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

After leaving the paradise of the afterlife, Mei lost contact with Alicia, and her surroundings turned pure white again.

"The test...is it starting now?"

She looked at the only door in front of her and pushed it open without any hesitation.

"…Back to Chiba Academy again?"

Mei was not surprised at all that she entered Senba Academy again. After all, this was a place that left a mark in her life.

"The food I cooked... tastes so bad... Dad... Dad..."

“Hmm? This voice… is me at that time? So I’m not experiencing it in immersion anymore, but in the third person?”

An unidentified male classmate and a former female classmate came to Raiden Mei:

"You cook for yourself because there's no one to serve you now, "Miss"! Oh no, I should call you the daughter of a criminal!"

"As expected... it happened when my father was first imprisoned... But for me now, this is not a test at all. It's just... it seems different from the scene in my memory."

[Even though she was alienated by everyone and surrounded by malice she had never experienced before, the girl did not lose heart. She was so strong that after the halo of her family background faded, she was still able to let everyone know her again. Since then, the Queen of Thunder and Lightning is no longer a title, but a reputation. ]

The scene changes to the rooftop of Senba Academy. Raiden Mei is bandaging the wound of another white-haired girl.

"Mei... don't worry about me... I'm glad you're okay..."

"Kiana!"

"Back then in Changkong City..."

[If in that accident, the girl had not relied on the favor of Honkai and wiped out everything in the name of the Herrscher. The Menkyo Kaiden was not a light and frivolous youth story. Relying on the swordsmanship she had learned since childhood and the power that had long existed in the origin of the human body, she escaped with her best friend - she did not become a Herrscher, and there was no way to talk about the many entanglements with destiny and anti-entropy. ]

It was not until this moment that Mei realized that this was "another her" rewriting her own story.

Relying on their excellent physical fitness and incredible luck, she and Kiana successfully escaped from Changkong City without anyone becoming a Herrscher.

[Yes, collapse will not disappear out of thin air, but it can be avoided. When the determination to change the world is no longer embraced, the power of human beings is enough to take care of the life in front of them - not to mention that the two girls have always been lucky. The world is still undergoing drastic changes, but it has nothing to do with them; and as ordinary people, they at least have each other. ]

"This development... okay."

Soon, as disaster victims, the two got a small house through post-disaster relief. Mei had to admit that although Otto did many things worse than animals, under his governance, the Destiny was indeed a good organization for most ordinary people without any special physiques... at least it was much more reliable than the local government in the Far East.

[The house is not big, but it can just accommodate two people. On this day, Kiana sneaked into the kitchen, but not to steal food. ]

[Kiana] looked at the cut on her hand caused by the kitchen knife and smiled apologetically:

"I'm sorry, I was so careless...but...but I can still help."

"Kiana, actually...if you hadn't "helped", we would have had dinner by now."

“Uh…haha.

"I really want to learn how to cook from you... it's so boring to just wash the dishes."

"Well, Kiana has made great progress. Go and help wash this first - does your hand still hurt? Don't touch the knife again."

"Yeah, it's okay! Oh, by the way, this bracelet... it shouldn't be a problem if it gets wet, right? After all, it's you who gave it to me..."

"Okay, stop saying weird things - don't worry, it's okay. I gave you so many things... I cherish everything, but I can't do anything."

"Hehe...that's right."

"Oh, right... I saw that everyone was discussing that on the Internet. The Archbishop of Heaven's Destiny revealed the existence of Honkai..."

"Yeah, I saw it too - but don't believe in conspiracy theories. It is said that there have been scams related to Honkai Impact 3rd in society."

"I'm not a child. But there are indeed a lot of people discussing this - everyone says that the end of the world might be coming soon. But... Mei, if it's true - what are you going to do on the last day?"

"Ah? That kind of thing... has nothing to do with reality. You have to believe in the Valkyrie of destiny."

"We're discussing this because it doesn't matter. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this mood. Besides, when we were young, we also saw some extraordinary things."

"How old are you now?"

"Well...if the end of the world really comes, how about we go and save the world?"

