Y/N, THE 14TH MEMBER OF THE FLAMECHASERS: An [Honkai Impact 3rd] Mini-Story

14. ELYSIAN REALM: THE FOURTH JOURNEY

Mei: 'Here we go again for the fourth time...'

Mei states as she makes it to the Elysian Realm's first floor...
For the fourth exact time.
There's one thing that clouds her mind.
That only reason is exactly why she's here...
And she knows what is expected of her if she fails to make it to them.

Mei:  'A new MANTIS... this will be the fifth out of the thirteen I've seen so far.'

She of course had her doubts.
What will they look like?
How will they be towards her?
Why is it that they have similar minds?
What is it that makes them similar?
...
...
...
But she payed no mind.
She decided to drop those thoughts as it was insignificant to think of now.
Because she knows that she will know of them when she gets there.

Elysia: "Don't forget to take this before you go."

Mei: "Oh, thanks, I'll get going."

Elysia: "Of course, be careful now."

The lightning Herrscher proceeded to the two portals that gladly opened way as she made her approach...
Setsuna.
Deliverance.

...
...
...

ZAP!
She lands onto the space where she'll first meet Deliverance.
Her first wave enemies immediately spawn, just normal honkai monsters such as Archangel and two Chariot attack her on the spot.
They were confused, but she was aware of what happened.
They initially thought they attacked her.
Mei was standing in front of them, sword at hand.
Unknown to them, they were immediately gathered in one point.
Then... SLICE!
Mei took no chances of putting them down altogether, activating her QTE.
It was slow for a few moments before the environment reverted back to normal time.

One, two, and...
SLAM!
Her sword cracked the very earth's crust, as if it torn the solid ground apart.
The repeated crackling sounds of lighting, the overpopulation of thunder filled the space and air around them.
...
...
...

Soon, it all came to calm.
Only the sounds of waveless air blew ghostly around the atmosphere.
It was now a clear empty space again, like how it was when she came here.

All there was left was the inverted impact, the place where the enemies once were...
Now completely dispersed, scattered away like tiny shattered honkai cubes.
Mei could see a hint of the last small honkai cube float into the air before shining out.
She accomplished her first wave, now she just had to deal with the rest of the remaining.

Not even seconds later, her second wave of enemies spawn around her uninvited.
There was a few MECHs that stood next to one another in one line, attacking her from their direction, causing multiples after multiples of barrages to come at her all at once.
She moves on along to slash them apart unaffected.
She charged at them with full force, not holding not even an inch back of her power.
The crackling of thunders spread across the space once more, filling in the gaps and spaces so that her enemies don't leave.
From there, they too left this world.

...
...
...

Moments later, it all became silent again.

There it was again.
That calming yet chilling feeling.
But what was it?
Was the space too quiet?
Or...
Was someone here?

She knows.
It was not just a feeling.
It was not someone's presence either.

No...
It was both.

The physical and emotionally cold.
He was right there standing in front of her.
He was here with his hands crossed with his usual cold expression.
The SIM of 'him' that sent Mei here.
He appeared only to give his signet to his successor.

Mei: "..."

Kevin: "..."
Kevin: "...What?"

Mei: "..."
Mei: "Nothing, I'm not used to seeing you here."

Kevin: "It's my era, I belong here whether your decision is personally biased or not."

Mei: "Well, I know that for a fact."

Kevin silently hands Mei his signet and simply walks away.
Mei on the other hand, sees him leave before silently making her way to the next two opened portals...
Setsuna.
Vicissitude.

...
...
...

A new space appears before her.
Same routine, same cycle, same known enemies.
As she was done with her enemy waves on the second floor, the bearer of Setsuna appeared before her.

Sakura: "Mei-dono, I assume you're here to meet a new Flame-Chaser within our ranks, correct?"

Mei: "Yes, I am."

Sakura: "I need you to be on your guard as well as possible. This next one you'll meet is one of my partners, the dangerous one which I might add."

Mei: "The dangerous one?"

Sakura: "I won't go into further detail, you'll see for yourself when you meet him."
Sakura hands out her signet to Mei.

Mei: "Sure thing."

Sakura: "After all, it's a matter of time for you to get used him."

Mei: "What do you mean?"

Sakura: "Go see for yourself with your own eyes. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean, Mei-dono."

Mei follows her advice and keeps going.

...
...
...

Third floor.
Fourth floor.
Fifth, sixth, seventh...
Eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh...
And eventually...
She made it to the final floor.

Where she'll meet her worst nightmare.