Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Where did you get your companions from before?" Sirin's voice reached her ears as she turned around—behind her stood the other fifteen former New East America team reincarnators. They had already transformed into fifteen 'Sirin's' identical forms.

Their fate was overturned.

And the result was that they ceased to exist from the very beginning. From the very beginning, all those pulled into the cycle of reincarnation by the main god were incarnations of Sirin—Sirin nodded to her, and to them as well. Then she left, heading to another place she hadn't spoken of. She entrusted the task of monitoring the Jingyuan Federation to the first incarnation, and also to the other fifteen new incarnations; with such a large number, they should be able to handle any situation.

After all, Sirin had no intention of taking them back.

When Sirin left and stepped back onto the surface of the Abyss, pausing there, she clearly sensed the disturbance of the Supreme God's power—the Supreme God had revoked the authority of all the reincarnators of the East American team. While erasing their identities, the Supreme God constructed a temporary universe to rewrite the erased source world lines. Those souls that had never existed in the first place regained their physical form and were stored somewhere arranged by the Supreme God before the final battle ended.

The Supreme God—no, Pei Jiao—kept his promise. None of the reincarnators would truly die; they would only be forcibly removed from the stage upon losing. And after all the victors and vanquished were decided, these losers would be reborn into a new multiverse with rules set by the victors.

The last worry has been eliminated.

Sirin then lowered her eyes, no longer paying attention to the Jingyuan Federation, which had already begun to operate and was moving the entire star cluster beyond the Milky Way—she knew that her sixteen new avatars could do a good job of monitoring—this was only natural, because they were not only her, but also the forces that the external forces were trying to use to interfere with her!

[A worm inside a lion... a series of traps, did they really think I wouldn't see through them?]

[Arranging a new reincarnation team with whom I have a deep connection is your plan. If I don't know as much as you expect, I will most likely simply abolish their reincarnation status and spare their lives. But if I know enough information, I will certainly give them a chance to fight back with all their might, because this karmic connection, I must ultimately sever rather than erase.]

[You've chosen a good battlefield, where I won't resort to brute force. Therefore, you've equipped this reincarnation team with power approaching that of true gods, but with inherent flaws. And in this way, if I were to attack them, the method of overwriting the source world line would be most convenient.]

[To bury the trap within their experiences, their knowledge, and their intelligence, without interfering with their souls or their very existence—that way, when I reclaim these incarnations, you can influence me through this medium, through these hidden phenomena of erosion… A good idea indeed, but unfortunately, I know perfectly well that I am the weakest link!]

She took a deep breath, her thoughts racing, defining the surface of the Abyss where she was located as the undamaged Changkong City in the Honkai Impact 3rd world. And just as she defined it this way, she sensed the echo of the real Changkong City resonating within her own heart.

Yes, the stage of the final battle encompasses all the source world lines of all reincarnators, so the Honkai Impact 3rd world, which created her, is naturally no exception. However, unlike most other source worlds, in the Honkai world where she was born, the Honkai will had already usurped the will of heaven after she shattered the principles of civilization. The script meme and the Great Cataclysm of the Epoch were thus erased from that world, which also means that the region where that universe was located must be far away from the main battlefield.

Celine blinked.

She transported herself to the real Honkai world, to the real Changkong City. The streets around her became noisy and bustling as a result. She also slightly adjusted her appearance, suppressed her divine light, conjured some real currency, and found a decent-looking beverage shop on the street. While enjoying the air conditioning and quiet, she bought a cup of fruit tea.

The tea smelled wonderful and tasted sweet, and a timely downpour occurred on the street outside the beverage shop. Miss Celine found a brief moment of peace there.

—She actually intended to leave those avatars behind. Of course, she knew that such an action would only bring hidden dangers. After all, although these people wore her face, wielded her power, and even genuinely believed that they were her, their existence still carried a certain degree of pollution—even if they were assigned the task of monitoring the Jingyuan Federation, the deviations they caused would likely have an unseen impact on that nation.

This would become a weak channel for external forces to intervene. On the other hand, as long as this channel is maintained, Sirin and the reincarnators of the Central Continent Team can, in turn, intervene in the outside world without being affected by the war—or at least be able to keep track of changes in the external situation.

This was by no means a meaningless act. At least for Sirin, the reincarnator of the Central Continent Team, such behavior was perfectly correct and normal—she had already conveyed her arrangements to Chu Xuan and Alice during the transfer. And it was precisely because of this that she had time to come here before making any decisions about everything there, leisurely enjoying the fruit tea specially made for young girls.

