For many powerful beings, the distance from North Africa to Central Europe is not difficult to cross.
However, for the returning Messenger, completing this journey is extremely taxing.
Especially with the extreme cold storm already here.
Created by Seele and helped by humans and "God," the two Phantasm Butterflies who broke through the encirclement were now struggling through the bone-chilling wind.
They... this Messenger's destination was only one.
It was still out of sight.
Far, far away...
The place where her old memories resided.
German Federation, Berlin.
[ Outdoor Temperature: -7°C ]
Once, on the outskirts of this city, there was an old and warm orphanage.
That was the home in the Messenger's heart.
"God's" emotions were complex and difficult to grasp.
Clearly, He could have placed the teleportation gate's exit closer to the destination.
But He did not.
It seemed He wanted to... witness something else with His own eyes.
In the cold wind, the Messenger flapped her wings with all her might, drawing closer to the final stop in her heart.
One hour passed, then two...
Five and a half hours went by.
It could only be said that the two Phantasm Butterflies truly lived up to their nature as Honkai creations.
Because they belonged to the supernatural realm, their physical limits were not confined to those of their natural counterparts.
At this moment, the sun was setting over Central Europe.
Soon, without the sun's warmth, the ground temperature would drop even further.
The biting wind would become even more cruel.
When that happened, the Messenger's journey would become even more difficult.
Fortunately...
As she approached the sixth hour of her flight, she reached the coordinates in her memory.
However...
Returning to her hometown after so many days...
The Messenger saw only a scorched wasteland.
Long ago, the Sovereign of the Newborn World Serpent had unleashed the full power of his Flame Sword to defeat the Fourth Herrscher, a threat of immense proportions. The tyrannical Kalpa Fire had incinerated all of Central Europe.
This place had become a dead zone.
In the sky, the Messenger's flight path became erratic and confused as she looked around in despair.
Having pushed herself so hard to get this far, she couldn't accept such a despairing reality.
Even though she had already suspected this might happen.
Even though she had clung to a sliver of hope, a lingering attachment to the past.
Suddenly...
"!!!"
The Messenger saw a familiar figure.
It was a black haired young man walking through the void.
His left hand was tucked behind his back as he smiled and looked her way.
Then, he raised his right hand and pointed in a certain direction.
He seemed to be telling her: The home you want to return to, and the person you want to see, are still there.
Just not here.
The Messenger was overjoyed.
At this moment, even though she was utterly exhausted and her energy was almost gone.
She still refused to give up on the hope she had finally rekindled.
"Whoosh~"
A biting cold wind blew.
In the sky, the last sliver of sunlight sank below the horizon.
The two Phantasm Butterflies in the sky had already undergone a high intensity breakout operation at the very beginning.
She had long since surpassed her own limits.
She could no longer flap her wings.
Extreme joy turned to sorrow. After the emotional rollercoaster, she fell back into despair.
She watched herself falling helplessly toward the ground.
One of the Phantasm Butterflies had already completely vanished in mid-air.
"Sigh..."
A soft sigh echoed.
The last Phantasm Butterfly, turning translucent and about to follow its companion into oblivion, was gently caught by a hand.
She was cradled in his palm, struggling to look at the "Giant" in her vision.
In that instant...
"Fly, weary traveler returning home."
The black-haired young man softly spoke his blessing.
His expression was complicated.
It seemed even he hadn't expected the "Genuineness" he had always sought to appear on a Herrscher nearing her end.
Still, Genuineness was Genuineness.
In his eyes, there was no distinction between superior and inferior.
Therefore, he did not ask of her origins or her past.
Now, he hoped this faint light could fulfill her final wish.
And so, in the next moment...
Flutter, flutter~
The Phantasm Butterfly regained her vitality.
Now, she could once again serve as the Messenger for the rest of her journey.
Overjoyed, she circled the black-haired young man several times after taking flight again.
"Go on," he said with a smile. "Don't keep your family waiting."
The Phantasm Butterfly spun joyfully in the air.
Only after a long moment did she reluctantly take her leave.
The black-haired young man had already told her the exact location.
Her heart raced with the longing to return.
She flew faster and faster.
Finally, in a snow-covered courtyard, she saw several familiar figures.
The young boys and girls who used to look up to her and ask for gifts were now working hard to shovel snow.
At one point, a chubby little girl tripped over a pile of snow and fell.
But she was quickly helped up by her family, who brushed the cold snow off her clothes.
The girl rubbed her little nose and clumsily tried to help again.
Her family did not refuse.
The older boys simply smiled and silently shielded her from the wind and snow.
Everything was so familiar.
As if it were only yesterday.
