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

Aponia was walking in the boundless space. As the most special one among the Thirteen Heroes, the situation of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" that most normal people would encounter was a novel experience for her.

"Huh? That's..."

Aponya's perception told her that a familiar person appeared in front of her.

"Qianjie? How could it be... After taking the data, would she confine the beings she deems valuable here?"

When Aponiya approached Qianjie, the other party obviously noticed her presence.

"Hey... you're finally here, Aponya. Are you here to rescue me?"

"you……?"

(This tone... No, it's not him... But...)

"Why? I thought you would be very happy to see me. This place is really interesting. But, this is the end. Take me away now."

Aponia: “???”

(Why is there a hint of "Alishia" in his tone? Could it be that... this is not the consciousness that was preserved, but a fake that the Herrscher of Corrosion recreated according to his own understanding?)

Aponia asked tentatively:

“Qianjie, you…didn’t you come here voluntarily?”

"Volunteering? I'm far from done with what I have to do. How can I stay here forever?"

"What I'm going to do next, Qianjie, do you... still have plans that I don't know about?"

"Plan? Does that kind of thing require a plan? Just take me away, and then... we go kill every human being, wipe out those ugly, selfish, self-righteous, weak and incompetent beings... all of them, okay? It sounds interesting, right?"

“That’s enough, Herrscher of Corrosion. Although the relationship between Qianjie and I is not good, it is only because of my sins… We are both Thirteen Heroes… If you want to declare your victory to me, you can use other methods… I will not allow you to… humiliate him like this.”

"Herrser of Corrosion? What are you talking about? Wasn't it sealed in that box a long time ago? It's me, Qianjie, look at my face, don't you remember me?"

"???"

(Strange, this is neither the Thousand Tribulations I know nor the Herrscher of Corrosion. And... that tone of voice belongs to Alicia... What on earth is wrong?)

Aponia ignored the "Thousand Tribulations" in front of her and went deeper. Soon, she found the second familiar "person".

"Wei Weiwei... As expected, you have already..."

"Uh-huh, you're here too!"

“??? It’s Alicia’s tone again…”

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong? Come here quickly, I've been worried about you."

"Ah... nothing. It's just... I didn't expect you to still look so relaxed."

"Ok?"

"Have you... forgotten? Since we are here, we are... already dead."

"How could that be, Aponya? If that were the case...how could I still be looking at you? Oh, you...are you feeling unwell?"

(Such a tone...but...the other party is clearly Velvet, not Alicia.)

Aponya's brain raced, and he continued tentatively:

"...Vilvi, although it doesn't seem like the act of a "genius", as far as I know, you also chose to sacrifice yourself in order to fight against the Herrscher of Corrosion.

Weiwei's expression suddenly became serious:

"...Aponia, don't joke like that, okay? Otherwise, even I would be unhappy. That's what I hate the most, how could I possibly do it myself?"

(Disgust? Does Velvet have such a deep hostility towards "sacrifice"...?)

"...Is that so? But your death does have meaning. Perhaps...it will be the key to turning defeat into victory."

"I just can't accept it. It has nothing to do with the meaning. Because... for other people, this is also a very heavy hurt."

Aponia asked cautiously:

"I... don't quite understand. Can you talk to me about it? Give me more details."

"Well... although I am also thinking about others from my own perspective... after all... I like you all very much, so... no matter how noble your purpose is, I hope that you can cherish every day of your life. Your smile will not disappear... for me, this is the most important thing."

(It seems that the key to everything still lies with Alicia. Will she... be here?)

Abonya's rekindled hope urged her to search for Alicia's trace throughout this mental space, but... the result was no different from before.

"Yes... She hasn't been corrupted, so how could she be here... But every consciousness here... does show the characteristics of Alicia..."

"Could it be... is it what I thought? Not only her appearance, manners, tone of voice... but also her "feelings", have they been "stolen" by the Herrscher of Corrosion?"

After pondering for a moment, Aponya came to an unacceptable fact.

"So...her corruption of Ying Jie was actually out of 'love'?"

"She wasn't lying. When we were fighting to the death at all costs, she was really just... trying to "save" our lives in her own way?"

"The truth...is no longer important. If this judgment is true, then...it is equivalent to declaring that my failure is certain."

She wanted to use her ability to reshape the other person's mind and change his behavior through a certain "fulcrum". However, since the other person's starting point was originally "love", how could she make her turn back - even if that kind of love had already been misplaced.

"I... am still powerless?"

She couldn't help but think of a "future" in which the Herrscher of Corrosion was completely successful. At that time, everything outside would cease to exist, and only the concept of "Alishia" would exist in the world, and... it would be eternal.

(They had the same original intention...but ended up with completely opposite results?)

"But... that is definitely not the future that Alicia wants. I... can't stop here..."

She suddenly realized something.

"That's what I hate the most. How can I do it myself?"

"No... That kind of strong resistance could never belong to Alicia. Could it be... that my guess was wrong from the beginning? This... is not the "heart" of the Herrscher of Corrosion...?"

