Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"What photos?"

Su leaned in, but Mikael swiftly and naturally lowered the photos, saying softly, "Let's talk about it back at the courtyard."

"Back… whoa!"

A dizzying sensation washed over them, and the three figures materialized before a magnificent, gilded door. Even the composed Su couldn't resist reaching out to touch the white jade doorframe, inlaid with gold and gemstones.

"Aha! It seems my theory is indeed viable! By utilizing a resonance similar to quantum entanglement between two spatial abilities, we can achieve rapid positioning and teleportation. How's that? Much less strain on your brain, right?"

Vill-V emerged from a small mountain of Honkai steel parts, proudly showcasing her achievements.

"Hmm… it's certainly convenient, but its practical application in battle seems limited."

"Don't be so cold! After all, the Herrscher of the Void's power, at its base level, is more suited for support than combat. Ensuring our forces can deploy quickly is already enough! Actually… it could be upgraded, but, you know, it takes money!"

"Hmph…" Mikael tapped his finger lightly on the photo frame, replying, "Want funds? Just strip the decorations off that door and sell them. Problem solved."

Vill-V inevitably countered with claims about style, art, aesthetics, and other things that Su didn't understand at all.

But he did grasp the basics. The shifting surroundings hadn't been an optical illusion. Mikael, in tandem with the door, was manipulating space.

He couldn't help but touch the door again, the one labeled "Second Divine Key."

"See! Your little friend has a good eye! He's touched the Divine Key twice now!"

Su awkwardly withdrew his hand.

"Alright, let's not bother her. We'll move somewhere else."

Mikael snapped his fingers lightly, and the scenery shifted again. The three found themselves back in the previous meeting room.

The chandelier cast a dim light as Mikael plopped down on the long table, placing one of the photos face-up.

Light spilled onto the frame, reflecting like the sun, forcing Su to lean closer to examine the image.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong with this?"

It was an ordinary family photo.

Seele stood timidly between a middle-aged couple, against a blue backdrop. Her left fist was pressed against her chest, her right hand held by a silver-haired middle-aged man. Her adoptive mother gently leaned over, touching her head.

The photo was old, faded, seemingly taken not long after Seele's adoption. She was much thinner then, her expression lighter, with only a hint of shyness around strangers. She lacked the listless look she had now.

"Su…"

Mikael's index finger tapped repeatedly on the table, a rhythmic beat.

"How severe is Seele's mental state?"

Su frowned, then suddenly realized. "Ah! She told you about that 'sister', didn't she?"

Hearing the word "sister," Sakura's ears perked up. Mikael nodded.

"Hmm, if that 'sister' who's so good to her really existed, why wouldn't she appear in this photo?"

Sakura tilted her head, confused. While Mikael's question sounded like an inquiry, it carried no trace of doubt.

"Right…"

Su rubbed his forehead. "You're right. The so-called 'sister' doesn't exist… Seele's mental state is very severe. Her perception of 'time' and 'people' is warped. It's as if she's living in another world… and, Mikael, you felt it too, right?"

"Yeah."

Mikael hummed softly, his index finger gliding over the faces of the couple in the photo.

This time, Sakura was the one confused—felt what?

But Su quickly answered her:

"Mikael, though I'm not completely certain, based on my own intuition… I felt Seele was genuinely treating you like her older brother…"

"Older brother, huh…"

Mikael placed the second photo on the table—the very photo that had made Sakura bring them back, and the very reason Su was hinting at all along.

The second photo wasn't from a studio. The background was a train station, the couple clearly younger, holding a boy who looked to be three or four years old. The boy had silver-gray hair and eyes, like the father, and the mother's delicate features.

A sign above the station read, "Vostok North Station."

"Hey, hey, hey, Su, that's way too cliché. There's no way, right?"

Mikael's voice was trembling slightly, not with emotion. He was still incapable of that, his original consciousness having long been extinguished, along with most of his memories.

He wasn't sad about something as trivial as this.

He was angry.

