After returning to this place with its diverse regional styles, Mei clutched the item in her hand. Her brightly colored eyes glanced around and found the person she was looking for.
"I see. No wonder you joined my squad..."
"It was likely considered easier to hand it over to a relevant party given the survivor's psychological state."
Mei paused when she saw the back of the stylish, combat-uniform-clad, grey-haired woman.
Hua, the twelfth of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, a pioneer who survived the previous era. In Mei's time, her name was Fu Hua, and she was also the class monitor in Mei's class at St. Freya Academy.
Mei's feelings towards her were complex. Fu Hua had been near Mei and the others to monitor Kiana, the vessel for the Second Herrscher, and betrayed them at a critical moment. Yet, Fu Hua later sacrificed her life to protect them.
Responsibility, strength, and kindness—these were the qualities Mei saw in Fu Hua. However, in Hua, the memory construct from the Previous Era, these traits were still too nascent. Thus, Mei treated them as the same person but would unconsciously differentiate between them, a great contradiction.
The helmeted man talking to Hua had his arms crossed, mostly listening to Hua speak. Their mode of conversation was Hua speaking and Lin listening. This was the first time Mei had seen them talk together, as Lin usually didn't appear in this place.
However, Hua occasionally mentioned Lin. In her fragmented memories, Lin's presence was unusually high, so Mei wasn't too surprised that they were talking.
But what surprised Mei was that Hua, who was typically reserved and often only spoke what was essential, was talking to Lin about somewhat unimportant daily life matters. Lin also listened patiently to her small talk, sentence by sentence. This unusual phenomenon was extremely rare for both of them.
"Raiden Mei, is there something you need?" Lin's position allowed him to see Mei watching them, so he inquired with his usual flat tone.
That piercing gaze emanated again from the blue section of the helmet that must be the viewport, making Mei slightly uncomfortable.
"Mei, we meet again." Hua also turned around and nodded in greeting to Mei.
"Hua, I found this in the Elysian Realm. It should be yours."
Mei handed the item in her hand to Hua.
She often found dropped items in the Elysian Realm. Since it was a space constructed of memories, the items within were also mostly constructs of the Flame-Chasers' or visitors' memories. The fact that they could be materialized meant these items held significant importance in the original owner's mind.
"This is..." Hua's gaze narrowed. After clearly seeing what was in Mei's hand, she visibly paused.
In Mei's hand was a photo, a group shot of four people. Mei had not met the others in the Elysian Realm, but Hua, standing at the very edge, was someone Mei knew. Therefore, she inferred that it was Hua's item, which was not unreasonable.
But unexpectedly, Hua shook her head and said, "No, this is Lin's."
"It's Lin's?" Mei looked at the people in the photo again in astonishment, not seeing Lin's signature helmet. However, after carefully examining the people's positions, she found a point of doubt.
"Could it be that the person completely wrapped in bandages and sitting in a wheelchair is you?"
Mei pointed to the conspicuous bandaged figure in the very center of the photo. He only revealed a pair of black eyes whose gaze alone seemed capable of freezing water, and she asked the silent helmeted man.
But no matter how cold that gaze was, compared to the statue-like man in front of her, it was leagues apart. The only thing that could link them was that neither of them showed their faces.
Lin nodded silently.
"...I'm curious, do you and Kalpas have some kind of rule where you'll die or go berserk if your face is seen?"
Why were they both covering their faces even in a photo?
Lin appeared indifferent to this: "I happened to be seriously injured at that time, having just come out of a repair pod."
The implication was that he had no such rule; it was merely a coincidence.
"Lin, Mei, I'll be going now." Hua saw that they seemed to have more to discuss, so she informed them and left.
"..."
Lin watched her go, then retracted his gaze, looking straight at Mei, who was slightly shorter than him. The pressure from his sight made Mei secretly rest her hand on her katana sheath.
This helmeted man was not a MANTIS, but the oppressive feeling he exerted was no less than that of the other Flame-Chasers.