Following this line of thought, Aponya soon understood:

"After I was eroded, I finally arrived not at the heart of the Herrscher, but... Mebius, your domain. That familiar tone... did not come from Alicia, but your usual "imitation"."

As the words fell, a small snake that was twisting and crawling darkly appeared in her field of vision. It continued to grow larger and larger and turned into the shape of Mebius.

"...Okay, I'm the one who should have that expression. You've kept me waiting for a little too long, haven't you? Why, do you really think... that I'll end this in such a hasty way?"

"If someone has similar thoughts, it only means... that he knows nothing about you. In this case, I also understand... what the "Thousand Tribulations" and "Vilvi" I saw just now are. Mobius... was your previous "experiment" successful?"

"What's wrong? Is it surprising?"

"So, you... regard me as your last resort? If the situation becomes so serious that even I am unable to calm it down, and I come here because of the erosion, then you... can confirm the necessity of releasing "it"?"

Mebius, as usual, gave a mocking smile:

"Oh? In your eyes... am I such a cautious person? Don't be so self-indulgent, Aponya. The reason I am willing to wait until now is only because you are still worth being "used"."

"...Is that so? What can I do at this moment? Let me listen attentively."

"Break the 'barrier' and connect Paradise and reality, Aponia. Then, send me to where Klein is. Under the control of the Herrscher of Corrosion, only you... can do this for me."

"Only you can do this for me" - Mobius would never say this about a person. Because of this, Aponia knew that the current situation was a dead end for this genius.

Her judgment was correct. Now that the Paradise of the Past had been completely eroded by the Herrscher and Velvet had already left, the only possibility of breaking through that "barrier" lay in herself.

In that dying era, she finally chose to merge her spirit with the paradise. Therefore, in this world, Apolonia is almost omnipotent.

Now, the paradise of the past has ushered in an "enemy from outside the world". To fight against it, it can only rely on the power equivalent to "the world itself".

But... that also means that she will mix everything that constitutes "Apolonia" into the corruption of the Herrscher. For the memory, this is no different from "self-destruction". If after that, Mobius's plan fails... it will be a meaningless sacrifice.

"Why, at this moment, do you still have to pretend to be so hypocritical?"

"No, I just... don't know how to thank you."

Aponia smiled with relief:

"Before Qianjie left... I promised him that I would atone for my sins when I had the chance. I thought... I was going to break my promise. After all, it was because of me that 'it' appeared in the world in the past. But this time... Mobius... you won't let us 'make the same mistake' again, right?"

"Of course. I'm not you."

"Then...I will do as you wish."

For no reason, Aponya recalled some past events. When she said goodbye to that world, she had vowed to use her "body" to record everything about that person in history, forever. Now, her body will be gone. But the eternal things will reappear in the world because of everyone's prayers.

"Hmph, an invincible enemy? Then let's find her an equally "invincible" opponent. Don't you want to see who is stronger between "her" and "it"? I am looking forward to it."

"Well, okay..."

Then, the light shines, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, dancing from the depths and flying to the glorious distance.

In the eternal paradise, flowers of various colors are still in full bloom. Ling walks through the flowers like an ordinary girl enjoying the beautiful scenery.

"Using a replica of the Twelfth Herrscher to deal with the former Twelfth Herrscher, Grandma Mobius, I'm afraid only you can come up with such a plan."

"...They are really the kind of people who are willing to give it a try even if the probability is negligible. However... for the safety of the real world, such a plan cannot have any chance of success."

"Even if it's just a replica, a [Corrosive Ruler] that only has instincts and no thinking ability is too dangerous..."

"Sister Aino, please..."

Soon, Ling walked to the end of the flowers. Kosmo stood there quietly, just like before. After taking a closer look, she approached Kosmo nonchalantly, as if she saw nothing.

When the distance between the two was less than 10 meters, a huge birdcage rose from the ground and trapped them inside.

"Kosmo... how much time do you think this method can buy for Raiden Mei? I learned from Velvet's data that if you completely release your "Overweight Transformation" here, then you... will really have nothing left."

She put on a smile that "Alisaia" should have on her face again, and she walked forward again. At least in her understanding, when she was not "alone", Alisaia would never allow herself to sink into grief. And the scene before her was just as she imagined.

"Has the situation I least want to see happened again? Or can you give me another answer... Kosmo?"

"There is no point in talking any more, Herrscher. ...This will not be your hunting ground."

"What a cruel name - have you heard everything about me? Including my... "Invincibility"? "

"..."

"From your expression, it seems so. Since you know that you have no chance of winning a head-on confrontation with me... do you still want to hold on until the last moment before you collapse completely?"

The young man nodded.

"It's fine for other people... But, Kosmo, based on what I know about you... the so-called "self-sacrifice" is probably the most unacceptable thing for you, right? Now, you want to do this yourself, is it really okay?"

"Unacceptable? ... I never thought so."

"Well, you've been able to say so much in such a short time, which proves that you're more willing to communicate than other heroes. Since you want to delay time so much, why don't we talk about... that matter."