"Let me see how you choose in this final trial, Elias."
"What now, Otto? Planning something again?"
Elias frowned slightly. The Subspace Lance pressed a little deeper into Otto's neck. He was already considering how many pieces he should cut this man into—or whether he should simply feed him to the Heaven Devourer instead.
He just wondered if feeding it something dirty would give it a stomachache.
Sensing the undisguised killing intent in those golden eyes, Otto broke out in a cold sweat. He raised both hands and took a few steps back, signaling surrender.
"Ahem! Rather than saying I'm planning something, it's better to say this is a multiple-choice question given to you by this virtual world. But with your intelligence, Elias, you'll understand soon enough."
"..."
Elias raised a brow. He closed his eyes and extended his perception. Under the authority of the Herrscher of Wind, a thousand currents became his ears and eyes, helping him probe every piece of information within this world.
The result was tranquility.
After Kallen had crossed beyond her destined death, this virtual world showed no change whatsoever. Time continued to move forward steadily. There were no abnormalities.
"No anomalies. Then this situation must be..."
"Oh? You figured it out that quickly."
Otto showed a trace of surprise before curling his lips into that infuriating smile. He then explained to the utterly confused Kallen the choice this world was presenting to Elias.
"This is a world that resets itself when [Kallen is killed] is triggered. Elias, although you helped the saint overcome her destined death and move toward the future, you yourself are now trapped within this virtual world."
Simply put, the logout button was gone.
Because Kallen Kaslana would not die, this virtual world would continue developing indefinitely. Perhaps only when she eventually died of old age would it reset and begin its cycle again.
During that time, the consciousness of both Elias and Otto would remain trapped here, unable to return to reality.
"How can this be?!"
Kallen could not accept it. The price of gaining her future was Elias being imprisoned in this false world.
The joy she had just felt at overcoming death vanished instantly. She stepped forward and grabbed Otto by the collar, shaking him urgently.
"How can Elias leave this world? Tell me! Or I'll smash Judas in your face!"
"..."
Otto forced a helpless smile. He was certain he had completely earned the saint's hatred. With a faint sigh, he replied,
"It's simple. Just start the cycle."
"What?"
"At the moment the cycle begins, this virtual world will reset to its initial state. Resetting takes time, and that brief window is the only chance to leave this world."
This world's reset cycle was different from the time loops Elias had experienced in the Previous Era.
Back then, he had reversed time to the starting point.
But here, the reset function was more like loading a save file. The old world they currently stood in would be directly deleted—destroyed—and replaced by a newly loaded one.
At the exact moment the old world was erased, an outsider like Elias would have the opportunity to escape.
However, the condition to trigger the reset was...
"My... death."
Kallen spoke the answer blankly.
"That's right. So if you don't die, Elias will remain trapped in this world. But if you choose death, you will be bound once more within endless cycles. The fate you finally overcame will shackle you again."
Otto spread his hands and looked toward Elias expectantly. This was truly his final move.
Cruel—but certainly effective.
Because Otto Apocalypse knew very well that the boy named Elias would never kill the one he loved. That radiant humanity was his greatest—and only—weakness.
If Elias refused to let Kallen die and thus remained trapped in this virtual world forever, Otto's objective would essentially be achieved.
As for choosing to let Kallen die...
Otto found himself unable to even imagine Elias making such a choice.
"You still pull something like this at the very end. You really are an unprecedented bastard, Otto."
"Hahaha, this wasn't something I deliberately designed. It's simply the result of your own actions. Honestly, I find it regrettable as well. But fate is cruel. There are no perfect solutions in this world."
"My fate will be decided by me."
Elias said calmly.
Otto was startled to find that those golden eyes showed not the slightest tremor.
The fool before him did not know that the boy had long since faced countless choices imposed by fate—save or abandon, sacrifice or survive, advance or halt.
Elias had made these unreasonable choices many times before. The worst had been with a certain Miss Pink Elf. Saving her meant abandoning the Current Era. Not saving her meant losing Elysia forever.
But precisely because he had faced so many such dilemmas, Elias had found his own method of response.
Choose neither.
If I have to choose, I'll choose all of them.
If the option doesn't exist, I'll create it myself.
Yet at that very moment...
"I'm sorry, Elias. I don't want to return to those endless cycles anymore. I'm tired of repeating the same death over and over. I want to live. And to live, I'm even willing to kill you. So..."
Kallen's hands trembled as she lifted Judas' Oath, aiming one of its golden lances at Elias.
She spoke of her despair.
She spoke of her longing.
She truly did not want to die again.
The despair accumulated over tens of thousands of cycles was painfully real. Sorrowful. Sympathetic. So overwhelming that even her betrayal of Elias seemed almost natural.
After all, this was merely a romance of less than two days. If sacrificing it meant gaining an infinite future, wouldn't anyone choose the latter?
But when she braced herself to see disappointment in his eyes—
She saw only calm.
"Too fake. Even the dog beside me wouldn't believe it."
"Ahem! That's rather harsh, Elias."
"What? You have a problem with that? Want me to ask Welt and Tesla what they think?"
"Ah... that won't be necessary..."
Otto shuddered. He had no desire to experience being crushed like stardust or torn apart by a pseudo black hole.
Elias snorted coldly. Several Subspace Lances suddenly ambushed Otto from behind, pinning him to the ground like a hedgehog—carefully avoiding fatal wounds, though he made sure to drive a few extra into particularly thick-skinned areas.