It wasn't Kalpas's ferocity and bloodlust, nor was it Kevin's chilling aura simply by standing there. What made her stand ready from Lin was not his power or actions, but simply the man himself.
When he decides to shoot you in the back, the finger on the trigger will never hesitate—that's the feeling.
Neither side spoke; the atmosphere was heavy. After a moment of vigilance, Mei took a step back and asked in a probing tone, "You seem to have a good relationship with all the Flame-Chasers, but you're not one of them. And your memory construct was also left in the Elysian Realm. Are you perhaps a kind of hidden figure among the Flame-Chasers?"
"...The nature of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers is unique. The reason my memory construct was left behind is not because I am related to the 'organization' of the Flame-Chasers, but simply..." Lin's gaze dropped, resting on the photo. "I have a relationship with them."
"Because your power is comparable to the Flame-Chasers?"
"My power?" Lin seemed somewhat surprised by this wording.
"Yes, Elysia told me you have killed Herrschers before, and more than once."
"..." Lin silently lowered his crossed arms. He looked at the horns on Mei's head.
Mei's expression changed. She shielded her horns and took another step back: "You wouldn't also..."
Clearly, Elysia's obsession with those horns made her worry about some unwarranted things.
"Don't misunderstand. I have always been just a human, perhaps a bit more outstanding than the average person. But in terms of individual combat strength, even the weakest Flame-Chaser, Pardo, is stronger than me." Lin said this plainly. That 'don't misunderstand' was unclear whether it referred to the horns or the power.
He examined Mei's horns not out of malice, but simply because he felt a complex mix of emotions regarding this non-human evidence of a Herrscher.
"Individual ability is not the standard for measuring combat power."
"Then who do you think is stronger, me or Kevin?"
"..." Mei was speechless, because Kevin was unquestionably the strongest.
"I know you would use Kevin being the strongest to refute me. I can tell you, even when my memory construct here represents my peak physical condition, I was only an ordinary person. The reason I could kill a Herrscher is not because I am strong, but because humanity is strong."
"Just as they created the MANTISes, the conditions under which I killed the Herrscher were also created by the collective effort of humanity."
"So, my relationship with the Flame-Chasers has nothing to do with power. You can understand it as I already knew them before they gained their current identities."
This was the first time Mei had heard Lin speak so much, and all to explain this not-so-important matter of relationships. Usually, when she encountered him in the Elysian Realm or received his Signet, he would just look at her in silence.
"Alright, thank you for explaining. At least you don't make people guess riddles like Kevin."
Mei handed the photo to Lin. Since it was his, it should naturally be returned to its owner.
"You keep it, or throw it away, it doesn't matter." Lin did not take the photo. His sapphire visual window flickered, and he turned away. "That no longer holds any meaning for me."
Mei took the photo back in confusion. She looked at the scene in the picture. The man wrapped like a mummy in the center of the photo was far less aloof than he was now. The background was a bright, sunny ocean, peaceful, harmonious, and full of joy.
The red-haired woman was smiling mischievously, leaning her hand on his head. The inner-dyed girl nervously held the red-haired woman's arm. Hua, who was looking down and didn't dare look at the camera, wore a brand-new squad uniform and stood at a slight distance.
The visual window inside the helmet displayed the photo.
"Haha, Lin, don't cover your delicate face when we take a picture."
"Don't be like that, Captain. Lin just recovered a little. Hua, you help too."
"Ah? I, I..."
"..."
Smiles, playfulness, brilliant sunshine, and the sea breeze blowing.
The bandaged man waved, signaling the person taking the photo to press the shutter.
The flash made him squint.
"Zzzt."
...
...
The light illuminating his face inside the helmet flickered and disappeared, letting the darkness return to this place.
That day's passionate fiery red, calm ocean blue, and nascent pale grey—those were the most vivid colors in his memory. And now, the man could only see one color.
Lin closed his eyes, letting the darkness embrace him.