Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

Li Mo, seeing this scene from the sky, felt a faint, elusive glimmer of light flicker in his ashen eyes. It vanished in an instant.

The Corruption on his body was too heavy; he was on the verge of becoming a Ghost. At this point, the Corruption from any single Ghost could be the final push that turned him.

"I need to find Raiden Mei. I can't delay any longer."

Li Mo held out his right hand, his blurred vision catching the trails of Corruption flowing over it.

He hadn't granted the auditorium door those three rules on a whim. He had done it to make himself more complete. He hadn't sensed Raiden Mei's presence within his perception range before, which meant she wasn't in the Far East, nor in the neighboring land of Shenzhou.

He had no more time to waste. The longer he delayed, the deeper the Corruption would become, and the more expensive the price for "Wishing" and "Usurping" would be.

He had to find the last unaccounted-for member of his family as soon as possible—the Bizarre being, Bizarre Raiden Mei, an anomaly created by the real one to hide herself.

Before setting out, Li Mo carefully assessed his own condition.

He had usurped the "open the door and be beheaded" rule, the Cat Granny's assimilation rule, and the Bizarre Pistol's suppression rule.

The price was that his head, right hand, and skin had all become Bizarre, just like his Mei-left hand. They were no longer human. It was irreversible, unfixable.

Even if Elysia were still alive, she couldn't remove or transfer this condition. It had become his most fundamental attribute, deeply branded into the root of his soul, just like the Mei-left hand.

Li Mo expanded his perception. This time, it covered the entire Earth and the nearby moon. If he wanted, he could even extend it to the Milky Way, but there was no need. It would only add unnecessary Corruption.

Wherever his ability reached, Corruption would spread, though it would take a very, very long time for that small amount to grow. The Corruption from just his perception ability probably wouldn't even take form by the time the sun died.

"Found her."

Under his omnidirectional Bizarre perception, Bizarre Mei's location was precisely pinpointed.

Europe. Vienna.

Raiden Mei... she absolutely should not have been there. Nagazora City was in the Far East, a great distance from Vienna. While that distance meant little to an Bizarre being, Li Mo couldn't think of any reason for Bizarre Mei to be there.

Bizarre Mei was just a timid, self-deprecating, and introverted personality of Mei. She didn't seem like the type to travel to the other side of the world for no reason. If it had been Dr. MEI, Li Mo might have pondered if some secret lay behind it.

No matter how much he guessed, he had to see her and ask in person.

Li Mo moved quickly toward Vienna and soon arrived in the dead city. It was no different from the Far East—corpses littered the ground, and a hundred ghosts paraded through the night. Most of the surrounding areas were in even worse shape than the Far East; not a single living person remained.

Li Mo followed the aura to the seaside. Bizarre Mei was sitting on a reef, gazing quietly into the distance. Even when she sensed Li Mo behind her, she didn't turn around.

Li Mo: "..."

Bizarre Mei: "..."

An uncanny repetition. The two of them stood there, not a word spoken.

"Who are you?" Li Mo's tone was gloomy and heavy, as if he were interrogating a criminal. At the same time, he drew his cursed blade without hesitation, its tip aimed at the familiar yet strange Mei before him. If her answer was anything less than satisfactory, he wouldn't hesitate to strike. Facing a Bizarre Mei who could "Wish," he had to strike first.

"Put down your blade. We are not enemies," Mei said, slowly turning around. Her expression was detached. She subconsciously reached up to adjust glasses that weren't there. Realizing her mistake, she smiled sheepishly, closed her eyes, and let out a mournful sigh as she lowered her hand.

"How can you prove it?"

"Prove it? That is indeed a serious topic. But I think proving my abilities is more practical than proving that I am myself. After all... Brother, you came looking for me to make a 'Wish,' didn't you?"

Bizarre Mei smiled and held out her hand. Faint specks of light gathered in her palm. The next second, the light coalesced into a pair of black-framed glasses, which Mei expertly put on.

With the glasses on, Mei's face took on a confident, mature look. Her deep eyes made Li Mo see an illusion of... Dr. MEI.

