A journey of Shadowverse and Honkai Impact 3rd

First she was surprised, then delighted. Suddenly, Aurora, who felt that she had a promising future, looked at Sera's electronic pupils with a more passionate gaze. If she allowed it to grow, maybe in the future it might be comparable to thermal vision.

Sera was speechless. She didn't know how Aurora came to this conclusion, but she had deeply understood Aurora's unreliability from the conversation.

Where's the powerful analytical ability of an intelligent life form? Why is this kid acting so clueless? He doesn't even realize he's being ripped off...

"Well, to be honest, I came here just for the settlement you're in. If possible, I'd like to go in and take a look. As for how I know all this, it's because I just walked out of the safe house of the dead not long ago."

"Huh!? Sera, are you an undead? You don't look like one."

Sera looked at the clumsy Aurora with empty eyes. She didn't expect that she could find someone as cute as Arisa on top of the mechanical alloy. To be honest, her estimate of Aurora's reliability has hit rock bottom.

"Let's talk about compensation. Do you have any interesting technologies? Give me a copy."

"Oh! That's no problem. It's a very simple thing, but I don't know much myself. When I get back and talk to everyone, I promise to pack a copy for you."

Aurora, who had no worries about excessive demands and had consciously established a cooperative relationship, immediately regained her strength and began to pat her chest and make promises to Sera that she would definitely fulfill them.

"Then, Sera, you can help expand this place. When the time comes, I'll give you the safe house and the technology. How about that? No problem, right?"

"No problem, but can you return to the settlement in your current state? If you can, I don't mind going with you. I also want to see what you mean by 'living a life of idleness and waiting to die'."

The holy blue flame illuminated the bright and clean basement. The space without negative energy in the barrier appeared particularly neat, and also made Aurora, a necromancy machine, seem out of place. Now as an abnormal mechanical life, she used death components and did not look good.

The necromanted body looked exceptionally cold, and the hazy grey air that occasionally spread outside the body seemed both real and unreal, like the last breath of a dying person, mixed with the vile qualities of death and decay. If it were covered with bionic skin, Sera would also doubt whether the outer skin would decay directly under the erosion of such an air.

From a beautiful, moving human figure to a cold, moving corpse, such a change cannot be described as earth-shaking, but at least it is a complete makeover.

"Ah, that's right... maybe the protocol data I synchronized with has already been loaded into the new machine."

There was a sense of discouragement in the synthesized pleasant female voice. When Miss Aurora thought of the tragic fact that might happen, she felt so uncomfortable that she couldn't breathe.

Although, as a mechanical life form, she did not need to breathe to maintain her life, the real feeling of dullness still captured her mind, causing a beautiful flower to fall into the trap of withering.

"Oh, then I'll go back and take a look, Sera...can you come with me?"

Afraid that she would not be recognized by everyone, Aurora's low voice revealed a hint of asking for help. With someone traveling with her, at least if she encountered the worst outcome, she would have a friend she had just met as a companion.

"Yeah, sure. Getting into the settlement and taking a look is also my goal. It's okay, Aurora."

Sera's gentle gaze contained encouragement. Although there were no extra words, the android girl, who was being looked at like this, inexplicably felt a power from the heart, and nourishing living water flowed from the source of her soul, responding to her comfort.

——Even if I can’t come back, I will still be by your side.

"Okay, let's go now!"

The holy blue flame illuminated the two people's path. The space and light confused by the magic spell obscured the traces of their footsteps. They shuttled among the figures of demons, just as the road to heaven was paved with sin. In the vast mountains of ruins, the wreckage of starships and the wreckage of the ladder to heaven buried too many heroic souls, and also provided cover for the blockade area that was almost impossible to discover.

The fluctuations in the subspace remained calm, and Aurora input the key of the void into an unknown area. Then, the strange feeling brought about by the space migration engulfed them, and a towering, tough and insurmountable wall appeared before people's eyes.

The majestic gate is seamless throughout. As an engineering creation from the heyday of civilization, it shines like a white star in a space unknown to Sera. Its noble and beautiful posture is like a pure white saint, untainted by dust and full of the glory of wisdom.

“A place of absolute sublime beauty.”

