Although Shu had successfully logged back in and reclaimed control of his mind, and the audience's enthusiasm had transitioned into a satisfied Sage Mode, the core issue remained resolved.
After witnessing those transformations, no one had any major objections to whichever persona Shu chose for his debut.
Every single one of them was absolutely gorgeous. He had given them all massive choice paralysis. Ultimately, whatever avatar he chose was entirely up to him.
Everyone knew Shu had far more designs prepared than what he had just shown them. After all, the cultural works he was familiar with were not dominated entirely by a single HOMU franchise like their world was.
Just take that Virtual Diva, for instance. There were undoubtedly others like her, and even she probably had more than one outfit or design.
The problem was that the girls physically couldn't appreciate any more. If this continued, their aesthetic standards would be permanently ruined.
It was a good thing they were surrounded by highly attractive people every day and had built up a resistance to beautiful girls. Otherwise, after a visual bombardment like that, looking at normal people would feel completely tasteless.
The rare Sage Mode finally allowed everyone to regain their cognitive functions. Kiana had no intention of getting up; even her boundless energy needed a moment to recharge.
Right then, however, Bronya's expression gradually grew strange.
"Bronya... has a question." She lowered her eyes, her gaze fixing on the "Princess" who was currently trying to hide her face behind a leek.
"Shu, you mentioned before that the codenames you gave us were not chosen at random," Bronya said, her tone serious and contemplative.
"Kiana's codename is 'Finality' because, in the original timeline you know of, Kiana bears the Authority of Finality.
"This follows perfectly logical consistency. However, if that logic holds true, Bronya's codename should be 'Reason' or 'Truth.' Sister Mei's codename should be 'Origin' or 'Thunder'...
"But Bronya's codename is 'Silver Wolf.' This does not align with the established pattern."
The hand gripping the leek twitched slightly. A flash of bewilderment passed through those teal-green eyes.
"Huh? Are we really doing literary analysis right now?" He smiled and sighed softly, waiting for Bronya to continue.
There was nothing embarrassing about a little scheming.
Wait... why is Bronya bringing this up now—
Seeing that Shu had no intention of muting her, Bronya took a deep breath and began her serious logical deduction.
"Initially, Bronya assumed Shu knew of Bronya's mercenary moniker, 'The Silver Wolf of the Urals,' and chose the codename based on that. Thus, both Bronya's and Kiana's codenames were strongly tied to our original identities.
"Only Sister Mei's codename, 'Acheron,' seemed strangely out of place. But at the time, because Bronya did not know Sister Mei very well, Bronya assumed it was simply a lack of personal knowledge.
"Until just now, when Sister Mei presented another possibility—"
A sharp, cunning light flashed in Bronya's eyes. She raised her hand, pointing an accusatory finger directly at Shu with absolute certainty.
"There is only one truth! The origin of everyone's codename... comes from our alternate-universe counterparts in other worlds or other cultural works! Correct?!"
"Is that true?!" Kiana violently launched herself off the sofa, staring at Bronya in shock before whipping her head toward the Virtual Diva.
Shu raised his hands and applauded Bronya rapidly, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"It really is true! Sister Bronya is amazing!" Seele's praise made the corners of Bronya's mouth curl up smugly.
"So... what exactly does Bronya's alternate-universe counterpart look like?" Bronya stared at Shu intensely, bearing the expression of a hunter who had already cornered her prey.
But things didn't go exactly as Bronya anticipated.
"Ah... Which one are you asking about?" The Diva widened her large eyes, rubbed her chin, and replied in a playful, teasing tone.
"Huh?" Bronya uttered a confused sound.
Meanwhile, Seele, standing right next to her, acutely sensed something was wrong.
"Does Sister Bronya have... multiple alternate-universe counterparts?" Seele took a deep breath, an uncontrollable tremble creeping into her voice.
The Diva nodded very seriously.
"A lot."
Bronya genuinely had a staggering number of alternate-universe counterparts. Even strictly within the Honkai universe, there was Adult Bronya, standard Bronya, and Haxxor Bunny Bronya—three completely distinct designs.
Not to mention the neighboring universe, which simultaneously featured Bronya Rand and Silver Wolf.
And if you included the GGZ era...
She was arguably the character with the absolute highest number of alternate-universe counterparts in the entire Hoyoverse!
"What about me?! What about me?!" Kiana suddenly felt a surge of profound regret. Back in the illusion of the Herrscher of Obsession, she had only focused on playing Honkai Impact 3rd. Why hadn't she checked to see if she existed in any other games?!
Dammit! If only I had googled myself...
"I feel like you're thinking about something incredibly dangerous," Shu shivered, then shook his head. "The others also have alternate counterparts, just not as many as Bronya.
"Let me think... Aside from Bronya, the person with the most is probably Mei?"
There's one in Genshin who can't cook, one in the Previous Era who can't cook, and one in Star Rail who has no idea how to cook...
Second only to Bronya.
And as for Kiana—Hiss... wait.
Isn't Kiana actually the one with the most counterparts?!
Ignoring the ancient relics from Mihoyo's pre-historic era, wasn't it canonically stated in GGZ that Kevin is literally Kiana's gender-bent alternate-universe counterpart?!
And if you factor in the old 'Soul Awakening' mechanic from early Honkai 3rd...
Wow, Kiana really does have a massive number of counterparts. And I refuse to believe Mihoyo wouldn't release even more of them after the point in time I crossed over.
"Then... can you show Seele? Seele wants to see the older sister from another world!" Seele eagerly interrupted Shu's internal monologue.
"Hmm..." Shu instinctively nodded. But a second later, he noticed something incredibly off about Seele's demeanor. "Hmm?"
"Seele... you..." Bronya stared at Seele in shock, standing right next to her.
"Uh... I mean, Seele wants to see Sister Bronya from another world... Haha... Sister... Sister Bronya is curious too, right?"
"Bronya is currently much more curious about which Seele you are right now," Bronya said, leaning in close and staring intently at her.
It's Veliona... I genuinely didn't expect Veliona to surface right now.
Wait...
"Ah... speaking of which, Seele... I mean, the other Seele. Are you two okay with sharing the same body?" Watching Veliona retreating under Bronya's intense scrutiny, Shu smiled and asked.
Veliona suddenly threw her arms around herself. "We are perfectly fine being together like this!"
"Are you sure? I was going to offer to prepare a separate body for you..." Shu said with a smile. "Sharing a single body is ultimately quite inconvenient, isn't it?"