Countdown: 3 minutes.
New York welcomed yet another peaceful morning.
A traveling painter sat on the lawn of Central Park, preparing to open a brand-new sketchbook.
Countdown: 1 minute.
At the foot of Havana's Morro Castle.
Early-rising children were receiving instruction from their martial arts master, clumsily yet earnestly practicing every move and stance of Shenzhou fist.
The final sixty seconds passed, and the countdown reached zero.
It happened in an instant—the world emptied completely, becoming utterly devoid of everything.
Then, those things that had once existed reappeared, as if nothing had changed at all.
But that was merely an illusion.
Mountains, oceans, rivers, cities—and even the Hyperion, thirty-eight thousand kilometers away.
Everything began to transform and reorganize under new rules.
The tiny humans within it had already vanished.
They turned into mountains, turned into oceans—they merged into the planet itself.
Within the shared dream brought by the Stigmata Project.
Immediately afterward, the scene shifted again.
The entire planet appeared on the TV screen, looking completely lifeless.
Then the camera moved to the even colder Moon, where a highly sci-fi lunar base came into view.
Before the nationwide audience could even react, Bronya—now as the Herrscher of Reason—rode in on Heavy Bunny's motorcycle form, speeding wildly.
Kevin held the Judgment of Shamash, blazing with raging flames. Scenes from the past flashed by nonstop.
MEI, Elysia, and himself…
When Kevin opened his eyes again, cold flames ignited across his body, entering his Demonized state.
The next moment, the Herrscher of Thunder charged in riding Kukikara.
There was also Kiana wielding the Herrscher of Flamescion greatsword—white and red armor interwoven in an extremely cool design.
The Herrscher-ified Big Three fully assembled, facing off against Demonized Kevin.
This scene arrived without any warning, yet it instantly sent the entire nation's audience into a frenzy of excitement.
Compared to the already movie-level special effects of the past, this segment had taken it to another level entirely.
On top of being hyper-realistic and breathtaking, it carried an inexplicable sense of epic grandeur.
The three Herrschers were the heroes of salvation, standing together against the villainous big boss who had activated an evil plan!
"Holy shit, this is explosive! What the fuck is this— is this still Honkai Impact 3rd?!"
"I just want to ask—is this really a TV drama? Does it need to go this hard?!"
"I'm already numb—this is something I should be watching at home?!"
"I can't even imagine how insane this would feel in a movie theater!"
"…"
Forget viewers across the nation—even inside Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company,
every actor present, along with Eden watching via livestream, was utterly stunned.
Kiana couldn't help but stand up and ask: "Is this really me? Crossing swords with Kevin—it's way too cool!"
Not just Kiana—Mei and Bronya were equally stirred.
Only Kevin, with MEI by his side, managed to stay calm, forcing himself to maintain the cold demeanor from the plot.
On TV.
Kevin faced the three Herrschers alone without the slightest fear, casually forcing Kiana back with one swing.
Mei and Kukikara charged in, while Bronya provided support with manifested weapons from a distance.
But to Kevin, all of this was mere child's play.
In the very end.
Kevin hovered alone in the sky, the Judgment of Shamash in his hand radiating endless firelight.
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya stood on the ground, all on full alert.
Just as countless viewers were glued to the screen in rapt attention, the epic cinematic spectacle abruptly cut off.
In its place appeared the episode title—The Origin and Finality of the Moon.
Though everyone knew that such insanely expensive scenes couldn't possibly last long,
having it end so soon still made the entire nation explode with curses.
"Dog director, you fucking inhuman bastard!"
They had just gotten hyped, only for it to cliffhanger at the most exciting part!
But curse as they might, the TV still had to be watched.
...
The Moon—its surface area of 36 million square kilometers a silver-gray desert, a dead wasteland four times larger than the Sahara.
In this desolate corner of an uninhabited celestial body, an ancient mechanical lifeform was quietly cleaning the room in preparation for the children's arrival.