Aurora told her the name of the residence, and from the name, Sera easily figured out some things.

"This place isn't meant to be a refuge, is it?"

"Indeed, this place should be considered part of an experimental plan to counterattack the disaster, responsible for the construction of a prototype."

"Prototype?"

"Yes, but it hasn't achieved the performance we planned. However, we, who were created for this purpose, are constrained by the underlying protocol and our mission since our inception. We have been searching for ways to improve it with limited resources."

Aurora's tone became fierce, and a deep resentment came from her resistance to her innate mission.

"Even a machine would go crazy if you kept doing something hopeless over and over again. Who would want to do something with such a pitifully low mathematical probability?"

134. Aurora before

The tall and solid walls stand tall, and the spacious roads are not for people to walk on, but for engineering equipment to pass through. Aurora and Sera need to be reviewed before entering.

A small door was hidden in the lower right corner of the solid wall. It quietly opened at some point, revealing a bright and beautiful passage inside, leading to an exceptionally sacred world within the facility.

The light blue light dances back and forth on the road, and the radiant luster permeates the fresh air, inadvertently painting the soft light paint on the cold and hard walls, turning a short journey into a wandering in the sea, allowing people walking in it to feel the beauty of this place.

The angular counter has a clean appearance, and unadorned objects stand on the side of the aisle, allowing well-preserved components and canned energy to quietly emit a charming brilliance in the eyes of the machines, revealing humanistic care.

Her fingers brushed across the delicate surface of the counter, and the coolness she felt was transmitted through her fingertips. Curious, Sera carefully looked at the standard sample placed outside, and pressed the button several times but received no response.

(* ^ _ ^ *)

A smiling face made up of lines appeared on the counter, and the words that followed made Sera realize that she was not the person being served.

"Sorry, this product is a device that provides quota consumption for mechanical life forms and has no settings for interaction with humans."

"If you have any questions, please report to the center and the Sublimation Institute Committee will give you a definitive response within three standard days."

Aurora, who was traveling with Sera, saw Sera's frustrated look. As a friend, she immediately stepped forward and asked Sera "what do you need?" After Sera pointed to the canned energy, Aurora pressed the corresponding button as usual.

Then, she also failed in front of the automatic counter.

"Sorry, this product currently does not provide services to unregistered mechanical life forms. If you have any questions, please report..."

The repetitive familiar voice echoed in her ears. Aurora's embarrassed expression did not look funny to Sera. On the contrary, the girl felt more deeply about the momentary sadness.

"Let's go. Since they let us in, they shouldn't make things difficult for us."

"Well, I'm not worried about that..."

After recovering from the embarrassment, the mechanical face no longer showed obvious emotions. Aurora led the way silently, following her familiar memory and leading Sera through the entrance passage, straight into the mechanical city.

Patrolling drones swam through the sky like fish, maintaining the normal operation of the sublimation center according to the planned route and providing safe escort for the participants of the experimental program here. The huge dome at the zenith is a magical three-color sky. The rippling pink, blue and green serve as an impeccable optical background. The animations of flying birds and starships passing by are also lifelike, depicting the glory of civilization that once illuminated the universe.

The city's architecture can be clearly divided into two categories. There are rows of simple, low, solid houses, arranged neatly like boxes, showing a unified and refreshing style. There are also strange buildings with a strong artistic atmosphere, some as sharp as mountains, and some as gentle as gardens. What Serra saw was the artists' unrestrained imagination. All kinds of strange designs became reality with the help of incredibly strong materials. The scene of competition and splendor is eye-opening.

At this point, Sera had a strange understanding of what Aurora said about just eating and waiting to die.

8①④⑨ ling ③Qi Bar

Is this really a life of idleness and waiting for death, or is it just the unintentional Versailles of the rich?

"Hmm? What's with that look in your eyes, Sera?"

Aurora was keenly aware of the strange looks from those around her. Those eyes, which were enough to make her body feel uncomfortable, seemed to penetrate her body and into her soul, trying to see clearly what she had said before.

"Nothing, I just really want to know what your heart is like, Aurora. The living conditions here seem luxurious just by looking at them."

"It almost made me forget that it was still a doomsday scene outside."

