Chapter 93: A Transaction

Apart from stirring up significant waves within the Schicksal and Anti Entropy, the Honkai outbreak in Siberia had little impact elsewhere; things remained calm in most other places. The major Honkai outbreak in that remote area didn't inflict much damage on human civilization.

This was because the Second Herrscher, Sirin, had already destroyed almost everything that could be destroyed back in 2000, leaving little left to be destroyed to this day. At most, there were just potatoes.

Of course, the small town where Kiana used to live probably couldn't accommodate people anymore. However, after the Schicksal representatives visited, they provided some compensation as to not make their lives not much different from before, just with some minor differences in their living arrangements.

Currently, the most discussed topic online was still Bloodborne. Whether it was about how to save the little girl or how to enhance combat abilities, or discussions on armor—whether it was just a piece of paper or whether it remained strong after reinforcement—these topics were abundant.

But what delighted Bronie the most were the various ways players died. Bronie might not be able to completely remember all of Hidetaka Miyazaki's traps, but she could certainly incorporate some traps of her own, given her experience in making the Elden Ring. With some conventional traps and some more sinister ones, Bronie could easily create traps.

Of course, watching players show off also brought joy to Bronie. While Bronie was casually browsing videos, she suddenly stumbled upon something that caught her attention.

"[Newcomer Debut, like a flying flower, it's me! Elysia!]"

In the office, Bronie and her cellphone were both in shock.

Elysia debuted as a Vtuber!?

Although she was depicted as a Vtuber, the illustration looked almost identical to Elysia herself.

Now that Bronie thought about it, she realized she hadn't been in touch with Elysia for quite a long time. It couldn't be helped; she was busy making games and dealing with Honkai. Running around between the two, it was easy to forget about these.

Seeing this video, while Bronie didn't oppose Elysia's debut as a Vtuber, she still wanted to know Elysia's thoughts on the matter.

Opening the account's main page, she happened to see that Elysia was live streaming.

In the livestream, a weak hunter was facing a huge, flaming hellhound. Under Elysia's control, the hunter effortlessly walked forward, elegantly and brutally killing the hellhound.

"Seriously, being so aggressive, even I would get angry~ You noisy little dog, not cute at all!"

Well, this game was no challenge for Elysia at all, let alone for the elite players. Elysia even once messaged Bronie to ask if those traps were intentional or accidental.

Bronie replied that they were intentional and received strong protest from Elysia.

Panicked and noisy, later on, Mobius even messaged her, saying that if she didn't return to the Elysian Realm soon, Elysia would seriously affect the progress of her experiments.

But Bronie speculated that although Elysia was causing a disturbance, Mobius probably wanted to study her body.

As for Vill-V, she might really be preparing some malicious maze for herself.

And then fill it with highly intelligent dogs, predict her movements in advance through Su's Wheel of Karma, and then bite her.

It seemed that Yharnam's dogs had left a very deep impression on Vill-V.

"Bronya didn't expect that Bronie would have this hobby. I heard that Vtubers are becoming popular recently, and they're making a lot of money. So, is all this because of Bronie promoting it?"

"It's not! I just saw someone I knew become a Vtuber, so I went to take a look! Look, it's Elysia."

"Sister Elysia?"

Bronya tilted her small head and saw the paper-like figure on Bronie's screen.

It couldn't be said that they were completely unrelated; they were almost identical. But if she remembered correctly, Elysia was actually a memory replica, right?

And she was still in a digitalized state.

This shocked Bronya.

"So, even a digital memory organism can do this kind of thing?"

"So I think that digital lifeforms aren't a person's tombstone, but rather the continuation of that person's life, another possibility. Even Su, Kevin, and Hua are the same."

That's how Bronie saw it. Naturally, when she took everyone out of the Elysian Realm, including the Flame Chasers who still existed in real life, Bronie would still release them.

Because Bronie felt it would be interesting like that.

Of course, if they don't want to leave, Bronie won't insist.

After stealing the data from Otto, Bronie sent it all to Vill-V in one go.

Seeing all the research materials related to resurrection, Vill-V couldn't help but comment on what the Archbishop of Schicksal's mind was filled with.

And this was coming from The Expert Vill-V; one can only imagine how insane the information stored in the Void Archives next to Otto must be.

But Vill-V also noted that using Soulium to carry one's consciousness contained a considerable amount of technical expertise.

In a way, Otto deserved praise for breaking free from the constraints of lifespan with Soulium. Among the elite, only Mobius could achieve this. But now Mobius was just a digital memory entity, seeking infinite life but losing her physical form.

Well, the problem wasn't that big. Reportedly, the core of the Herrschers in this era could send their consciousness into the core and resurrect themselves. Otto had also researched this aspect. Maybe in the future, he could regain his physical body?

However, the data integration was still ongoing. To create Soulium bodies for everyone to leave from the Elysian Realm, there weren't enough resources available at the moment.

So, it was time to use Bronie's and the resources of the World Serpent under Ash Snake's command.

The World Serpent lurked around the world, holding resources that were not inferior to those of Schicksal and Entropy.

However, mobilizing them was more troublesome.

