Alex tried to get Kevin to elaborate more on what he just said but the Sire just went back to his usual silence, not having another response.

The boy just sighed as he quietly followed Mei over to the hallway that lead to the entrance of that Realm as they walked down the hall.

As they were, Alex then realized something.

"Shit. What if I don't spawn where I'm supposed to?" He questioned.

"Hm? Did you not first appear in the lobby?" Asked Mei as Alex shook his head no.

"Nope. I appeared in some outdoor area in a grassy field surrounded with a dusk like sky and a large castle in the distance. I was able to find a teleporter thankfully that took me to the lobby. I'm worried that I might be sent elsewhere again." He said.

"Well, maybe that was because you entered without permission. I'm sure now you'll appear in the lobby." Reassured Mei.

"I highly doubt some albino shithead giving his permission will cause that big of a difference." He responded, quickly shooting down Mei's optimism.

Shortly after that conversation ended, Mei tugged at his sleeve, signaling that the warp to enter was about to happen.

The two would stop moving as they closed their eyes, the white flashing light quickly enveloping them like last time.

Once he eventually regained consciousness, Alex opened his eyes to see Mei still standing next to him as the two indeed had now spawned in the lobby.

Mei noticed this and gave Alex an look that essentially said, "told ya so", as Alex just rolled his eyes.

"Hi~." Said a near sing-song like voice as the two looked ahead to see Elysia sitting on the couch as she waved at them. "Welcome back, you two."

The elf girl would approach them as Mei would inform her on what just went down.

"Elysia. Alex here has officially been given permission to explore the Elysian Realm." She explained as the elf girl's expression was joyful upon hearing that.

"Really? That is wonderful! Glad to have you here, Alex~!" She said, happily shaking his hand as the boy just awkwardly shook back.

"Y-Yeah........" Was all he could really say as Elysia eventually backed away.

"Now then since Alex here is new, allow me to explain how this works. The main goal for you two is to find answers regarding the Honkai that only exist here, in this long since forgotten realm. Not many know of our story and what we went through except for one person. I sincerely hope that at the end of your journey here, that your experiences will be great ones." She said, sounding very serious and genuine for once.

"That person you're referring to, is it who I think it is?" Asked Alex as Mei answered for him.

"It is. Elysia here is an old friend, partner even of Kevin's during the Previous Era. They were both mantises, aka people who were fused with the DNA of a Honkai Beast." She explained.

"So, similar to Theresa essentially?" Asked Alex as Mei nodded. "That explains the ears then."

"I understand that Kevin might not be the most approachable or even socialable person but hopefully when you've fully witnessed our stories, you'll come to understand why he's become who he is today." She said.

Alex knew it was better to just roll with it instead of just stubbornly ignoring her so he nodded.

"Be truthful with me. Is this really the place where Mei and I will get these so called 'answers' we seek? The Kevin of the present day didn't exactly elaborate on much." Asked Alex as Elysia had a light giggle.

"Mei asked that exact same question when she first got here as well. Anyways, I'm fairly certain that Kevin didn't explain much because he trusts that you, just like Mei, can figure out the truth for yourself. He didn't lie however. The Elysian Realm is indeed the place where everyone comes to fulfill their wishes and find their answers. Think of this place as, one where preserved memories are left behind to remind future generations to follow in my and my friends' footsteps so they can reach bigger heights. That's the purpose of this place, at least that's how I like to view it is." Explained Elysia.

Alex was silent for a moment, simply just taking in all of what Elysia had just said before finally moving on as he nodded his head.

"Alright that's enough. Thanks for the info. Now then, how about progression? How does that work?" He asked.

"It's fairly simple. Think of it as a gauntlet." She said before pointing at the large rift. "Upon walking through that, you'll be sent into a 12 Floor challenge of enemies with a rest stop being located halfway on Floor 6 and with Floor 12 having the toughest enemy."

'Why does this feel like a video game?' Thought Alex as he found this a little weird but thought nothing else of it as Elysia continued to explain.

"Upon defeating the enemies on a floor, you'll come across a few rifts in which you'll choose what path you'd like to follow for the next floor. From there you'll get to see my friends. I surely hope they'll leave a good impression on you."

"I've made quite some progress so unfortunately you'll have to be on your own for a bit. I'm sure you'll catch up in no time however." Said Mei.

"I'm positive I'll be right with you in a few days. Just you wait." Confidently said Alex.

As Mei went to stand by the rift to begin her usual work, Elysia would inform Alex of one more thing.

"Before I go, people like you need guides to help them traverse across the floors so they don't end up getting lost. I've been Mei's guide helping her through this place. No worries though. Before you got here, I already managed to get one for you. Just have to wait a bit she arrives."

With that, Elysia and Mei walked through the rift as Alex decided to sit down and wait on the couch for whoever his guide was gonna be.

As time passed, it felt like an hour had honestly passed as Alex was very sleepy and starting to fall asleep.

'Holy hell. Where is this person? Did Elysia lie to me?' He thought.

Right when he was nearly about fall asleep for good, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway next to the couch.

This quickly snapped Alex out of his drowsiness as he sat up and turned to face that direction.

After a bit, he saw a figure step out from the hallway, though who it was that stepped out certainly wasn't what Alex expected.

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Chapter 4: Complete