"You…"
Mobius was about to lose her temper.
Hessian quickly said: "Alright, alright, this is your plot. Just sit back and watch for now."
Mobius was actually quite interested in this part of the story, so she sat down and turned her attention to the television.
On the screen,
Mei stepped through the gate and entered an even deeper darkness.
"This place is…"
She looked at the strange pillars surrounding her.
"Aww~ What a rare guest."
A voice rang out, and Mei instantly became alert: "Who's there?!"
The camera pulled back…
Only then did the audience realize that the platform Mei was standing on was being held in Mobius's hand. Her snake-like pupils fixed on Mei atop the platform: "Herrscher big sister, how about we do something fun together?"
Mei placed her hand on her weapon: "…"
Mobius said: "Aww, don't be so tense, big sis. I'm not going to just swallow you up in one bite."
"Or… are you actually thinking about how to swallow me instead, Herrscher?"
Mei replied coldly: "Sorry, I'm not interested."
Mobius said: "Hehe… Big sis, you're really cold toward me, aren't you?"
"But me… I've been watching you ever since the first time you entered the Elysian Realm, you know?"
Mei said icily: "Watching? I think 'secretly spying' would be more accurate."
"What do you think, Mobius?"
"…"
The smile vanished from Mobius's face: "Tch, boring. And here I was, trying to make a better first impression for once…"
"Hmm, wait… Maybe you just don't like this type? Then…"
"B… Big sister… It's so dark here… so scary… Big sister, can you take me away from here, please?"
She deliberately put on the act of a frightened little girl begging for help.
"…"
This cutesy, affected tone instantly darkened Mei's expression. If this had been before she became the Herrscher of Thunder, it might have actually softened her heart.
But now… knowing her purpose, she snapped: "Enough!"
"…"
Mobius's expression shifted slightly: "Herrscher… Has no one ever told you that when you're a guest in someone's home, you should show the host a little respect?"
"Home?" Mei glanced around. This place didn't feel like a home at all.
Mobius said: "Hehe, didn't you already figure out who I am?"
"Or… apart from the name 'Mobius,' did they actually tell you anything about me?"
Mei admitted frankly: "They really didn't tell me much about you."
"But almost everyone warned me to be extra careful around you."
"Hehehe~" Mobius laughed and said: "In that case… why are you here right now? Why… are you talking to me so openly without any defenses?"
"…!"
Mei suddenly realized something, but… it was already too late.
Mobius said: "Come here, my cute little lab rat…"
Shadows crept up her skin. Seductive whispers slithered like snakes, seeping into the cracks of her mind.
"Mobius, you…" Mei tried to say something more,
but her body felt unbearably heavy, her consciousness beginning to sink uncontrollably into darkness…
Just before she lost consciousness completely, she only heard Mobius's voice: "Come here, it's right there. Let's go a little deeper. It's right there… the infinite Signet. I'll give it to you. Just take one more step—one single step…"
"…!"
When Mei awoke again in shock.
"I… I'm back in reality? Why…?"
She looked around. It was still the same familiar hall as before, exactly the same.
"What the hell was that just now…"
As Mei puzzled over it,
Mobius's voice came again: "Aww, you woke up so quickly, big sister."
"…!"
Mei immediately drew her blade and took a defensive stance.
Mobius didn't seem to care and continued: "Looks like the Herrscher really is special. I'm even more interested in you now. And thanks to you, I was able to appear here."
Mei questioned her: "It was you… Why did you stop me?"
Mobius feigned surprise: "Stop you? How could I? Could it be that you fainted too quickly and didn't hear what I said at the end? The endpoint you want to reach is exactly the starting point where you are right now."
"…Ridiculous."
Mei didn't believe a single word she said at this point.
She had already inspected everything in this hall—there wasn't the slightest thing related to the answers she was seeking.
Mobius changed the subject: "Aww, don't be so mad, big sister… Are you still upset about what happened earlier?"
"Actually, my Signet is a little different from the others… especially when it comes to how it's passed down."
"How about… we go a little deeper together? The infinite Signet… I'll find the way that suits you best and give it to you."
Mei: "…"
Just as Mei was hesitating,
Elysia appeared.
