Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles? (Chapter 467-468)

Chapter 467: Seele's Resolve

"For the third time, Seele... wake up!"

A familiar voice, tinged with anxiety and concern, was like a gentle hand brushing away the fog of consciousness, pulling Seele from a deep slumber. For the third time, she experienced the helpless, exhausting feeling of sleep paralysis.

"I... Where am I?"

Her long eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her dazed eyes. Bronya was still sitting by her bed, but the room seemed much brighter. The familiar details in the patterns on the walls and ceiling were reassuring. This was her room.

Coming to her senses, Seele hurriedly turned her still-stiff neck and eyes, but to her disappointment, Lin Wei was no longer there.

"I... I'm back again..."

For some reason, amidst the disappointment of falling short at the last moment, Seele felt an even greater sense of relief.

"Seele, you're awake... What are you looking for?" Bronya's voice, a mix of joy and confusion, rang out. It was the first time she had seen Seele look so anxious right after waking up.

"...Bronya Oneechan, you still don't remember?"

Though she already knew the answer, Seele couldn't help but ask. This feeling of being "reborn" every time she opened her eyes wasn't pleasant.

"Remember what?"

As expected, Bronya's expression turned to confusion. She couldn't help but start looking around as well. Seeing this, Seele sighed softly and murmured, "She should be coming in now..."

BANG!

As if on cue, the moment the words left her mouth, the door was kicked open violently. Sin, radiating a frosty chill, burst in. She tossed the prey she was carrying at Bronya's feet and then began to shout impatiently, "Hey, Bronya, how much longer are you going to stay here?"

"Sin, you're just in time. Seele's awake. I think she was just looking for you," Bronya said with relief. Sin's sudden entrance provided a perfect explanation for Seele's odd behavior just now.

"Hah? Her? Looking for me?"

Sin was taken aback. Her mismatched eyes flickered toward the bed, and then she sneered, "Forget it. Look at her, she's trembling just from me looking at her. Tsk, still the same pathetic look. It's so annoying!"

"..."

Perhaps the painful memory of the beating had been triggered. The moment her eyes met Sin's, Seele did indeed flinch, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest. Then she heard Sin's undisguised mockery.

"Sin, Seele just woke up!" Bronya shot her a displeased look. Can't you tone it down a bit at a time like this?

Sin pouted and shot Bronya a glare, but she didn't say anything more insulting.

The next second, the usually quiet Seele spoke.

"Sin, thank you..."

Seeing the usually ferocious Sin again, after a moment of instinctive fear, Seele felt an inexplicable wave of gratitude.

"Huh?"

Now Sin was completely baffled. Her eyes widened, and she waved a hand in front of Seele's face, then waved it again. Then she turned to Bronya and said, seriously, "Something's wrong with Seele's brain. I just insulted her like that, and she's actually thanking me?"

"..."

Bronya didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Thank you for going out to hunt in this cold weather. These two rabbits... Seele likes them very much. Thank you." Seele propped herself up, her voice as soft and weak as ever.

"..."

Veliona couldn't handle such a direct approach, and neither could Sin. She froze for two seconds, then kicked the prey at her feet with an annoyed grunt, turned, and stomped away, leaving a parting shot.

"Tch, don't get any ideas... I'm leaving!"

Before she had even finished speaking, the door had slammed shut. Bronya's hand, which she had been about to raise to stop her, had to be awkwardly lowered. She could only smile wryly.

"That Sin..."

"She's as mischievous as a boy, isn't she? A bit arrogant, a bit pretentious, and a bit clumsy. Who gives a patient a wild rabbit to eat!"

In this second loop, Seele felt much calmer than before, and she could even manage a heart-stopping smile.

"...Yeah, she's always doing things that make you not know whether to laugh or cry." Bronya smiled helplessly, then looked back at Seele. "You've been in a coma for a few days, so you must be very weak. Don't go outside for a while. Come, drink some water first. Then I'll go to the kitchen and make you some porridge. After you eat, you can have a good sleep."

Although she was happy to see Seele so cheerful and wanted to chat with her a bit more, just having her awake and safe was enough to satisfy her. There would be plenty of opportunities to chat later.

"Okay."

Seele nodded obediently and let Bronya help her up, propping her against the pillows. She craned her neck as Bronya gently fed her a large glass of warm water, then watched with a gentle smile as she left the room.

