's something I can't tell you. At least, not now."
"The Lee I knew also wouldn't tell me," Bronya said quietly.
"For the same reason, undoubtedly," Priest Lee replied.
"Do you know why I'm here?" Bronya asked.
"Probably because of that annoying guy. Perhaps he threw you in here, saying something like, 'Press forward to reveal the answers you seek'?" Priest Lee said.
"..."
"Hey, don't look so down. Unlike him, this is something I can actually help with, if you tell me what your problem is."
Bronya lowered her gaze to the snow. For a long time, she said nothing. Then she looked to Seele, then back at Lee.
"Bronya… might have a problem," she said at last. "The Bronya once abandoned everyone who knew her, because of one person's mistake."
Seele's hands closed tightly around Bronya's.
"Matushka… she committed an atrocity… one that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands."
Seele's grip tightened. This was the first time she had heard it.
"The Bronya left Matushka… but in doing so, she also abandoned everyone else who relied on her, the others at the orphanage."
Lee gave a quiet, knowing hum. "Ah. Just like the orphanage here. No wonder that annoying guy brought you here."
"After Matushka's death…" Bronya flinched as Seele's grip grew painful, before the girl relaxed her hold. "After her death, Bronya didn't return. She didn't think about the ones left behind. The Bronya abandoned them."
"And what happened to those you left behind?" Priest Lee asked softly.
"Bronya doesn't know. She only knows what became of a few. Sin Mal… forced to join World Serpent. Liliya and Rozaliya… living alone in Ark City. It's all Bronya's fault."
Priest Lee sighed quietly. "So, you feel that you abandoned them to their fate. That if you had been there, things might have turned out differently?"
Bronya simply nodded.
For a moment, there was only silence, the whisper of wind over snow. Lee still sitting cross-legged on the snow, her eyes half-closed.
"Humans are not perfect individuals," she said at last. "Their hearts are filled with contradictions at every turn. Some choose reconciliation, others choose to flee, but whichever one chooses, that is their true self. The past is the past. Yet we can and must always walk toward the future. Do not believe that you are a failure because you didn't make a perfect choice. There will always be those who fail more, and those who succeed more. You must simply do the best you can."