Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Facing SIM Elysia's question, Jiang Qiao propped up his cheek, pondered for a moment, and then suggested:

"Explaining it verbally would be a bit too troublesome... How about a more efficient way of communicating?"

"More efficient..."

SIM Elysia was puzzled. Wasn't talking the quickest way for people to communicate?

—Perhaps that was true, but for her current state as a memory body, there was indeed a faster, more efficient method.

She realized what he meant and her eyes widened.

"Wait, you're thinking of..."

For a memory body, the most efficient way to communicate was naturally – synchronizing memories.

But—

"That's impossible, okay?"

Understanding Jiang Qiao's intention, SIM Elysia was slightly annoyed.

Admittedly, synchronizing memories was a good way to understand information, and she had been considering how to find an opportunity to synchronize memories with her original to understand the situation.

However, such a thing was clearly only possible between a memory body and its original.

Okay, she admitted that the man named Jiang Qiao was indeed very [Elysia], but that didn't change the fundamental difference between them.

Even Elysia, who wasn't a tech expert like Vill-V or Mobius, understood this.

But facing this doubt, the Jiang Qiao version of [Elysia] just smiled slightly.

"Hmm~ How would we know if we don't try?"

"..."

SIM Elysia hesitated for a moment, the thought that even if synchronization failed, there wouldn't be any problems, so why not try? popped into her head.

Seeing his confident look, she was also a little unsure. Besides, she was indeed very curious about this "Jiang Qiao" who was constantly mentioned by her original and even tried to impersonate her.

Filled with intense curiosity, she proactively moved closer to the other [Elysia] and took his hand.

—Synchronizing a memory body should require the actual memory body creation surgery and the process would definitely not be this simple.

But those weren't problems for Jiang Qiao now.

After all, he happened to be holding the 'Fenghuang Down'.

As an extension of the Herrscher of Sentience, manipulating memories and, to a certain extent, synchronizing with another memory body wasn't difficult.

Like being struck by lightning, the Elysian Realm fairy miss fell into a brief daze.

Fragments of "Elysia's" memories were "injected" into her body – the parts Jiang Qiao deemed suitable for her to see.

"..."

The air fell into a long silence, and SIM Elysia didn't speak, organizing the memories recorded and transmitted from the [Elysia] body.

From the beginning of her existence up to the Second Honkai Eruption, it was no different from the parts she possessed. But after Elysia's encounter with Jiang Qiao – that part became a bit chaotic, as most of it was recorded by Jiang Qiao's [Elysia] form and had been somewhat edited.

Ending this mental exchange, Jiang Qiao looked at the slightly dazed pink-haired girl and smiled.

"So, you should have gotten the answers you wanted now, right?"

"...Yeah, I didn't expect something like this to happen."

After a moment of silence, SIM Elysia recovered and nodded slightly, her words mixed with disbelief and amazement – but more than that, it was complicated.

When she saw her original appear in the Elysian Realm, she had many guesses, but she never imagined that the real answer would be like this.

Many previous questions were answered. Why was her original's state so... pure?

—Because she was Elysia's past, her own past.

The Elysia who had joined Fire Moth after the Second Honkai Eruption, before experiencing all the pain and hardship with her comrades.

"Second Honkai Eruption, Third Honkai Eruption... Fourth Honkai Eruption, you really did do better than me." Reliving all the moments and feelings of [Elysia] during those times, comparing them one by one, SIM Elysia looked at the [Elysia] before her with genuine admiration and a hint of a wry smile.

Although Elysia defeated the Second Herrscher in the Second Honkai Eruption, it was only possible thanks to her comrades sacrificing their lives to create an opportunity for her.

And the Third and Fourth Honkai Eruptions, although she did take action, even as the number one soldier of Fire Moth at that time, the well-deserved [Flame-Chasers], she was just a slightly stronger soldier.

But the man named Jiang Qiao had allowed [Elysia] to reach the Origin from the very beginning – something the real Elysia only managed to accept at the end of her life due to the urgency of the situation.

Jiang Qiao just smiled at this and didn't say something like, "You could have achieved the same result."