Click.

The door was gently closed, leaving her alone in the room. The smile on Seele's face gradually faded. She raised a hand to touch her right side, where a rib should have been broken, then touched her cheek, which should have been red and swollen.

Now, everything was back to normal, without a hint of pain or discomfort.

"I really... came back again..." Seele murmured. Each loop felt like an incredibly vivid dream. Besides her memories, there was no proof that any of it had actually happened.

"Yeah, back again," Veliona's voice echoed from the depths of her mind. Unlike White Seele's relief and confusion, she only felt a sense of unwillingness. "Damn it, we were so close..."

In her view, returning to the beginning of the story for a second time was a complete failure.

As for seeing Bronya and Sin again, she felt nothing special. She only cared about Seele, about herself. As for everyone else, she couldn't care less.

"Yeah, we were so close..." Seele agreed, then smiled gently to comfort the fuming Veliona. "It's okay, other me. Look, we've already successfully met that person once, haven't we? That's huge progress!"

Somewhere along the line, the girl who was once full of pessimism and gloom could now comfort others with an optimistic tone.

"Hah, I guess so. At least we know what the guy looks like now, so we're not flying blind like before." What's done is done. No matter how unhappy Veliona was, she had to accept it. "But how come you don't seem sad at all?"

This isn't right. Usually, it was White Seele who was crying and blaming herself, and she who had to comfort her like a nagging mother. Why was it suddenly the other way around today?

"Bronya Oneechan and Sin are both back to how they were at the start. Of course that's something to be happy about. As for Mr. Lin Wei..." Seele pulled the blanket up to her chest and smiled slightly. "We can just leave with him the next time we meet, can't we?"

The bad things had been erased, but the gains had been kept. Wasn't that the best possible outcome? she thought, quite content.

"Alright..." Veliona said, as if admitting defeat. "Back to the main topic—we're back at the beginning. What's your plan this time?"

The last time, her rash actions had caused a lot of trouble, and seeing Seele so sad and in pain had made her feel guilty for a long time. This time, she planned to calm down and not be so impulsive.

"We don't have to do anything!" Seele smiled again, brighter and more relaxed than ever before. "Look, Mr. Lin Wei has already been to the orphanage once, so we just have to wait here patiently!"

Why was there any need to do anything extra?

"...That's true." Veliona paused, silently chiding herself for being too impatient and not thinking of something so simple.

Since Lin Wei already knew where the orphanage was, he would definitely make his way here on his own. There was no need for her to overcomplicate things, which could easily lead to them missing each other again in the vast snowy plains.

The correct answer was presented before her, so simple and straightforward. For a moment, Veliona felt like this third loop had entered garbage time from the very beginning...

"That guy won't get lost, will he?" Veliona muttered suspiciously. "After all, last time he was brought back by Bronya. What if he can't find it on his own?"

"That's a possibility," Seele said after a moment's thought. "Yesterday... no, in the last loop, Mr. Lin Wei was brought to the orphanage by Bronya Oneechan at night... If I'm not mistaken, Bronya Oneechan discovered we were missing around noon that day, and then left the orphanage in a hurry. Then at some point, she caught Mr. Lin Wei, and finally came back here with him..."

"Are you saying we should set a deadline, say, until tomorrow night?" Veliona said. "With Bronya leading the way, it only took a few hours to get back here. Now he has a whole day and night. Tsk, even if that guy is an idiot, he should be able to find this place by tomorrow night!"

They both referred to Lin Wei, one politely as "Mister," the other dismissively as "that guy." Their tones were completely opposite, yet neither corrected the other's "mistake."

"You're right, other me, we do need to set a deadline. But... we can't wait until tomorrow night." Seele nodded, then shook her head, paused, and bit her pale lips. "Because, at the latest, Mother Cocolia will be back here by dusk tomorrow. We... can't wait until then."

"Huh? That woman did that to you, and you're still calling her 'Mother'?" Veliona said in disbelief. "The Cocolia in this world bubble is even worse than the one in the original world!"

"I know she... did very bad things to us, but..." White Seele hesitated for a moment, then said, "If Mother hadn't taken us in, both I and Bronya Oneechan would have been wandering in different places, and we would never have had the chance to be together. We might even... have died young from the cold and hunger..."

