Dark Seele said coldly: "None of your business!"
The puppet kept chattering on: "Ah, Lily gets it. You've been ostracized, hated, so you always hide alone in your little room, right?"
"Get lost!"
"Eh? Did Lily get it wrong? Could it be that you're a child no one wants, so you hide in the little room you made and cry? Hahaha, you look so pathetic!"
"You're just that girl's shadow, a ridiculous lie! But now, even she doesn't need you anymore, hahaha!"
Dark Seele grew increasingly angry: "Shut up!"
She had to admit, this damn puppet had hit exactly on something that bothered her deeply.
The puppet continued: "She has other people now, doesn't she? She has her big sister, her friends—a whole bunch of people who care about her. She's not lonely anymore."
"Look, she calls her friends by name directly. And you? You don't even have a name! Hahahaha!"
"Shut up!!"
No matter how much she yelled, the puppet wouldn't stop: "You know it—you're no different from that Sirin, no different from us!"
"She hates you. She denies everything about you. She wishes you didn't exist at all!"
"You always call her a coward, but actually, you're the real coward—the one who's too scared to face reality, too afraid of being abandoned by her!"
"Shut up!!!" Dark Seele finally couldn't take it. She swung her claw down.
The puppet dodged directly and laughed loudly: "Oh dear, you're angry, you're angry. Let's end it here for today. What a shame, what a shame. You have such excellent qualities—why won't you join us?"
"It's okay, it's okay. Look—the strings are already wrapped around you."
"Theater of Domination, looking forward to your next visit."
The flashback ended. The girl in the black dress crushed the chair in her hand into powder.
But when she let go, the fragments turned into black mist and quickly restored the armrest to its original shape. This was the world she had created—destruction here had no real meaning and couldn't serve as an outlet for her emotions.
This fact only worsened her already rock-bottom mood.
"Damn it!!"
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!"
"..."
Unknowingly, the night had passed.
Seele got up as usual, played with the children, trained…
Whenever she had free time, she would call out to the other her in her heart.
But today was different from before—no matter how much she called, the other side didn't respond.
Not until evening.
Lying in bed, after tossing and turning for a long time, Seele finally opened her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
"It's… a bit too quiet… I'm really not used to it."
"The other me, please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
"I know you're all doing it for my own good. You've always been by my side, protecting me."
"The things you said were all because you were thinking about me. I understand that."
"You always want to fight for me because you're worried I'll get hurt. But I'm also worried about you getting hurt."
"You're an irreplaceable, important person to me. I also want to become as strong as you—strong enough to protect you."
"You don't want me to interact too much with others because you don't want me to get hurt, don't want me to be deceived or betrayed, afraid I'll go back to being the coward who only hides in a box and cries."
"It's okay. I'm not afraid, because… I still have you."
"You always tell me to care more about myself, but the 'myself' I care about includes you too."
"Didn't you ask me before—what kind of existence are you?"
"I thought about it seriously for a long time. In the end, there's only one answer."
"You are me, and I am you. We're equal existences. You want me to be happy, and I want you to be happy too."
"You really care about the name thing, right? Since we're equals, I also want to call you by name."
"If you have a name you like, tell me."
"I want to know… how you're feeling…"
Seeing this, the viewers in front of the TV all broke into wide, knowing smiles. They weren't idiots—naturally, they could tell from the earlier plot what Dark Seele had been craving.
Thus, the vibe in the official chat group shifted completely.
"You think Dark Seele will look like what when she hears Seele's such sincere confession?"
"Hahaha, this is natural countering tsundere, right? The puppet's plans are definitely going to fall apart."
"As expected of the kindest Seele—even her confession isn't vague at all."
"Who was it before that said they wanted to knife Dark Seele? After this confession, can Dark Seele even leave Seele?"
"If Fu Hua had learned even a fraction of this from Seele back then, would she still be chasing the Herrscher of Sentience all over the world?"
"Wow! I'm blushing just listening to this. How can Dark Seele handle it?"
"Get together! Get together! Dark Seele and Seele have to be together forever!"
"Fuck, did the dog director get replaced? He can actually write something this sweet?"
"…"
At Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company,
The group of actors watched, completely stunned.
Pardofelis said in disbelief: "Dark Seele was actually angry for this reason? Then now that Seele's confessed, isn't that basically winning her over?"
SAKURA said helplessly: "Who could've guessed? Hessian's plots weren't this sappy before."
Pardofelis said: "I suspect it's because he pissed off Elysia before, so now his scripts have become all sappy."
