Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 258: Beneath the Crater

"Are you alright, Mei? You don't look so good."

Kevin—or rather, Kevin's holographic projection—asked with concern. With Prometheus's assistance, Kevin and Mei were speaking across the vast 388,000-kilometer distance separating Earth and Moon.

"Ah—" Mei pressed the cool pads of her fingers against the corners of her eyes, answering distractedly, "Me? I'm fine. Just a bit tired from the long journey, that's all. Mm."

"Sigh..." Kevin crossed his arms, shaking his head with a wry smile.

Just as Michael understood Elysia, how could he not understand Mei?

A few simple gestures, a few lines of dialogue, a fleeting exchange of glances – it was enough for him to roughly "empathize" with what Mei was feeling.

He could sense an emotion deeper than mere sadness. Less sorrow, more like... anger. Thinking about it, he realized he had never actually seen Mei look truly angry before.

But he had no idea what had actually happened, nor could he fathom the target of her anger – it couldn't possibly be Michael or Elysia, right? Definitely not.

At this moment, he desperately wished he could sneak into Vill-V's workshop, secretly activate the Second Divine Key, and teleport himself directly to the lunar ruins. After all, Michael had already synchronized the spatial coordinates with the Key.

But he couldn't leave... Michael and Elysia were both on the Moon. Two of Fire Moth's top three combatants were off-world. Someone had to stay behind and keep watch over the increasingly unstable Earth, right?

"...If I'd known, I never should have given in to Michael and Elysia's relentless pestering back then," Kevin sighed inwardly. He then heard Mei ask:

"How are things on Earth? Is the Council behaving?"

Hearing the word "Council," Kevin instinctively scratched his head.

"Hm? Is someone causing trouble?" Mei's eyes narrowed behind her glasses, a glint of cold light flashing through them. The only reason she had chosen the relatively peaceful method of annexing the United Government through a council, rather than resorting to more direct, forceful means, was simply to minimize internal conflict.

But if someone was truly foolish enough to make trouble while both she and Michael were away, they shouldn't blame Mobius if an extra body or two ended up on her operating table.

"Er! No, no! It's not that serious, they're being very cooperative, very..." Kevin quickly backtracked. After all, those old politicians had only made a few harmlessly sarcastic remarks about him and Mei. He didn't want to bother the already exhausted Mei with such trivial matters, nor did he want to create new rifts within humanity, which had only just managed to achieve a semblance of unity, over a few petty words.

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So, he hastily changed the subject: "Speaking of which, less than an hour ago, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast energy signature was detected in the Far East. I've already dispatched Sakura and Kalpas. Calculating the time, they should be reaching the battlefield now— Uh, considering the Far East is mostly uninhabited, I didn't see the need to activate the Second Divine Key for this."

Kevin blinked, practically radiating a 'Praise me, Mei!' expression.

How could Mei not read his look? She managed a small smile, praising him sincerely, "Very good. That was very considerate."

Using the Second Divine Key to deploy troops directly to the battlefield was undoubtedly the fastest option and could quell disturbances instantly. However, as a "non-living" object, the Divine Key couldn't draw a continuous supply of Honkai Energy from the Imaginary Tree like a Herrscher could. Each use at its rated power required roughly two hours of recharge time.

And sometimes, a two-hour window of vulnerability could be fatal, even long enough for humanity to face extinction – if a Herrscher happened to appear during that exact interval.

"But you still need to be careful," Mei cautioned. "The initial energy reading doesn't mean everything. Both Mahāmāyūrī and Vishnu initially appeared with Emperor-class energy signatures."

"Ah, I know that, of course," Kevin replied readily. "That's why I've divided Anti-Entropy's main combat forces into four groups. Sakura and Kalpas are the Strike Team. Kosma and I are the Quick Reaction Force. Hua, Su, Mobius, and Vill-V are the Reserve Team. Everyone else maintains normal duties and training schedules."

"Hm!" Mei's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled genuinely. "Not bad. I didn't expect my boyfriend had the potential to be a leader too."