With her usual cheerful voice, she said: "Ya! Look who it is—it's dear Dr. Mobius!"
"I never thought I'd run into you here. I figured… you only show up in places that are nice and green."
Mobius also looked at her: "…Elysia."
Elysia said: "I'm so happy to see you! But I already made plans with Mei to do something fun together. Aww, sorry, I can't hang out with you right now."
"…" Mobius just stared at her.
Elysia continued: "Alright, can you give her back to me? We had an appointment, you know."
Mobius asked: "Elysia, what does this have to do with you?"
Elysia thought for a moment and answered: "Hmm… friend relationship? The really close kind? No, wait—super close kind? Mei, what do you think?"
"…Shut up!"
Mobius cut her off directly: "If I were you, I wouldn't go around showing my face everywhere like that…"
"Traitor!"
Hm?
Mei sharply caught that word.
In her impression, the thirteen Flame-Chasers were heroes who fought against Honkai until the very end.
Among these heroes… there was actually a traitor??
Elysia said nonchalantly: "Traitor? What are you talking about? I'm not Su—I can't see the future."
"But I believe in myself. I believe in Elysia. Just like I believe in everyone here, including you."
"Aww, wait… Could it be… the traitor you're talking about is related to Mei? Don't think that way! I still have you in my heart."
"…" Mobius was so thrown off by her words that her tone actually normalized.
She turned to Mei and said: "Listen up, new little girl…"
Halfway through, she realized it didn't match her earlier way of speaking and immediately switched: "Ah, no—I mean, big sister who shoots lightning. You really need to be careful around this person."
"In the Elysian Realm, she is always the least trustworthy one—even just a little bit."
Mei said: "I won't accept answers that anyone forces on me. I'll find them myself."
"…Hehe." Mobius laughed once and said: "I'm not going to waste time or effort trying to convince you."
"That earlier was just a friendly reminder. But you'd better stay sharp, or sooner or later you'll pay the price for it."
"Yes. We… all paid the price for it once."
With that, she melted into the shadows and vanished.
Elysia let out a long sigh of relief and said: "Phew—that was close. Mobius always does things that catch me off guard. Unfortunately, I just can't bring myself to hate her or say anything bad about her."
Mei said: "Is that so? From what I saw, your relationship doesn't seem as harmonious as you claim."
Elysia said: "Aww, I really do like her a lot. Look at her—tiny and cute, it just makes you want to tease her~"
Mei asked directly: "Then, about that 'traitor' she mentioned…"
"Mmm~" Elysia made an adorable sound, clearly not intending to answer.
"…" Mei understood what she meant: "Looks like you don't want to talk about it—or maybe it's just not the right time yet, right?"
"Either way, it won't affect my judgment of you."
"Your memories are still preserved here, which means there has to be a deeper story behind this. I'll uncover it myself."
Elysia said: "Mm, I knew you were the best to me."
After watching this episode,
the audience immediately started discussing.
"Traitor! Did you all hear that? I told you this chick wasn't a good person!"
"Damn, is the dog director really going this cliché? Actual pink-cuts-to-black? Honestly I really like Elysia—please don't mess this up."
"But what Mobius said is worth thinking about. Calling her a traitor, and that everyone paid the price for it—those words didn't sound fake."
"With the dog director's style, there's no way his show has pointless dialogue. This is definitely a major foreshadowing that'll come back big later."
"Yeah… Mobius also said the answer Mei's looking for is right there in the hall. Could she be referring to some Flame-Chaser?"
"No way. Mobius's character is even more interesting than Elysia's—especially when she imitates Elysia's way of speaking. It's so cute."
"Hahahaha, no wonder her speech sounded so familiar—it was imitating Elysia!"
"So… Mobius thinks imitating Elysia's way of talking makes it easier to win over strangers?"
"To be honest… I really like Mobius. Who wouldn't like such a fun character who wants to 'go deeper' with you?"
"Ah… Snek, my snek! I'm your fan now!"
"…"
At Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company,
Hessian pointed at a few chat messages and said: "Mobius, look! I told you someone would like your character. There are always people with unique tastes in this world!"
Mobius was furious!
Everyone else gets loved for being cute or having touching storylines.
What the hell is this…
Unable to hold back, she kicked Hessian hard.
