Elysia!
Within the deep laboratory, Elysia appeared as if from thin air, landing before the puddle of black mud that Dr. Mobius had forced the Grail's consciousness to revert to.
With her arrival, the entire light curtain image seemed to hit a pause button. Aside from Elysia and the black mud of the Holy Grail's will, which could still move, everything else—including Kevin—stood frozen in place as if time had stopped.
"So, what do you think of a beautiful girl's memory space?" Elysia asked with a playful and adorable charm. In truth... she had seen everything that had just transpired.
This was her memory space, after all. Even so, by Elysia's deliberate design, the personalities of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were identical to their real-world counterparts. Within this space of memory, Elysia had not interfered with a single one of their choices.
Like a frightened kitten, the Grail's consciousness was now truly terrified. It asked in horror, "Who are you?"
It was in disbelief, unable to tell if the Elysia before it was the one from the memory space or the real Elysia.
However… once the surrounding time was frozen, the Grail's consciousness understood. This was the Elysia from reality, or rather, the real Elysia controlling her own memory-self.
"Elysia, let's make a deal!" the Grail's consciousness said. Right now, it couldn't even dream of finding Elysia's weakness, let alone leave her memory space.
Elysia remained motionless, staring at the Grail's consciousness with her beautiful eyes as if admiring a work of art.
Though she appeared to be an incredibly lovely and beautiful young woman, in the eyes of the Grail's consciousness, she was like a demon from hell. It grit its teeth and continued:
"How about you let me out? Just let me out, and whatever wish you need the Holy Grail to grant, I can fulfill it for you."
Facing the silent Elysia, the Grail's consciousness threw all its cards on the table. It had painstakingly gained a human-like consciousness; there was no way it would choose to die so wretchedly here.
Hearing the Grail's words, Elysia feigned a thoughtful expression and said, "Hmm... a wish?"
"Although it sounds very tempting, my wish isn't something a mere Holy Grail can grant."
That was right. To create an Everlasting Paradise, a world without conflict or disaster, where everyone could live happily... it would be a miracle if the Holy Grail could achieve that.
One had to understand that Elysia's standards for her Everlasting Paradise were incredibly high. It required not only a space isolated from the outside world but also constant vigilance against potential enemies.
Forget the Holy Grail; beings capable of achieving this in the entire multiverse were as rare as a phoenix's feather.
"No problem! I am the Holy Grail! I have accumulated sixty years of magical energy. I can grant any wish, no matter what it is."
Perhaps seeing a glimmer of hope in persuading Elysia, the Grail's consciousness desperately advertised its own abilities. In theory, it could grant any wish!
However… Elysia's next words plunged it into complete silence.
"My wish is simple. As long as you can eliminate that Outer God outside, I will release you from this memory space. How about it?"
Elysia spoke with a smile, a holy light seeming to radiate from behind her, making her appear as pure and lovely as an angel from heaven.
But her words left the Grail's consciousness utterly speechless…
Eliminate the Outer God? My dear lady, you've really got some nerve. If I truly had that kind of power, why would I have bothered going through all this trouble to possess you?
While it was complaining incessantly in its mind, its body honestly replied, "No problem, just a trivial little god. Leave it to me with confidence!"
No matter what, it had to get out of here first. As for what happened after that, was there even a need to ask?
Once it was out, the wish would naturally be null and void.
Harboring dark thoughts, the Grail's consciousness now completely disguised itself as a lifeform desperate to survive, attempting to gain the young woman's forgiveness.
It just couldn't beat these non-human monsters in the memory space; that didn't mean it couldn't beat Elysia.
After all, it had never seen Elysia use her true power, so it was still quite confident in its own abilities.
However, unbeknownst to the Grail's consciousness, Elysia had already seen through its inner thoughts. Although she didn't possess a perverse ability like Aponia's, she could still make a very accurate guess.
Her smile grew even wider as she continued, "That won't do~~ It's been almost seven days since I came to this world, and I really, really miss them."
"You just finished playing with the lovely Professor Mobius, but I haven't even had a chance to see my dear Eden yet~~"
Perhaps at the mention of Eden's name, Elysia seemed particularly joyful. It was an expression she had never shown before, suggesting that this person named Eden was extremely close to her.
However, that wasn't the main point. The focus should be on Mobius and the Grail's consciousness. You call that playing?
It was indeed playing, but it was Mobius unilaterally toying with the Grail's consciousness. She had skinned it, flayed it, and dissected it alive without a shred of mercy, not even using anesthetic to ensure the experiment's accuracy.
That snake had the Grail completely under her thumb. Before, even after being beaten black and blue by Kalpas, it had only felt fear, not yet reaching the point of begging for mercy.
On Mobius's operating table, it took less than two hours for it to wish it could ascend to the heavens on the spot. If it hadn't been in too much agony to speak, it would have long since begged Mobius for mercy.
And now, Elysia had no intention of letting the Grail's consciousness go. Instead, she wanted to interact with the not-truly-real Flame-Chasers in her memory space?
One could only say this was expected of the Authority of the Herrscher of Origin. Not only could it create such a vast memory space, but it could even allow the figures within this space to interact with beings from the outside world.
Even the person herself could participate in her own memories. This ability was a perfect power that countless people dreamed of.
Imagine someone with social anxiety who was unwilling to interact with others. If they had such an ability, couldn't they practice their social skills at any time?
It was just unknown whether the flow of time in this memory space was the same as in the outside world. After all, Saber was still out there fighting the Outer God.
