"Mm..."
Hovering between dream and wakefulness, Lynelle slowly opened her eyes.
"Lynelle, Lynelle..."
A familiar voice called out beside her. Seeing Lynelle's eyelids flutter, the girl leaning over her—Seele—quickly waved a hand in front of Lynelle's face.
"Are you awake? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"Don't worry, Seele, I'm perfectly fine..."
Lynelle shook her head slightly.
Truthfully, her consciousness had remained clear the whole time; she'd just been inside the system space, which made her appear comatose on the outside.
As for why she'd stayed in the system space... she'd simply been chatting, as usual, with Customer Service Kiana-chan.
Acting as a waystation between two worlds, Lynelle would spend a good ten minutes talking with Customer Service Kiana-chan every time she switched worlds.
After all, due to the physical differences between the two worlds, each transition required an adjustment period.
To Lynelle, the process felt a bit like waiting for shaders to compile back when she played Genshin in her past life.
This time, she'd gone to ask Customer Service Kiana-chan a rather important question... The more changes she made in this second run, the more the storyline deviated from the original worldline.
Lynelle wanted to know if this divergence was ultimately for the better.
If veering too far off course could drastically alter the final outcome, then perhaps it wasn't too late to steer things back at this point.
Yet, contrary to her expectations, Customer Service Kiana-chan's answer took her by surprise.
[How should I put this, Lynelle... You really don't need to worry about that.]
[This might not be the best analogy, but if you were playing a game, after your first clear, would you choose the exact same ending route for your second run? Even for the characters themselves, having more life experiences isn't necessarily a bad thing, right?]
[Just like... Do you think, if things went according to the so-called original plot, could Kiana ever experience a life where 'both her parents are alive' like she does now?]
[Besides, don't you worry. No matter what ending you eventually reach, I have a way to back you up. I might not be able to oppose the Aeons, but I do have a little say when it comes to the Cocoon of Finality... Think of it as a small token of support from Finality itself?]
With that reassurance from Customer Service Kiana-chan, Lynelle's mindset had shifted subtly upon waking.
If before she'd felt somewhat restrained by the major plot deviations, now... those concerns had completely vanished.
"But what about you, Seele? How are you holding up physically?"
"Uh..." Seele thought for a moment.
"Uncle Kevin says my body currently meets the conditions for core fusion, but the process might shift the dynamic between me and the other me regarding who's in control... So, the other me absolutely refuses to fuse the core right now."
"Then Uncle Kevin suggested I go check out this place called the Elysian Realm first..."
"Oh..." Lynelle smacked her forehead.
"So, you're waiting for me to show you the way, huh."
"It's not that urgent! Uncle Kevin said we haven't reached World Serpent's main base yet; we're just resting here temporarily. We probably won't head to the Elysian Realm for another day or two."
Seele quickly shook her head. "Besides, the people here are really nice, nothing like what I imagined World Serpent would be…"
"I never thought a World Serpent cadre would be such a gentle big sister, and that there'd be so many kids here."
"World Serpent... a big sister? And kids?"
A look of confusion crossed Lynelle's face, then her expression shifted as if she'd realized something, turning rather peculiar.
"Mind if I ask, Seele, among these kids, what's the name of the one who usually takes charge of the others? And... what's the environment like here?"
"I think it's... Sora?" Seele recalled briefly.
"As for the environment, the temperature's pleasant, the scenery's beautiful... For a small island, it seems pretty nice, right?"
The corner of Lynelle's mouth twitched violently.
"Seele, I think... for the sake of the children and the island itself, we really shouldn't stay here too long."
"Huh?"
Though she said they should leave the island, considering the Herrscher core wasn't here but with Kevin at the nearby World Serpent base, Lynelle wasn't in a huge rush.
And since she was already here, she naturally wanted answers to some questions that had been nagging her... For instance, why had Raven helped her, time and again?
So, with that question in mind, Lynelle sought out Raven, who was busy looking after the children.
"Why help you? My Saintess, why are you suddenly asking something like that?"
Still wearing an apron and preparing lunch for the kids, Raven looked puzzled.
"Just curious." Lynelle sat nearby, obediently opening her mouth to accept a piece of chicken Raven offered, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed.
"Also, don't call me Saintess. It's way too embarrassing."
"Of course, Saintess. No problem, Saintess."
Ignoring Lynelle's accusatory glare, Raven chuckled.
"The answer's actually pretty simple. I have an older brother I've always relied on. When we were kids, we got caught up in the Second Honkai Eruption in Siberia."
"Back then, we got separated by the Honkai beasts. Gray Serpent saved me, while my brother... he ran into Sirin and got teleported to safety."
"Even though his Honkai resistance was terrible and he couldn't stay with me for many more years in the end, for me, those extra years at least doubled the length of my childhood."
"So, I'm grateful to you both. It's as simple as that."
"I'm sorry..."
"What's there to be sorry about?" Watching Lynelle sitting there like a little squirrel, Raven couldn't resist and 'overstepped' by reaching out to pat Lynelle's head.
"Honestly, I'd long planned to repay this debt by offering my life, but you two were just too strong, never giving me the chance... But maybe that's for the best. It means I can look after these kids a little longer."
"Oh, right..."
As if remembering something, Raven paused mid-sentence and hurried out of the kitchen.
"Huh?"
"It's like this, my Saintess..."
Raven returned quickly, but now she was holding something—or rather, someone—in her hands.
"There's someone here who's been wanting to see you for a long time. If she found out I met you without bringing her along, I'd probably get messed up beyond recognition during our next mission."
With that, Raven handed over what she was holding to Lynelle.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.