Out of everyone Alex could've assumed as to who Elysia would've gotten to guide him, he definitely never didn't expect a mysterious cloaked figure to be her choice, especially with how open and bubbly she was.

Granted, Alex wasn't just gonna assume the worst and decided to just roll with it, most likely he didn't really have a choice.

"Uh, hi. My name's Alex. Are you the one Elysia appointed to be my guide?" He asked.

The cloaked figure didn't respond but did nod their head.

"Okay okay. Uh, what's your name?" He asked.

The figure didn't respond again and simply just walked past him, towards the rift that would begin Alex's first run through the Elysian Realm.

'Guess she's shy.' Thought Alex as he followed suit and entered the rift himself.

To sum it all up in a nutshell, it was pretty much exactly ae Elysia had described it to him.

It was a straight up 12 floor gauntlet of enemies to take down and after Alex had slained a floor's enemy group, he was greeted by two or even three doors to choice from.

The boy remembered Elysia telling him that he had a choice to meet one of her friends upon doing so but throughout his whole run, he never really ran into anyone else which he honestly would've appreciated having someone to talk with since his guide was the complete opposite of that.

Whenever he was done with the floor, he would always notice the guard just kind of off in the distance, minding their own business.

Even when Alex had reached the mid way point's rest floor, his so called "guide" still didn't bother to strike up a conversation on how he was doing or feeling throughout his run.

Eventually, Alex would arrive at the Final 12th Floor, taking down the boss enemy with relative ease as after doing so, a teleporter back to the lobby would appear.

Before he'd return, he walked over to a nearby piece of rubble to sit down on, resting for a moment.

While he did, he saw the cloaked figure actually approach him for once and from the way they were standing, Alex could tell by their body language that they wanted something.

"What do you want?" He asked.

".......................why're you here?" They asked, their voice being a feminine one.

"I'm here to help a friend find answers to questions she has regarding the Honkai. We were told that this Realm has all the answers we need." He responded.

The cloaked girl simply nodded before walking towards the teleporter. Before she stepped in, she'd tell Alex one last thing.

"Leave this place. The answers you two seek aren't worth it. All they'll lead you to is despair, and death."

Those were the last words she said as she'd enter the teleporter and returned to the lobby.

Alex was just baffled at how sudden and honestly quite blunt she was with her words as he had zero clue on how to react or respond.

'The hell was all that about? That was, certainly bizzare.' He thought.

Once he felt rested enough, Alex would get up and step onto the teleporter as he was sent back to the lobby, ending his first run through the Elysian Realm.

Upon arrival at the lobby, he saw that his guide was no where to be seen as he looked around and saw Elysia waving at him from the couch, seemingly awaiting his return as Alex walked up to her.

"Hi~! Welcome back." She said in her usual sweet tone. "How was your first time?"

"It went fairly well. How long ago did you and Mei return?" He asked.

"Hmm, only a few minutes. Mei's currently resting in one of the guest room's down the hall next to the couch." She said as Alex nodded. "So, how was the guide I selected for you?"

"Uh...................."

Alex really didn't wanna be rude about his guide's lack of interaction as to not hurt Elysia's feelings but the elf girl had a soft sigh, seeming aware of what he was gonna say.

"She didn't talk much right? That's okay. That's her usual m.o. She doesn't really talk much with others besides me. I always try to get them to interact with her but they always give her the cold shoulder. Truth be told, I assigned her to you in the hope that you'd be able to be her friend. I can tell that girl is longing for bonds but because the others just push her away, she's never given an oppurtunity." She explained.

"Ms. Elysia, I understand all that and I really appreciate you looking out for her but, if she doesn't really try herself to come and talk to me, then this plan of yours won't go that far. Be that as it may, I'll try to strike up a conversation whenever I can." He said.

"That's good enough. Thank you Alex." She said.

"So, what now?"

"Well, you could go back in and do another run to keep your progress going but I wouldn't advice it. I can tell you're tired so going back in without any help is reckless. I'd suggest you take a nice nap in one of the rooms. You'll be full of energy in no time. I told Mei to keep the room next to hers occupied until you return."

"Alright. Thank you Ms. Elysia." He said.

Alex would walk down that hall and soon saw Mei standing by a door that was seemingly his.

The two waved hello and greeted one another quickly before they entered their respective rooms.

Just like the lobby, the room was very fancy with lots of beautiful and neat furniture as Alex quickly laid down on the bed and immediately fell asleep.

[Hours Later]

After a nice rest, Alex went right back into another run through the gauntlet as to not waste any time and immediately catch up to Mei.

Though this time around he didn't have a guide, he found that it wasn't too much of a hindrance as he was able to make progress easily.

That and despite Alex waiting for around 10 minutes in the lobby, she never showed up.

Currently, Alex had just arrived near one of the final few floors after selecting his door, though this time he did come across one of Elysia's friends.

Unfortunately, it was someone he already knew as he stood behind Kevin Kaslana.

Alex instinctively placed a hand on his Olympus' handle, ready to withdraw and strike however he quickly came to his senses.

'Don't be stupid Alex. This is just Kevin from the past. This one isn't the one I have an issue with.' He thought, calming down as the past Kevin turned to face him.

"Did my future self also send you here just like that Herrscher?" He asked as Alex nodded. "I see. Good. I hate explaining this to every new guest who comes here. Since you're here, you must be ready to pay the price to find what you seek."

"I've been ready for a while now." Said Alex as Kevin remained silent for a moment.

"Those eyes, the way you look at me, it's full of uneasiness and distrust." He said.

"If you knew what kind of things you attempted to pull in the present day, in your case the future, then you'd understand. I'm aware though that taking it out on you is stupid. You aren't specifically the Kevin I hate." Explained Alex.

"I see. Proceed on then." He said, walking aside as Alex continued on, Kevin seeing him leave before walking away.

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Chapter 5: Complete