But thinking about it, there was probably a time difference; otherwise, Elysia wouldn't be so relaxed and carefree.
---o---
On the light curtain, time began to flow again—
No one heard the conversation between Elysia and the Grail's consciousness. However, Elysia's sudden appearance in the laboratory had already caught the attention of Mobius and Kevin.
"Elysia?" Mobius asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Given the previous incident, there was no guarantee that the person standing before her was the real Elysia.
But the unique aura around Elysia was indeed familiar to Mobius, prompting her to ask.
"Hi! Professor Mobius. Hmm... why are you wearing that tasteless lab coat again? Isn't the little dress I gave you pretty enough?"
Elysia spoke to the figure the light curtain audience had labeled as someone who must never be provoked. Her tone was tinged with happiness. Even though this was her own memory space, being able to tease the adorable Professor Mobius again was still quite a joyful event.
"Alright, Kevin, I'm now basically certain. She's Elysia," Mobius said, a few dark lines appearing on her forehead. That cute yet punchable tone was indeed a voice only Elysia could produce.
"Elysia, where did you run off to have fun? It hasn't been that long, and you've already gained weight~~~"
With an attack no less sharp than Elysia's, Mobius went straight for Elysia's figure.
Elysia subconsciously touched her chubby little belly and looked at Mobius with a hint of grievance. It seemed that even with titles like Fusion Warrior and Herrscher of Origin, Elysia still cared about her figure like any ordinary young girl.
Kevin, standing to the side, realized this was not a conversation he should be a part of and wanted to leave. But the Herrscher-like black creature was still in the laboratory, so he could only stand there coldly, glaring at the Grail's consciousness with a gaze that could kill.
Next, Elysia and Mobius chatted about some random, trivial matters. After a short while, Mobius said:
"Alright, Elysia, I think you should explain what that black creature is and why it took on your appearance."
Mobius was not Eden. She wouldn't be foolish enough to keep chatting with Elysia indefinitely. Compared to uninteresting conversation, she was more concerned with the existence of the Grail's consciousness.
After all, it was a different kind of lifeform she had never seen before. For Infinity, the unknown was the most worthy subject of deep investigation.
Of course… the proud Professor Mobius would never admit to the panic and disbelief on her face when she heard that Elysia might be in trouble.
Although she appeared to be at odds with Elysia on the surface, that was just for show. If something had truly happened to Elysia, Mobius would have stopped at nothing to make the Grail's will suffer the cruelest punishment in the world.
Unfortunately, the stubborn Professor Mobius would never admit her concern for Elysia.
Regarding Mobius's question, Elysia thought for a moment and said, "Oh my~ Professor Mobius, that's a long story. It all begins with an otherworldly conflict called the Holy Grail War."
Elysia then systematically explained the structure of the Holy Grail War and the Grail's ability as an omnipotent wish-granting machine.
As a series of unfamiliar terms like Command Spells, Servants, and Masters came from Elysia's mouth, a look of great interest appeared in Mobius's eyes.
Although it was just a Holy Grail War held in some unknown otherworld, its operational mechanism was, to some extent, quite fascinating.
Even with Elysia's explanation, Mobius still believed this Holy Grail War must be taking place in one of the worlds within the Sea of Quanta.
If feasible, one could even apply its mechanism to Honkai Energy, creating a Holy Grail War with Honkai Energy as its source.
It was just a pity that Fire Moth was currently struggling to survive and had no time to spare for such meaningless endeavors.
Just as Mobius was about to ask for more detailed information about the Grail's consciousness, a voice suddenly interjected.
"A ballad of heroes from another world? As a script, it's certainly a fascinating premise, Ely."
As a gentle and elegant voice drifted over, the audience outside the screen all turned to look in its direction. They saw the woman from before, dressed in magnificent attire with an exquisitely beautiful face, holding a golden wine glass as she walked toward Elysia.
Her appearance was a surprise or a joy to all three people present. After all… Eden was one of the few Flame-Chasers who had a good relationship with every member of Fire Moth.
Relying on her superpower of wealth, Eden had successfully earned the recognition of the vast majority of the Flame-Chasers. Not only that, she was also Elysia's truest and dearest friend!
A woman who stood by Elysia's side! She held too many titles: a superstar of the Previous Era, an artist and singer who defined an age.
Eden's existence seemed to be born for splendor. Her appearance, her art—it was as if she was telling the world that she was a natural-born star of tomorrow!
And if one were to ask who was most excited to see Eden, it would naturally be her best friend, Elysia.
Although it was the Eden from her memory space, it had been a full seven days since she had last been able to act spoiled in Eden's arms.
At this moment, Elysia couldn't care about anything else. Without hesitation, she threw herself into Eden's arms to feel her vast, warm embrace.
Eden simply stroked the ends of Elysia's hair, her nose taking in the unique scent that belonged only to Ely. She stood perfectly still, letting Elysia cling to her. The two of them were like a couple in the honeymoon phase, holding each other close without any regard for the eyes of others.
In response, our Professor Mobius just let out a "Tch," and, completely unconcerned, walked toward the terrified Grail's consciousness. Her experiment wasn't over yet; there were still many unsolved mysteries about the Grail's will.
As for Kevin, he silently averted his gaze, his thoughts drifting to Dr. MEI, who was who-knows-where. He also wanted to get close to MEI, but it was more likely he would end up cuddling a pile of ice blocks.
For MEI's safety, it was best he gave up on that thought as soon as possible.
---o---