In the exact moment Raiden Mei's consciousness completely dissipated, the Authority she had been forcefully suppressing violently erupted.
Like a rabid beast bursting from its cage, it aggressively tore open the dimensional barrier between reality and the Imaginary Space.
The Third Honkai Eruption had descended.
With the Gem of Conquest as ground zero, the local magnetic field violently mutated.
The curtain finally rose on an unprecedented, apocalyptic disaster...
The memory fragment abruptly ended at this exact scene.
Li Wu was violently snapped back to reality. Back to a reality that was too horrific to look at, a reality covered in endless, festering wounds.
The summer sun was just as blindingly brilliant as ever, piercing the eyes so sharply they couldn't stay open.
It should have been a warm, beautiful day.
Yet now, not a single person in Nagazora City was left to see it.
Raiden Mei couldn't see it. The takoyaki vendor couldn't see it. Ruslan couldn't see it.
The children, the adults, the elderly... none of them could see it.
Withered corpses, shattered architecture, and the putrid stench of rotting flesh formed the sole business card of this ruined metropolis.
Li Wu wanted to scream.
He wanted to violently curse like Bronya to vent his absolute despair, but he didn't have the qualifications to do so. He had absolutely no right.
His golden pupils still burned brilliantly, but the vibrant color within was rapidly dulling, losing its intense saturation.
Li Wu continued walking.
Walking forward.
He didn't know where he could go, or what he would do when he got there.
He was like a piece of rotting driftwood, drifting endlessly on an infinite, uncaring sea.
Li Wu walked past a milk tea shop with its neon sign still flickering.
A young couple was locked in an embrace. A massive steel rebar that had plummeted from the roof had violently skewered both of their chests.
The boy's hand was still protectively cradling the back of the girl's head, and the girl's face was buried tightly in his shoulder, as if they were just sleeping.
The warm, soft lighting spilled over them, illuminating the coagulated pool of blood beneath their feet. It was devastatingly tragic, yet hauntingly beautiful.
Li Wu walked past an overturned baby stroller.
The wheels occasionally spun as the wind blew past—spinning slowly, stopping for a moment, spinning again, and stopping once more.
Li Wu walked past the neighboring high school Sato Haruko had mentioned.
The zombies inside wandered aimlessly. One was mindlessly chewing on a severed arm, though it was impossible to tell who it belonged to.
And just like that.
He walked forward, mindlessly slaughtering the zombies in his path.
Without a single defensive movement, he carved a bloody path from the absolute center of Nagazora all the way to the outskirts.
The process of absorbing the Gem of Conquest was completely unimpeded.
It felt as if the consciousness within the Gem had long since acknowledged him as its master; there was absolutely no phenomenon of rejection.
Finally, Li Wu arrived in front of a bookstore.
He lowered his head, his messy black hair completely obscuring his eyes.
His golden pupils had extinguished at some unknown point. Perhaps it was just a moment ago, or perhaps it was while he was mindlessly slaughtering zombies...
The signboard reading "Nene Books" had fallen to the ground, shattered into seven jagged, uneven pieces.
The lights inside the bookstore were still on.
From within, the sound of heavy, uneven breathing could be heard.
Li Wu stood frozen at the entrance for a very, very long time.
It wasn't until the door was pushed open that a warm ray of light finally illuminated his blood-soaked figure.
"Li Wu? Why are you covered in so many wounds? Never mind, come inside first. It's too dangerous out there. Let's talk inside."
Kiana's voice was like a clear, flowing spring. At first listen, it seemed completely devoid of warmth, yet it felt incredibly soothing.
When Li Wu stepped into the bookstore, his dead eyes suddenly lit up.
One... Two... Three!
Three living children!
"Uh... Ah..."
Li Wu's stiff, dead face—which had been frozen like cast iron—finally shifted.
He rushed forward and tightly pulled the three surviving children into his arms. Tears instantly burst from his eyes like a collapsed dam, flowing uncontrollably.
Watching this scene, Kiana's expression grew complex.
She let out a long sigh, walked deeper into the bookstore, and emerged moments later holding a can of cola.
"These three little girls are exceedingly rare natural Stigmata Awakeners. Their Honkai resistance is quite high."
"I ran into them by chance after the Great Eruption broke out and brought them here to hide. You should know what happened to their parents."
"As for the store manager... I couldn't save him. But at least he didn't mutate into a zombie."
Kiana walked over to Li Wu and crouched down beside him. She gently nudged the cold can of cola against his cheek.
"Drink this. You're very tired."
"...Thank you... Thank you..."
Li Wu didn't raise his head. As he took the can of cola, his hands shook violently, and his voice trembled just as much.
"Thank you... Thank you..."
His hoarse, raspy voice echoed hollowly in the small room.
He wasn't thanking Kiana for the cola. He was thanking her from the absolute bottom of his heart because there were actually survivors in this apocalyptic Great Eruption.