As she spoke, Sera looked around and once again confirmed her first impression of the place of sublimation in her mind.

The atmosphere of nobility, holiness, richness and prosperity is contained in the two clearly layered groups of buildings. The drones patrolling at all times silently guard the order here. If it is said to be a life of eating and waiting to die, then Sera does not mind experiencing it for herself.

"It wasn't like this before. The beauty you see is nothing but protest and resistance. In the past, the purpose of the Sublimation Chamber was to advance the experimental plan and enable the prototype to achieve the planned performance."

"But now, many people have given up hope on the experimental plan. Instead of spending the reserved resources on the prototype, it is better to support personal interests and plan other routes."

Aurora spoke with mixed emotions. On the bright streets of the city, she explained in this tone the reasons why the city had been built to this state, and then a resident loudly echoed her.

"That's right. Ultimately, a plan with such a pitifully low success rate should have been abandoned long ago. If we keep insisting on doing it, no one will see any hope."

A girl carrying a shuffler on her back descended from the sky, her pretty cherry-pink twintails drawing a graceful trajectory in the air, her bright blue eyes no different from Aurora's. She was wearing a short skirt and stockings, leaving a touching touch of white between her thighs and skirt, and her pretty face was full of approval.

"Come to think of it, I never expected something like this to happen. The me who had previously left turned into a necromancer after the shutdown, which made the newly loaded me feel awkward. Tsk."

After saying this in front of Aurora's embarrassed machine, the girl who had parkoured down from between the buildings smiled happily and turned her gaze to the only human present.

"Like her, my name is Aurora. Hi, we can be considered a sister machine, barely."

The sunny girl is simply two extremes compared to the lifeless machine. Her lively and beautiful appearance makes it hard for Sera to believe that this is also Aurora. Sure enough, even intelligent mechanical life forms need different clothes to dress themselves up.

"Sera, nice to meet you."

"Ok!"

The girl nodded with satisfaction, and then conveyed the committee's wishes, forcing Sera and Aurora to separate from each other.

"Ms. Sera, please follow me. As for the other me, you will need to be isolated until the examination is completed. A drone will then take you to the isolation location."

After throwing the shuffler she was carrying into Aurora's arms, the girl turned around and her expression, which had been calm and composed just now, immediately became extremely embarrassed. If she hadn't suppressed her unbearable feeling, goose bumps would have appeared on her bionic skin.

Wow! How could such an embarrassing thing happen to me? I'm going to be socially exhausted, wow.

"Um, Miss Aurora, may I ask if anything is going to happen to Aurora?"

From behind, the sound of Sera's footsteps and a questioning voice came, and the girl explained it clearly.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Even after transformation into a necromancer, she'll still be able to maintain her rationality. After undergoing certain inspections and modifications to ensure safety, she can register to join the Ascension Center. I'm afraid her name will need to be changed."

135. Prototype: Laura Mia

Following the girl through the long streets, the distinct architectural styles are vividly displayed on both sides of the main road. The regular and unified order and the colorful diversity complement each other, as if representing the opposition and confrontation of two consciousnesses. But no matter what, their existence adds a lot of color to the sublimation, preventing the cruel desolation from ever setting foot.

Personally, the Place of Ascension is the most prosperous place Sera has ever seen in this world.

Although Eyalon's silo also has advanced technology, its spatial design is a bit stingy and not as gorgeous as the residence of the Sublimation House.

"Ms. Sera, we are going to the committee's meeting room. The committee will ask you many questions, but don't be afraid. We will not do anything to humans."

"In the final analysis, humans are always our parents. Perhaps the goals they set are unrealistic, but we are still grateful for the life and soul they have given us."

The girl with cherry-pink twintails explained the reason for coming to pick up Sera. Under the romantic three-color sky of the Sublimation Place, bathed in the gentle breeze, they arrived in front of a simple building. The protein-colored exterior walls surrounded the office building, and gently swaying green trees stood in rows, creating a leisurely and comfortable atmosphere here.

