Chapter 58: Vill-V: Its all according to plan

(TL: Honestly, I have no idea what's been going on in the last three chapters of this fanfiction. Hopefully, the next one clears things up!)

"Hey, Kevin, you can talk now."

In the cabin where everyone was gathered, Senti (Herrscher of sentience) said impatiently as she watched the outside world gradually fill with seawater and finally turn into darkness.

"You went through so much trouble, executing the Stigmata Plan to trick us to the moon, and then finally said that there was a more important plan for us to execute together, and pulled us back... What exactly do you want to do?"

"And look at this lineup..."

Senti glanced around... Not to mention herself, there were Kiana, Mei Raiden, and Bronya as Herrschers, and then Durandal or Bianca who had awakened the Stigmata..., and Li Sushang, Seele, and Misteln, even Old Antique (Fu Hua) was there, and even Anti-Entropy and Schicksal were on standby with the Moonlight Throne and Hyperion...

'What is this? What is this lineup for?'

"Are you looking for trouble? Or do you want to blow up this planet? Who can beat this kind of lineup?"

"...."

Kevin paused for a moment but answered truthfully.

"I don't know if we have the strength to defeat him now."

"Him? Uh... huh?! Wait? Do you mean he's still alive? Are you kidding?!"

Although Kevin's words were incomprehensible, Senti quickly flipped through her "memories" and found the person Kevin described.

"Kevin.....he is... the HERO I met there, right?"

Mei Raiden thought for a moment, glanced at the deep, dark sea outside, and then asked.

"He doesn't like being called a HERO."

Kevin's answer was a bit puzzling, but it undoubtedly confirmed Mei Raiden's guess from the side, but this made Mei Raiden even more surprised.

"Mei, what are you talking about... Who is he?"

"You can simply think of him as the Final Herrscher, Kiana."

Fu Hua explained to her.

"Are you talking about the Herrscher of the End? I am the same now, right? Even... Kevin is..."

When facing Kevin, Kiana still didn't know how to address him... In the end, she chose to call him by his name.

"No, we are not true Herrschers of the End right now... because we have not, and cannot, embrace the Cocoon."

Kevin corrected the mistakes in Kiana's words and after a brief silence, he continued.

"The one who embraces the Cocoon now is still him. He is the Herrscher who brings about the end... As for us, we are at most thieves who steal power."

"…ah?"

"And in fact, Kiana... you should know him too."

Fu Hua said.

"His existence is recorded in the records of Schicksal... but his titles are recorded as Herrscher of the Sea and Herrscher of Revelation."

"Herrscher of Revelation? This title..."

"According to Bronya's records, the Herrscher of Revelation will blow the trumpet of doom, bringing the world to an end... A raging flood will submerge everything, and the entire earth will be filled with seawater and Honkai beasts, completely turning into a blue planet. Therefore, it is also called the Herrscher of the Sea..."

"...I see."

Mei Raiden now understood why Nozomi had told her in "Elysian Realm" that "If you hear the sound of the horn, it's best to pray only six times," because... he is still alive, just sleeping in the sea.

But then another question arises... How did Nozomi in Elysian Realm know?

Wait... could it be that?

"Wait a minute, Kevin."

Mei Raiden shouted out loud, with a look of disbelief at her own guess on her face.

"He... is still alive, and... he's about to wake up, right? And the him in Elysian Realm... is also the him now, not the same memories as you, right?"

"...That's right."

Kevin nodded in affirmation.

"Although he left behind his memories,... due to some negligence on our part in the past, he woke up once... In order to delay time and continue to accumulate strength, we had to use some... special means to connect his spirit to a specific area of Elysian Realm and use the memories of Elysia and Sakura to calm his emotions so that he could continue to sleep until we accumulate enough strength."

"So... Elysian Realm is a lie of yours, a lie that will make him sleep peacefully... right?"

"...Yes, we must do this for the sake of humanity."

"..."

Mei Raiden opened her mouth, but in the end, she couldn't say anything to refute it.

"Be prepared. Because of the Herrscher of Corruption, the Elysian Realm can no longer continue, and it is time for us to give it... some relief."

After Kevin finished speaking, there was a tremor feeling around him, and the door of the cabin opened. Kevin walked out first, following the alloy passage toward the depths.

Everyone followed Kevin to the deepest part of this deep-sea building, where they also met another Flame Chaser and... a robot?

"People of the new generation, Herrschers, and the Lord and Miss Hua, Prometheus 17 greets you all."

The little robot girl who looked somewhat like Bronya bowed slightly to everyone, and then without caring about anything else, she immediately led everyone to the observation window and control panel.

"Ms. Vill-V has made preparations. Of course, according to your wishes, we will still maintain the Elysian Realm and try our best to keep him emotionally stable. This also buys us a chance."

"Once? That's enough."

Kevin glanced at Mei Raiden, nodded, and then looked at Vill-V who was concentrating on the control panel not far away.

