Earth, an unknown location.
After the pillar of light broke through the constraints of space and dissipated here.
The figures of Kiana and the others also appeared, subconsciously observing their surroundings.
Kiana spoke first, "Wow, in the blink of an eye, we've really returned from the Moon."
Seele said hesitantly, "This is… Sea Abyss City?"
Bronya quickly sorted out the current situation and understood, "…I see."
"Sea Abyss City is a relic of the Previous Era's technological center on the Mu Continent. It makes sense that the stargate would send us here."
Fu Hua couldn't help but sigh, "New Atla… so that's what it really means."
Seeing the puzzled look on Mei's face, Fu Hua took the initiative to explain, "This place once belonged to a city called Atla."
"Presumably for that reason, the stargate connected to the other end on the Moon, so it was called New Atla."
Mei nodded and said, "…But this is the deepest part of the Mariana Trench."
"If we plan to go to other places on Earth, we'll need to put in more effort."
Kiana also agreed, "Yeah. If the latitude here is as messed up by the Stigmata Plan as it was on the Moon."
"The authority of the Herrscher of the Void will be difficult to use."
"Bronya, the position we're in right now… is it where the Eye of the Sea Abyss was located back then?"
Bronya nodded, "Mm. Back then, this place directly connected to the Sea of Quanta."
"It was also heavily influenced by the Sea of Quanta in terms of environment, but now…"
As she spoke, Bronya shifted her gaze to Seele.
Seele thought for a moment and said, "…Mm, right now I can barely feel any extra power from the Sea of Quanta here."
"When Anti-Entropy had just closed the Eye of the Sea Abyss, it wasn't like this."
Kiana said without surprise, "As expected, the Stigmata Plan has still affected this place…"
"It's just that because of the balancing power from the Sea of Quanta, Sea Abyss City can still maintain its current state."
Mei then said, "Which means that without any intervention."
"With the passage of time, this Sea Abyss City will eventually be incorporated into the Stigmata Plan as well, right?"
Fu Hua also spoke, "…Based on the various intelligence we've obtained before, the Stigmata Plan is indeed attempting to rewrite the entire Earth into a dream in a certain sense."
"Although we still have no way of knowing the specific meaning of that statement."
Bronya said, "We should first thoroughly investigate this Sea Abyss City."
"Whether it's places that remain consistent with the past or abnormal changes, they will be valuable experiences to help us re-understand this world."
Kiana agreed, "Yeah. At least according to Durandal."
"The current Earth is very likely no longer the way we remember it."
The audience watching this also couldn't help but complain one after another. The Earth's surface had already become unrecognizable.
How could they expect no changes on the continents?
Not to mention that when filming the plot earlier, Hessian had also broadcasted quite a few setting collections during his livestream.
Because of his role-playing as Otto, his popularity was quite high.
He was even jokingly called by some fans as someone whose coffin lid couldn't hold him down.
Back to the main topic, on the TV.
Fu Hua asked, "There are seven of us. After going up from here, should we split up first to investigate and figure out the various conditions of the entire area?"
Bronya nodded, "Mm, that would naturally be more efficient."
"Besides, the area of Sea Abyss City isn't that large. If we encounter any problems, it will be convenient for everyone to support each other."
"Then… let's assign it like this: Kiana and Mei as one pair, Class President and the Herrscher of Sentience as one pair, Seele and Bronya as one pair."
"How about that?"
The CP boss Bronya, after assigning the CPs including herself, earnestly explained:
"Kiana's team can start investigating the properties of the surrounding space and look for ways to contact the outside world~."
"Class President's team might have ways to monitor the extent of the Stigmata Plan's influence on ordinary humans and the world."
"While Seele and Bronya are more familiar with the old Sea Abyss City and are suitable for searching for the various resources Anti-Entropy left behind here."
Fu Hua approved, "Indeed, this division of labor is quite reasonable."
