Hermit watched quietly as the girl dry-heaved, shaking her head at her futile attempts.
"Stop dry-heaving... This is just a dream, after all. Nothing will come up."
The girl pressed her hand firmly against her chest, suppressing the nausea churning in her stomach, and shouted at the Hermit:
"Who did this?! Why would she resort to such cruel methods to torment these ordinary people and Valkyries?!"
Rage burned in the girl's azure eyes. She seethed with anger for the dead, for the merciless treatment they had endured...
The Hermit merely curled her lip in boredom, offering an unexpected answer to the girl's sympathy and fury:
"Perhaps only that Valkyrie Squad deserves your pity... but even then, merely deserves it.
As for the remaining 322 researchers, most of them were simply reaping the consequences they deserved—they were getting what was coming to them."
The Hermit's callous judgment made Kiana clench her fists, as if ready to charge forward and punch her.
"You're angry and indignant—understandably. People generally accept that others die every second, every moment, for countless reasons. But they often can't bear to witness death firsthand... simply because they've seen it with their own eyes."
"It's no wonder... So that's why you're angry... because I showed most of them no mercy."
"...Keep moving forward, child. I'll make you understand."
Hermit opened the elevator doors leading to the Tower of Babylon. Kiana silently followed her into the elevator, the doors closed, and the elevator began its gradual ascent, giving the girl a slight sensation of weightlessness.
"Located in the Siberian snowfields, the Babylon Laboratory was Schicksal's second-largest Honkai energy research facility. Within the Tower of Babylon was the world's third-largest Honkai energy reactor at the time."
Hermit explained the laboratory's structure and history to the silent girl as the elevator ascended.
"The tower was divided into 50 floors. The bottom 20 floors housed the reactor's energy zone, while the remaining 30 floors contained Schicksal's three most crucial research departments at the time."
"The lowest level, the Energy Department, primarily focused on fundamental theoretical research into Honkai energy, providing support for other projects. While the researchers in this department weren't exactly evil, their hands were stained with blood—far from clean."
"The Weapon Department, following the Energy Department's theories, converts Honkai energy into weapons for combat. The Pantheon armaments you saw in the Schicksal Armory were developed with their assistance."
"And on the tower's highest level... the Artificial Stigmata Technology used by this generation of Valkyries originated from them."
"Impressive, isn't it? Artificial Stigmata provide invaluable support and security to countless Valkyries fighting on the Honkai battlefields—"
"The Advanced Systems Department, housed within the Tower of Babylon's laboratories, is the largest department, with researchers making up the majority of its personnel. Their primary focus is on researching the integration of Honkai energy with the human body... in other words—human experimentation."
"Oh, don't expect any moral considerations from them, child."
"The participants in these experiments were no older than sixteen... and—"
"And... and what?!" Kiana demanded, turning to Hermit beside her.
"Every child who participated in these experiments... met their end on the experimental table, tortured to death by lethal overdoses of Honkai energy. None survived."
"Their lives were ultimately reduced to cold lines of data, becoming bargaining chips for researchers to demand more funding and resources—the foundation of their so-called honor and reputation."
"Becoming—the capital they bragged about."
"And now, do you still sympathize with them?"
"—They will inevitably fall into the Abyss, all the way to its deepest depths—their names will be reviled by all."
"Their wickedness has drawn the gaze of the gods from the Highest Heaven, causing this rebellious tower to crumble... leaving all living beings on Earth to wail helplessly amidst the cataclysm—"
...The elevator doors opened, revealing two men frantically fleeing before them.
Their hurried footsteps gradually faded into the distance, leaving only panicked cries behind.
"Run faster! That monster is about to catch up!!!"
Around the corner they had just fled past, a pure white figure emerged. It was the silhouette of a little girl, her entire body composed of radiant white light. She emitted an eerie, gleeful laughter, like a malevolent spirit from a horror film.
"Hee hee—!"
Like a soul-reaping Grim Reaper, she chased after the two researchers, completely ignoring the pair in the elevator.
"Who is she?" Kiana asked, turning to her guide.
"She? ...She is the gaze cast down by the gods, the bitter fruit of their own making, one of the few survivors of the Tower of Babylon human experiments, a victim and perpetrator of the Second Eruption..."
"The Second Herrscher—Sirin."
"Sirin... That name sounds so familiar..."
Kiana racked her brain, trying to recall the name, but nothing came to mind. It felt as if something were blocking her memories.
"Let's keep watching..."
Hermit interrupted the girl's futile efforts, leading her onward. The frantic footsteps of the two researchers had faded, leaving only the eerie laughter lingering in the corridor. Then, a human scream echoed through the passage.
"No... Don't leave me! Help me!"
"My legs! I can't feel my legs anymore!"
The researcher's anguished cries echoed through the passage. Hearing the desperate pleas for help, Kiana instinctively moved to rush forward, but Hermit's grip restrained her.
"What do you think you're doing?" A puzzled gaze emerged from the black V-shaped mask beneath the hood.
"Saving him, of course!"
The White-haired Clump struggled fiercely, trying to break free from the Hermit's grasp.
"...This is history as it actually happened. We're merely observers here. What are you thinking...?" The Hermit's voice, muffled by her mask, betrayed her confusion.
"I don't care! My stinky old Dad told me! The Kaslana family never abandons someone in danger!"
The girl's struggles intensified, forcing the Hermit to reluctantly release her.
"You can't save him..."
Ignoring the Hermit's warning, the girl lunged toward the small white-haired girl and the researcher. Her figure passed right through them, slamming into the wall with a painful thud.
"Didn't I tell you... everything here is just a fleeting illusion... merely the history of the past..."
The Hermit, who had followed close behind, shook her head helplessly as she watched the girl clutching her head.
"Weren't you able to touch the researcher's remains and even retrieve the keycard from his body?!" Kiana pointed at the woman before her, recounting her recent actions.
"That was a special interaction, only possible because it aligned with your cognitive framework... Under normal circumstances, you'd experience it exactly as you are now."
"You must have bumped into something... In reality, you've probably just fallen out of bed."
The Hermit shook her head at the girl before her, her body gradually fading away.
"Wait! Where are you going?!"
"Your thrashing just woke you up... Besides, dawn's breaking. Remember to get up for class, little one. We'll meet again soon—"
The illusion shattered, and Kiana was abruptly ejected from the Dreamscape.