After agreeing on the time, Fu Hua left the infirmary. The room was left with only the smell of disinfectant and Irene leaning back on the adjusted hospital bed.
Irene closed her eyes, feeling the lingering soreness deep in her body from the excessive strain, as well as... a faint but definitely existing warm current. That was the proof of her Honkai Adaptability accelerating the repair and strengthening of her body.
But just as Fu Hua had said, this kind of repair came too slowly. Even though Irene's Honkai Adaptability was excellent, her body's recovery ability hadn't caught up yet.
As for why the Kaslana Family could use this method? Nonsense, are the people of the Kaslana Family ordinary humans? The genes inherited from Kevin, even if diluted over many generations, were still enough to make them superhumans.
Every member of the Kaslana Family has very high resistance to Honkai energy, and while their adaptability varies from person to person, it is basically above average. Even now, the Kaslana Family remains the backbone combat force of Schicksal.
And relying on such innate superhuman physiques, even with such an extreme training method, they can rely on their body's recovery ability to adapt and become stronger.
[ Irene-nee, A-Hua she... ] Pardofelis's voice rang out in the Palace of Consciousness, carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling and deep worry.
Listening to the Cat's voice in her mind, Irene distracted herself slightly, projecting her spiritual entity into the plaza. Turning her head, Irene saw Pardo sitting there hugging her knees, her tail drooping listlessly, her heterochromatic cat pupils appearing somewhat dim at this moment.
"Pardo." Irene walked over, sat down next to Pardo, and gently patted her shoulder. "Classmate Fu Hua, or rather... Hua, you should also know what kind of side effects the Divine Key she holds has, right?"
"Mn, I know." Pardo nodded. "The Key of Consciousness, Fenghuang Down. Its power is closely related to consciousness and memory. The First Rated Power even requires burning memories as a price. I know all this, but I didn't expect..."
Pardo buried her head deeper. "I didn't expect A-Hua to burn her memories to such an extent, to the point of even forgetting me."
"Since you still remember, Pardo, then it's easier to handle." Irene's voice carried a hint of heaviness. "Just as you know, Fu Hua went to execute Project Ember."
"As for the content, I think you know it better than I do, so I won't explain it. In this process, she encountered many difficulties and even suffered some accidents. Even the Garuda genes failed to completely repair her, leaving her with severe injuries and greatly reduced strength."
"And during the Second Eruption, in order to fight the Herrscher of the Void who possessed a Herrscher Core at the time, she forcibly burned away her already scarce memories completely. The result is what you see now."
Irene paused, thinking for a moment, before continuing: "It's like... a book that has been burned through for the most part, leaving only the cover and a few scattered pages."
"Is that so?" Kallen, standing to the side, also felt somewhat emotional about this. Back then, when she led Schicksal's Crusades to the East, she had been blocked and turned back by Fu Hua.
At that time, Fu Hua, known as the Celestial, possessed an imposing manner that suppressed mountains and rivers with her fists alone, blocking a thousand troops by herself. It was truly unforgettable even after a thousand years. But unexpectedly, that former Celestial had become so weak.
"Sigh." Irene sighed. "But at least Fu Hua saved her life. At least in this regard, she has always been fortunate. As for memories..."
Irene thought of "Little Senti" who would be born from Fu Hua's body later. The "Little Senti" born from Fu Hua's body possessed all of Fu Hua's memories.
Of course, precisely because of this, the Little Senti who was overwhelmed by 50,000 years of memories and believed herself to be Fu Hua... well, let's skip that for now. In short, through Little Senti, Fu Hua also recovered all her memories.
However, the matter regarding the Herrscher was difficult to explain for the time being, so Irene could only comfort her: "Perhaps there will be a chance later. At least now, she should still have some impression of you."
"Mn, mn, I know." Pardo nodded, forcing herself to cheer up. "At least A-Hua survived. As long as she can survive, that is the greatest luck."
"Memories and such, as long as one is still alive, there will definitely be a chance to find them back."
"Yes, that's right, there will definitely be a chance. But I have to say, as expected of Pardo, is this your luck?" Irene patted Pardo's head with some emotion.
When she was in the infirmary, Irene had actually mentally prepared herself that even if she turned into Pardofelis, Fu Hua wouldn't have any special reaction.
But in the infirmary, Fu Hua clearly had an impression of her appearance, and even recalled something.
