Honkai: Strijder (Honkai Impact 3 Male MC)

"Not too long, really. In the Sea of Quanta, there are all kinds of world fragments. If you want food, it's quite easy to find."

Kevin replied candidly, making Su's complicated expression freeze.

"...That's good to hear."

Su turned his face away, pretending to act nonchalant.

It was... a bit awkward.

Due to his guilt toward Kevin, Su had always unconsciously imagined Kevin's situation as being as tragic as possible. Combined with his constant acceleration of parallel world observation, his brain was a little overwhelmed... He had completely overlooked the existence of those world bubbles.

Kevin slurped down the last of his noodles, put down the bowl, and sighed contentedly.

"This taste really brings back memories."

"If you want, I can make it for you anytime."

Su smiled warmly, looking at Kevin with eyes full of gentle hues.

An intangible yet harmonious atmosphere flowed between the two handsome young men, one cold and one mild.

Sigurd looked up and rubbed his chin uncomfortably.

"Can we stop spreading this... gay vibe for a moment? Wait until I leave, then you're free to go on."

Sigurd broke the warm, nostalgic reunion scene with a blank expression.

Kevin: "I love Mei."

Su: "I like girls!"

The two explained in unison.

Sigurd, however, maintained his blank expression, making it impossible to tell whether he believed them or not.

After a moment, Su shook his head helplessly and said,

"In any case, it's good to see you, a hero of the current era... Or should I call you, Your Majesty the Emperor?"

"The meeting started at midnight, and before the day is even over, Otto has already told you about it? You two must be in close contact."

Sigurd frowned slightly.

Reviving Kallen required two keys: the first was the method of resurrection, namely the "Life Equation" in Sigurd's possession. The second was touching the time node from 500 years ago to ensure that the resurrected Kallen was exactly the one Otto wanted.

Otto was currently researching the second god key himself, with the Cosmic Juggernaut being central to that effort.

Thus, after finding Su years ago, Otto maintained contact with Su, using the power of the Cosmic Juggernaut through him. Meanwhile, Sigurd had provided Su with life-prolonging technology. Seeing value in the VALUKA project and Su's voluntary 24/7 effort, Sigurd allowed him to continue.

But the close connection between Otto and Su made Sigurd wary. Could Otto, that cunning schemer, have other plans in mind?

For instance, after Kallen was resurrected, might Otto simply use the Cosmic Juggernaut to escape with her for safety?

Su chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't misunderstand; it has nothing to do with Otto. Even though I'm not in the real world, if I want to see what's happening in our reality, I can observe some things. Your decisions have a significant impact, and I subconsciously paid attention."

"I need control over the Cosmic Juggernaut... It's not about you, but you know Otto's personality. It's better to be cautious."

Sigurd spoke righteously, his expression calm as ever.

Su scratched his face and nodded obediently.

"Alright, I'll add you to the access sequence."

Sigurd nodded with satisfaction, his frown disappearing.

'Ah, Otto, you're such a convenient scapegoat. Truly my dearest friend,' Sigurd thought, silently praising the increasingly quirky archbishop with great satisfaction.

At this point, Kevin raised his hand and hesitated.

"Um, I also—"

"No. Controlling the Cosmic Juggernaut requires immense mental strength and intelligence, which you're not qualified for, Kevin."

"...Alright."

What Su said was final, and since Kevin didn't know much about it, he had no arguments.

With that settled, Sigurd calmed down for the moment, saying nothing further.

The two long-separated friends couldn't help but continue their conversation.

"Kevin, all those years drifting in the Sea of Quanta must have been hard on you. It must have been difficult, right? Here, this is tea and snacks Otto sent in earlier. I've kept them well-preserved, hoping to use them to entertain you someday."

Su spoke apologetically, carefully pushing the tea and snacks toward Kevin.

Kevin sipped the tea and said blandly,

"Not really. The chaotic energy and quantum beasts posed no threat to me. Instead, I learned how to use quantum energy, even gaining the ability to command quantum creatures comparable to Honkai beasts. Also, in the various strange world bubbles, I saw many different landscapes and even learned to construct my own world bubbles.

Overall, aside from the Honkai energy being slightly insufficient, I gained a lot. I feel like I'm several times stronger now than I used to be."

Kevin clenched his fist, looking both indifferent and somewhat satisfied.

Su's expression froze again.

Wait, something seemed off about this script.

Although Kevin's well-being genuinely relieved Su and made him feel much better, getting even stronger? What kind of nonsense was this?

Back in the Previous Era, Kevin could already smash a dual-god key-wielding Su with his bare hands. And now he was several times stronger? What kind of beast was this?

In the Previous Era, Su had already felt that Kevin and the other MANTIS seemed like different species. Now it seemed that might actually be true. 

"Ah, I see. That's good, that's good... Ahem, in any case, being able to see you again makes me really grateful. By the way, I never properly thanked Sigurd. If it weren't for him providing the life-preserving technology, I would've been dead by now, unable to talk to you."

"Your lifespan... shouldn't be that much shorter than mine, right?"

"The Cosmic Juggernaut can anchor parallel worlds, but when I observe those worlds, they observe me too, from a quantum physics perspective. In short, my time syncs with theirs during observation.

I can't skip the process and directly see results, so I have to constantly search for suitable parallel worlds and accelerate observation. My own time thus flows as quickly as the worlds I observe. Combined with mental strain... My lifespan ran out years ago. I almost died with the regret of not seeing you."

"I see..."

Kevin raised his hand and patted Su's shoulder, looking equally grateful.

Then Kevin turned to Sigurd, his eyes softer.

"Thank you. Thank you for what you did for Su."

Kevin expressed his gratitude twice. The kindness of saving his close friend was something he had to remember.

Sigurd nodded calmly, accepting the thanks.

Great assist!

Su, you're incredible—agreeing to share the Cosmic Juggernaut's access, helping boost his impression with Kevin, and still willingly working 24/7 on the VALUKA project as a model employee. Su truly was a good comrade!

Sigurd made a mental note: once back, he'd find some quality tea and snacks to gift Su as a reward.

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