"Vill-V, it's time to start."

"Huh? Kevin, you're here~"

Vill-V seemed to have just noticed everyone at this moment, and spoke with a slightly exaggerated expression of surprise.

"Let me see... Yeah, as expected, Mei is in there too. So this should be our first meeting, right? Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have time to prepare a grand opening performance for you this time... What a pity."

"Hello... Miss Vill-V."

Mei Raiden nodded and then said with a strange look on her face.

　　"As for the performance... let's not do that for now."

　　"Vill-V, it's ready."

　　"Don't be so boring, Kevin. I haven't explained to these lovely [audiences] how we managed to [arrange all this]~"

　　Vill-V spoke quickly as she operated the panel.

　　"It's like that sentence... Oh, before the final [ending], there always needs to be [narration] to supplement some [settings] and [background], right?"

　　"That's not important."

　　"Yes, yes, yes~ I know you're a [plot skipper], but there's still time for a brief explanation~ Or are you worried that he'll give up early and wake up early?"

　　"We can't go through that again."

　　Kevin just said so.

　　"…That's true."

　　Vill-V was silent for a while, then nodded in acknowledgment, but then returned to her original brisk attitude that made people feel a little strange.

　　"But~ there are still corresponding explanations~ After all, it is seniors' job to help our lovely juniors fill in the gaps in [history]~"

　　Then Vill-V quickly recounted what these surviving [heroes] had done, or rather, what she mainly did, and in the meantime solved some [historical] doubts.

　　The first problem is naturally that [he woke up early once]... Because of the [Heroes] quick operation to restore civilization, he woke up early. Although civilization finally survived the world-destroying flood by "destroying all equipment that was not in line with the progress of civilization" and "using the Elysian Realm to soothe his spirit," it still caused civilization to suffer a heavy blow... Fortunately, Vill-V finally helped a little guy named "Noah" to build an "Ark," otherwise the civilization of this new era would have been directly destroyed.

　　And from that time on, Vill-V had to keep monitoring [him] in the deep sea for a long time and maintain the stability of [Elysian Realm] as much as possible... at most, she could go out and build some "ruins" in the middle to accelerate the development of civilization to a limited extent.

　　Of course, Vill-V did not stand still in this process. Relying on Prometheus and her own research, she successfully found the Cocoon through him, and gradually guided the new generation of Herrscher through him. In other words, everything about Honkai Impact 3rd in the new era was under her control.

　　Of course, after [he] wakes up... the situation will be hard to say. After all, [he] is an obstacle that everyone cannot avoid.

　　"So we're going to deal with him next?"

　　Senti said so.

　　"Can't we just take him out in one go while he's still asleep?"

　　"The [seawater] won't allow it, and..."

　　Vill-V began to explain.

　　"As the [Final Herrscher] who is closely connected to the [ocean] and [water], if we cannot instantly wipe out [all the water] on this planet... then it will be difficult to kill him."

　　"So what we have to do... is to make him give up the power of [End] and then take it away. This way, we will have a chance to defeat him head-on."

　　"Kiana, Kevin, whoever finally obtains the power of [End] will be fine, but only in this way can we have a chance of winning."

　　"As for the [Stigmata Plan] that Kevin is implementing... first, it allows all ordinary people to temporarily leave this [planet] to avoid being affected by the battle, and second... if we fail, humans can continue to survive."

　　Vill-V opened a hatch, and a thin curtain of light isolated the deep sea water outside.

　　"And next, we need you, who has inherited the power of Elysia... Miss Raiden Mei, to negotiate with him. After all, you are the most suitable person here."

　　"Hey, hey, what can't I do? I'm the great Herrscher of Sentience!"

　　"You can try~"

　　"Just give it a try!"

　　"Wait! Give it a little recognition!"

　　Before Fu Hua could stop her, Senti had already activated her power, and then...

?!

　　 Fortunately, Senti was worthy of being the great Herrscher of Sentience. She recovered after being in a trance for a while, and then spoke with some lingering fear and a distorted expression.

　　"I...where on earth did all these memories come from..."

　　"Like I said before, the [Sea] won't allow it, so... we can only ask him to take the initiative to accept us."

　　Vill-V looked at Raiden Mei.

　　"And Miss Raiden Mei is the most suitable and only candidate here."

　　"…You arranged all this?"

　　"Of course not. I just played a guiding role. After all, I don't know who will inherit Elysia's power in the end. Besides, you have an aura that is very similar to Sakura's. It's enough for him to accept you."

　　Vill-V put a ring device on Raiden Mei's neck, and then put her thumb and index finger together slightly to show that she really only did [a little] work.

　　"Next, please~"

　　Vill-V pointed to the dark deep sea outside the light curtain.

　　"If possible... please thank him for us. Even though he may not accept it,... everything we have achieved so far is done with his tacit consent. Please thank him for his efforts for me... for us."

　　Vill-V said this softly before Raiden Mei left.