Although he unconditionally believed in Elysia, excessive and unrealistic trust would only bring more pressure to the trusted.

Perhaps putting the Elysian Realm memory body Elysia in the same position could lead to a much better outcome than the original – but no matter what, there were things that Elysia absolutely, absolutely couldn't do.

This "absolute" wouldn't change with time, and that's why Elysia was Elysia.

"If it were you, maybe you could have brought a better outcome for 'our' past." Looking at Jiang Qiao sitting next to her with a complicated gaze, SIM Elysia couldn't help but ask, "But... is that really a good thing?"

Honestly, after learning the truth about her original, she was really excited.

Although the Elysian Realm was just a remnant of the past, and they, the memory bodies, were just the memories of the past heroes left in the world – even if they had long recognized this, if they were given another chance to save that era, probably no one in the Elysian Realm would refuse.

After all, each of the Flame-Chasers had left behind some regrets in that past, and their acceptance was more like a compromise with reality.

But—

After receiving Jiang Qiao's memories and experiencing his feelings at that time, SIM Elysia couldn't find a reason for him to do so.

Initially, it was just her original borrowing his body rather "selfishly" in an attempt to save the city, which led to a kind of forced "kidnapping," but it eventually evolved into the current "saving the world."

Why was that? Was it out of love?

Although SIM Elysia did feel some similar emotions, the proportion attributed to [Elysia] was probably not much greater than that of other girls appearing in "Elysia's" memories, such as "Kiana," "Bronya," or even "Raiden Mei."

Just like her own love for humanity – at least in the part SIM Elysia experienced, Jiang Qiao's feelings for her original were more like the relationship between her and Eden.

He wasn't thinking of getting anything from his original.

On the contrary, he had been playing the role of selfless giver.

Using Elysia's identity to interact with the early Flame-Chasers, those intimate gestures were more like heartfelt care – which might have prevented the past her from meeting those companions and forming bonds.

But as a memory of the past, SIM Elysia knew very well that her era wasn't a world where people could view things with such a "romantic" and "leisurely" perspective. Her encounters and friendships with the Flame-Chasers were mostly built on various hardships.

Those hardships should have been borne by Elysia, who was born as a Herrscher – that was her destiny.

But Jiang Qiao, in Elysia's identity, had taken on these burdens instead.

Bearing what shouldn't have been borne, without asking for anything in return.

In SIM Elysia's opinion, this was really... unfair.

Facing SIM Elysia's question, Jiang Qiao just responded with a smile.

Her mind inexplicably recalled Original Elysia's nickname for the man before her.

She also felt a sense of agreement – this guy was really bad!

"With your personality, coming to the Elysian Realm definitely isn't just to see my original, right?"

Jiang Qiao's thoughts were part of what was cut off, so even after synchronizing, SIM Elysia didn't know his purpose for coming here. But that didn't stop her from making some deductions based on the existing information.

The bad guy before her might indeed want to see his original because Elysia missed her... but to expect him to take the initiative, that would probably only happen after he had finished all his other tasks.

"Yeah."

Facing Jiang's unreserved nod of admission, SIM Elysia pouted in dissatisfaction and sighed.

"Seriously... fine, fine. What do you want? I'll put in a word for you."

Since this bad guy came to the Elysian Realm, he must be after something in the Elysian Realm, and that was likely something belonging to the other Flame-Chasers. If she spoke up beforehand, things would be easier later.

Although she was dissatisfied that Jiang Qiao was treating such a cute super beauty like her with a "business-only" attitude, she also wanted to make things easier for the bad guy. Of course, part of it was also because she wanted to contribute to saving the Previous Era.

"Indeed, I need to take some things, but my main purpose this time is actually..."

"I want you—Elysia?"

As he spoke, the Jiang Qiao version of [Elysia] looked very playful.

SIM Elysia blinked, clearly not understanding.

"..."

"Eh—!?"

After a moment, SIM Elysia, finally realizing what he meant, widened her eyes, her mouth slightly agape.