But while relaxing, Sera noticed a number of automatic turrets hidden in the walls. Perhaps the controller here only needed a thought, and the activated turrets could weave a firepower network that could kill people to pieces.

buzz-

The automatic door opened gracefully, and the pleasant sound of the machine running was faint, which contained a high-spirited spirit. The interior of the building that was opened was clean and beautiful, and the warm color design was not eye-catching. There were also many design drawings and renderings arranged on both sides of the wall, showing a heavy sense of solemnity.

Looking around curiously, Serra saw a hint of the experimental plan for the Sublimation House on the design drawings. From crude to perfect, until the final disagreements and even the suspension of the plan, all were clearly described in the drawings and renderings, making Serra feel like she was walking in history.

Finally, Sera saw the prototype parameters of the original goal that the experimental plan hoped to achieve, and also saw the appearance of the completed prototype body.

It was a young girl with a hint of sadness on her pretty face. The picture in the frame was not a rendering, but a painting like an oil painting. The worried brushstrokes were presented on the girl's skin, making her fair and cold complexion slightly dim and sad. Her bright blonde hair was like the sunset, without the vitality of the future.

Prototype: Laura Mia.

Eh!?

It’s llmy!

Seeing the unexpected existence, Sera's eyes flashed slightly, and the urge to meet her was suppressed by reason.

Hmm... I should talk to the committee first and see what the situation is.

The blue eyes looked at the girl leading the way in front of him. Her twin ponytails swayed with her steps, which made her look a little cute. After turning two corners and climbing three floors of stairs, the different layout of the fourth floor building appeared before his eyes.

A spacious stepped council hall was clearly visible under the bright light. The neatly arranged tables and chairs were all brown and black, which symbolized a serious atmosphere. Coupled with the various mechanical life forms that had already arrived and taken their seats, the gloomy atmosphere immediately descended upon Sera with pressure.

"Please feel free to take a seat, Miss Human. You are the second distinguished guest from the outside world to enter the place of sublimation."

The long golden hair changes into a holy blue flame color from the middle part. The color reflected in the eyes is like a gem deposited in the ground, extremely soft and smooth. Under the swan-white face is a black body design, but it is specially made into a style that conforms to the curves of human women. People can't help but imagine whether it is a body full of beautiful vitality or a body with ferocious firepower hidden under the clothes.

"My name is Laura Mia, and as the temporary manager of this experimental facility, I extend my respectful greetings to you."

The sky-blue eyes contained a clear watery light, and the corners of her mouth raised slightly, painting a gentle and quiet smile of a girl. Although it was a machine, it behaved more like a gentle human being, which further enhanced Sera's sense of the place of sublimation.

"Thank you, Administrator Loramia and everyone for your concern. My name is Sera, and I'm a magician."

As soon as the words fell, Loramia sitting on the first seat and the surrounding intelligent machines all consulted the database. After understanding Sera's words, they asked some curious questions.

"Excuse me, Miss Sera, what exactly do you mean by a magician? Is it a magic scholar who focuses on basic exploration, or a magic craftsman who focuses on practical techniques?"

"Excuse me, Miss Sera, where are you from? Are there multiple settlements in the outside world?"

"Excuse me, what is Miss Sera's purpose in coming here..."

The speeches came one after another mechanically, and the sounds emitted from different positions and at different times were all extremely clear, as if they had staggered the competition track and were running side by side in terms of sound frequency, achieving an effect of mixed but not blurred sounds, allowing Sera, who had been listening for a while, to answer the questions one by one.

"The magician I'm talking about is a magic scholar. I come from an underground settlement called Eyalon. My purpose for coming here is to verify the authenticity of the information given by an old gentleman."

"You should know what a so-called historian is, Mr. Lucas."

When Sera asked about the demon historian's situation and heard that she was the second distinguished guest coming from the outside world, she had plans for Lucas.

"Of course, that old man wasn't human, but out of kindness, we took him in for a while until he left on his own terms."

Laura Mia briskly recounted Lucas's experience in the Sublime Place, and then her tone returned to the calmness she had just encountered. But perhaps it was an illusion, Sera saw on the girl's face not only the dignity of a leader, but also her personal troubles.

Even if that worry just flashed by inadvertently.

"To be honest, Miss Sera, given your human identity, we hope you can stay here. As you can see, although the Sublimation Center is an experimental facility, it is the settlement closest to a prosperous era."