Honkai Impact 3rd: I picked up a Seele at the start of the game.

……

Black Seele was constantly sensing the etheric singularity; among everyone present, she was the one who understood it best.

[Gold says: I will not allow anyone to act recklessly here.]

Yun Fuyu altered it, removing Seele from the "blocked" list.

[Gold says: This world is destined to perish.]

Seele altered it, preventing it from inflicting its destructive fate.

[Gold says: This is my home turf now, the world is at my feet.]

The two worked together to fuse this "heterogeneous substance (gold)" with the etheric singularity (stone), stripping it of its unruly power.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the originally tumor-shaped etheric singularity gradually returned to its regular crystal shape. Those absurd rules that should have been stripped away were stripped away, and those that should have been merged were merged. Reflected on the crystal, the color gradually became clear and transparent, and it even radiated a dazzling light.

Black Seele was a little confused: "How were the rules of the world altered? You shouldn't have such power. If we're talking about authority, my Seele might have it, but you're not Saha, how could you..."

But Bronya, standing beside her, seemed thoughtful: "I once heard a terrible guy say that everything in the world is different from one another, and they are all devouring and merging with each other."

(Note: This was said by Otto.)

What Yun Fuyu and Xier are doing is merging the "heterogeneous" elements on the Ethereal Singularity with the Ethereal Singularity itself. Moreover, it seems that the mutual repulsion between the two of them is also decreasing.

Bronya didn't consider "changing the rules," but instead focused on "eliminating the heterogeneous." In her view, the truth was closer to the latter.

However, seeing an adorable Seele "merging" with someone else made Bronya feel a lump in her throat...

She dispelled the strange feeling and said to them, "The altered part of the etheric singularity was most likely caused by the Shadow of Darkness. It came into contact with this world bubble and brought about its destruction."

Bronya's gaze sharpened: "And according to Seele, she saw you right after the Shadow of Darkness had passed. You also possess the ability to alter the rules affected by the Shadow of Darkness. Should I continue?"

She suspected that Yun Fuyu and Xier had a problem.

After all, Seele and her companions had just been tricked by Vita and So not long ago. Even though "Seele" was now in "Seele's" form and Yun Fuyu acted harmlessly, Bronya became more vigilant and couldn't help but be suspicious.

She even secretly wondered if "Suo" had gone out to have some fun? After destroying the world bubble, did he send down two puppets to watch the show?

Yun Fuyu could roughly guess Bronya's wariness. He opened his mouth, then smiled helplessly, unsure how to explain—he was just as confused as anyone else!

Just then, Seele took a step forward—just like when Mebius had tried to sow discord between them, Seele didn't hide but chose to take the initiative to protect him.

Seele frowned slightly, her voice loud: "We helped save this world, look up for yourself! Just because we possess this power, does that make us people to be questioned?"

As Seele said, moments ago, the rules of this world were altered, and strange, near-destructive scenes were everywhere, as if a model of the Earth had been crushed by a pair of giant hands. But now, the land has drifted and solidified, gravity has returned to normal, and those violent storms, the unfathomable void, and the bizarre spectacle of heaven and earth turning upside down are all visibly returning to normal.

Seele is angry: We clearly saved the world, yet you doubt us because of the power we used to save the world?

Bronya was speechless for a moment.

She wanted to explain, but didn't know how—the reason was that Seele and the others had been tricked, so when faced with Yun Fuyu and "Seele," two suspicious figures, she had to be suspicious.

But if I were to actually say that, I'd probably be labeled as "petty"...

It was Theresa who stepped in to smooth things over. This world also had Seele and Bronya. Theresa looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar Truth Duck, Black Seele, Seele, and the minor character Yun, and sincerely said, "Everyone, please put your guard down for now! Our world has returned to normal thanks to your efforts, which is something to be thankful for!"

Bronya took a step back: "Yes, the headmistress is indeed the headmistress, what she said makes sense."

"I'm sorry, you two, I shouldn't have doubted you so easily."

Seele breathed a slight sigh of relief and subtly took a half-step back, leaving Yun Fuyu to handle the situation.

Bronya's eye twitched—this Seele really looked like her Seele. Apart from appearance, strength, and voice, even her personality was very similar to Seele from a few years ago.

……

At Theresa's invitation, everyone attended the celebration party hosted by Schicksal, but introductions were omitted. To prevent any accidents, Bronya created a small device on the spot to minimize the presence of the four of them, so as not to get too involved with the World Bubble.

At the banquet, Yun Fuyu recognized Kiana, Mei, and Rita. They and Theresa were all comforting Bronya... Seele, who was in this world, had already sacrificed herself, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

As she listened, Seele's expression gradually became strange. She seized an opportunity to move closer to Yun Fuyu, holding a small cake in her hands, and tentatively asked him, "The Seele and Bronya in this world, they seem to...?"

Yun Fuyu nodded in agreement with her guess: "They are probably mutually in love."

Seele glanced furtively to the other side, at Black Seele and True Duck, and said again, "They..."

