"Eh?" Elysia looked down at the girl throwing herself into her arms, gazing at that face which was almost identical to her own, differing only in its color palette.
"!!!!!!"
"...Alright, this is indeed something I haven't seen before." Eden elegantly set down her wine glass. Fortunately, she hadn't taken a sip just now, otherwise, she might have lost her composure.
She retracted her previous statement. She really hadn't seen this before, and it was indeed something worthy of surprise. To think there would be another... Wait, something didn't seem quite right.
Although the aura Little Corruption initially exuded did startle Eden, she soon realized that something was a bit off.
"You are?"
"Hi~ Sister Eden, long time no see..." Little Corruption, with a face full of familiarity, detached herself from Elysia's embrace and sat down between Irene and Elysia. However, as soon as the words left her mouth, Little Corruption realized her mistake.
Although in her own perspective, she had already established a deep connection with Elysia, Eden, and the others, they didn't know her right now. Moreover, this was a different world.
She immediately corrected herself.
"Oh, no, right now it should be called a first meeting. Elder Sister Ellie, and Sister Eden, nice to meet you. Hello, you can call me Little Corruption."
"Little Corruption?" Eden nodded slightly, her gaze wandering between the faces of Little Corruption and Elysia. "Then, Miss Little Corruption, could you resolve my confusion? Why do you look so much like Ellie?"
Actually, Eden was already putting it very euphemistically. From her perspective as a professional tailor, the similarity in appearance and even body shape between Little Corruption and Elysia had reached the level of 'Ctrl+C'.
Aside from the different color tones, there was absolutely no difference. The aura on this person's body was even able to fool Eden for a moment. This level of similarity could no longer be described as just looking alike or even being twins.
"Because I'm a copy, so we look exactly the same." Little Corruption looked at Eden with a normal expression. "However, I feel that pink doesn't suit me too well~"
"This color also suits Elysia very well, doesn't it~"
Elysia, having passed her initial surprise, keenly perceived the kindness carried by Little Corruption, as well as that faint, almost imperceptible Herrscher aura.
Yet another Herrscher willing to fight for humanity.
Hearing Little Corruption's words, Elysia's playful side also emerged. She pulled Little Corruption over and pressed her cheek against hers, looking to the side. "Eden, do you like the pink me, or~ the blue-purple me?"
Facing Elysia's question, Eden sighed. Elysia was good in every way, except for this habit of her thoughts branching off—or rather, going completely off the rails—from time to time. It really wouldn't do.
Was this the time to be saying such things?
"...Sigh, Ellie, don't interrupt at a time like this." Eden looked at Elysia helplessly. "Can we let Little Corruption finish speaking first?"
But what Eden didn't expect was that these two seemed to be on the exact same wavelength. They actually shook their heads simultaneously and spoke up.
"No way, my good Eden, just say which color looks better~"
"No way~ Sister Eden, just say which color looks better~"
Eden maintained the smile on her face, but deep inside, she heaved a long sigh. If Little Corruption really was a copy of Elysia, she was afraid that even the brain circuits had been copied over together.
Was this the time to be acting like a clown here? Could you two not be so synchronized?
"Mm, I think I better explain." Irene quietly took back control from the side and pointed at Little Corruption. "This is the Herrscher of Corruption who was supposed to be born in the future but chose this era."
"[Regret Realm] · Little Corruption · Miss Faded Elf."
"Regret Realm? I even have this title? Mm, well, my Realm was indeed quite regretful." Little Corruption looked over with a puzzled expression.
'Miss Faded Elf' and such were indeed nicknames she had taken in imitation of Elysia's 'Miss Pink Elf', though few people used that method to address her.
However, she really didn't know she had the title of 'Regret Realm', although she figured out instantly why she was the Regret Realm.
Built upon a world destined for death, acting as a gravekeeper for everyone, a Realm that could only watch helplessly as everyone died... it could indeed be called a Realm of Regret.
Although these weren't pleasant words, it was also the eternal pain in Little Corruption's heart.
"Just calling me Little Corruption is fine." Irene looked at Eden. "As for why she turned out like this, it's because in her world..."