"Are you... MEI?" Li Mo's voice was like a frostbitten autumn leaf, withered and desolate, devoid of life. His dead eyes showed no emotion, but the slight pause in his voice betrayed the longing in his heart.

Unfortunately, that longing was destined to be shattered the moment Mei spoke.

"Brother, you shouldn't be so slow in your Fourth Death State. I've already proven it. I am a personality created by the Bizarre Mei. I am Mei, not Dr. MEI."

"...You ate her."

"Ate? Not in the strict sense. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you these things."

"Why not? I have the right to know."

"...What if I told you that MEI was behind all of this? Why the Bizarre suddenly spread through the Main world, when we were here to stand guard. Nothing should have gone wrong, right?"

"What... are you... saying?" Li Mo's expression was incredibly dark. To allow the Bizarre to spread... that was something he could never accept.

"Just kidding. Otherwise, you'd keep asking me why I act and talk so much like Dr. MEI, and that would be very troublesome for me."

Li Mo stepped forward, reached out with his left hand, and grabbed Mei's head. He enunciated each word clearly, "Then I'll just have to see your memories for myself."

Mei didn't resist. Instead, she spread her arms wide, letting Li Mo do as he pleased, a calm smile still on her face, as if she didn't care at all what he would do to her.

"And so, Brother, why are you so certain you can see my memories? You should know, I am a... complete... Bizarre being. How fragile is a human's consciousness against a Ghost's rule? You should know better than I do."

"I knew you would come for me, so I already made a 'Wish' before you arrived. I sealed my memories. Besides myself, only a more complete Bizarre being can see them."

"But the truth will not disappear," Mei said suddenly, her tone serious. She took Li Mo's wrists with both her hands and gently lowered them. Her expression was grave, then it bloomed into a brilliant smile. "Your world will one day see the light of day again."

"..."

"Only mine?"

"I'm sorry. Brother, I understand your desperate need to know the truth. Please forgive me for being unable to answer that question. You are too sharp. If I answered correctly, you might be able to guess something, so I cannot answer."

Mei's attitude was firm. No matter how Li Mo probed, she refused to speak clearly.

Faced with such a resolute Mei, Li Mo said, "Don't you feel guilty for hiding this from me? I can't accept my family dying so inexplicably. I can't... accept it. Do you understand? Raiden Mei."

Li Mo gripped Mei's shoulders with both hands, calling out her full name, his eyes staring straight into hers.

As expected, after he said those words, Mei's resolve clearly wavered. Her expression began to flicker. It was like her human consciousness was fighting against the Ghost's rule, though the struggle was faint. Mei was not Bizarre Mei; rules were constantly clashing within her.

"No, I can't tell you, and I won't. You came to me for no other reason than to have me 'Wish'."

"To 'Wish' to save everyone is unrealistic. To 'Wish' to reverse time is even more impossible. Even if it succeeded, the immense amount of Corruption it would generate would turn everyone involved into Bizarre. It would defeat the purpose, and everything would be for naught."

Mei stiffly changed the subject. She couldn't dwell on the word "guilty." Dr. MEI had entrusted everything to her—her wisdom, memories, judgment, even her way of thinking and her train of thought, without reservation. She absolutely could not let everyone down.

Li Mo was silent for a long time, his eyes shielded as if by a thick layer of clouds. He lowered his head, as if examining his own heart.

"Then 'Wish' for me to become an Imposter after I become a Bizarre. Just for me. You can do that," Li Mo said calmly, his hands falling from Mei's shoulders.

Mei's eyes flashed, and she took the initiative to take Li Mo's left hand. An imperceptible trace of Corruption and a rule hid themselves within the trails of Corruption on his hand, waiting to erupt.

Mei suddenly laughed, a faint desolation on her face. She smiled bitterly and said, "I can. I will lose this current personality after making the 'Wish'. At that time, the Bizarre Mei within my body will emerge. But please don't worry, she will instinctively create a Bizarre personality and hide within it. The new Bizarre personality will no longer be me. For certain reasons, I will not let her have memories of you, Brother, or Dr. MEI, or Felis, or Sister Ely, or Senior Kira."

