Kevin blinked hard. "…Every star in the sky is an enemy?"
"Correct," MEI replied.
She glanced back at the sky. "Remember that picture in the physics textbook? A photo of Earth taken by a probe six point four billion kilometers away?"
"Oh yeah, I do. There was like… nothing in that picture. It took me a while to find a pale blue dot."
"That's Earth. The planet we grew up on. Just a pale blue dot." Her voice softened. "Humanity's history, billions of people, our knowledge, our culture… all of it is insignificant."
She paused, "That gives rise to a question. What is the exact worth of an individual in this vast expanse?"
Kevin didn't answer. He only breathed out.
Then he burst into laughter. "Hahahahahaha~"
MEI turned her head, annoyed. "What's so funny?"
"Well, nothing. It's just… refreshing. When I dated other people, we talked about stars by chatting about horoscopes and blood types. Stuff like that." He scratched his cheek. "You're the only one who talks about the universe and humanity."
She went quiet.
He nudged her with his elbow. "I guess what I wanna say is that you're special. Unique."
He straightened up a bit. "Do keep going. I'm actually interested."
"I'm done talking about my views. I asked a question, remember? I'm waiting for an answer."
"Oh, right." He closed one eye in thought. "So, it's like you said. The universe is huge but the Earth is small. And when compared to outer space, the things we care about don't really matter."
"Exactly."
"Geez, that's a lot to take in."
"Nevertheless," MEI replied, "you, me, and everyone else is trying to live in a meaningful way. We exist. We make choices. We enjoy certain moments. Humanity itself is meaningless, but we gave ourselves meaning."
Kevin snorted. "Now you sound like a philosopher."
"Science and philosophy do overlap when talking about the universe."
Another pause.
"I'm curious about something," she said.
"What is it?"
"You look like someone who wouldn't care about these topics. I'm surprised you're listening. Do you think there's any worth to our conversation? Be honest."
"Worth?" Kevin rubbed the back of his head again. "I don't really know. And honestly, I think I only understood about half of what you said… but…" His eyes moved toward her face. "I really like how serious you look when you talk about this. That's why I hope I can keep listening."
"That's it?" MEI asked. "That's the only reason?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I… I don't know. Wait, it's more like… I want to learn. I want to think about those questions too."
MEI lowered her gaze. Then a soft laugh escaped her. "Haha…"
Kevin smiled. "Hey, you're finally smiling. You look good when you smile."
She folded her hands on her lap. "I'll be going to Mu this summer for a symposium with several leading physicists and scholars. I hope to discuss my views with them. You may think I'm full of myself, but I want to meet people who can change the world. I want to be one of them. I want to see how far I can go in this universe."
"Great. I believe you'll achieve everything you said."
She looked at him. "How about you? Ever thought about your own future, Mr. Kevin Kaslana?"
"No. Never thought about it. I don't have a goal in mind. Changing the world is way too big for me." He shrugged. "I only want to enjoy each moment, be nice to my friends, and live a happy, carefree life."
"What about the future? Don't you think about it?"
"No. The world is large. I'll find something to do. If I focus too much on the future, I might forget the people around me. And I'm just a high school student. Live free, live happy. That's how I'd live."
MEI sighed lightly. "Oh dear. How immature. I hope your wishes will come true."
"Yeah. I hope all our wishes come true."
He brightened suddenly. "Oh, right. Would you mind if I went to Mu with you this summer?"
Fu Hua's voice cut in, calm but deliberate. "I've heard something like this before." She glanced between Kevin and MEI. "During a Fire Moth party… Kevin spoke about it. The setting wasn't exactly like this, though. Some details differ, but the core… the sentiment, all the stars are our enemy, and the smallness of humanity… it's familiar."
Kiana's gaze drifted across the simulated rooftop. "This… this looks exactly like the Chiba Academy rooftop. Every detail, the concrete, the railings, the city around us… it's identical."