Only the sight of living human beings could offer the slightest, fleeting reprieve from the crushing guilt suffocating his soul.
Slowly, Kiana leaned in closer, crouching right beside him.
Even in the dimly lit bookstore, her amber eyes remained breathtakingly beautiful. She stared unblinkingly at Li Wu, her thoughts swirling chaotically.
So fragile.
Kiana thought to herself.
She had never seen Li Wu look this incredibly fragile. Even back when he had talked about "taking back his promise" and "giving up," he hadn't been this utterly broken.
He was so fragile it felt like a single, gentle poke would shatter his heart into millions of glass shards.
The three little girls were thoroughly confused by the strange boy who had suddenly engulfed them in a desperate hug.
They turned their heads and looked at Kiana. "Big Sister? This big brother..."
"He's my classmate. He's a very good person. You can trust him."
Kiana carefully scanned Li Wu's body.
When she clearly saw the horrific, bone-deep gashes covering him, her heart clenched painfully, and her breathing hitched.
They say the most deafening sound in the world is absolute silence.
And the most excruciating agony is an utterly numbed body.
Seeing Li Wu completely covered in horrific wounds, coming inside not to vent or complain, but instantly hugging the children and sobbing...
Kiana instantly understood exactly what kind of hell he had walked through to get here.
Thinking of this, Kiana focused even more intensely on Li Wu's softly crying face.
It was completely filthy, like a little stray cat that had just desperately crawled out of a garbage dump. It radiated an overwhelming sense of shattered vulnerability.
"Pull yourself together, Li Wu. I found these clothes at your apartment. Change into them."
"The clothes you're wearing right now are far too dirty. The children don't like it."
Kiana stood up, walked over to the front desk, and picked up a pitch-black combat uniform. It was the special attire capable of self-repair.
Her phrasing was incredibly clever.
It flawlessly struck Li Wu's softest emotional vulnerability at this exact moment.
"Mhm!"
Li Wu stood up.
He violently sniffled, haphazardly wiped his face with his sleeve, and aggressively scrubbed the tears from the corners of his eyes.
That face, which had been locked in an expression of pure, unending grief, finally reverted to normal.
He rapidly changed into the pitch-black combat uniform.
"Thank you, Kiana!"
Li Wu opened his eyes.
His golden pupils blazed like a scorching sun, radiating brilliant light.
The arrogant, aloof mystique was entirely gone, replaced by an intimate, fierce warmth—clean, pure, and absolute.
In the very center of his pupils, a profound crimson gleam flickered.
It was the physical manifestation of absorbing the Gem of Conquest.
Kiana froze completely.
She stood absolutely motionless.
Her gaze was completely locked onto Li Wu as if nailed in place. She even forgot to breathe.
For a fleeting, dizzying moment, Li Wu's filthy, exhausted face perfectly overlapped with the childish yet unfathomable face deeply etched into her memories.
"It was you..."
Kiana's voice was incredibly faint, yet her tone carried an impossible weight.
Exactly the same.
Those eyes.
That light.
That intensely scorching gaze that made it completely impossible to look away, burning hotter than the sun itself.
Her snow-white eyelashes trembled violently, like winter branches shivering in a sudden gale.
Kiana opened her mouth, her throat incredibly tight. After forcing those words out, she completely lost the ability to make a sound.
She could distinctly hear the violent pounding of her own heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Each beat hit harder than the last, like someone desperately hammering against a door that hadn't been opened in years.
Shock.
Joy.
Hesitation.
But despite her mind reeling, Kiana forcefully suppressed her violently surging emotions, refusing to let any more show on her face.
The one to break the silence was Li Wu.
He pulled out a locked notebook and a pen from seemingly thin air. He lowered his head and began rapidly scribbling something into it.
"It's my fault... Before this, I never believed anyone could actually help me. But this time..."
Li Wu paused, his expression turning intensely solemn.
"Kiana. I need you."
Kiana, still submerged in the depths of her memories, felt her eyelashes flutter lightly at the sound of her name.
Her face, which had been painted with absolute shock, rapidly reverted to its usual quiet, aloof demeanor.
"Uhh... Oh, mhm! We made a promise. Speak. I'm listening."
Li Wu wrote incredibly fast. Enhanced by [Future Loan], he only needed to jot down the most critical points.
In no time, everything he was thinking and planning was recorded on the pages.
The three little girls were still standing by the door, curiously peering at him.
After a brief silence, Li Wu walked over and guided the three girls into the bookstore's storage room to wait for a moment.
Before walking in, they turned back to look at Kiana. Only after seeing her nod did they obediently close the door, completely cutting off sound from the outside.
Only Li Wu and Kiana remained in the bookstore, staring at each other.
Kiana frowned deeply, her voice carrying a rare edge of urgency.
"You sent them away just to deliver your suicide manifesto to me? You finally managed to survive this hell, and you're just casually thinking about dying?!"
"I absolutely forbid it! And besides... even if you die, you can't return to the time before the tragedy happened, can you?"