"Ah? What are you talking about... We are not Yulandel in the headlines."

"We can always try... What about Mei, what do you want to do?"

"It's impossible. There's no point in even thinking about it. Besides... it's not a good thing in the first place."

(But if that day ever comes...)

"Oh, New Alahato is about to start! Mei, wait for me for a moment, I'll turn up the volume... Where's the remote?"

"If that day ever comes..."

"Ah-Mei? What did you say?"

"Nothing. Ah—Kiana, what on earth did you wash? You can't use strawberries in scrambled eggs—even if you try!"

This scene that had never been realized gradually faded away - admittedly, she and Kiana had grown so much along the way, and even if Honkai really no longer existed, the two of them would not be able to have such an innocent conversation.

But growth, a process that seems gratifying to others, will be accompanied by intense pain, whether it occurs in the body, bones, or mind.

"A thousand ships pass by the sunken boat, and a thousand trees bloom in front of the dead tree."

Pain is not "meaningful" as optimists think. If people do not need to deal with future pain, and do not need to learn from reflecting on pain, why do they have to "grow"?

Mei couldn't help but think of the few words she saw from ordinary people in the previous civilization in the Enosia system when she was in the paradise of the past - "I don't care about the truth of the world and the final victory, I just want someone to hold me when I die."

"So that's how it is... You, who have hardly spoken a word since I entered the Paradise of the Afterlife, are actually my... first test."

Mei shattered the space in front of her with one strike, and another Mei of Raiden who had been living in the same body with her... or to be more precise, her stigma will, appeared in front of her.

"——Finally guessed it? But...I finally got to see you again, and this is your attitude?"

"We are familiar with each other, there is no need to be so polite. And the way you greeted me in the past was not very friendly. ... Although we have been together for such a long time, in the final analysis, I have never really understood you. Maybe this is an opportunity."

"The same goes for you."

"Oh? You've grown stronger and want to challenge me?

Mei ignored her aggressive attitude:

"If you 'understood', you wouldn't have used such a strange method to greet me. Those imaginations of rewriting life are not only illogical, but also prove that you don't understand me at all, let alone Kiana."

"What nonsense... Can you pat your chest and say that you don't want those things?"

"can."

"You...!? I gave you my power... I gave you everything. What for?"

"For Kiana. That's why I don't need these [what ifs] you just showed me."

You are confused because you don't know Kiana well enough.

"'A person's character is his destiny'... You can try to understand the meaning of this sentence from a positive perspective. For example, facing the so-called "doomsday", Kiana will only make one choice - use her own power to prevent it from coming. ... It has nothing to do with the result, it is an attitude towards life."

"That's because you're too incompetent. You can't solve the problem, but you just watch the other person sacrifice himself... and then you say... that's just the way the other person is? You... are so hopelessly cowardly."

Mei laughed out loud:

"It seems that you are the more cowardly one among us today. My experience in the Paradise of the Past has made me realize that the [possibilities] you have shown, regardless of your motives, are ultimately disrespectful of Kiana's personality and humiliating everything that Alicia has shown me."

"This tone...you are following Ying Jie's old path, and you are still feeling proud of it?"

"I can't say I'm pleased with myself... but why not? Since I have indeed learned a lot here, why not consider myself their student?"

"But you know better than anyone what the final result of Yingjie's path will lead to! They are a group of losers!"

"...Let's not talk about whether the heroes are "losers" or not. Even if they are "losers" in their careers, will they necessarily "mislead others" in terms of personality? The world is so big... From the perspective of "fate", most people are just "processes". In my opinion, like the heroes, what I have to do is not to interfere, but to do my best and be my best... As for who is the one who writes the full stop for fate... it doesn't matter."

"'Not important'? You clearly believe that Kiana is the one who puts the finishing touches. You know very well that after leaving here, you will go to the moon to face the end. And when that happens... Kiana will definitely bear the brunt of it."

"The previous civilization tried its best, but ultimately failed to prevent the destruction of civilization. Aren't you afraid... that you will lose her, lose everything?"