"Mei, are you alright? Sorry, I think I might've gone a little overboard last night."
Elias looked apologetically at the girl in front of him, silently reflecting on his failure to hit the brakes on his desire.
If Mei were to take public transportation right now, she'd definitely get offered a seat—because giving seats to pregnant women is just basic human decency.
Of course, Mei wasn't actually pregnant. But her lower belly was clearly swollen, for reasons best left... unspecified.
"Elias, don't you have something else you need to do?"
Covered entirely under the blanket, Herrscher Mei spoke calmly.
"Uh, huh?"
Elias blinked in confusion.
"Didn't you say yesterday you needed to go to that place called the Sea of Quanta? To rescue someone? I don't really get it, but if it's to save someone, there's no time to waste. Go on."
"...Alright."
Elias let out a helpless chuckle and nodded.
It was obvious she was trying to push him out the door. After pressing a kiss to her forehead, he left the room.
Just like Herrscher Mei had said, there was no time to waste when it came to saving someone. By now, Seele had been trapped in the Sea of Quanta for nearly a year—Elias couldn't bear to let her suffer alone any longer.
So without hesitation, he activated his Quantum Authority, fully converting his body into quantum state and temporarily leaving the physical world.
Meanwhile, back in the bedroom—
"Ugh! That was way too embarrassing! I can't believe Elias actually—he actually..."
Herrscher Mei's face was bright red as she covered it with both hands.
Just remembering what had happened the night before made her want to scream in shame.
She had started off so proud and dominant, completely pinning Elias beneath her. But who knew he'd have that much stamina?! Hours went by and she still couldn't break him!
Only when she finally ran out of strength did Elias start counterattacking—and quickly turned the tables, reducing the mighty Queen of Thunder to a helpless, defeated mess.
She had planned to conquer Elias.
Instead, she was the one who had been conquered.
Thinking back on the things she'd blurted out in a daze while begging for mercy, she couldn't maintain her usual cool and regal demeanor. She cursed herself for losing control—but also... couldn't entirely blame herself.
It wasn't that she was weak.
It was just that the opponent was too powerful.
If Elias hadn't held back, she'd probably be in a state even worse than foaming at the mouth and throwing up peace signs.
"!~...%...*"
Mei clutched her long hair and let out an undignified screech.
"Coward, I'm handing things over to you now."
"W-wait! Other me, this is too sudd—"
"Hmph! Just you wait, Elias. One day, I'll make you truly submit to me."
In the mental space, Herrscher Mei forcibly tagged out and shoved the main Mei personality to the front.
On the surface, it looked like the queen was keeping her promise to share the body.
But Mei knew better—she had just been too embarrassed to face Elias anymore.
No matter what her words said, the Queen of Thunder probably wouldn't be showing up again in front of Elias for a while.
"...Eh~"
As her awareness returned to her body, Mei opened her eyes and looked around her room.
She didn't even know what to say.
She could only sigh, speechless.
The bedroom that had become a battlefield the night before was now in ruins, as if a tornado had swept through it—chairs overturned, curtains shredded, paintings askew, shattered vases, and white goose feathers from torn velvet pillows floating everywhere…
Those two had really gone wild last night!
Still, Mei didn't feel the slightest bit upset. On the contrary, her mood was quite good—after all, she'd been part of the madness too.
Once a certain queen passed out from sheer exhaustion, Mei had briefly taken over… though she lasted only a few minutes before collapsing herself. Still, she had technically gotten her turn.
"Anyway, I should wash up first... Ugh! Why won't my legs listen to me? They're sore and numb…"
She limped her way to the bathroom.
Looking up at her reflection in the mirror, she froze, eyes wide in surprise.
"Eh? This power is still here?"
She realized she was still in her Herrscher of Thunder form. While the massive gauntlets weren't visible, the crimson horns atop her head were proof that she still retained her powers.
Mei instinctively reached up to touch the horns—last night, Elias had found them quite handy to grip… Ahem! Anyway, she could clearly feel that she still had control over electromagnetic forces through her Honkai energy.
"Other me... you didn't take the power back?"
"Hmph. You're too weak. Without my power, how will you protect him?"
"...Thank you, other me."
"I don't need your thanks, coward. Elias is in your hands now. But if you let him get hurt—I won't forgive you, even if we share this body."
"Mm. I understand your feelings."
Mei pressed a hand to her heart, full of gratitude.
Herrscher Mei had shared her Authority with her. From now on, Mei could freely wield the power of a Herrscher.
Perhaps because they shared the same soul, Mei could sense her other self's thoughts. It wasn't just Elias' plea that made the queen yield the body.
Herrscher Mei knew.
If she remained by Elias' side, her own personality would cause problems. She was too proud, too forceful, too overbearing.
She could only show gentleness to Elias. To everyone else, she was cold and indifferent. Deep down, Herrscher Mei realized she couldn't stay by his side normally.
So she entrusted her power to Mei—to the gentle, kind, and dependable version of herself. So that she could be the one to remain beside him… and protect the one they both loved.
"So this is the power of the Herrscher of Thunder!"
At that moment, Mei felt like a queen. The lightning in the air responded to her, kneeling and rejoicing in her presence. With a mere wave of her hand, a red bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
The immense power thrilled her. She was no longer that helpless, timid girl—she now had the strength to protect what mattered most.
...
Inside the Sea of Quanta—
Elias opened his eyes again.
"...Well, this is something else!"
He couldn't find the words to properly describe what he was seeing.
It was too surreal—more outrageous than any dream. Anyone seeing it for the first time would immediately know: this was not the real world.
Everything around him was tinged in blue, giving the illusion of a deep, mysterious ocean. But Elias knew the Sea of Quanta wasn't truly a sea.
The Sea of Quanta was a dimension of infinite possibilities, existing in contrast to the Imaginary Tree. Elias, through his Quantum Authority, possessed a heightened sense of perception within it.
At the moment, he had already detected several "bubble universes."
However, all of them were either already destroyed or on the verge of collapse. Their internal structures were unstable, dangerous, and not worth exploring.
"...It really is beautiful, I'll give it that. But now's not the time for sightseeing... Seele, where are you right now?"
Elias reached out with his senses, trying to locate the girl he had come here for.
Trying to find Seele by eye would be more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack. The Sea of Quanta was vast beyond comprehension—possibly even infinite, with no known edge.
If he were to rely on luck alone, he could search for a thousand years, a lifetime, and still never cross paths with her among the countless bubble universes.
Luckily, he had a way to sense her—a reward he had received after his second journey through space-time: Seele's Stigmata.
"Hm... what a strange sensation. Even from this far, I can still feel her presence. It's almost like... I've become something similar to Dark Seele?"
Elias muttered to himself.
The fused Stigmata on his back had grown warm. Within it, Seele's mark was reacting faintly to another Seele's presence somewhere nearby.
Though the Stigmata didn't significantly boost his combat ability, its properties were unique. Thanks to it, Elias could enter Seele's mental space.
He could even, like Dark Seele, temporarily take over her body to fight. At that point, "Stygian Nymph" might as well be renamed to "Stygian Trio."
"This direction, huh? Wait for me, Seele."
Fortunately, in the Sea of Quanta, distance was a loose concept. Even separated by vast spans, it was still possible to perceive one another.
After locking onto the direction, Elias immediately sped forward.
Along the way, he encountered a few Quantum Shadows—monsters native to this space—but he had no interest in engaging them.
That lost butterfly was just ahead.
And Elias was going to bring Seele back to the real world—no matter what.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven