Jiang Qiao: Kids, I Won My Gulag Match!

Seeing the figure shatter in place like a crystal flower, Elysia froze. Coming back to her senses, she cried out, "Jiang Qiao?!"

That was her body, but its disappearance didn't bring her sorrow. Perhaps it was something worth caring about, but what concerned her more was [Jiang Qiao] disappearing along with [Elysia] at that moment.

...Actually, Elysia had already more or less guessed, understood something. Although she wasn't particularly smart, her intuition in certain aspects surpassed anyone else's.

But... Elysia was unwilling to accept it, afraid to accept it. So she could only resort to 'self-deception' to numb herself. Until this moment, witnessing his departure with her own eyes...

It felt as if something had collapsed, or a part was missing. In this twisted state, she reached out, trying to grasp the points of light scattering in the air, as if wanting to hold him back.

But the light points only flowed through the gaps between her fingers; no matter how hard she tried to capture them, she couldn't hold on.

"This... isn't real... right?" It happened so abruptly, without even a farewell, leaving no time for preparation—or rather, such 'preparation' would never exist.

Turning her head to look at Vill-V and MEI who had followed, she seemed to seek a sliver of possibility, a shred of comfort from them. But they showed little emotion. Only Mobius, far from feeling sad, teased with her trademark faint mockery, "Hehe~ Seeing you like this is truly rare~ Elysia~"

"Alright, why insist on making such an ugly face? This isn't like you at all."

"But..." Elysia hesitated, looking at the points of light in the air, still unable to let go.

Mobius snorted and said smilingly: "But? What but? Oh, you think he's already 'gone'?"

"If you think so, then you disappoint me greatly. Or perhaps, in your eyes, is he someone so rash, so easily defeated?"

Was he? Was Jiang Qiao such a person?

"Of course not," Elysia said silently in her heart. That bad guy, he promised me he would never leave me. He's a bad guy, but he never lied to me...

But... if he hadn't departed, then where was he now? Elysia desperately wanted to know the answer.

Sensing her thoughts, Mobius simply reminded her, "Since you care so much, isn't there a very convenient channel between you two? Why not use that to ask?"

"..." That's right! Bad Jiang Qiao and I still have the chat group! Elysia suddenly realized.

Then, very urgently, disregarding her image, with a nervous heart, she @'d that name.

Elysia: @Jiang Qiao, Jiang Qiao... Are you okay...

A moment later.

Jiang Qiao: Mm.

Phew... The moment she saw this message, a huge weight lifted from Elysia's heart. Her anxious mood instantly eased.

Jiang Qiao: Come to Nagazora City.

...Nagazora City? Hearing the place name, Elysia paused. She didn't think too much about why Jiang Qiao would go there after disappearing, or why he asked them to go there.

Elysia: Okay, wait for me!!!

Without a moment's hesitation, after relaying everything, Elysia anxiously followed MEI and the others back to the surface.

During the process, gazing at the star-filled sky, like radiant sunset clouds, although incredibly amazing and captivating, couldn't compare to her urgent desire to see him right now.

Elysia would bet that never before had she wanted to see him more quickly, see... Jiang Qiao, safe and sound.

---||---

Just like the Nagazora City of the later era, this city, having suffered a major Honkai Eruption, was already dilapidated under the assault of chain disasters triggered by the Honkai—tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural calamities.

The Fourth Divine Key had been constantly responsible for repairing this area.

Following the guidance, they arrived at... "Chiba Academy..." MEI looked at this once prosperous, now deserted and abandoned academy with complex emotions.

Taking faltering dreamlike steps, she pushed open the greenish, dirty rooftop door. What entered her vision was a pink figure wearing gorgeous robes, seen from behind.

Adorned with angel-like decorations, under the gentle breeze, the smooth pink long hair softly fluttered, echoing the vast sunset clouds in the sky.

"Jiang Qiao!!!" Impatiently, the moment she saw that back, Elysia rushed over without hesitation, hugging the girl's slender waist tightly. Her words held tension, joy, but mostly, reluctance to part.

"Mm, I'm here." The sweet voice that should belong to her sounded from in front, but the gentle response brought immense relief to Elysia.

"I thought... I thought you were already..."

"Dead?"

"Don't say such depressing things!"

"You said it first... But, saying it like that doesn't make much difference."

"...?" Hearing this, Elysia paused, then instantly tensed up, her hands groping all over the former's body. But after finding nothing wrong after a long while, she couldn't help but get annoyed. "Bad Jiang Qiao! You tricked me!"

Saying you died, aren't you perfectly fine right here?

MEI seemed to notice something and asked, "I sense the power of Origin... What did you do?"

"Nothing much, just dismantled the Origin Space."

"...Dismantled the Origin Space." MEI, not being the Herrscher of Origin, clearly didn't understand the significance.

But Elysia, the true Herrscher of Origin herself, nodded knowingly. Oh, just dismantled that space... That's nothing...

"..."

"?"

"...What did you say you dismantled?!" Suddenly realizing the implication, Elysia turned pale, looking panicked, incredulous, and utterly furious. Origin Space?!

Even if she couldn't wield this power to its true potential, even if she only half-understood it, after accepting this power, she understood how special, how important this unique place was to her as the Herrscher of Origin.

That was the source of the Origin Space's power. Most of the Honkai energy mobilized by the Herrscher of Origin came from there. Formally, it was somewhat like the Herrscher Core of a normal Herrscher.

