Amidst 'Jiang Qiao's' slightly humiliated expression—the pink-haired girl, stretching out the incredibly familiar girlish body, looked relaxed.
Regarding this, however, Elysia pouted, quite dissatisfied: "...Bad Jiang Qiao!" Ely clearly came here to settle scores! How did this guy end up snatching my body away?! Thinking this, the Pink Fatso Miss felt incredibly wronged.
Of course, what dissatisfied her even more was how simple and brief the 'swap' process was. Just like Jiang someone's usual style, summed up in one word—efficient.
But Miss Elysia, a proponent of romanticism, clearly attached great significance to this act done purely for the sake of swapping. After all, since we have to do this kind of thing, can't you let Ely enjoy it a little more?! So short! I can't even savor the aftertaste!
Oblivious to the 55kg Miss's resentful gaze, Jiang Qiao—[Elysia]—propped up the slender, willow-like waist with delicate arms. He smiled and replied in this body's signature sweet voice: "Uh-huh~ Thanks~?"
Now, the Pink Fatso Miss's resentment intensified. Damn it, feels like my body falling into bad Jiang Qiao's hands is like a sheep entering a wolf's den!
"You're not going to make me take the fall for you again later, are you?"
"How could I? Those previous incidents were all misunderstandings. Besides... do I seem like that irresponsible type of person~?"
"Indeed, you don't seem like it." Elysia ground her teeth. "You simply are!" Ely believes you like hell! You damn old man are full of tricks... No, wait, this bad guy is using my body now, a more fitting term would be damn old hag... This, the flower-like beautiful Miss Ely clearly found unacceptable.
Therefore—the 55kg Miss employed the 'Fairy Glare.' Very angry! Glare with my eyes!
"Ah, being misunderstood like this really makes one feel helpless... But it's alright, I understand how you feel." [Elysia] sighed dramatically. "So, consider it compensation~ Let's go tour the Sea of Quanta together~"
Leaning forward slightly with her ample bosom, the pink-haired girl's sweet voice whispered close to 'Jiang Qiao's' ear, making Elysia blush faintly. She mumbled softly, "That's more like it..."
Although she didn't know what sights the Sea of Quanta held worth seeing, undoubtedly, she cared more about the journey together than the destination itself.
"Well then, let's go—" Taking Elysia's hand proactively, the pink-haired girl chuckled softly.
A crystal-like hole tore open from the void, and the manta ray-like Spirit of Origin leaped forth. Only this time, the direction wasn't towards the Sea Abyssal City, the real-world gateway to the Sea of Quanta, but straight upwards.
"Yah—!" Amidst Elysia's cry of surprise, the Spirit of Origin, carrying the two of them, soared towards the sky at an extremely non-Newtonian speed.
Although she quite enjoyed this process of riding the Spirit of Origin with Jiang Qiao, soaring through the blue sky, seeing its trajectory go increasingly askew, Elysia couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"
"To the moon~ How about it? Isn't it very romantic?"
Elysia subconsciously nodded. Indeed, for her, the moon was a strange place she had never visited. That guy Jiang Qiao actually wants to take me there... Hmph! Guess he knows what he's doing! Ely will forgive him a little bit, just a tiny bit, okay!
With an irrepressible smile on her face, Elysia felt very happy, yet also somewhat strange. Didn't he say we were going to the Sea of Quanta? Could the Sea of Quanta be on the moon?
"Careful, it might get a bit cold up ahead."
With the soft reminder—the Spirit of Origin seemed to break through some kind of barrier, the shackle separating humanity from the universe. But for a powerful Honkai Beast like the Spirit of Origin, this wasn't an issue.
The low temperature and vacuum of space theoretically shouldn't affect a Herrscher either. —At least, that was the effect when Jiang Qiao used [Elysia].
If Elysia herself were using [Elysia]... hmm, maybe an embarrassing incident like oxygen deprivation might actually occur?
Can't be helped; after all, the Pink Fatso hardly manifested the Herrscher aspects of [Elysia]. Only when Jiang Qiao used it did this [Elysia] body break free from its restraints, truly displaying the unique characteristics of a Herrscher.