"Ahem!" Kevin coughed lightly. "Actually, this was Michael's plan from the start," he almost blurted out honestly. But being praised by Mei was such a rare occurrence... after weighing his options, he decided his brother could take one for the team—

"Ah, it's just standard procedure! But I remember Michael saying, the most important thing for a leader isn't ability. There are countless capable people in the world, right? But only one can be the leader. Because what matters most for a leader isn't exceptional skill, but unwavering conviction, and the charisma to unite everyone."

"Hmm... That self-deprecating style, as always. That does indeed sound like something Michael would say," Mei chuckled softly, glancing over at Michael, who was currently chatting and laughing with Elysia as they sorted through the various equipment and Soulium stockpiles in the warehouse.

He shouldn't put himself down like that, Mei thought. From the perspective of Fire Moth, or even humanity as a whole, Michael was perhaps less suited for overall leadership than she was. But for Anti-Entropy specifically? The opposite was true.

Because Mei knew she couldn't fulfill the second criterion for them: uniting so many eccentric individuals with vastly different personalities.

"Right, speaking of Michael, what's he up to?" Kevin's projection craned its neck, trying to look around. Unfortunately, Prometheus could only provide a limited perspective; no matter how much he peered, he could only see Mei.

"Oh! Look at me, I almost forgot to mention it!" Mei lightly tapped her forehead. "Relay this to Vill-V: we've discovered a massive amount of Soulium on the Moon. Conservatively estimating, there are at least ten tons just in this warehouse alone, and there's much more scattered outside."

"Uh, wait a minute, Mei. Soulium on the Moon... hold on, and a warehouse? What exactly did you guys find? Don't tell me there are actual Moon people?"

"Mm... Those details... I'll tell you face-to-face when I get back..."

"WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO!"

A piercing alarm suddenly blared, interrupting their conversation. Even Michael and Elysia looked over from the warehouse.

Mei instinctively glanced up, checking the color of the (non-existent) warning lights, before realizing the alarm must be coming from Kevin's end.

Kevin's projection vanished abruptly. Half a minute later, he reappeared, leaning halfway into the frame: "Sorry, Mei! The energy signature of that Honkai Beast in the Far East just spiked to Judgment-class! I have to get to the command center! Talk when you get back!"

Kevin hastily cut the connection.

---||---

Two minutes later, he returned to the communication room, filled with regret. The Honkai Beast, whose readings had spiked again and been designated 'Afeitian, an Apocalypse(Maheśvara)-class Honkai Beast,' had been swiftly killed by Kalpas the instant Kevin had stepped into the command center.

"Sigh... If I'd known it would be over that quickly, I wouldn't have hung up." Kevin tried re-establishing the connection for a while, but Mei's end seemed to be offline as well. "Interstellar communication" wasn't cheap; it looked like he'd have to wait until their next scheduled window...

He stretched, then walked back towards the dedicated lounge area for Anti-Entropy members.

"Grrrrowl—"

His stomach suddenly rumbled. He efficiently opened the refrigerator, planning to grab a snack.

"Hm... Sushi?" Kevin opened a disposable bento box. He sniffed it cautiously. Didn't seem spoiled. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth...

"Mmph! Urk... Ah! Cough cough cough!"

An intense, icy heat shot straight up to his brain, so overwhelming his eyes rolled back in their sockets, twitching uncontrollably. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud, completely unconscious.

---||---

388,000 kilometers away, Mei remained blissfully unaware that the sushi she had painstakingly prepared had accomplished something only a Herrscher had managed before – defeating Kevin Kaslana.

She was currently staring down into the seemingly bottomless crater at her feet, discussing entry methods with Michael. Of course, it was mostly Michael doing the talking:

"Method one," Michael began, ticking off points, "since the, uh, pre-pre-pre-pre-previous civilization faced the Honkai here, and most of their forces seem to have been deployed outside the crater, presumably waiting to engage the Herrscher of Finality after its arrival... it stands to reason they must have had some kind of mechanism for rapid descent to the crater floor. We just need to find that mechanism."

"..." Mei remained silent.

"But," Michael continued, "I don't think that's the best approach. Not just because the mechanism might not even be functional anymore, but also – Mei, can your body handle much more of this?"

Mei nodded, replying with unwavering confidence, "I haven't felt any discomfort so far. Except... I'm a bit tired."

She said this, but as a semi-doctor herself, she knew better – the absence of discomfort was often more troublesome than obvious symptoms.

Her normal metabolism had been artificially disrupted; how could there not be problems? If there were clear symptoms, she could use her experience and theoretical knowledge to diagnose the issue and assess its severity. But this current situation... she only knew there would be problems, but had no idea where, or how serious they were.

Continuing to push herself was a gamble. The longer they stayed on the Moon, the greater the risk.

And Michael's proposed second rapid solution was also a gamble—

"The other method is much simpler," Michael stated bluntly. "I jump down directly from here. I have Void powers, I can come and go freely. Once I confirm the situation below, I can bring you two down."

"...Alright. That method is indeed efficient." Mei pressed her fingers to her forehead, reluctantly agreeing to his plan.

Oh, perhaps 'reluctantly' wasn't quite the right word. Her main objective was to investigate this crater. Searching for the previous civilization's leftover equipment could potentially lead them through many interesting facilities along the way, but given the time constraints imposed by her own physical state, a direct approach was probably wiser.

"But ultimately," Mei thought with a flicker of frustration, "this so-called 'time constraint' is entirely due to my body's limitations. If only there was some way for me to..."

Was there bitterness? Perhaps a little. Despite being the seemingly omnipotent Dr. Mei in the eyes of others, there were far too many things she simply couldn't do.

She knew Michael actually envied her sometimes – envied her maturity, her calmness, her rationality, her seemingly unbreakable mental fortitude.

But... although there wasn't a direct causal link, wasn't mental maturity often developed, at least in part, to compensate for a lack of external power?

While Michael envied Mei's strong mind, she, in turn, secretly envied his immense external power.

She was lost in thought for only a fraction of a second, but in that instant, Michael had already silently leaped into the abyss. Only the faint whooshing sound of his clothes catching the non-existent wind echoed back up to her ears.

With no other option, Mei could only follow Elysia's example, slowly bending down and seating herself on the edge of the precipice.

"Ely, what are you looking at?" Mei asked softly, following Elysia's fixed gaze. All she saw was a scattering of peculiar stones further down the slope. They were 'peculiar' because their fractured surfaces were strange: upon closer inspection, the center of each break revealed a speckled, star-like pattern of deep blue, while the outer edges, near the surface, gradually darkened through shades of purple to black.

If the central starlight blue were replaced with crimson, and the outer limestone-like surface were bone-white... they would look remarkably like the fossilized remains of Honkai Beasts, Mei mused.

Perhaps... perhaps that's exactly what they were. The corpses of Honkai Beasts, slowly petrified, slowly transformed by unimaginable stretches of time, eventually taking on this bizarre appearance.

Is she just looking at those stones? Mei wondered, both certain and uncertain. There wasn't much else to see in that particular direction, but would anyone stare so intently at rocks for so long...?

Or was she simply... zoning out again?

Mei felt a headache brewing. Elysia's thoughts were always difficult to fathom. While not entirely impossible for Mei to analyze, her own mental fatigue made it difficult to muster the energy needed to dissect Elysia's abnormality—

Ever since they reached this crater – no, ever since they arrived on the Moon – Elysia had been far too quiet.

To be fair, faced with the monotonous, unchanging lunar landscape, silence was a perfectly normal reaction.

In fact, many soldiers from the lunar exploration teams, after surviving harrowing missions and returning to Earth, ended up directly admitted to long-term care facilities.

The symptoms were disturbingly consistent across most cases: staring blankly into space when others were around, yet muttering incessantly to themselves when alone. Once night fell, this often escalated into hysterical screaming.

Those without families... some had signed consent forms in moments of despair, ending up on Mobius's operating table. Even the few who miraculously survived the ensuing procedures were now confined deep within the "Serpent's Belly" facility.

