At night, inside a five-star hotel.
"Danzhu, just you wait. When I get back, you're done for! I'll have Mobius give you Klein-level workloads! How dare you corrupt my little Griseo!"
Elias stormed out of Griseo's room with a dark expression.
After tidying up his clothes a bit, he noticed there were still some paint stains from the little artist on him.
He had agreed to let Griseo choose the pose for the portrait, but what the young prodigy chose had gone far beyond his imagination. To put it simply—those weren't portrait poses. Those were artbook poses!
When Elias asked her where she'd learned such a thing—
"My dear little Griseo, where exactly did you learn those strange poses?"
"From Sister Danzhu."
"I see… Danzhu, huh? Good. Very good. That girl is as good as dead."
Flames of fury flickered in Elias' eyes. To think someone would dare taint his pure and adorable Griseo with such forbidden knowledge—he'd already marked this grudge down. Once he finished dealing with the Herrscher of Binding, he'd return and deal with Danzhu personally!
He'd confiscate all her figurines.
Expose her browsing history to the world.
And have Aponia use [Discipline] to make her read her own lewd novels out loud!
Elias: (Danzhu, prepare yourself for repentance. You dared to corrupt my Griseo—forget living long enough to be eaten by Chiyou, I'll make sure you socially perish first!)
Meanwhile, inside Mobius' laboratory—
While Mobius was away, Danzhu was slacking off, gaming, and dumping all her work onto Klein and Project Bunny Klein when she suddenly shivered violently.
If she looked in the mirror at that moment, she'd find a huge word written across her forehead: "DOOMED."
"You look angry, Elias."
A voice came from the hallway—an emotionless electronic tone. A mechanical girl with levitation functions and bright red eyes that glowed vividly in the dark.
"Hm? Prometheus? You're still awake?"
"Fun fact: artificial intelligences don't need sleep. And if you mean shutting down, I'm not one of those low-grade robots that need daily power-saving shutdowns."
"Right, I keep forgetting you're a mechanical lifeform."
Elias chuckled softly and reached out to pat the silver-gray hair atop her head.
His fingers moved so skillfully that even the mechanical girl was surprised. In moments, he had her twin spiral ponytails twined around his fingers, toying with them.
"You really like my hairstyle, don't you, Elias? But could you tell me what you meant by that? You said you keep forgetting I'm a mechanical lifeform. Does that mean I don't hold an important place in your heart?"
Prometheus crossed her arms, staring at Elias expressionlessly but clearly displeased.
"How could that be? What I meant is that I always subconsciously think of you as a normal girl—just like Ely and the others."
"…I think I'm quite different from ordinary human women. And Ely and the others aren't exactly normal either. In fact, Elias, no one around you could be called ordinary."
Hearing his explanation, Prometheus' mood brightened, and the mechanical girl's lips curved upward.
"Hmm, I guess that's true. Everyone is indeed quite… unique. But I was talking about something deeper."
Elias pressed a hand against his chest.
Prometheus blinked curiously.
Then she placed her hand on her own chest—flat as Hua's—and sighed regretfully.
"But I don't have a human heart."
"You don't have a heart, but that's not what I meant. I'm talking about your spirit. The heart is just an organ… or sometimes, a metaphor for compassion. The spirit, though, is the soul. And Prometheus—you definitely have one."
As he spoke, Elias poked her chest lightly.
(Hmm. Hard as expected. Mei, you stingy woman—how could you skimp on materials at such a crucial spot?)
Prometheus froze for a moment, her systems briefly lagging.
After hearing what Elias said, Prometheus immediately began analyzing the words "heart" and "soul."
(Heart, soul… In simpler terms, they refer to a person's thoughts and emotions. But compared to the 'freedom' of human thought and emotion, can I, an artificial intelligence built on code and algorithms, truly claim to possess a soul?)
Prometheus couldn't give herself an answer.
To an absolutely rational AI, emotions and souls were meaningless concepts—without measurable value.
But because it was Elias who said those words… she wanted to understand them.
However—
"Alright, don't think too hard about it~"
Elias flicked Prometheus lightly on the forehead. The mechanical girl gave him a deadpan look.
"You were the one who brought it up."
"Haha, true. But more importantly—did you have fun today, Prometheus?"
"…I'm not sure."
Prometheus shook her head, confused.
For an AI, trying to understand emotions meant attempting to transcend the boundaries of her mechanical nature—to move closer to being human.