A spontaneous sense of ease and joy emanated from the body—the great technician Jiang Qiao had returned to his loyal [Elysia] model.
Oblivious to this, but feeling vaguely offended somehow, the 55kg Miss, though inexplicably annoyed, subconsciously hugged her shoulders due to the environmental change.
Regrettably, no matter how much power [Jiang Qiao] held, his essence as a human remained unchanged. Although the body felt comfortable and easy to use, limited by the fragile nature of humanity, the extreme environmental changes in space still prompted her to take countermeasures.
She directly hugged Jiang Qiao—Hmm, so warm, and smells nice too~
Pressing against [Elysia], the Pink Fatso Miss squinted her eyes comfortably, savoring the familiar body heat and scent. Strange, why didn't Ely feel this way when using my own body...
Feeling the somewhat restless 55kg Miss, Jiang Qiao felt rather speechless—Why do you all like rubbing around so much? And you're rubbing against 'your own' body?!
—The understanding pink-haired girl sighed helplessly. With a wave of her hand, an invisible wind barrier enveloped them. Although Imaginary Authority might be faster, perhaps due to the recent Imaginary Tides,
the Imaginary Plane had been somewhat turbulent lately, making long-distance travel difficult.
Under Jiang Qiao's full speed, soon—the Spirit of Origin entered lunar orbit, landing on the scarred lunar surface.
"Eh, we're here already?"
"...Wow! Jiang Qiao, look! From here, Earth looks so big!" Slightly puzzled, but quickly captivated by the massive, incredibly beautiful Earth in the distance, Elysia pointed at the giant sphere far away, calling out excitedly.
"Hah... Honestly! Wait for me! Bad Jiang Qiao!" Seeing Jiang Qiao heading off in a certain direction, Elysia snapped back to reality, complaining dissatisfiedly before following him.
Aside from other celestial bodies, the desolate moon could hardly be called beautiful. But in this barren place, they saw many structures resembling 'ruins.'
"Who built all these buildings?" Elysia asked curiously.
"The civilization of the Previous Era," the pink-haired girl stated calmly, pausing briefly to glance at the familiar wreckage scattered on the ground nearby. The metallic material was clearly recognizable as Soulium.
Of course, Jiang Qiao knew more specifically—they were once Xuanyuan Swords. Even after tens of thousands of years exposed to the elements, these testaments to that brutal war stubbornly clung to partial remnants. He pondered for a moment.
With a gentle wave of his hand—the fragments gradually floated up, converging together, finally... forming a wordless stele cast from steel, standing tall amidst the ruins left by the Previous Era.
Elysia stared blankly at the somewhat familiar objects. Masks, infinity symbol ornaments... ...Hmm, must be a coincidence. Elysia forced a smile, following behind Jiang Qiao, unusually quiet.
Then, they arrived at a high platform.
Jiang Qiao—[Elysia]—looked down at this 'location,' extremely special to a certain someone. A profound light flickered within her bright pink eyes, marked with the symbol of the Herrscher of Origin. ...This is the place.
The authority of the Imaginary worked its magic. Passing through the opened Imaginary Gate, the scene seemed to return to the starting point. Still the appearance of the moon, but different this time. A broken stone statue, faintly recognizable as a girl, could be seen.
Something long sealed, under external influence, began to flow again from a time that should not have started.
"...Elysia?!" A surprised, familiar, mature voice sounded in the air. Looking up, a black-purple-haired girl with an eye-catching figure and glasses was staring at the latter with shock and disbelief.
Undoubtedly, her appearance was familiar to both Elysia and Jiang Qiao. —Dr. MEI, the most outstanding genius of the Previous Era, the leader in the fight against the Honkai.
"...MEI?" [Elysia] tilted her head. "No... You're not MEI. MEI's aura shouldn't feel this old."
"Hmm? Although I don't know who you are, discussing a woman like that is somewhat improper... But given my age, saying so isn't really a problem," the woman replied calmly. "More importantly though—you seem to have... met another me? A younger MEI?"
