The open café in front of Changkong International Airport is clearly located in a bustling area with extremely high foot traffic.
So, when the three—Mei, Mei, and Kevin—arrived here, there weren't many empty seats left.
Obviously, Raiden Mei hadn't anticipated this.
Mei couldn't plan for everything.
Fortunately, they were lucky. Just as Raiden Mei was about to suggest "changing locations," before she could speak, Kevin, with his sharp eyes, spotted in a corner by the floor-to-ceiling window a spot where a guest had just left and a cleaner was wiping down a two-person table.
They stood quietly and waited for the cleaner to finish and leave. Kevin then moved another chair over, and that was all it took.
Right now—
"Ayako, you're in charge of that table."
"Got it, manager."
There was a brief exchange at the bar.
The three—Raiden Mei included—only glanced unconsciously in the direction of the sound's source without paying much attention.
Not long after—
"Guests, what can I get you?"
A short-haired waitress with shoulder-length hair and a dotted nametag arrived at their small table.
"Structured latte!"
"Structured latte!"
"Uh, I'll have the same as Plum Point."
During the ordering process, aside from the classic "I'll have the same," Kevin, Raiden Mei, and Mei exchanged surprised looks.
They hadn't expected the other person to share the exact same coffee preference.
And as the waitress left to place the order, Mei also took the initiative to start the conversation.
"Miss Beichen, if you have something you want to tell Kevin and me, now's the time."
It was clear Mei felt quite calm in this type of setting, surrounded by people.
Of course, if we're talking only from a common-sense perspective, then her thinking made sense.
However, everything Raiden Mei was about to say would overturn that common sense.
"Miss Mei, Mr. Kevin."
Raiden Mei chose her words carefully. "First of all, I'd like to ask: have you ever heard of the concept of 'Honkai'?"
Upon hearing that—
"Honkai?"
Mei and Kevin looked at each other.
Mei was the first to ask, "Are you referring to the negative concept based on spirit or discipline?"
"No."
Raiden Mei shook her head. "'Honkai,' what I'm referring to, is a natural disaster."
"A kind of supernatural natural disaster born in opposition to civilization!"
At that moment, she patiently began explaining what she knew, in part, about "Honkai."
At the same time, not far away, at another two-person table—
"This scene is really heartbreaking to watch."
"Dominator Doll Hanabi," dressed like a bookish girl, rested her cheek on her right hand and sighed softly. "Raiden Mei… she's actually doing what 'I' did to her in the first place."
She tilted her head toward Kevin Kaslana, who was sitting directly across from her, his true identity disguised. "But still, you and Mei—two of the people on Earth most familiar with Honkai in future generations—are now explaining Honkai to others."
"Should we call this 'déjà vu,' or is it simply defying fate?"
To this question—
…
Kevin Kaslana chose silence.
Seeing this—
"Ugh, boring."
"Dominator Doll Hanabi" curled her lips, looking somewhat bored on purpose.
But right after—
"You really love having that ice-cube expression, but your 'mask' might fall off~"
…
Kevin Kaslana didn't stay silent this time, but was speechless.
His current disguise had been arranged with the help of "Dominator Doll Hanabi."
Earlier, she had nonchalantly pulled out a red-and-white mask, leapt up, and strapped it to his face.
From a handsome, distant white-haired youth (?), the former World Serpent lord had transformed into an old man with a pointy cap, a wrinkled face, and gray hair.
Kevin Kaslana had long since felt the unpleasantness of her antics.
Because the disguised image he had been forced to adopt, for hidden reasons, now required him to hunch and pretend to be motionless all the time.
So, the two of them walking together looked like a beautiful granddaughter out shopping with her cranky old grandpa who always wore a grumpy face.
She had laughed the whole way.
Though earlier she casually threw around "world-destroying" threats, now she acted like a mischievous child indulging herself in fun.
Well, clearly he was part of that fun too.
In short, Kevin Kaslana still couldn't understand the girl in front of him… let alone the true being behind the observer group she belonged to.
Maybe this was what they called a "god."
Bad-tempered, their emotions incomprehensible, and their thoughts transcending all things—thoughts that would obliterate heaven and earth.
Kevin Kaslana had to admit—he now felt like he was walking on thin ice with her.
But he couldn't back out.
Right at that moment—
"Huh?"
Not far away, the other Kevin, who was sitting near the floor-to-ceiling window inside the café, suddenly jumped up and exclaimed.
His "startled and unsuspecting" expression immediately drew the attention of most people in the café.
Seeing this, Mei was speechless. She lowered her head, raised her hand, and tugged at the corner of his shirt.
Raiden Mei was stunned for a moment.
That silly reaction… why did it remind her so much of the old Kiana?
Kevin also came back to his senses and realized he was standing. He scratched his head, laughed awkwardly, and apologized to the guests nearby whom he had disturbed.
He waited until he sat down again—
"Is everything you're saying true?"
