Aponia never particularly disliked quiet places. After all, whenever she prayed devoutly, she needed such a tranquil environment. It seemed only in this kind of silence could she truly converse with her own heart.
And right now, the place she found herself in was a bit too quiet. To use a well-worn metaphor, you could hear a pin drop.
The two figures before her didn't seem to have come with friendly intentions.
Kalpas had already been taken somewhere by that Miss Sakura, who was accompanied by a white-haired man. This man bore a slight resemblance to Kalpas, maybe thirty percent, but his expression was even colder, like a block of ice.
Seeing the threads of fate surrounding that man, Aponia couldn't help but sigh in admiration within her heart.
Actually, ever since first meeting Vya and Elysia, Aponia had noticed the "fate" she saw starting to become somewhat blurred. Back then, she had felt a flicker of happiness, thinking it might not be a bad thing if this "gift" that had always accompanied her were to fade away. After all, this so-called "gift" had brought her no small amount of trouble and distress.
But heaven seemed to enjoy playing jokes on her. Fate had only become blurred; she could still see those faint, elusive threads. Moreover, her [Discipline] ability seemed to have undergone some change as well, allowing for adjustments according to her will.
Logically, this should be a good thing, right? Yet Aponia felt a vague unease in her heart, constantly reassuring herself: It should... be a good thing, right?
"According to what you're saying, you can use this ability you call [Discipline] to restrain people's actions?" Mei asked, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"That is correct, Miss Mei," Aponia gave a slight nod. During their previous exchange, this Mei's attitude had been fairly reasonable, and she saw no reason to hide anything now, so she answered truthfully.
Mei watched Aponia quietly. The latter's expression was calm, nearly impenetrable, maintaining her usual placid demeanor.
"But I don't believe this is what you call a 'gift,'" Mei said slowly.
She didn't believe such a miraculous "gift" would appear in a person without cause, even in a world where something as incomprehensible as the Honkai already existed...
Aponia let out a soft sigh.
"Ladies, believe it or not, this is all I can say on the matter," Aponia said helplessly.
"Oh? So you're saying there are things you can't talk about?" Mobius, who had been standing to the side, suddenly spoke up, her curiosity piqued.
Aponia did not reply. For a moment, the entire laboratory fell into a deep silence.
After a long pause, Aponia lifted her head and looked at Mobius with her serene eyes, speaking slowly, "...Please do not speculate recklessly, both of you."
She paused, then continued, "Allow me to tell you two some stories."
Hearing this, Mobius immediately perked up, a flash of anticipation in her eyes.
And so, Aponia began to recount events from the past years.
"I once met a gambler, utterly addicted, who gambled away his family's fortune until his wife left him and his children were scattered. I used [Discipline] to rid him of his gambling addiction. At first, he truly stopped going to the gambling dens. But later, having lost his direction in life, he took to heavy drinking. His health deteriorated more and more, and in the end, he still ruined himself."
"Then there was a lazy idler, loafing about all day, doing nothing. I made him diligent. But he worked himself to exhaustion, his body unable to bear the strain, and he eventually fell gravely ill."
"..."
Aponia spoke slowly as she recalled.
"...Just when I was about to make a thief stop stealing, I suddenly gave up. Because every single time I imposed these [Disciplines] before, without exception, people ended up in worse circumstances."
A hint of bitterness tinged Aponia's voice.
"'Gift' is just a euphemism. I feel it's more of a curse," Aponia continued. "It's like lighting a lamp in the dark, but the light blinds people's eyes. That one moment of illumination costs them the ability to see light for the rest of their lives."
Mei spoke up, "Forcing people to do things fundamentally impossible for them, even with the support of that power, isn't failure inevitable in the end?"
Aponia nodded, as if conceding the point.
After hearing this, Mobius summarized, her tone laced with a touch of sarcasm, "So, in your self-perceived act of helping them, you actually pushed them into more miserable situations."
"I deeply regret it. It was I who altered their original fates. So, for a long time afterwards, I refrained from using this ability again," Aponia said, her heart filled with remorse as she remembered those events.
"Until later, when I took in a group of sick children... their physical conditions grew worse by the day."
"Honkai sickness, correct?" Mei asked plainly.
Aponia nodded. "Mhm. Watching the children grow weaker day by day, I couldn't bear it and used [Discipline] once more. But it couldn't cure them. Even if it could only prolong their lives a little... I just didn't want their fates to be snapped so easily..."
Her voice grew slightly choked.
As Aponia reached this point, Mei interrupted her, "They are all still alive now, right?"
"Correct. Their illness was cured," Aponia replied.
One must remember, in the outside world, the mortality rate of Honkai sickness was one hundred percent.
"Let me guess, it was because of Vya, wasn't it?" Mobius spoke up, seeming to have guessed a key point.
"Yes. That child is truly one filled with hope," Aponia sighed, a trace of a relieved smile appearing on her face. "I imagine both of you must have deeply experienced this as well."
Hearing this, Mei nodded. "Mhm. Vya's situation is more complex."
"Forgive my bluntness, but no matter how complex the situation, please believe in that child. Believe in the thing within her human brilliance that has always shone," Aponia placed a hand over her chest, her words full of sincerity.
"There's no need for you to remind us of such things," Mobius suddenly said with a hint of impatience.
"Oh, forgive my presumption, Miss Mobius," Aponia's lips curled into a smile, a smile that seemed to see through everything.
Seeing the smile on her face, Mobius, for some reason, felt Aponia was mocking her, which made her rather uncomfortable.
...
After some further discussion, Mei and Aponia reached a cooperative agreement.
Aponia would assist Mei in researching [Discipline], and Mei, in turn, promised to provide Aponia and the children with a new place to live, a stable environment.
At the time, Mobius had even expressed a desire to experience the feeling of being controlled by [Discipline], but upon hearing this, Aponia had outright and sternly refused.
...
"The people in the council discussed this matter immediately. They consider Aponia an unstable threat," Mei said, frowning.
"Tsk tsk, this lot only knows how to cause trouble for us," Mobius clicked her tongue, thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "How about sending her to the Deep End?"
"Hmm? Mobius, what do you mean?" Mei asked, somewhat puzzled.
Mobius explained with a smile, "Right. She has this ability. Perfect for putting her in charge of managing that bunch of arrogant, clueless things over there."
"Externally, we'll announce she's been imprisoned. But in reality, her treatment is up to the two of us, isn't it? This way we can reassure those people while still letting Aponia play a useful role. Killing two birds with one stone."
"That's not a bad idea," Mei said with a smile of agreement after hearing it.
Soon, the high council accepted this proposal, though with one precondition: Aponia must undergo the MANTIS surgery.
Perhaps in their view, if Aponia could be made to remain forever on the operating table, that would also be an excellent outcome.
Even if the surgery succeeded, Aponia would still be confined.
This situation arose because Mobius had publicly claimed the success rate of the MANTIS surgery was extremely low, with almost no one surviving the operating table. This, of course, was just a pretext. The real reasons were the difficulty in producing the Honkai fusion factors and the immense complexity of the surgery itself, which was why only a handful of MANTIS soldiers existed at present.
Previously, the high council had not agreed to the implementation of the MANTIS project. But now it was a fait accompli, and since only volunteers could go under the knife, they couldn't very well say much more.
Everything seemed to be developing in an unknown direction…
…
T/N: Pretty sure Aponya couldn't use [Discipline] until after she became a mantis, she only had mild foresight.
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