"You really do know."
"So what if I know?"
Hearing Kiana's absolute confirmation, Li Wu offered a relaxed, deeply relieved smile.
It felt as if a crushing, suffocating burden was finally no longer his alone to bear.
But a moment later, the brilliant light in his eyes rapidly cooled at a visible rate.
"Since you know, then I won't be fighting alone anymore."
"I can focus entirely on fixing my mistakes without constantly looking over my shoulder... And, on liquidating the bastards who caused this."
"What exactly are you talking about? Li Wu, I don't understand a word you're saying."
"Yes, I know what happens every time you die. But even if you die right now, you cannot return to the time before the Third Eruption broke out! Your sacrifice now is completely meaningless! Don't you dare think suicide is going to solve anything!"
Sensing something fundamentally wrong, Kiana's expression and tone became extremely agitated.
She rushed forward and violently grabbed Li Wu's wrist, her fingers locking around it like a vice, refusing to let go.
Li Wu didn't resist.
He allowed Kiana to hold his wrist tightly, unhurriedly handing the notebook to her with his free hand.
"This is... the thing you're always secretly writing in during class."
Kiana instantly recognized the notebook.
Li Wu never paid attention in class. He was always tinkering with something at his desk, and the vast majority of that time was spent writing in this exact notebook.
Of course, it definitely wasn't schoolwork. Knowing Li Wu as well as she did, Kiana was absolutely certain he wouldn't waste time taking class notes.
It had to be something else.
And it was clearly incredibly important, otherwise, it wouldn't have a physical lock on it.
Every time he finished writing, he would instantly lock it up. He never let anyone see it, and whenever someone walked past, he would instinctively cover what he was doing.
Kiana had been deeply curious about what was written inside, but out of respect for his privacy, she had never tried to peek.
"Yes. It's this notebook. The password is your birthday."
"It records the general trajectory of future events. You probably won't understand if I just explain it, but once you open it and read it, you'll understand everything."
Li Wu raised his free hand, gently placing it over the hand Kiana had locked around his wrist, and slowly, firmly pushed it away.
Then, entirely of his own volition, he laid bare the absolute deepest, most closely guarded secret buried in his heart:
"I am not from this world. More accurately, I come from a parallel universe."
"In my universe, this world is nothing more than a game. A manga."
"A game? A manga?"
Kiana took the notebook. She hesitated for a moment before entering her birthday into the combination lock—1207.
Click.
The lock popped open exactly as expected.
The very first page of the notebook boldly read:
[Act I: "Their Unknown Other Side".]
[Main Quest: .]
[Location: Chiba Academy.]
[Target: Raiden Mei.]
[Objective: Prevent Raiden Mei's death, and help her find the meaning of her existence.]
[Note: I smile and demand money, demand health, demand dignity. You kneel before me, offering everything with both hands, without a single reservation, telling me how much you love me. I am ecstatic; I hesitate; I pity... Is this salvation, or is this conquest? I can no longer tell the difference.]
Main Quest... Target... Objective...
Game? Manga? Main Quest?
An overwhelming, inexplicable sense of absurdity instantly flooded Kiana's mind.
These terms were perfectly normal in entertainment media. But if someone walked up to you and told you that the reality you lived and breathed in was nothing more than a video game, you would absolutely assume they had completely lost their mind.
Anyone else reading this preposterous nonsense would find it utterly absurd and laughable.
They would mock him, throw the notebook back in his face, and ask if he had gone completely insane.
Anyone... except her.
Yes. She believed it.
Kiana's gaze sharpened, her eyes becoming incredibly profound. Her stunningly beautiful, icy face tilted up slightly as she stared calmly at Li Wu.
"So. This is the real reason you've been helping Raiden Mei."
"Just to... complete this so-called 'Main Quest'."
Kiana's tone carried a distinct edge of an interrogation.
Li Wu nodded with absolute sincerity. No more lies, no more disguises, no more excuses. He confessed everything to Kiana openly.
"I come from another world. I inexplicably transmigrated into this Honkai universe, where the manga serves as the core storyline."
"Every 'Act' corresponds to a specific female lead."
"Act I is Raiden Mei of Chiba Academy. Act II is the Flame-Chaser, Hua. Act III is Bronya Zaychik of Anti-Entropy. Act IV is Schicksal Overseer, Kallen Kaslana. Act V is Seele Vollerei of Anti-Entropy. Act VI is the Flame-Chaser, Elysia."
"And Act VII, the Final Act—"
Li Wu paused. His gaze didn't waver in the slightest, staring directly into Kiana's eyes.
"Is you."
"I see..."
Kiana lowered her head, staring intently at the notebook in her hands.
A heavy silence lingered for several seconds.
"Pfft."
With a sudden snort of laughter, her face—usually as cold and unyielding as frost—abruptly melted into a highly teasing smile.
"To think you even have to capture the Overseer of Schicksal—my very own ancestor. You really are something else..."