The time loop prolonged the existence of this phase world. Even though this prolonging method resembled an illness and defied all logic, perhaps some things—like miracles—also defy logic.
For example...
"I don't remember the other three ladies very well, but you... haven't we met before?"
Behind her, a high ponytail flared out, crimson red like flames, her brilliant hair leaving a deep impression on people. At this moment, her eyes were fixed intently on the Captain, as if trying to pierce through his face to recall something.
Her profession didn't allow her to overlook any evidence. In fact, her memory was exceptionally sharp—even trapped in a time loop within the City of Azure Seas, she could clearly distinguish any repeating detail from day to day. Her keen intuition had helped her many times, and she trusted it completely.
But with him, there was this persistent sense of familiarity—even though her memories held not the slightest trace of his presence.
---
In Theresa's Mansion.
"Himeko... sensei? She appeared too?"
Kiana was shocked. She hadn't even gotten around to reacting to the time loop schedule before being surprised by Himeko's appearance.
Himeko-sensei's storyline appearances had been far too few—especially after that final lesson. It felt like her character had been shelved for ages. Now that she suddenly appeared again in the game, Kiana felt strangely unprepared. For a moment, she even forgot that Himeko had made a clear appearance in a previous Luna event.
"Youthful Himeko has a limited-time run. You better treasure her while you can~"
Luo Mo teased with a laugh.
"What are you even talking about? I do want to treasure her! But Himeko-sensei never shows me what she looked like in her youth, and I can't even enter the game world myself..."
Kiana muttered, her eyelashes fluttering unusually.
She clearly had a deep interest in the younger version of Himeko-sensei. Maybe that interest was tinged with emotional attachment—whenever the topic of her teacher came up, Himeko's name would rise to the surface of her heart like a deeply etched mark.
It had become her own kind of personal symbol.
"Himeko, in that kind of environment... being alone and not caught in the time loop—it might not actually be a good thing."
Theresa sighed. Her voice softened. That friend of hers always felt like she had the worst luck. She hoped Himeko wouldn't be made into another tragic character again.
But...
In the present, Himeko seemed much more at ease in reality. Without Honkai Energy corroding her body, she no longer needed alcohol to numb herself. She drank now with a touch of elegance, often in the company of students.
And that brilliant golden S-rank Valkyrie also welcomed her every time. Their conversations were lively and full of laughter—so much so that Theresa sometimes felt a pang of jealousy.
Clearly, she had been there first...
In any case, she now found it difficult to stop Himeko from drinking even without paying her salary. But seeing Himeko actively changing her bad habits, she felt genuinely relieved.
"Hmm... If anything, Bronya thinks it would be fun to turn it into a crime city game scenario."
"Don't joke about something that serious like it's nothing! What if the time loop suddenly ends?"
Kiana jumped up in alarm, glaring at Bronya. That kind of mindset was so not Valkyrie material.
"That's why Bronya only said it for fun..."
The twin-tailed girl pouted, helplessly glancing toward Mei, who was about to reach out and pat her head.
But Mei's hand paused mid-air and instead patted Kiana—who, like a white kitten, narrowed her eyes in contentment, offering no resistance.
In her heart, Bronya insisted that wasn't what she meant, but... fine.
She had Seele anyway. And double Seele at that.
---
Back in the game world – Azure Seas City.
After seeing that these newcomers weren't affected by the time loop, Himeko actually felt a sense of relief.
Whether or not they believed her… she had been worried that her past violation of social norms and logic would cost her their trust. Thankfully, they were all open to accepting this strange reality.
In this looping world, surviving alone... she truly didn't know how much longer she could hold out.
She brought them to her residence. Inside, the furnishings were chaotic and unrestrained—takeout boxes, a city map, papers and pens all laid out on the table. It was clear her personality wasn't the type to care much for appearances.
Clearly forgetting it was her first time hosting guests, Himeko could only awkwardly smile and promise she'd tidy up in half a minute.
She also shared what little clues she had found. One was the sound of a bell at a key moment within the city. It might be a good breakthrough point. But every time she tried to investigate, wandering monsters would interfere, and she was overwhelmed by her own limitations.
As for the vampire rumors... there was a voice in her mind that insisted it was real. That vampires did exist.
Even though her colleagues and superiors believed she was trapped in some ungrounded delusion, Himeko had never given up on this gut feeling.
