"Screech—"
The iron door's hinges lacked lubrication, the resulting friction producing a shrill, piercing sound that made Mobius click her tongue.
"Tsk! Elysia, can't you be a little quieter!"
"Eh? Dr. Mobius, you recognized me without even looking up? I'm so happy!"
"..." Mobius considered explaining—with that highly distinctive gait, and the way her five fingers tapped rhythmically like waves against the door when pushing it open, not guessing it was Elysia would be the truly strange thing.
But the next second, she turned her head away, pouting, looking unwilling to elaborate.
"Sigh... Mobius, you still like the dark so much."
"Click." The confinement cell lights blazed on. Mobius's vertical pupils constricted. She snapped, "What are you doing here? Want a taste of solitary confinement too?"
"Don't be so fiery, Mobius... No one wanted this to happen. Mei didn't have any other choice. Michael's issue isn't resolved yet, and then this huge mess happened with you. There had to be accountability."
Mobius didn't reply. After a slight pause, Elysia continued, "I know what you're thinking, Mobius. What happens inside Fire Moth, the outside world can't see anyway, right?
"But if Mei took no action against you, the Twelfth Herrscher could spread that information too...
"Ah, I know what you're going to say next—since the Herrscher can forge surveillance footage and falsely accuse you anyway, what's the point of carrying out this punishment? That's what you wanted to say, right?
"It's true. Mei announced the suspension of all your work and your temporary confinement. That news went out. But the Herrscher immediately released a slew of old surveillance videos to 'prove' you weren't confined. The outside world is already in an uproar about it.
"But let me tell you, Mei being so 'ruthless' towards you wasn't really for the outside world to see. Quite the contrary, she wants to stabilize morale within Fire Moth."
"Tch!" Mobius crossed her arms, gritting her teeth. "What? Can't Mei even control Fire Moth anymore? Let me tell you, what good will Mei's methods do for morale? It'll only make the MANTISes feel disillusioned too. Unless those MANTISes are as foolish as the crowd outside, thinking Vássago and the others turned into Zombie because of the Honkai energy I released!"
"Of course, that won't happen!" Elysia bent down, trying to get closer to Mobius, but the latter scooted sideways, making Elysia miss.
Elysia shook her head regretfully. "Regarding the MANTISes, I, Kevin, Su, and Aponia have already held four mobilization and counseling sessions. There shouldn't be any problems. But the other members of Fire Moth... that's hard to say.
"Mobius, don't forget, Fire Moth isn't just MANTISes. HQ alone has over one hundred thousand ordinary soldiers on its roster. And the underground city houses over half a million family members. A large portion of them are veterans who have experienced multiple Honkai Eruptions, certainly. But even so, how much trust do they have in MANTISes?
"Not everyone is like you, Mobius, easily accepting the concept of 'New Humans.' Even Michael and I initially needed years to accept our Herrscher identities.
"Among these ordinary soldiers, about thirty thousand are survivors of the Seventh Honkai Eruption. Most of the family members experienced the Seventh Eruption too. How much trust do they have in MANTISes, in Herrschers?
"Conversely, the ordinary soldiers who joined Fire Moth in the last two years, who didn't experience that tragedy, many even being rejects from the MANTIS program, actually have a higher degree of acceptance towards MANTISes..."
"So, you came here to tell me all this just to make me understand Mei's decision?" Mobius interrupted her lengthy speech. Didn't she already know everything Elysia was saying?
Yes, she admitted, her stumbling journey to this point stemmed from a selfish desire—she wanted to shape the future form of humanity with her own hands. The so-called 'New Humans.'
But regardless, 'New Humans' must develop from 'Old Humans.' If Old Humans themselves ceased to exist, if the entire human civilization ceased to exist... Then even if she found the method of evolution, what use would it be?
So...
"So, I suppose I also want to protect humanity... civilization." Although she hated to admit it, it was the truth.
Precisely because of this, she felt the... betrayal... even more keenly.
"Elysia."
"Hm? What is it? My dear Mobius—" Elysia sat down beside her. Mobius habitually shifted away, but the confinement cell bed was only so long; there wasn't much room left.
Elysia took her small, cold hand, warming it between her palms, which actually made Mobius's breathing grow heavy.
