The morning on Crescent Island was like a tranquil painting. The morning glow reflected on the sea, casting a golden sheen across the surface. The waves gently lapped against the sandy beach, their melodious sound seeming to recount the absurdity and dreams of the previous night.
After Fuli panicked and Flash-Stepped away, the eyelids of the lumps of people scattered crookedly across the beach twitched in unison.
Yet, as if holding back out of some mutual understanding, they refused to open their eyes. It was clear that recalling everything that happened at the bonfire party made them too ashamed to speak.
The life of Lu Bu, the Marquis of Wen—mocked as the slave of three surnames—was particularly abstract, but some of his logic actually made a lot of sense.
Aside from Himeko, all the girls made a solemn vow at this moment: I have been wounded by wine and lust; I look so haggard!
From this day forth, I quit drinking!
Then, without making a sound, they mentally began searching for Kallen—the only one who had been sober last night and witnessed the whole thing from start to finish. This girl was an AI; even if she didn't mean to, everything she saw would be transmitted back to the Hyperion's central computer for archiving.
No one would want a complete record of their "black history" preserved. Theresa and the others didn't want to be threatened one day by someone showing up with a videotape saying, "Madam, you wouldn't want the live footage of that night to be leaked, would you?"
Of course, the threat wouldn't actually work—R18 scenarios only happen because the scriptwriter lowers the characters' IQs.
But cleaning up dismembered corpses is a hassle, isn't it?
Little did they know, the target of their search had long since returned to the Hyperion via electronic signals.
At this moment, she was curled up alone in her cozy little house specially built within the database, burying her flushed face deep under the covers.
"Bad Little Brother! Bad Little Brother!"
So, what exactly happened?
As mentioned before, as a crystallization of the Schariac Stigmata, Misteln could bypass the Hyperion's defenses and intrude into Fuli's dream.
Theoretically, as long as she soothed the boy properly, she could have slipped away quietly after obtaining the intelligence she wanted.
But as the famous saying from the Tongliao Universe goes: It is impossible for there to be no accidents.
Enraged by an appearance that looked all too familiar, Fuli raised his fists and absolutely obliterated the Hare. The mental fluctuations emitted during this beatdown immediately alerted Kallen.
The Saintess was both ashamed and furious.
Little Brother dared to be so defenseless because he trusted me, his Big Sister, to handle security. And yet, some village woman who crawled out of nowhere dares to slap me in the face?
Hah! Watch this old lady rush in and fight her to the death!
Without a second thought, Kallen transformed into a data stream and charged into the dream. Then, she saw a sight she would never forget in this life.
To put it diplomatically: It was the "PV for Naraka: Bladepoint."
To put it bluntly: It was Fuli making "Red Braised Hare."
The sheer volume of information overloaded Kallen's pseudo-neurons. So much so that when Misteln, seeing her "savior," desperately pulled Kallen over to use as a human shield, Kallen didn't immediately slap her hand away.
And just like that, the population of unlucky victims doubled.
Fortunately, even in his muddled state, the Fuli in the dream still vaguely remembered his sworn sister.
Compared to the Hare, who reeked of Cecilia from head to toe, his attitude toward Kallen was significantly "softer."
Humans have three major instincts: Survival, Appetite, and Reproduction.
For survival, one must pick up the butcher's knife—this was demonstrated on Misteln, who was mistaken for the Herrscher of Dominance.
Of the remaining two, appetite does not exist in the dream world.
Naturally, that left only the final instinct to be imprinted upon the sudden intruder, Kallen.
Fortunately, this was just a dream.
Unlike reality, as long as she woke up, she could pretend it didn't exist and forget it completely.
That was what Kallen thought. But after tossing and turning in bed for a long time, she realized she couldn't do it.
Unlike Fuli, who was governed only by instinct, she had been sober from start to finish.
How could I forget? It's impossible to forget!
She could only run back to the Hyperion alone, curling up in the database and rolling around in shame.
Kallen didn't love Otto romantically; they had always been just friends, a fact both she and the virtual Otto knew.
As the saying goes, there is no reason someone must love you back just because you sacrificed for them. In love, self-sacrifice is essentially just wishful thinking on one side.
Even so, Kallen, having left the virtual space, was prepared to live a solitary life.
This was a response, and also gratitude to a close friend. It was a small return gift for his respect, his selfless dedication, and the new life and freedom he had granted her.
