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

9. ANOTHER TOUR WITH MISS 'PINK' & A POTENTIAL 3RD TRIAL

Elysia: "Welcome back."
Elysia:  "You've done well."
Elysia:  "No, I should say... you far exceeded my expectations."
Elysia: "I'm glad to see you're getting used to this place and closer to our journey to the past."

Back in reality, Elysia was already waiting.

Elysia:  "See?"
Elysia:  "Because of your choice, the flowing memories are condensing."

Elysia revealed Mei some kind of emblem, ring, charm...
It resembled of the Previous Era organization long ago—in the realm, it looked pretty new.
If it was during the past, it would have long turned to sand.

Mei:  "Is this the symbol of... the MOTHs?"

Elysia:  "Yes, every member has a unique MOTHs emblem."
Elysia:  "It reminds me of my first assembly."
Elysia:  "Sakura, Kevin, Mobius, Y/n, me..."
Elysia:  "Everything started on that day."
Elysia:  "I've heard 25 years of service could get you a golden emblem."
Elysia:  "We placed bets on this, but no one got it."
Elysia:  "Since the MOTHs didn't last very long."
Elysia:  "Here you go."
Elysia:  "Because of this, it brought my most important partners to me, and I hope it can do the same for you."

Mei took the emblem and felt the weight of what an item made of memory felt like.
Mei:  'It still feels as if I'm holding an actual emblem in reality.'
Mei:  'I'm pretty sure I can't take this to the outside world, I better need to find a place to keep it for now.'
Mei:  'Speaking of which, I haven't checked the other rooms in the lobby yet.'
Mei:  'Let's go check it out.'

Mei proceeds to walk in front of the room to the right of Elysian Realm's entrance.
Mei:  'The war room?'
Mei:  'Is that necessary for Elysian Realm?'
Without further ado, she walks straight in.

TIP, TAP...
TIP, TAP...
TIP, TAP...

There were so many computers and holograms that peaked Mei's interest.
There were results of many scans of common enemies and other Honkai monsters she has yet to see in her current world...
Mission here, there, everywhere...
Statistics of Honkai energy some sorts in all corners around the place.
Last but not least, there was a holographic map of the whole earth that showed different tack marks all around the globe.

Mei: "What are these marks for?"

Before she could walk further, 'she' appeared once again.

???:  "Barging into someone else's room doesn't show good manners."
She says, walking in right after Mei.

Mei:  "Sorry, I didn't know it was your room."
Mei:  "The sign says 'War Room'."

Elysia: "Just a joke."
Elysia:  "Even if it is my room, I'll let you do whatever you want to do."
Elysia:  "You're even welcome to walk in at any time."
Elysia:  "Come, let me show you around."

Mei follows after Elysia, making their first stop in the War Room.

Elysia:  "Mmm... it's a bit messy, but let's start here anyway."

Mei:  "This place is...?"

Elysia:  "So as I've said, Elysian Realm was constructed with memories, so you don't necessarily have to take the trial in your own form."
Elysia:  "Here, you can fight in any of your historic forms, or even as someone else in your memory."
Elysia:  "It's unimaginable in reality, and it brings a whole new experience to your journey."

Mei:  "I remember you let me enter Elysian Realm in my strongest form before."

Elysia:  "Yeah, but not again, unless of course... you allow me to explore your mind freely."

Mei:  "I think you already have my answer to that."

Elysia:  "Boring, but if that's what you want, then I can't stop you."

Mei:  "Regardless, I believe fighting in this form is already good enough for me, I don't want to use any of my old battlesuits nor fight as anyone else except for myself."

Elysia:  "Suit yourself, this is you yourself we're talking about."
Elysia:  "I did say it's an option, not a necessity."
Elysia:  "If you don't want to, then you don't have to."

Mei:  "Hm."

Elysia:  "Now that we got that out the way, let's come over here."

They both proceed to make it to the farthest point in the room labeled, "Diverging Paths".

Elysia:  "This place... you can see it as the training for the MOTHs."
Elysia:  "Remember the crystals you found in your exploration?"
Elysia:  "They can help you awake... the power sleeping in you."
Elysia:  "The more crystals you add, the more effective you'll be when in Elysian Realm."
Elysia:  "Trust me, there were drastic changes when our descendants did this, and they could tell of the differences."
Elysia:  "If they could tell, then you can as well."
Elysia:  "That you feel the difference than how you used to be before."
Elysia:  "So, how is it?"
Elysia:  "Do you think it will help with your exploration?"

Mei:  "More or less."
Mei:  "But I'm curious."
Mei:  "Why is the furnishings inside different than the general style here?"
Mei:  "Is there any reason for that?"

Elysia:  "Not really, maybe just... a tiny issue with maintaining consistency."
Elysia:  "I didn't want any trouble, so I said nothing of the furnishings."
Elysia:  "Looking back now, I can say I have some aesthetic differences with the lady in charge."
Elysia:  "Kevin should have supervised the process, but you know him."
Elysia:  "Everything fell on my shoulders, what could I do when he outranked me?"
Elysia:  "Sometimes I feel the MOTHs are just too 'reasonable' to care about the process instead of just the result."

Mei:  "Outranked?"
Mei:  9I didn't know there was a hierarchy within the group."

Elysia:  "I didn't tell you?"
Elysia:  "Maybe because you seem like an old friend and somehow I thought you knew."
Elysia:  "But don't mind about the ranking too much."
Elysia:  "It's just a number."
Elysia:  "For a group of people working together, there has to be some structure and some rules set otherwise things would get messy, right?"

Mei:  "What is your rank, Elysia?"

Elysia:  "Mine?"

Elysia crept up a smile, displaying a presentation thinking deeply of how she should address the matter.
But to her, it was an easy, simple, and short answer.

Elysia:  "I'm ranked second among the thirteen."
Elysia:  "Besides Kevin, I'm the other leader of the Flame-Chasers."

Mei:  "The second?"

Elysia:  "Don't be nervous, the group was founded on my proposal, and I decided the ranking order."
Elysia:  "Of course, I sought everyone's decisions before making my choice."

Mei:  "I thought you would be a bit lower from your appearance."

Elysia:  "I beg to differ."

Mei:  "..."

Elysia:  "Well then, now that we did what we needed to do..."
Elysia:  "Did you remember everything I told you?"

Mei:  "Yes, I have."

Elysia:  "You ready to try again?"

Mei:  "Yes."

Elysia:  "Come one, time for another trip to Elysian Realm once more."
Elysia:  "Let's see if it gets easier for you this time."
Elysia:  "Also, Mei..."
Elysia:  "The emblem I gave you, remember to wear it."
Elysia:  "It can help you in the trial. You can tell it's instantly noticeable."

Mei wore the emblem and followed behind Elysia to the Elysian Realm gate.

Elysia:  "You ready?"

Mei nods.
Mei:  "I'm ready."

Elysia:  "Okay then, I'll see you later."
Elysia:  "I'll be here monitoring, so do your best okay?"