Among this entire space, the two people most likely to arouse suspicion were Lin and Kevin. Therefore, the information that this space was trying to convey and the way out should be found through them.
Although, at the moment, she couldn't discern anything...
"So that means superpowers, a dark world, and a beautiful girl falling from the sky all exist?"
"..."
Raven had made a mistake in judgment.
She underestimated Kevin at this point in time, and overestimated Lin at this time.
The hooded boy excitedly paced back and forth on the rooftop. He covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud, while his hands and feet trembled with excitement. His previous cool demeanor had completely vanished, turning him into an ordinary high school student.
"Hahahaha... I never thought, I never thought it would finally happen!"
"...What's wrong with you? Can't you accept it?" Raven felt she should say something, or she feared Lin's image would shatter in her mind.
"Can't accept it? How is that possible? Of course, I can accept it."
Lin stopped in front of Raven, his eyes burning as he told her: "I've been waiting for this day for more than ten years!"
Raven couldn't figure out what he meant anymore. Ten years? Judging by his age, he was just a newborn ten years ago.
"By the way, how far in the future are you talking about?"
"Uh..." Raven thought for a moment, then smiled gracefully but awkwardly. "About fifty thousand years from now."
"..."
Then Raven watched as the excitement in Lin's eyes was instantly extinguished, frozen by ice.
...
"Stairs?"
Mei, who had followed Raven's trail to the bottom of the stairs, also saw the sign. After picking up the feather Raven had dropped, she focused her gaze on the back of the sign and immediately understood what had happened.
"Klein, can you see where the staircase leads?"
"No, but the area you are in is displayed as belonging to Lin."
"..."
A bad premonition arose in Mei when she heard that name.
"Strange..." Klein's voice sounded extremely confused. "Could the loophole from last time not have been fully fixed? There's a lot of data suddenly added to the Elysian Realm that wasn't there before."
"Is this also caused by a loophole?" Mei ran her finger over the dust on the sign and asked after rubbing it.
"Hmm... No. The image of the staircase already existed in the Elysian Realm, but the data of the connected area contains information from multiple Flame-Chasers, as if someone stitched together the main parts of multiple areas."
"Multiple areas? Does that mean it will look very cluttered inside?"
"Not exactly. The information arrangement is very stable, but it has about one-fifth the data volume of the entire Elysian Realm. The most likely scenario is that after you enter, you will randomly drop into one of the sections." Data flashed across the screen in front of Klein. She said, "Then it's like a maze. You have to find the exit yourself."
"..."
This was truly a headache.
But Mei had no choice. She couldn't abandon Raven; that wasn't in her nature.
She utilized the Herrscher of Thunder's authority. Giant arms emerged at her sides, horns grew on her forehead, and electrical sparks flashed beneath her feet. She transformed into a lightning shadow and shot to the top of the staircase.
"—"
The intense light made her unable to open her eyes. After adapting for a while, she shielded the sunlight and lowered her hand.
When her fingers touched her clothes, she suddenly froze.
Strange, would I still be unable to adapt to bright light after becoming a Herrscher again?
Realizing the situation was wrong, Mei immediately sensed for the Herrscher Core in her body.
None.
Neither the Herrscher Core nor Honkai energy remained. Her body was cleaner than when the Gem of Conquest had been taken from her before.
The emptiness of lost power made Mei immediately alert. She quickly scanned the environment for enemies.
Noise.
Shoving.
She was in a crowd, standing in a nervous combat stance, but the passersby completely ignored her, either walking around her or walking a few steps forward to gather and watch something.
"Hmm...?" Mei lowered her hands, dazed and confused by the baffling situation.
Her reaction was exactly the same as Raven's. First, she was puzzled by these seemingly memory-construct people, then she was drawn to what they were gathering to watch.
Fire trucks were spraying cold water onto a shopping mall engulfed in flames.
A fire?
"Sigh, look how miserable that child is. His parents went in half an hour ago and still haven't come out."
"Something must have happened."
"What could have happened?"
"What else... (Whispering) They're dead."
Mei felt as if she was in a dream, lost and disoriented. After hearing the fragmented conversations, she hesitantly shuffled toward the crowd.
The tongues of fire were like demons from hell, swirling around every window of the mall. The orange-red flames burned everything they touched. The murky smoke gradually dispersed the clean white clouds.
She felt a pull that made her walk to the very front and look at the small figure standing at the front of the crowd.
He looked expressionlessly at the mall being swallowed by the raging fire. The flames illuminated his face, and the high temperature made his skin flush red.
Then he sensed something, turned his head, and made eye contact with Mei.
The emptiness in his eyes made Mei's body tremble.
It was hard to describe what was contained in those eyes.
Mei didn't see any sadness in them. No, not any emotion appeared in those black pupils. They were merely a mirror to see through. When she looked into their depths, she could only see herself.
The sense of déjà vu from that gaze reminded her of one person.
Soon, the fire department came and pulled the boy away, seating him in a vehicle, and then rushed back to fight the fire.
"Those parents are so irresponsible, abandoning their child for others. That child is so pitiful."
"Heh heh, don't say that. Look at the child's face. He's not sad at all. Maybe his parents abused him and he was hoping they'd die."
Mei felt like her head was splitting open. She clutched her head, her eyes wide. Memories flooded in like a tide.
Alone... rumors... leaving...
On the day her father left, was she also like that child? Feeling abandoned by the whole world, only left alone to weep uncontrollably.
But later, she met Kiana, and more comrades. She was no longer alone...
Mei took a deep breath, suppressing the memories she didn't want to recall.
Now wasn't the time to think about those things. She had to find Raven quickly.
She stepped back, leaving the crowd.
And with just that one step, the scenery before her eyes twisted and shifted again.
In the intense glare, she shielded the sunlight, lowered her head, and saw "that person" standing in front of her.
Mei lowered her hand in surprise, looking down at the small boy who had just been in the distance.
He looked up, his expressionless face like a painted mask, cold and terrifying.