"Um, Seele, I have some bad news for you."
Feeling the information fed back by Heaven's Stairway, Takatsuki chose not to conceal it.
"Takatsuki-nii, please tell me. Seele can accept it."
Seele didn't feel anything special. Hearing Takatsuki's words, she thought the method he just mentioned had failed. Although there was some disappointment in her tone, she didn't show any negative emotions.
"Seele, you have too much Honkai Energy in your body. At the current efficiency, it will probably take more than a month."
Takatsuki said to Seele with some embarrassment.
He had considered using the Horse Talisman to remove the Honkai Energy from Seele's body, but he found that Seele's body was almost completely integrated with the Honkai Energy. If he rashly used the Horse Talisman, it would likely directly destroy the energy balance within Seele's body, so he could only slowly absorb and transfer it like this.
Seele blinked blankly.
"Um... the bad news is that it will take a long time?"
"Yes, what else? And this time is based on us having constant physical contact. If we separate, the time will be extended, and if the distance is too far, it might even break off directly."
Hearing Takatsuki's words, Seele blushed. She wouldn't say that she originally thought Takatsuki couldn't save her
For Seele, who had been in the Sea of Quanta for so long, this month or so...
It really wasn't much.
"Um, Seele doesn't mind, Takatsuki-nii. Seele hasn't talked to anyone else for a long time. Can you chat with Seele?"
Seele extended her other hand and held Takatsuki's hand with both of hers. Takatsuki was much taller than Seele, and his hands were also very large, so Seele needed both of her small hands to barely wrap around his.
"Sure, Seele, you're probably most concerned about Bronya, aren't you...?"
Takatsuki also saw through Seele's intentions and began to tell Seele about Bronya
During this time, Takatsuki even subtly hinted to Seele about Bronya being deceived by Cocolia and the wicked deeds Cocolia had committed, observing the girl's reaction
Perhaps Seele was truly understanding, or perhaps this girl genuinely didn't have much affection for her adoptive mother, who claimed to love them but constantly used and harmed them. Even though Takatsuki's words clearly criticized Cocolia's actions, she didn't say anything
She also didn't harbor any hatred towards Cocolia, unlike Takatsuki; she was more like a bystander
Perhaps the fact that Cocolia used the orphanage children, and even her cherished sister, for experiments had already made her extremely disappointed in Cocolia, but she maintained the relationship only for her sister's sake.
Midway, Takatsuki also took out some pre-prepared desserts.
Although there's no need to eat in the Sea of Quanta, eating itself is a form of enjoyment.
Seele, who had been separated from people for a long time, loved these desserts, which helped her regain some sense of being human.
Then Seele took out her diary. Because one hand was holding Takatsuki's, Seele placed the diary on her lap, opened it, and shared their past life in the orphanage with Takatsuki.
Takatsuki had not read the official Honkai Impact 3rd comics and story. From Seele's narration, a vivid picture of life in the orphanage was painted, but it wasn't as good as he had imagined.
He remembered often seeing netizens in his previous life say things like Cocolia truly loved the children, but in reality, Cocolia, as an Anti-Entropy Executor, had money for a large number of human experiments and weapons, but no money to make the orphanage children's lives better.
How much money do some children's necessities cost? A single gun could buy a lot.
In Takatsuki's eyes, actions speak louder than words. No matter how loudly you shout slogans, if you don't do anything, you're just loudly lying. After all, anyone can shout slogans, and feeling sad about losing a child and wanting to find them back...
Countless mad scientists in anime are like this with their experimental subjects they're still interested in.
At least those mad scientists won't hypocritically brand themselves with things like 'love'.
The two of them chatted for a long time without realizing it.
Unlike Takatsuki, who could actively control energy, Seele's mental state was still that of a child.
Perhaps it was because they had chatted for too long, or perhaps because she had finally seen another person, the little Seele was very excited. As they chatted, Seele began to feel a bit sleepy.
Just as she was holding Takatsuki's hand and slowly leaning towards him, about to fall asleep on his body, her originally drowsy eyes suddenly became sharp and alert.