"Sigh..."

It was precisely because prolonged silence could be a symptom of lunar exposure that Elysia's quietness hadn't initially raised major alarms for Mei. But after arriving at these ruins, her silence had become more pronounced, more noticeable...

This was at least the third time she had sat wordlessly on a cliff edge like this.

"Elysia? Elysia?"

"..."

And, disturbingly, it was as if her hearing had been completely stripped away. No matter how many times Mei called her name, she offered no response. It was the same for Mei now as it had been for Michael earlier.

This profound silence seemed superficially similar to the symptoms shown by the traumatized explorers, but Mei felt strongly that there was more to it.

For one thing, those soldiers typically spent months on the Moon. They had been here for less than a week. Mei couldn't believe Elysia's spirit was fragile enough to break so quickly – after all, Mei herself and Michael were handling the environment without such issues.

Secondly, there was a nagging suspicion... not a malicious doubt about Elysia's loyalty, but rather... a fundamental question. An answer she had never quite gotten from Michael – "Without discernible Herrscher powers, without a standard Herrscher Core... Elysia, is she truly just a Herrscher?"

Mei hadn't wanted to dwell on it, but this place... according to the inscription left by the 'Mei' from 250,000 years ago, this was the very birthplace of the final Herrscher, the Herrscher of Finality.

Such a unique location, combined with Elysia being such a unique Herrscher, who was now exhibiting unique behavior...

It was incredibly hard not to speculate. Her mind, operating at its usual high speed, generated over a hundred hypotheses almost instantaneously. For example:

Since Elysia's exact time of 'awakening' as a Herrscher was unknown, what if she was the original Herrscher? Perhaps, in direct contrast to Michael's power-collecting abilities, each new Herrscher actually split off powers from her, leaving her with none.

And why did she lack a gem-like Core? Perhaps she was the singular, original Core itself, and all other Herrscher Cores were merely subordinate manifestations...

"Mm, that explains everything logically, but... Forget it, forget it..." Mei forcefully shut down these lines of thought. She felt time wasn't that critical yet; she preferred to hear the truth directly from Elysia herself someday.

As for telling Michael about Elysia's odd behavior? That was completely unnecessary – he must have noticed from the very beginning. That was likely why he kept engaging in various seemingly childish antics, trying to elicit a reaction from her.

The silence stretched, making time feel distorted. Mei glanced at the Prometheus terminal display on her wrist. She felt like nearly two hours must have passed... or at least one. But the flickering numbers told her that less than two minutes had elapsed since Michael jumped into the crater.

107 seconds, to be exact. Now 108, 109...

Mei sighed again. Bored, she picked up a small pebble from beside her. Habitually, she tilted her head back, holding the pebble up before her eyes, as if comparing its size to the moon in the sky.

But all she saw were salt grains scattered across a black curtain; naturally, none could compare to the stone in her hand.

She chuckled softly at her own absurdity, belatedly remembering she was on the Moon.

She tossed the pebble into the bottomless crater, silently counting to ten, but heard no sound of impact.

Checking the time again: 142 seconds. Barely another half-minute had passed.

Mei suddenly turned and waved her hand directly in front of Elysia's face. She didn't expect it to work, just recalling similar tropes from novels and movies, acting on a whim.

Unexpectedly, it actually had an effect— Elysia let out a soft "Hm?" and slowly, dreamily lifted her head.

"You... uh..." "What's wrong with you?" Mei had intended to ask, but perhaps influenced by some strange psychological feedback loop, an odd force intervened. Not only did it keep her silent, but it also made her subconsciously tilt her own chin slightly upwards, her gaze drifting towards the distant stars.

"This is!"

Her vision soared like a bird that didn't exist in this space, effortlessly flying past the scattered stones below, beyond the edge of the ruined city, out into the vast expanse of the night sky.

It was the same sky she had just gazed at half a minute ago. But the profound darkness had transformed in the mere instant it took to lower and raise her head. Now, it shimmered with fantastical colors – a patch of deep violet here, a swirl of crimson there, a nebula of pale blue further off.