However—correctness and normality only apply to the identity of 'a reincarnator of the Central Continent Team'. As for 'the transcendental cultist Xilin' who has shed this identity, she doesn't actually like it much—just dislike it, not hate it for going against the Dao—such actions.

Connect... interconnected.

Xilin lowered her gaze slightly.

—[War is inevitable. But... I still hope that we, their people, and others who are just bystanders or unaware... can all end this peacefully.]

Why must there be bloodshed?

She sighed softly, and the sweet fruit tea she was holding suddenly seemed bland and tasteless.

A voice suddenly rang out from across the room.

“You don’t seem very happy, Celine.”

“Alice,” Sirin replied without looking up, “It’s not ladylike to step into someone else’s Source World without permission. Don’t you have any manners?”

She heard a soft laugh from the other side.

"Then I apologize and leave here—" The voice abruptly stopped, immediately followed by a soft knocking on the door. The sound was so loud that it covered the entire Honkai Impact 3rd world and caused chaos and panic throughout the universe.

"—So, may I come in now?" Alice's voice rang out once again.

Celine's eye twitched violently. She raised her finger and swiped to the left, and the entire universe seemed to rewind for a total of twenty seconds, like a video on rewind—she put down her fruit tea, looked up, and saw Alice sitting opposite her with a smile.

“Cirin.” Alice gazed at her. “War is inevitable, because among those who can decide whether war breaks out, you are the only one who does not desire war. Your efforts… while not without value, certainly won’t be as great as you imagine.”

“As long as it’s of value, that’s enough,” Sirin replied calmly, a glint of light in her golden eyes. “I never expected to gain much. All I did was to make my path more secure. And Alice, aren’t you busy dealing with the fusion plan in the warp? What, you have time to waste here with me?”

“I have plenty of time,” Alice scoffed. “And you should know why I’m here.”

The light in Xilin's eyes faltered slightly.

"Are you here to interrogate me, Alice?"

“To interrogate? There’s no need for that.” Alice’s response remained calm and steady. The girl leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between herself and Sirin by five centimeters. “I just want to know—” Her voice was low, and the warm breath from her lips brushed against Sirin’s ear.

"—Xilin, have you decided to stand on the side of the Primordial Heavenly Realm?"

Celine fell silent.

She wasn't the only one who remained silent; Alice, who had asked the question, was also silent.

They both knew what was going on—the lingering echoes of the East American team, the indecisive handling, and the seemingly plausible excuses they followed. What kind of attempt was this to use this window to interfere in the battle on the outside? What a ridiculous joke! Has this book ever featured a weaker character defeating a stronger one without weakening the stronger? A single step can make all the difference, and how could Sirin, a transcendent being, not know that?

She did it intentionally, because her philosophy dictates that she would never be ruthless, always leaving her opponents a glimmer of hope—connection, mutual connection. The anchors that the Primordial Celestial Realm infiltrated this final battlefield by influencing the East American team are also a form of connection. How could she possibly sever that connection herself?

She merely wanted to give the human forces outside the final battle stage—the Primordial Heavenly Realm—a chance. A chance that, even if they suffered a crushing defeat in the external war, they could still retain a glimmer of hope. Because she had foreseen the most likely outcome, a solution that was highly probable to emerge on the final battle stage!

"I..." She was almost about to acquiesce, but her inner thoughts ultimately failed to provide such an answer. "...I did not intend to side with the Primordial Heavenly Realm. I simply hope that, regardless of who wins or loses, the losing side can ultimately have a glimmer of hope for survival."

She fell silent once again, and this silence was even longer than the last.

She heard Alice sigh deeply.

“Zheng Zha has complained to me more than once. He complained that being the captain is becoming increasingly difficult because everyone in the team respects him, but that's all they respect. When he gives an order, everyone may carry it out diligently, but when it comes to execution, they always add their own unique ideas.”

Alice resumed her original sitting posture, leaning back slightly before settling into the backrest.

"In the end, he came to a conclusion. He had never been a leader, but a commander. Because our team had always stood under the same title (Middle Continent Team) rather than under the same banner (ideology). We were a team not because we shared a common ideology, but because we shared a common experience and the God had put us in one team—and this conclusion frustrated him greatly."

"...So?" Celine asked uncertainly when she saw her stop, "That's all?"