An old saying held that in art, all dramatic effect is a mockery of reality.

This mockery could be bitter, but never… this idiotic.

It was as if someone with an invisible hand was manipulating everything, orchestrating this cliché. If you looked at the moon, you'd see a smirking face, mocking your powerlessness.

And there was nothing you could do about it.

"Tch…"

Mikael clenched his fist, leaving deep scratches on the table.

"It's fake, right? Look, I clearly don't look anything like that kid, right?"

Su shook his head, and Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Though your appearance has changed drastically, you and that child are clearly related. Your features, especially your forehead, are the same. And, Mikael, as I've said before, I feel that Seele depends on you…"

"And, Mikael…" Sakura took a deep breath, "When I investigated you as a Poison Pup, I saw your file… You lived in the Vostok-51 orphanage from the time you were aware of things, right? When all coincidences converge on one point, it can only be the truth."

"That's right, and Mikael…" Su also placed a hand on his shoulder, "I had conversations with Seele's parents. Their child went missing in Vostok, so they wanted to adopt Seele."

"Yeah, right, Seele's your sister, Mikael…"

"Seele is your sister, Mikael…"

Sakura and Su spoke on either side of him, their soft voices reverberating in his ears, tangling his mind.

"Mikael, is she really your sister? Are you going to kill your own sister?"

"No way, no way! You wouldn't really do it, would you?"

"You're gonna kill her so decisively, so skillfully?"

Their voices had gone from gentle to real, as if countless ants were biting their way up his back to his ears.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!"

With a roar, a Void Lance, wreathed in purple lightning, pierced the fabric of space, smashing the table to splinters.

"Seele… That hurt…"

"Ah!"

Mikael's eyes widened. Had the Void Lance actually pierced the table?

No! It had pierced Seele.

Their eyes met. Her blue eyes, clouded with pain, reflected his own form.

Pain shot through his chest, but it wasn't him who'd been pierced.

The sharp tip of the Void Lance had pierced her chest, the purple arc of electricity illuminating her before fading into nothingness. Tears fell onto his feet.

"No… That's not right, this isn't the bubble world… and how did they…?"

Mikael's gaze faltered for a moment, but that brief moment of clarity was disrupted by the chaos around him.

"No way! You really killed her?"

"You killed your own sister?"

"And you killed her so decisively, so expertly?"

The voices, once soft, had become solid, like countless ants biting their way up his back, to his neck, to his ears…

"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"

He lashed out, his fist colliding with empty space.

There was no resistance, only air.

And then, the scenery shifted once more. The fist had pierced through another person's chest.

"Mikael, [please] kill me."

He was too late to capture that despairing yet relieved smile. Heat engulfed him, followed by a sudden chill. He tried to move, but a heavy weight pressed down on his shoulder, making it impossible.

Ice pillars ensnared his arm, piercing the distant, flickering flames.

They no longer danced, simply offering him a cryptic smile.

As they had countless times before…

"Ah!"

"Seele, Ellie, Himeko… you're so decisive with everyone, aren't you?"

"Is that your so-called rationality?"

"But aren't you the most emotional person?"

"Or maybe, it's not enough?"

In the next instant, the chill intensified, the weight on his shoulder vanished.

The voices were gone, replaced by an all-encompassing white void.

The ground beneath his feet was gray-white dust. He began to walk aimlessly, but after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped, facing the vast expanse of darkness.

On the horizon, a dull, gray sphere slowly rose.

Behind him, a pure white light descended, revealing his surroundings—

To his left were broken pieces of the Xuanyuan Sword. At his feet lay a cat-paw-etched coin. On his right was a shattered harmonica, and nearby, a pocket watch floated, endlessly spitting out gears.

"Caw… caw…"

Outside his window, night crows cawed coarsely, a gust of wind rattling the glass.

"Ah!"

"Ah! Hah… Hah… Hah…"

Mikael sat up, gasping for air, his clothes and sheets soaked with sweat.

"It was just a dream…"