Kiana happily said, "Then, shall we split up and start moving?"
"Mei and I will probably stay here first and gradually probe the properties of the space from our initial position."
Mei nodded, "Mm, this is the safer approach."
"..."
Fu Hua seemed to want to say something but held back, while Mei showed a look of doubt and inquiry.
Fu Hua smiled and explained, "The Herrscher of Sentience said that although this is already more than six thousand meters under the deep sea."
"She still hopes to find a relatively higher position to identify more clues."
Seele said, "Bronya sister, if we're looking for supplies, should we first go check the place where the Hyperion was docked before?"
Bronya readily agreed, "Sure. If Bronya remembers correctly…"
"At that time, in order to conduct experiments transferring Honkai energy to the Sea of Quanta, Dr. Einstein and the others stored all kinds of tools there."
"However, although Sea Abyss City looks relatively safe at first glance… we still cannot let our guard down."
"After all, World Serpent also caused a big commotion here in the past."
Fu Hua nodded, "Mm, Kiana and Mei should also stay vigilant."
Kiana responded, "Understood. When we need to contact each other, we'll use the consciousness network that the Herrscher of Sentience built before."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Fu Hua's expression became somewhat strange, while a question mark subconsciously appeared on Kiana's face.
Fu Hua shook her head and said, "Ah, it's nothing. It's just that the Herrscher of Sentience said…"
At this moment, Senti suddenly appeared and interrupted, "Alright, alright! You old antique, do you really need to relay everything to them?"
"Ahem, anyway, you all must remember that everything ultimately comes from the benefits brought to you by the great Lady Herrscher of Sentience."
"I myself seek neither fame nor profit, but you must remember the benefits I gave you."
"Those are things others can't give even if they wanted to, got it?"
Kiana almost couldn't hold back her laughter upon hearing this, then immediately said, "Mm, thank you, Lady Herrscher of Sentience."
Noticing Kiana's expression, a question mark popped up above Senti's head and she was about to get angry.
Fu Hua spoke up at the right time, "Alright, Senti, now isn't the time for banter."
"Since everyone's division of labor is quite clear, let's do as Kiana said and get moving as soon as possible."
"Mm."
Bronya and the others nodded one after another and began exploring the uninhabited Sea Abyss City.
Because they were all in pairs of two, and the two teams hadn't split up yet.
There wasn't any horror movie vibe. Instead, it gave off a feeling like a school trip?
After all, among the four—no, five people present, not a single one should be afraid of ghosts.
After exploring for a while, Bronya noticed something and looked at Seele, asking, "What's wrong, Seele?"
Seele responded, "Ah, I was thinking… what kind of person is Kevin, exactly?"
Hearing this, Bronya's gaze naturally fell on Fu Hua.
"…Indeed, to you all, he has almost only shown the face of an enemy."
Fu Hua thought for a moment and said.
Senti also popped out at this time, "I heard that when Seele met him in the Sea of Quanta, he even acted all mysterious and turned into a big snake?"
Fu Hua explained, "That was one of the avatars of the Finality-level Honkai Beast Brahama, named Kukulkan."
"Like Tlaloc and Coatl, they are intermediate products of the Chimera Plan, specialized existences more adapted to the Sea of Quanta."
Bronya recalled, "Tlaloc… is that the big skeleton that Bronya destroyed?"
Fu Hua nodded, "Mm, so at that time… he probably just chose a relatively normal-looking avatar."
Senti said unhappily, "Hah, I knew it. You old antique, you're going to start saying good things about other old antiques again."
"If you ask me… if you had my straightforward way of expressing things, how could matters have come to this point today?"
"Whether it's a test or a responsibility—as fellow pioneers of the Previous Era, over ten thousand years, what can't be sat down and talked about?"
"If one talk doesn't work, you can talk twice, three times."
"Kevin should also come visit our Shenzhou more often and experience what it means to value harmony."
