To create Honkai Impact 3rd in a world where Kallen exists.

Pado had already gone to greet them, calling out "Keyin" softly. After all, she had already received payment! Of course, she wanted to make her customer even more satisfied.

"Mmm, that was great. So, is it over?"

Mei remained unmoved, staring expressionlessly at the great magician before her. His actions... were truly...

She felt more threatened than whether the other person's magic trick was impressive.

“Aha—there’s still a finale performance…but, Paddo, you don’t have to get so close. I don’t have any valuables on me right now.”

She lowered her head slightly and saw that Pado looked a little embarrassed, touching her head with one hand, revealing an apologetic expression.

Clearly, Pado's greed was common knowledge, and Mei couldn't help but sigh.

But soon, Velvi also seemed completely bewildered by the chaotic anomalies in Paradise, giving irrelevant answers. A glance was all it took; she wasn't the person she was looking for.

Mei glanced away slightly, already contemplating leaving.

After all, the person in front of them didn't seem very reliable.

Finally, Velvet persisted in stopping Mei, intending to go with them to see why the anomaly had occurred. Of course, as a thank you gift, or rather, compensation... she generously gave Mei her own mark.

"Using reality to create illusion, using contradiction to reverse meaning. Listen to the cheers of these meshing gears... Behold this spiral of contradictions and inversions!"

Her confident eyes widened.

As long as she believes, then she... can!

At this point, Mei's imprint is only missing the final piece of the puzzle: Aponia. Even among the many trial participants, this is extremely rare.

The spiral inscription is engraved.

Chapter 40 A Thousand Tribulations, Please Come Over Here

Seeing the successful acquisition of the Spiral Inscription, Alicia couldn't help but sigh.

"That's really rare... There are twelve types now. It seems like this is a very small number among all the trial participants."

A smile played on her lips, as if to say, "No wonder she has her eye on her; so many heroes like Mei!"

"...Well, after all, regardless of the difficulty, Yingjie will only take further steps if he becomes interested in it,"

"It is still very dangerous for Yingjie to become interested in a certain trial participant."

Möbius agreed, his eyes gleaming.

Aponia was affected by the prophecy, and Alicia had handed over her mark early on, so Qianjie didn't cause her much trouble... As for himself, wasn't the message from that loudspeaker quite obvious?

Mebius got beaten down by Mei!

How abominable.

She glanced at Ellie, then remained silent.

"I'm getting more and more curious about what Mei will do next. After all, Aponia's prophecy isn't so easy to break~"

Alicia and Aponia hugged briefly. Alicia's light pink coat and off-white shirt complemented each other perfectly, and they bumped into each other as Aponia didn't resist.

She simply smiled and said, "Well then, let's look forward to Mei-san's performance."

"Ah……"

Velvi chuckled softly, reached into her robes, grabbed a card with her right hand, held it up to her eyes to shield her vision, and whispered, "I wonder... what I saw back then?"

Her own storyline seems to have no beginning or end; after performing some annoying magic tricks, she announces her comedic role, but she's definitely not going to be a supporting character to Aponia.

So... stay tuned?

A smile played on her lips, and a glint of light appeared in her eyes. She was confident that she would deliver a spectacular magic show.

...

Compared to other engravings, the Spiral Inscription also seems to have had a less than smooth journey.

The instant she received the inscription, Mei's consciousness went completely black, and she once again fell into the deepest abyss.

"I saw the rain was coming a day earlier than you."

"Fate sweeps us into a torrent, and the more we struggle... the more we are swallowed up."

The voice in the darkness spoke softly, and then she felt a gentle force pushing her away from there.

It seems that this time... it wasn't her intention to have Mei come.

In her hazy, waking consciousness, she heard Vivi talking about resurrection magic, and also heard about Pado's grief and how she had the can bring her a shovel.

She had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

Upon waking, she stared at Vervie without saying a word. Just as Vervie was about to speak, a sharp blade was pressed against her neck.

Fair-skinned and tender, I really want to see how it bleeds after being ravaged.

Why did you invite me?

She stared directly at him, her eyes cold.

"Well, I can't help but be curious about the Herrscher who defeated two heroes."

Vilvi raised her hands in surrender without a care and explained with a smile.

The blade, however, was frozen in mid-air, as if bound by some invisible force field, unable to move an inch.

She didn't mind telling her a little tidbit: what had just happened... was actually a side effect of the Spiral Inscription. She had originally planned to use a 'resurrection magic' to wake her up, but Aponia acted first and revived her. Velvet blinked at her, becoming more and more interested in this Herrscher.

