"Me? You want me to handle this?"
Lynelle blinked dazedly. "What do you need me to do?"
"No idea."
Kevin gave Lynelle an answer that nearly made the girl's brain short-circuit.
"The core's agitation can be set aside for now. Because this agitation appeared suddenly, and now it seems to have inexplicably weakened quite a bit… I suspect the situation with this thing isn't so simple."
"However, what's certain is that the Herrscher connected to this core is definitely that girl who looks almost identical to the previous era's Herrscher of Death. At the very least, calming her emotions will also help us observe the situation further."
"I'm… probably not very skilled in this area, so I can't help you much. But I can keep directing the Honkai Beasts to hold off that Herrscher of Reason for you."
"Of course, if you really need my help, I like to think I have some talent for telling jokes. For example, there was an ice pop that was walking along, and as it walked, it…"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Lynelle, who'd been subjected to corny jokes every time she entered the Party Car, hurriedly cut Kevin off.
"I've had more than enough of that sort of thing, please take it away."
"About Seele… So, the main thing is to stabilize her situation first, right? I get it. Give me her coordinates, I'll go give it a try… But I'm saying this upfront, I can't guarantee success, okay?"
"No problem."
Seemingly amused by Lynelle's "can't guarantee success," the corners of Kevin's mouth twitched upwards almost imperceptibly.
"In this regard, whether it's me or the other Flame-Chasers, we all have one hundred percent trust in you."
As he spoke, Kevin relayed a string of coordinates to Lynelle.
"Because I was worried that taking the Gem of Serenity too far might cause the Herrscher core to go berserk, I'll be staying here for now. If you need anything, come find me anytime."
"Though, I probably won't need to, right? With Seele's gentle nature, it's not like things could possibly come to a fight…"
Lynelle also felt a bit uncertain about Seele's situation. "Well then, I'll be going now?"
--+--
Some time later, Lynelle quickly found the coordinates Kevin had given her.
It couldn't be helped. The composition of this world bubble… was just too similar to the Elysian Realm model, making Lynelle suspect that Su had just copied the template directly.
As a result, moving through this world bubble felt as natural to her as a fish in water.
However… at the location Kevin provided, Lynelle didn't find the gentle girl who'd seemingly absorbed all the nutrients in the orphanage, but only saw a… toy box on the ground?
A thoughtful expression crossed Lynelle's face.
After all, logically, the one who usually hid inside the toy box was "White" Seele. But this time, wasn't it "Black" Seele who was sulking?
Lynelle gently placed her hand on the edge of the toy box lid, intending to open it. But a familiar force suddenly transmitted through the toy box to her fingertips, making the girl flinch and pull her hand back from the sting.
"This is…" Watching the black mist that continuously tried to corrode her finger but was instantly refined by the Origin power on her body, Lynelle frowned slightly.
"This shouldn't be a manifestation of the Herrscher of Death's authority. Looking at it this way, is it the power of the Stigmata on Seele's body?"
"Whatever, regardless, I still need to open the box first…"
Immediately, a thin layer of pink crystal began to cover Lynelle's hand.
Protected by the power of Origin, Lynelle ignored the corrosive black mist on the toy box trying to drive her away and physically "unboxed" Seele.
After opening the toy box, just as Lynelle expected, the gentle, lovely girl she was looking for was indeed curled up inside.
"Is she… unconscious?" Lynelle crouched down and gently poked the girl's soft cheek.
A trace of Herrscher of Corruption power followed Lynelle's touch, beginning to probe Seele's condition.
Then, her expression immediately cleared with understanding.
"No wonder Seele locked herself in the toy box… So this body is completely offline right now."
In fact, after being exposed to Kevin's memories concerning the previous era's Herrscher of Death, "Black" Seele's state had become somewhat unstable.
Later, she directly retreated deep into Seele's mental world, not responding no matter how "White" Seele called for her from outside.
Worried that her other self might be in trouble, "White" Seele naturally had to follow deep into her own mental world to ask what was happening.
But this kind of deep dive was dangerous in a sense, especially for a dual-personality existence.
With both personalities gone deep into the mental world, the body was naturally left in an "unpiloted" state.
So, Seele had used the properties of the Sea of Quanta to manifest the place she subconsciously considered the safest in her memories—namely, her toy box—and hid inside it.
As for the corrosive mist on it, that was probably power released instinctively by the Stigmata on Seele's body… Though this kind of protection wasn't much use against Lynelle, who was very familiar with the Herrscher of Death's abilities.
"I originally thought this trip would just require some smooth talking… but looking at this situation, it seems I'll have to enter Seele's mental world first…"
For a moment, Lynelle was also a bit indecisive.
After all, with Vita, she could go in and out of her body, er, mental world, without any psychological hesitation. But with Seele… wouldn't doing that be a bit rude?
"Ah, forget it… doesn't matter."
After hesitating for a moment, Lynelle still placed her hand on Seele's chest, pressing against the girl's softness—don't misunderstand, of course, Lynelle just wanted to make contact with her Stigmata.
"In this situation, no matter what, I need to make contact with Seele first, right? So…"
As Lynelle's gaze focused, her mental energy, guided by the Herrscher of Corruption power she had infiltrated into the Stigmata, began to slowly try to "squeeze" into Seele's mental space.
And then… Lynelle found herself in trouble.
To be precise, she saw an area whose location she couldn't discern.
"Guh, I really shouldn't have acted recklessly… The difference between someone else's body and my own is still a bit too great."
Because a significant part of Seele's life had been spent in the Sea of Quanta—without companions, only danger—the loneliness the girl had to endure was inconceivable. Because of this, Seele's mental space was vaster than Lynelle had imagined.