Her swaying body suddenly straightened, and upon seeing Takatsuki's gesture to let her rest in his arms, she quickly moved away from him and stared at him like a loyal guard.
Then, seeing that her hand was still intertwined with Takatsuki's, Seele instinctively tried to shake it off, but Takatsuki held on even tighter.
"Miss Seele, you wouldn't want to be trapped in this Sea of Quanta forever, would you?"
Takatsuki's attitude instantly changed as he looked at the girl whose pupils had turned red.
"You scoundrel, how dare you lie to Seele?"
Seele said fiercely, but she didn't attack him like before, nor did she try to break free from Takatsuki's hand, which revealed some of her thoughts.
"I didn't lie, or rather, when Seele wakes up, should I tell her about me just arriving here, you attacking me, and that the injuries on my body were all left by you?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Before Takatsuki could finish, Seele nearly jumped up like an agitated cat.
"Alright, alright, no need to be so cautious. Even if Seele knows about this, she won't dislike you. Besides, didn't I not say anything?"
Takatsuki extended his other hand, wanting to pat Seele's head, but she unceremoniously slapped it away.
"Are you really not angry? I beat you up like that, and why didn't you fight back then?"
"If I were angry, how could I not fight back? I know you were also protecting Seele, after all, I came here to save Seele. It would be too strange to attack the person I'm trying to save, wouldn't it?"
Seele stared at Takatsuki for a long time, but he just smiled back at her.
"Speaking of which, aren't you curious about me at all? Aren't you worried that I've taken over Seele's body?"
Listening to Seele's questioning words, Takatsuki smiled slightly: "Aren't you also Seele? Although your personalities are different, Seele is Seele, isn't she?"
"You're truly strange. Even Bronya doesn't know of my existence and treats me as an enemy, yet you, who are meeting Seele for the first time, naturally accept my existence?"
Something out of the ordinary must be demonic. Although this Seele is not good at thinking, just like the other one, they both have sensitive intuitions.
"If you really want to know why, it's because I knew of your existence, even before I met you, before I met Bronya."
Takatsuki's words made Seele even more confused. She wasn't like her sleeping self, who was good at thinking; on the contrary, she was extremely bad at using her brain, as if the brains of two people were concentrated in one.
Oh no, they were originally one person.
"You're a truly strange fellow. In any case, I'll be watching you. If you have any bad intentions, I'll tear you to shreds. You've seen I's strength, after all."
Facing Seele's threat, Takatsuki merely replied perfunctorily.
"Yes, yes, Miss Seele is the most amazing."
"Don't treat me like a child!"
Watching Seele, who was a bit agitated, Takatsuki found it amusing. Two people who looked exactly alike had completely different personalities: one outwardly gentle but inwardly strong and sharp-minded, the other outwardly strong but inwardly soft and tsundere, like a hedgehog protecting itself with thorns, but actually very afraid of loneliness.
"How about it, Seele? Want to keep chatting?"
"I have nothing to chat with you about. Unlike Seele, I've always been inside Seele and haven't had contact with the outside world."
Looking at the stubborn Seele, Takatsuki also found it interesting, but since they had just met, Takatsuki didn't say much: "I see. Well, I also need to rest. Seele, remember not to let go of my hand, okay?"
With that, Takatsuki lay down beside her.
"You scoundrel, aren't you afraid I'll ambush you while you're sleeping?"
Seele said with a feigned fierce expression.
"I trust Seele, and besides..."
Takatsuki lay there, opening his eyes and looking up at Seele: "I believe Seele also doesn't want to stay in this place forever, right? If I'm gone, then Seele's only hope will be cut off."
After saying that, Takatsuki lay on the ground, closed his eyes, and began to sleep.
The energy guidance still needed a month. He couldn't work on the system next to Seele, and even if he could, there was nothing to do. Everything that needed to be done on the way here was already done.
All that was left was arduous cultivation, and sleeping was a relatively good way to pass the time.
