After what happened within that world.
Bronya and "Seele" found themselves standing outside the labyrinth.
The maze was gone.
Bronya: "The maze… has disappeared."
Bronya looked ahead.
Floating before them was an object surrounded by a faint, mysterious glow.
Bronya: "The Herrscher of Reason's Core…"
She immediately looked around for Seele.
Bronya: "Thank goodness you're alright, Seele…"
Seele slowly opened her eyes.
But something was wrong.
Instead of her usual ocean-azure eyes, her eyes were now crimson red.
"Seele": "Yes, I'm fine."
Bronya stared at her in silence.
"Seele": "You're finally here, Bronya."
"Seele" turned her attention toward the Core floating before them.
"Seele": "Is this the Core belonging to the Herrscher of Reason? I never thought it would look like this…"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Seele": "Heh. This will help us return to the real world, Bronya."
Bronya's expression immediately hardened.
Bronya: "…Nyet. You are not Seele."
She took a step back, her eyes fixed firmly on the girl before her.
Bronya: "Who are you? What did you do to Seele?"
"Seele" blinked in apparent surprise.
"Seele": "Bronya? It's me! Don't you know me anymore?"
She paused before her expression changed.
"Seele": "Hmm, to be honest… this is indeed the first time we've met."
She smiled faintly.
"Seele": "I'll introduce myself. I am a symbiont living within her… another side of her personality."
Bronya: "Another side?"
Bronya: "The Bronya does not understand. Return Seele at once."
"Seele" sighed softly.
"Seele": "I understand your wish to protect Seele. Don't worry. We are one. I'd never hurt my host."
Her crimson eyes shifted toward the Herrscher of Reason's Core.
"Seele": "But I do know the way to save her."
She extended a hand toward Bronya.
"Seele": "Please give me the Core of Reason to help Seele and I return to the real world."
Bronya immediately shook her head.
Bronya: "Nyet, the Bronya will utilise the Eye of the Deep to take Seele home…"
"Seele" lowered her hand.
"Seele": "It won't work. Seele… well, she's now a part of the Sea…"
"Seele": "X-10 gave her the power to warp between dimensions, but it was too much for her body to handle."
Her voice became quieter.
"Seele": "We both know that. We lack the means to save her."
She paused.
Then a faint smile returned to her face.
"Seele": "But I have some good news for you."
She looked directly into Bronya's eyes.
"Seele": "Seele isn't here by coincidence. Do you want to know why?"
Bronya: "…?"
Bronya fell silent.
Then, she remembered something Seele had told her when they had first reunited.
Seele: "I don't know… I remember a cold, dark, and empty room with a tightly shut door."
Seele: "I was trapped there for what seemed like an eternity."
Seele: "Then the door suddenly opened and light poured in."
Seele: "I always wanted to escape and find you, Bronya… so I ran off into the light."
Seele: "I can't remember the rest… I woke up in this world when I regained awareness."
Bronya's eyes narrowed.
Bronya: "…"
"Seele" continued.
"Seele": "Someone saved us. But it came at a price."
Her expression darkened.
"Seele": "We drifted in the void. We tried to leave but kept failing. It felt like it would never end, until one day…"
She clenched her hand.
"Seele": "…A voice called to us from the darkness."
Bronya: "A voice?"
"Seele": "I don't know who it was. Seele doesn't know either. But it promised to help us leave."
"Seele": "It promised to take us from the Sea of Quanta and return to the real world. It only demanded one thing."
Her crimson eyes slowly turned toward the Core.
"Seele": "It wanted us to find the Core of Reason and remove the barrier between the Sea and reality."
Bronya immediately understood.
Her expression turned grim.
Bronya: "…We cannot accept this request."
Bronya: "The Bronya can only think of one entity with such power and motivation."
Bronya: "You must stop. We cannot help the Serpent bring down the barrier."
"Seele" stared at her.
"Seele": "Stop? Why? I don't understand."
Her voice gradually became more emotional.
"Seele": "It saved us. Without its help, I wouldn't be here talking to you."
"Seele": "It promised to create a world where Seele can live in…"
Her expression softened for a moment.
"Seele": "A world without the Honkai, where you and Seele can live happily ever after."
Bronya remained unmoved.
Bronya: "The Serpent is merely deceiving and manipulating Seele to break free from the Sea of Quanta."
"Seele" fell silent.
"Seele": "…"
Her hands slowly clenched into fists.
"Seele": "You wouldn't understand. It's too dark and cold, and we've been trapped here for too long."
"Seele": "We didn't want its help at first… but we had no choice."
Her voice trembled.
"Seele": "I want to leave…"
Suddenly, her expression hardened.
"Seele": "I won't let anyone stop me!"
A violent surge of energy erupted around her.
Her appearance began to change.
An indigo-and-white hairpin appeared on the left side of her head. Her clothes transformed into a white-and-indigo shirt and an indigo skirt, while purple thigh-highs covered her legs above her black shoes.
"Seele" raised her scythe and pointed it toward Bronya.
"Seele": "Not even you, Bronya!"
Without warning, she rushed forward.
Her scythe tore through the air.
Bronya reacted instantly.
Project Bunny materialized in front of her and raised its weapon to block the incoming attack.
CLANG!
The scythe collided with Project Bunny's defenses.
"Seele" continued attacking relentlessly.
Bronya did everything she could to block and evade her strikes while Project Bunny desperately tried to keep the scythe away from her.