Seele thought of her even more terrifying and helpless childhood experiences and couldn't help but shrink back. After a few seconds, she came to her senses and straightened up, a bright smile returning to her face. "Never mind, let's not talk about that. In short, we can't wait until tomorrow night. We have to act before Mother Cocolia comes back. Otherwise... Bronya Oneechan and Sin will..."

The thought of the X-10 experiment, hanging over them like the Sword of Damocles, made her scalp tingle. She gritted her teeth and said, "You're right, other me, we can't just sit and wait. Tomorrow noon... we'll wait until tomorrow noon at the latest! If Mr. Lin Wei isn't here by then, we'll have to find a way to act on our own!"

"Seele..."

Veliona was stunned. It was the first time she had seen Seele so motivated, so proactive.

No, the second time. The last time was when she had volunteered for the X-10 experiment and, despite her protests, had forcibly unlocked the power of the Stigmata...

Seele always seemed to summon an unexpected courage when people least expected it.

"The last loop, the reason you were in such a mess was because I was too hesitant, too weak. If I had been a little braver then, you wouldn't have had to carry my burden as well, and you wouldn't have..." Seeing Veliona's confusion and surprise, Seele said apologetically, "To let the people around me pay the price for my own weakness; that kind of thing that makes you feel pain and regret from the bottom of your heart, I never want to experience it again!"

She couldn't help but shrink back slightly, a little scared.

Thankfully, this is a world bubble, not my own world.
Thankfully, this is a time loop, where all mistakes can be corrected.

But... what about after I return to my own world?

If I continue like this, the next time I face something that is already irreversible, what can I do besides feel pain and regret?

I can't be like I was in the past, hiding in a corner and deceiving myself, weakly turning a blind eye to everything that's happening, passively waiting to be saved...

So, after these two lessons, I have to learn to stand on my own two feet!

"...Alright." Veliona was silent for a moment. Seele's growth made her feel gratified. "Have you thought about what to do?"

"Actually, I haven't yet..." Seele lowered her head in shame. Then she remembered the last words she had heard before her consciousness faded completely. A surge of courage welled up in her heart, and she firmly encouraged herself, "But Seele will definitely try her best!"

Chapter 468: Home

The next morning, when Bronya came to Seele's room, she once again saw her sitting by the window, staring blankly into the vast distance as if searching for something unseen.

Wait, why did I think "once again"?

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.

Bronya shook off the absurd feeling and walked over, gently reminding her, "Seele, it's cold by the window. You've just recovered and you're still weak. It's better not to stay there for too long."

The same concerned words as she remembered...

"Okay."

Seele nodded obediently and got up to walk to the dining table.

Bronya had already neatly arranged breakfast on it, warm steam curling up invitingly, as warm as her sentiment. Perhaps because the mountain was snowed in and supplies needed to be conserved, the breakfast on the plate wasn't particularly lavish.

Seele sat down, picked up a piece of bread, and gently pushed the remaining piece in front of Bronya.

"Bronya Oneechan, let's eat together," she said softly.

She remembered that Bronya's portion of breakfast had been snatched away by the ever-unruly Sin.

"It's okay, Seele. There's still more in the kitchen..."

Bronya was about to refuse, but the next sentence caught in her throat.

"It feels like it's been a very, very long time since Seele has had the chance to eat with Bronya Oneechan..."

Seele's face was bright with a smile, her tone tinged with a distant sense of emotion and nostalgia. "Bronya Oneechan, please don't refuse, okay?"

"Uh, Seele..."

Bronya was taken aback. Although Seele's coma had been worrying, for Seele herself, it should have been just a long dream.

Why would she feel this way? She didn't understand, but as if infected by Seele's liveliness, a bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart, as if she really had been separated from the girl before her for a long time.

She nodded involuntarily.

"Okay!"

Seele beamed and pushed the plate further toward her. The two of them quietly shared the meager breakfast. Though they weren't full, for some reason, they felt more satisfied than ever before.

Looking at those sea-blue eyes, always as clear and bright as polished gourds, Bronya felt both gratified and puzzled. "Seele, I feel... you seem a little different from before?"

The eyes are the window to the soul. The old Seele was as fragile as a porcelain doll covered in thorns. Even Bronya had to be careful when approaching her, afraid of hurting the delicate girl.

But now, she seemed to have truly become a warm ocean, bright and accepting.

