"My dear Eden, did you miss me?"
Elysia wrapped Eden in a hug. At this point in time, Eden was still a superstar and had not yet joined the Flame Chasers.
Hehe, Eden's figure was still as amazing as ever. Aside from her identity as a singer, her physique was undeniably stunning.
"I think... you're not the Elysia I know, are you?"
Eden gently patted Elysia on the back and said with a smile. She could still tell the difference between Elysia from the Elysian Realm and the current Elysia.
Their presence and appearance were indeed identical, but as close friends, she could still sense the distinction.
"Huh? How did you figure it out, Eden?"
Elysia let go of her and asked curiously.
"Her figure and weight?" Koji answered for Eden.
Elysia shot Koji a look. "It definitely wouldn't be because of something like that."
"There is a little of that, actually. This time, when I hugged you, the feeling was clearly different," Eden said with a smile, nodding.
Elysia's expression immediately cracked.
My dear Eden, please don't cooperate with Koji on things like this.
Eden pressed her lips together in a smile. Even if this wasn't the Elysia she knew, she was still Elysia.
This Elysia was more mature, had gone through more, and naturally gave people a different impression.
"As for how I can tell them apart... mostly by intuition."
"So... who exactly are you?"
Even Eden wasn't quite sure how to phrase the question.
"My dear Eden, just think of me as Elysia from the future," Elysia said softly.
"The future?"
"Technology like that exists?"
Eden immediately thought of something like a time machine, but weren't those things only found in science fiction novels?
"It's not really technology. Eden, aren't you curious about your future self?" Elysia did not explain the details.
Eden smiled and shook her head. "Not really. Because I trust myself. The choices I make in the future—if I had to live it all over again, I would still make those same choices."
"No matter what the ending is, I would not regret it."
Even if she knew, so what? It would not change anything. It was better to simply live out a life she believed had value.
"That really is just like you."
Elysia let out a faint sigh. Those were exactly the sort of words Eden would say.
At the end of the Previous Era, Eden had not chosen to go into cryosleep and head into the next age. Upon the ruined earth, she offered up her final performance.
She was the superstar of that era, and she belonged only to that era.
"Eden... if I died, then would you..." Elysia asked.
If she had still been alive, there was a very high chance Eden would have entered the cryopod together with her.
"So that's how it is..."
Hearing that possibility, Eden could not help but fall into a brief daze. Elysia was her dearest friend, without question.
"Elysia, the truth of this world is not nearly as simple as it seems on the surface, is it?" Eden said meaningfully.
Though she was a celebrity, she had still heard some things.
Elysia nodded. Telling Eden some of it in advance would at least let her prepare herself.
For example, the turning point Eden would eventually encounter.
A Great Eruption of Honkai would break out in Australia. The Herrscher of Flame, Himeko, would descend, and a sea of fire would engulf the entire continent.
In the end, Eden would be one of the few survivors left alive.
"...Does Flame Chasers need financial support?" After listening, Eden fell silent for a moment before asking.
She was only a singer. She had no power of her own. Influence, however, was one ability she could proudly claim to possess.
"Not for now," Elysia said, shaking her head.
"Why?"
Eden did not understand Flame Chasers yet, so naturally she was confused.
"Because the upper ranks are shortsighted fools."
No matter how much money you donated to Flame Chasers now, it would only end up in those people's pockets.
So if she wanted to donate, it would be better to wait until the leadership had changed.
Eden was not stupid. After thinking for a moment, she understood what Koji meant.
The organization Elysia belonged to was not as united as she had imagined. The people at the top were not all genuinely committed to fighting Honkai.
What Koji said was exactly what Elysia had wanted to say.
The current upper ranks still thought Honkai was nothing worth fearing, and they regarded it with an attitude of contempt.
"All right, I understand."
She did not particularly care about money, but she also had no intention of letting her money be swallowed for no reason.
"..."
"I originally wanted you to try on the outfit I made, but it looks like it wouldn't fit after all." After a brief silence, Eden looked over Elysia's figure, her gaze thoughtful.
"Eden, are you saying I'm fat?"
How could Elysia fail to hear the implication? She immediately puffed up her cheeks in a slightly sulky pout.
Her figure should not count as fat at all. Even after becoming a Fusion warrior, her weight had not increased much.
"Hehe, I don't mean that. I'm just saying your figure is fuller now."
In Eden's eyes, Elysia was not fat in the slightest. On the contrary, she was perfect just as she was—the kind of figure many people could only dream of having.
"So then, Elysia from the future, did you come back to the present because you wanted to change the past?"
"Or perhaps to make up for some regrets?"
Eden wanted to hear Elysia's answer.
"Even if I wanted to change things, I don't have that kind of power. And if I did change them... it would feel like I was denying everything we once did." Elysia shook her head.
Eden gave her a look that said she had expected exactly that answer.
"The main reason I came to the past was to see my younger self... and maybe tease her a little," Elysia said, sticking out her tongue.
The corners of Eden's mouth twitched slightly, and she showed a helpless smile.
All right. That really was exactly the kind of thing Elysia would do.
"As expected of you. Little Elysia must have been an adorable child."
"Eden, don't you remember? We already met when we were little. Back then, you weren't the superstar you are now," Elysia said.
"When we were little..."
Eden searched her memory. No one started out as a world-famous star.
"Eden, just think of the little pink-haired girl," Koji added.
"Oh, I remember now. So that was you, Elysia. What a wonderful bit of fate," Eden said as realization dawned on her.
A long-buried memory resurfaced, and she remembered that very cute little pink-haired girl.
"Mhm, even back then, I knew Eden, you would definitely become a superstar whose name echoed across the world," Elysia said, nodding.
"Hehe, I never would have imagined that back then. I simply liked art, that's all."
Eden smiled and shook her head, leisurely sipping her red wine.
Even though she had confidence in herself, that had nothing to do with what sort of achievements her future self would attain.
Now she was a world-famous superstar, with immeasurable wealth rich enough to rival nations, yet she did not care much about that. What she had pursued from the very beginning had never been money.
(End of Chapter)
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