Yun Fuyu nodded again: "More or less."

Seele was a little speechless—as she'd said before, after becoming a Herrscher, Yun Fuyu, who had entered her world, participated in all her stories, and was destined to participate in all her stories, was currently the person she cared about most. But looking at the "references" from other worlds, the individual named "Seele" seemed to be locked into a romantic pairing with a girl named "Bronya," which made her feel awkward, and at the same time, she was a little afraid that Yun Fuyu might overthink things…

However, Mr. Yun certainly wouldn't think too much about it; please listen to his reasons:

First of all, the Blue Ocean team is the best!

Secondly, the Sapphire Blue group is the best!!

Finally, the Sapphire Blue team is the best!!!

Furthermore, just as he once said, the Seele he knows now is the most special Seele in his heart. She has no relation to "Bronya," yet they've shared those experiences, and they're destined to walk together for the rest of their lives. Under these circumstances, he has no need to be jealous of Bronya for the sake of other Seeles.

Yun Fuyu took the cake from Xier's hand and mumbled as she ate, "Why don't we think about how to get back? We still don't know why we fell into the Sea of ​​Quanta."

Seele was diverted from the topic, and she shared her guess: "I think it's related to the Shadow of Darkness on one hand, and to the power of our dreams on the other. I guess the former is the trigger, and the latter is the power that supports our journey."

Yun: "I think so too. But I don't know where the power of dreams comes from, or what the Shadow of Darkness is. I'm still completely clueless."

Seeing that Yun Fuyu had finished the small cake, Xi'er handed him a drink: "Would you like to try this?"

"Okay."

Fingertip touch.

The world is spinning.

A person who is sleeping suddenly wakes up from a dream; a person who is drowning suddenly breaks free from the water.

------

Interlude: Speculation

------

The Shadow of Darkness is the final boss of the nineteenth season of Houmu Adventure. Its prototype is the consciousness that condensed after all the Houmu in a world were brutally murdered. It has extremely chaotic consciousness and behavior, and its power is unimaginably strong.

However, precisely because of this, this season was heavily criticized, with books and merchandise failing to sell and the movie's box office performance also being poor.

Bronya said worriedly, "Seele, I'm not joking. I named it Shadow of Darkness because I really think it's that threatening."

Black Seele: "...Why?"

Bronya said seriously, "Because it can destroy a sizable world bubble, or even just by contact, it can implant rules of destruction into the etheric singularity!"

Reminded by Bronya, Black Seele shuddered: "Yes, back then, Seele and I were in the Tower World, and we were even captured by the world's rules and couldn't escape! This world bubble is only slightly smaller than the Tower World, but its rules were easily altered by the Shadow of Darkness. The level of this power is probably no weaker than that of the Sha!"

Bronya: "Hmm. It's far inferior to the End, but it's hard to say whether it's better or worse than So. In fact, even So can only destroy the world by exploiting loopholes in the world's rules, right? The Shadow of Darkness, on the other hand, can change things simply through contact."

The method by which So devours energy in the quantum sea is to destroy the world by utilizing its rules, rather than implanting rules out of thin air.

Hei Xi'er frowned again: "But what about that Xi'er and Yun something... what's going on with them?"

Didn't they also change the rules?

Bronya saw it more clearly than she did: "That's not exactly changing the rules. In my observation, it's more like 'assimilation' or 'elimination,' eliminating the disharmonious parts and assimilating the harmonious parts into one's own."

Black Seele was completely confused: "What's the difference..."

Bronya: "Uh... just think of it as them just happen to have a special method that can counteract the influence of the Dark Shadow."

Black Seele: "If you had said that earlier, it would have been fine. But then another question arises: are they related to the Shadow of Darkness?"

Bronya sighed softly, "I'm not sure either. They may be suspicious, but that doesn't mean we can question them arbitrarily."

The truth is too hard to find.

Black Seele: "Why don't I go and ask them properly? I think they'll cooperate."

Bronya nodded, feeling that her direct suspicion had been a bit too much, so she was too embarrassed to ask further.

Black Seele was very quick on her feet; she immediately began looking around for Yun Fuyu and Seele... but she couldn't find them.

"Where have you been?"

Black Hill didn't think she had missed anyone, so she decided to ask Theresa, the hostess of the party. But Theresa also said she didn't know where they were.

Left?

Black Seele became more vigilant: "Sister... Bronya, I'm afraid you're right, their identities are indeed questionable!"

Black Seele suspected a conspiracy when she left without saying goodbye! She thought of Vita, who had tricked them not long ago, and felt a surge of anger!

Bronya couldn't find them either, and sighed, "Either they're related to the Shadow of Darkness, or their power is special enough to be specifically targeted at the Shadow of Darkness. There's no other possibility."

"Never mind, let's head back. Let's share the information and be more careful in the future!"

Black Seele: "Mm."

Bronya concluded solemnly, "When you get back, remember to tell Seele to be wary of people of unknown origin!"

Black Seele: "...Oh."

The visitors from the other world quietly departed, leaving only the people of this world to cheer in victory.