"What else do you want? Do you really think I'm here to interrogate you?" Alice tilted her head in confusion, asking with a slightly exaggerated tone, "We creatures, we complex beings of principles, unless we follow the path of righteousness, always place camaraderie and friendship within a group below ideals and obsessions—"

"There's no real hierarchy within our team. There's no order of command or obedience—the Zhongzhou team name isn't that important to us. And whether it's me, Zheng Zha, or the others who've come to this level, we all know that."

“Besides you, Celine,” Alice scoffed. “You’re too much like a mortal. Your beliefs make your thinking too inclined towards mortal values. Your mind is still filled with things like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—things that are actually useless to you—and you’re bound by them. The reason I’ve taken some time out of my busy schedule to come here and talk to you is to tell you, to stop overthinking!”

"Huh?" — The Xilin was caught in the same kind of mental glitch as Zheng Zha.

"You want to stand with the Primordial Heavenly Realm? So be it. You want to choose the side of all races? So be it. You want to restore the Primordial Demon Gods, or create a new power on your own and choose it—that's all up to you. I'm only asking you this question to find out if you've already chosen a side. It doesn't represent my opinion on your choices or judgments!"

She finished speaking in one breath, then conjured a coffee cup out of thin air and took a sip. Watching Miss Celine struggle to digest what she had just eaten, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

To connect, to link together.

Sirin is the biggest weakness and gap in the Central Continent team; this information and understanding are absolutely true. Because of her deep connection with Echidela, Sirin is destined to inherit some of Echidela's traits. This makes her path of connection more inclined towards benevolence.

Within the Central Continent Team, Sirin is the only member who will, and will definitely, show mercy. And in order to secure ultimate victory in this war, the current situation requires some subtle changes.

So, as Alice recovered from her confused state—or rather, when she was pretending to be confused—she reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Let’s go,” Alice said, twisting the passage of time. “If you’re still confused, come with me somewhere.”

Section Twelve - Options

The twenty-ninth millennium of the Common Era also marks the twenty-nine hundred and ninety millionth year since the Eldar civilization was created. Of course, the Eldar have another way of dating, but that does not prevent their ancient civilization from experiencing such a long period of time.

Two hundred and ninety million years... That's only a third less than Earth's history. And an ancient civilization with such a long history naturally has its own pride and arrogance. Even though they have long since fallen and stagnated for countless ages without any development, when they look at other races in the galaxy, they are like mortals looking at ants crawling at their feet.

After all, they are so powerful.

Even in its fallen state, it remains incredibly powerful.

....................................

Alice brought Sirin to the Elven realm. But in this realm, they didn't see a single living creature walking.

The Eldar have fallen, lacking ambition and the drive for expansion and development. Yet, they crave endless resources for every individual to enjoy. This inevitably leads to a change in their lifestyle, shifting from stimulating the senses with external pleasures to directly stimulating the brain and soul with electricity and information—ultimately, they discovered a suitable technology in the remnants of their pre-fallen past. This technology can extract their souls from their bodies and infuse them into a specific, fictional realm to obtain endless pleasure and enjoyment.

They call this technology 'Soulstone Making'. They pile up endless Soulstones to build a power engine that can drive the interstellar ark, and name it 'Endless Circuit', allowing them to remain in a sufficiently realistic hedonistic illusion while supplying energy to the interstellar ark.

Interstellar Ark—this technology sounds quite similar to the world engine of the Necromancers. However, considering that these two civilizations have been entangled for three billion years, it's not entirely unexpected that their technology trees share a significant amount of common ground.

However, compared to the almost complete cybernetic transformation of the lower classes into mindless puppets of space undead, the Eldar, as the long-term overlords and rulers of the galaxy, clearly enjoy far superior treatment. This is because their souls are inherently resilient and solidified, and also because this so-called 'illusion' offers them so much.

—Perhaps it shouldn't be called an illusion.

—Perhaps it should be called an alternative divine kingdom.

Everything promised to believers by the gods in religion can be easily achieved within this endless loop. All sensuality, desires, emotions, thoughts, and sensory stimulation can be completely and flawlessly satisfied within this vast and boundless space of the endless loop—theoretically, the Eldar have a near-immortal lifespan. And in these unimaginably long years, they will obviously, after growing weary of ordinary pleasures, devote all their limited creativity to it.

Some Eldar have created a never-ending battlefield, finding pleasure in the act of killing and being killed.

Some Eldar built magnificent miracles and great achievements, only to destroy them in their near-perfect state at the last moment before they were accomplished, thus experiencing the disappointment of failure.

Some of the Eldar herded one imaginary civilization after another, watching them fight and slaughter each other, their suffering hidden within endless entanglements of cause and effect.

