"Even God must love slaughter."
"He/She is doing it every moment."
Fingertips tapped on the edge of the table. Vil-V, sitting in her chair, smiled to greet Einstein. The light above her head flickered on and off. A doll-like girl stood behind her.
"Oh? Is that so? Shouldn't God just be an audience member?" Einstein took off her outer coat and hung it up, revealing her plaid shirt. She brushed the messy hair from her forehead, "Cutting fish with a knife and fork, dipping it in sauce, enjoying His candlelight dinner during the performance of the common folk."
"But aren't we made in God's image?" Vil-V pointed casually, and the light returned to normal.
PROMETHEUS silently stared at the remote control in her hand beneath the table.
Einstein walked up to PROMETHEUS, admiring her with the look of someone appreciating a work of art, "Presumably, this is PROMETHEUS. Truly an astonishing life form."
"Dr. Einstein, a pleasure to meet you."
"Didn't we already meet once on the transport plane?"
Einstein rolled up the sleeves of her plaid shirt and smiled slightly at PROMETHEUS, "But strictly speaking, this is indeed the first 'meeting.'"
"Then, Dr. Einstein, shall we continue our last conversation?" Vil-V snapped her fingers. A rough design drawing appeared on the screen behind her, "Or should we go for afternoon tea first?"
Einstein shook her finger, "Oh, my dear Dr. Vil-V, if you insist on calling eight o'clock in the evening 'afternoon,' I'd be happy to accompany you to the cafeteria to drink their swill."
"I knew it, you think so too…"
"Dr. Vil-V, please get to the point," PROMETHEUS reminded her.
"This child is as clueless as ever…" Vil-V shrugged, "But I don't dislike it."
Einstein's purpose for this visit was a plan that combined Mei's AI technology, Vil-V's bio-robot technology, and Delta's mechanical Titan technology.
She called it the "Armed Puppet" Project.
The Autonomous Titans had all been fully developed and armed, but a fatal problem arose.
Titans were not suitable for ordinary missions. They existed only for high-risk areas and large-scale Honkai outbreaks. This meant that the advanced weapons installed on them would only gather dust in the warehouse, and there had been no breakthrough in the methods for solving general missions.
So, after learning about the birth process of Headquarters' PROMETHEUS-01, this plan came into being.
The two talked very happily. Einstein was the type of person who could click with Vil-V, so their conversation didn't have the communication barrier that others experienced with Vil-V.
"Then next week, Miss PROMETHEUS, please come and assist me." Einstein picked up her coat, put her arms through the sleeves, and smiled lightly at PROMETHEUS.
"You can just call me PROMETHEUS or Unit 01."
"No problem."
Vil-V saw Einstein off outside the Spiral Contraption, saying casually, "This child's brother is lost, so she's been in a bad mood lately."
"Does God also feel melancholy watching His children?" Einstein replied with a cryptic remark, dusting off her shoulder.
"No, He just laughs maniacally while eating dark chocolate in bad taste."
Vil-V spread her hands, "But I am not God."
…
"W-w-who on earth are you!"
Back in the house, Pardo asked the Lin in the wheelchair loudly, somewhat scared.
His decisive actions, with surgical precision, pinned several people to the ground. And not a single person died, though some might never walk again.
After seeing what he did, Pardo knew Lin was not as simple as he looked.
However, after doing all that, Lin reverted to the senile, disabled person, sitting in the wheelchair just as he did every day.
"Are you pretending? I know you are conscious now!" Pardo questioned Lin, "I-I've been taking care of you for a month now, at least! You should talk to me, shouldn't you! My name is Pardofelis!"
"You were protecting me just now, weren't you?"
"What happened to you? Why did you come here?"
"Just… answer me…"
Pardo unconsciously fell asleep on Lin's lap. She had been greatly frightened today, and the mental exhaustion made her very sleepy.
Forget it… I'll just go back to how it was before. Don't overthink anything…
After she fell asleep, Lin gently stroked her hair. A purring sound, like a cat's, came from her throat.
Lin picked her up with one arm, then rolled his wheelchair to her usual cushion and placed her on it.
After doing all this, Lin opened his vacant eye and looked around.
He was awake, but not completely conscious.
Lin didn't know how much time had passed. His consciousness was hazy and blurred, as if struggling at the boundary between dream and reality. Everything he saw was delusional and fake.
Only in his state of sinking did he vaguely feel that someone was taking care of him.
Now, he was briefly awake, but the sight before him was like looking through a blurry filter. He couldn't see anything clearly. The world was still a chaotic mix of hazy lights and shadows.
He couldn't see Pardofelis's face clearly either.
He had no idea where he was.
He started a fire in the fireplace. Lin picked up the photo frame on the table, trying his best to focus his unfocused pupil, but he could only see some vague shadows flickering in his eye.
It's very familiar.
The photo in the frame felt very familiar, but Lin just couldn't see the content clearly.
After putting down the photo frame, Lin slumped in his wheelchair, his facial muscles beginning to twitch.
It was starting again. His rationality was gradually being stripped away. Something sharp and scorching was being plunged into his skull and stirred, drawing all his memories and consciousness out of his mind.
Everything was moving away from him.
Everything.
…
"Hoo…"
Lin opened his eye.
It was this prison, confining the darkness, again.
Aponia had pulled him into this place without permission and made him remember some unpleasant things.
Lin took a few steps and quickly came to Aponia.
She was still kneeling on the ground, her hands crossed, placed in the only spot where light could reach.
"Aponia, the Elysian Realm is affected by our memories."
"Yes… Lin… But this is… what you should remember…"
"This is not an important memory." Lin's tone was gentle. He squatted down, looking at her at eye level, "It is not important to me."
"Lin… what is… important… to you…" Aponia's beautiful eyes gazed at Lin.
"What you all think is important is enough."