"Was she brought out by Ellie?" Eden looked at Elysia and Little Corruption. This wasn't particularly hard to guess; after all, the synchronization rate between these two was a bit too high.
"However, regarding her world... is she also a child like Pardo?" Eden turned her head to look at Irene. "It seems Miss Irene still has many things to explain, and the same goes for Miss Little Corruption."
"Mm, of course." Irene nodded, but immediately patted Little Corruption's shoulder. "However, it would be more appropriate for Little Corruption to tell this story herself."
Little Corruption nodded as well. She recounted to the two of them the things she had said in the Palace of Consciousness, repeating the story once more.
When she mentioned that Project Stigma became the Finality of all humanity, Elysia sighed deeply.
"Project Stigma..." Elysia's eyes were somewhat dim. She did not approve of Project Stigma, but she also understood that Project Stigma was the final, worst-case plan.
After using this plan, humanity could no longer be called humanity, but ultimately, they would survive. There was no plan worse than it, but if there was no plan better than it, having something was ultimately better than having nothing when the time came.
In the end, it could barely scrape past the passing line. To put it bluntly, the Honkai was like an exam. Their Previous Era hadn't passed, but they had discovered a little method to cheat.
Thanks to the Honkai—which was essentially an honor system exam without a proctor, or rather, the proctor didn't care—as long as you had the skill, cheating was no problem.
That was why they had come up with such a large pile of plans. Project Stigma was the plan of last resort when they had no other choice. But to think that even this final plan of last resort would fail.
"Mm, the situation on their side should also be a special case." Irene glanced at Little Corruption. "The final plan was overseen and executed by Gray Serpent. For some reason, Kevin wasn't there."
"If he had been there, at least it wouldn't have fallen to this most vicious and evil ending."
This was also the point Irene couldn't figure out the most. Logically speaking, why would Kevin not be there? And listening to Little Corruption's meaning, Kevin never appeared during the execution process of Project Stigma at all.
Drawing Mei over to meet Elysia in the Realm—that wasn't Kevin either, it was done by Gray Serpent. It could be said that he single-handedly dragged the World Serpent forward.
She just didn't know how Gray Serpent managed to implement Project Stigma while being gang-beaten by a group of people. And this guy's brain might indeed be a bit stubborn.
In that situation, he still tried to execute Project Stigma. The problem was, if the execution succeeded, that would be one thing, but he directly caused a massive disaster.
However, even Little Corruption didn't know the reason for these issues. After all, when Gray Serpent insisted on forcibly executing Project Stigma, Little Corruption, who had inherited Elysia's will, broke ties with Gray Serpent.
"This just proves that the plan is completely unreliable." Just then, Mobius's voice suddenly sounded from the side. "Hmph, I didn't expect that Gray Serpent could actually do such a thing. I underestimated him."
Although Gray Serpent had caused many issues in the past, they were just various cults and such. Sakura would usually treat those matters as mini-games or just cut them down.
But since Gray Serpent didn't quite fit her vision, Mobius had always left him in a free-range state. But Mobius had never thought Gray Serpent had the ability to preside over or even complete Project Stigma.
Unexpectedly, in another world, he could actually achieve such a level. She had really underestimated Gray Serpent's potential. Mm, as expected of her creation.
"Hi, Sister Mobius." Little Corruption waved her hand at Mobius. Finally, after looking at Mobius in silence for a while, she extended her hand as if measuring her height.
"Mm, it looks like Sister Mobius has been living well recently."
"...Heh, calling everyone 'Sister' when you meet them—did you learn this bad habit from Ellie?" Mobius looked at the overly familiar Little Corruption. "And what did that gesture of yours just now mean?"
"It didn't mean anything." Little Corruption shook her head firmly, resolutely denying that her action just now had any special significance.
"And I didn't learn it from Sister Ellie, I learned it from Sister Pardo."
It was worth mentioning that in her world, inside the Realm, aside from Elysia, her relationship with Pardofelis was the best. This led to Little Corruption also learning to call everyone 'Sister' upon meeting them.
