Making Honkai Impact lll In A World Where Kallen Exists [Continuation]

Mei's gamble paid off.

For Vill-V, dividing her consciousness to deal with the final threat—the Herrscher of Thunder—was entirely manageable.

However, this didn't mean she would accept mutual destruction. To her, losing her abilities was akin to death.

She wouldn't devote all her consciousness space to imprisoning Mei,

but that didn't mean she had no other methods.

"Oh? A direct confrontation? Is this the method you're pinning all your hopes on? Very well, then… as you wish."

The hat in Vill-V's hand flew into the sky, tracing a smooth arc before slowly descending onto the plaza.

With a snap of her fingers, her figure appeared gracefully on the plaza as well. She picked up the hat and put it on leisurely.

"But truthfully… the moment you set foot here, my goal was already achieved. Whatever happens next, doesn't matter."

Her gaze met Mei's, locking eyes.

Mei, of course, wouldn't let this rare opportunity slip by. Lightning surged as she used the rebound from stepping onto the floor to launch a direct attack on Vill-V.

The blade swung, thunder roared.

Her grievances with Vill-V… even considering only Pardo's recent ordeal, were unforgettable.

She channeled her anger into a powerful strike aimed at Vill-V.

Clang—

The blade struck the golden shield around Veliona but failed to make even a crack. Vill-V fearlessly snapped her fingers again, taunting Mei with her provocative gaze.

Several turrets materialized on the field, machine guns, mortars, and heavy artillery appeared in succession, firing in unison and forcing Mei to retreat.

Standing with her blade, Mei frowned at the faint green light on Vill-V's shield. This power… it seemed impossible for her to harm Veliona,

yet it felt strangely familiar.

She had no other options, so she launched an even fiercer attack.

Vill-V stretched lazily, completely unbothered by Mei's efforts.

She remained stationary, letting Mei's increasingly intense, rain-like strikes fall upon her.

Unmoved. Unworried.

Mei couldn't break through her defense.

"I'd estimate that my 'friend' is already on their way back after handling Kalpas~."

"And as for why I didn't resist earlier… have you figured it out now?"

"And this power, you should find it familiar. After all, you're the one who brought it here."

Malicious Vill-V wore a bored expression. This play was reaching its final act.

Mei lowered her head slightly, the faint aura from her recent wound carrying a peculiar sensation.

Just as people often become aware of their pain after seeing a wound,

As the dark green mist encroached, some truths began surfacing. Hidden realities started to emerge. Mei recalled something.

Vill-V 's mention of something Mei brought into the Elysian Realm… that thing capable of destroying it… combined with the remnants of the disasters it had endured…

What was it? Another Herrscher's name took shape in her mind—

Herrscher of Corruption.

And Vill-V said it was something Mei had brought after her first entry into the Realm and before her second.

But how did she come into contact with it…?

Suddenly, Mei remembered something. After traveling to Korosten to help Kiana, she had gone to meet the "God." The God was faceless and gave no response, no answers to her questions.

At the time, she thought it was a futile endeavor.

But now…

The God had, at that time, placed a fragment of the Herrscher of Corruption onto her, allowing her to carry it into the Elysian Realm.

If… if this were combined with Aponia's vague prophecy… No, was it really just a test of her ability to inherit Elysia's secrets?

Or… had Aponia seen something more?

---

In the Golden Courtyard

"So, it was during that time? I almost forgot, Mei once met with the Honkai Will," Elysia said curiously.

The enemy's identity wasn't hard to guess, but Elysia hadn't considered how they had entered the Elysian Realm.

After all, every move of the game's characters was essentially in plain sight. Everything seemed fine; Elysia had no idea what went wrong.

"This so-called God… Tsk, Mobius, what exactly is that?"

Kalpas frowned.

As for the Herrscher of Corruption, he had no complaints about losing. In the realm of memories, they were practically invincible. Whoever brought them in must have been insane.

So… this Honkai Will behind the scenes, what exactly was it?

"No idea, don't ask me. Go ask Vill-V or MEI's companion, Kevin… They might know," Mobius said dismissively, shifting the blame elsewhere.

"I don't know why the Herrscher of Corruption was placed on Mei, either. But the Honkai Will itself is intangible. In fact, our primary reason for intervening in its will was to ensure the twelve Herrschers mirrored the ones in our era."