Some members of the Elven race concealed their identities and infiltrated the kingdom ruled by the Elven race above. They experienced the humiliation of being ravaged and tortured as lower-level ants.

very funny.

The above are merely the mildest and most elegant forms of entertainment, the kind that can be expressed in words. It's no wonder that such an immortal group of beings, yet retaining a mortal understanding, would fall into any degree of depravity over the long years. Rather, it's more accurate to say they are simply amusing themselves within the endless circuits, rather than extending their power into the mortal realm to manipulate the entire galaxy—a practice that already provides a sufficiently broad path for survival for all beings outside the Eldar.

Of course, this was also because everything has a cause and an effect—after Sirin, led by Alice, briefly surveyed the corrupt deeds of these Eldar, they stopped at the top of the ark world whose decorations best suited Eldar aesthetics. Alice casually brushed aside the Eldar servants that assisted the ark's operation, and the core of this ark world, the endless circuits flowing with strange light, was exposed to their view.

"Can you feel it?" Alice's voice rang in her ear. "This distorted, boiling sea of ​​messages, the power that will be born and descend upon this place from endless thoughts and emotions."

Alice spoke thus, and Sirin indeed sensed that immense being—a colossal entity formed from billions of years of accumulated emotions, love, hate, will, and bonds—traversing the countless circuits of the Spirit Race. It was one, perhaps more than one, unborn god. In this extremely long accumulation, they had gathered an immense amount of resources; once born, the entire Spirit Race would undergo a cataclysmic transformation. As for where this transformation would lead the Spirit Race… no one knew.

—No one knows.

“Do you know what this means, Sirin?”

"Does this mean that this race is about to undergo the changes you most desire?"

“No, that’s not it,” Alice denied. “This signifies a dividing line in time, a harbinger of war. The Eldar’s accumulated knowledge over billions of years will instantly complete a full mythological system within their collective consciousness. Then, the powerful beings from those myths will manifest in the world and gain the status and power befitting their status.”

“This means war, Sirin.” Alice smiled faintly as she looked at her companion. “The birth and emergence of the Eldar gods will directly alter the power distribution across the galaxy. It will completely eliminate this crumbling false balance—I, the clone, have already chosen a pawn, and besides her, many other reincarnators have infiltrated their own powers into it. Everyone is waiting for an inevitable opportunity, and this will be the final battlefield in this final war.”

Her fingers pressed against the surface of the endless circuit, and the next moment, the colossal system that was about to undergo a transformation stopped all changes! A faint rumbling sound, like a giant gear being jammed, could be heard, and Alice continued to watch her through the endless echoes.

"And now, you have the power to decide whether this opportunity or this conflict will erupt."

“…What do you mean?” Sirin frowned.

“The literal meaning,” Alice replied with a smile. “The birth of the Eldar gods was an opportunity, but it wasn’t the only opportunity for war. Even if the Eldar race and its history were erased, my clones and other reincarnators would have plenty of ways to unleash their power—they might even launch their original attacks without regard for the consequences, tearing this entire material universe to shreds.”

"Whether you choose or not, the war will not change. But if you choose any action, the fate of this entire physical universe will be greatly altered."

She flicked her fingers, and several distinct world lines appeared on her hand.

In the first timeline, Sirin did nothing. Then the critical point was reached, the Spirit Race gods were born, and they manifested in the war. A group of indistinct reincarnators descended upon the Spirit Race gods and seized their power. In a very short time, they grew to the level of true gods and began a war with the Central Continent and the Demon Army.

They had a high probability of failure, and the result of that failure was that the Central Continent and the Demon Army would divide the power of the Eldar gods. The infinite darkness and evil emotions within were collected by the clone Alice, becoming her support and stepping stones to ascend to the position of Lord of Desire in the Warp. The entire Eldar race was severely weakened by her presence, and the future held a cataclysmic catastrophe that would engulf the entire galaxy, the rise and glory of mortal empires, and future changes obscured by the struggles of the Reincarnators.

In the second storyline, Sirin did almost nothing. She merely slightly altered some events, erasing the corrupt history of the Eldar from the universe. Ultimately, the war between the Eldar gods still ended in a joint victory for the Central Continent and the Demons. However, the clone Alice did not become the Lord of Desire but merely occupied an ordinary Eldar god's position. This meant that the Eldar would not be destroyed by her presence but would become a force she could manipulate. And because of the tacit alliance between the Central Continent and the Demons, the entire Eldar civilization suddenly became the representative object recognized by both reincarnation teams.