"Looks like you'll need to explain properly, Elysia." Dr. MEI folded her arms, looking somewhat surprised, yet maintaining a firm, rational smile directed at Jiang Qiao—of course, Elysia thought she was being addressed.
"But before that, allow me to introduce myself," MEI continued. "You certainly know me, MEI. But I am not the Dr. MEI you know, at least not entirely."
"I thought time began to flow because the appointed moment had arrived. I never expected the visitor here would be you... Elysia."
Needless to say, the MEI before them was the Small World MEI who appeared in the main story's finale. As the gravekeeper of a dying world, Dr. MEI had kept watch in a certain direction to honor a promise. But considering her a parallel world MEI would definitely be wrong.
She was a shadow of the original world's MEI, a 'reflection' left behind through clever means. In a way, she was the trace Dr. MEI left behind in this world, driven by a certain purpose, or perhaps an obsession.
"You came looking for me, hoping I could give you some ideas? While I'm happy to contribute, unfortunately, as you can see—just like this small world with not long left—I probably can't help you achieve what you want."
"How boring~ In your eyes, am I the type who only shows up when I need something from someone? Maybe I just simply wanted to come see you," [Elysia] countered playfully.
"That possibility isn't ruled out. But I must express my amazement that you could discover this backup plan left by Dr. MEI—compared to the past, your progress is astonishing."
Elysia, standing nearby and listening to their conversation, looked utterly bewildered—Why does Jiang Qiao seem so familiar with this strange MEI?... That feeling like old friends—could it be bad Jiang Qiao did something behind Ely's back sometime unknown?
And that last sentence, though it sounded normal, even complimentary, why did Elysia get the feeling—*Is she insulting Ely?*—a mistaken impression.
"Um..." Just as Miss Elysia, unwilling to be excluded from the conversation, tried to interject, Dr. MEI raised an eyebrow and spoke first: "Prometheus, please entertain this guest. Show her around. Elysia and I have some things to discuss."
"Eh..."
"How troublesome... This way, please." Amidst Elysia's confusion, a mechanical duck that appeared out of nowhere led her away.
Feeling dissatisfied and starting to struggle, the Pink Fatso Miss, just in case, even proactively shouted: "I'm the real Elysia! MEI! Don't be fooled by bad Jiang Qiao!"
"Hmm?" MEI paused, glanced at Elysia, then at Jiang Qiao, thought for a moment, and nodded. "I see, indeed..."
Just as Miss Elysia thought she could stay, the former gave the command. "Take her away!"
Dr. MEI had to admit, she had misjudged.
Failing to recognize Elysia immediately—it couldn't be helped. This [Elysia] was just too remarkably intelligent, so smart it felt unfamiliar. She had thought the original had finally wised up. But after that one sentence, the case was closed.
Dr. MEI earnestly affirmed—'Jiang Qiao' must be Elysia. Because this behavior perfectly matched the data left behind by the original world's MEI. ...Equally 'pure,' possessing a beauty untainted by knowledge.
But if that was the case, it was even more necessary to kick her out. After all, could you even talk to Elysia? She was completely incapable of serious discussion! Dr. MEI had no interest in recreating the past conference room scenario where she spoke eloquently while Elysia maintained a smiling—"Ah-ba-ah-ba"—facade.
"Alright, the hindrance has been dealt with." MEI was highly efficient. "State your purpose, Miss Fake Elysia."
The pink-haired girl rested her hand, leaned forward slightly, and said with a grin, "Actually, you don't need to add those first two words~ Although factually correct, this appearance belonging to 'Elysia,' like a gorgeous flower, isn't fake~ Don't you think so too? MEI."
"..." Listening to the sweet voice, the identical tone and inflection, even the filler words were the same... Even an experienced existence like Dr. MEI felt somewhat dazed. She stared intently at the girl before her, seemingly trying hard to ascertain her authenticity.
The final conclusion was.
—Doesn't seem like an act.