Chapter 147: World Bubble of the Previous Era? The Moths Who Chase the Flames and MANTIS Sakura!
Kevin's expression at this moment was beyond peculiar. For this stream, he had familiarized himself with some of the Honkai Impact 3rd lore. He naturally knew that Bronya's group had come to the Deep Sea City to prevent the "Snake" from escaping the Sea of Quanta and to reclaim the Gem of Desire.
In the end, it turned out the person sealed in the Sea of Quanta... was him? So... I'm actually the big villain?
"That's not necessarily true, Boss Kevin." Pardo shook her head, suggesting Kevin shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. "The characters under Brother Su Mu's pen always have two sides. Take Cocolia, for example—though she committed many crimes, she truly loves the children of the orphanage. She even cooperated with Gray Snake just to save Seele. You can see how much she cares for them."
Bronya also nodded. "Mhm. In the game, Mother Cocolia might seem like an irredeemable villain to outsiders... but to everyone at the orphanage, she is that gentle Mother Cocolia. If it weren't for her, everyone would have likely died in the Siberian winter long ago."
Pardo agreed. "Exactly. So we can't simply categorize Boss Kevin as a villain either..."
[Uh... so the Snake in the Sea of Quanta really is Kevin?]
[It's not confirmed yet! Wait, maybe there's a plot twist?]
[It's likely a safe bet. Doesn't Old Thief Su Mu usually write stories based on character prototypes? Gray Snake is Kevin's subordinate, so he must be the Snake!]
[Then Kevin must be terrifyingly strong. Even the First Herrscher, Welt, wasn't his match and was taken out so easily...]
[Is Kevin a Herrscher too?]
[Not necessarily. Did you guys forget? Kevin's last name is Kaslana!]
[? True! Kevin is from the Kaslana family? Is he related to Kiana?]
Many viewers noticed the surname. For Honkai 3rd players, "Kaslana" was a household name—one of the three great houses of Schicksal and the family of Otto's most important person, Kallen Kaslana. Siegfried and Kiana were also Kaslanas, though the current status of the family was unknown to the public. After Siegfried fled Schicksal with K423, he had likely broken ties with them completely.
But one thing was certain: the Kaslanas were born with bravery and integrity engraved in their blood, along with the resolve to fight the Honkai. This was evident in Kallen, and equally so in Kiana. Knowing Kevin was also a Kaslana, the audience felt there might be more to the story.
Though full of questions, Pardo knew the answers would come later—she began advancing the main plot. Following the dialogue between Cocolia and Gray Snake, the screen shifted to Bronya's perspective. Using the power of the Herrscher of Reason, Bronya finally officially entered the Sea of Quanta. Upon entry, her goal was to find the Gem of Desire and Seele as quickly as possible.
During her journey through the Sea, Welt's voice echoed from the Herrscher Core. He hadn't died in the battle against the Snake; he had hidden his consciousness within the Core! Since Bronya was now fused with it, he could communicate with her. Welt told Bronya that his power was scattered across various world bubbles. By reclaiming that power, the strength of the Herrscher of Reason would grow even further! Even if she had to traverse countless world bubbles, Bronya was determined to find Seele!
[?]
[So Old Yang isn't dead?]
[No, when I saw Joachim vanish earlier, I seriously thought he had kicked the bucket!]
[LMAO, my Old Yang is the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy; how could he exit the stage so quickly? That would be zero prestige!]
[But Old Yang's situation is even more mystical than Fu Hua's. Fu Hua moved her consciousness to Fenghuang Down and bound it to Kiana, but Old Yang went a step further and hid inside the Core!]
[I'm starting to see a pattern. Are all the characters we thought died at first glance actually still around?]
[Einstein was ambushed by Gray Snake too, right? I bet she's alive as well!]
[True! As long as you don't see a body, you can't confirm a death, right? Makes sense!]
The stream became restless. Following this logic, Himeko might be alive too! Fu Hua was shot but lived, Einstein was ambushed but lived, Old Yang's body was destroyed but he lived... and we haven't seen Himeko's body yet. Doesn't that mean there's a high chance Himeko survived?
[Hehe! I bet Himeko-sensei fused with the Himeko... I mean, the Herrscher of Flame Core and will return as a Herrscher!]
[Agreed! I think that's a huge possibility!]
[Does the Old Thief really have that much integrity? He said Honkai 3rd would have a happy ending; I didn't believe him at first....]
[But looking at it now, of all the characters who appeared in the main story, the only one confirmed dead is... Wendy?]
[Bullying Empress Wendy again? Go look at Chapter 4, 'A Poem of Wind.' You think Wendy fought three B-rank Valkyries?]