Seele sat beside Takatsuki, watching his steady breathing, and quietly extended her hand.
Black shadows surged with her movement, forming sharp spikes, shaping into fangs behind Seele.
The black spikes rapidly approached Takatsuki's neck, stopping abruptly just a few centimeters away.
"Tch... boring."
Looking at Takatsuki, who seemed to be truly asleep on the ground, the black shadows quickly dispersed, and Seele let out a slightly displeased sound.
Takatsuki didn't know how long he had slept, but he wasn't really sleepy. He slept only to give his brain a rest, as sleep is very important for humans, even with infinite mental energy.
When he woke up, he saw Seele, who had been sitting beside him, curled up next to him like a kitten.
Seeing that Seele was still sleeping, Takatsuki didn't disturb her, as there was still a lot of time to wait.
Lying on the ground without moving, Takatsuki closed his eyes again, but this time he didn't try to sleep again. Instead, he opened the system in his mind.
After coming into contact with Seele, the tracking function entered a thirty-day cooldown period.
Then Takatsuki also noticed that the dungeon system's energy... had increased.
Was it because it absorbed the energy from Seele's body? The Sea of Quanta's energy shouldn't be able to charge the system dungeon.
Although the current energy was not enough to open the next dungeon, looking at this speed, if it took two or three days, it could be charged enough to open a new dungeon.
Just as Takatsuki was closing his eyes and feigning sleep, he felt a small object move in his arms.
Opening his eyes and looking down, Takatsuki saw a slightly flushed small face.
"Um, Takatsuki, you're awake. Did the other me disturb you?"
Looking at her eyes, which had returned to sea-blue, and her gentle voice, Takatsuki smiled and patted Seele's head: "No, I just saw Seele sleeping soundly and didn't disturb her."
Compared to the thorny Veliona, White Seele clearly had no resistance to Takatsuki's affectionate actions.
Over the course of yesterday, Takatsuki and Seele had almost exhausted all matters concerning Bronya.
After all, their apparent point of intersection was only Bronya.
However, after a day of getting along, the two had become somewhat familiar with each other.
To alleviate boredom, Takatsuki took out his personal terminal from the King's Treasure.
Seele's sea-blue eyes blinked in confusion as she watched the object emerge from the golden ripple.
"This is one of my abilities; I can store things in a different dimension and retrieve them whenever needed."
Seeing Seele's curiosity, Takatsuki didn't hide anything and directly explained it to her.
"Today, let's watch some movies."
To prevent being in an environment like the DanMachi world, Takatsuki had stored many movies, TV series, and other entertainment tools in his terminal.
Moreover, before setting off, he had even gone out and bought a hand-cranked generator. Although its efficiency was low and it was quite tiring, with his current physique, it was nothing at all. He could make the generator spin like it was taking off.
Seele had only read some educational books in the orphanage, at most reading Homu comics and watching TV shows on the television. She had never seen anything like this.
Coupled with being bored for so long in the Sea of Quanta, she was full of curiosity about many things.
A movie's duration is around ninety minutes, which is quite long for a modern person with limited time, and after watching a few, one would get hungry.
But for the two people at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, time was truly worthless.
The two of them watched all the movies Takatsuki had in his inventory, including the horror movies saved for last.
Although Seele was somewhat afraid of the ghosts in horror movies, she would always burrow into Takatsuki's arms and dare not look when a scary scene suddenly appeared. But when Takatsuki wanted to switch to another movie, she would stop him, which could be considered someone who's bad at it but addicted.
As for zombie movies and the like, Seele wasn't particularly afraid.
Just like that, another three or four days passed, and the movies were all watched, but there was still a long time until the energy transfer was complete.
"Takatsuki, I'm sorry. Because of Seele, you have to stay here with Seele all this time."
Because the two needed to maintain constant contact, they couldn't do much, but even without this, there was nothing to do in this Sea of Quanta anyway.
"It's alright, Seele."
Looking at the fully charged function within the system, Takatsuki asked Seele.
"Seele, do you want to go on a spontaneous trip?"