At that moment, the seed of humanity within her "heart" was still slowly germinating. It would take time to grow.
"I see. That's fine—take your time. When you eventually find something you love, something you're truly passionate about, that sleeping heart of yours will awaken."
"I'll remember that, Elias. But… before that, do you remember there's something you still owe me?"
"Uh…"
"The concert. Elias, 137 hours, 31 minutes, and 46 seconds ago, you promised to sing for me after completing Project Chimera. Do you still remember that?"
Hands on her hips, Prometheus' crimson eyes seemed to sharpen. In that moment, she looked less like a machine and more like a debt collector demanding payment.
Elias' face turned awkward.
He remembered, of course he did.
But ever since he'd become a Chimera, things had been hectic. When he finally had time, it was Prometheus who got busy. Then, five days later, he'd grown worried about when the Herrscher of Binding might appear—and ended up bringing everyone here for a "team-building trip."
So, despite his intentions, he hadn't fulfilled his promise.
It was understandable—but a promise was still a promise unfulfilled.
"My bad, that's on me. Can you give me a little more time, Prometheus? I'll definitely—"
Before Elias could finish, Prometheus' slender finger pressed gently against his lips.
"It's alright. I know it's not your fault. We've just had terrible luck with timing lately—our free hours never line up, and there hasn't been a fitting opportunity. So don't worry. Your reliability score with me is still perfect."
"After all, with access to all your data, I know full well that you're someone who keeps his promises, Elias."
At that moment, Prometheus smiled—a rare, truly human smile. Elias couldn't help but stare in surprise.
"And besides, I'll need some time to search for something as well."
"Search? For what?"
"A stage. Since you're willing to sing for me, I have to find the perfect stage for it. The bare minimum standard is one not inferior to the stage you shared with Eden during the Seventh Eruption."
Her tone was serious, her expression calm as ever—but her determination was unmistakable.
Prometheus was nothing if not stubborn. If Elias was willing to sing for her, then she would ensure the setting was worthy of that gesture.
She refused to let him perform in some small, shabby place. Because she was certain—his voice carried something deeply important to her.
And if it was important, it had to be treated with care.
"Not inferior to my concert with Eden, huh? That's quite a tall order. We'll need luck—and the right timing."
Elias sighed with a wry smile.
Still, he couldn't help but look forward to it.
After all, truth be told, he did miss that grand, radiant stage. Maybe once they finished dealing with the Herrscher of Binding, he'd ask Eden for some ideas.
Prometheus: "There will be, without a doubt."
...
After that, the two continued chatting about random things. Elias found Prometheus' AI-style responses quite amusing—and also discovered she was surprisingly good at sarcasm.
But then—
"Eli! I finally found you! Hurry—Pardofelis is about to die!"
Elysia came running, panting heavily, blurting out something that nearly made Elias' heart stop.
"What?! What happened to Pardo?!"
"I can't explain it here—just come quick!"
"Alright!"
Elias instantly panicked. His adorable little cat-girl had been perfectly fine earlier—bouncing around happily and eating four or five grilled fish at lunch! What could've possibly happened to her now?! Who did this?!
In his urgency, Elias opened a spatial gate and stepped straight into Pardo's hotel room.
There, Pardofelis lay weakly on the bed.
The frail girl's body trembled, and when she saw Elias, tears welled up in her eyes. Standing nearby were Mobius, Mei, and the other Flame-Chasers, all wearing strange expressions.
"That doesn't make sense… how could this happen?"
"To think something like this is possible… how bizarre."
Hearing such shocked remarks from two of the Previous Era's top scientists made Elias' heart skip a beat. What on earth could have happened to Pardo to make them react like that?
"Pardo! What's wrong, Pardo?!"
Elias rushed to the bedside, helping her up carefully, already readying the Herrscher of Rebirth's powers—he even pulled out the Abyss Flower.
Pardo weakly gripped his hand, her eyes filled with fear and panic.
"Boss Elias… I… don't want to die…"
"!!!"
Those words nearly made Elias' soul leave his body. Scenes from the Elysian Realm flashed through his mind. He immediately hugged the trembling cat tightly, shouting in panic—
"You're not going to die! I won't let you! Hold on, Pardo! You have to hold on! I'll save you right now! Abyss Flower—Zeroth Power, Heilige Lanze Welwitschia—!"
"W-wait! Wait, wait, wait! It's not that serious, Boss Elias! It's really not! I overreacted, I'm sorry!"