Even if Otto had left this world, and even if he genuinely hoped Kallen would find her own happiness, she felt bound.
Otto was willing to be the ultimate self-sacrificing lover, but Kallen felt she couldn't be the heartless woman who took that for granted.
Her relationship with Fuli was the same. Even though she had a considerable amount of affection for this Shenzhou boy who saved her and Otto, Kallen still addressed him as "Little Brother," maintaining the sibling dynamic established in the virtual space.
I just need to be a heartwarming, capable, beautiful big sister. Relationships between men and women aren't just about romance and love; one must broaden one's horizons.
Up until now, Kallen still thought this way.
But it was undeniable that everything that happened in the dream had chiseled a crack in the iron wall she had unilaterally built, breaking the barrier from 0 to 1.
No matter how insignificant the crack, with the accumulation of companionship over time, there was always the possibility of it fracturing into a spiderweb and spreading outward. A dike of a thousand miles collapses from an ant hill.
As for the future, well, it was hard to say.
...
Meanwhile, on the beach, Bronya, having searched for Kallen for a long time to no avail, finally couldn't keep up the act anymore.
She discreetly had Project Bunny materialize a hand, dragging her small legs as she "gloomily slithered" across the coast, trying her best not to let the others discover she was awake.
She moved, and moved, until—Thud. She bumped into something.
The girl opened her eyes a slit and found a white-haired dumpling.
Since Kallen wasn't around, this nickname naturally belonged to only one person.
"Idiot Kiana."
Bronya whispered, "Don't block the way, move aside."
Watching the other's eyelashes remain motionless, she paused. With this guy's constitution, is she actually still asleep?
She was indeed asleep.
Not only was she asleep, but perhaps due to a resonance as another involved party, or a reaction to the "Brahma Beast" Fuli had become in the dream, the current Kiana was trapped in an even deeper layer of dreams.
The sunless Theater of Domination. A stage on the verge of collapse. Wreckage everywhere.
Countless petite puppets wearing masks lay twisted and broken, their tattered limbs filling the platform.
When Kiana opened her eyes, this scene reflected in her azure eyes, which held cross-shaped stars.
But compared to this—
"Kill... me!"
A hoarse shout, like a dull knife sawing through wood, came from in front of her.
Warm liquid sprayed out, dyeing the girl's pure white armor—symbolizing flames and resolve—blood red.
Kiana looked over subconsciously, her pupils instantly constricting to pinholes.
The boy's hair, usually black as night, had been dyed white by the evaporation of Honkai energy. He looked like a phoenix burning everything, including itself, to ash. Filthy clots of blood congealed on him like oily stains.
The wounds all over his body were uncountable. It was as if an abstract artist, struck by inspiration, had painted layer after layer of red paint on his pale skin, then crumpled it up in dissatisfaction and declared it void.
"Sorry... ah, I wasn't careful... I dragged you down again."
The scarred boy suppressed the pain threatening to shatter his mind and will, and the killing intent permeating his heart. He smiled and slowly raised his hand, wanting to wipe away his own blood that stained Kiana's face.
"But... it's okay. The only one left... to kill you... is me..."
But it seemed that this single movement consumed all his strength. Just as his hand touched the girl's cheek, it drooped down uncontrollably.
"Wait... wait a minute!"
Kiana panicked for no reason. She hurriedly tried to pick up his dirt-stained hand, wanting to place it back on her face.
Squelch!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing a body echoed in the empty theater.
The girl looked down blankly—
The blazing greatsword in her palm, known as the Blade of the Flamescion, had pierced into his body as she moved to embrace the boy.
"Yes... just like that."
As if experiencing terminal lucidity, Fuli's tone was no longer intermittent.
He opened his arms and gently pulled the teary-eyed girl into his embrace.
"No! No!"
Kiana struggled with everything she had. She realized exactly what Fuli was doing.
She never expected that this body—a perfected Three-Core Herrscher physique, possessing the dual bloodlines of Kaslana and Schariac—would lose in terms of raw strength to this monster of a boy who had just stepped onto the threshold.
The sword tip, which had only pierced the surface of his chest skin, was thrust forward relentlessly during Fuli's final embrace. It pierced muscle, crushed the sternum, entered the thoracic cavity, and severed blood vessels.
Finally, it ground that heart—along with the forming Companion Honkai Beast Core and the Herrscher of the Legion Core inside it—into powder.
"This is good..."
"This way... you won't get hurt..."