"Mn, mn! My luck will definitely be able to help A-Hua recover her memories!" Pardo nodded vigorously. "It's a pity my Lucky Coin is gone, otherwise I would definitely give A-Hua another Lucky Coin to bless her and ensure she recovers her memories."
"Mn, I believe it. And I believe that this intention of yours will definitely be able to help her." Irene nodded. Just as she was preparing to leave, her wrist was grabbed by Pardo.
"Um, Irene-nee..." Pardo grasped Irene's wrist. "Can you tell me more about A-Hua's matters? I want to know what exactly A-Hua has encountered over these years."
"Mn, of course." Irene nodded. Subsequently, just as she had introduced Otto before, she introduced what she knew about the things Fu Hua had done over these 50,000 years.
And Kallen, standing to the side, listened quietly just like Pardofelis had before. She was also very curious; why had that former Celestial become like this?
While Irene was recounting Fu Hua's past to the others in the Palace of Consciousness, the Fu Hua in reality had already returned to her single dorm room. The room was concise to the point of being rigid, just like her person.
She walked to the desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down, gazing at herself in the mirror wearing training clothes and black-framed glasses. In a moment of distraction, Fu Hua seemed to see a version of herself wearing a pitch-black combat suit with sharp eyes, but that image vanished without a trace like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water in the next instant.
Fu Hua pursed her lips, lowered her head, and raised her hand to look at her empty palm, recalling the memory fragments that had flashed through her mind earlier. The figure of that light-brown-haired cat-eared girl... and the scene of the other party handing her a coin.
She wanted to see it clearly, wanted to hear it clearly, but she was powerless. She couldn't even see the appearance of that coin clearly, even though it was close at hand in that memory.
Fu Hua took a deep breath and closed her eyes, attempting to excavate more from the ruins of her memory, which had been burned into a wasteland by Fenghuang Down, relying on that sole remaining vague impression.
But every attempt brought only intense headaches and deeper bewilderment. She could feel that something extremely important, extremely warm, had once existed there.
Now, however, only cold ashes and an unfillable void remained. This sense of detachment, of "knowing it is important but not knowing why," was more suffocating than pure oblivion.
But Fu Hua was unwilling to give up. That was her memory, something she had once cherished. She wanted to retrieve them; she needed to retrieve them. But just then...
Buzz— Buzz—
On the desk, a communicator emitted a low and rhythmic vibration. The screen lit up, displaying not a number, but an internal identification code with extremely high clearance.
Fu Hua, whose train of thought was suddenly interrupted, sighed lightly. Suppressing the displeasure rising in her heart, she picked up the communicator and pressed the answer button.
"Good morning, my dear old friend." An elegant, composed, magnetic voice carrying a few hints of cynicism came from the receiver. "I hope I haven't disturbed your studies this early, old friend? Have I? I shouldn't have, right?"
"Otto." Fu Hua's voice was steady and rippleless, betraying no emotion. "If you have something to say, just say it. No need to beat around the bush."
"Oh? It seems I have disturbed my old friend from doing something," Otto's voice sounded full of apology. "However, I have come to my old friend with good news this time."
Fu Hua didn't reply, only maintaining silence. Otto didn't care about Fu Hua's silence either and continued, "Recently, my well-behaved granddaughter discovered a Valkyrie with peculiar abilities. Yesterday, she even submitted her application for promotion to A-Rank..."
Just as Otto intended to continue, Fu Hua spoke up: "Irene?"
Hearing Fu Hua's voice, Otto's voice paused for a moment. "Oh? It seems my old friend has already met her? Then I am a step too late. How was it, old friend?"
The playfulness in Otto's voice grew thicker. "When you saw her, did you feel... very familiar?"
Fu Hua's heart jumped fiercely in her chest, but her voice remained without a single ripple: "What does Lord Overseer want to say?"
"No special orders, old friend." Hearing this, Otto understood that Fu Hua had not only met Irene but had met the transformed Irene. His tone became even more playful.
"I just felt that, old friend, regardless of whether it is true or false, people who look so alike are rare to see. Perhaps it is worth you spending some more effort to pay attention to her? What do you think, old friend?"
Fu Hua was silent for a moment before speaking, "I understand, Lord Overseer. If there is nothing else, I will hang up first. I have class later."
