The TV drama continued.
"Loyal martyr Mirari Mo, willing to dedicate everything to the great Lord of the beast!"
Seele instantly recognized the speaker: "You're… the puppet I saw last time?"
Dark Seele immediately became alert: "Back off! Seele, this thing is extremely dangerous! Run!!"
"Hee hee. Want to run? You can't escape, you can't escape! Open your eyes—the dream should wake up, the dream should wake up!"
With the puppet's words, everything around them changed. Dark Seele found herself completely separated, unable to sense Seele's presence at all.
Dark Seele urgently called out: "Hey, what's going on, Seele? Seele! Where are you?"
The puppet's voice turned cold: "Why run? Compared to that frail girl, we are far more alike."
"Hah?"
Dark Seele said in disgust: "What nonsense are you spouting? Disgusting—who's the same as you!"
The puppet continued to tempt: "Hee hee, give up, give up. She doesn't need you anymore. She's always wanted to get rid of you—haven't you noticed? You actually know it deep down, you just don't want to admit it."
"…So annoying!" Dark Seele charged forward and tore the puppet to shreds with one claw.
But the voice still didn't disappear: "You're a monster. Forever and ever a monster, monster! Monster! Black-clawed monster!"
"You and us—we're the same kind! Hee hee hee hee hee hee!"
Dark Seele warily searched for the source of the voice: "Don't talk like you understand me! What I am is none of your business!"
Suddenly, countless puppets appeared in the surrounding space.
All of them let out piercing, mocking laughter: "Hahaha…"
"You've been hit where it hurts! Hit where it hurts!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
…
On Seele's side, she also sensed Dark Seele's inner unease and kept calling out to her: "The other me, the other me? What's wrong?"
"The other me! Where are you? Are you okay!"
The puppet saw her and giggled: "Hee hee, you should worry more about yourself. A hypocritical soul like you doesn't qualify to be entertained by the Theater of Domination!"
As its voice fell, countless Honkai Beasts controlled by silk threads suddenly appeared and attacked Seele.
With no response from Dark Seele,
Seele knew she could only rely on herself. She unleashed the newest power she had recently trained in.
With this fresh strength, dealing with these few Honkai Beasts became noticeably easier.
The puppet continued mocking: "What an amazing power. Is this your trump card? You're really going all out—too bad… that power of yours doesn't seem like it can last very long, hee hee hee hee!"
Just as it said.
Although these Honkai Beasts were defeated, new ones immediately appeared, constantly draining Seele's strength.
She gradually felt exhausted, her power weakening, the time she could sustain it nearing its limit.
The puppet said: "Hee hee, your body is about at its limit too. Just standing is already taking everything you've got, right?"
Seele swung her scythe with full force, unleashing a slash that took out all the Honkai Beasts in front of her in one go. Before new ones could appear, she questioned: "You—who exactly are you? What did you do to the other me?"
The puppet answered: "The other you? She's not you at all. She's our friend! Soon, she'll become one of us, hee hee hee~"
Seele said firmly: "I will never hand her over to you. I'll protect her… I will definitely protect her!"
The puppet suddenly fell silent for a moment, then its tone turned gloomy: "Oh dear, oh dear, how hypocritical. I hate people like you the most—always spouting insincere words. Aren't you tired?"
Then, like a madman, it burst into laughter: "Hee hee hee hee, she's the real soul. She gives off the same scent as us. She hates this boring world just like we do, craving chaos and destruction!"
Seele retorted without hesitation: "Don't talk like you understand her."
The puppet said: "You said the exact same thing she did. Indeed, your existence is an eyesore. Oh, right—if we just kill you, she won't refuse us anymore. That's right, it has to be that way!"
?!
Seele instantly went on high alert.
BOOM!!
A massive crash came from behind. The most advanced giant mech appeared at her back and swung straight toward her head the moment it arrived.
Seele sensed the danger, dodged forward to evade the blow, then spun around in the same motion, slashing her scythe…
Now her strength was very weak, and even her vision was starting to blur…
"No… I can't…"
Her consciousness gradually faded.
It was as if she could hear Dark Seele's desperate cries: "Seele!"
"Seele!!"
"Seele!!!"
In the end, Seele's consciousness completely blacked out.
She didn't know how much time passed.
When she was awakened again by Bronya, she looked at her in confusion: "Mm… Sister Bronya?"
Bronya asked with concern: "Seele, are you okay?"
Seele came to her senses and said in shock: "I… I'm out? Eh? Sister Bronya?"