Then Gray Serpent's voice rang out: "The Earth is like a leaf. It grew before flowers and fruits, building a living planet."
"Compared to it, the lives of all animals and plants are merely living as parasites."
Though he occasionally recited his favorite prose poems, he still carried out his work in an orderly manner.
Gray Serpent remembered what that author had said in another chapter.
Manual laborers, when they gaze at the fire in the furnace at night,
cast into those flames the messy and vulgar thoughts they produced during the day to be purified.
Looking at the statistical data on the computer screen, Gray Serpent knew these trivial figures were almost useless.
But because they were so comprehensive, they carried a certain metaphysical value.
At this moment, Gray Serpent couldn't help but sigh: "Sigh… the hardest profession in the world is probably poet, right?"
"To surpass all past glories through one's own power alone… in any era, that's something only geniuses can do."
"As for someone like me—I only dare to throw in a few clownish rhymes when performing comedy for the children."
The room was now spotless. Gray Serpent returned to delete a batch of no-longer-needed files.
Among them was a promotional video he had poured months of effort into.
Yet it had been declared scrapped without ever being used once.
But Gray Serpent felt no discouragement. While playing a video game,
he listened one last time through his headset to his own rather magnetic recording.
"Good evening, friends of humanity around the world."
"I am World Serpent's interim spokesperson, Gray Serpent."
"I apologize for taking up your time that could have been spent watching or listening to other programs—"
"In the next few minutes, I will explain as simply and concisely as possible."
"What drastic changes have occurred to the fate of humanity and Earth in just the past few hours."
"In truth, thanks to World Serpent's secret efforts, the disaster known as Honkai has completely receded from Earth."
"If any of you experienced physical discomfort during the daytime just passed…"
"Please do not worry. That was merely a minor side effect from our efforts to expel Honkai."
"Your lives are not in danger."
"Not only that—your lives will now merge together into the nearby ocean of spirit, into the Adam of spirit."
"The real and ugly world will lose all meaning to you."
"The eternal and sweet dream will become your only reality."
"You will be freed from the shackles of time."
"Your dreams will link with one another, building a true miracle that transcends everything."
"Blessings upon you."
"The legendary Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is quietly descending at this very moment."
"And every person who hears this gospel will truly and undeniably receive proof of eternal life."
The video's audio cut off abruptly. Gray Serpent gave a self-mocking smile and permanently deleted the file.
Months of labor gone to nothing—but at this moment, he felt fortunate.
Fortunate that he always took on the most unique role among all the Gray Serpents.
"Raising children is way more fun than fighting and killing."
"You all agree, right?"
Finally, Gray Serpent suddenly turned to face the screen, as if crossing time and space to make eye contact with the viewers outside the TV.
...
The scene shifted, and Demonized Kevin's figure reappeared on screen.
But the three Herrschers were gone. Kevin was now surrounded by a swarm of monsters.
Undoubtedly, these seemingly terrifying monsters were nothing to Kevin—he casually dispatched them in a few moves.
A core dropped to the ground and was pierced straight through by the Judgment of Shamash descending from above, losing all luster.
Kevin landed on the ground and walked to the greatsword, gripping its hilt.
His blue pupils were ice-cold and full of pressure, as if staring at something.
The next moment.
A girl's startled cry rang out, and the scene shattered like a mirror.
Seele instinctively opened her eyes, like a frightened little rabbit.
"Was that just now… a dream?"
Recalling the scene she had just witnessed, Seele thought to herself:
"But… how could there be such a real dream?"
"And that person was…"
Just thinking of Kevin's figure made Seele unconsciously place her hand over her chest.
Like a small animal watched by a predator, the bone-deep tremor from the dream still lingered clearly in her heart.
"Mm… what… exactly is going on?"
"I feel like… after last night's pre-sleep training, I said good night to Rosalia and Liliya."
"Then went back to my dorm… dorm?"
At this thought, Seele froze.