At the very least… the place Lynelle was currently in had a slight deviation from her initial estimated landing point, which was the core area of Seele's consciousness.
"I need to figure out where this is first… But if Seele detects a foreign object invading her mental world, she should come find me soon enough. Anyway, let's head to the nearest memory node from here."
Straining to identify the direction of the nearest memory node belonging to Seele, Lynelle began moving swiftly in that direction.
And then… she successfully found her target—a sea-blue notebook.
"Oh my god… Could this be the legendary 'Seele's Little Book'?"
Lynelle drew a sharp breath. In the early days of Honkai Impact 3rd, there was a saying that Seele had a little notebook.
Every time someone cut in line or sold her faulty goods, she would record it in the book, and then after selling the goods, she would… well, 'sign' them all.
So this thing now…
With an excited heart and trembling hands, Lynelle looked left and right. After confirming that Seele hadn't shown up yet, she gently opened the notebook.
[5th day after the 42nd Quantum Tide. Went to a very strange world bubble with my other self. It was full of all kinds of candy. Very tasty.]
[3rd day after the 44th Quantum Tide. Found a safe world bubble nearby with my other self. The natives there were very nice.]
[45th Quantum Tide. Attacked by a group of Quantum Honkai Beasts. The Honkai Beasts were scary, but my other me was there, so it wasn't scary.]
[My other me is the best.]
Snap…!
Lynelle slammed the notebook shut, clutching her chest in pain.
Boom! Stepped on a landmine!
She'd almost forgotten that the Sea of Quanta was a truly magical place, and Seele, who'd been steeped in it for so long she was practically marinated, was naturally influenced by it, acquiring some strange traits.
This trait of [appearing because of being observed], combined with Lynelle's currently invading mental energy, easily fused with the memories originally present in Seele's mental world, finally producing some strange creations.
As for whether Seele had actually written these things… Lynelle guessed that Seele probably had kept a diary with similar content, but it was only after fusing with Lynelle's mental energy that it took on this linguistic form familiar to Lynelle.
"Whatever, I'll just take this with me."
Even though she lacked the courage to look at the contents further on, Lynelle didn't need to think to know it was probably more of the same.
To prevent Seele from later seeing a version of herself with red-rimmed eyes, Lynelle decided it was better not to look for now.
However, such an interesting item definitely needed to be kept on her person. Maybe it would come in handy later…
Thinking this, Lynelle took the notebook and continued walking deeper into the mental world.
But she hadn't gone far before she heard a sweet call.
"Huh? Auntie Elysia? Why are you here…"
"Seele?"
Lynelle whipped her head around. A delicate, frail-looking girl—the kind you just wanted to tease—was looking at her in confusion.
"Yes, it's Seele… But, Auntie Elysia, why are you shorter than before…"
Seele quickly walked over, then tilted her head curiously as she looked at Lynelle.
"Before, you were so much taller than Seele… Now it seems you're only less than ten centimeters taller?"
Lynelle then remembered.
Perhaps because she had seen the previous era's memories a few more times than in the original storyline, and coupled with the fact that Seele could interact with the beings in this world bubble anyway, this Seele had probably already met Elysia, and might have even been thoroughly doted on by the Elysia from Kevin's memories as an adorable creature.
"Um…" Lynelle gently poked her own cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, I'm not Elysia, you know?"
"Eh?"
Like a startled little rabbit, Seele immediately took half a step back, but then quickly reacted.
"No, no, you are Auntie Elysia… Otherwise, how would you know Seele?"
"Because, I knew about you from the start…" Lynelle thought for a moment, then revealed a sweet smile.
"Actually, I know your Bronya-onee-chan, you know?"
"Wha—what?"
Seele's eyes widened instantly. Forgetting to verify Lynelle's identity, she immediately asked, "Y-you really are… Is Bronya-onee-chan… is she doing okay now?"
"Uh…"
Thinking of a certain Kevin who was staying outside to hold off Bronya, and the infamous driver's license revocation scene that was about to unfold, Lynelle felt that saying Bronya was perfectly fine wasn't quite appropriate.
"She's very worried about your safety, so she personally entered the Sea of Quanta to look for you," Lynelle quietly shifted the topic.
"But, what exactly is your situation right now? I came into your mental world to check because I noticed the Herrscher of Death's core suddenly resonating with you outside… What exactly happened?"
"Ah, the Herrscher of Death's core…" Seele covered her mouth in surprise. "Could it be… what my other self said was all true…"
"Hmm?"
Lynelle's eyes lit up, and she immediately pressed further.
"So there really is another Seele? I knew it! I could tell there were two consciousnesses in your body. She… what did she tell you?"
"This matter is a bit long to explain… During the time I've been in the Sea of Quanta, she has always been the one protecting me. Even from a much earlier time, she has been by my side."
"All along, both of us thought she was another protective personality I developed because of my timidity as a child, and my other self thought so too. But…"
"Earlier, in the world bubble, I saw many glimpses of the previous civilization's past. And after seeing one particular record about the battle against the previous era's Herrscher of Death… my other self, it was like she suddenly remembered something. She became withdrawn and silent, and later, when I wasn't paying attention, she directly hid in the deepest part of our mental world."
"I was worried something might be wrong with her, so I could only come in here to look for her too. But this is my body, and it's her body as well… If she doesn't want to see me, I definitely won't be able to find her."
"So… she's hiding like a child throwing a tantrum?"
Lynelle couldn't help but laugh.
"Well… but she's not really throwing a tantrum. I think she just can't figure something out right now…"
"Don't worry."
Lynelle patted Seele's head.
"Dealing with this kind of tsundere, I have way too much experience… I'll help you find her~"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.