"Do you believe in the possibility of scenes from the future appearing in the mind of a person in the past, or the words of one's future self reaching one's past self?"
No matter how many times, Mei would feel that this place was synonymous with gloom, sorrow, and loneliness.
Lin grave was the first scene Mei encountered created by a MANTIS memory construct in the Elysian Realm. According to Elysia, such a cemetery didn't actually exist. It was merely Lin imagination, his wish to give a resting place to the nameless ones who perished in the war after the Honkai ended.
Of course, Mei was more inclined to believe that Lin was already dead before the cemetery was built.
Now, Lin was missing from the Elysian Realm. Elysia hadn't emerged from the Deepest Abyss. Aponia hadn't appeared again after giving Mei the Signet. Even Kevin was nowhere to be found, moving secretively.
Mei was left to search for clues in the Elysian Realm by herself, trying to bypass Kosma and reach the true Deepest Abyss.
Mei planned to meticulously investigate the few spaces related to Lin. She navigated through the gravestones, finding the small, unnamed one. It lay inconspicuously among the many tall gravestones, looking so ordinary, even dilapidated.
According to Elysia, this was Lin grave.
Mei had only recently realized something: Lin was the person who erected gravestones for others. Given his personality, he shouldn't have prepared a gravestone for himself.
Furthermore, this space was formed by memories. How could Lin imagine his own grave being here?
It was worth noting that Elysia never once said the grave was erected by Lin himself.
Mei stood in front of the nameless gravestone, wiping the rain from its smooth surface. Her touch felt no raised or sunken parts, meaning the inscription wasn't merely too shallow to see.
The Elysian Realm changes according to the memories of the visitor and the MANTIS memory constructs. So, could this place also change due to her arrival?
Mei stood up, bent her knees, and leaped lightly into the air. She hovered suspended in the rain, at a certain distance from the ground, observing the cemetery.
Sure enough...
There was no mistake. The cemetery had changed.
Even though Mei couldn't see the end of the cemetery or count the number of gravestones, she could see that the density of the gravestones was different from the first time she saw it, meaning the number of gravestones had increased.
Mei landed in one of the densest areas. After a quick scan, her gaze froze.
She recognized the names and photos on the gravestones.
After a brief moment of silence, Mei took a deep breath of the cold air into her lungs, then slowly exhaled.
This validated her suspicion. That gravestone was not erected by Lin for himself, but created by someone in the Elysian Realm using their memory of Lin.
As for who, it wasn't important. What was important was that since one existed, there could be other graves of Lin based on others' memories.
She should look around first.
...
"Lin."
Lin woke up from the damp darkness. He was lying in the familiar shadow, and Aponia's call instantly snapped his consciousness awake, as if cold water had been thrown on him.
He flipped over. The iron bars confining Aponia were right before him, and Aponia was seated there, seemingly having waited for a long time.
"...Did you pull my consciousness over?"
Their meeting in the Deepest Abyss was clearly achieved through Aponia's ability, connecting with his confined consciousness.
"Yes... Lin... Your consciousness signal... appeared for an instant... I brought you here..." Aponia saw no tension on Lin face.
"Be careful of the Herrscher of Sentience trying to invade your consciousness. Although she is merely a memory construct, she uses the Authority of the Herrscher of Sentience in genuine capacity," Lin instructed Aponia without stopping. "Put me back soon, or the Herrscher of Sentience will follow the traces and find you."
A slight ripple appeared on Aponia's placid face at the mention of the Herrscher of Sentience: "The Herrscher of Sentience... Why... is it the Herrscher of Sentience... of this era?"
"No, they... are special. They are not true Herrschers, but they are using the Herrscher's Authority."
Those black shadows were completely identical to the Herrschers in Lin memory, as if the subjugated Herrschers had come to the Elysian Realm.
No... it should be said that they were indeed the Herrschers from Lin memory. They were created based on Lin memory.
Lin knew details about the Herrschers that differed from the Fire Moth' records. The black shadows adhered to Lin memories in these details, meaning they were entirely fabricated from his memory.
But who was using his memory?
"Lin... are you unable... to see them..."
"…"
Lin could not answer Aponia's question.
In the fifty thousand years in the Elysian Realm, the number of visitors was not small, yet Lin and Aponia rarely met. This led to a serious lack of understanding on Aponia's part regarding Lin.
"As a memory construct, I don't have that side effect," Lin answered truthfully.
"...But your... destiny... still..."
"What I see is a foregone conclusion. It is precisely what I see that caused us to reach that future. So, you don't need to mention destiny, and you don't need to... worry about what I see."
Lin body flickered. He knew his time was up. The Herrscher of Sentience was already searching for the location of his consciousness.
Even if Aponia's psychic power surpassed that of the former Herrscher of Sentience, the origin of those black shadows was clearly not something Aponia could determine by defeating the Herrscher of Sentience. If the other black shadows found Aponia's location through the Herrscher of Sentience, the situation would escalate uncontrollably.
"Aponia, go and help the Visitor, Raiden Mei."
"Do you... trust... her?"
"I trust the miracle they will create."
"But... I... see her... destiny..." Aponia started to say more, but seeing Lin body about to vanish, she shook her head. "I... understand... May you be safe... Lin."
...
"Found it."
Mei discovered several gravestones with familiar names—the gravestones of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. She walked up to them, quietly looked them over, and finally saw a gravestone inscribed with Lin name behind them.
But besides the name, there was a line of text that made her freeze.
"Do you believe in the possibility of scenes from the future appearing in the mind of a person in the past, or the words of one's future self reaching one's past self?"