"Raven is gone? Did she leave the Elysian Realm?"
"No, she's still in the Elysian Realm, but the signal... is very strange."
Something happened?
To be honest, anything could happen in the Elysian Realm. Raven was also an unpredictable person; her sudden disappearance and appearance were normal. But disappearing for several days without any message was not normal.
Raven and Mei's relationship was quite subtle. At least within World Serpent, they had some common ground. Raven's lack of belonging made her much more moderate than others, and with the added connection of Can, they could be called "friends."
"Can you track her whereabouts?" Mei asked Klein after some consideration.
"Her trajectory before disappearing can be traced, but after reaching an un-numbered area, her signal stopped in the middle of the upper and lower layers of that area. However, there is no such interlayer space in the Elysian Realm." Klein's small hands tapped the keyboard a few times, utterly confused by the displayed results.
"Sigh... I'll go look for her."
Mei couldn't help but recall the experience that had made her break out in a cold sweat. She hoped Raven hadn't entered a similarly bizarre space.
...
"My name is Kevin. Let's be friends."
"..."
The boy in the hood and mask ignored the hand extended in front of him, bypassed the somewhat awkward white-haired boy, and walked his own way.
"This is..."
Raven was stunned by the sight: the sovereign, whose face still held the naivety of youth, and the hooded boy whose back felt familiar.
Her mercenary habits made her survey the surroundings, finding that this seemed to be a school. Students were coming and going, and the vibrant atmosphere was similar to that among the children she had adopted.
"Could it be the Previous Era..." Raven frowned. She then slightly turned and noticed a strange thing.
Her face changed, and she abruptly turned around.
The entrance was gone?
The staircase that had led her into this space had vanished into thin air?
"Tsk... Should I call this unexpected or as expected?" Raven looked unhappily at the empty floor. Based on her experience, she would likely need some unconventional methods to find a way out next.
"May I help you?"
While she was pondering, the younger Kevin walked up to her with a confused look and asked.
"Uh... hmm?"
Raven, who thought she was merely in a memory projection, responded dully. Then, she surprisingly looked up at the perplexed Kevin.
Was this young Kevin interacting with her? Not just a simple memory playback?
How could this be? Could the people here... all be memory constructs?
No, how could the Elysian Realm accommodate the memories of so many people? Moreover, the current situation couldn't be explained by mere memory constructs. From the two Lins last time to the two Kevins now, could this be a hidden mechanism of the Elysian Realm?
In this moment of daze, Kevin, assuming Raven was also unyielding, scratched his head and walked away with a sigh.
"Hey, wait..." Raven reached out, but found that the style of her sleeve was wrong. She looked down, and a strange school uniform had replaced her original combat gear.
Her weapons and clothes had vanished without a trace.
"What exactly is going on here?" Raven murmured.
...
After circling around, Raven got a general idea of the situation.
Firstly, this was definitely still inside the Elysian Realm. The scenery Raven saw over the school fence was still that of the Elysian Realm. This space was only about the size of a school, but she was stopped by an invisible wall whenever she tried to leave, so she had to find another way out.
Secondly, she seemed to be bound by a special rule. Her enhanced physical fitness and all her weapons and equipment were gone. Instead, she had the identity of a student named Natasha. Fortunately, her face was youthful enough to blend in with the students. Only her outstanding figure was a bit conspicuous, but not overly jarring.
Thirdly... she saw two familiar people.
One was Kevin, and the other was Lin.
Raven had seen two versions of Kevin before: Kevin, the leader of World Serpent, and "Salvation" Kevin in the Elysian Realm. Although there were some differences between the two, the young Kevin she saw in this space was so cheerful and lively that she found it difficult to look directly at his face.
As for Lin, he was the hooded boy who had initially refused Kevin's invitation to be friends.
His habit of hiding his face seemed to have existed since his student days, and his back and mannerisms were maintained in the memory construct, so Raven easily recognized him as the silent, reliable helmeted man.
Were these two originally classmates?
Raven quietly followed behind Kevin. He was about to go to the indoor basketball court to play basketball. The personality gap between these two ice-cold men, whose way of speaking was almost identical, was so huge in their past that seeing that face, which usually radiated sub-zero temperatures, showing an expression close to a silly smile, made her feel that coming here was worth it.
"Kevin! Hurry up, we're waiting for you!"
"Okay!"
Kevin was a good player on the basketball court. His astonishing physical abilities and talent were already beginning to show at this time. His outstanding appearance made the gender ratio in the stands extremely uneven.
The cheers were all calls for "Prince Kevin." Every basket he scored overwhelmed the opposing team's players with momentum.
At first, Raven watched with relish, but soon she found it somewhat dull. This level of game was just child's play to her. Moreover, Kevin was dominating the entire time, so there was no spectacle.
Oops, I forgot what I came here for.
Raven quickly got up, intending to look for a way to leave again.
"Snap."
At that moment, a hand grabbed her wrist.
"What are you doing?"
Raven stiffly turned her head, seeing the boy whose face only revealed a pair of sharp, knife-like eyes, tightly gripping her hand.
...
"You've been scouting the school for an hour, then you tracked me and that white-haired person, and finally followed us all the way to the basketball court, until your expression suddenly changed drastically."
In a corner of the rooftop, the hooded boy stared coldly at Raven, his fingers shoved into his pockets.
Raven subtly glanced at his hand in his pocket. Judging by the posture, he was likely gripping a small knife.
Would a student carry a controlled weapon to school?
"Your posture and habitual movements are not those of an ordinary person. You're even scrutinizing me right now. Who are you?"
"..."
Raven hadn't expected her subconscious glance to be noticed.
It seemed that the high school Kevin was not the future Kevin, but the Lin of this time was very likely the future Lin.
"Hmm..." Raven wasn't too flustered. She squinted, stroked her chin, and then said, "You've got the wrong person."
"...Don't play dumb."
"Do you have evidence to prove it?"
"..."
"Hmm? If I scream for help now, and the people below come up and catch you with a restricted knife, what do you think will happen?"
"I can easily throw the knife away right now, and you don't have my fingerprints on you."
The hand that grabbed her wrist hadn't grasped her clothing, indeed.
"You are a smart one..." Raven's eyes darted around, and she smiled charmingly. "Alright, I'll tell you my real identity then."
"Speak."
"I am... a person from the future."
Lin's eyes widened.