I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

Immerse yourself in the performance, let your emotions flow into the music, and express all your thoughts and feelings through the music.

The light flowed, the notes danced, illuminating them.

Even though the spotlight remained on the "twin stars," they were still radiating their own unique glimmer of light at that moment.

Meanwhile, the two people in the center of the dance floor, dancing and singing with abandon, were smiling—smiling happily and blissfully.

They looked at each other, their thoughts flowing, and then their steps gently intertwined. The two smoothly changed their dance steps, returning to the normal dance steps where Xiwang played the male part and Eden played the female part.

The dance steps, originally led by Eden, gradually transitioned to the hands of Xiwang.

"...Have they always been like this?"

Su glanced at Xi Wang and Eden, who seemed completely absorbed in their own world, and then at the others who appeared to have gotten used to it. She asked with some curiosity.

"They've always been like this."

Desdovia, who had arrived at some unknown time, responded with a smile, glanced at Xiwang and Eden, and gently nudged Kosmo, who had come with her, with her shoulder.

"Kosmo, do you want to come along later?"

"I'm not very good at it..."

"I'll teach you!"

"……Um."

Kosmo nodded slightly. He wasn't good with words, but... he didn't want to refuse.

"Yes, that's how they are."

Kevin nodded, both in response to his friend's question and in acknowledging Desmond's statement... At the same time, there was a hint of envy in his eyes as he looked at Xiwang and Eden.

"........."

He looked down at his palm. At this moment, he could no longer touch the plum blossoms, nor could he dance with them like they did.

So... all we can do is envy and offer our blessings.

"...Sakura, do you want to dance together later~?"

"Hmm? No need."

Sakura smiled and shook her head at Alicia's invitation, her gaze returning to Xiwang.

"Sakura really likes Nozomi, her eyes never leave him~?"

"……Um."

"...It's surprising that Sakura wasn't shy at all."

"Sometimes it's okay to be a little bolder, right?"

Sakura smiled and said this.

"I see... So Sakura is going to dance with Xiwang later?"

"No, now is the time for him and Eden."

"...Won't you be jealous? Like that?"

"Nope."

Sakura's gaze lingered on Xi Wang's pair of blue animal ears, which resembled her own, and she smiled.

"After all... he's here, isn't he?"

The scarlet animal ears on her head trembled twice with delight.

"That's it..."

Alicia glanced at Sakura's slightly trembling animal ears, then at the golden musical note still beside her, sighed softly, and then dropped the subject.

The relationship between the three of them is really strange~ It's a bit hard to understand — Alicia thought to herself.

???~

The dance was coming to an end, and their eyes never left each other... Finally, in the final pose, Eden smiled, gently wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned forward, and kissed him.

"Oh!"

"Oh... Brother Xiwang..."

"Gresh, don't look."

"........."

The voices of the people were different, but none of them could affect them at this moment.

"Haha~"

Their lips parted, and Eden rested her head against his chest, laughing happily.

"Xi Wang".

"Well, I'm here."

"I wish time could stand still, so... we could stay together forever."

"I hope so too, but... we have to move forward, don't we?"

"Yes, we have to move forward."

"Besides, I can stay by your side forever, didn't you promise me that?"

"Oh, yes."

Eden gently nuzzled against Xiwang's chest.

"You will be by my side."

Chapter 57 Some Doubts (4423)

The addition of new companions and the reunion with old friends have brought you great joy, but... after this brief period of happiness, you must return to your most fundamental task—fighting the Honkai.

Although your ability to "copy" your singing voice has limited your options, your role in the "Eighth Herrscher Incident" cannot be ignored. Furthermore, the power of your live performances is exceptionally strong. Therefore, "Fire Moth" now mostly keeps you as a "trump card," only deploying you in special circumstances.

[Well, this special case naturally refers to the "Great Collapse"... After all, you played a significant role during both "Great Collapses," and even played a decisive role in the "Eighth Herrscher Incident."]

Of course, this is just the official explanation, or rather, the explanation that most people are willing to accept. The other one... well, it's not so pleasant to say.