Fu Hua nodded. "Kevin went to school at Chiba Academy. Many of these memories are drawn from real experiences, though some elements may have been reconstructed from Lee's own memory…"
"I don't think Lee has ever been to the rooftop of Chiba Academy… she never attended a single class there."
Fu Hua sighed, "Although my memories are not very clear… from what I remember… the Previous Era was quite similar to today."
Kiana took the opportunity to ask, "This Dr. Mei, she existed in the Previous Era… she looks just like Mei, the real one."
Fu Hua nodded, "She was the leader of Fire Moth and Humanity… we undoubtedly would not have gotten as far as we did without her."
Suddenly, a familiar clap echoed through the scene. Lee appeared again, standing casually with her hands folded in front of her. She bowed slightly over her hand, a gesture Kiana found irritating
Seriously? What kind of act are you doing now?
"We've gotten straight to the point," Lee said, clapping once more. The moment the sound resonated, the entire scene shifted.
The starry sky dissolved. They were now on the streets of a destroyed Nagazora City. Smoke curled from collapsed buildings, and the air smelled faintly of fire and scorched concrete. Dust rose in lazy spirals around debris-strewn streets.
Kevin was sprinting ahead, nothing but a baseball bat in his hands. The groaning of metal and the harsh thumps of distant footsteps indicated something was coming. Ahead, a massive Chariot-class Honkai beast emerged from the ruins, knocking over piles of debris. Kevin swung the bat with all his strength, narrowly deflecting a swipe that would have crushed him.
He ran in the direction of a familiar building, Chiba Academy.
Kiana recognised the familiar courtyard. And there, lying still beneath the broken remnants of a wall, was MEI. Blood splattered on the ground.
"No… no, MEI!" Kevin shouted, dropping to his knees. His hands trembled as he reached toward her. The baseball bat clattered uselessly to the ground. Tears streamed down from his face, streaking down soot-smeared cheeks. His breath came in ragged sobs.
Fu Hua spoke up again, "This is not a real event. MEI never experienced something… like this."
"What makes you think that? After all, I didn't just pull these images from nowhere, each of these was carefully constructed based on real historical events." Lee spoke up.
As the recording continued, the imagery continued in timelapse, the city overrun by Honkai Beasts, Thunder striking in the distance, before things eventually settled. With no signs of life at all.
"Let's get to the point." Lee spoke up, "MEI, the future leader of Fire Moth, was killed in the Third Herrscher incident. Humanity soon after died, to the combined attacks of the Herrscher of Thunder, who survived and the Herrscher of Wind. Everyone on Earth eventually died."
Fu Hua simply crossed her arms.
"These are true events that transpired 5,480,000 Years ago." Lee spoke.
Fu Hua remained silent, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the recording.
Bronya finally spoke, her voice quiet but precise. "Lee told me in that Bubble World that she was an expert in the Previous Eras. And, according to her, there were multiple… not just one."
Lee's holographic form nodded. "Miss Herrscher of Truth is correct."
Kiana's mind flickered at the words. Miss Herrscher of Truth… that's oddly formal.
Lee's gaze shifted to the ruined city around Kevin. "When it became apparent that Humanity would be defeated, something particularly interesting occurred. The Earth you are witnessing in this recording, the one falling to ruin, overwhelmed by the Honkai… simply vanished. It fell from the imaginary Tree into the Sea of Quanta."
"So this recording is from a Bubble World from the Sea of Quanta." Fu Hua spoke up, "Bubble Worlds are like soap bubbles, they contain something similar to real events, but they aren't reality."
"What makes you say that?" Lee said, "After all, each and every Bubble World once was a 'Leaf' on this branch of the Imaginary Tree."
Bronya spoke up, "So each Bubble World is equal to our own? But Bubble Worlds only contain some of the information. They aren't complete."
"You know, something interesting. Each Branch of the Imaginary Tree only grows in one direction. It only has 'One Leaf', so to speak. However… this particular Branch is different from any other."
Kiana tilted her head. "Because of the Honkai?"
