"Wait! I didn't come here to fight you." Suppressing her agitation, Mei took a deliberate step back. She had no quarrel with this unfamiliar Flame-Chaser, and combat wasn't her current objective. Avoiding conflict was the best course.
Unfortunately, her restraint didn't move Aponia. Instead, it earned her another round of attacks. With a slight flutter of her golden butterfly wings, dense streams of light shot forth instantly, weaving together to form a cage-like prison resembling a birdcage.
Seeing her opponent ignore her plea, Mei's heart sank. The moment the light beams neared, she slashed out with her blade. The clash of lightning arcs and holy light resulted in a violent explosion.
"Aponia, Elysia sent me to find you! There's an intruder in the Elysian Realm! Now isn't the time to fight!" Having averted the immediate crisis, Mei tried again to persuade her. But not only did Aponia show no sign of stopping, her movements actually quickened.
Of course, if Mei had known Aponia had just been soundly beaten by Ren, she probably wouldn't have mentioned the word "intruder."
"No need for words. I already know your future, have glimpsed your fate. Raiden Mei, your end is near." Her butterfly wings beating behind her, Aponia proclaimed Mei's destiny like a descending deity. Her crimson eyes were calm, yet filled with a heavy aura of death, as if looking not at Mei, but at a corpse already marked for destruction.
Being stared at with such eyes ignited a nameless fury within Mei. She had no connection to the Elysian Realm initially and only came looking for someone as a favor. Yet this woman not only ambushed her on sight but also spoke cryptic curses against her. Even with Mei's usually gentle nature, such mockery provoked anger.
She wasted no more words; the lightning surging around her body was response enough.
In an instant, the already ravaged chapel became a battlefield once more.
"Can't you speak normally? Do you have to be such a riddler?" Having decided to fight, Mei didn't hold back, her words laced with clear sarcasm.
"The fate I glimpse is merely a fog; verbal debate offers no clarity." Surprisingly, Aponia seemed much calmer during combat.
"If you can't see clearly, then why tell me my end is near?"
"Because I did indeed see your destined end in death. The intruder has already entered the Elysian Realm and taken away the one who will trigger destruction. At that time, not only the Elysian Realm but the real world as well will face annihilation together."
Mei paused, her brow subconsciously arching. "So you know who the intruder is?" When she entered the studio earlier, Kosma was already in his cascaded state. Now, arriving here, she found a ruined chapel. Aponia's current appearance was clearly also the result of an Artificial Cascade. Did this mean Aponia had likely just fought the intruder recently?
"..." Aponia didn't answer, instead giving Mei a meaningful look. "I told you I have seen through the mist. The intruder entered the Elysian Realm with you. Why bother with the pretense?" The implication was clear: Mei and the intruder were working together.
"You came from reality, bringing destruction to the Elysian Realm. You will leave the Elysian Realm, bringing death to reality. This is the fate of a Herrscher, and also the end of a Herrscher."
After saying this, Aponia fell silent, merely lowering her gaze, looking at Mei with complex emotions. No one knew she actually bore no malice towards Mei; it was just that in the future she glimpsed, Mei was the core of all events.
Her powerful psychic abilities granted Aponia the capacity to perceive, even allowing her to observe the future trajectory of the world. Originally, these futures were shrouded in mist, difficult even for Aponia to discern clearly. But as Finality approached, the threads of the future gradually emerged from the fog.
During one chance observation, she glimpsed a fragment related to the future: a global catastrophe, its source not the Honkai, but humanity itself. She initially dismissed it as a false fragment, but when [Kiana] entered the Elysian Realm, Aponia was horrified to discover [Kiana] was the leader who would cause the future disaster. It was then she understood the world's fate was becoming clear.
Ignoring the objections of others, she secretly took custody of the sleeping [Kiana], attempting to delay the arrival of destruction. Unfortunately, with Raiden Mei's entry into the Elysian Realm, fate proceeded along its predetermined path.
Originally, Aponia believed Mei would be the one to rescue [Kiana], but unexpectedly, Ren arrived first. Worse still, Ren's existence had never appeared in any prophecy. As a precaution, she tried to trick Ren into leaving, but ultimately failed.
During her battle with Ren, she had even glimpsed the darkness hidden within his consciousness—a darkness even she dared not touch.
The final result was Ren taking [Kiana] away, while Aponia gained the ability to see further into the future. It was precisely then that the Elysian Realm's fate became utterly clear.
The Realm would be destroyed in ten days, and Mei was the one destined to bring about that destruction.
She had brought the intruder, taken away [Kiana], and in the near future, would bring destruction to the real world.
That was why, despite being heavily injured, she activated her Artificial Cascade and attacked Mei, desperately trying to prevent the catastrophic outcome.
Of course, if one knew the full picture, they would understand the corruption in the Elysian Realm wasn't caused by Ren, but by the Herrscher of Corruption. However, because Aponia couldn't observe Ren, she mistakenly identified him as the source of the corruption.
Unfortunately, just as fate itself cannot be clearly observed, Aponia couldn't know everything about the future. In her eyes, the future stemmed from Mei. Therefore, her duty was to eliminate all danger at its source.
"Raiden Mei, I am truly sorry. Please heed the counsel of the divine and bear the sins of fate."
There was no right or wrong. If sacrificing one person could change the future, Aponia would sacrifice herself without hesitation. However, fate had chosen Mei, leaving Aponia to bear the burden of enacting this mistaken judgment.
Unlike the other Flame-Chasers, Aponia's strength clearly exceeded what Mei could handle. More importantly, while the others had merely tested her, Aponia genuinely intended to kill her. After several exchanges, Mei found herself struggling. Even as a fully realized Herrscher of Thunder, facing one of the final Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era left her feeling somewhat helpless.
Should I use this? She subconsciously glanced at the Obsidian Concord Signet on her arm, hesitating. Through previous uses, she had already felt the Signet's power.
No matter how severe the injury, no matter how terrifying the crisis, it could save her life. If she used the Signet, she could at least escape Aponia intact. But the contact had also warned this was the last use. If she consumed it now, what would she do next?
As she desperately held on, a crimson arrow suddenly pierced through the golden cage, shattering into countless pale pink mirror fragments that filled the air. Within the hemispherical domain created, the arrow ricocheted endlessly, until Aponia's attack was completely neutralized.