Chapter 998

Honkai 3

Heavens, is this really Kevin's isotopic counterpart? He wears almost the same face as Kevin, saying those words…

What's wrong, Patro?

Su Zheng sat quietly at the side, still as usual with his eyes closed, demeanor calm. After hearing Patro's soft muttering, he curiously spoke up to ask.

No, nothing much, just a little curious about what it would look like if Kevin spoke and smiled like Bai Ye.

"Kevin…" Su Zheng pressed his lips into a smile, that smile light, seeming to carry a bit of nostalgia for the past… or perhaps sentiment? A sigh? In any case, Patro couldn't quite understand it for a moment.

Kevin certainly has times like that. Su Zheng said calmly, "Back in the academy, he was even called 'Your Highness'?"

Patro's eyes widened: "Prince, Prince? Kevin?"

Her voice unintentionally grew a little louder, drawing sideways glances from nearby people. Patro quickly covered her mouth, but the shock on her face was impossible to hide.

She furtively glanced at Kevin.

At this moment, Kevin stood with his head tilted back, facing away from the crowd, his profile stern and aloof, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay. For a moment, it was truly hard to imagine…

Su Zheng, you said since Bai Ye is Kevin's isotopic counterpart, will the future Bai Ye also be like Kevin—

Patro, what are you thinking? Of course not~

Unexpectedly, the one answering her was not Su Zheng but Ailixiya. The pink-haired girl had somehow come up beside her, and on that face forever bearing a bright smile, she now winked at her: "This time, do we have the two breakthroughers, Xing and Danheng? The Fire Pursuit Journey will surely go smoothly~"

Eh? Speaking of which, Ailixiya, why hasn't your isotopic counterpart appeared in the Fire Pursuit Journey yet?

Hmm… I'm also curious about that~" Ailixiya said, resting her cheek on one hand, "Perhaps they're some very important final-role character? When future Kevin—oh no, I mean Bai Ye—is preparing to eliminate the last Titan, unable to break through after a long assault, they'll suddenly appear to rush to the rescue? Ah, just thinking about it makes me look forward to it~

—

Using the prophecy stele, Bai Ye and his companions quickly dispersed the thunderclouds shrouding their chain. Seeing Wandi stalled on the other side, Bai Ye felt somewhat smug: "How about it, looking at your helpless expression, I'll take a step ahead?"

"A mere lightning bolt, trying to stop the warriors of Xuanfengcheng?" Wandi showed no contempt, actually running across the iron-chain bridge under the thunder's bombardment! His speed even surpassed Bai Ye's!

"Yo, that move is so swift?"

Wandi didn't look back, sprinting with all his might, almost relying on sheer blood courage to fling all the thunder behind him: "Watch yourself, this below is an endless abyss."

Before his words faded, a deafening boom rang out as a bolt of lightning directly shattered the chain bridge where Wandi stood!

Xing's heart jumped, but soon she saw that red figure maneuvering on the cliff wall; at the moment the iron cable snapped, he leapt and landed steadily on the opposite side of the precipice.

"——Now that's exciting!"

Bai Ye also watched, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Not only do you have many lives, but they're big too—I'm almost jealous of you."

Fortunately, this level passed without incident, and the two soon arrived at a rest room filled with stacked proverbial stone tablets; oddly, although Xuanfengcheng hasn't seen visitors in years, the tablets bear no dust.

"They don't look like old items stored here; they look too new—who left them?" Bai Ye casually picked up a tablet, "I can't read the runes either; they're probably the ancient language of Xuanfengcheng."

"Let me have a look."

Xing felt it was time to demonstrate the function of the synesthesia beacon, but when she took the tablet and saw the runes almost merging into a single sheet… she thought she had overestimated the beacon.

"Don't worry, isn't there an expert next door? Once we meet up with Wandi, let him have a look." Bai Ye said, "But speaking of this… I've always wondered, you clearly come from beyond the world, so why can you understand the text and language of Ophyrus?"

"Could the intersection of Ophyrus and the outer realm be far greater than people imagine? Yet the historical records contain no mention of this at all."

—

A Certain Scientific Super Electromagnetic Cannon

Indeed, the language problem is really hard to explain.

Inside a café in Academy City, Misaka Mikoto and Touma sat by the window, one hand resting on her cheek, the other idly stirring the coffee before her, seriously pondering this problem.

Actually, I think there's another possibility." Chūchūn Shìlì approached, holding the cake she'd just ordered, "Our company had indeed been to Ophyrus before, but due to the influence of some Fate, all records concerning Ophyrus in the universe have been erased.

Huh? That's too exaggerated, isn't it? Which Fate could do that?" Heizi tilted her head, looking at the girl wearing a floral wreath.

【Void】." Zuotian Leizi calmly took over the conversation, "You should still remember what happened at Pinokangni, right? That Lady Huangquan…

By now, although Leizi and her companions' memories of Huangquan have begun to blur to varying degrees, they still recall how, when the Black Swan investigated Huangquan, the Void left a deep first impression: this Fate can not only swallow people's memories, but even obliterate all written records concerning it in the world, reducing them to a blank 'Void'.

If another Void Fate master-level expert existed, highly bound to Ophyrus, it wouldn't be surprising if they could do this. It's not that the archives lack records; rather, the Void has erased them.

By the way, this could also answer the third Fate entwined with Ophyrus—what do you think?" Zuotian Leizi gave everyone a playful wink.

Not very reliable… the Void Fate is too mysterious; currently the only thing we know for sure is Huangquan." Shirai Heizi shrugged, "If the Void is the third Fate entwined with Ophyrus, I fear this planet would have long been annihilated by the Void… just like Huangquan's homeland.

—

The two pressed on, and soon saw a large contingent of conflict-affiliated retainers guarding the area.

"Indeed, this is the central zone—the forces are quite sizable."

"Now we have a chance to turn the tables!"

Bai Ye gave a satisfied smile: "Just as I thought, you too have a fighter's heart, my friend. If the records are correct, right beneath the Heaven's Punishment Blade lies the world-renowned Xuanfeng Arena. The path beneath our feet could lead either to glory or to death…"

"Of course, glory is ours, and death—we'll offer it to them!"