Bronya asked puzzled: "Out? Where did you go just now? We clearly pushed the door open together. There was no one in the room, but when I turned around, you were gone."
"I searched everywhere for a long time and couldn't find you. When I came back to the original spot, I saw you collapsed on the ground."
Seele hurriedly told Bronya everything she had just experienced.
Finally, she said: "I always feel… that puppet was like a living person…"
Bronya asked with concern: "How did Seele manage to escape in the end?"
Seele shook her head: "I don't know."
However…
She remembered that right before she passed out, she had almost heard the other her calling her name—and she sounded extremely anxious.
Could it be… she was the one who saved me?
Thinking of this possibility, Seele immediately called out in her mind: "The other me, the other me… Did you save me?"
"…"
Although there was no reply, she could still feel her presence.
This put Seele much more at ease. She thanked her: "Thank you."
Then she said to Bronya: "Maybe… someone helped me."
"Someone?"
Bronya noticed the phrasing but tactfully didn't press further: "Never mind. As long as you're safe. Can you still move?"
Seele nodded: "It's fine. I feel much better now. Sister Bronya, you were in such a hurry to find me earlier—you haven't properly investigated yet, right? Let's continue the mission. I'm okay."
Thus, Bronya took her deeper into the workshop and began a detailed investigation.
From the production of the sculptures to their sale…
Every detail, every corner was thoroughly checked, but no valuable clues were found.
However, when they went deeper, they discovered a puppet had appeared on the ground at some point. The puppet bore clear marks from Seele's scythe slashes, confirming it was the same one she had encountered earlier.
Bronya said: "Exactly the same as the John Doe case. In that case, there should be… Found it. A new performance ticket nearby."
Seele looked at the contents: "Performance title: The Rat and the Eagle. Look, look, look what I found—an eagle, but with a rat's tail."
"It's a preview of the next crime!"
Bronya scanned the area: "What a cunning enemy. We probably won't find more clues here, but we did gather quite a bit of information. It's not a total loss. Let's head back and report to everyone first."
After returning to the Salt Lake Base,
The two reported everything they had encountered to the two doctors.
This also put them on high alert. They began assigning missions to Kiana and Seele to investigate recent incidents related to this case.
During this time, they continued collecting core fragments from the puppets.
This routine continued for several days.
On this day, the two completed another mission, returned to the base, and prepared to turn it in.
"Hello, are you looking for someone?" a staff member asked.
Seele took out the Theater of Domination ticket: "Hello, this is a performance ticket we recovered during this mission. It needs forensic trace analysis to lock down the location of the next crime. Who should we give it to?"
The staff member said: "Oh, just hand it to me. Thank you for your hard work."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Seele gave her the ticket.
The staff member also said: "Don't worry. We'll handle it as quickly as possible. Hm? The person next to you… could it be… that, um… I heard you're… the Herrscher of the Void… is that true?"
Kiana admitted quietly: "…Yes, it's me."
Seele quickly said: "Ah… she's my friend, Kiana. This mission succeeded largely thanks to her."
"That's wonderful!" To both of their surprise, the staff member said excitedly: "I've always wanted to thank you in person but never had the chance to talk to you."
"Eh?" This made Kiana even more surprised.
The staff member explained: "I'm from Shenzhou. My parents live in Arc City. During that previous incident, it was thanks to the Herrscher of the Void that they were able to survive."
"My parents often talk about you. When they heard we were working together, they urged me several times to thank you face-to-face."
She bowed deeply: "Thank you for saving my parents. Thank you so much!"
Kiana felt a little embarrassed: "Y-you don't have to be so formal… I just did what I was supposed to do."
The staff member said emotionally: "Not everyone has that kind of courage, Miss Kiana. You're a hero who saved that city. We will all remember."
"…"
Watching the staff member walk away with the ticket,
Kiana fell into deep thought.
Hero?
Her?
She had never associated herself with those two words.
Seele said excitedly: "That's great, Kiana! See? Not everyone is afraid of you. Everyone sees how hard Kiana is working."
"It's not just her. I've paid attention—many staff members have mentioned Kiana."
"Indeed, quite a few people are still afraid of you, but there are also many who gradually understand your situation and even stand up for you because of it."
"So, Kiana can relax a little more. You're a hero who saved everyone!"
Kiana smiled: "…Thank you, Seele. Thank you for doing so much for me. Bronya was right after all."
"Eh?" Seele quickly asked: "What did Sister Bronya say about me?"
Kiana laughed: "Mm… it's a secret. I'm hungry—let's go get something to eat."
With that, she headed toward the cafeteria first.
Seele chased after her: "Now that you mention it, I want to know even more! Tell me, Kiana~"
In this harmonious interaction,
The day was drawing to a close.
In the room,
Seele was still thinking about what happened during the day: "At dinner today, Kiana was clearly much happier than before. That's great."
Dark Seele said: "You can barely take care of your own things, and you still have time to worry about other people?"
Seele said: "Kiana is Sister Bronya's important partner, which naturally makes her my friend too. Of course I can't just ignore her."
"…"
Dark Seele fell completely silent and didn't respond anymore.
This made Seele very uneasy. Ever since they came out of the Theater of Domination that day, Dark Seele had become much less talkative.
Even what happened that day, Dark Seele refused to mention at all.
Seele tried to lighten the mood: "L-lately I've slowly gotten used to life at the base! Even though I've only just met everyone, they've all been really kind to me. I've made lots of new friends."
"…" Dark Seele remained in long silence.
Seele hurriedly continued: "Uh… I've also exceeded my training goals these past few days! I'll overcome my weaknesses bit by bit and slowly grow into someone as reliable as my sister…"
Dark Seele still didn't speak.
Seele added: "Mm… oh, right! The coffee shop Kiana and I went to last time apparently has new items now! Should we invite Kiana again…"
Dark Seele suddenly exploded: "Kiana Kiana Kiana—is that the only name you know how to say? Before it was Sister Bronya, before that it was Mama Cocolia—are you completely unable to live without other people?!"
Seele said aggrievedly: "But I was just…"
Dark Seele kept pressing: "Didn't you say you wanted to become independent and strong? Didn't you say you didn't need anyone else anymore? Then why do you keep calling their names over and over?"
Seele said weakly: "The other me, I… I don't quite understand what you're saying…"
Dark Seele said impatiently: "Enough, enough, enough! Do whatever you want!"
In the Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company lounge,
Pardofelis watched the plot while stuffing snacks into her mouth and said: "This Dark Seele feels like she's about to go down. She thinks Seele still hasn't become independent and is angry at her for not growing up, right?"
SAKURA nodded in agreement: "Probably. As an older sister, I understand her feelings best. After encountering something in the Theater of Domination and foreseeing that she might meet with an accident, what she worries about most is whether her silly little sister can live safely and happily without her."
Kevin also said: "If we compare Seele to MEI, I would have been very worried about her before I died too."
Kalpas said coldly: "Kevin, that's not the same thing at all!"
Mobius spoke up: "Why is everyone's first impression that Dark Seele is going to die?"
Pardofelis said: "Simple. Didn't they say earlier that Kiana was going to get depressed while filming this episode? Now they keep showing how close she and Seele are getting—obviously they're going to knife Seele."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
But Elysia smiled and said: "Do you think it's possible… that Dark Seele just wants Seele to call her name more often too?"
"Hah?"
Everyone said in unison: "Impossible! That kind of plot would never appear in Honkai Impact 3rd."
Elysia said: "Not necessarily~ After all, little Seele is so cute. Dark Seele must like her just as much as I do and wants her to call her name more often, right? Being ignored feels really bad, doesn't it… right, honey!"
Uh…
Hessian, sitting near the door, hadn't expected this to somehow fall on him.
He thought to himself that he hadn't ignored Elysia, and everyone in the company was keeping her company anyway.
"Ahem~"
Hessian coughed a few times: "My wife is right!"
"Hmph~" Elysia let out a cute little hum: "Just watch. I think Dark Seele is simply hoping Seele will look at her more. I understand cute girls' feelings best~"
The other actors looked at each other.
In the end, they all curiously turned back to the TV, wanting to see if it really was like that.
On the screen, no matter how much Seele called, Dark Seele refused to respond anymore.
Instead, she lay alone on the table in their consciousness, feeling sad and lost: "Name… that thing in the theater, maybe…"
What she was thinking was also shown to the audience.
It was something that happened in the theater…
After she destroyed one puppet, she encountered another.
"Why is it you again? I already told you—we're not the same kind. Stop clinging to me."
The puppet said: "Me? Who? Lily doesn't understand! Lily is just Lily, but Lily is also everyone! Poor John—he died, but it's okay, it's okay. We still have so many!"
"We're not one person—we are one person. Everyone is one person! He is, I am, and you can be too!"
Dark Seele said impatiently: "Enough, enough. I get it—you're all in cahoots. Get lost. I'm leaving."
The puppet asked in confusion: "Why? Why do you want to leave? There's no one else here. Don't you love locking yourself in a small room the most?"