Just like in the "Eighth Herrscher Incident" mentioned earlier, you played a decisive role. When the "Eighth Herrscher" used your song to spread power and invade the "Fire Moth," you also took the opportunity to find the connection between your song and it, and started the "Extermination War" in reverse.

Yes, that sounds very good, but it also makes one wonder about another question—why would the "Eighth Herrscher" use your song to spread its power? And isn't it a bit strange that you yourself weren't affected by the "Eighth Herrscher's" power?

[Okay, perhaps the "Eighth Herrscher" did this intentionally, but... shouldn't your "song" have a stabilizing effect on Honkai energy? Then why can the "Eighth Herrscher" use your song to spread power? Logically speaking, all Herrschers' power is driven by Honkai energy, and the "Eighth Herrscher" should be no exception, so... why can it use your "song" to spread power?]

[And thinking about it carefully, what those people who spread the rumors were right... How could listening to music possibly cure a disease? Especially a Honkai disease, and the idea that singing could affect Honkai energy—it all seems really strange, doesn't it?]

The next question is one that shouldn't be considered too closely, as it would likely lead to a very bad conclusion.

[This is also one of the reasons why "Fire Moth" is unwilling to send you out to fight casually anymore. A small number of people have begun to doubt your existence, and even think that you may be a Honkai creation lurking among humans... And things like Honkai should be eliminated, shouldn't they?]

To prevent certain individuals from harming you due to their inexplicable yet seemingly reasonable suspicions, "Fire Moth" has had to confine you to the base under semi-house arrest, which can be considered a form of indirect protection.

[But this has had another effect—those who doubt you accuse "Firemoth" of being your accomplice, claiming that "Firemoth's" so-called "for humanity" is just empty talk, and that her true intention is to "rule the world," for which she is even willing to shelter a Honkai creation, or even... a "Herrscher"!]

[These terrifying remarks almost scared "Moths to a Flame" to death, and she quickly banned them.]

[If people suspect you are a creation of the Honkai, that's understandable, after all, your "song" is indeed too strange, its bizarreness is almost equivalent to Qian Jie's identity... simply put, it's "inhuman".]

[But to doubt that you're a "Herrscher"... sorry, you can't just say things like that. As things stand, everything you've done is to help humanity, which perfectly matches "The Moth That Chases Flames'" expectations. How could someone like you be a killing machine like a "Herrscher"?]

Even if there are such doubts, they shouldn't be expressed openly. Currently, most of the lower-level and middle-level members of "Fire Moth" see you as "hope." The songs you use to comfort people have saved countless lives, and the songs you use to amplify power have enabled "Fire Moth" to win battle after battle against the Honkai... If they find out about these comments, the backlash will be something no one wants to see, and it could even escalate into internal strife among humans. At this moment when the Honkai is in the throes of chaos, such a thing cannot be allowed to happen.

Finally, there's the "world domination" rumor. Ha... people who spread such rumors don't even think before they speak... Does the "Fire Moth" even need to "dominate the world"? With the Honkai calamity escalating and the "Fire Moth" belonging to the United Nations, it can be said that they have already indirectly achieved this goal; they don't need to "realize" it at all.

So this is the current state of the world: about 60% of people trust you and the "moths chasing the flame," while the remaining 35% are either indecisive or indifferent... Just surviving is hard enough right now, how can anyone care about so much?

Of the remaining 5%, 3% expressed doubt about your existence. After all, your "song" did indeed have a problem, even if the root cause was the "Eighth Herrscher," it still couldn't stop some people from directing their suspicions at you... "Even if the Eighth Herrscher is 99% wrong, doesn't your Xiwang have even 1% of a problem?" That's probably the kind of thinking they had.

[...It's really disgusting]

[As for the last 2%, needless to say, they showed clear suspicion and rejection of your existence and the "Moths of Fire," and can be said to be immersed in their own world and unable to extricate themselves, and even did some very extreme things because of it.]

