Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

Mobius covered her mouth and chuckled, as if she had found something amusing,

"Haha… So he's really important to you. But I must say, I'm quite interested in his body too. How about you let me have him?"

Mei, "!!!"

Aponia interrupted, "Hello, Mei. Do you need something?"

Mei ignored Mobius and directly asked, "…Have any of you seen Elysia?"

As Mei talked with the Flame Chasers, Fu Lin also encountered an unexpected visitor.

"You are...!!!"

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He saw the blue-purple haired "Elysia" appear behind him. Fu Lin narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling a jolt of surprise in his heart. He hadn't expected the Herrscher of Corruption to reveal herself so openly.

"Hi! Did you miss me, dear Fu Lin?" The Herrscher of Corruption bent down, gently lifting Fu Lin's chin with her fingertips, her enchanting eyes gazing at him.

Fu Lin slapped away the Herrscher's hand, looking at her coldly. "...Do you think you're funny?"

The Herrscher of Corruption mimicked Elysia's every move and tone. "Oh my, Fu Lin, with that look in your eyes, like you want to kill me, I might just cry~"

Fu Lin assumed a battle stance, unwilling to waste words with the Herrscher any longer. He directly exposed her identity,

"Herrscher of Corruption, do you really think that by taking on Elysia's appearance and mimicking her voice, you can become her?"

"That's nothing more than a poor imitation."

The Herrscher of Corruption placed her hands behind her back, the two slimes on her chest swaying slightly. She showed no surprise at Fu Lin exposing her real identity and said,

"Honestly, I had hoped to get along with you for a while... But just as her 'memories' show, you're as unromantic as ever, never changing. Isn't that wonderful?"

"If possible, I really don't want to fight you, Fu Lin. After all, 'I' am quite fond of you~"

After a brief pause, the Herrscher of Corruption rested one hand on her hip and looked at Fu Lin with burning eyes.

"...Besides, you have no power right now. With just a flick of my fingers, I could easily take you down and consume you bit by bit. There's no need to waste words here."

"...That's not something Elysia would say. Why don't you just be yourself and give her back?"

Fu Lin clenched his fists, filled with the urge to strike down the Herrscher before him. But as she just said, he had no strength left.

'This was supposed to be the start of a power fantasy, where I received immense strength—so how did I mess it up this badly? Where did I go wrong?!'

The Herrscher of Corruption pointed at her own cheek and praised sincerely,

"That won't do. You should know better than anyone—no one in this world cherishes this unique appearance more than her... which is now me."

"And I've only been in control of 'her' data for a few hours. I'm still growing, still learning everything about 'her.' So don't be mad, Fu Lin."

Fu Lin growled lowly, "Putting on an innocent act... That's what's really infuriating!"

"My, my, how unfortunate. Looks like I'll have to use some extreme measures to make you submit, Fu Lin."

The Herrscher of Corruption snapped her fingers, and several Honkai Beasts suddenly appeared out of thin air. Following her command, they charged at Fu Lin.

Fu Lin quickly summoned Twilight and, after a fierce struggle, successfully eliminated all the Honkai Beasts. He then turned to look at the Herrscher of Corruption, who was sitting off to the side, still watching with a smile.

"Fu Lin is more troublesome than I expected. I underestimated that weapon's power... but how will you handle what comes next?"

....

Mobius twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers, looking at Mei with an indifferent expression. "Su's words are always hard to understand, so let me translate for you—"

"The woman you're looking for... is dead."

(Crack... Elysia shattered.)

Mei froze, confused. "...Mobius, what are you saying?!"

"Heh..."

Mobius chuckled but said nothing more. She turned and left, unwilling to engage in such a pointless conversation.

"'Elysia is dead'—Kevin, can you explain what that means?"

Aponia stepped forward, shook her head at Mei, and sighed. "You'd best not ask, Mei."

"His next words will be—'This has nothing to do with you.'"

Mei crossed her arms. "...I could have guessed that, but that doesn't mean pressing for answers is meaningless. Compared to Mobius, who has already left, the only ones I can question are you two."

Meanwhile, Mobius walked straight back to her lab. She opened a hidden compartment, and after a series of scans and verifications, an old, long-sealed safe appeared before her.

She lightly tapped in a few numbers, and as the safe clicked open, Mobius reached inside and carefully plucked out a yellowed photograph between two fingers.