If a large amount of rare resources disappeared, Schicksal could easily trace it back to the World Serpent.

And Ash Serpent mentioned that recently, for some reason, Jackal had been moving her entire laboratory to other places, even considering relocating to Antarctica. So, the World Serpent's resources were also running low, leaving only Bronie's side.

But investing the money earned from selling games into research was just a drop in the bucket.

So, the progress of the experiments was slow. Without materials, the Elysian Realm's plans had entered a very awkward stage.

Of course, Bronie wouldn't give up on funding, but she would just have to make more games.

Researching these things, especially the resurrection of the dead, was undoubtedly a major project. Expert Vill-V said not to rush, but Magician Vill-V suggested frequent visits.

Bronie could imagine herself being forced into a dirty dungeon and being intimately hugged with by the Headwasher inside Bloodborne.

Closing Elysia's livestream, Bronie felt that as long as Elysia was happy, there was nothing more to say.

Even if Grey Serpent found out, would he dare to challenge her?

When Kevin coughed in the Elysian Realm, Grey Serpent would surely tremble a bit.

"Bronya went for combat training. Today, Sin made progress in marksmanship. Bronya can't let her surpass Bronya"

"Why do you think so?"

"Because she's getting close to Seele and might transmit some bad ideas. Bronie doesn't want to see Seele wearing short shorts all day, swearing and fighting, right?"

Disappear among the sea of butterflies, illusion of the past!

That kind of feeling, perhaps?

Hmm...

"I won't mind how you change!"

"Okay!"

Even though Bronie said so, Bronya still left the office.

But it was true that Bronya had a stronger sense of competitiveness than most children. After seeing Sin catching up, she started to improve again.

And Sin.

Sin just wanted to show off in front of her sister, nothing else. Maybe after becoming stronger, she would find a way to defeat herself and get back her righteous pants instead of wearing skirts all the time?

Come on, skirts are super cute!

"Oh, going out for a walk?"

Lost in thought, Bronie came to the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a bottle of Coke. She happened to encounter Seele's arrival.

Bronie recognized her at a glance. The Seele in front of her was not the same as before, but rather the Stigmata consciousness inside Seele.

"Well, thanks to you, Seele isn't afraid of me anymore, but she's a bit chatty sometimes."

"Isn't she afraid of you being lonely? Want something to drink? How about a spicy soda?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"I think you might like it, so I bought it in advance. Give it a try."

Black Seele took the drink handed over by Bronie with some skepticism and took a sip.

The spicy taste assaulted her tongue, followed by the stimulation of the carbonated beverage, enhancing the spiciness.

Her face turned red, and her tender tongue experienced an unprecedented stimulation.

For White Seele, it might be too much.

But for Black Seele, this was explosively satisfying!

"It seems you're getting along well with the other Seele. Seeing you getting along harmoniously, I feel relieved. Of course, if you want to separate temporarily or want a new body, you can always go to Mobius. Project Stigma was devised by her, and she surely understands your current condition."

"Can... can we separate!?"

Black Seele had never thought about separating, as she considered herself and the other Seele to be two sides of the same coin.

"Is it because you want more freedom? I know a little kid named Kiana who is similar to you in her body. But her other self claims to be Sirin. She has a bad temper, always thinking about destroying humans and the world, unlike you, who are so cute and comforting."

Bronie urgently needed insights from split personality patients about their interactions with their other selves, to understand what they were thinking. Seele might be a good reference?

"No, I have no intention of leaving Seele. Since separation is possible, I'll need to be on guard against the possibility of being separated. Seele is a crybaby, and many things can't be done without me. It's hard to let go."

Look, that's the difference.

"But... that guy, is she really that Sirin?"

Black Seele wanted to confirm again.

"No, the mechanism of Herrscher Core Resurrection is definitely not like this. After all, there are precedents. Memory inheritance, personality inheritance, all of these are absolutely complete."

Hearing Bronie say this, Black Seele probably understood that there must be something wrong with that Herrscher Core.

"In that case, the root of the problem must lie with the Herrscher Core."

"Maybe, perhaps Kiana will come over sometime, and then Sirin will definitely hide. But to avoid affecting Seele, I might need you to help me with something."

"Huh? Let me deal with a Herrscher? Are you out of your mind?"

Knowing the memories in Seele's mind, Black Seele found Bronie's proposal absurd.

How could that be possible?

"I'll teach you some consciousness-based combat techniques. When Aponia and Hua teach you more, and with Dr. Su, if you learn quickly, dealing with the Herrscher of Sentience shouldn't be a problem. The key is whether you want to do it or not."

Black Seele fell silent for a moment.

This might be a trade, a somewhat unfair trade.

"So if I learn that move, can I prevent Seele and I from being separated?"

What a clingy child. Maybe she was very uneasy. The bond between her and Seele ran deep, and once she left, she would face too many unknowns.

So Bronie nodded.

"To some extent, yes, and I can take you to see Mobius to help you understand what the Stigmata is and how it will help you. This will definitely be beneficial to you."

Black Seele extended her hand.

"Then do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we have a deal, but if anything unexpected happens during contact with Sirin, prioritize your safety and don't be reckless."