In this world, there was no Fire Moth.
Lin spent three days trying every possible method to contact the Fire Moth, but everything vanished like a stone cast into the ocean, without even a ripple. The politics and economy that should have been controlled by the Fire Moth showed no signs of being manipulated. Lin even checked the time for the outbreak of the Third Honkai and found that it should have occurred the night he arrived in this world, yet nothing happened.
This was a world without Honkai and without the Fire Moth.
The world was thriving. There was no explosive growth in technology, but it was progressing steadily.
This was a world without... and a world that shouldn't have had those disasters that caused one-sixth of the global population to vanish.
"..."
Lin walked down the road under the blistering sun. He realized he hadn't eaten for three days, yet his physical stamina showed no signs of depletion.
Was this also a... change brought about by the Core?
He had lost the means to leave and had no way to commit suicide.
Lin suddenly stopped. He raised his hands, looking at the pair that had once held countless weapons.
Drip.
Blood flowed from between his fingers, forming a blood-red line.
All ten fingers were dripping with blood. These fluids flowing from his body were, in his eyes, not his own blood.
Because he felt no pain, and he could see no color of blood.
But in his memory, he was covered by the thick blood of others when they died.
Drip.
"..."
His fingers were perfectly intact.
There was no blood.
Lin lowered his palms in a daze. He wanted to go to a certain place.
In this world without Honkai, what was "he" like?
......
Mei stopped in front of the dormant workshop. She looked up at the "Spiral Workshop," which had seen no activity for half a year. Even though cleaners tidied it daily, it still felt as though it were covered in a layer of dust.
She knocked on the door.
There was no response, and she didn't expect one. She opened the door herself and walked in.
The workshop was gray and cramped. It lacked its former messy but spacious feel. That person used to describe everything of hers as "Grand"; even if it was just her workshop, she would give it an air of atmospheric majesty.
But now, Mei felt it was nothing more than a small studio.
"Should I say... welcome? Mei, welcome to the alchemical workshop of the Great Magician, Vil-V?"
Mei walked around and then stopped in front of a voice.
Compared to half a year ago, that person hadn't changed much. She wore her personalized waist-cinching vest and that top hat someone had given her. Her beautiful face glowed under the light, as if she were still the same genius engineer, magician, and inventor... those numerous titles she gave herself, which no one could deny, were her narcissism and arrogance.
But her eyes had lost a spark of spirit, like a perfect painting that had been stripped of its most vivid colors. Her smile had never been so "deliberately" performed, even if she really had been acting before.
After observing for a moment, Mei exhaled. "It seems our Dr. Vil-V hasn't slept very well these past six months."
"Sleep is an activity where mental satisfaction outweighs physiological satisfaction. If the mind doesn't need satisfaction and the physiology can overcome it, then there is no need for sleep," Vil-V explained matter-of-factly, but her gaze was hollow, her mind clearly elsewhere.
Mei took this all in.
"Phew... Although I cannot judge from your perspective, still..."
"But people must always look forward. The dead cannot return to life. The number of people sacrificed so far is far more than just Lin, and pain has already smeared the history of humanity." Vil-V smiled calmly. "I understand."
She picked up a stack of design drafts from a nearby table and handed them to Mei.
"I haven't been idle these past six months. It's just that when I'm alone, I have more inspiration."
Mei skimmed the designs and nodded. It seemed she had thought Vil-V too fragile.
Under the dim light, Vil-V sat at her tool bench, half of her face submerged in shadow.
Putting away the designs, Mei said to Vil-V, " Vil-V, Dr. Einstein had a piece of unfinished research. I hope you can complete it in her stead. Is that alright?"
"What is it?"
"A large-scale anti-Honkai weapon. The prototype comes from the Previous Era."
"...Then, forget it."
"..."
Vil-V took a deep breath. She curled her lips into a smile and wagged a finger. "And the Fifth Divine Key—I wish to redesign it and rebuild it."
"I can approve that." Mei moved a stool and sat in front of Vil-V, making a calm gesture for her to continue. "But I want to hear the reason."
"..."
"..."
In the past, Vil-V wouldn't let the atmosphere sink into a scorching silence. In her words, a magician who let the scene grow cold was a failure; thus, heating up the atmosphere was a required course for a magician.
But now, she was so quiet she didn't seem like herself.
"What percentage of the total human population were the casualties of the Ninth Honkai?"
"One-sixth."
Vil-V spread her hands; everything was self-explanatory.
She no longer wanted to create large-scale weapons of mass destruction that withered life.
Because even if they defeated the Honkai, those weapons would sooner or later fall upon humanity's own heads.
As Mei was about to leave, Vil-V, with her back turned, said calmly, "Also, I want to undergo the MANTIS surgery."
......
Lin looked up at the familiar Senba Academy. Occasionally, he would dream of returning to this campus.
Back then, the future seemed like it would never arrive.
Lin picked a low wall and jumped into Senba Academy. Wearing his hood, he strolled past the playground overflowing with the youth of a PE class, slowly reached the teaching building, and then walked step by step toward his classroom.
In this world, what would he be like?
Would his name be "Zero"?
Would his personality be much more cheerful?
Would he still be friends with Kevin and Mei?
Lin found his palms sweating. He was actually somewhat expectant. If he were in a world without Honkai, what would he become? Would everything change? Or would nothing change at all?
Many questions accompanied his steady footsteps as Lin reached the window of his classroom.
His gaze from beneath the hood pierced through the glass, looking at the packed classroom.
A white-haired boy was dozing off, his drool nearly leaking onto his textbook. He had probably stayed up late playing games again last night.
The serious black-haired girl with glasses, even though she already knew all the knowledge, was still meticulously taking notes.
Lin moved his gaze from them to the seat where he used to sit.
"..."
It was a strange girl with goose-yellow hair. Lin had no impression of her.
Thump.
His chest was pounding violently again.
He clutched his chest, coldly scanning the entire classroom.
This was a world without Honkai.
"Sir, can I help you with something?"
"Excuse me... is there a student named Lin or Zero here?"
"I'm sorry, there is no student by that name in our class. Did you remember it wrong?"
This was a world without "him."
"Your existence is a mistake."
Words of cold indifference from long ago echoed in his ears.