"This way, with intelligence and targeted God Keys, we could minimize casualties and increase the likelihood of success."

Vill-V waved her hand nonchalantly as she explained.

For once, she wasn't as evasive as Mobius.

"You see that Malicious Vill-V? The betrayer is her. It's unrelated to reality, but I still need to raise my value in the coming days."

"So, it was Mebius's doing?"

Kalpas thought for a moment before concluding that she was the scapegoat.

If it wasn't him, it had to be Mobius. No further discussion was needed.

He quickly locked onto his target. A lesson learned from… Fu Hua?

"...If I must say, let's just blame Bronya instead. That seems more reasonable."

Mobius remained silent for a long time before providing a completely unrelated name.

Recalling the appearance of that AI robot… it seemed she wasn't entirely without basis. Certain key figures of the current civilization had counterparts or replacements in the previous one, Mei, Kiana, Himeko, Fu Hua...

Apologies, Fu Hua shouldn't count.

And clearly, since Bronya lacked such a counterpart, she could be conveniently substituted with that mechanical lifeform.

"Huh? Me?"

Bronya was so startled that she forgot her usual manner of speech, referring to herself as "Bronya" in third person. "What does this have to do with Bronya?"

Her eyes blinked in disbelief, her small mouth slightly agape.

Why could events from the previous civilization be pinned on her?

"Uh, I'm curious too… is there any truth to this?"

Mei rested her hand on Kiana's head, ruffling her hair. Lately, she'd developed a habit of doing this.

Though Kiana wasn't particularly fond of it, it only reminded her of her shorter stature compared to Mei.

Interestingly, some of their gazes turned toward Mobius, while others looked to Luo Mo, as if expecting his answer.

"Well, that's not entirely wrong. Pudgy Duck is still a duck... Prometheus does share some similarities with Bronya, though not many."

"Anyway, why don't we let Griseo try next? Since she's come all this way, it'd be a shame not to experience the gameplay. Hands-on involvement might make it more immersive."

Luo Mo made a considerate suggestion.

Given Griseo's visit, it made sense to let her try more activities. After all, her life was often dull. She always gazed nostalgically at the courtyard hall, unable to integrate with the others, how awkward.

Luo Mo was always thoughtful about others.

Big Griseo hesitantly took control of the game but soon smiled brightly.

Far away, across untold spaces, Su sighed lightly. He had witnessed everything and felt a pang of sorrow.

--------------

Meanwhile, on a burning battlefield, the outcome had already been decided. The land was scorched, devoid of life.

Kalpas was no stranger to deathmatches.

As such, he was acutely aware of the order in which a person's senses deteriorate when they are on the brink of losing consciousness, or even life itself.

First to fade was vision. Just as now, he was trapped in darkness, unable to see anything.

Next was touch. At this moment, he felt as if he were falling into an icy abyss, his entire body numb.

Finally, the last to be lost was hearing, which was the only sense he could barely maintain.

It was the faint rustling in the darkness that allowed him to confirm his arrival at this place—

The end of his journey.

The Deep End.

Aponia gazed at the man before her. Half of his body had been consumed by fire, while the other half flickered like a screen, oscillating between reality and illusion.

His tattered body was only a step away from complete disintegration.

It was hard to imagine the determination that had driven him, step by step, toward the one he least wanted to face.

Indeed, he no longer had any reason to despise her.

For he could no longer see Aponia, or anything else, for that matter.

At that moment, Eden, who had been conversing with Aponia, was startled by Kalpas's sudden appearance. She soon expressed a trace of sorrow, for his arrival was irrefutable proof of another Flame-Chaser's sacrifice, signaling an acceleration in the enemy's actions.

This was not good news.

Now, to ensure Kalpas's sacrifice wasn't in vain, Aponia had only one option: to delve deep into his consciousness and retrieve the final message he wanted to convey.

This was something only she could do and the reason Kalpas had sought her out.

Hatred stemmed from familiarity.

It was precisely because Kalpas knew what Aponia had done, and could guess what she would do next—that he came to her.

A long corridor of memories stretched out, the sky above burning crimson, this was Kalpas's memory world.

