"Kiana, Bronya... everyone..."
Racing through the city streets, Mei frantically searched for her companions.
Again, it's happening again!
Recalling the scene, Mei felt a sharp pain in her chest.
Though she didn't understand why Kiana suddenly became a Herrscher, her own weakness had once again shattered her emotional defenses.
Back then, when she became a Herrscher and destroyed all of Nagazora City, it was Kiana who never gave up, who dared to face the Third Herrscher with just a baseball bat, risking her life to save her.
But now? Now... she actually felt fear towards Kiana, towards the person most important to her.
She... hated herself for this!
Dejectedly staring at the panel that showed no response, Mei ran aimlessly through the city streets like a walking corpse.
Just then, Mei accidentally crashed into a girl wearing red, knocking her to the ground.
"Ouch! Who is it, walking without watching where they're going?"
The girl seemed annoyed, rubbing her bottom as she got up, looking at Mei with irritation.
"S-sorry."
This sudden accident interrupted her spiral into depression, jolting her awake, and she felt a chill down her spine.
Her state just now was definitely not normal, it was like... like a replay of that time.
As the nightmare in her mind gradually surfaced, Mei sensed something was wrong.
'Tch!' In her mind, the Third Herrscher clicked her tongue, saying dissatisfied: "That damn trash really ruined my plans."
"You!" Mei's brows furrowed - she never had any good feelings towards this "second personality" of hers.
"Heh~ why do you even bother?" The Third Herrscher laughed mockingly: "In your current state? What can you possibly do?"
"Weak, cowardly, lost - compared to back then, you really haven't grown at all."
The Third Herrscher laughed loudly, eyes full of disdain.
"Why not just give up struggling and hand your body over to me obediently? As long as I'm here, Kiana won't suffer even a scratch!"
"Never!" Mei gritted her teeth, forcefully steadying her mind.
If she transformed into a Herrscher in this situation, once they entered that white space, things would spiral out of control.
She might even hurt others who were pulled into this world with her.
As for the bomb in her heart, it seemed to have stopped working in this world.
Earlier, when "Kiana" attacked, the Third Herrscher had briefly appeared, though before she could counterattack, they were thrown into this world.
But Mei clearly knew that the bomb hadn't started its countdown then.
So now, she needed to focus entirely on fighting against the Herrscher's consciousness.
She absolutely couldn't let her take advantage of her negative emotions to make a comeback.
However, just then, a strange visitor entered this consciousness world.
"How interesting, looks like I've accidentally found some good entertainment~"
The red-clad girl hopped between them under their watchful eyes, then as if celebrating, she pulled a party popper that seemed to appear from nowhere.
Confetti flew through the black and white world, and from any angle, this red-clad girl seemed thoroughly bizarre.
"Who are you?"
As the words fell, purple lightning descended from the sky, instantly turning the girl to charcoal, but in the next moment, a violent explosion burst from that blackened "corpse," leaving the Third Herrscher slightly dazed.
"Oh my~ big sisters, don't be in such a hurry~"
The sudden touch on her shoulder startled Mei. She looked back to see that same bizarre girl in red.
Now, her eyes seemed to emit a strange light, her cherry blossom-shaped pupils trembling rapidly, looking somewhat insane.
"Big sisters, Hanabi is so bored. Since you both want to find that Kiana so badly, why not let me help?"
"I'll definitely create the grandest reunion for both big sisters!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The girl named Hanabi laughed maniacally, and with her laughter, this mental world that had belonged to the two of them was transformed into an amusement park filled with Hanabi dolls.
Meanwhile, after escaping pursuit, Bronya finally caught her breath.
Heaven knows what she had just been through.
Since arriving in this world, everyone's gazes toward her had become strangely peculiar.
At first, Bronya hadn't paid much attention, but gradually, she realized things were getting serious.
It started with people taking photos, shooting pictures of Bronya from a distance, then stalking, and when they saw the girl hadn't shown any substantial reaction, it finally evolved into this crazy pursuit.
Fortunately, in the end, Bronya met the group she had briefly encountered in the space before, finally escaping from those people's clutches.
"Thank you, Bronya is deeply grateful." Stepping out of the mechanical shell Welt had temporarily constructed, Bronya bowed slightly, expressing her gratitude to everyone.
But for some reason, when she looked up, she could clearly feel that although their gazes were different from others, they were still extremely strange.
'Is Bronya some celebrity in this world? Why do so many people recognize Bronya?'
Rubbing her fingers, Bronya felt somewhat awkward.
"This child... though I thought she looked similar before, seeing her up close now, she really looks exactly like Silver Wolf."
March 7th stared at Bronya's expressionless face, musing.
"And her name is even Bronya..." Stelle paused, unconsciously comparing her to that Great Guardian.
"Do you think this is what Bronya looked like when she was young?"
With Stelle's words, the topic began to drift further.
For Bronya, she had actually stopped understanding partway through.
But it didn't matter - looking at the numbers displayed on the panel, she had found answers to her speculations.
[Herrscher] [Find all companions 2/4]
Yes, just as Bronya had guessed, combined with this construct's abilities, without doubt, the man called Welt before her was the leader of Anti-Entropy.
And moreover...
Floating slowly to Welt's side, Bronya gazed intently at his complex expression.
If she wasn't mistaken, this person must be from their future.