Inside the Ice Palace of the Sea of Quanta, Shun sat on the table and chairs he had brought with him. Opposite him were Su and Kevin, whom he had invited here.
Su and Kevin looked at the serious-faced Shun, then glanced at each other. A hint of confusion flashed in their eyes.
Could it be that Shun had already experienced those events of the Previous Era and had called them together now to reminisce about the past?
Shun manifested the image of Vita from his memories and, using the Fenghuang Down as a medium, condensed it into a photograph. He slowly pushed it in front of the two of them.
"Is this photo you?" Shun asked while comparing the similarity between Su and Vita's eyebrows.
"No, bro." Kevin rarely lost his composure. His usual aloofness almost completely vanished as he carefully examined Vita in the photo, then looked at his best friend.
"Although this woman does bear some resemblance to me, this isn't me." Su opened his eyes, which were usually narrowed, and his crimson pupils were filled with helplessness.
"However, you actually met her?" Su recalled the distant past, back when the Previous Era had not yet been destroyed. He had also been using the Second Divine Key to observe other worlds, only to be observed by another female version of himself.
"That's right. You should also know that I've been searching for someone in the Sea of Quanta these past few months. Yesterday, when I had just entered a relatively large World Bubble…" Shun recounted in full detail what had happened when he encountered Vita in that World Bubble the day before.
"There's such a thing?" Kevin looked at his best friend, seemingly wondering why Su had never mentioned this matter to him.
"Once, another 'self' sensed my observation. The me of that world was a woman, but she harbored great evil. She used spiritual power far surpassing mine to weave an illusion that engulfed the entire Earth, and she was also using the Second Divine Key, attempting to extend her influence to a wider place."
"Afterward, she launched a long pursuit against me. The process of escaping her was fraught with danger. Perhaps even today, she still lingers on that sea, wanting to find me. If she had already succeeded, then the one who awakened from the Divine Key might not have been me."
(The above is the original text from the Elysian Realm. It can be seen that Vita is not the female Su that Su observed, because she is a Venusian. Moreover, the above text can also be considered proof of Honkai's multiverse. At the very least, there are countless parallel worlds within the solar system.
So what exactly the Tree and Sea universe is like, we still don't know how to describe it right now. At least in my novel, don't take the Tree-Sea unit theory currently revealed in Honkai: Star Rail as absolute truth. This time in the 3.0 preview, even the developers clearly stated that Honkai: Star Rail is only a part of the Honkai IP. It is Honkai: Star Rail, not merely Star Rail. Honkai as a concept still runs very deep. No one knows exactly what it is, so it's better not to jump to conclusions for now.)
"You said she has the Second Divine Key?" From Su's words, Shun detected something off. After all, the memories from the Elysian Realm were quite old. He only vaguely remembered Su mentioning a female version of himself, but he didn't recall the specific details.
Now that Su had repeated his words, Shun instead noticed many inconsistencies. For example, Su had said that the female Su of that world had covered the entire Earth with spiritual power. That meant the female Su's spiritual power must have been extremely terrifying.
She wouldn't have been like Vita, who only broke through one layer of his Fenghuang Down protection. If the other party possessed strength that could crush Su, she also wouldn't have shown weakness and tried to assassinate him at the very beginning.
"Moreover, I escaped using the Cosmic Juggernaut. If the Vita I encountered in the Sea of Quanta also possessed the Cosmic Juggernaut, I wouldn't have been able to escape."
After Shun's reminder, Su also realized the problem. Indeed, if the person Shun encountered was the female version of himself that he had observed fifty thousand years ago, then with Shun's strength, it would have been impossible to escape the other party's pursuit.
"Then this should be an unknown enemy hidden within the Sea of Quanta." The discussion with Su allowed Shun to rule out Vita's origins. At the very least, she could not be Su from some parallel world.
"Shun, as someone who has directly interacted with her, what do you think of her?" Su asked Shun.
"First of all, she's very strong. Her spiritual power can silently break through my defenses. If my Taixu Sword Qi hadn't also reached the Taixu realm, I might have been controlled without anyone noticing. Secondly, she's very cautious. Even though she clearly possesses the strength to crush me head-on, she still took the initiative to show weakness and attempt an assassination. If I hadn't also taken precautions, I might have failed. Lastly, she's very despicable. She's purely a despicable woman. Her way of speaking is somewhat like Elysia's, but unlike Elysia, everything that comes out of her mouth is bullshit. She's the type who smiles while stabbing you in the back."
Shun quickly summarized his evaluation of Vita. Although it was only a brief exchange, his impression of her was extremely deep.
"Kevin, you've been staying here for over a thousand years guarding the gates between the Sea of Quanta and the main world. Have you ever seen any similar dangerous existences?"
Shun's gaze turned to Kevin, who had remained silent the entire time. As for the honorifics and such from before, they had already been removed at Kevin's strong insistence.
"I have not. At most, there were only some Quantum Shadows equivalent to Judgment-class Honkai Beasts that tried to enter the Eye of the Deep, but they were all defeated by me."
"Then that means the main world hasn't been targeted by those monsters and demons yet. That's good." What Shun feared most was that the main world would also be targeted by guys like Vita who hadn't even been mentioned in the original plot. After all, who could say for sure what the butterfly effect would bring?
If the Honkai wasn't resolved and new enemies appeared instead, that would be bad.
At the same time, at the edge of the solar system, 4,500 astronomical units away from Earth, on a dwarf planet named Phoros.
Unlike the barren solar system edge people imagined, this was a vibrant planet where the seeds of civilization had long been planted and had taken root and sprouted.
Vita, who had just completed Sa's quota, had finally welcomed her vacation time. Only during such times could she find the time to come here and visit them.
"Hi, little Yixin, come quickly and see who's back?" The moment she arrived in this world, Vita saw Yixin, the most enthusiastic among the seven little Vitas, helping the people of Phoros. She happily called out a greeting.
"Ah, it's Big Sister Vita. Big Sister Vita, why did you come back?" After recognizing the visitor, Yixin happily threw herself into Vita's arms. Because of Sa's missions, Vita rarely came to see them.
"Here, these are candies Big Sister Vita brought for you." Vita took out the candies she had casually picked up from the previous destroyed World Bubble and handed them to Yixin. Every time she returned, she would bring many gifts for the little Vitas.
"Thank you, Big Sister Vita!" Yixin's eyes sparkled with the innocence and joy unique to children. She extended her small hands and happily accepted the candies, her face filled with a satisfied smile.
"Little Yixin, Big Sister has a small question. I wonder if I can ask you?" Vita's voice was gentle and melodious, like a spring breeze, carrying a hint of intimacy and curiosity.
"Hmph!" Yixin puffed out her chest. Her small face was filled with confidence and pride. "Big Sister Vita, just ask! Among the seven of us Agents, I know Phoros best. No one knows more than I do!"
A slowly floating Fenghuang Down appeared in Vita's hand. After Shun left, he had left behind a feather stained with Vita's spiritual power.
Vita had picked it up when it fell to the ground and no one wanted it. Perhaps someone on this planet would recognize this thing?
She gently stroked little Yixin's head and asked,
"Do you know where your big sister Lixue is right now? Big Sister Vita has some matters to discuss with her."