"…"
"…"
In that brief instant, a tearing sensation across space began spreading throughout Mei's entire body.
Mei forced her eyes open, only to close them again due to the overwhelming, blinding white light.
"…Su?"
"It's me." Su responded.
At this moment, Mei also understood everything: "So… this is the real plan?"
"Sakura's support was to allow you… to take me away from the Herrscher?"
Su said: "It seems you've already assessed the current situation, so I won't repeat it any further."
"This realm is the space opened by Sakura after she unleashed her sword technique. After entrusting Sakura to head to the battlefield, I have remained here, waiting for the Herrscher of Corruption to show an opening."
Mei asked: "…It was Vill-V's arrangement, wasn't it?"
Su nodded and said: "Yes. Before this, she left me a riddle with three answers, and the key to defeating the Herrscher of Corruption lies within it."
"Do you think there is an absolutely safe place in the Elysian Realm?"
"I've thought about it. Against the Herrscher of Corruption, that is a concept that fundamentally does not exist."
"So…"
Mei recalled the pain that had once flashed through her mind and seemed to guess the answer.
She said: "A place that doesn't exist… is itself the answer to the riddle?"
Su replied: "Correct. And it is the answer that encompasses all three layers. It was precisely this that led me to Sakura's location—the frozen space where she hid after being attacked is the first answer."
"The second… is the duty left for me to fulfill. To accomplish it, I too must face death, just like Sakura."
"As for the final third—and most crucial—answer…"
"The absolutely safe place in the Elysian Realm is one that exists within the Realm yet does not belong to it. That is…"
"…the mind of the Visitor."
Mei was stunned: "My… mind…?"
"…"
After a long silence, the previous clues gradually became clear: "So that's what Vill-V's words meant…"
"Because of the Authority of Conquest, the Herrscher of Corruption's Authority cannot affect me. If we can extend that characteristic into a kind of space, we can possess a battlefield free from enemy interference."
"And with that… launch a counterattack."
Su said: "Exactly."
Mei quickly asked: "But… how do we do it?"
Su said: "Originally, Aponia and I were supposed to combine our abilities to complete this together. But now… I can only do my best alone."
"Vill-V left the Helix Signet within your mind. I will use it as a beacon…"
"…to recreate here the procedure known as SO-1129."
Mei had seen information about this procedure in World Serpent.
She said: "That's the one for creating memory bodies…"
Su continued: "Just as at the founding of the Previous Era's Elysian Realm, I will allow your mind to unfold within the Realm in the form of a memory body… no, a memory space, just like the Flame-Chasers."
"Only in this way can we… bring Elysia back."
For audiences across the entire nation,
This was absolutely good news.
Elysia could return.
Countless viewers became excited—things were finally about to turn around.
Even some of the actors felt the same.
Kiana asked excitedly: "Is Elysia coming back? When she does, she'll definitely be able to easily defeat the Herrscher of Corruption, right?"
Theresa was also delighted: "After stabbing me so many times, they finally decide to give me some candy? Elysia! I can finally witness her return."
Li Sushang shouted: "Looks like the dog director isn't that much of a dog after all! Elysia can still be revived. Once the Herrscher of Corruption is killed, everyone's data will come back too."
Mobius looked at them helplessly: "Are you people even watching carefully? The reason they're reviving Elysia isn't because she can defeat the Herrscher of Corruption. Don't forget—this is a data space. The Herrscher of Corruption is unbeatable here."
Kiana asked in confusion: "Then what's it for?"
Kevin, who had remained silent until now and had dropped his usual lively demeanor to reveal a serious, icy expression, said: "To activate Model 666. This is an ending where everyone is destined to die."
It was precisely because he understood this that Kevin felt so heavy.
In his eyes, these people had already become his comrades. Even though he knew it was just a TV drama, just acting, it still filled his heart with sorrow.
Hearing his words, everyone fell instantly silent.
A wordless sadness spread through the rest room.
On the television,
Mei also asked: "So… Su, the key to victory is still Model 666… right?"
Su answered: "Yes. All our efforts are to seize back control of it. There is no other way to defeat the Herrscher of Corruption."
Mei pressed: "No matter what we do… the outcome is only one… isn't it?"
"…"
"…"
Both fell silent.
Until Su spoke again: "…Visitor, there is no need to dwell on it."
"Just as I told you when we first met: we are merely shadows of the past, and this world is nothing more than remnants of yesterday's scenery."
"The past has already dissipated, and the dead exist no longer. Since there is no existence, how can there be disturbance? If you were to ask Elysia or Eden, they would give you the same answer."
"You will see them again soon. So smile. This is what they would wish for as well."
Mei took a deep breath…
Trying her best to steady her emotions.
Only then did she say: "…I understand. SO-1129… Elysia once said it was like riding a roller coaster while eating peanuts with your eyes."
"I'll soon find out whether she was lying to me."
"…The her I'm about to meet—will she still be the her I know?"
Su said: "As long as you hold firm belief, she has never left."
Mei murmured: "Firm belief… huh?"
"Just like the birth of every memory body—when it unfolds in your memory space, every joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness you have experienced, every parting and reunion, will all become the threads that weave the world, down to the finest detail."
"So remember. Recall every moment you spent with her, engrave every change she brought…"
"Use your own memories to pave the path leading to her."
"…Even if the data has been obliterated, memory will still leave an indelible trace."