Only now did the girl suddenly realize just how unfamiliar the space she was in truly was.
Looking around, she found herself in a mysterious chamber devoid of any sign of life.
The room was completely empty—no windows—just like an overturned tin can.
In this tiny, silent, dim space, the only thing before the girl was a lone door leading to who-knows-where.
"…"
After a moment of silence, Seele mustered her courage and called out: "…Rosalia? Liliya?"
"Dr. Tesla?"
But there was no response. Still, Seele was no longer the Seele of the past—she could remain calm even now.
"Is this a prank?"
"But this place feels so different from the Salt Lake Base…"
"The other me—do you know what happened?"
"…"
Dark Seele did not reply. Seele quickly asked: "What's wrong, Seele? Say something!"
"～…"
"The other… me?"
No one answered—only boundless silence enveloped her from beginning to end.
Seele said again: "Don't be sulky—come out already. I really don't know what's going on."
"…"
Her answer was still perfect silence, inside and out.
Surrounded by this stillness, an indescribable fear crept into Seele's heart.
Unlike the disorientation when she first woke up, this emptiness from deep within made her tremble uncontrollably.
That consciousness sharing the same body with her—her former spear and shield, her irreplaceable other self…
Seele couldn't even bear to imagine if all of this…
Just then, Seele seemed to notice something and spoke: "…Is… is that you?"
"…"
Still no reply. Seele's heartbeat echoed in the empty room, as if the strange sensation earlier had been her imagination.
But she knew very well—it was her.
"Ah…"
Letting out a long breath of relief, Seele couldn't help but say: "That's great—at least you're okay."
"You can't talk to me like usual right now, can you?"
Naturally there was no answer, but the heartbeat from deep in her consciousness grew calmer.
Like a wordless comfort.
Seele imagined how someone might react at this moment and showed a small, bittersweet smile.
"I'm fine too… sorry for worrying you."
"It's okay. As long as you're still there… no matter how hard the rest is, we can solve it together in the end."
From the god's-eye view outside the TV, Seele's entire segment was undeniably a one-woman show.
But precisely because of that, it showcased just how superb her acting was.
"Seele is amazing—her long-awaited appearance starts with a scene like this. Too strong!"
"Seele is my wife too—a girl like Seele was born to be taken home by me as my wife!"
"Seele is too cute—where's Bronya-neesan? Save her!"
"Hehe, Seele—Dark Seele isn't here, hehehe…"
"…"
Fortunately, the Seele at the company usually didn't look at the group chat. She just nervously watched the TV.
Afraid that any part of her performance might disappoint everyone.
Hessian comforted her at this point: "Don't worry, Seele—your acting is something I, as the director, fully approve of and believe in."
"If you can't trust yourself, then trust in the me who trusts you!"
Looking dazedly at the extremely confident Hessian, Seele felt the tension and pressure that had built up inside her quietly disappear without her realizing.
"Mm!"
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as Seele nodded firmly—only to be immediately hugged from behind by Elysia.
"Ara~ Whether it's nervous Seele or confident Seele, I love them both so much~"
Rubbing her cheek against Seele's, Elysia said without any sense of awareness.
By now, almost everyone in the company had been personally recruited by her—including both Ai-chan and big-sister Ai.
But that didn't mean Elysia would favor the new over the old.
In one sentence: everyone was her wing.
As the Flame-Chasers and main cast had long grown used to it, their eyes remained fixed on the TV.
…
At this moment, Seele had calmed her emotions and walked toward the only door.
Before she could do anything, the door automatically slid open to the side, revealing another equally silent and dim passage behind it.
Seele said in surprise: "The door… isn't locked?"
"So the person who brought me here at least doesn't intend to trap me?"
"But…"
Seele took a deep breath and looked at the eerie, seemingly endless path ahead.
"What should I do? Should I walk down this road to get out?"
The other her still gave no response—meaning this time, no one could offer her advice.
She had to make the decision herself!