After a moment of trance, Chase found himself in a pure white space.
Though Chase had never been here before, he had a feeling deep within—a Stigma Space.
"Big brother!"
Hearing the voice, Chase turned around.
The moment he saw the figure with purple hair, Chase's breath paused for a moment. Before he could react, his body suddenly sank, and the running girl collided directly into his arms, holding him tightly.
As if afraid he would escape.
The world's cutest little angel, Sirin, finally met her long-awaited brother.
[Ich liebe dich] (I love you)
Perhaps it was the magic spell, or maybe something else, but it didn't matter. The moment Sirin saw Chase, without any hesitation, she ran towards him and directly threw herself onto her brother.
Chase, caught off guard by Sirin's sudden attack, lost his balance, and both of them fell to the ground. The pure white space rippled faintly, like the gentle waves caused by a leaf falling on the water.
As Chase lay on the ground, he was momentarily stunned, then smiled gently, reaching out to embrace Sirin and soothing her silently, patting her back.
He could hear Sirin's sobbing in his arms, and even his clothes were dampened by her tears.
The joy of reunion and an indescribable sadness intertwined, inseparable and chaotic. After touching Chase for real, Sirin couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.
She understood everything now.
Her brother's move, her mother's promotion, and even Uncle Welt...
The memories of the two simulations were still vivid in Sirin's mind. She wasn't foolish; after a little thought, she understood.
Her brother had orchestrated this drama full of coincidences and regrets so that her mother could survive, or rather, for Sirin to have a complete family. In his plan, no one had to sacrifice. She wouldn't have to undergo cruel experiments in the Babylon Laboratory to become a Herrscher, and her mother wouldn't die from the Honkai Collapse because he had already arranged everything with Anti-Entropy.
And her brother, due to his own physical condition, had to fade away from Sirin's sight. This way, a perfect ending with no one getting hurt was born.
But this perfect tragedy was completely destroyed by an unexpected encounter in Berlin.
...
How long had she been in Chase's embrace? Sirin didn't know. After reluctantly organizing her emotions, she finally lifted her head buried in Chase's chest, staring at him with her eyes, now reddened from crying. However, as if sensing something, she immediately panicked and climbed off Chase, as if what she was pressing down was not Chase but a very precious fragile item.
In the second simulation, Sirin had a deep impression of Chase's weakened physical condition. Subconsciously, she would avoid any actions that might hurt him.
"Brother, are you not hurt?" Worry and concern were evident on Sirin's face, and Chase found it somewhat amusing.
This wasn't the glass-like constitution from the second simulation! Besides, even with the weaker body in the second simulation, he could still withstand punches just like in the first simulation. He could even catch the wheelchair collision from Kiana.
"Of course, I'm fine. Your brother is super awesome now." Crawling on the ground, Chase reached out to Sirin. "Sirin, give your brother a hand."
"Okay." Sirin quickly approached, pulled Chase up, and then, holding his hands, suddenly felt a pull. Without warning, her body was drawn, and then she was hugged.
Sirin's golden eyes widened, staring blankly ahead, her body stiffened in an instant, not daring to move.
This Stigmata space, originally a vast expanse of pure white, had a clean and serene beauty. Gradually, the pure white began to blur, like sea mist rising in the ocean, vague and indistinct, but the misty shadows often aroused the curiosity of sailors.
Held gently by Chase, Sirin's initial surprise and tension gradually faded away. Instead, happiness and contentment replaced them. She was like a bee drowning in honey, sinking into it, intoxicated by the sweetness in her heart.
At this moment, Chase spoke.
"Sirin, this is what your brother prepared for you—" Chase's words paused for a moment. He released the hand holding Sirin and looked directly into her eyes, touching their foreheads together, smiling.
"Sirin's Happiness Magic."
...
Exiting the Stigmata space, Chase returned to reality. Opening his eyes, he saw Bella looking at him with concern. He smiled and said, "Bella, what's wrong?"
"Did big brother not sleep well? Do you need more sleep? We still have some time before the agreed-upon time with everyone." Bella reminded, attaching importance to Chase's recent distraction. Then she hesitated, "Bella can also warm the bed for big brother..."
"..." After hearing Bella's words, Chase fell silent for a moment, choosing to leave Bella to deal with Sirin's anger coming from the Stigmata space. He sighed and decided to let Bella handle it.
He said, "Bella, do you want to see your Queen?"
Bella: "?"
For some reason, a chill ran down Bella's spine inexplicably, even though the room was not cold. She felt a kind of ice-cold sensation, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Shivering, Bella thought it was just a temperature drop and said eagerly, "Sure, Bella really wants to see the Queen!"
Yes, Bella was still a child. As a Judgment-class Herrscher, her duty had been clear since birth—to obey the Second Herrscher and follow the instinct to destroy civilizations.
But now, with self-awareness, Bella no longer cared about the instincts bestowed by Honkai.
"Honkai, is it important when compared to the Queen and big brother?"
Now, Bella's only responsibilities were to obey the Queen's orders and follow big brother's commands!
"Honkai, don't contact me again. I'm afraid the Queen and big brother might misunderstand!"
So, Chase extended his right hand: "Bella, try touching here."
"Oh, okay." Bella obediently did as told. The moment her hand touched the Stigmata on Chase's hand, her consciousness flickered. Chase caught her and carefully placed her on the bed.
In the Stigmata space, Bella saw the Queen, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She was excited and happy.
"Queen!"
As she spoke, she was about to rush to Sirin for a hug, wanting to share everything that had happened in this place with the Queen and seek her praise.