"After the new Mei is born, she will, just like in the beginning... walk in a world devoid of people."

"And you could very well die during the transformation process. This outcome... Brother, can you accept it?"

Mei asked Li Mo a question to which the answer was already clear.

When Li Mo became an Bizarre, he wasn't meant to become an Imposter-type, but a "Wish" could change that outcome. There was a process involved.

In transforming the original outcome into the "Wished" outcome, if Li Mo's human consciousness couldn't hold on, he would become a mongrel, neither the Bizarre being named Li Mo nor an Imposter possessing Li Mo's soul.

At that point, Li Mo would truly vanish from every world, every corner. The risk was self-evident.

Faced with this outcome, Li Mo answered without any hesitation: "I am not afraid of death, because my friends, my family are there too..."

Li Mo closed his eyes, paused for a second, and then added, "Compared to my own loss of humanity, my own consciousness crumbling, I am more afraid of being unable to save the people I love because of my own weakness. I hate the feeling of being powerless. So you understand, this risk was already taken into consideration from the very beginning."

"No matter the cost, I will save all of you."

Mei narrowed her eyes, looked at Li Mo, and a bitter, dry smile appeared on her lips.

It's because you think and act this way...

That's why Dr. MEI didn't dare tell you...

"Alright."

Mei took a step forward and hugged Li Mo.

Her Bizarre right hand was filled with specks of light, which she slid and caressed over the Bizarre Stigma on Li Mo's back.

At this moment, she cast aside Dr. MEI's memories and mannerisms, and faced Li Mo with the frankness of the Mei personality created by Bizarre Mei.

At least before she died... she had to show her truest emotions in front of her family. This was her final wish before death.

"Brother, Mei will ensure that there's no possibility of your consciousness crumbling..."

"The worst-case scenario is that after you become a Bizarre, you will become an Imposter whose will and actions are similar to yours. Please rest assured, it will still retain your soul. One day, your consciousness will reawaken."

"Mei will give everything she has to protect you."

"And... Brother, you must remember, you absolutely must remember..."

Li Mo asked in return, "Not to forget you?"

Mei shook her head. "You must remember that we will always be on your side. No matter what happens, please believe in Dr. MEI. She has always been trying to turn this imperfect story into the one you wish for."

"What do you mean?"

Li Mo wanted to ask more about Dr. MEI, but a jumble of Corruption began to assault his consciousness. This wasn't just Corruption; it was a rule manifesting as Corruption, continuously washing away the original Bizarre trails on his body.

His left hand, with its "Usurp" Bizarre ability, was transforming. It was no longer as delicate and fair as Mei's, but had reverted to Li Mo's original left hand. But the Corruption on it only increased. The Bizarre Stigma on his back grew even redder, as if weeping tears of blood that soaked through his clothes.

Li Mo's five senses were temporarily stripped away. A faint "Wish" echoed intermittently in his ears, then disappeared completely.

His mind was a chaotic mess, unable to think, unable to remember. This was the potential consciousness collapse caused by the "Wish," but it soon eased.

Why?

Had Mei "Wished" for something extra?

In a daze, Li Mo heard Dr. MEI's voice:

"People always focus on something important other than themselves. After I die, traces of my existence will still remain here. I am curious if you will care about these traces, and even more so, if you will remember them in a certain moment when they disappear from this world... these insignificant yet precious traces that once existed but are now gone."

"After that, use a lack of logic to create a logic that belongs only to you. Make everything into the form you like best in your eyes."

"If you truly hold someone in your heart, and you acknowledge their thoughts, respect their choices, and admit their value."

"Then, you should go and fulfill their dreams. Practice their ideals, understand how beautiful and broken things are in their eyes."

"This is the path I have followed."

"Ultimately, what this world recognizes is not empty words, but real, tangible effort."

Li Mo lost consciousness. Mei looked at Li Mo's cold, stern face, a bitter smile on her pale lips, and added one more thing:

"Your 'Wish' is my 'Wish'."