He ran toward Raiden Mei and asked.
Maybe he had a big heart, but he didn't seem to worry about anything at all—and unknowingly leaned in too close.
Mei, sitting to the side, slightly furrowed her brow.
But more important to her now than small feelings was—
"Honkai Impact, the Dead, Honkai Beast, Herrscher, Honkai Impact, and… Fire Moth?"
Just now, she had heard these terms one after another from Raiden Mei's mouth.
And based on that, she learned of the prophecy that the third collapse in this city of Changkong was about to erupt.
To be honest, Mei was now a bit skeptical. Was this Miss Beichen in front of her really…
What do they call it again?
Ah, right!
Chuunibyou.
Because everything she mentioned felt like the plot of some supernatural fantasy story.
Right now, she doubted all of it.
And "the reason I doubt it, instead of outright denying it, is because this Miss Beichen, who's clearly using an alias, looks way too much like me!"
If not for that, Mei would have simply stayed away and never made contact again.
At most, once she got home, she'd tell her father, a world-renowned electromagnetic physicist, about what she saw today and erase any lingering "what ifs" from her heart.
Of course, if that happened, she would go from "ignorant" to "informed."
"If it's all nonsense, then no big loss—just chatting with Dad to kill time!"
In short, Mei was being rational now.
But Kevin—he believed it.
Even—
"The third collapse centered on Changkong City will affect the entire East Asia region?"
This passionate youth clearly couldn't accept that such a thing might be happening.
But right then—
"Miss Beichen."
Obviously, Mei didn't want Kevin to be led along by the other party, so she immediately asked: "The information you just mentioned about this so-called 'Honkai,' this classified information—where did you learn it? How do you know it?"
As she asked—
…
Raiden Mei didn't answer immediately.
She knew—the other party doubted her.
Just like how, in the beginning, when she herself had no involvement with anything related to "Honkai," she had doubted that person.
Back then, she didn't trust them either, so after some evasion, she decided to call the police.
She didn't even want to trouble her father, who was always so busy.
And now, the same dilemma was happening to her… this person who had once been on the "told" side of things.
So she knew exactly what Mei was thinking now.
Instead, she was surprised that Kevin—
At this moment, he really reminded her of Kiana.
"If Kiana had been the one Ling Ke met back then, not me…"
Inexplicably, this thought passed through Raiden Mei's mind.
She completely forgot that with Ling Ke's limited foresight at the time, there was no way to find Kiana.
After all, we were still over half a year away from the third Honkai Impact.
Even so, right now—
As if she felt something, Raiden Mei followed these thoughts and kept thinking…
"If it had been Kiana—what would she have done?"
Thinking this, she took a moment—and the answer was already clear.
No doubt about it—Kiana was too familiar to her.
Just like Kevin now, Kiana—
After all, Kevin, who previously knew nothing about "Honkai," still chose to believe in her.
And Kiana… had long been exposed to "Honkai."
Suddenly—
"Don't worry, this whole thing's on me!"
In her mind, the image of a certain white-haired girl looking up, patting her chest, and speaking confidently flashed before her.
Thinking of this, Raiden Mei slightly lifted the corners of her mouth—something she hadn't done in a long time.
She hadn't smiled in ages.
Now that her face softened again, her heart still felt warm from that girl.
She regained her courage because of her.
At that moment—when she had come all the way to Changkong City—she felt she no longer needed to ask Kevin how to proceed.
She had gotten the answer from their conversation just now.
Immediately—
"Sorry, I just lied to you."
Raiden Mei solemnly bowed her head in apology to Mei and Kevin.
When she looked up again, her expression was extremely firm. "My name is not Beichen, and I'm not a solo traveler wandering the world."
"My real name is—Raiden_Mei."
"I come from over 50,000 years in the future."
"I…"
Raiden Mei said word by word: "I will confess and tell you everything I know."
"And I hope to work with you."
"In the end, I hope we can achieve a win-win situation and welcome the bright future we both dream of…"
At this moment—
"!!!"
Not far away, Kevin Kaslana—disguised as an old man with the help of "Dominator Doll Hanabi"—showed a look of shock.
He clearly hadn't expected Raiden Mei to make that decision at this moment.
She hadn't been this decisive before.
Even just a moment ago, she had seemed immature, incredibly confused, weak, and hesitant.
So—what on earth had suddenly changed her?
"Surprised?"
At that moment, "Dominator Doll Hanabi," seated directly across from him, smiled mischievously and said: "Wasn't it 'Kaslana' who changed her?"
"That thing you so casually discard."
…
Kevin was silent once again.
His mind was full of thoughts.
However—
"tsk tsk~"
He wasn't the only one who noticed.
Sitting not far away, Raiden Mei certainly hadn't picked up on it.
"Confession? A brighter future together?"
On "Dominator Doll Hanabi's" face appeared a mocking smile. "Ha~"
"She's actually saying the same thing 'I' did back then…"
"Utterly stupid!"