"Elysia! Can you let go first?"
"Nope."
"You..." Mobius struggled symbolically a couple of times. Seeing she couldn't pull her hand back, she let out another cold snort.
But in the end, she didn't say anything harsher. Instead, in an unprecedentedly calm tone, she said, "Elysia, tell me, if the very people we've always protected don't trust us, hate us, want to be our enemies... then what meaning does anything we've done hold?"
"Hmm? Mobius, you actually think like this? That really surprises me!"
"Hmph... What do you mean? How do you think I should think?"
"Mmm... Let me think..." Elysia still held tightly onto Mobius's hand with one hand, bringing the index finger of her other hand to her lips, sucking on it slightly. "It should be like this: 'Hmph! Foolish humans! Since you don't appreciate kindness... then all of you, come onto my operating table!' How was that! Was my impression good?"
"..." Mobius lowered her head, silent, but tightened her grip on Elysia's hand unconsciously.
Yes, she had indeed thought that. But having this woman voice her innermost thoughts word for word was an even greater blow to her.
"Honestly, if Michael were sitting next to me right now, I wouldn't be surprised. But... Mobius, you can feel despair too?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Mobius shook her head dismissively.
"Elysia, don't be so self-righteous... thinking you understand everyone, thinking you truly understand humanity."
"Oh dear, little Mobius is starting to say things I don't understand!" Elysia smiled, ruffling Mobius's hair.
"Get your hand off!" Mobius shook her head disgustedly. Elysia, having achieved her goal, wisely retracted her hand.
"Humans...haha. Being human, one inevitably cannot escape inherent human flaws. Because all these negative things originate from the most primal desire within every living being—survival.
"And the greatness of human civilization lies in expanding this inherently selfish desire. We realized we shouldn't live just to live; we should live for something. That's the so-called 'meaning,' or perhaps 'value.'
"Although I know very well I'm a very selfish person. No, precisely because I am selfish—I want to find my own meaning, obtain value for my existence—so I want to create new humans with my own hands. And for this goal, I must protect the old humans.
"Therefore, my actions, the meaning of my battles, have never been noble, merely stemming from a person's most selfish thoughts. And precisely because of this, the moment they told me, 'We don't need your protection anymore, and we don't recognize you as human,' the 'meaning' and 'value' I sought completely shattered.
"If humanity faces the end in this state, we absolutely cannot overcome it. And a civilization that cannot overcome the end... you've seen the traces they left on the moon. You should know better than me what kind of fate that is—death. Everyone will die, even me."
"Eh? Mobius, you fear death too? Aren't you immortal? Besides, isn't Vill-V already working on modifying the Fifth Divine Key? Don't tell me you're completely unaware?"
"Hmph! That's why I say, Elysia, you simply don't understand humans."
"Don't say that, Mobius. If you negate me entirely like this, I'll be very sad!"
Mobius snorted and pulled her hand back. This time, Elysia didn't stop her.
"Immortal? Perhaps. Kevin, Kalpas, they couldn't kill me. The Herrschers that appeared before couldn't kill me either. But facing Michael and you... I wouldn't dare make such a definitive statement. As for the Finality... Haha.
"The only absolute thing in this world is that nothing is absolute. 'Absolutely cannot die' doesn't exist. Besides, you don't understand humans." Mobius shrugged.
"For humans, fearing death is perfectly normal, even if that person 'cannot be killed'—just like people on a roller coaster know they won't die, but are still afraid.
"Speaking of which... Elysia, you, ultimately, are not human."
"Mobius... what do you mean by that?"
"Stop pretending!" Mobius's voice suddenly rose. She stood up, paced twice in the small confinement cell, then stood back in front of Elysia, meeting her gaze levelly.
"Elysia, humans are all afraid of death. Are you?"
"Of course, I'm scared!" Elysia answered instantly without thinking, then silently averted her gaze, no longer meeting Mobius's eyes.
Mobius stared at Elysia in silence for a long moment before uttering her next words:
"Elysia, actually, you and Michael aren't the same, are you?"
"Oh? Different in what way? No wait, of course we're different! I'm Elysia, he's Michael. I'm a beautiful girl, he's a handsome boy."
