"I remember... I was supposed to leave this place..."
Vill-V gently rubbed her brow, a deep sense of dissonance rising within her.
But when she saw Elysia's tearful face, that confusion dissolved like foam.
"Right. I'm supposed to send Elysia away from this hellhole."
Vill-V immediately stood up. She walked to a hidden corner of the garden and precisely rotated an ordinary-looking flowerpot. In an instant, the entrance to a secret basement slowly opened.
It was a military-grade escape passage, leading directly thirty li away.
For an ordinary household to possess so many basements and secrets, it was obvious that this family was anything but ordinary.
There was no way such a thing existed without a powerful organization backing it.
"This is Mom and Dad's secret. Big sister just modified it a little. All the dangerous stuff inside is gone. Hurry and go in first. Then say, 'This is my escape route da.' A robot will naturally guide you out," Vill-V explained gently to Elysia.
Elysia tightly grasped Vill-V's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "What about you, Big Sister?"
Vill-V smiled. "Me? Haha, I was originally an unnecessary person in this world... Oh, right. Big Sister just remembered there's something important I need to grab. I'll go get it. You go first. I'll catch up right away."
Vill-V lightly patted Elysia's little head, not wanting her to worry too much.
In this house, aside from Elysia, what else could possibly be important?
Everything in this so-called home was nothing more than things so repulsive they begged to be discarded.
Vill-V's real plan was to push Elysia into the escape passage and then face the black-clad members of The Ninth Mausoleum alone, buying time for her.
She had to hold out until Elysia escaped, ensuring she wouldn't be caught by the people from The Ninth Mausoleum.
There was no time left. The black-clad men had already dealt with the Honkai Beasts. She had to hurry...
However, what she hadn't anticipated was that Elysia suddenly struggled free and, with a swift motion, shoved Vill-V into the passage instead.
How could Elysia be this strong?!
"This is my escape route da!"
"Elysia!" Vill-V looked at Elysia's smiling face in horror and reached out to grab her. But the robot, having already received Elysia's escape command, responded instantly. A massive mechanical arm seized Vill-V tightly and sped toward the depths of the tunnel.
Vill-V was stunned, her heart pounding like thunder. She stubbornly stretched her hand forward, trying to grasp Elysia's figure, but her fingers closed on nothing but air.
She had originally set this rescue command in case she ever needed to escape while injured or crippled like an aging DIO. She had never imagined that one day she would hate herself so much for having installed such a thing.
And in order to evade pursuit, the robot's speed was so fast that in the blink of an eye, Elysia vanished from sight.
Only Elysia's sweet voice drifted in from the entrance.
"Big Sister, you big liar!"
"This time, it's Elysia's turn to protect her liar Big Sister."
"After all, Elysia is a monster too~"
"Elysia! You idiot!"
As the light from the entrance gradually receded, Vill-V frantically pounded on the robot. After prying open its control panel, she entered a backdoor program and forced it to shut down.
Clang!
The high-speed robot collapsed instantly, throwing Vill-V forward and slamming her onto the cold, rough ground.
"Ugh... mm..." Vill-V groaned in pain, feeling as though her bones were about to shatter. She barely lifted her head and saw Elysia's familiar back disappearing in the distance.
Because of her "jump" from the moving machine, Vill-V suffered multiple fractures, and her internal organs were severely damaged.
Her skin was torn and scraped raw, and even her adorable face was marred.
But Vill-V paid no attention to her dreadful physical condition. At this moment, her only thought was to go back—no matter what, she had to return to Elysia's side.
Her only family was Elysia. So wherever Elysia was, that was home.
"Elysia! You little sister... if you'd just obediently let Big Sister trick you, wouldn't that have been fine..."
Vill-V braced herself against the wall and forced herself upright, dragging her weakened body forward step by step.
"Elysia, you... cough... big idiot... this world isn't beautiful... Big Sister wanted to weave a more beautiful world for you..."
The pain gradually faded. Her body felt as though it were dissolving. These were common near-death experiences. But she did not summon the emergency rescue robot, because that would have taken her away.
"I... can't... stop yet..."
Vill-V was not a physically strong warrior. Halfway through, her fragile body finally gave out. She collapsed face-first onto the ground and lost consciousness.
The cold corridor fell silent once more.
Within a hazy expanse of deep violet darkness, a green-haired woman anxiously shook Vill-V.
"Vill-V, open your eyes. It's me—Planck!"
"Planck?"
Planck's familiar voice made Vill-V realize that all of this had been a dream. She opened her eyes, instantly regaining clarity.
Seeing the worried expression on the long-haired girl before her, Vill-V exclaimed, "You have a body now!"
"Yes. While you were immersed in the dream, I kept trying to establish contact with you. Now that your consciousness has awakened, I too have taken form within this dream."
"Not bad. So that means we're only one step away from escaping this dream layer," Vill-V said, looking beyond the iron door of the escape passage at the bright sky outside, as if it were calling to her.
Planck nodded and helped the fully restored Vill-V to her feet. "That's right. You've passed the trial of the Herrscher of Reason's core. As long as you walk through that golden archway, you can return to the real world."
"Mm." Vill-V also nodded silently, brushing the dust from her clothes.
She had already guessed that, precisely because this was inside the Herrscher of Reason's core, the feather of Wendy, the Herrscher of Wind, did not exist here.
Only the Herrscher of Reason's core would design such a labyrinth for her to seek out her own answer.
Old miHoYo tradition...
Back then, Bronya had solved the three labyrinths of the Herrscher of Reason within the Sea of Quanta before earning the chance to inherit the Herrscher of Reason's core.
It seemed that it had not been only Welt Yang testing whether Bronya was qualified.
...
Behind her stretched endless gray—gray of compromise, gray of resignation to life's helplessness.
Before her lay light within reach, carrying the hope of the future and the friends waiting for her.
Planck held Vill-V's small hand and led her forward. As long as she took this final step, everything would end. All memories would once again be swept into the shredder called "history."
What is past cannot be admonished. What is yet to come can still be pursued.
Vill-V had already obtained the key to the future.
Yet suddenly, Vill-V shook off Planck's hand and ran toward the other end of the passage—toward that endless gray.
"No. Everything is far from over!"