"A false world…"
Aleph heard Aponia's mumblings. It confirmed that what he thought before was true—that the Cocoon was trying its best to get rid of him and return everything to normal.
As to which method it was…
"It was a time fifty thousand years beyond. We failed and had to entrust everything to the next era…"
Although the contents of her talks were depressing, it did not shake Aponia's firm will. She could see it was false at first glance.
"It was said that… you did not return after your departure."
"That's the biggest loophole that you saw?"
"Yes."
Even Aleph had to pause for a moment to process his thoughts. The nun with a devilish body trusted him to that extent. She herself believed that Aleph would return no matter what.
It was then that blood started coming off her nose. Her body temperature rose sharply due to the overwhelming fragmented visions she saw.
Hum.
The imperceptible white light swept through Aponia. Its effect was potent enough to heal her in one go.
"It's time to go. Thanks for your help, Aponia."
"It is nothing. I will await your return."
Just like the wind, Aleph's figure disappeared.
*****
"Well. They're in one place."
Aleph saw Su's location and appeared right beside him. It is without any visual indicators, making him appear like he was there in the first place.
Su was walking along a hospital corridor when he heard footsteps behind his back.
"Aleph? Since when did you..?"
"Heh..? So you do like older women…"
He patted Su on his shoulders, causing the latter's right eye to twitch.
"You know it's not like that."
"Not for long."
Su merely sighed helplessly.
Ever since he arrived in Fire MOTH and became a MANTIS, he became one of the strongest psychic-types. Coincidentally, it was discovered that his ability could be used to mentally placate Fire MOTH soldiers.
Needless to say, Su became MOTH's Number One mental counselor-slash-psychologist.
"Who would've thought you would major in psychology instead of medicine?"
"Your blood is strong enough to serve as the cure. There's not much else to do except to find several other sustainable alternatives."
Hearing Su's worries, Aleph said:
"There's no need to worry much. You won't be able to imagine how much I bled for it… literally."
A normal human could lose 14% of their blood volume without dying. With Aleph's continuously growing physical body and insane recovery, it could be said that he was the infinite cure against honkai corruption.
Back then, a drop of his blood could cure three people. Now, that same amount of blood could cure three hundred.
If his current blood was used, Aleph could cure the entire world of honkai corruption. Such was the preciousness of the blood of the so-called "Transcendent Grade" lifeforms.
"I left some other stuff at Kurumi's. There should be enough samples to play with."
"...What are you going to do?"
Su's countenance turned serious.
"It's not that big of a deal…"
Aleph explained how he was going to deal with things on the Moon. What surprised him was how Su reacted—it was exactly the same as Kevin's.
As if seeing that doubt, Su pointed out:
"This is the best we could do. You talked with Kevin already. This is the least we can do… to bid your good return."
Aleph fell silent. Su's words struck a realization.
'Everyone… They must be feeling hopeless…'
The words of resignation from everyone, as well as their respect to his decision, were combined together to form the words they told to Aleph. Nobody asked him to not proceed with his plans. They acknowledged that it was the best thing to do now.
It was either trust or hopelessness… or both.
Part of it was Aleph's rapid growth during one and a half years. He reached this point while the others were still accustoming themselves with emperor-class honkai beasts and Herrschers.
'They should be able to deal with Herrscher-level threats.'
He thought of how the battles he arrived into were nearly finished.
The Herrscher of Wind was about to be killed by Kurumi and Yoshino.
The Herrscher of Fire was already defeated by Kevin.
The Herrscher of Death was about to be killed by Sakura's time-stopping technique.
The Herrscher of Thunder was nearly dealt with by Elysia.
Even the "mutant" high-level MANTIS that mimicked Ling's condition was dealt with by Mobius. There was no doubt she would inherit a part of that ability once she finishes her shedding.
"...Alright. Thank you."
"Take care."
Aleph reappeared at Eden's place. It was a sharp contrast to the chaotic places he went to.
Wherever he looked, the honkai beasts stopped what they were doing. They were turned into statues as the Fire MOTH soldiers mowed through their numbers. What was even more noticeable was that these soldiers were full of morale.
Amidst everything was a drifting melody. The familiar humming halted Aleph's actions.
'...to find their way back home.'
Unknowingly, his mind followed the melody and filled in the missing lyrics. It was a song that never failed to elicit emotional responses from him.
That was the reason why he provided numerous musical scores to Eden. He wanted to see this exact scene from happening.
It further helped that Eden's power was related to mental debilitation through her songs, a derived ability from a whale-shaped emperor-class honkai beast.
'Rubia… She made an extended score and looped everything neatly.'
Aleph chose not to interrupt her performance.
'Her mental state is not that bad. Then…'
"Keep it up."
His words drifted with the wind and reached Eden's ears. The familiar voice did not stop her so-called performance, but made her look in a certain direction.
Confusion appeared in her eyes as she saw no one.
'Was it him..?'
*****
It was an utter mess.
"Ugh…"
A strong pang of headache assaulted Hua's head. She clutched her head with her right hand but the headache ensued. Her blurry vision told her she was in the middle of a highway.
'What… When… It hurts..!'
Hua's blurry vision constantly changed. Images began appearing one after another.
The memories of the failed battle "fifty thousand years ago" came first. The preceding Herrschers after the seventh Herrscher became extremely strong, though they were still manageable.
What made things spiral out of hand was their human ego. The eighth up to the twelfth Herrschers banded together and destroyed the two continents. They did not have the sixth's ability to hide in the Sea of Quanta, but they could still hide their honkai energy.
Add to that the new batch of traitors that rose up from their previous purge, it took a lot of resources to deal with these Herrschers.
Then…
It was a long string of events.
Hua gradually 'recalled' more as her vision was restored. She found herself wearing a familiar set of clothing.
"What happened? After their uprising…"
The last memory she had was being betrayed by her disciples.
"How incredulous. I did not learn from anything."
Hua's voice was filled with frustration at the thought of it.
"Fifty millena… all for nothing. Damn it..!"
Her feet stomped on the ground, causing it to crack even further. It was also at this time did she smell the smog created by burning plastics and metals.
Hua's eyes widened the more she scanned her place. The vague sense of familiarity became clearer as time went by.
"Isn't this—"
Her eyes stopped when she saw a person.
His appearance was one of the few things that remained clear in her mind. She would forget other things, but not him.
The shock she felt was extremely strong. She even forgot to breathe.
"Ah…"
"Hua."
The distant yet familiar voice sounded in her ears.