[LMAO, Empress Wendy fought three Herrschers single-handedly to a draw; that proves her strength is terrifying!]
[You guys mocking Wendy better watch out; when she returns, she's going to settle the score with everyone!!]
[Wait, she was turned into the Gem of Desire and the gem was thrown into the Sea. What 'return'? Her grave grass is probably six feet high by now.]
Pardo continued the game. The perspective shifted from Bronya to Seele. Seele opened her eyes to find herself in a prison—a strange place resembling a military base. She had no memory of this place but instinctively felt a disturbing power within this world bubble.
Standing before Seele was a pink-haired girl with fox ears, wearing a combat suit and wielding the blade Frozen Naraka.
"....Yae Sakura?" Seeing her appear in the game, Pardo was stunned, but quickly realized something was off. "Wait, although she looks like Yae Sakura, she isn't her.... Is she a parallel world version? Sakura?"
Bronya was also puzzled. "I remember that battlesuit is [Goushinnso Memento], right? I found it strange that it never appeared in the main plot... This Sakura and Yae Sakura shouldn't be the same person."
Pardo seemed to remember something and looked at Kevin. "Speaking of which, Sister Sakura has been busy lately. Do you know why, Boss Kevin?" Kevin thought for a bit. "I'm not sure of the specifics, but she's likely with Rin. As you know, she rarely shares details.... and she's almost never at the Golden Courtyard."
Pardo looked thoughtful. "Mhm, Sister Sakura rarely mentions her past.... She's quite mysterious. I'm curious where Brother Su Mu found out about her story." She looked back at the in-game Sakura. "I remember Sister Sakura's sister is named Rin, but in the game, she's called '凜' (Lin)... Did Brother Su Mu get it wrong? But he usually doesn't make mistakes like that."
Through the dialogue between Seele and Sakura, the viewers finally learned that she was indeed not the Yae Sakura from the Sakura Samsara arc. In this world, her name was simply Sakura, and her goal was to find her sister, Rin. She mistook Seele for an innocent girl kidnapped by the base, so Sakura prepared to find Rin with Seele and escape together. Though Seele wanted to find a way out of this world, she had to figure out what was going on first.
Pardo was confused. "Eh? So this is Sister Sakura's character? But Sakura and Yae Sakura look exactly the same; could it be reincarnation?"
[Who knows? Since Seele is in a world bubble, it's normal for there to be differences.]
[True. But what is this base? Why did they take Sakura's sister?]
[Kidnapping innocent girls? Sounds like something Otto would do.]
[LMAO, true! Otto is indeed irredeemable. Could he really be behind this?]
[So this is a parallel world Schicksal? But the timeline doesn't match, right?]
[Who cares, let's just blame Schicksal for now.]
[LMAO, as we all know, Honkai 3rd has its designated scapegoats. In-game, if something bad happens, it's Otto! Out-of-game, it's the Old Thief!]
In reality, Yae Sakura and Sakura were not the same person. One was a MANTIS (Massively Augmented Neo-Tech Integrated Soldier) from the Previous Era, and the other was a shrine maiden from Yae Village. In real life, they were also separate individuals. The Yae Sakura with Kallen had a sister named Rin... but Sakura was a comrade of Pardo and the others. They were distinct people. As for why they looked identical, that was hard to explain. Perhaps just like Silver Wolf and Bronya looking alike, it was a form of "mysterious fate."
Bronya was aware of the distinction between Yae Sakura and Sakura. Back when Su Mu asked Kiana for the Schicksal registry, he found the name "Yae Sakura." But since there was also a Yae Sakura at the Golden Courtyard, Su Mu realized they were two different people.
"Come to think of it, when I saw the Sakura and Kallen plot, I was really shocked..." Pardo scratched her head. "I thought Sister Sakura had that kind of relationship with Kallen, but when I called to ask, she thought I had a fever." "I thought she was just shy back then, but I never expected that Yae Sakura wasn't Sister Sakura's role.... This one is her role, right?"
Kevin nodded. "Mhm. She's searching for her sister Rin; this should indeed be the Sakura we know."
[So this Sakura has nothing to do with that Yae Sakura? They aren't even parallel world counterparts?]
[Then what is her identity? What is this world? Is it not connected to the main world of Honkai 3rd?]
The viewers were full of questions, but they had to continue watching. Seele followed Sakura past many mechanical guards. Sakura seemed familiar with the place. She led Seele to the Archives to investigate. They encountered a guard, and just as Seele thought a fight was imminent, Sakura stepped forward and gave her ID number. The guard verified her, calling her a warrior of "The Moths Who Chase the Flames."