Kalpas was also dumbfounded, rubbing his eyes: "Is this still the Honkai Impact 3rd I watched before? Did the dog director get sick?"
Kevin was equally shocked: "This really written by our Hessian? Maybe we should take him to the hospital to check his brain."
Mobius also said: "I guess it's because he was ignored by Elysia that he got sick and started acting weird."
Hessian rolled his eyes and said grumpily: "What are you all saying! What nonsense! So when I write something like this, my brain is suddenly not normal?"
"Right!"
Everyone said in unison.
Mei also said: "Tomorrow Su's psychologist is coming to check on Kiana's condition. Maybe the director should go too."
"I…"
Hessian was speechless and said helplessly: "Actually, I got the inspiration from watching my wife coax girls. It's all her credit."
"Oh, I see!"
Everyone in the lounge suddenly looked enlightened.
Then they turned back to the TV, looking forward to seeing how Dark Seele would react.
The TV screen switched to a black background.
She was still lying on the table: "What is that idiot even saying?"
"She wouldn't think something like that could move me, would she?"
"No matter what she says, I've already decided not to care about her anymore."
"…"
"She's still going? She sure has a lot to say."
"Sigh, whatever. Since she's being so sincere, I won't hold a grudge."
"When she says a couple more things, I'll go out."
"Depending on her attitude, it's not impossible for us to make up."
"…"
"Hm? Why'd she stop?"
"???"
Confused, Dark Seele finally came out on her own.
"…"
"…"
"…"
What she saw was Seele lying in bed, fast asleep.
"Hah? She just… fell asleep like that? Hey, who said you could sleep? You still have things to say to me, right?"
"Say more! Say you need me, say you see me as an equal, say I'm important to you!"
"Even though I don't care about any of that at all, I've been listening reluctantly only because it's you saying it!"
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot Seele!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
After a long silence, Dark Seele finally spoke again: "Actually, you really don't need me anymore."
"You're growing up day by day, becoming more mature and independent. One day you'll be able to control all the power of this body."
"I exist to protect you. But you… don't need my protection anymore."
"You're already strong enough. So many people like you. You can handle everything yourself."
"I've always known a day like this would come. I've always known I was destined to disappear."
"Acting irrationally and snapping at you like that was just to hide my own inner anxiety, disappointment, and… loneliness."
"…"
"In the end, you're the one who came to apologize, to comfort me. You really are an idiot. An overly gentle idiot."
"I won't believe the nonsense from that bunch of puppets. I actually understand your feelings."
"After all, we are one person. We're both Seele."
"Until that day comes, I'll still protect you with all my strength. I won't let anyone hurt you."
"And then, when the day finally comes that you can truly break free from your cocoon and transform…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Dark Seele suddenly snapped out of it: "What the hell did I just say! What's wrong with me? Did I eat something bad? But I don't even eat—so it's still that idiot's fault!"
"Hey, why can you sleep so soundly? Are you laughing at me? Really pisses me off!"
"Hmph!"
And what followed.
Gave every viewer of Honkai Impact 3rd the kind of joy unique to the series that they hadn't experienced in a long time, reminding everyone once again—this was truly wholesome, happy plot.
Dark Seele controlled Seele's body, went in front of the mirror, picked up a pen: "Why should I worry about idiot Seele for so long? Watch me write 'Seele is an idiot' all over your face so everyone mocks you tomorrow."
She had just written a few characters when the pen in her hand stopped: "Forget it. This is my body too—doesn't benefit me."
She erased the writing on her face: "Hmph, idiot Seele."
But even that wasn't satisfying enough…
So, on the picture frame, she drew a pig nose on Seele's photo.
Only then did she crawl under the covers, satisfied.
Time reached six in the morning.
As usual, Dark Seele tried to wake Seele up.
But… no matter how much she called, Seele wouldn't get up and kept sleeping in.
Helpless, she had to use her secret technique again: the caterpillar.
"Ah!"
Seele was startled awake: "S-scared me… The other me, you woke me up like that again… Eh?"
She suddenly noticed the other her had appeared.
And broke into a smile.
Dark Seele asked: "What? Want me to wake you up more gently?"
Seele shook her head: "Hehe, it's fine. This is good enough!"
"Hmph!"
Dark Seele let out a little hum.
An alarm suddenly blared. Einstein's voice came over the broadcast, ordering all combat personnel to assemble in the conference room.
Seele immediately headed to the conference room.