But... Elysia's anger clearly wasn't about losing this power. For her, even losing the Herrscher of Origin identity wasn't a big deal; she never liked or expected this power anyway.

However... unlike a normal Herrscher's Core, the Origin Space, existing as a spatial dimension, wasn't merely an imaginary singularity for wielding authority like other Herrschers.

That place was also the fundamental life source of the Herrscher of Origin—a manifestation of the 'heart.'

Dismantling the Origin Space? How was that different from saying 'just passed away'?

[Elysia] looked somewhat helpless, scratching her cheek. "Couldn't be helped. The scale of the Origin Space wasn't enough to achieve my goal, so I had to settle for second best, dismantling the entire Origin Space to complete this plan."

"Now, the power of Origin covers this planet. It also shields the Cocoon's perception of Earth." Gazing at the beautiful starry sky, the sweet voice held conviction. "The Cocoon can no longer interfere with this world."

Just as Phanes used the 'Eggshell' to isolate Teyvat from the outside world, preventing discovery by certain entities, Jiang Qiao used a similar method, artificially creating a protective shell—the 'Cocoon of Origin.'

Due to Origin's special nature, while enveloping, it also spread the unique authority of Origin across the entire planet, thereby completing the planet's re-compilation. Much like the Cocoon of Finality's 'cycle' mechanism.

And the price paid was, as Jiang Qiao said, he had indeed 'died' once.

But... death in this world was never absolute. Just as Welt Yang could perform sit-ups like crazy, Jiang Qiao, mastering the authority of Death and Life containing the power of the Sea of Quanta, could similarly, easily win his gulag match (respawn).

"Although the result isn't quite what was expected, you probably won't have to worry about the Honkai problem anymore." He said this, his smile relaxed.

Honestly, this method felt a bit like 'cheating.' According to the normal process, passing required completing the Cocoon of Finality's trial.

But Jiang Qiao did the opposite, using his 'Origin' identity to reverse the end into the beginning. Through the power of Origin, he directly abducted all the test-takers.

Now, the Cocoon couldn't find anyone, so wasn't the test over?

Of course, this operation had its drawbacks. For example, playing like this definitely wouldn't grant the Herrscher of Finality power from the Cocoon. A pity.

But, so what? Even without the power of Finality, humanity would still explore the stars and develop civilization through their own efforts. The Cocoon was just a shortcut, an option. An option that basically held a gun to your head, forcing you to choose.

Since that was the case, don't blame us for not cooperating, flipping the table, and leaving! You go find someone else! There's no place for you in this home anymore! Come or don't come, goodbye!

What? You're not convinced? Careful I don't use the power of Origin to steal your butt!

Even blinding the Cocoon's perception couldn't change the close connection between Origin and Cocoon.

Leveraging this connection, whenever needed, he could still easily sneak bites of the Cocoon's offerings; at most, he couldn't eat so blatantly.

However, although this was clearly good news, Elysia's expression wasn't very happy. She looked at Jiang Qiao, then quickly closed the distance.

"Mmph..." In the blink of an eye, their perspectives switched again.

But the former, as if retaliating, or perhaps simply venting her anger, threw aside her usual reserve, completely ignoring the others present, hugged him tightly, exceptionally forcefully.

This stimulating scene made Mobius click her tongue in fascination, licking her lips. Vill-V blushed deeply and turned away. MEI tactfully pulled her two companions aside, clearing the space.

Eventually, only the two remained on the wide rooftop.

After a long while, Elysia finally separated. Feeling everything about her own body, she gripped someone's hands tightly, saying through gritted teeth, "Next time... don't you dare use my body for such risky things again!"

"...Alright."

As if feeling something was missed, Elysia quickly added, "Your own body too!!! Do you hear me! Bad Jiang Qiao!"

"Whether it's your own body or some other pretty girl's body... Anyway, absolutely, absolutely do not do such dangerous things! Otherwise, I will never forgive you!"

"I promise you."

"But actually, it wasn't that dangerous."

"Not that dangerous isn't allowed either!" Elysia's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, looking fierce, allowing no room for negotiation, quite domineering.

Yeah, I know... If it's you, perhaps you can indeed achieve many, many things I can't even imagine, right? Perhaps it really wasn't that dangerous.

But... even so, I still worry about you, feel heartache... This feeling... is really unbearable... A feeling never experienced before, but one she never wanted to experience again.

Azure eyes reflected the aurora of Origin, myriad stars reversed their flow, as if traveling from the future to the past. Pale white fingers, covered by silk gloves, gently pressed against her own softness. Not hers, yet able to feel the heart, driven by another, its warmth not yet faded.

"?" Feeling the hand forcefully grabbed and pressed against a certain place, Jiang Qiao looked puzzled.

"See... 'I' am also worried, very dissatisfied, aren't I?" Beautiful eyes lowered, the sweet voice held a faint smile.

Things she couldn't feel before, now... seemed somewhat perceptible. The warm sensation passed through the special fabric, triggering life's initial palpitations.

Someone's expression turned peculiar. While the feel is indeed nice... shouldn't she let go now?

But attempts to struggle only met with greater 'violence.' In Elysia's words: You like touching, don't you? Since that's the case, feel my, Elysia's, heart properly! What? You want to pull your hand away? No, no, no! You don't want to! Besides, after doing something that made me worry so much, do you think you can just laugh it off? Dream on! Until you've properly experienced and felt my, Elysia's, feelings, don't even think about pulling away easily!

Hmm... This is punishment! Punishment!