Seele paused, her smile turning a little bittersweet. "...Bronya Oneechan, you're still the same Bronya Oneechan..."

Her words didn't quite make sense.

Bronya tilted her head, confused. "Seele, what's wrong? Is something on your mind?"

She thought of the test that had caused Seele's coma. Could it be...

But Seele shouldn't have known about that experiment. Everyone had kept it from her so well. Even the test itself was just a routine procedure from Mother Cocolia. Every child living here had to go through it.

"..."

Seele shook her head, wanting to say something but holding back.

Then she pressed a hand firmly against her chest, as if steeling herself. With a determined and pleading gaze, she looked at Bronya, took a deep breath, and said, "Bronya Oneechan, let's... let's leave this place together? With Sin..."

Screech...

A sharp scraping sound echoed and then abruptly stopped. Bronya pushed her chair back and stood up, her face a mask of astonishment. "Seele, you..."

You knew about the X-10 experiment after all?

"This afternoon, Mother Cocolia will take you and Sin to participate in that terrible experiment..."

The next moment, Seele's words were like a small hammer, driving the answer home in her mind. "It's very dangerous. You could die... No, it's even more terrifying than death... I don't want you to..."

Thinking of the painful experience she had just escaped, Seele shivered violently.

So, Seele did know...

"Leave here? And go where?" Bronya let out a long breath, unsure if it was relief at a hidden secret being revealed or just a pure sigh of resignation. "Besides this orphanage, besides Mother Cocolia, we have no other home..."

"But..."

Seele became anxious, her heart aching. How could she not know this?

"I'm sorry, Seele. I shouldn't have hidden it from you, but I didn't want you to worry."

Bronya seemed completely unconcerned about the impending danger, her voice gentle. "Mother Cocolia promised me that if the experiment is successful, you will be able to gain the power to protect yourself in the future. Even if the experiment fails..."

Bronya paused, her tone dipping slightly. "Even if the experiment fails, the data from my experiment will at least increase your chances of success..."

Her thinking was that simple, which was why she had been so calm. "I'm sorry, Seele. I acted on my own..."

"So... that's how it is? So Bronya Oneechan... had the same idea as Seele..."

Tears welled up in Seele's eyes. She smiled bitterly. "In this matter, Bronya Oneechan, Seele, Sin... it turns out... we all acted on our own..."

To protect Seele, Bronya had silently participated in the X-10 experiment, even hiding it from her. If not for the accident, Seele probably wouldn't have known about the experiment until long after Bronya was gone...

To prevent Bronya from participating in the dangerous experiment, Sin had gone so far as to break her leg, inadvertently terrifying Seele in the process.

As for Seele...

She had simply, unknowingly, repeated what Bronya was going to do. And then, left Bronya alone to face a shattered reality...

Everyone had the best intentions, rushing to face that terrible fate, yet they had left the deepest wounds on their companions.

Could there be anything more darkly humorous?

"Bronya Oneechan... if you really didn't come back, what would Seele do?" Seele cried. "We promised to go see the sea together... How could she face such a sad reality if you did that?"

"..."

Bronya was silent. How could she not know this?

But, as a girl of only twelve or thirteen, she could find no other way to fight back than to take on her loved one's fate for them.

"Bronya Oneechan, let me tell you a secret..." Seele stopped her tears, sniffled, and revealed a misty, bright smile. "In the near future, it's Seele... who participates in this experiment for Bronya Oneechan!"

"That's impossible."

Bronya shook her head. The result of Seele's coma had been a great relief to her. How could Mother Cocolia let the less-suited Seele take her place?

"Of course it's possible, Bronya Oneechan, as long as... I show this to Mother Cocolia..."

Seele straightened her chest and gently pulled open the collar of her clothes. The simple yet intricately designed red pattern was laid bare before Bronya, shimmering with a life-like, crystalline luster.

"Seele... is the most qualified person to participate in this experiment!"

Who could compare to the holder of a complete Stigmata? Who would have a higher success rate than Seele, who possessed a complete Stigmata?

If even someone like her were to fail, what would be the point of continuing this terrible experiment?

"Seele, you..."

Bronya was so shocked she was speechless. Coming to her senses, she lunged forward and frantically pulled Seele's collar closed again. "Hide it!" she said, her voice trembling. "Don't ever let Mother Cocolia see it!"