Around Bronya's neck, the blue crystal necklace began to glow.
It was responding to her danger.
It was ready to summon the warriors within.
Bronya clenched her hand around it.
No.
She refused.
Despite everything, the person standing before her still possessed Seele's body.
Bronya could not bring herself to summon warriors against her.
She continued defending herself.
But her hesitation gave "Seele" the advantage.
A slash struck Bronya.
Then another.
Bronya stumbled backward as pain spread through her body.
Bronya: "…!"
Project Bunny attempted to intercept another attack.
But "Seele" suddenly changed direction.
She slipped past Project Bunny.
Before Bronya could react, "Seele" appeared directly in front of her.
Her fist struck Bronya in the stomach.
THUD!
Bronya's eyes widened.
The force of the blow caused her to collapse to her knees.
Her strength quickly left her body.
She fell forward onto the ground.
Her vision slowly began to fade.
Bronya: "Nyet!"
"Seele" stood over her.
Her crimson eyes stared silently at Bronya.
"Seele": "Sleep… Bronya…"
Bronya struggled to remain conscious.
Her fingers reached weakly toward the glowing Core.
"Seele": "When you wake up…"
Her vision became darker.
"Seele": "…Everything will be over."
The last thing Bronya saw before losing consciousness was Seele's face.
And those crimson-red eyes staring back at her.
Then everything went dark.
It was dark.
It was silent.
The air was completely still.
There was nothing except a yawning void… an endless gap stretching into infinity.
And within that darkness, the girl continued to fall.
Deeper.
And deeper.
Into the gaping abyss.
Bronya: "…"
What happened?
Bronya could barely remember.
She scarcely remembered who she had fought.
The battle had torn at her heart and deepened the sorrows she had tried so hard to leave behind.
She could not feel anything.
Time itself seemed ephemeral within this endless darkness.
Confusion.
Loss.
Guilt.
The emotions swamped her as she drifted helplessly through the bleak void.
Bronya: "…"
Then—
Joachim: "Bronya…"
Bronya's eyes slowly opened.
Bronya: "…?"
A single spark rippled across the darkness like a tear falling into a serene pond.
Something…
Someone…
Was calling out to her from within the distant light.
Joachim: "Bronya…"
Bronya: "…Who are you?"
The voice felt strange.
Yet at the same time…
Familiar.
Bronya slowly reached toward the distant light.
Bronya: "…?"
A faint figure flickered within the brightness.
Bronya's eyes widened.
Bronya: "…Joachim?"
The light continued to grow.
Brighter.
Warmer.
Until it illuminated her entire world.
And then—
Bronya saw them.
Her memories.
Bronya: "What is this… place?"
A familiar voice echoed through the light.
Seele: "I'll always be at Bronya's side…"
Seele: "Just like how you were always by mine…"
Bronya saw the people she had encountered throughout the worlds she had passed through.
The memories of each world appeared before her like fragments of a forgotten dream.
Cocolia: "Bronya…"
Cocolia: "I heard that you…"
Cocolia: "…Had some bad experiences before coming here."
Cocolia: "But put it all behind you, dear."
Another voice followed.
Himeko: "Relax and treat this place as your home…"
Himeko: "…Treat us as your family."
Then came the words of the priest.
The Priest: "Right and wrong doesn't answer every question in this world."
Theresa's voice echoed next.
Theresa: "We all know how it works…"
Theresa: "…But we can't bring ourselves to do it."
Theresa: "I don't think any one of us knows how to leave it all behind."
A faint image of Fenghuang Down appeared within the light.
Fenghuang Down: "You're not doing it for others. You're doing it for yourself."
Then came another voice.
A voice filled with hatred.
1st Herrscher: "You hate me because I've killed your friends… HATRED DRIVES US BOTH!"
Bronya own voice echoed through the void.
Bronya: "The Bronya is not you, and will never become you."
The memories continued.
The Priest: "There are three steps in our lives."
Joachim: "Your past has tempered your will and resilience far beyond that of a child your age."
Fenghuang Down: "You will walk out of your past and find your way."
Then—
A familiar voice.
A voice Bronya had carried within her heart for so long.
Cocolia: "I believe in you, Bronya."
Cocolia: "You will soon become an excellent Valkyrie."
Bronya's breathing became heavier.
Bronya: "Huff… huff…"
Warm light poured over the memories of the bubble universes.
The worlds she had traveled through.
The people she had met.
And finally—
The light surrounded Bronya herself.
Joachim's figure stood before her.
Joachim: "Where are you going, Bronya?"
Bronya remained silent for a moment.
Then she slowly lifted her head.
Bronya: "…"
Her eyes turned toward the distant light.
Bronya: "The Sea of Quanta…"
Her voice gradually became firmer.
Bronya: "They are waiting for the Bronya… Seele is waiting for the Bronya…"
Bronya: "The Bronya… must complete her mission…"
She took a step forward.
Bronya: "The Bronya must… go to the Deep End of the Sea…"
Bronya forced her exhausted body to move.
Then she began to run.
Toward the light.
Toward the future waiting beyond the darkness.
Behind her, Joachim's form slowly began to fade.
The final remnant of the labyrinth was disappearing.
But his voice remained.
Joachim: "Then go, Bronya…"
The path ahead opened completely.
Joachim: "The path to the future… is now open to you…"
Bronya continued forward without looking back.
The light swallowed her entire figure.
And Joachim faded away.
Granting Bronya passage into the Deep End of the Sea.