Easy to say, Alex's day to day life within the realm was fairly simple as all he really did was enter and accomplish as many gauntlet runs as he could before tiring out and then interact with whoever was in the lobby by the time he was done which most often was Elysia or Mei.

Despite being solely focused on catching up to Mei as quickly as possible, his mind still lingered on the cloaked girl and what Elysia had told him.

Considering the fact he had barely been here for a few weeks, it was a pretty tall task of Elysia to want him to establish a friendship with that call and essentially break her out of her shell.

Especially when the girl herself was very adamant on not wanting Alex and Mei to proceed on their mission.

Needless to say, the boy definitely had his work cut out for him.

Currently Alex was on another one of his runs through the realm but this time, sometime out of the norm would happen.

As he arrived at one of the floor, Alex was suddenly met with a blast of very cool, almost blizzard like air as the boy had to shielded himself with his arms.

Once the blast of cold air went away, Alex opened his eyes to see what would've been the enemies he'd battle already defeated, some completely frozen and others having ice shards pierced through them.

'Seems I've got an unexpected guest.' Thought Alex as looking ahead, he saw someone standing in the middle of the pile.

It was a rather tall girl, seeming to be around Mei's height, with very long pink ears above her head which matched with her long pink hair and purple eyes.

The girl wore a navy blue jacket over a white t-shirt, white socks, black shorts, a black and blue glove only on her right hand, and blue high boots as she wore black and blue headphones around her neck.

It took a moment for the girl to notice Alex there as the boy had to call out for her attention.

"Uh, hello?" He awkwardly said as the girl turned to face him.

'Those long ears. Elysia also had unique ears, so I'm assuming her ears are also because of that MANTIS fusion.' Thought Alex.

"I've been expecting you." Said the girl which made Alex a little confused.

"Uh, you were?" He asked as she nodded.

"My name's Sakura. If I remember correctly, you're Alex Mustang right?" Asked Sakura as Alex nodded.

"You're right. How do you even know me?"

"I've been informed about you by Elysia and that Herrscher girl."

"Hm? You've met Mei too?"

"Indeed I have. She's quite the character. As you know, this whole sim is based on the Previous Era. A Herrscher helping humanity was far beyond plausible during our time."

"Yeah I know. I'm well aware of that. So, why exactly were you here for me?" Asked Alex.

"Elysia wanted someone to check in on your progress so I volunteered. These enemies dropping in were unexpected however. I must say, the progress you've made is quite remarkable. Your swordsmanship is impressive for someone at such a young age. Despite that, there is still much you can learn." Explained Sakura as Alex nodded.

"I know. I really appreciate your praise though." He responded as she nodded.

"I'll be on my way now. Good luck."

Right as Sakura was about to leave, Alex for some reason felt the need to at least ask someone other than Elysia about the cloaked girl.

"H-Hey wait. I uh, have a question." He said.

"What is it?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you're familiar with a cloaked girl. The one that Elysia's very fond of."

"Yes. I'm aware of her. What of it?"

"Is there anything you know about her? Even the most minor detail is enough." He asked.

After a few minutes of waiting, he'd get an answer.

"Unfortunately, I don't know all that much about her. She seems to not be a very sociable person just like me. I can relate to her on that. I do know that the reason Elysia is very fond of her was because the girl was abandoned by her family at a very young age. Elysia essentially brought her in, seeing her like a daughter." Explained Sakura.

'I see. Maybe that's why Elysia wants her to form relationships. That way she doesn't have to solely rely on her.' Thought Alex.

"It isn't my place to say, but while Elysia's heart in the right place, I do think that she's being a little overbearing in how she goes about it. The girl should form her bonds naturally. Not through forced means."

That was all Sakura said as she left, leaving the floor and headed wherever.

'Sakura has a point but if what Elysia said is true, then how can the cloaked girl form natural connections if everyone keeps pushing her aside? Ugh. Why do I have to managed something so complicated?' Thought Alex as he sighed to himself.

He decided to just continue on and think about that whole situation another time.

After finishing up the current excursion, he returned to the lobby and the first thing he was greeted by was none other than the cloaked girl.

This had been the first time Alex had seen her in a while so he was pretty confused on what to say.

"Why?" Said the girl.

"Hm? What're you talking about?"

"I told you already, didn't I? Progressing further would only lead you to ruin. The answers you seek aren't unobtainable. Why continue to reach for something that doesn't want to be obtained?" She asked.

"What makes you think those answers are unobtainable? Times are different now. What you think was impossible back then could very well likely be possible now. I'm not guaranteeing that we'll succeed, but if there's a chance then it's a chance worth taking regardless of what's to come ahead."

Despite Alex's positive outlook on his situation, it did nothing to change the cloaked girl's pessimism as she sighed.

"You're such a fool to view things that simple. Time may change, but the Honkai doesn't."

Those would be her last words before she walked off, again leaving Alex unamused and confused.

'Not to be a dick but, I'm really not surprised she has zero friends if she's that pessimistic. God damn she's a huge buzz kill.' Thought Alex before leaving the realm, calling it a day.

After that day, time went on normally as Alex went back to his daily routine as he'd slowly learn more and more from Elysia about some residents that he had yet to met though from how she described them, the boy was less than enthused to meet some of them.

Yet again, he saw zero signs of the cloaked girl and was honestly starting to give up on trying to be her friend despite him not wanting to hurt Elysia's feelings.

Right now as Alex was about to enter for his latest excursion, he heard someone call out to him.

"Alex."

The boy turned around to see Kosma and Griseo who was waving walk up to him.

"Oh, hey guys. Been a while, huh? What's up?"

"Griseo heard from Elysia that you were allowed into the Elysian Realm. She really wanted to accompany you on one of your trips." Said Kosma.

"Uh, I really appreciate that Griseo but why? I don't really see anything all that exciting about it." Said Alex as Griseo simply shook her head no.

"I'm interested to see what your colors are like." She said which confused Alex.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll understand in due time." Said Kosma. "I'll make sure we're both out of your way while you move from floor to floor."

Griseo nodded in agreement as Alex sighed.

"Alright then. Hope I don't disappoint my audience then." Said the boy as the three walked through the rift, unaware that all three had been watched from a distance within the lobby.

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Holy fudge I'm back.

Wait what? I said fudge not fudge.

Wait a minute...............oh son of a biscuit! Boothill stop messing with my fudging English! Let me swear!

Chapter 6: Complete