"Li, wake up. She is not Mobius, and I am not Klein."
The puppet named 'Klein' turned its head and, holding the dagger, plunged it into its own head without hesitation.
Watching the two puppets fall to the ground, Fu Li was completely and utterly stunned, staring in disbelief at the two who had just died.
What just happened?
Before Fu Li could figure it out, the surrounding environment quietly shattered, transforming from a laboratory into a sea of fire.
Burning quietly within the inferno was Eden's body, already growing cold.
No... No...
Looking at Eden's dead body, a tear slid down from the corner of his eye. As Fu Li watched Eden slowly turn to charcoal, he felt as if his own heart was breaking.
It turned out he wasn't as strong as he appeared. Seeing someone he had once protected die, a sense of powerlessness washed over him.
This was... hadn't he failed to protect anything at all...?
---o---
[You continuously cycle through four twisted lifetimes, experiencing the malice of a thousand people, the pain of a thousand people, and the wounds of a thousand people.]
[Due to Aponia's interference, the thousands of individuals have lost their numerical advantage and can only torment you in the mental realm, a domain in which they are not skilled.]
[In order to devour your spirit, the thousands of individuals do not hesitate to use their malice and their very selves as fuel to burn away your soul.]
[But to the despair of the thousand, every time you are on the verge of collapse, a butterfly will quietly appear to help you stabilize your mind.]
[In every cycle, some of the thousand individuals burn themselves out because of you. Their influence over you grows weaker and weaker.]
[Your spirit has been strengthened. You no longer need the butterfly's help and can face the myriad illusions on your own.]
[Your memories gradually return. Your power comes back, piece by piece.]
[During the time you were in the cycle, the Tragedy of "Binding" occurred. From the original thirteen Flame-Chasers, Destoria miraculously survived after being infected by Pardofelis and falling ill.]
[As for Rin, the host for the Herrscher of Corruption, her core was extracted by Mobius, ending the threat before the catastrophe could erupt.]
[The three Herrscher hosts—Seele, Himeko, and Rin—have chosen to follow Mobius and now assist in her laboratory.]
[Three months later, of the Herrscher of Domination's resentful wills, only the last three remain, excluding yourself.]
---o---
CRACK! CRACK!!
The sound of two wooden bodies shattering echoed in the empty space. Fu Li looked at his surroundings with a sense of wistful reflection.
Mobius's laboratory, Eden's Australian dome, Aponia's sanatorium, and the southern Australian plains where he and Hua faced the Herrscher of Fire.
Four completely different scenes existed together in this space, a jarring and fragmented sight. The corpses of countless puppets lay shattered and scattered across the ground.
This was the final cycle. The remaining 648 individuals of Domination had finally broken through Aponia's defenses and appeared here all at once.
Unfortunately for them, against the fully recovered him, even the power of 648 was not enough to resist.
And now, standing before him was only the last individual, missing an arm and wearing Hua's face.
"Hah... Have you had enough fun?"
The dragon wings on Fu Li's back and the claws on his hands receded, and in their place stood the same clean-cut, cheerful young man as before.
But compared to his previous greenness, he now carried an air of maturity and resolution, while still maintaining his youthful vitality.
"You've lost..." Fu Li stated softly, his tone devoid of any joy of victory.
After experiencing so much, even knowing it was all a false illusion, the weight of it all was still heavy.
"Lost... Yes, we lost... But what did we lose to?" The last puppet clutched its severed arm, gritting its teeth, its head bowed low.
It was unwilling. It was furious. But it was powerless.
"I'm sorry." Fu Li apologized earnestly, walking to the puppet's side and placing a hand on its head.
"You know my experiences, so you should understand that you will be reborn next time."
"And I, after saving the people I care about, will come to save you, just like Seele and Himeko."
"Heh... You foolish hypocrite." The puppet was not grateful. It swatted Fu Li's hand away, the corners of its wooden mouth splitting open in a silent, creaking sneer.
"What's this talk of saving? You're just a MANTIS, a Herrscher. With what will you fight the Honkai?"
"You have nothing but conviction, yet you are powerless. Relying on your so-called sense of justice and goodwill is nothing more than self-congratulatory delusion in the end."
"You cannot change the malice and despair in people's hearts, nor can you change this ugly world."
"You can't even truly protect the people you care about, can you?"
Looking at the stubborn puppet, Fu Li withdrew his hand and nodded in agreement.
"You're right. To speak idly of saving is indeed my failing. But I will still use every ounce of my power to fight for a better future for them."
"Heh..."
The puppet let out another cold sneer and slowly lowered its head.
"With your so-called trust, so-called protection, so-called comrades... can you really defeat the Honkai?"
"We have indeed failed this time. But next time, and the time after that, we will return with even greater malice. When that time comes, I hope you can still hold on to this conviction."
"Human malice will never disappear... Li..."
"You will understand soon enough. There are still many trials left for you, but we have trapped you for long enough."
"Next, what you will face is no longer a false illusion, but true despair."
"So..." The puppet's gaze swept over the surrounding fragments, and it closed its eyes.
"Do it, Li. Go and face... true despair... I can feel it. She is about to die, and His messenger is already on the move."
The surrounding environment slowly faded away, revealing the ruined true form of the Theater of Domination.
Severed limbs, broken arms, cracks everywhere.
The puppets were laid to rest here, and the last one among them was watching them silently, as if in prayer, or perhaps in anticipation.
"I'm sorry... but thank you for letting me know that being a MANTIS has its limits."
Fu Li placed his hand on the back of its head. A burst of Inch Force erupted, shattering its head.
The demise of 3,996 individuals had brought about his rebirth. He was a traitor, yet he was not.
Regardless, this was his victory, even if it was one without joy or celebration.
In reality, Fu Li slowly opened his eyes. He saw Aponia leaning against the ground and said sincerely:
"Thank you, Aponia."
"It's nothing... It's what I should do..."
Aponia was breathing heavily, her gaze somewhat distant, but a smile touched her lips.
She truly wanted to ask if she had managed to protect anything this time, but now was not the time. She couldn't let Li know she had her memories.
"How long was I asleep? What's happened?"
Fu Li sat up on the bed and asked directly.
And Aponia gave him the answer. Just as the Herrscher of Domination had said, it was true despair.
"Including you, we now have only fifteen MANTISes. The core of the Herrscher of Corruption, Rin, has been removed, but now..."
"The remaining Flame-Chasers... have just finished their battle with Elysia."
"Elysia is dead."