Facing Raiden Mei's silent gaze, Elysia suddenly blossomed into a smile.
"All right, Mei~ don't make that kind of expression."
After playfully blinking, Elysia continued speaking, "To show my sincerity, I can tell you a little secret about Van~"
"What secret?"
Upon hearing news related to Van, Raiden Mei almost immediately blurted it out.
But very quickly, she realized her lapse and lightly coughed to cover it up, "Mm… I mean… if you're willing to share."
Elysia watched her reaction with great interest, the smile at the corners of her lips deepening.
"I mentioned before, the Elysian Realm is a world woven from memories. But there are also some memories sealed in each of our individual spaces."
Raiden Mei looked toward where she was pointing. There was a row of delicate, egg-shaped containers displayed there.
They were entirely crystal-clear, with intricate carvings on their surface, emitting a soft glow under the light.
"Perhaps they're some secrets one doesn't want to reveal, perhaps a story that requires prior knowledge to understand, or maybe just a message left for those who come after."
Elysia said gently, "If you find a stone that looks like burning glass during your upcoming explorations, please bring it back and inject it into one of these vessels, then you'll be able to access the sealed memories."
Raiden Mei's gaze wandered back and forth between the containers, falling into thought.
She asked seemingly casually, "These so-called memory vessels… will they have the owner's mark?"
Elysia suddenly let out a giggle and walked straight toward the last container.
The moment her fingertips touched the container's surface, they trembled slightly, and her movements involuntarily softened, as if she were caressing a fragile treasure.
"Mei is looking for Van's memory vessel, right?" Elysia's voice suddenly softened, "It's this one."
The tips of Raiden Mei's ears turned slightly red, but she didn't notice Elysia's change. At this moment, she was fully immersed in the embarrassment of having her thoughts seen through.
"I wasn't…"
"Mm-hmm~" Elysia tilted her head, deliberately dragging out her tone with a laugh, "This kind of Mei is just too cute~ Even though I was kind of hoping to steal Mei's first experience…"
Raiden Mei suddenly looked up, confused, and stared at Elysia.
"…The first time injecting into a memory vessel, of course~" Elysia blinked and added with a mischievous smile, "But well, maybe it's better left to Van? After all, a beautiful girl's feelings… must not be taken lightly."
At this point, Elysia suddenly leaned closer to Raiden Mei and, in a mysterious whisper, said, "But Mei's second time, you must choose the second bottle from the left, the prettiest one~"
Raiden Mei turned her face away and forced herself to remain calm, "I should continue moving forward."
———
[In the Real World]
[As expected of my Elysia, just a few words and she already has Mei completely flustered]
[Beware of female-female romance in Elysium!!!]
[Suddenly really curious what kind of interactions Elysia and Van had]
[So here's the question, How do we define the relationship between Mei, Van, and Elysia?]
[Kiana, So love does disappear, right?]
[Tragic! Kiana! So tragic! From a grasshopper to a green caterpillar]
———
After watching up to this point, Kiana immediately grabbed Raiden Mei's hand, then loudly said, "Mei, although Elysia is super cute, no doubt… but you have to promise me, definitely stick to your original intention, don't let Elysia whisk you away!"
Kiana's words caused Raiden Mei to freeze on the spot.
Because recalling the thing that was about to happen next, Raiden Mei felt entirely unwell.
———
[Back to the Video]
Raiden Mei took a deep breath and once again stepped into the memory tracing device.
In an instant, a scorching heatwave rushed toward her, as if to devour her.
It was the exact same blazing heat she had felt in the golden hall earlier.
"Oh? A Herrscher…" a deep, hoarse male voice rang out within the sea of flames.
Raiden Mei looked up and saw a tall man wearing a pitch-black mask standing amidst the flames.
His silver-white hair danced in the heatwave, and the body beneath his black clothing emitted a suffocating pressure.
"Who are you? I'm Raiden Mei." She spoke while enduring the scorching air.
"Your name doesn't matter, Herrscher." The masked man's voice carried undisguised disgust. "I'm not interested in remembering the name of someone about to die."
Before the words fell, a furious tornado of flames instantly formed, sweeping toward Raiden Mei.
Strangely, however, this seemingly fierce attack didn't make her feel any real threat.
Suddenly… just like with the other Flame-Chasers she encountered before…
A trace of doubt flashed through Raiden Mei's mind.
These Flame-Chasers seemed aggressive, but in truth, they were all holding back.
This made her wonder, had someone given them a heads-up in advance…
And that person…
After the battle ended, Kalpas's wild laughter echoed in the scorching air.
"Your little tricks are over. If you want to fight, then come at me." Raiden Mei gripped the katana in her hand and said.
"Fight? Heh… hahahahaha…" Kalpas's laughter was full of mockery. "If I really wanted to kill you, do you think you'd still be standing here talking?"
Raiden Mei said nothing.
She could feel the complicated emotions in Kalpas's words.
Anger mixed with a kind of… restraint?
"I'm Kalpas, Flame-Chaser." He said coldly. "I forget what number I was, doesn't matter anyway."
"Lightning Herrscher, Raiden Mei."
"Heh~ Herrscher…" Kalpas mocked, "Since when did Honkai start doing archaeology on destroyed civilizations?"
"I'm not the kind of Herrscher you know."
"But you're still a Herrscher."
At this point, the flames around Kalpas's body surged again. "As a messenger of Honkai, you've come to seek the strength of humanity, how ironic…"
"I didn't come for power." Raiden Mei said firmly.
"What you seek has nothing to do with me." Kalpas waved impatiently. "Since you passed the test, I'll give you the opportunity. That's all."
"You mean those little tricks just now?" Raiden Mei suddenly asked.
"Hahahaha… interesting!" Kalpas burst out laughing, "But… put away your laughable taunt, Herrscher. There will be a battle between us, but not now."
As he spoke, his figure began to fade within the flames, leaving only the floating [Molten Massacre] sigil behind.
"Before that moment comes, try your best to keep surviving in this Elysium…"
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