But Sirin rejected her hug with a disdainful look and said coldly, "Bella, it's been a long time. Let me test your current strength."
Warm the bed? I haven't even warmed big brother's bed yet!
(▼へ▼メ)
Bella: (`?д?′)
...
When Bella, with a terrified expression, exited the Stigmata space, Chase had already tested the new talent given by the simulator and walked in from outside with freshly made snacks.
"Bella, are you okay?" Seeing Bella's shocked and puzzled expression, Chase was curious.
He didn't intervene in the meeting between his two sisters in the Stigmata space, so he was completely unaware of what had happened. Naturally, he didn't know that Sirin had beaten up Bella inside.
Bella raised her head, smiled awkwardly, and didn't say anything.
What could she say
? Should she say that she was beaten up by the Queen inside the Stigmata space?
"Bella, try Brother's cooking." Chase smiled and beckoned to Bella, handing over the freshly made snacks.
Bella took a piece and found that the snack was emitting a faint light...
Bella: "?"
"The fragrance of overly delicious food can affect the refraction of surrounding light, creating an illusion that the ingredients are glowing. This is a normal phenomenon, Bella, don't worry about it." Chase explained casually while trying to throw the snack into the Stigmata space, surprisingly succeeding.
Feeling the Stigmata on his hand no longer heating up, Chase breathed a sigh of relief.
Sirin and Bella were both his beloved sisters, and he couldn't show favoritism. After dividing the freshly made snacks in half, Chase looked at the time and found that there was still time before the agreed-upon time. Leaving a few words, he decided to lie down and rest.
"Bella, keep an eye on the time for me."
Bella nodded silently, finished devouring the snacks prepared by Chase, and looked at her big brother sleeping on the bed. The blue light in her eyes flickered like she had come up with a good idea.
It's still early; maybe it's okay to take a little rest. She quietly climbed onto the bed and fell asleep next to Chase.
Big brother's blanket is really warm.
At this moment, the Stigmata on Chase's right hand was flashing frantically. In the Stigmata space, Sirin could only silently watch this scene, feeling helpless.
You went easy on me just now, didn't you?! (▼へ▼メ)
Even if she could beat Bella, she couldn't stop the current situation.
A sense of powerlessness surged into Sirin's heart...
She couldn't do anything!
...
Chase slept restlessly. He didn't know if he was dreaming, but if he was, it certainly wasn't a sweet dream; it must be a depressing one.
Chase sighed, pushed Bella, who was clinging to him like an octopus, away, and finally found the answer to his doubts.
When did this girl climb up here?
"Brother?" Perhaps awakened by Chase's movement, Bella, with sleepy eyes, stared at Chase, her gray hair scattered casually, exuding a unique beauty.
Feeling the intense trembling of the Stigmata on his right hand, Chase sat up from the bed, looked at the window, and saw that it was still dark outside. Usually, Chase would take the opportunity to lie down and sleep in, but there was never daylight in the lower districts.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, then quickly woke up the still slightly foggy Bella. "Bella, we're running late!"
"Huh?" Bella looked at Chase with confusion and followed his gaze. Her pupils suddenly contracted.
Oh no, overslept!
---------
The next day, outside the Goethe Hotel.
The train crew had arrived early, eagerly waiting for Chase and Bella to appear.
"Uncle Yang, why haven't Chase and the others arrived yet?" March 7th asked impatiently, turning to Welt, the most composed among them.
Welt, with his eyes full of entangled destiny, seemed to be saying, "Uncle Yang, quickly use your invincible Eden's Star to figure something out!"
"To be honest, I don't know either," Welt sighed. "Although Chase is my student, he's the version of me from a parallel world. We're not that familiar."
It was frustrating for Welt. Chase knew all about his dark history, but Welt only had partial knowledge about Chase. This left Welt feeling a bit defeated.
Throwing out such a bombshell casually was unbearable for Welt. Last time, he had to work hard to divert the attention of March 7th and the two curious babies, Seele and Bronya.
"Oh? Everyone's here. We're the ones who arrived late." Suddenly, two figures appeared next to them, startling everyone.
"Wow, when did you guys show up?" March 7th looked amazed, casting disbelieving glances at Chase. There was no one there just a moment ago!
Chase released Bella's hand and apologized, "Sorry, we're late."
"How was your rest?" Welt inquired.
"Alright," Chase nodded, unintentionally glancing at Bella, making her feel a bit awkward. "By the way, I want to show Mr. Welt something."
"What?" Welt was puzzled, but he had a hunch that something big was about to happen.
"Well, Mr. Welt, take a look at this. I don't know if you're familiar with it." Chase grinned mysteriously, gesturing behind him. The space behind him tore open instantly, revealing a void that emitted the energy of imaginary numbers...
With a thought from Chase, a spear of subspace emerged and plunged straight into the ground.
Welt's pupils contracted as if struck by lightning. This familiar formula—could it be that you're not just a Void Master?
Damn it, why won't the Honkai Disaster go away!
Holding the subspace spear in his hand, Chase swung it a bit, feeling the Honkai energy within and the unaffected feeling in his hand. He nodded in satisfaction.
Such a physique is truly excellent...
Welt stared at Chase, silent.
Silence, like the Aria Di Notte tonight.
(Sauce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTDmTLhlQtM)
In just one night, after not seeing him, Chase displayed such a high concentration of Honkai energy, and this aura...
[Second Herrscher].
As if sensing Welt's confusion, Chase smiled and showed him the Stigmata on his right hand, asking, "Mr. Welt, can Stigmata consciousness manifest in reality?"