These colors, which shouldn't exist in the black-and-white reality of the cosmos, had appeared silently, resembling the绚烂 artificially colored astrophotography images she remembered seeing on her father's computer as a child.

And that wasn't all.

The "salt grains" – the stars – in the night sky, previously static points of varying brightness, rough or fine, hung inertly, lifelessly, unchangingly.

But now, a portion of them had begun to slowly rotate around some invisible central point. They spun faster and faster, leaving faint, concentric circular trails across the night sky in the blink of an eye, like the growth rings of an ancient tree.

This too was an image Mei knew well – the result of pointing a camera towards the celestial pole on a clear night, taking a long exposure photograph, and then digitally stacking the images. A beautiful star trail photograph.

But... but how was any of this happening now? Forget the inexplicably colored cosmos for a moment; star trails were artifacts of long-exposure photography and post-processing. How could they possibly appear...

"Thud..."

A sound that should have been crisp, but instead felt muffled and heavy, reached Mei's ears. The sound of the pebble she had thrown finally hitting the bottom of the crater.

She blinked involuntarily. And just like that, the绚烂 celestial river, the neat circular star trails – everything vanished without a trace.

So completely did they disappear that she couldn't help but wonder – Was all of that just my imagination? If not, how could it possibly be explained?

Naturally, she turned to look at Elysia beside her. But she only saw Elysia looking down again, gazing intently into the abyss at her feet, as if she had never noticed the strange celestial phenomena at all.

"Ely..."

"Ah! You're back!" Elysia's sudden, joyful exclamation cut off Mei's question. Bracing her hands on the cliff edge, Elysia pushed off, looking like she was about to leap down. But her descending toes landed perfectly, precisely, on a translucent pink crystal platform that materialized just beneath her feet.

Using the rebound from the crystal, she leaped lightly upwards, spinning gracefully in mid-air like a flower petal caught and lifted again by the wind, landing softly back on the cliff edge.

And Michael was standing right in front of her.

Mei swallowed all her previous thoughts and questions. She saw the grim expression on Michael's face and quickly asked, "What's the situation below? Are there large numbers of Honkai Beasts?"

Michael shook his head, his face pale and troubled. "Below... there are no Honkai Beasts. But there are some things down there... that shouldn't exist."

---||---

Mei had to admit, despite Michael's prior warning, she still felt wholeheartedly that every word she had ever learned, from childhood through university, was utterly inadequate to describe the desolate emptiness of the crater floor. Because what lay before her eyes was, quite literally, an emptiness devoid of almost everything familiar—

Behind them stood some bizarre, alien-looking structures. But the strangely pulsating yet neatly arranged stone blocks, the eerie circular patterns carved onto their surfaces, the exposed purple strata in their fractures... none of it looked like the product of human civilization.

Moreover, an invisible weight pressed down on her shoulders, squeezed her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

If not for the faint, almost imperceptible luminescence emanating from the fine dust underfoot – different from normal lunar regolith, providing just enough light to keep the oppressive darkness at bay – Mei doubted she could stand being here for even ten minutes.

Looking up, the crater opening was just a tiny, coin-sized hole in the distant ceiling, making the oppressive weight feel even more inescapable.

But...

"What did you mean, things that shouldn't exist?"

Michael pinched his fingers together, his lips moving slightly, apparently calculating something.

After a moment, he concluded, "Ten seconds left. Step back a bit."

He firmly pulled Mei and Elysia back a couple of steps, counting down under his breath: "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

"Five, four..."

"Three, two, one—"

The dust before them seemed to shift, to swirl, but the overall landscape didn't appear to change significantly.

Yet, inexplicably emerging from within the shifting dust, several dark objects materialized: a dozen broken longswords, two large crosses leaning askew against the sandy soil, a pair of black and white lances, a massive greatsword, dull and lightless, forever incapable of burning again...

Some she recognized, some she didn't.

But as their partial designer, this didn't stop Mei from shouting the three words that screamed in her mind—

"Divine Keys!"