Yet, even after she finished speaking, Mobius, unusually, didn't retort, but continued staring at her relentlessly, making Elysia feel flustered.
"Oh dear, my dearest Mobius, do you just love looking at my face this much? How is it? Isn't it very pretty?"
But Mobius remained silent, seemingly determined to respond to Elysia's teasing with utmost silence.
After a short while, Elysia completely lost the desire to joke. As Mobius edged closer, Elysia actually leaned back almost imperceptibly.
"Elysia, you should understand very well what 'difference' I'm referring to."
"Don't be so sure, Mobius. I really don't know." She lowered her head, fiddling with her nails, avoiding Mobius's deep, intense gaze.
But clearly, Mobius wasn't letting her off the hook.
"If we say Michael is both Herrscher and human... Elysia, are you Herrscher, or human?"
"I..."
"What? You really don't know yourself?" This was the first time Elysia had ever been at a disadvantage against Mobius. In a sense, she somewhat understood Mobius's earlier displeasure.
"Mobius, how did you figure it out?"
"Simple. Because Michael emphasized that your Authority was rather special, I didn't think deeply about it for a long time. Until recently, when talking with Mei, she mentioned—you don't have a Core, right?"
"...Not having a Core doesn't necessarily prove anything, does it?"
"No, it proves a lot. The Core is far more important to a Herrscher than the heart is to a human. Because it's the singularity connecting the Herrscher to the Imaginary Tree, through which the Herrscher draws endless Honkai energy. Without a Core, what's the difference between a Herrscher and an ordinary person?"
"...But I truly don't have a Core, nor any special Authority." This was indeed the lingering doubt that had plagued Elysia for a long time.
If she wasn't a Herrscher, why could she communicate with Michael in the so-called "depths of the Herrscher Core"? Although she lacked clear, powerful Authorities like other Herrschers, what about her innate absolute control over Honkai energy?
But if she truly was a Herrscher, then where was her Core?
The Core was an irreversible channel between a Herrscher and the Imaginary Tree once established. Even if the physical "Core" was lost due to some accident, one could theoretically use their own power to reconnect the path to the Imaginary Space and generate a new Core to replace the lost one.
However, Elysia herself couldn't do this.
"Just as no one can dictate that 'human' is limited only to ordinary humans, no one can dictate that a Core must exist in a gem-like form like Michael and the other Herrschers, can they?"
"Uh..."
"If something that should exist doesn't, there's only one possibility: that thing is right in front of us, we just failed to notice it, or dared not notice it—Elysia, is it possible that you yourself are the so-called Herrscher Core?"
Elysia forced a smile, waving her hand dismissively. "How could something like that be possible!" She paused, then spoke before Mobius could:
"Besides, Mobius, whether I have a Core or not, whether I'm a Herrscher or not, is it really that important? Or are you saying that even by your broad definition of human, I cannot be called human?" Elysia's tone held a touch of loneliness, making Mobius realize she might have been too aggressive, conveying the opposite of her intended meaning.
But apologize and admit fault, especially to Elysia? How could that be possible? She even felt this misunderstanding was rather fitting—serves this woman right for constantly putting weird clothes in her wardrobe!
"Suit yourself. Whatever you want to think, whatever you want to do, it really has nothing to BLAH BLAH BLAH..."
Her lips pursed. Much of this was just baseless speculation in her mind. Weighing her options, she decided against voicing it. Besides, given that woman's intelligence, she could probably guess some of it, right? If she couldn't guess, then forget it.
"Get up!"
"Don't be so heartless, Mobius!"
"Cut the crap, I'm going to sleep! Remember to turn off the light before you leave!" Mobius burrowed into her blankets, squeezing Elysia off the bed, then wrapped herself up, facing the wall.
"...I'm leaving now?" Mobius didn't answer.
Elysia walked dejectedly to the door. "Click." She turned off the light.
"Screeech—" The sound of the door seemed even more grating than when she arrived, as if the rust had worsened with time, until "Clang," iron struck iron.
After a moment, a hand reached back through the iron bars. "Click." The light turned back on.
Mobius stirred on the bed but remained silent.
"Click!" The light went off, accompanied by receding footsteps.
A moment later, the hand reached through the bars again—*"Click!"*
"Elysia! Do you want to die!"