Still not satisfied, she grabbed his arm and bit down fiercely.
Hessian pretended to be terrified: "Ah… It's over! It's over! I've been snake-poisoned! Someone help suck out the venom!"
"…"
The entire break room—nobody paid him any attention.
Even Elysia said: "Let's just keep watching the show…"
"Yeah, too cringy." Kiana nodded.
Uh…
This made Hessian even more embarrassed.
Mobius herself felt a little awkward now. She glared at him and also turned back to the television.
On screen,
unable to get any answers from Elysia, Mei asked a few other Flame-Chasers and only received scattered clues.
With that, she could only turn her attention back to the Elysian Realm and continue searching for the answers she wanted.
During that time, she encountered anomalies in the Realm and also ran into Raven, who came to stop her from going deeper. From these small details, Mei once again fixed her gaze on Mobius.
"Mobius… Only you can give me all the answers."
"…"
"No—asking her questions without any preparation won't accomplish anything."
"It was the same before. Without solid, undeniable evidence, she won't tell me a single thing."
"…"
"So there's only one way."
Having made up her mind,
Mei went straight to Mobius: "Mobius, it wasn't easy to find you."
Mobius stared at her with a smile: "Hehe, big sister, aren't you the one who's been avoiding me?"
"You don't dare get close to me, yet you're asking around about me everywhere… Hehe, big sister, doesn't this feel a lot like a crush?"
"You don't have to act like that, you know. All those fun things… I've been waiting for you to come keep me company."
"…" Mei was speechless: "Can't we have a slightly more normal conversation? I came to you for serious business."
"Tch, how annoying…" Mobius grumbled, then complained: "How does Elysia do it? Is my imitation just not good enough?"
Mei said: "…You actually imitate someone you dislike?"
Mobius admitted frankly: "Of course. People are always so unnecessarily wary of me."
"If imitating her can help my experiments even a little, then of course I don't mind giving it a try… even if it's a bit uncomfortable."
"But… looks like it didn't work on you either. Whatever."
"…"
Hearing this, Mei fell somewhat silent, unsure what to say.
"Alright." Mobius continued: "Little lab rat, then let's talk about your so-called 'serious business.' You should know that for me, there's only one thing that counts as serious—"
"And that's getting you to lie down on the operating table in my lab so I can study you properly… to see what makes a living, breathing Herrscher's body so different."
"How about it? Want to give it a try?"
"…" Mei was silent for a moment before looking at Mobius and answering straightforwardly: "Sure."
"Aww, okay, I knew you'd refuse like everyone else before, so why even bother wasting time…"
"…"
Halfway through her sentence, Mobius suddenly froze: "What did you just say?"
Mei said: "I agree, Mobius. That's the serious business I'm talking about."
"I've been in the Elysian Realm for quite a while now. If the areas it can show me are limited to this, then I should have already reached the endpoint countless times."
"I should be qualified to receive that final gift, right?"
"…"
The lighting in the room didn't change in the slightest, but Mobius's snake pupils suddenly contracted into thin slits, as if she were sizing up an unfamiliar prey.
And for those who understand biology, they might suddenly realize… snakes with pupils like that usually only appear in the darkness.
"Herrscher, didn't you say… that wasn't what you wanted?"
Mei said: "That's correct. But I'm already prepared to leave."
"The information buried in the Realm is far too fragmented. Searching for the answers I want here… maybe it was futile from the very beginning."
"And before I leave… I think, at the very least, I should witness with my own eyes what the Elysian Realm truly means."
"…Oh? Is that really what's in your heart, Herrscher?" Mobius's snake pupils locked onto Mei. She didn't believe Mei's words at all.
Mei said: "You can believe it's a lie if you want, Mobius. But without any evidence to refute me, it's the only truth."
Mobius chuckled lightly: "Hehe… You've learned to throw my own words back at me, little lab rat."
"Fine then. I'll tentatively accept it as truth for now. It doesn't really matter to me either way."
"But have you really thought this through? For others, that gift is a means to break restrictions. But something like this… no Herrscher has ever experienced it."
"In other words… this is an unprecedented experiment. What will happen—even I can't guarantee."
Mei said: "So what? Mobius? Results we already know hold no value for us, do they?"