The Elysian Realm's Pink Fat lady immediately covered her chest, her cheeks slightly red, and said shyly and angrily, "Suddenly saying something like that to a girl is too bold!"

But the next moment, SIM Elysia, who had a shallow "mental connection" with Jiang, understood what the bad guy meant by wanting her – he wanted her data.

—And this was also to improve the "Global Network" and further fight against the Previous Era's new Herrscher of Dominance.

Because of Jiang Qiao's "Herrscher of Origin" status, the Cocoon had created the new Herrscher of Dominance, a "social phenomenon Herrscher" that would be even harder to resist and couldn't be quickly eliminated by force.

However, besides the Global Network and the Discipline, there was something that could, to some extent, curb the power of the Herrscher of Dominance.

Its name was the Key of Origin, though its more appropriate name should be the Key of Humanity.

Forged from the core of the deceased Herrscher of Humanity, Elysia, it was a special Divine Key beyond the one thousand and thirteen Divine Keys.

It didn't have a physical form – it was eventually embedded in the bodies of the new generation, and this special Divine Key had the opposite power of the "new Herrscher of Dominance." It could, to some extent, leave a seed of goodness in the hearts of the new generation.

Although the Key of Humanity might be much weaker than the influence of the Herrscher of Dominance, it could indeed effectively curb the latter's existence.

Unfortunately – Jiang Qiao's [Elysia] form couldn't create such a thing.

Even though he, as the "Herrscher of Origin," had surpassed Elysia, the master of this power, what he created would only be the "Key of Origin," and definitely not the "Key of Humanity" that Jiang Qiao needed.

The current Elysia couldn't become a Herrscher, let alone create the Key of Humanity – she didn't have that will, and even if she did, creating it would probably require sacrificing her life.

Therefore, Jiang Qiao set his sights on the memory body Elysia in the Elysian Realm.

As a complete [Elysia], SIM Elysia definitely had the ability and determination to create the Key of Humanity.

But he didn't plan to let SIM Elysia be the one to create the Key of Humanity. Although the former was at most a remnant and memory left by Elysia, in Jiang Qiao's eyes, she was no different from the original Elysia.

Once a memory body died, only pure data remained, which was no different from being dead.

Moreover, SIM Elysia, as a memory body, might not be able to complete this "work."

Whether out of emotion or reason, obtaining "Elysia's" memories and then creating the Key of Humanity himself was the safest choice.

For the Previous Era, the Stigma Plan was too "conservative." Jiang Qiao knew that Dr. MEI definitely wouldn't agree with the idea of adding such a thing to the Global Network – after all, for the Previous Era, the fight against the Honkai was a life-or-death war.

Overly considering individual will was a very foolish act.

Even though their relationship was very good, as the leader of the Previous Era's fight against the Honkai, Dr. MEI couldn't agree to all his willful actions, as she had to be responsible for the people of that era.

This was also why she hesitated to tell "Elysia" about Project AVALON– with Elysia's personality, she would definitely have objections to such a plan.

Knowing this very well, Jiang Qiao, who had personally pushed Dr. MEI to that position, certainly didn't plan to make things difficult for his friend.

Giving people autonomous Stigmata was a difficult decision, as it subverted the original intention of Project AVALON– but he felt that at least the Key of Humanity should be included, which would surely be Elysia's wish.

The core of a memory body was the data left by the past heroes. Asking a memory body for all its data was indeed no different from saying – "I want you!" But this was just a way of speaking in the real world. Although she felt a bit shy, SIM Elysia, who knew Jiang Qiao very well, still blushed slightly, puffed out her cheeks, and said annoyedly,

"Don't say things like that to other girls in the future, it's really rude... ugh!"

Instantly remembering that the bad guy before her could switch bodies with other girls, the Elysian Realm's Fat Woman instantly transformed into the original miss's pink fat form, glaring at Jiang Qiao angrily.

She hadn't seen those specific memories, but this bad guy had definitely said a lot of similar things to other pretty girls! Bad egg!

But in the end, she still said resentfully and unwillingly,

"Alright, I'll give it to you... I'll have Aponia give you 'my' data later... Don't you dare lose it!"