Faded monsters appeared out of nowhere to hinder her progress. Among them, an unknown external voice echoed in the form of a memory. Aponia could understand parts of its dialogue with Kalpas.

But she pressed on silently, hoping to catch one last glimpse of him.

"You're too late… Aponia."

Not far ahead, Kalpas stood with his back turned, waiting quietly without looking back. "It escaped. Tch."

He turned to face her, casting a cold smirk as his gaze swept over her.

Only she would come here at this moment.

Then, Aponia used her abilities to reverse the flow and examine Kalpas's memories. Her expression turned to one of astonishment.

This time, the enemy was entirely unexpected. It wasn't a memory or a thought but something…

The moment she finished viewing Kalpas's memory, his figure within the consciousness space flickered abruptly, like an old television with poor signal. Aponia understood immediately, the enemy was pushing him closer to complete death.

Kalpas noticed it too. He glanced at his fading, ethereal arm and let out a cold laugh.

"So this is my end? How absurd…"

He raised his head, glaring at Aponia, who seemed hesitant to speak, and said coldly,

"If you're done, leave. Watching me die… if it's you… that's just disgusting."

"No… at least let me preserve your thoughts…"

Aponia shook her head, about to speak, intending to wake him again in the future, when she suddenly froze, her gaze falling on her hands.

Slender and delicate, her fragile hands… now bore a fleeting trace of green.

Or rather, the shadow of death.

Touching him equaled death.

"Alright, it seems I can't do it after all. I'm sorry…"

Aponia bitterly retracted her words, pulling her hands back into her sleeves, partially hiding them.

What she felt was only guilt, not fear.

"Thank you, Kalpas. At least you let us know where the enemy is… and the place you're heading to, I… will follow soon."

Kalpas was silent for a moment. Behind his mask, the fire in his eyes wasn't anger. Perhaps he was lost in thought, or perhaps he was simply waiting for death to arrive.

A heavy voice echoed once more.

"Yeah, you and I… we both belong in hell. But… don't come too soon. I don't want to share the same ride as you."

Aponia… aren't you only capable of creating pain? Then, create more pain for that thing as well…

"Alright, I'm looking forward to it… Farewell, Kalpas."

Aponia smiled softly. Kalpas despised her, but she had never hated this man who masked himself with constant fury.

He… had always been a very good child.

"Wait!"

Kalpas stopped her. Even if Aponia was the only one to bear witness to his end, there was nothing that could be done about it.

At this moment, the only thing he wanted to confirm, to have proven, was—

"This time… I've cleared Sakura's name, haven't I? My body… is the proof."

"She was never a traitor!"

"You'll tell them, tell every single one of them! This innocence was bought with my two hands, not granted by their pity."

The flames of his fury reignited, his aura overwhelming everything for an instant.

But to Aponia, it seemed nothing more than a final flare, a dying struggle.

Even so… she herself was no longer safe.

The man who had been eternally angry finally quieted down before his death.

Aponia wanted to do something for him. Using her ability, she wanted to grant him a flawless dream, where he could realize everything he desired…

This was the only thing she could do for him.

"Get away!"

Kalpas's eyes snapped open as he roared angrily. Even though his body was battered and torn, his will remained indomitable.

He would never accept such an insult, absolutely not!

The warrior's eyes dimmed. Even the strongest will could not overcome the loss of life.

"What I truly wanted… I know I'm not worthy of it…"

"But this time… this time… did I manage to protect something…?"

"Answer me… answer… me…"

Kalpas's final words were weak and calm, unlike his usual self.

"Mm… Rest now… You won't lose anything anymore."

Aponia's voice was soft as she sent him off.

He fought against everyone, simply because he didn't want what had already been lost to be forgotten.

He didn't need to extend his hands, for he himself was the flame.

Now, the flame had extinguished.

It simply… quietly went out.

The card symbolizing Kalpas shattered, marking the end of the one who had always been proud and disdainful of others. He died fighting to the very end, possessing both gentleness and strength in equal measure.

What Aponia intercepted and learned was merely a message to Eden, to head to the final relic and protect its owner… Vill-V.

Among the Flame-Chasers, there were no traitors.

But for the memory constructs, what they now faced was akin to the Herrscher of the End from the past.

The Herrscher of Corruption had proven… untouchable!