Even though the world remained cruel, and the future remained cruel.
They were still fighting to live.
Supporting each other.
At this moment, the Phantasm Butterfly silently flew over them.
Specks of fluorescent light fell.
This was the final gift brought to them by their "big sister," who sometimes acted a bit fierce.
It would allow them to go further in the future.
Their smiles, blooming in the cold wind, were undoubtedly the pure lotuses that could still be seen in this gradually Honkai-ing city, symbolizing the sprouting of life.
After doing all this, the self-weakened Phantasm Butterfly felt endless exhaustion once again.
But she still forced herself to hold on.
There was still... the final...
In a certain room of this small courtyard...
Inside the cozy fireplace home, a woman lay quietly asleep on the bed.
Strange purple patterns had already spread to her cheeks.
Her figure had grown even more frail.
The Phantasm Butterfly lowered her flight altitude.
Then, she quietly landed outside the sealed window.
She gazed inside, troubled, not knowing how to enter.
She circled around and around.
In the end, she had no choice but to brave the heat and enter the room through the smoke-filled fireplace chimney.
She flew several circles around the sleeping woman.
It seemed she wanted to take one last, good look at that familiar face.
This was the closest, truest family member she had in her life.
Now, she could no longer call out to her.
Perhaps this was the greatest regret she had left in her life.
Since childhood, she had always called her simply by name.
Even though she had long acknowledged her as her mother in her heart.
Whether it was a habit she'd formed or a subconscious tendency to cause her own troubles.
She had never truly called her "Mother."
But...
The Phantasm Butterfly landed on the sleeping woman's hand, which rested on the quilt, and perched on her fingertip.
She had returned to her true home.
She could already feel this tangible warmth.
This entrusted longing had been delivered.
Now, her wish was fulfilled.
Her wings slowly lowered, and she began to decompose.
The faint, shimmering light looked especially beautiful under the silver moonlight streaming in from the window.
At that moment, the purple patterns on the sleeping woman's body began to fade rapidly.
Honkai Disease.
This disaster, which originally required the sacrifice of a thousand patients to extract enough serum to save one person, was now easily cured by a single Phantasm Butterfly.
In a daze, the sleeping woman's face, which had been slightly strained as if enduring some kind of pain, gradually relaxed.
Perhaps, at this moment, she was having a sweet dream for the first time in a long while.
In her dream, her long-lost, well-behaved daughter had returned to her side.
The first time she saw her, the girl had been abandoned in the dirty mud, her face and body covered in grime, and she was almost dragged away by a scavenging wild dog.
After she had used a broom to drive away the wild dog and panting, she saved the girl. The child didn't cry but instead reached out her small hand to touch her fingertips, smiling happily.
At that moment, they had formed a bond.
She had chosen the name herself.
Seele.
In this country, the name symbolized the "soul."
The blessing she gave her was this: no matter what the past was, no matter her origins, and no matter how many things she had to endure against her will, at least her "soul" would belong to herself.
Only then would she have the chance to escape one predicament after another and carve out her own path.
Seele...
She used to be so mischievous, so stubborn, and so strong-willed.
But whenever she was comforted, she would always let out a haughty huff, and even if she said she didn't want to, she would still follow her heart and handle things well.
Yet today, she just stood in a sea of flowers on the other shore, a gentle breeze brushing the hair on her cheek.
She only smiled, saying no more.
If possible, she hoped her daughter could live a good life.
Even if they shared no blood relation, this was the most sincere wish of a "mother."
At some point...
Crack~
Dry wood crackled.
The dream ended.
The woman with long, dark gray hair woke from her deep sleep.
Around her was the new environment she had only just grown familiar with.
Strangely, she felt her body was incredibly light.
But her heart, however, felt incredibly heavy.
Seele...
She hadn't seen her daughter in a long time.
If only she could have lived a little longer...
She truly hoped that one day in the future, she could meet her again.
She wanted to pat her head and hold her in her arms once more.
Just like before.
Meanwhile...
Within that World Bubble filled with poisonous gas.
The black haired youth had already departed.
Without the other party's restraint, the strongest human who had once again sealed his heart had no more reservations.
He would not hold back.
At this moment, Kevin stood on the scorched earth, his right hand gripping the Flame Sword.
Before him lay the broken Quantum Robot.
The light in its eyes had completely faded after a few flickers.
In Kevin's left palm, a purple and black irregular crystal floated.
It was the Herrscher Core of the Herrscher of Death.
He began to report the battle results to headquarters:
[ Remnants of the Old Days - Bronya Zaychik. ]
[ Fourth Herrscher - Herrscher of Death - Seele. ]
[ Have been successfully defeated! ]