"Take it."
Through his hand, a blue crystal flower was passed to Mei.
"The remaining two will be handed to you by Eden."
"Four keys, sealing a shared past. The page that should have been turned by you…"
"…let it bloom once more within your memory."
Mei was silent for a moment: "Mm… of course. You already know my answer."
The TV screen switched back to Sakura's side.
She was saying the same thing: "…You already know my answer."
The Herrscher of Corruption stared at Sakura: "So the only reason you came here was to be eroded by me?"
Sakura said: "With your abilities, whether you could detect and stop it the instant Cosmic Juggernaut activates… even Su could not be certain."
"But when eroding a sufficiently powerful memory body, even you… must devote a considerable amount of effort."
"You would even temporarily be unable to maintain that near-omnipotent state."
"That's why… Su's request to me was to face death head-on."
"It seems… we won the gamble."
The Herrscher of Corruption sighed: "Sigh, sometimes I really can't understand you people… Sakura."
"It's just sending her away from here. Was it really necessary to act like you were trying to defeat me?"
Sakura said: "After already failing once, if I were touched by you again so easily, you would definitely grow suspicious, wouldn't you?"
The Herrscher of Corruption was somewhat helpless: "You really went through such a huge detour…"
"But Sakura, do you truly know what you're doing?"
"You could have escaped, yet you deliberately came back here, fought so hard, just to sacrifice yourself?"
Sakura said in a cold tone: "It doesn't matter. I've already experienced this once before."
The Herrscher of Corruption said: "Oh… because of my identity as the Twelfth Herrscher?"
"Although I am not the same existence as her, you wish to use me… to bring closure to the past?"
Sakura said: "I only wanted you to prove something for me. But now it seems… there's no need anymore."
"Prove?" The Herrscher of Corruption was somewhat puzzled.
She didn't know what she could prove.
But audiences across the nation knew very well: the "proof" she spoke of was whether, after witnessing Elysia's farewell, she herself would become completely different.
Sakura sighed: "…Not at all."
"It seems that even after witnessing Elysia's departure, my ending still hasn't changed in the slightest."
"But… this is indeed what she once said to me."
"Precisely because you have never changed… that's why I like everyone so much."
"Come, Herrscher of Corruption. Use your own hands… use my death… to prove that she was right."
Sakura had already revealed all her cards.
The ground she stood on now was undoubtedly her place of death.
"…However, before that, I have one request."
"If possible, please let me die more painfully."
"Do everything you can to make me feel despair, regret, and utter helplessness…"
"Only then can I know just how incompetent I once was…"
"…and how, in the end… I managed to uphold my pride as an older sister."
The Herrscher of Corruption was puzzled by such a request, but after hearing it, she understood.
She asked: "Sakura… you still can't let go?"
Sakura answered: "Never, and never will."
Perhaps the change she brought to herself was precisely the chance to remain unchanged, to stay true to who she was.
The Herrscher of Corruption finally asked: "Even so, you still stand here, blocking my way, unwilling to listen to your own heart… and continue living?"
The answer was the slowly raised blade, along with Sakura's voice: "Never… and never will."
With Sakura's death, her data was devoured by the Herrscher of Corruption.
At the same time,
After his death, Kalpas used his own will to show the Herrscher of Corruption virus to Aponia, proving Sakura's innocence and allowing Aponia to reach the Herrscher of Corruption.
With her control over the Elysian Realm, she invaded the Herrscher of Corruption's body and encountered Mobius, who had previously faked her death.
At Mobius's request, Aponia sent her to Klein's location. She would use the Previous Era's Herrscher of Corruption to fight against the current one.
The TV screen returned once more to the Herrscher of Corruption's side.
Sakura's entire data was finally claimed by her—in that final instant of Setsuna for Sakura, time flowed away and never returned.
After silently calculating in her mind the time she needed, the Herrscher of Corruption did not set off immediately. Instead, she leisurely began weaving a beautiful illusion for Sakura.
"A little sister safe and sound… a world without Honkai… an afternoon of blooming cherry blossoms…"
This did not consume much of her time. Like every Flame-Chaser, what Sakura truly desired could only be described as modest.
In the era they once lived in, any wish exceeding such limits would seem far too unrealistic.
—And even for something so small, they had never obtained it.
"Alright, Sakura. Isn't living like this a little kinder?"
"I really don't understand. Since both she and I are Elysia… and our goal is the same—to let you all live…"
"Preserving yourselves along with her would clearly be the best of both worlds compared to sacrificing yourselves. Why must you be so stubborn?"
"Alright, so that what I just did isn't wasted, Sakura—I need to hurry too."
"Although for the sake of perfection I shouldn't admit it… their guess was correct. That really is a method that can eliminate me."
"But rest assured. I… we… will be fine."
As she spoke, she began devouring the Previous Era's Elysian Realm.
After fully consuming Sakura's data, she could now move freely and continue pursuing Mei.
"Mei, I'm about to catch up to you~"
Crossing the anchor point.
In an instant.
An inexplicable surge of tragic sorrow suddenly struck her, nearly knocking her to the ground.
"Ugh…"
"How… how could… this feeling is…"
At this moment, she—the most powerful being in the Elysian Realm—found herself nearly unable to hold herself together because of this sudden emotion.
"This is… Elysia's feelings? What happened…?"