Worth mentioning: the day that kept looping was exactly the day she quit her job. That day, due to constant ridicule and provocation over her obsession with vampires, she couldn't stand it anymore and chose to resign. She even slapped her boss and shouted, "If anyone wants to clean up this mess, let them do it! I'm done!" And then she gloriously quit.
She originally thought there would be consequences waiting for her. But to her surprise, nothing came afterward.
"...So what you're saying is, you can slap your boss in the face every day, and the next day he doesn't even remember it?" Sirin raised her arm and blinked, looking at her with curiosity.
For some reason, the captain suddenly felt a chill down his back.
"Yes, exactly that," Himeko said, casually flipping her high ponytail with a small, amused smile.
"Whoa, something like that... really gets your blood pumping!" Bronie's eyes sparkled for the first time, her calm face showing genuine interest. She glanced at her own fair hand, clearly tempted. It seemed this idea was incredibly appealing to her.
"....."
The captain glanced at the two strange girls, speechless.
There were four grandfather clocks tied to the time loop — three visible and one hidden in a hard-to-find spot. Breaking all of them would take some effort. But fortunately, night in this world lasted unusually long, seemingly highlighting the same kind of endless night. The darkness dragged on with no sign of dawn, no glimpse of sunrise, as if this eternal loop could never reach a hopeful morning.
During that painfully slow night, he still failed to save the girl.
But everything was still continuing. It would continue.
He was determined to keep the promise he made to her and fulfill the future she imagined.
Just like when Himeko learned that breaking the loop would eventually cause this world to collapse — after a brief moment of surprise, her expression became calm again and she said:
"Life must always move forward. Living the same day over and over again in a loop like this — year after year — this is not what life is supposed to be."
"Tomorrow, hope, the future — all those beautiful words... they've been gone from this world for far too long..."
With a soft sigh, she still chose to keep moving forward.
----
At Theresa's mansion.
"Wait — let me ask something real quick. I'm not Himeko's boss in that world, am I?" Theresa sat up dramatically, looking like she was on the verge of a panic attack. She stared at Luo Mo, expecting a reassuring answer.
She absolutely didn't want to be linked romantically to Himeko in this strange time-loop world.
If she ended up being the boss who got slapped by her subordinate every day, and still didn't know it — that was a nightmare life she wanted no part of!
She already disliked the idea of a time-loop world, and now she hated it even more.
"Unfortunately," Luo Mo replied regretfully, "there's only one Theresa under the moon in that world. There won't be a second."
"Whew... that's a relief." Theresa patted her chest and let out a breath of relief. She absolutely didn't want anything to do with that terrifying scenario.
"I didn't expect Himeko-sensei to do something like that... hehe. Or maybe it's just to match her younger self's personality?" Kiana joked. These little moments of comic relief helped her cope with everything — and honestly, they were kind of fun.
If she had a power like that, skipping class would no longer be an issue.
Or maybe... she'd sneak into the company to check out the storyline updates? Hopefully next time it wouldn't just be a bunch of setting documents.
"Kiana~... why don't you tell me what I was like when I was younger?"
A fiery red-haired figure appeared at the door, looking at her student with a mix of amusement and mock sternness.
"Ah—ah—!"
Kiana clearly hadn't expected the real deal to show up suddenly. She was caught completely off guard.
(T/C: Finally! Long Time Himeko)
Following close behind her were the Herrscher of Sentience and Fu Hua. They nodded politely to everyone in the room and sat down together.
Honestly, Vill-V did a great job designing this place. The room was impressively spacious.
"Ahhh, finally back. After a trip to Shenzhou, that old brat finally stopped acting ancient. Too bad that figure wasn't for sale, or I would've brought back a bunch," said the Herrscher of Sentience, sitting down and full of energy.
"Well, since it's become a cultural relic, Nuwa offered to make another one for you, but you refused," Fu Hua replied flatly.
"Heh, who does she think she is? Some thousand-year-old historical figure? Just because she makes something doesn't mean it's worth anything. The ones with real historical weight are the proof — not like those who don't even want to appear in public!"
Senti sneered, arms crossed, completely dismissive.
Fu Hua's expression didn't change. She calmly sipped her tea and simply said, "As long as the goal is achieved, it's fine."
Even though Nuwa's figures weren't as useful, Luo Mo wisely didn't ask what the "figure" really was. Some things were better left unknown.
So in the end, he secretly informed Little Senti.
This matter absolutely couldn't be leaked.