Although the maintenance personnel of the Elysian Realm was Klein, what the latter maintained was only the facilities of the Elysian Realm. The data belonging to the hero memory bodies was generally stored by the hero memory bodies themselves.

However, SIM Elysia wasn't very enthusiastic about this, and her data was an extremely special existence in this Elysian Realm, so to extract it completely, they could only entrust it to Aponia, the administrator of the Elysian Realm.

...Over the years, he was the first person who wanted to take away a hero's memory body. Thinking of this, she "warned" him somewhat angrily.

Of course, this was more like an angry remark.

Elysia's data was incredibly vast, and for a memory body, losing it basically meant "forgetting." Even a Herrscher would find it difficult to preserve all of it after taking her "body." Only the Elysian Realm, specially made for memory bodies, was special enough to do so.

To this – Klein expressed a terrible headache. To maintain the operation of the Elysian Realm, the hero memory bodies often generated a lot of redundant data, which she would regularly clean up. But Elysia's part was "undeletable" due to a certain administrator miss's personal reasons.

The Elysian Realm's Pink Fat Woman was also a major producer of redundant data – the heroes were professional when it came to increasing the workload of the server maintenance staff.

"Mm."

"Elysia" smiled.

He didn't really care about that – Jiang Qiao could use the Key of Sentience as a carrier to store SIM Elysia's data. As for using his own body, forget it... he didn't want to end up like Little Senti, whose mind was overwhelmed by her chicken mom's memories.

Even if it didn't overwhelm him, it would easily give him a split personality.

"Don't imitate me anymore!"

SIM Elysia angrily locked [Elysia's] head with her arms, her tone very dissatisfied.

Although she had seen [Elysia's] memories, his personality was the same as her original's, and she had also felt some of Elysia's emotions – naturally, the Elysian Realm's Fat Woman felt the same, or even double, the dissatisfaction.

You bad egg, using my, Elysia's, appearance in front of me, the original owner – is that a provocation? Okay, SIM Elysia admitted that she was annoyed!

Cosplayers were really annoying, especially when they looked so much alike.

...Hmm, but looking at another "herself," this feeling wasn't bad either.

As the ultimate Elysian Realm lesbian, SIM Elysia felt a bit itchy while being angry at Jiang's 120% form.

What fairy could resist another [Elysia]?

Jiang Qiao, being playfully choked, felt helpless but also cooperatively rolled his eyes, which made SIM Elysia very happy. But when he tried to get up, he felt his ear get hot – it was covered.

"Don't move, bad egg, um... you should be able to adjust your ears, right?"

"Is there a need for that?"

Jiang Qiao was speechless.

The reason he chose this form was mainly because it was fun, but also because the "default setting" was like this, so he became the non-pointy-eared [Elysia.]

Adjusting his ears was indeed possible, but since teasing the Elysian Realm's Fat Woman had failed, there didn't seem to be a need to continue.

"Hmph~ You want to go see my original, right?"

Jiang Qiao didn't plan to deny it.

Since he had come to the Elysian Realm, it would be good to check on Elysia's recent situation.

Hearing this, SIM Elysia puffed up her cheeks.

"Leaving a beautiful girl to go see another girl... I'll be unhappy about that!"

"?Isn't she your original?"

"Original is original, memory body is memory body!"

Facing Jiang's question, SIM Elysia snorted and pouted.

Two personalities of the same person could argue! Let alone a memory body and its original?

"...Yeah, that's true."

Thinking of Mobius and her original's "filial piety," Jiang Qiao nodded in understanding.

Although he didn't know what SIM Elysia was planning, after thinking about it, adjusting his appearance was just a small effort. Not wanting to be tormented further, he obediently adjusted his form from the "early Elysia" to the same "MANTIS Soldier Elysia" form as SIM Elysia.

Seeing this, a satisfied look appeared in SIM Elysia's eyes.

That's right, that's how it should be!

She didn't want his original's appearance, she wanted him to become her!

Me, Elysia, my possessiveness is really strong!