Honkai Impact: The Serpent's Tale

Chapter 23: Mind Games

"Seele..............are you sure you aren't imagining things?" Asked Bronya in a serious tone.

The last time she had seen and heard from him was prior to when he and Mei had arrived at Nagazora.

In fact it had been even longer since she last saw him in person, that being back during Sirin's awakening a year ago.

Seele noticed the slight desperation in Bronya's voice so she closed her eyes and tried to remember more clearly as to not give her hopes up.

Though she still wasn't able to get a completely clear picture of what had happened in the theater, more memories came back to her and sure enough, Alex was in them.

"I'm sure of it Bronya. Alex was there. We walked through the theater together. I guess we wound up escaping at the same time, but he ended up somewhere else." Explained Seele.

Bronya kept quiet for a moment before having a sigh of relief after knowing that he was still safe somewhere out there.

"Okay. We'll report back to Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla once we return. Let's resume the investigation." She said as Seele nodded.

[A Few Days Later, Elsewhere]

'The wind...........it feels so nice.......'

Currently, Alex was alone on the roof of Serpent HQ as he just stared out into the city not saying a word.

After all how could he?

What he witnessed in that weird theater was way more than anything he had expected.

The image of his shadow self being broken down piece by piece from skin, to muscles, to bones, down to even his nerves and organs was harrowing.

It was, traumatizing to say the least.

'Whatever that puppet could be, it's clear what game it's trying to play. It asserts control through mind games and not pure intimidation.' He thought once again as he shook his head in frustration. 'Whatever it's plan may be, I won't let it get to me again.'

The door to the rooftop would open as Alex turned and saw Mei approach as the boy waved hello.

"Raven told me you were up here. She said how you looked a little out of it and even pale. Are you sure you're okay? Come on Alex you can tell me. We're friends after all." Said Mei.

As much as he really wanted to tell her, Alex felt like it was in his best interest if Mei wasn't involved with whatever was going on, at least not yet.

"Sensei's just overreacting. I'm fine. Just a little overworked from all the crap Jackal constantly has me do." He said.

Mei simply sighed as that answer didn't really ease her concerns however she knew that was as much as she was gonna get out of him.

"Don't be afraid to ask me for anything okay? I'll help in an instant." She said, waving him goodbye before leaving the rooftop.

The boy would stay on the roof for a while longer before deciding to head out for a walk to clear his mind.

After having a brief chat with Jackal with the girl warning him to not stay out for too long or else, he went out into the city for a bit.

Unlike last time when he had ran into that Hua clone, it thankfully wasn't raining.

As he walked along the streets, he heard a commotion nearby.

'Probably some petty theft or something.' He thought as the city usually was crime-ridden at this time of hour.