Bronya said speechlessly, "…This probably isn't something that can be solved by drinking tea, right?"
Fu Hua, however, said, "But… long periods of time do indeed make it easy for people to lose basic communication skills."
"For example, after waking up from the shelter back then, Kevin, Su, and I maintained regular exchanges…"
"But gradually, those exchanges became once every few months, once a year, until once every ten years."
Seele asked in confusion, "But… why did it become like that?"
Fu Hua explained, "Because time is simply too long."
"Over hundreds or thousands of years, there will always be unexpected events that break artificially set rules."
"At such times, we often find that the rules we set in the past seem to be nothing but red tape."
"But if too many things are treated as red tape, the final result… is exactly as you see."
Senti seemed to recall something and said, "Bronya saw it at Taixu Mountain too, right?"
"This old antique doesn't even know to play with the children when taking care of them."
At the end, Senti let out a very disappointed sigh, nearly making many viewers laugh out loud.
Bronya understood, "…I see. Bronya suddenly understands now."
"Why, despite such a large age difference, the Class President still values her experiences at St. Freya Academy just like we do."
Senti: "Ah?"
Fu Hua smiled and said, "Mm. After all, over these hundreds of years, St. Freya was the only place where I could feel my time flowing normally."
"..."
Senti sighed and said, "Should I say you really deserve to be called an old antique?"
"Normal people try their best to make their time stop at a certain moment, right?"
Bronya said, "People do have such wishes, but—it is only when time is passing that people can realize they are still alive."
"Crossing one story after another, experiencing one ending after another… and constantly creating unprecedented possibilities."
"This sounds very contradictory… but contradiction is precisely the base color of what makes humans human."
Senti was silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, alright, alright. Weren't we originally talking about Kevin?"
"How did it turn into the Herrscher of Reason's time?"
Fu Hua said, "Over the past ten thousand years, we pioneers all thought we were bearing contradictions…"
"But this behavior itself would also create new contradictions for the world, just like the current Kevin."
"Of course, no one wants to be ruthlessly destroyed by Finality—but precisely because of that, Kevin feels even more despair toward the Stigmata Plan."
Seele said in confusion, "…Despair?"
Senti countered, "…Not necessarily. His attitude is less despair."
"And more like placing his hopes on you people."
"If he ultimately discovers on you all the things he has long been expecting…"
"At that time, he should go all out and fight you to the death, right?"
Seele shrank her neck, "Eh?"
Bronya then asked, "Herrscher of Sentience… are you sure you didn't say that backwards?"
Fu Hua spoke, "—She didn't."
"And her answer perfectly answers the question from the very beginning…"
"What kind of person Kevin really is."
Thus, outside the Elysian Realm, by a twist of fate…
She too recalled ten thousand years ago, the moment when that farewell was first placed on the record needle.
Kevin's voice seemed to echo in her ears.
"Su, Hua, I entrust the matters ahead to you."
"..."
"Before we create disastrous consequences, this is the last chance."
"I must… load my own life into the chamber for this."
Kevin…
You want us to do the same thing… right?
Fu Hua thought while listening to Kevin's voice.
...
Time returned to the present.
After a brief conversation, the two teams continued advancing toward their destinations.
The process was very smooth, or rather, in front of Bronya who had become a true Herrscher of Reason.
It should have been this smooth.
Arriving at the upper levels of Sea Abyss City and looking at the scene as beautiful as a fairy tale.
Bronya sighed, "Sea Abyss City… really hasn't changed at all."
Fu Hua also acknowledged, "If it were peacetime, this place might be very suitable to operate as a tourist attraction?"
"Then, according to the previous plan, we will split up here."
Upon hearing this, Dark Seele appeared without warning and said, "Okay okay, there's a terrace up there. The signal should be pretty good."
Bronya looked at Seele who had been temporarily replaced, her small face subconsciously showing a dumbfounded expression.
Senti then said, "Really? Thanks a lot."