Lee smiled. "Correct. A 'Leaf' falls from a Branch of the Imaginary Tree when it no longer has enough energy to sustain itself. However, each branch can only support one 'Leaf'. So where is the extra energy coming from?"
Bronya frowned, "The Honkai? What you told me about, The Cocoon of Finality, the 'Conceptual Device'?"
"Bingo." Lee said, clapping a few more times, "Each version of the events of the Previous Era takes place in its own 'Leaf'. However none managed to defeat the Honkai, and eventually fell into the Sea of Quanta."
If Lee keeps clapping I am going to hit her.
Suddenly, the ruins of Nagazora around them vanished, and they were left standing in a black void.
"The Previous Era didn't manage to defeat the Honkai. But this world isn't a Bubble World," Bronya observed.
"Let's just say that some very interesting events occurred in the Previous Era. But let's begin where it all started." Lee clapped twice again, and the imagery changed once more.
Suddenly, they were standing in a verdant forest. Sunlight filtered through thick leaves, casting dappled patterns on the moss-covered ground.
Lee, who had disappeared again, began narrating. "This is the story of a truly remarkable individual, starting in a forest near a small rural village: Vladivostok 51."
A cute little girl appeared at the foot of a tall tree. She was short, probably only three or four, with shoulder-length pink hair, sleeping peacefully.
Lee continued, "Once upon a time, fifty thousand years ago, a hardworking little forester found a bright little girl sleeping under the largest tree outside the town. She slept contently, a true daughter of nature."
As the events played out, they witnessed the first meeting between that little girl and the forester. This time the scene did not unpause, remaining only as a one slice of a moment.
"That little forester decided to bring the girl back to the village, to the church's orphanage," Lee narrated.
The static imagery changed to that of a somewhat rundown building, with a warm fire surrounded by several playing children, with the pink haired little girl standing atop a high chair, holding a stick up high and wearing a paper crown, seeming to proclaim herself king of the orphanage.
"Everyone in the village loved her," Lee continued. "She loved to smile and be pampered. When the snow began to melt, she picked flowers to give to every passerby. She worked in the gardens, teaching other children to help. Soon, she learned to read, write, and began singing to herself. For all the world, it was her story. But there was one thing she struggled with."
The scene shifted again. The girl lay on the carpet, deep in thought.
Another little girl, with black hair, spoke up, "Have you not decided? It's so inconvenient to be nameless."
The pink haired little girl spoke up, "Ugh… but these names aren't cute enough."
"But I think that "Atalasia", or "Tia" both sound good."
"No, names are very important. I must have a name that I like the most! Ah, Marianne, you are sneaking biscuits again. You're not going to grow taller!"
"Eh? Y-You're mistaken, I didn't eat any biscuits!"
The scene paused again, and Lee spoke up, "The little girl struggled with her own name, until, one day she was given a picture book."
The scene changed to a grassy hill, some distance away from the lights of the nearby town. A full moon glowing brightly overhead.
"Wow…!" the girl whispered.
"In this fairy tale," Lee narrated, "the protagonist strove to find a paradise at the end of the world. A long and arduous journey, yet they never gave up. Eventually, they reached the end."
The girl turned the page of the storybook.
"However, when they finally reached the end. Nothing was there. Paradise never existed after all."
The page turned again.
"But… the protagonist did not give up. He stood at the end of the world and shouted–"
"If paradise does not exist, then I will create one myself!" Shouted the little girl, "Then he set off on an even more arduous journey."
As she continued to read aloud, she smiled, "They cheered, hugged, and sang for the dream they themselves realized. They had finally reached paradise. It was right there, at the end of their journey. Everyone cheered with joy, shouting its name…"
As she turned to the final page, moonlight shined down, illuminating the words for all to read.
"This is it! Pristine paradise… Eternal Elysium… Yes… Yes! My name… My name is–"
"Elysia!" the girl exclaimed!
"Elysia." Fu Hua whispered out.