"?" Pardo was confused again. "I thought Sister Sakura was here to rescue Rin as an intruder, but she's not? She's a member of this base? And she seems to have a high rank?"
Kevin, knowing Sakura's personality, spoke up: "Mhm, perhaps something happened that forced Sakura to betray the organization.... likely related to Rin's capture."
"I feel like this 'Moths Who Chase the Flames' organization... is a gathering of bad guys? Kidnapping innocent girls? How can an organization like that be good?" Pardo was a bit angry. After all, Sakura's sister Rin was like family to her. Seeing her treated like this in-game made her uncomfortable.
Kevin seemed to have a thought. He hesitated but remained silent. Why would Seele suddenly appear in this world bubble, and why was Sakura there? Did it relate to the Snake... and to himself? Extending the logic, was this "Moths Who Chase the Flames"... perhaps the organization the Golden Courtyard members belonged to?
In the game, after being refused by the guard, Sakura was forced to draw her blade. During the battle, Sakura noticed the Stigma power on Seele and praised her for having such wonderful strength. Once inside the Archives, Sakura began searching for info. Pardo found she could control Seele to gather more data from the computers.
"The Eleventh Herrscher," "MANTIS (Massively Augmented Neo-Tech Integrated Soldier)"... the information in these files stunned the viewers. One file even mentioned the monster Bronya had defeated—Tlaloc—which was created under the "CHIMERA" project!
This world bubble is way too abnormal. Didn't the main story just have the birth of the Fourth Herrscher? Here we already have the Eleventh? Where exactly did Seele end up? Is this even the main Honkai world?
Previous world bubbles were more or less related to the main plot, usually changing a historical node... but the events here seemed entirely disconnected. What was going on?
[Wait, those files mentioned MANTIS... powerful beings capable of fighting Herrschers? Sakura seems strong; is she a MANTIS too?]
[Injected with Honkai beast genes.... wait, that sounds familiar?]
[? Wasn't Theresa modified like that? But I remember Otto's tech was imperfect, just a copy of Previous Era technology?]
[Wait, MANTIS is Previous Era tech, but these files mention complete MANTIS soldiers. Doesn't that mean...]
[THIS WORLD BUBBLE IS THE PREVIOUS ERA??]
Soon, the lore-hunters in the chat analyzed the situation based on the intel.
"I see. No wonder there's no Anti-Entropy or Schicksal here.... If it's the Previous Era, it all makes sense." Pardo nodded, feeling that things were finally clicking. But then her expression became odd. "But I remember.... the Previous Era was supposed to be destroyed, right? Isn't Fu Hua a Pioneer from that era? That also means...." Pardo reached a realization. "So... the Sister Sakura in this world bubble is actually someone who's been dead for tens of thousands of years in the main story??"
This realization stumped Pardo. She was a smart girl—if Sakura appeared, didn't that mean the other members of the Golden Courtyard would too? By reasonable deduction, maybe the Golden Courtyard members were all Previous Era figures! Why else had they not appeared in the main story through twelve chapters? So.... Pardo clearly thought of a possibility.
As the plot continued, Seele questioned Sakura, and Sakura revealed the truth: she was originally a member of the Moths Who Chase the Flames. But now, she was their enemy. They had taken her sister and were imprisoning innocent children. Sakura couldn't bear it and chose to betray the organization. Hearing Seele was also looking for her sister, Sakura's expression softened. It was empathy. Sakura asked Seele if she had seen cherry blossoms.
["Near our home, there are several cherry blossom trees in the square. In spring, they bloom together, and the whole square is filled with dancing petals."]
["In a world filled with disaster, it is rare to see such a warm sight."]
["Cherry blossoms are Rin's favorite thing. I'm sure you would like them too."]
Sakura promised to take Rin and Seele back to her hometown to see the blossoms once they found her. This exchange shortened the distance between Seele and Sakura. Upon learning Rin was held on the 33rd basement level, Sakura rushed there with Seele.
However... things did not go as planned.
["Seele, wait." Sakura stopped Seele, her expression turning grave. "This is bad. Someone troublesome has appeared."]
[On the dark pathway, a white-haired man holding a flaming greatsword emerged from the darkness, blocking their way.]
[Sakura gripped her blade, ready to draw at any moment as if facing a mortal enemy.]
[The man simply stood there, doing nothing, yet radiating a terrifying aura. The greatsword in his hand seemed to possess the power to incinerate all... a level of power beyond mortal reach.]
["Sakura, stop this."]
[The white-haired man looked at Sakura with a complex expression and spoke her name.]
The man blocking Sakura's path, holding the flaming greatsword, was none other than—
Kevin Kaslana.
END OF CHAPTER
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