Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players-Chapter 198: Eternal Paradise: The Curtain Begins to Fall

Within the Elysian Realm, Raiden Mei also overcame numerous trials and confronted Aponia.

A fierce battle ensued.

Despite giving her all, Raiden Mei found herself unable to defeat Aponia—an unsurprising outcome considering their power disparity.

In terms of strength, Aponia in the deepest recesses surpassed even Kalpas.

Raiden Mei couldn't overcome Kalpas at full force, so facing Aponia could only be described as a hopeless endeavor.

However, fundamentally, this confrontation was Aponia's test for Raiden Mei. Thus, everything that transpired merely served as Aponia revealing Raiden Mei's destiny.

As expected, Raiden Mei passed the trial, allowing her to uncover the true secret hidden within the Elysian Realm—the Eternal Paradise.

Upon entering the Eternal Paradise, Raiden Mei noticed that Aponia did not immediately follow.

Being the guardian of the Garden of Eden, Aponia was well aware of the existence of the Eternal Paradise. However, she showed no urgency to enter, closing her eyes and clasping her hands, seemingly waiting for something.

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What she was waiting for finally arrived—

"I'm here."

A figure silently appeared beside Aponia—none other than Ana, who had been absent for quite some time.

To put it simply, in the past, Ana did tell some lies.

She and Ellie were indeed connected, but not as inseparably as one might think. Over time, in a certain sense, Ana became somewhat of a backup.

Of course, even Ana herself wasn't fully aware of this.

After all, to truly deceive the Herrscher of Corruption, even fooling oneself is necessary—a strategy employed by both Ellie and Ana.

Naturally, from the perspective of the present-day Ana, these tactics may seem outdated, yet they remain effective nonetheless. Even when Ana was still an ordinary person, she had meticulously planned numerous times on how to save the Elysian Realm and confront the Herrscher of Corruption.

It's akin to transporting the Heavenly Strategy General back to the Three Kingdoms era; reviving the Han Dynasty would likely be well within his grasp.

After all, privately, even the Emperor of Great Tang had extensively analyzed multiple scenarios of Shu Han's northern expeditions.

"Aponia, what does your foresight reveal about the Garden's future?" Ana casually asked.

"Miss Ana, you already know the answer deep within yourself; why bother asking me?" Aponia responded with a question instead of answering directly.

In response, Ana simply smiled without elaborating further. This exchange was part of her plan, seemingly insignificant on the surface but holding deeper implications beneath.

The Herrscher of Corruption could only analyze based on existing information and data. As a newly born Herrscher, driven primarily by instinct, it lacked complex strategies.

Within the Elysian Realm, its sole objective was merely to survive. However, this desire for survival contradicted everything in this realm. Despite appearances, Ana hoped to hear a different perspective from Aponia, which might influence her own plans and intentions. For the memory fragment of Ana present here, the Herrscher of Corruption posed little threat.

"Then let us meet again in the Eternal Paradise, Aponia."

With these words, Ana waved her hand, and her figure vanished from sight.

Aponia gazed in the direction where Ana had disappeared, sighed, and silently prayed. She could sense that changes were occurring within the Elysian Realm, but she was unsure what they entailed.

As a psychic-type Fusion Warrior, besides wielding Commandments, her power allowed her to foresee predetermined outcomes; however, she could not perceive the process leading up to them.

In this aspect, she shared similarities with Fu Xuan next door. Nevertheless, compared to Fu Xuan, Aponia had entered misconceptions much earlier. But with Elysia's arrival, everything changed for Aponia.

The journey is more important than the destination.

Yet, it was true that she had indeed foreseen the Garden of Eden's fate long ago. One could even say she knew its outcome from the very beginning.

However, when the girl who just departed arrived at the Elysian Realm, everything altered. The threads of destiny became enigmatic and blurred, reminiscent of the time when Elysia severed all fate's strings.

Initially, Aponia only revealed that Ana was Elysia's successor. However, with Raiden Mei's subsequent arrival from outside, it seemed indeed fitting for Ana to assume such a role.

What she couldn't have anticipated was that the true cause behind the blurred fate threads within the Garden of Eden was actually due to the real Ana taking a significant step forward. From that moment on, any thread connected to her would become indistinct.

However, this genuine answer held little significance for the Elysian Realm itself.

After all, influencing the Elysian Realm directly through the power of a deity like Ana would be quite cumbersome and diminish her divine stature significantly.

It's akin to presenting a box to a god and expecting them to enter it—do you think they'd bother, even if the box represents a small world?

Similarly, why would a Sage show interest in a mortal's storage space? To comprehend its contents, a mere thought suffices for them.

Meanwhile, after ascending the stairs, Raiden Mei entered a new space, or rather, a different world. However, what greeted her there were—

Titan missiles!

While somewhat comical, it was indeed true: just like encountering monsters in a game, a Titan mech spawned right before Raiden Mei's eyes.

Despite being caught off guard, she remained unfazed by a mere Titan mech. With ease, she dodged its barrage of projectiles and swiftly dismantled the machine with a single strike.

Similar to other defeated creatures, the damaged Titan disintegrated into streams of data and vanished.

On a nearby bench, Elysia sat smiling and waved at her warmly.

"Your reaction is surprisingly calm," Elysia observed, chuckling lightly.

"I figured it out quite some time ago," Raiden Mei replied nonchalantly.

"Hmm, where did you first suspect?"

"In Ana-sensei."

"Yes, because...she is also a Herrscher, correct? But when we first arrived here, she was just an ordinary person."

Elysia blinked.

"Additionally," Raiden Mei continued, "the others here have given numerous hints."

"Hmm, impressive. It seems my intuition was spot-on after all." Elysia chuckled softly and winked again.

Despite her cheerful demeanor, Raiden Mei couldn't shake the feeling that Elysia still concealed something.

My guess... isn't entirely correct? she thought to herself.

Indeed...

After briefly summarizing their previous trials, their conversation returned to the main topic. The revelation that Elysia was the Thirteenth Herrscher did not satisfy Raiden Mei's expectations.

If that were all, there would have been no need for such extensive tests.

"So, Elysia, will I feel disappointed once more, just as when I first arrived?" asked Raiden Mei.

"I've now ventured even deeper than the 'deepest recesses,' reaching the place where all secrets converge."

"Waiting for me here was someone claiming to be the 'Thirteenth Herrscher..."

Before Raiden Mei could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.

However, this time, it wasn't Elysia who spoke but—

"I believe you might indeed feel despair."

Ana approached from afar, shedding her usual amiable Valkyrie persona and transforming into a Herrscher form—not the Herrscher of Winter, but the pure Herrscher of Ice.

This appearance of Ana had been recreated before using Ellie's Primogenity Authority. Moreover, within Ana's original memories, there existed recollections of both the Herrscher of Ice and the Herrscher of the Rimestar, allowing her to effortlessly replicate these forms.

For Captains from another world, witnessing this version of Ana was entirely novel, as the original Herrscher of Ice's aspects had been altered.

From the beginning, there never was a Herrscher of Ice; only the Herrscher of Winter existed.

Seeing this transformation, Raiden Mei couldn't help but be taken aback.

"Oh my, you look absolutely stunning like this, Ana." Elysia greeted her with a warm smile, choosing not to address Ana's earlier remarks.

In response, Ana simply nodded at Elysia while subtly glancing at Raiden Mei.

Truthfully, her appearance was meant to make her presence felt, stir up some confusion, and perhaps provide a slight spoiler? As a memory fragment, Ana wasn't aware that her external self had already dismantled the System, rendering such dramatic moves unnecessary for players' emotional impact.

Nevertheless, the real Ana outside was quite satisfied with her approach.

"Despair?" Raiden Mei furrowed her brows slightly and looked towards Ana, who now seemed completely unfazed. Meanwhile, Elysia circled around her, curiously examining her Herrscher attire.

Honestly, even Mei found it intriguing, though she could guess that this version of Ana likely represented the Herrscher of Ice.

Logically speaking, Ana-sensei first became the Herrscher of Wind before acquiring the Authority of the Herrscher of Ice. It should have been impossible for her to manifest this form.

Wait, no—Elysia had mentioned earlier that when Ana-sensei entered the Elysian Realm, she was still an ordinary human.

Raiden Mei felt as if she had uncovered a hidden secret, yet at the same time, it didn't quite seem right. She wanted to confirm with Ana-sensei, but given her current demeanor, it appeared unlikely she would answer such questions.

The most important matter now...should still be unraveling the secrets of the Elysian Realm, Raiden Mei thought, gradually organizing her thoughts.

"Feeling somewhat puzzled?" Elysia's voice suddenly interrupted Raiden Mei's musings.

"..."

Before Raiden Mei could respond, Elysia continued unprompted, "Alright, alright, I understand. Revealing the truth so abruptly might leave you feeling confused."

"But let me assure you, this time, the answers you seek are truly within reach." With that, Elysia paused and blinked. "Even the answers about her can be found here!"

Though Elysia didn't explicitly mention it, Raiden Mei understood she was referring to Ana. In response, Ana simply closed her eyes, seemingly acknowledging this without verbal confirmation.

This naturally stirred Raiden Mei's emotions.

"Then... could you please accompany me for a walk first? It's not meant as a whim, mind you; it's an essential part of revealing everything."

Raiden Mei hesitated momentarily. How should she put it? These words indeed aligned perfectly with Elysia's usual mannerisms and style—very much like something Elysia would say. Consequently, Raiden Mei had no reason to decline.

"In that case, I'll see you later."

From the side, Herrscher of Ice, Ana, spoke softly. The ice Authority, in some sense, undeniably affected her emotions—an impact that couldn't be avoided.

"Just leaving now? I thought you prepared this elaborate setting just for me!" Elysia pouted, sounding slightly upset.

"If you were dressed formally, then naturally, I would have matched your attire, Ellie." With a hint of exasperation, Ana gently tousled Elysia's hair. When standing together, they indeed looked remarkably harmonious and beautiful.

Raiden Mei acknowledged this truth.