"Hey! Don't ignore me! I said I'm going to kill you!"
Kallen stomped her foot to regain attention.
"Kill me? Sure. Go ahead."
Elias walked straight toward her without changing expression, making no effort to avoid the golden lance in her hand. It was as if he didn't see it at all, heading directly toward its tip.
Startled, Kallen hurriedly stepped back and withdrew the weapon.
"D-Don't come closer!"
"What? Weren't you going to kill me?"
"I..."
Before she could respond, Elias had already reached her and pulled her into his arms.
"Idiot. A mere Kaslana trying to fool someone with acting? Even children wouldn't fall for it."
Her purpose had been to provoke his disappointment and disgust, so that he could kill her without psychological burden.
"Kill me, Elias."
"Why? We've known each other for less than two days. For just two days of feelings, you're willing to return to endless death?"
Elias held her gently and asked with quiet curiosity.
"Because only during these two days have I truly lived."
Kallen answered with a fragile smile.
She had experienced tens of thousands of cycles. But repeating the same scripted days could not be called living. Only in these two days—since the white-haired boy arrived at her side—had she felt truly alive.
Her heart had only truly beaten during these two days.
Only these two days were the sole reality within this false world.
The brief two days spent with Elias surpassed her entire past.
"And for the one I love, offering everything—that's what it means to be a Kaslana."
"So, Elias... let me die."
She cupped his face with both hands.
Tears slid down her cheeks.
Kallen Kaslana had made her resolve.
She was willing to fall eternally into cycles of death in exchange for her beloved's freedom.
To abandon the future she had finally obtained for the sake of two days of happiness.
"Kaslanas really are a family of idiots. How did you all develop this habit of sacrificing everything for the one you love? The original Kaslana—Kevin—has been single to this day."
Elias gently wiped the tears from her eyes and teased helplessly.
"I won't let you die. Just in case, I'll give you a Discipline—[Do Not Die]."
"But if you do that, Elias, you'll be trapped in this false world forever!"
Under the constraint of [Discipline], even suicide was no longer possible for her.
"Oh? So what?"
Elias crossed his arms, utterly calm.
"Y-You're not seriously willing to stay in this false world with me forever, are you?"
Her cheeks flushed crimson, her heartbeat spiraling out of control.
Expectation and emotion flickered in her eyes.
If Elias truly chose to remain here with her in this single-city illusion...
(Kallen: How many children should we have?)
Elias: "Absolutely not."
"Eh?"
"I've got a whole bunch of people I like waiting outside. Staying here forever? I can't do that."
He crossed his arms in an exaggerated X.
"A whole bunch... of people you like?"
Kallen froze.
Her tender expectations shattered instantly, irreparable. She stood petrified, taking what felt like ten thousand points of emotional damage.
Soon the saint squatted on the ground, teary-eyed, drawing circles on the floor, thinking she had been delusional.
If he had so many people waiting for him outside, how could he ever accompany her into eternal hell?
"So I'll take you with me."
Elias extended his hand toward her.
If I cannot fall into hell with you—
Then I will drag you up into heaven.
"Didn't I promise before? I'll take you to the real world. I never break my promises."
"..."
Kallen stared blankly at him.
Almost instinctively, she grasped the hand he offered.
"What are you planning to do?!"
Otto's composure finally cracked. Though bodiless, his heart pounded violently. Could Elias create another miracle?!
A miracle is called a miracle precisely because it is nearly impossible.
Yet when Otto reviewed Elias' life thus far, he was horrified to realize that the white-haired boy had indeed been creating miracles all along.
"If this world refuses to let us leave, then I'll simply infect it entirely!!"
The most terrifying authority began to unfold.
Centered on himself, the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption spread wildly, engulfing the entire virtual world in the blink of an eye.
In truth, since arriving here, Elias had been using this authority. He had replicated his real-world abilities within the virtual realm.
It was also through the power of the Herrscher of Corruption that he had blocked Otto from deploying further Honkai Beasts, Valkyries, and Herrschers as data bodies.
For the ultimate virus capable of hacking all life and networks, a data-constructed virtual world was nothing more than a backyard garden.
"If this world's rules prevent me from reaching a perfect ending—then I'll rewrite them!!"
"Impossible! The Herrscher of Corruption?! Isn't that supposed to appear last?!"
"Even if the order of Herrscher appearances differs from the Previous Era, the Twelfth shouldn't appear this early! And how did you obtain its authority at all?!"
Otto was utterly shaken.
He had never once considered the possibility that Elias was the Herrscher of Corruption. After all, even the Herrscher of Ice had yet to be born.
Yet the power Elias displayed was undeniably authentic. As the creator of this virtual world, Otto could clearly feel its programmatic laws being rewritten.
Elias was reshaping the world into what he desired.
(Wait... He previously used abilities related to ice and gravity. I assumed they were ordinary powers and didn't think much of it. But... could those have been Herrscher authorities as well?)
(If he possesses the authorities of the Herrscher of Ice, the Herrscher of Earth, and the Herrscher of Corruption... does that mean he already holds all Herrscher authorities?)
Cold sweat poured down Otto's back at the thought.
Instinct told him to deny it—but intuition whispered that it was likely true.
Elias, however, paid no attention to his speculation.
Under the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption, the rules of the virtual world were rewritten.
A door leading to the real world appeared before them.
"Kallen, I will take you away from this false world."