"Elysia is dead?"
Hearing this, Fu Li opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed the words he was about to say. His expression was complicated.
Although he wasn't surprised by this outcome, the fact that there was no room to even try to change it still left him feeling somewhat distressed.
"That's right." Aponia's eyes were downcast, her hands crossed over her chest as she let out a heavy breath.
The room fell silent for a time. At last, Fu Li spoke:
"Who saved me? Was it Mobius, or someone else?"
"Neither." Aponia shook her head, exhaling softly. "It was Elysia. She was the one who saved you."
"Moreover, though I don't know the reason, she entrusted me with a message: until you had overcome the Herrscher consciousness and awakened, I was not to tell anyone else you were alive."
"Li, you know how it is. Ellie's words have always been trustworthy, so... I'm sorry..."
"No, it's alright. It's not your fault, Aponia."
Fu Li sighed, his suspicions about Elysia's abilities deepening.
Without a doubt, Elysia knew something. But what exactly was her power? Was it time, or causality?
Having been through four cycles, he had a firm grasp on many things, but Elysia alone remained an enigma wrapped in mystery.
She was like a distant, ethereal light, fond of everyone, yet always holding something back, always keeping them in suspense.
In a certain sense, wasn't that the definition of a player?
It was a pity that at this point, with her gone, there was no way to prove anything.
Just then, Aponia suddenly suggested, "Since you're awake, would you like to go and greet everyone? Hua has been suffering for a long time because of you."
"Mm, you're right." Fu Li nodded and sat up from the bed, surprised to find that his body felt no stiffness at all.
It was as if someone had been giving him personal massages throughout the months he was unconscious. But that wasn't something Aponia would do.
"I just received a message. There's a meeting in four hours that all MANTISes must attend. How about I take you there?"
Aponia smiled gently, a nostalgic look flashing in her eyes for a fleeting moment.
"A meeting? Alright." Fu Li had never been one to doubt his comrades, and he readily agreed.
"Good. Then let's both get some rest. For instance, we could eat something."
Aponia stood up from the floor and picked up a slice of apple pie that had gone a bit cold. It was their favorite food back at the sanatorium.
[You and Aponia ate lunch, and you took the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with a body that had not been active for a long time.]
[Although your body was perfectly clean, for psychological reasons, you still took a comfortable hot shower.]
[Four hours later, you followed Aponia to the conference hall.]
"Aponia, you've arri— What the hell?! A ghost?!"
Dr. MEI looked up, about to offer her usual greeting, but then she saw someone who absolutely should not have been there.
The sudden shock made this ever-composed doctor blurt out a curse.
Her exclamation successfully drew everyone else's attention, and one by one, they turned to stare at the newcomer with expressions of utter disbelief.
"Enemy? Or friend?"
Kevin was the quickest to react. He immediately stepped in front of Dr. MEI, his eyes filled with the same shock and vigilance.
"Calm down, Kevin."
Mobius reacted swiftly. After the initial shock, she quickly tried to kick Eden under the table.
Unfortunately, due to her many rebirths, her legs were a bit too short now. Frustrated, she could only use her eyes to signal Eden.
Fortunately, as a singer, Eden was excellent at grasping emotions and controlling a scene.
After seeing Mobius's signal, she quickly regained her composure, though the hand holding her pen was trembling slightly.
"Brother, is it really you?"
Compared to the others and their complex thoughts, Hua's reaction was far more direct. She shot up from her chair, moved past Aponia whose smile had frozen, and threw herself into Fu Li's arms.
"Alright, alright, don't cry..."
Feeling his shirt getting soaked with tears, Fu Li sighed, hugged her tightly, and gently stroked her long hair.
He could see that, in addition to the other Flame-Chasers in the conference room, Seele and Himeko were also sitting in a corner.
It seemed that while they were still fringe figures in the meeting, they had been accepted and had become part of humanity's strongest fighting force.
Looking at the equally frozen Seele, Fu Li continued to stroke Hua's hair and brought a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, a sight that made more than a few people in the room secretly grit their teeth.
Everyone in the conference room tacitly chose to remain silent. They didn't question anything, merely listening quietly to the sound of Hua's weeping.
On this sad day, they had lost a comrade, but had unexpectedly regained another.
It was like laying a single white flower before a grave—a small gesture, but a comfort nonetheless.
Finally, the sobbing stopped. After the emotional outburst, Hua wiped her tears, her face flushing red.
After all, crying in front of so many familiar people was a bit embarrassing for Hua, who had only just become an adult.
Fortunately, at that moment, Dr. MEI clapped her hands gently, breaking the tension for her.
"Alright, Li. We can talk about your situation later. The most important thing right now is to sort through the matter with Ellie and prepare for the final Herrscher."
"So, please, take your seats."
"Okay."
Although everyone's minds were in turmoil, the meeting had to continue. It was much like the ones before, filled with discussion and summaries.
However, because the Herrscher of a Thousand Men and the Herrscher of Corruption—the two who had caused the most damage to human civilization—had been stopped from the very beginning, an unavoidable problem remained.
"Everyone, we now come to the final issue of this meeting."
Dr. MEI's tone was as cold as ever, but it was now tinged with a heavy gravity.
Fu Li noticed that the researchers, like Mobius, all unconsciously straightened their backs, a complex light shining in their eyes.
"I do not want a single word of what I am about to say to be leaked."
"We currently have 124 operational cities remaining. The total human population is just over five million."
"I do not wish to deceive any of you, but according to our projections, the next Herrscher will be an existence that surpasses human imagination, one that is impossible to resist. It is highly likely that we will be annihilated."
No one spoke in response to Dr. MEI's words. Though they were unwilling to admit it, there was no hope left for humanity.
And Dr. MEI's next words struck their hearts like a hammer.
"The Fifth Divine Key, the [Key of Stasis], modified by Vill-V for 'All Things Sleep,' can only provide hibernation for a maximum of 5,000 people."
"Therefore, everyone, if we are to leave behind a seed to resist the Honkai for future generations, we must consider the possibility of this information being leaked."
"That is to say, how are we to face the final backlash from the rest of humanity, after we have faced the Herrscher of the End, when they learn that they are to perish along with this era."