Though she didn't know the full story, she could vaguely guess the inevitable consequences if the news got out.

"I know, Bronya Oneechan. You don't want to lose Seele, just like Seele is afraid of losing you..."

Tears fell from Seele's eyes once more. "This kind of thing... has already happened once. I don't want the Bronya Oneechan of this world to go through the same thing..."

"Happened once?"

Bronya was confused.

"I'm sorry, Bronya Oneechan. I... am not your original Seele. I'm a Seele from another world..."

Seele gritted her teeth and told the truth that would very likely provoke hostility. "Bronya Oneechan... can Seele tell you a story?"

"..."

Bronya's brain was slightly overloaded. She nodded blankly.

Then, as Seele's gentle voice washed over her, Bronya heard a story that sounded like a fantasy—

On the eve of the X-10 experiment, Sin ambushed her and seriously injured her. This was witnessed by Seele, who, after the initial shock and under the influence of another consciousness within her, used her newly awakened Stigmata power to exact a brutal revenge on Sin.

This was how she learned the truth of the experiment. She showed her Stigmata to Cocolia and took the place of the two injured girls on the experiment platform.

"..."

Seele's account was brief, but it made Bronya's heart clench with worry for a future she had never experienced.

As expected, the experiment was both a success and a failure. Seele had completely unleashed her Stigmata, but her body couldn't withstand such immense power.

She fell into the Sea of Quanta, and after a brief encounter with Bronya, who had forcibly initiated the experiment, she was plunged into an endless, lightless darkness.

Then, by a chance encounter, she fell into a new, yet familiar world. This was Seele's story up until now...

"Bronya Oneechan, I'm afraid of returning to my own world. I want to go back to my Bronya Oneechan, just like you would never want to lose your Seele..."

After telling her story, Seele said sadly, "I'm sorry, Bronya Oneechan. I lied to you, because the one who opened her eyes on the bed was never..."

"No, you are Seele... Seele is Seele, no matter if you're from the future or another world..."

A warm embrace enveloped her. Bronya rested her soft chin on Seele's shoulder. "I'm the one who should be sorry, Seele. I failed to protect you..."

In that moment, she finally understood why Seele had said "a very, very long time" earlier. It really had been a long and painful time...

"Bronya... Oneechan?"

Seele froze, looking at the gray-haired girl in her arms in disbelief. "You... believe me? I... I don't have any proof..."

"I don't need proof."

Bronya slowly straightened up, her eyes meeting Seele's. She shook her head slowly. "I believe Seele, because Seele would never lie to me. Not in the past, and not in the future."

Critical hit. Finishing blow.

Seele stared at her blankly, and before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face again.

"Bronya Oneechan..."

The girl who had been trying to be strong finally broke, throwing herself into the other girl's arms and wailing, as if to release all the long-suppressed sadness and longing at once.

That's right. No matter when, no matter which world, Bronya Oneechan is always so trustworthy...

Her sobs were so genuine, like a clear spring flowing through Bronya's chest, that she couldn't help but shed tears as well.

Will my Seele also be this lonely, sad, and helpless one day?

The mere thought of such a future was unbearable to her.

After an unknown amount of time, perhaps ten minutes, perhaps half an hour, a good cry finally subsided. Seele sat up again and saw that the front of Bronya's shirt was almost completely soaked. She blushed and went to the closet to get her another shirt.

Bronya changed, and after a quick look, she noticed it didn't fit well. The fabric on her chest was loose.

"No wonder you want to leave here with me..."

Subtly pulling the collar down, Bronya, who now understood everything, said with a sigh, "You want to find that person named Lin Wei, have him take you back to your own world, and then run away with the Seele of my world, right?"

"Yes."

Seele said, "Seele doesn't care if we're wandering, if we have no place to call home. The place where Bronya Oneechan is, that's real home..."

Perhaps because everything was out in the open, Seele was no longer holding back. "I think the other Seele, who is sleeping somewhere else in this body right now, must feel the same way!"

"Hey..."

Having been fed a mouthful of dog food for half a day, Veliona pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Hehe, you're right, Seele. The place where Seele is, is home..."

Bronya smiled slightly and brushed away the last tear from her earlobe. "When do we leave?"

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why Seele again.... this shit, hope she have more screentime in future and actualy affect the plot if the author already give this much content to her