When she arrived, Kiana and the others were already there.
Einstein didn't waste words: "Sorry for the sudden call, but it's urgent. There's something important I need to tell you."
Tesla quickly asked: "What is it? Can I finally go home?"
Einstein said: "In conclusion, yes. But I'm afraid it's not news that will make you happy, Dr. Tesla."
"The worst guess became reality. After extensive data comparison, the crystals stripped from the puppets are extremely similar to a certain Herrscher recorded in the Previous Era—"
"The Tenth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Domination. In the Previous Era, it had another name—the Thousand Herrschers."
Seele asked in confusion: "`The Thousand Herrschers?"
Tesla explained: "It means there were 1,000 of those things. Individually, their power is weak, but they lurk in crowds, act in organized, planned ways—extremely troublesome."
"But Chickenhead, the characteristics of the Tenth Herrscher from the Previous Era records don't completely match this incident."
"Those 1,000 Tenth Herrscher individuals were all human, with their cores inside their bodies. There was no record before of puppets or theaters."
Einstein said: "That's why I didn't conclude before. Rather, these differences make the problem even more tricky."
"Starting from the First Herrscher, their abilities, order, patterns… the Herrschers of this era have subtle differences from the Previous Era—"
"—As humanity changed, the Herrschers also evolved."
"Given the current situation, it's not appropriate to judge completely based on Previous Era records."
"Sigh." Tesla sighed: "So it turned into an even more troublesome thing, huh? I remember—the Thousand Herrschers from the Previous Era could sense each other regardless of distance, which is why they could coordinate so well and launch chain attacks."
"If that hasn't changed, it explains why the puppets always announce the next crime so accurately."
Einstein said: "According to the intelligence from Schicksal, similar incidents have been occurring globally this month, always tracing back to broken puppets and performance tickets."
"Also, there were some scenes with similar traces but nothing left behind—perhaps World Serpent recovered them."
Tesla was shocked: "Even Schicksal and World Serpent? Then the existing evidence is enough to classify this series of events as Herrscher-related!"
"You're right. That way I can really go back, but it's absolutely not good news."
"And… looking at your expression, don't tell me there's even worse news you haven't said yet?"
Einstein said: "I really wish your perceptiveness wasn't used on this. Just now, the soil trace analysis results from the last performance ticket came back. Their next target is—the Salt Lake Base."
That night.
The Salt Lake Base was unusually quiet.
The corridors that were normally bustling with activity were now completely empty.
Since the Tenth Herrscher's purpose and appearance conditions were unknown, out of safety considerations, Dr. Einstein had evacuated all personnel from the Salt Lake Base.
The mechs, having previously gone out of control, were moved to a remote, enclosed warehouse.
At the same time, considering the possibility that the crime preview was a trap, Kiana and Theresa accompanied the evacuation team to protect Anti-Entropy staff and children—
While Seele and Bronya, who had experience fighting puppets, stayed behind at the base to confront the threat announced in the preview.
As Bronya patrolled, she didn't forget to comfort Seele: "Don't worry. Seele has always completed her training excellently. Last time in the Sea of Quanta, wasn't it Seele who saved Bronya?"
Seele quickly said: "That was…"
Before she could finish,
Dark Seele mischievously interrupted in her mind, clapping sarcastically: "Wow—Seele is the best! It was all Seele's credit!"
"Mm…" Seele felt a little embarrassed.
Bronya noticed the change in her expression and asked: "Mm? What's wrong, Seele?"
Seele hurriedly said: "N-no, it's nothing. Sister Bronya, there's something I want to tell you."
Bronya asked: "What is it?"
Seele hesitated but decided to be honest: "Actually, I should have told Sister Bronya about this back at the orphanage."
Dark Seele immediately panicked: "Hey, you're not going to…"
Seele ignored her and continued: "Surviving in the Sea of Quanta… and saving my sister—it wasn't just my own strength…"
Dark Seele was completely panicked: "Hey, idiot Seele, is now the time to say this?"
Bronya also interrupted: "Wait, Seele—there's movement!"
Seele became alert too.
Some of the abandoned mechs nearby hadn't been removed. Now, under the power of the Herrscher of Domination, they started moving.
Although it wasn't clear what use controlling these broken mechs had.
The two still decided to first strip them of their mobility.
"?"
"Seele, something's off over there!"
"I can feel an unpleasant aura… the aura of that theater."
Dark Seele's senses were extremely sharp. She immediately detected the presence…