What was even more fun was that she and Pardo called each other 'Sister'. She called Pardo 'Sister Pardo', and Pardo called her 'Sister Corruption'. Each called their own, without any conflict.
"Anyway, it's just those two people." Mobius rolled her eyes. The only ones in the entire Realm who would speak like that were an idle Elysia with nothing to do, and Pardo who was already accustomed to speaking that way.
"However, Lab Rat, the secrets on your body are making me increasingly curious." Mobius looked at Irene. "Another brand-new individual. It makes me really curious—do you also have something similar to the Cosmic Juggernaut?"
Irene, and that group, including Irene... based on their accounts, the world they were in seemed a bit paradoxical to them. The difference was that they survived. This was what she had pried out of those two troublemakers' mouths.
Although it didn't take much effort—she just reduced their workload by one-third, and they spilled everything in one go. But this was also because Irene herself hadn't said to keep it a secret.
After all, this kind of thing couldn't be hidden much. When she first arrived, Irene had explained Pardo's situation in full detail.
The others had more or less revealed their backgrounds a little. After all, it wasn't something particularly worth hiding, since they were all dead on the outside.
And the fact that they were still alive now was proof of their heterogeneity. So, guessing that they came from a Bubble Universe or something wasn't particularly difficult.
But knowing the source didn't mean the problem was solved. On the contrary, Mobius was even more curious: how exactly did Irene gather them together?
Was it some device similar to the Cosmic Juggernaut?
"I'm afraid I cannot inform you about this." Irene blinked playfully. "To borrow Miss Ellie's words: a beautiful girl must always have a few secrets of her own."
"That's right, that's right~" Elysia nodded, leaning close to Irene. "Even Professor Mobius cannot deprive a young maiden of her desire to remain mysterious~"
"Of all things to learn, you learn this." Mobius rolled her eyes at Elysia. "And of all people to learn from, you just have to learn from this fellow."
"Of course, it's because I'm charming." After smiling, Elysia seemed to finally remember to steer the topic back on track. "So, why did Professor Mobius come over?"
"What do you think?" Mobius turned her head to look at Little Corruption. "Klein is right beside me. do you think Klein wouldn't notice that an extra person suddenly appeared in the Realm out of nowhere?"
"Of course, others probably noticed too, but whether they discovered this guy is the Herrscher of Corruption is unknown."
"Oh, that's true. I seem to have forgotten to report it." Little Corruption scratched her head. After sensing the data flow of Elysia and Eden, she had only focused on coming out, completely forgetting her identity. She might have triggered the vigilance of the current Realm.
"It doesn't matter. I'll take you to get familiar with everyone later. Once everyone sees the imprint inside you, they'll know you definitely aren't a bad person~"
Elysia didn't think this was a serious problem at all. It wasn't like they couldn't sense the imprint belonging to them inside Little Corruption.
Bringing that imprint in was at least a 'Favorability +10' item, enough to prevent everyone from attacking right at the start. Besides, she was there by her side.
"Whatever you say." Mobius waved her hand, her gaze staring tightly at Little Corruption. "But right now, I want this little fellow to help with something."
"Hmm?" Little Corruption tilted her head. "Sister Mobius, is there something you need my help with?"
Mobius looked at Little Corruption: "You are the Herrscher of Corruption, so you should understand better than I how to treat another Herrscher of Corruption."
"...You guys have another 'me'?" Little Corruption looked at Mobius, her face immediately putting on a pitiful expression. "You want me to treat another 'me'? Are you so heartless?"
"Perhaps in your world, we were very close, but here we aren't familiar." Mobius didn't buy Little Corruption's act. "Besides, the one to be saved is Sakura's sister."
"Sister Sakura's sister? I've never heard that Sister Sakura had a sister?" Little Corruption scratched her head and looked at Elysia beside her. Elysia nodded to Little Corruption, confirming the statement was not false.
"Mm, it seems there are things you didn't tell me in that world either." Since it was Sister Sakura's sister, Little Corruption had no reason to refuse.
"Mm, I don't know if I can do it either. Maybe I need to check the situation first?"
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