"Of course, no problem." Otto smiled. "Then let's chat again next time, my dear old friend. I hope this 'phantom' can bring both you and me some... unexpected surprises."
At the same time, inside the Overseer's office on the floating island of Schicksal HQ, Otto waved his hand to close the disconnected communication interface. He then picked up a glass of red wine from the table to the side, swirling it slightly, watching the liquid flow like fresh blood in the cup.
"It seems my old friend has indeed recalled something." A light smile hung on the corner of Otto's mouth. "This is indeed a good thing for my old friend."
"Then what about for you? Otto." Void Archives floated up beside Otto. "If Hua recovers all her memories, I fear she will not continue to obey your orders."
"Oh? Void Archives, you say that as if I am a villain who only cares about myself and disregards the feelings of my friends?" Otto looked at the cube floating in front of him. "If my old friend can truly recover her memories, I wouldn't have time to be anything but happy. Why would I object?"
"Do you believe that yourself?"
"I do, why wouldn't I?" Otto took a sip of red wine. "My old friend finding her memories only benefits my actions. After all, whether as Fu Hua, as the 'Celestial', or as the original MANTIS,"
He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the brilliantly lit Schicksal floating island outside. "Faced with a Herrscher, the things she would do, I imagine, will not change. As long as this point doesn't change, my plan will not go wrong."
Otto turned around. His blond hair flowed with a cold luster under the lights, and his emerald eyes flickered with a light that saw through everything yet was indifferent to everything. "Since that is the case, why should I be wary of my old friend recovering her memories?"
"As for whether that Irene is the unknown bloodline of that Flame-Chaser, or a miracle brought about by Stigmata, or even guessing wildly that Irene is the Pardofelis of back then... what does it matter?"
Void Archives' light flickered slightly. "Heh, aren't you afraid of cutting your own hand, Otto?"
Otto swirled the red wine glass in his hand, smiling as he turned his head to look out the window again. He didn't answer, nor was there any need to answer.
——————St. Freya Academy · Himeko's Villa——————
In the living room, Theresa was sunk into the soft sofa with zero regard for her image. Her small body was almost submerged by a giant Homu doll. She held the latest Homu manga in her hands, reading with relish.
Two short legs dangled comfortably in the air, and a half-drunk glass of bitter melon juice sat on the coffee table beside her.
She had checked the schedule. Himeko was currently in class and definitely had no time to catch her slacking off. Oh my, she had been so busy these past two days; she really had to reward herself properly.
Just as Theresa was enjoying her slacking off with gusto, a noise came from the door. Theresa abruptly snapped the manga book shut and swiftly hid it behind her back, pressing it down with her body, then turned her head to look at the door.
"Hm?" Irene walked into the dorm and immediately noticed the brightly lit living room. Turning her head, she saw Theresa sitting in a proper, upright posture for some reason.
"Principal? Why are you in the dorm? Don't you need to work today?"
"Oh! Irene is back!" Seeing it was Irene, Theresa quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She stuffed the Homu manga hidden behind her into the crack of the sofa and asked instead, "But I recall you have classes today too, Irene? Are you done?"
"Ah, because I overexerted myself a bit during exercise this morning, I went to the infirmary." Irene scratched her head, looking at Theresa. "Monitor Fu Hua sent me there. When she left, she said she would help me ask for leave from Teacher Himeko. The school doctor also said I need to pay attention to resting, so I came back first."
"Overexerted from exercise?" Hearing that Irene had overexerted herself from exercise, Theresa immediately jumped down from the sofa and ran barefoot to Irene's side. "What exactly happened?"
Looking at Theresa's sincere concern, Irene felt a warmth in her heart. "It's nothing, Theresa. Just over-exercising and a bit of exhaustion."
"Phew, that's good." Theresa breathed a sigh of relief and patted her flat chest. Immediately after, she put her hands on her hips and lectured Irene, "No matter what, you can't overdo it with exercise! You have to rest well when you're tired. Forcing yourself into the infirmary is not a good method!"
Irene smiled and nodded. Looking at Theresa, who had her hands on her hips and was lecturing her with a serious face, the scene looked full of cuteness no matter how she looked at it, given that petite figure and tender face.
"Mn, I know. It won't happen next time." Irene nodded. "But Principal Theresa can rest assured. Monitor Fu Hua said she would lead me in the next exercise session. Presumably, I won't overdo it then."
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 150 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