Unexpectedly, she greeted Aponia.

However... that also means she's carrying the burden of her prophecy.

"……prophecy?"

“That’s right. It seems she’s taking her prophecy particularly seriously this time. She won’t allow anything to happen before the appointed time.”

"Even someone else's death must be acted out according to her script," Wilvi whispered meaningfully.

Perhaps... this is the pride that she, with her gentle nature, displays?

Mei stood there, watching the two walk away.

She understood once again the uniqueness of the Aponia prophecy.

...

Inside the villa,

"She didn't say that receiving the imprint would be life-threatening! That Velvi, really, brought so many fun little parts..."

Kiana stared at the gray, afro-like hair on the screen, her dissatisfaction evident.

It feels like this paradise is either full of lust for Mei's body or people trying to take Mei's life. It's too dangerous.

“Velvie…she was never a peaceful person to begin with. According to Mebius, Velvie is even more dangerous than her. Of course, who is right and who is wrong is another matter, but there is no doubt that Velvie has that kind of talent.”

Fu Hua nodded slightly and said,

The previous civilization restricted not only Möbius, but also other scientists with slightly better reputations, such as Velvet... Her funding cuts weren't just due to those useless functions, but more so because of her undisguised danger.

For example, compared to joining the moths that chase fire, she was the most unconventional one.

"Vilvi..."

Bronya pondered the name, watching the other person's unruly figure on the screen. She had learned about the name from some of Anti-Entropy's previous civilization's manuals, and it was hard to connect the self-proclaimed magic master with the person who created those vast array of weapons.

Those weapons were treasures of the previous civilization, but most of them bore a similar name on their inscriptions.

The greatest genius of this century – Vervière.

"So... the other party wasn't wholeheartedly focused on developing weapons; what they wanted to do was always be a magician?"

She asked, somewhat surprised and puzzled.

It's like the headmaster of a thriving and prosperous academy never even looked at the missions, spending all his time secretly reading comics. He defeated everyone in the world with something unprofessional and without putting in his full effort.

"...Not really. Vilvie is very special. I don't know if you've seen it, but a few times when she was cleaning the house, she suddenly split into several people who looked like her?"

Fu Hua pondered, finding it somewhat difficult to explain.

"Shadow clone technique?"

Kiana's eyes gleamed with excitement as she spoke.

Helpless, Mei tapped Kiana's hand. Kiana winced in pain, immediately pulled back, and looked at Mei pitifully.

"Uh... Kiana really has a vivid imagination. But Velvet is different. She has independently created multiple personalities, each specializing in a particular area. Magic is one of them, and so is the expert in inventing weapons."

"Each of her personalities is an outstanding achievement in some aspect of humanity; even describing her as a genius is somewhat inadequate."

Fu Hua said solemnly.

"...Ah, ah, ah, ah."

Kiana's brain seemed to freeze. Some people have too many brains and need to be divided into several pieces... while others don't even have one piece!

This world is indeed not very fair.

Kiana thought indignantly.

...

In the time that followed, Mei sought out other heroes more than once, subtly inquiring about the meaning of the prophecy, and without exception... they all expressed their trust in the Aponia prophecy.

Despite some people showing concern, anger, and sarcasm, they all seemed to believe this... It seemed that something would indeed happen in ten days.

Of course, even now, Mei still doesn't believe that will be her death, and she won't put her fate in the hands of others.

However, the voices of everyone around her, and Aponia, who once again dragged her into the cage, all proved that it was no empty talk.

A prophecy… a prophecy… Her eyes flashed with a sharp light; she needed to obtain more information.

But when she actually tried to understand Aponia, she discovered something even more unbelievable.

— Qianjie, Pado, and Aponia all come from a place called Twilight Street. Compared to the total of thirteen heroes, the proportion there seems to be ridiculously high.

But that's not all. The boss's name that Sakura solemnly mentioned, and the strange incident of all the weapons and equipment being stolen before the battle, all proved that it seemed to be a mysterious and powerful place from the previous civilization, which aroused Mei's strong curiosity.

What kind of outstanding people and beautiful land could produce such a scene of abundant talent?

But the secrets don't stop there. Regarding the tiny Inge Gretchen, Alicia says that the real her is like an angel and a devil. She lacks her own sense of good and evil, like a blank sheet of paper, easily stained by others.