After the Greatsword of Flame completely impaled his body, Fuli finally revealed a smile of relief. His body, drained of strength, slowly fell to the ground.
"This life... I exchange it for yours. Live on well... for me."
Turning his head to look at Kiana, he gently spoke that magical spell capable of granting all wishes:
"Ich Liebe Dich."
After speaking, Fuli slowly closed his eyes.
To anyone else, the smile remaining on his face would look as if the boy were simply sleeping peacefully, dreaming a beautiful dream.
In that final moment before his eyes closed, countless images flashed before him:
Bronya hesitating to speak time and time again;
Mei's lap pillow;
His irresponsible mom and dad;
That bad woman Rita;
Durandal, blushing as she invited him to join the Immortal Blades...
Finally, the image froze on a scene of Kiana playing with him when they were children.
"Then when Kiana grows up, she'll be Little Li's bride, okay?"
"Okay? Little Li~"
"Mhm, mhm! Little Li likes Kiana the best!"
"It's a promise! No taking it back!"
"Absolutely! Absolutely don't forget!"
In the memory, two small hands hooked pinky fingers tightly together.
In the dream, Kiana suddenly felt so cold, so cold. She tightly hugged Fuli's body as it lost its warmth, calling his name incessantly, wanting him to open his eyes and look at her again.
"Ah Li! Ah Li! Ah Li! Woo... please wake up, okay?! Ah Li, please wake up, Ah Li..."
Sorrowful whimpers echoed throughout the silent Theater of Domination. But no matter how she shouted, the boy in her arms would never respond to her again.
...
"Idiot Kiana?"
In reality, Bronya suddenly felt a massive power radiating from Kiana. That energy was gloomy and evil, containing the mighty power to destroy the world.
A tremor transcending physical concepts crawled up her spine—it was the fluctuation of Death, threatening life itself!
"AH LIIIIIIIIII!!!"
"Not good! Judah!"
Theresa, who had already crawled under a large rock, reacted the fastest. The obsidian chains unsheathed like dragons, instantly dragging everyone on the beach several miles back in a split second.
Everyone gazed intently. The entirety of Crescent Island and the surrounding waters suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Floating grains of sand froze into a brilliant galaxy; burning flames solidified into liquid amber; even the dancing lightning turned into static sculptures.
This wasn't a time stop, but a spatial stripping that cut the surroundings completely out of the fabric of the world.
Dark purple cracks blossomed beneath Kiana's feet, winding out like thousands of thirsty void serpents.
Deep within those cracks surged Imaginary substances that didn't belong to the main world, like a grotesque slurry of shattered starry skies and rotting oceans mixed together.
"GIVE HIM BACK TO ME! AAAAAHHHH!!!"
The moment Kiana's eyes turned gold and her right hand clenched tight, all the Subspace Lances floating around her let out a wail.
The stripped space twisted like crumpled rice paper. The beach and the forest suddenly disintegrated into tiny petals. The fundamental particles constituting matter were being swallowed by the dimensional rifts.
It was as if the Creator had suddenly taken an eraser to this area. Rocks, air, and even light showed jagged edges as they were gnawed away by the Void!
—Void Collapse (A). This was the name of the skill Kiana used during this rampage, categorized by Mei afterwards.
Its effect was to form a supreme interdimensional spatial collapse wave, directly causing the pulverization and annihilation of space within a certain radius. It could erase everything within range—damage that was almost impossible to defend against.
But right now, this was just the beginning.
The silver-haired, golden-eyed girl stood upon the Void. In her madness, she raised her hand, prepared to utterly destroy this world that no longer had Ah Li in it.
"What the hell! I just went back to the ship to use the toilet, who has no martial ethics and launched a sneak attack?!"
It wasn't until that familiar voice rang out, until that clueless big boy stepped onto the sea surface, summoned the Trailing Shadow Sword, and looked around in shock.
Only realizing that the scene just now was a nightmare, Kiana held back her tears and rushed into his arms, grabbing his lapels and wailing loudly.
"Ah Li! Ah Li! Waaaaahhhh!!!"
"What's wrong, what's wrong? Hiss—!"
Confused, Fuli hurriedly smoothed her hair to comfort her. Glancing at the location where Crescent Island (formerly) stood, he sucked in a breath of cold air.
What kind of bullshit destructive power is this? Did this lucky European learn some heaven-defying skill again?
"It's nothing, I just had a nightmare..."