Schicksal's sphere of influence may be vast, but it doesn't cover the Shenzhou region entirely—at the very least, they can't easily intervene in all levels of its cybersecurity. Naturally, this was left to Fu Hua to handle.
The process went extremely smoothly. Despite a few hiccups along the way, with solid evidence and the testimony of the Immortal Chiyuan, the other party finally agreed.
Given their awareness of the authority and danger involved, there was no reason to let humanity's sharpest weapon fall entirely under someone else's control.
Kallen nodded without saying anything more.
It had all been prearranged long ago, and as long as there were no unexpected variables, it was fine. Even if something had happened… Little Senti was with him, wasn't she? That one step was never going to happen anyway.
"How's the script going? Let me see—Captain fainted, huh. Luo Mo, are you alright?"
The Herrscher of Knowledge furrowed her delicate brows and patted Luo Mo on the shoulder.
"...You're the one who's not alright. That was all part of the script, carefully set up foreshadowing."
Luo Mo gave her a helpless side-eye.
Strangely, in the Luna scenario, although many people held hostility towards him—even during review, many didn't completely let go of it—Fu Hua and Little Senti were the exceptions, completely at ease with him.
Maybe it was because they looked like trustworthy comrades?
"Giving me a script like this, Luo Mo, you're naughty. The part about me slapping the Captain every day is being talked about everywhere now."
Himeko looked at him with a slightly mischievous grin in her eyes.
"Also, aren't you technically my boss? What kind of message are you sending by letting your employee hit their superior? Won't others try to copy that?"
"No one would actually do it, don't worry. More importantly, how did you all find time to watch the story unfold on the way here?"
Luo Mo asked in surprise.
"Multitasking, obviously. Who do you take us for?"
The Herrscher of Sentience said smugly.
"Little Senti was messing around in my consciousness. I wasn't really in the mood to enjoy it properly."
Fu Hua cut off the nonsense and got straight to the point.
"And she shared it with me too. I was planning to nap on the plane, you know."
Himeko grumbled.
"Forget about that Old Timer—she didn't even have a side role. But Himeko, it's a real pity not to share your storyline."
She, the Scarlet Valkyrie, declared proudly.
"Also, if there really was a day that kept looping, I hope it's the first day. Then I could slap Otto every single day! And at some point, I'd surely find the perfect argument to shut him up completely."
Clearly, the Herrscher of Sentience hadn't let go of that past grievance.
"Honestly… I don't think you'd even get through two loops before Otto figures out what's going on."
Luo Mo muttered as he looked at her gleeful face.
-----
After breaking all the pendulum clocks and ending the endless loop where tomorrow would never arrive, just as the group was preparing to move on under the moonlight— a sudden change occurred.
The Captain once again fell into that dreamscape.
Crimson mist filled the world before him, and the girl's urgent voice pleading for him to leave echoed once more.
His body, weak and wracked with pain, made every breath exhausting.
Yet the voice—so familiar, so haunting—would not let him ignore it.
He called out her name again and again, asking where she was.
But in this world, her voice became fainter and fainter… until it was barely audible.
He saw the burning flames devour the red moon.
The scorching air turned the last breath in his lungs to nothingness, and his heavy body could no longer carry him forward.
But she was crying.
The raging fire consumed everything arrogantly, reaching out its searing hand toward her, but her heart was freezing over completely.
Still—he had to save her.
In that silence, all that remained were two hands that could never touch, and the last faint scent of flowers that lulled him into unconsciousness.
On his path toward that goal, he never stopped collecting fragments of her memories or catching glimpses of her barely-there voice.
He could feel his body growing weaker and more painful.
Even if he didn't know the exact problem—
he could not turn back now.
That promise etched deep into his soul kept reminding him: no matter what, he had to find her, rescue her—before everything became irreversible
...
"Cough, cough—"
He woke from a violent fit of coughing, propping himself up and scanning his surroundings.
The mist dispersed in the wind, a campfire crackled beside him, and trees stretched endlessly around him.
In the distance, a densely packed city stood clearly visible.
While unconscious, he had somehow traveled a great distance.
Collapsing like this was starting to feel normal in this world.
Was his body truly this weak now?
He let out a bitter laugh.
His heart pounded fiercely in his chest.
He narrowed his eyes at the faraway Castle —that must be where she was.
After all, the vampire and the princess...
They both had to be in that Castle.