[For example, stealing the healing potion prepared by "Firemoth," smashing it, recording a video, and posting it online while saying things like, "This thing isn't a healing potion at all; it's just a conspiracy by 'Firemoth'!"...and so on.]

These people once made "Moth Chasing Flames" wonder if they had been so thoroughly influenced by the "Eighth Herrscher" that they went insane, or if the "Eighth Herrscher" had deliberately left behind trouble when she was on her deathbed?

[The main problem is that these people are just too annoying. Not only do they spread rumors, but they also deliberately disrupt social order, making the "moths chasing the flame" extremely bothered.]

Fortunately, most people are now rational and intelligent, and they pay no attention to their seemingly "mad" remarks. The "Moths of Fire" have also managed to suppress them, forcing them to cower in their dark corners. The overall atmosphere of the world can be said to be trending towards stability.

This is wonderful, isn't it?

But... those who are smarter and more farsighted will notice a problem... "Doubt" has finally emerged. Under the influence of the "Eighth Herrscher incident," cracks have appeared in humanity, and based on the human nature of "wanting to doubt something," that instinct to question something in order to protect oneself... a small, unhealable crack has finally appeared.

On the other hand, the Eighth Herrscher has achieved its goal. The seed of distrust has been sown, and it will eventually sprout, grow, and transform into a thorny vine that will firmly imprison everyone's thoughts and hearts.

In the end, humanity will push each other, leading themselves towards...destruction.

【………】

Okay, we've gotten a bit off-topic. Let's get back to the present and the fight against the Honkai.

After defeating the "Eighth Herrscher" and recovering its corpse, the "Fire Moth" began their research, especially Möbius, who developed a strong interest in this rare and intact "Herrscher corpse."

[Furthermore, given his unique powers, Mebius has been spending almost all his time in the lab lately, possessing the corpse of the "Eighth Herrscher," making it impossible for other researchers to do anything. After all, when Mebius gets excited, he won't let anyone else have such a rare subject.]

In the end, it was only after much persuasion from "Moth of Flames" and the combined efforts of Velvet and May that Mébius finally relinquished the core of the "Eighth Herrscher" to prevent her from conducting any overly dangerous experiments... such as attempting to revive the "Eighth Herrscher."

Don't be surprised, because Möbius actually tried to do that... According to Möbius's own reasoning, the "Eighth Herrscher," who controls the power of the mind, shouldn't die in the mental realm, at least not completely.

[Furthermore, based on previous research on the "Herrscher Core," Mebius believes that the existence of the "Herrscher" may have broken free from dependence on the physical body. Their consciousness, power, spirit, and even the unknown existence of their soul may have been compressed into the "Herrscher Core." This could explain the strange fluctuations that could be vaguely detected when researching the "Herrscher Core" before.]

[And given the "Herrscher Core," which is the embodiment and representative of the "Herrscher's" power, along with a confirmed and well-preserved "Herrscher" body, and some... suitable methods, could it be possible to resurrect a "Herrscher"?]

Furthermore, is this resurrected "Herrscher" a completely new being, a "newborn," or... a resurrection of the previous "Herrscher"?

Mebius was curious about this. Having spent her life exploring the edge of life and death, she was particularly interested in this kind of research, especially since the subject was a "Herrscher." Therefore... she also took action.

Meanwhile, the others watched in trepidation as Mebius's research grew increasingly reckless and "out of line." Finally... after Mebius actually achieved some results, causing the "Eighth Herrscher's" corpse to begin reacting again, "Moth of Flames" ordered her to stop the research, forcibly retrieved the "Eighth Herrscher's" core, and took back the "Eighth Herrscher's" corpse, stating that any further research could only be conducted under the approval and supervision of the relevant authorities.

This caused Mebius some resentment, but it didn't bother her. To her, it was just another application stage of "going through the motions," nothing serious... She was very confident because, within "The Moth of Fire," no one but her could research anything using this corpse.

And indeed, this was the case. After trying to get others to conduct the research, "The Moth That Chases Fire" didn't actually achieve any results. Either the research progress was too slow, or they could only reluctantly give most of the research time back to Möbius.