Kiana shook her head and pouted, hugging the boy even tighter, as if trying to knead herself into his body.
If "nothing" causes an island to explode, then if something actually happened, Mother Earth would be under way too much pressure, right?
Fuli didn't voice this snarky thought.
Because at this moment, holding the girl, he was looking at his lower abdomen with astonishment.
Without the hem of his usual clothes blocking the view, he saw it very clearly.
The Herrscher of Reason Stigmata on his lower abdomen was currently glowing with an ambiguous, inexplicable pink light—just like when he had "controlled" the android Theresa earlier.
...
"Mend Your Pace.
Sway To The Beat.
Hands Up!
Embrace.
Who You Wanna Be~"
Humming the latest album from the superstar Robin, a curvaceous figure riding a speedboat sped across the not-so-pacific surface of the Pacific Ocean.
A dark red patterned bodysuit outlined her slender figure; her shoulder armor was adorned with metal raven feathers. A pitch-black cape hung down to the back of her knees like drooping wings, and tactical leg bindings concealed three poison-quenched throwing knives.
Her short dark purple hair was messy from the night wind. A red crystal earring dangled from her right ear, swaying gently with her movements. Her narrow golden eyes shone with joyous light, the corners tilting up slightly as she squinted.
Miss Natasha Cioara was in a super, super good mood today!
Today, she wasn't traveling as the World Serpent cadre [Raven], but as a buyer taking over the small island she had just purchased.
Compared to her other cadre colleagues, Cioara had only ever had one reason for joining World Serpent—to buy a small island in a quiet corner, build a big villa or two, and live a quiet life like Yoshikage Kira with the orphans she had adopted.
To this end, she registered as a mercenary outside of her work, gaining quite a reputation in North America.
Cioara's efforts paid off. A few days ago, she finally used her accumulated savings to buy a small island.
Crescent Island. An uninhabited island of about fifteen square kilometers, named for its shape—narrow at both ends and wide in the middle, like a crescent moon.
The island was densely covered with various alkali-resistant trees and boasted a long, curved golden coast.
The moment she saw the photo of the island at the broker's, Cioara couldn't take her eyes off it.
Savings -99%!
Villa Island Get Daze!
After placing the order, she couldn't wait. She flew to the Marshall Islands, closest to Crescent Island, rejected the enthusiastic guide, hopped into a rented speedboat, and set off immediately.
After cruising for several hours and casually dealing with a few blind Honkai derivatives along the way, she could finally vaguely see her future home on the horizon.
As the user of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, Cioara's vision far exceeded radar.
Her beautiful brows quickly furrowed. At a glance, she saw the Hyperion docked near the island, as well as those few brazen auras on the island itself.
"Theresa? Murata Himeko?"
Since the World Serpent's operational team in Nagazora City had exposed their tracks, the Far East Branch had been biting at their heels viciously lately.
The combat team led by Cioara and this group had exchanged wins and losses. Seeing the possibility of another encounter, she couldn't help but hesitate internally.
After a moment of wavering, the Villa Island she had spent her entire life savings to acquire gave her courage. She gritted her teeth, ready to drive the speedboat forward again.
BOOM!!!
An explosion bloomed suddenly like a bewitching Spider Lily. A blazing fireball wrapped in shockwaves tore through the sky, and a mushroom cloud rose into the air.
Cioara's ears rang continuously. The blinding phantom of the explosion was branded onto her retinas, like countless spots of light flickering in the void.
The Void Collapse lasted for a full ten seconds. When the ripples of spatial concussion subsided, only a perfect spherical abyss remained where the island had been.
The island was gone, replaced by a massive, pitch-black crater. Seawater poured back in, forming a boiling vortex. The surrounding waters were covered in radial cracks, as if torn by the claws of a giant beast.
Facing this hellish scene, Miss Cioara was expressionless and silent.
Yet, inside the speedboat, she paced back and forth endlessly. She ran. She rolled around on the floor. Her mouth kept muttering, "It's okay, it's okay," while huge teardrops fell from her eyes.
Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, she rushed out and wailed loudly toward the end of the sea, heartbroken like a child.
She cried and cried until her tears ran dry and her voice went hoarse. Only then did she stand up and swear an oath to the setting sun:
"Theresa Apocalypse! Murata Himeko! This old lady isn't done with you—not in this life, not in the next, not in the life after that!!!"
The unlucky child... clearly identified the wrong culprit.
...