Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

Eden walked in the darkness. She was here again, in this deep place. The last time she visited this place, Sakura had not disappeared and Ai Li was still laughing.

Perhaps it was the darkness that was causing her to think of something bad, so she reached out to dispel the darkness, just like she did last time.

"……?strangeness……"

But this time, the darkness in the deepest places seemed to have a deeper weight.

"What's going on... Is the Deep Place rejecting me? What happened to Aponia?"

"This place won't change for no reason... Could it be..."

In the chaos, an ethereal voice seemed to sound from the sky:

"Confess your sins, invader. I already know your crimes... There is no need to hide them, it is useless. Repent, this is your last chance..."

Hearing this voice, Eden's heart was relieved. As expected, Abonya's figure soon appeared in front of her.

"Is it you, Eden? Ah... Could it be that I affected you during the [Touch]?"

“…Perhaps that is true.”

"Please don't misunderstand, Eden. I wasn't touching you, or anyone else, but the entire Paradise. I should have noticed your presence, but... the complex memories of Paradise consumed my energy. Please forgive my mistake."

"No problem, my friend. Instead, tell me about your discovery."

Aponia's figure fell from the sky:

"...It's not good news. Alicia, Mobius, Sakura, and Kevin have completely disappeared from the paradise. But there is something else...When I use these hands to [touch] the paradise, it seems that there is always something...hiding from me, living in the shadows that I have not yet touched. And when my consciousness finally reaches there, it has already disappeared, leaving only some kind of...ominous afterglow."

"Is it possible that..."

Aponia shook her head slowly:

"I'm sorry, Eden. Although I also hope that my previous discovery was just an illusion, there is not much connection between [that existence] and the above four people. However... I felt a sense of inexplicable familiarity from [it]. It's just that my contact with [it] was only a short moment, so I can still be considered to [know nothing]."

"Also, although I don't know why, the connection between Paradise and the outside world has been disconnected since Alicia disappeared. Miss Mei..."

"Ms. Mei knew about this before she met Hua. She should be with Paduo and Weiwei now. I wonder if they trapped Miss Mei here accidentally or intentionally... Can you try to touch it again?"

"I... will do my best. ... Eden, do you think the root cause of all this is not among the heroes?"

"It's too early to draw any conclusions now, Aponya. Moreover, there are signs that Ai Li is disappearing frequently. There must be something we haven't noticed... By the way, my crystal flower has been handed over to Miss Mei."

"...It seems that we have come to the same conclusion. The crystal flower on me has been given to Grayshu for safekeeping. The child probably doesn't know the purpose of this thing. But I believe that it will eventually go to where it belongs."

"When there is no other way, at least the [Key] and the [Truth] can be preserved..."

"Of course, this is also the last thing we can do for [her]."

Eden instinctively sensed something strange in Aponya's words. [Finally]... She had heard this word too many times. Now, it had almost become a cursed lyric in a play.

"Aponya, you..."

"Whether it's due to strategic considerations or Ling's deepest feelings, I should... soon become her target for elimination."

"As I see it, my past sins will eventually come to haunt me. I will not dodge, I will embrace them. Unfortunately, the promise to sing a song for everyone seems impossible to fulfill..."

"Have you ever thought of other solutions?"

Aponya seemed surprised at the request coming out of her mouth and at the expression on her face.

"It's amazing. Eden, you are neither a psychic nor a predictor, why do you seem to see through my thoughts?"

"I don't need those abilities, Aponya. I'm very familiar with them... Your face has already shown the expression we are all familiar with... The expression of "determination to die"."

"【Determined to die】... Really... this is not a description that suits me... But you are right. This is a sin that I cannot shirk no matter what reasons or excuses I find. Eden, you should understand the biggest difference between me and other memories..."

"If the memories of other heroes show another possibility that they cannot achieve in reality, then the memory of [Aponia] is a complete continuation of her. Before the end, from the moment [Aponia] completely integrated her thoughts into the paradise of the past, I was both [Aponia's memory] and [Aponia herself]. So... I am responsible for the sins committed by [Aponia herself]..."

Aponia's words came to an abrupt halt because she felt new changes taking place in the paradise.

"Eden... I seem to understand what that flame with only a few embers left is. Have you seen Qianjie before?"

"...Yes, he was...attacking the Eternal Paradise at that time. Su, Hua and I teamed up to...Aponia, what you mean is..."

Aponia sighed softly and nodded slowly:

"Just now, I sensed an abnormal fluctuation coming from Qianjie's body. The only one who can allow him to use such power is here, and there is an existence comparable to the end."

"Then Qianjie..."

"His existence is gradually fading away. I'm afraid it won't be long before he follows in the footsteps of Ellie and Kevin..."

"You don't seem surprised."

"...If it were me in the past, I might be surprised. But after seeing what Ms. Ino is capable of, I can accept it calmly... Wait, Ms. Ino... Eden, you mean..."

Eden showed an elegant smile:

"You can't deny that this possibility does exist. Before coming here, Miss Mei also revealed to me many [irrational] aspects of this sudden incident."

"Let's not talk about Miss Ino's situation. The Paradise of the Past has been able to continue operating for 50,000 years, not just for you, Su, and Klein. If the situation here really gets out of control to that extent, I don't think the World Serpent... Kevin outside will remain indifferent."