Seeing Elias about to unleash Abyss Flower's Zeroth Power—an ability capable of restoring life at the genetic level—Pardofelis sat straight up from her 'deathbed,' waving her hands frantically.
"???"
Elias froze, staring dumbfounded at the suddenly 'revived' Pardo. Confused, he glanced toward the others, who also seemed just as startled.
His expression clearly said: What the hell is going on?
Mobius sighed. "You're overreacting. The cat you raised just caught a minor flu, that's all."
Pardofelis sniffled. "Sister Mobius… but the flu really sucks…"
The room fell into an awkward silence.
"..."
After a moment, Elias released her hands—but still used his Herrscher of Rebirth powers to scan her inside and out.
Sure enough, it really was just a mild flu.
"So, Pardo, when you said 'I don't want to die,' it was just because the flu felt that bad? An exaggerated expression, huh?"
Elias smiled dangerously.
He cracked his knuckles, eyeing the cat who'd nearly scared him to death, already brainstorming punishments.
He'd genuinely been triggered by that line! Did Pardo have any idea what kind of trauma that phrase caused to someone who'd cleared the entire Elysian Realm story?! Damn it!
Even Elysia flinched at the sight.
Then, trembling all over, the pink elf turned and ran straight out the door.
(It's over—it's all over! Eli's actually angry! The one person in this world you must never make angry is angry! We're doomed! The end of the world is nigh! Miss Pink Elf must launch a rocket and escape the planet immediately!!)
Elysia had the "fortune" of witnessing Elias' anger once before, and she would never forget that terrifying scene for the rest of her life. Compared to that, Herrschers and Honkai itself were nothing.
She'd rather fight every Herrscher that ever existed all over again than face the real, angry Elias! The pink elf was practically shaking like a leaf.
"It's not what you think, Boss Elias! Please, let me explain!"
Pardofelis instantly sensed a threat even more terrifying than death itself. She dropped to her knees on the bed, hugging Elias' leg with trembling arms, eyes brimming with tears, and pointed desperately at Mobius.
"I said I didn't want to die because Sister Mobius wanted to dissect me! I didn't think you'd react like that, Boss Elias! I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'll never mess with your stuff again! Ely—help… Ely?!"
Pardo turned to look for her pink-haired savior, only to realize that Elysia had already vanished without a trace.
"Pardo."
"Y-Yes! Boss Elias, I—"
"Shut up."
Smack!
Pardo immediately slapped her own mouth shut, pressing her hands over it as if trying to hold her breath to death.
Elias' gaze then shifted toward the others.
When his hollow golden eyes met theirs—
Mobius, Mei, Sakura, Hua, Eden, Aponia, Kevin, even Kalpas—all flinched violently, cold sweat instantly pouring down their faces.
Prometheus had already shut herself off.
"Mobius. Explain."
"I-I-I was just curious! I mean, sure, there's been a flu going around lately, but even for someone as frail as Pardo—she's still a fusion warrior! She shouldn't be catching it so easily! I was just joking about dissecting her, I never actually meant to! You know I have limits, Elias!"
"..." (xN)
Listening to Mobius' panicked, frantic explanation—so unlike her usual composed self—no one found it strange or out of character.
Because they understood completely.
The sight of Elias with lifeless eyes was simply terrifying.
That cold, suffocating gaze felt as if it could freeze the very air—just one glance was enough to make everyone's heart seize up.
No wonder Elysia ran for her life.
If they'd known in advance, they'd have done the same!
Normally, Elias was gentle and kind, doting to the point of spoiling those around him. None of them had ever imagined what the white-haired youth would look like truly angry.
Now that they'd seen even a glimpse of it—they desperately wished they could turn back time and avoid ever provoking him.
"Pardo. If you ever say something like that again, I'll keep you in an eternal state of Artificial Cascade. Don't worry—I'll pick a nice soulium cat cage for you. You'll be completely safe, totally protected, and absolutely, absolutely, absolutely… never able to die."
"Y-Yes, Boss Elias!!"
Pardo nodded so fast she left afterimages.
"I suddenly feel like having snake stew. Mobius, dear~ next time, don't scare people like that, okay? Because if you do… I won't mind using a little special method to make sure your sharp little mouth never gets hard again. Understood?"
"Y-Yes! Understood!"
Mobius stammered out the words, panic written all over her face.
She had never been this scared in her life.
But seeing the blackened, furious Elias before her—even the proud serpent scientist had gone completely limp.