"If I were to fuse the Tranquil Gem into myself, I should be able to become the Ruler of Death—or at least a semblance of the Ruler of Death. I recall that when Mei later became the Thunder Ruler, a new Conquest Gem was reformed within her body, causing the Conquest Gem within Kiana to vanish—and that saved Kiana at that time. If I were to take this Ruler Gem out of this world, might the Honkai just create another Tranquil Gem?"
After studying the Tranquil Gem for a while, Daniel realized that unless he fused it into his own body, any further research would be extremely difficult—primarily because he did not yet possess the technique to manufacture a Divine Key.
"It seems I really do need to make a trip to the Promised Land of Yore; some technologies are only available in the previous civilization."
Concluding that he couldn't push his research any further for now, Daniel temporarily set aside his work on the Tranquil Gem and turned to studying the Honkai Neutralizing Serum together with Dr. Makki.
He had indeed considered fusing the Tranquil Gem within himself. Regarding the invasive nature of Honkai energy—and the corruption of Honkai consciousness—he was confident he wouldn't be affected. The reason he hadn't done so immediately was that he planned to wait until matters concerning the Core of the Ruler of Reason were resolved.
As for making Xier the Ruler of Death, that could be decided later. After all, a Ruler Gem can be extracted at any time; when the moment comes, he could simply remove the Tranquil Gem and give it to Xier.
"Speaking of which, Xilin is truly blessed—she not only possesses multiple Ruler cores but also has the presence of Honkai Beast consciousness backing her. Had it not been for Fu Hua's Taixu Sword Qi that ultimately broke her connection, who knows what might have occurred after the Second Honkai Eruption? How could we possibly save her?"
Normally, each Ruler possesses one Ruler Gem. But look at Xilin—no sooner does she appear than she wields five Ruler Gems, and at her peak, even six. She even snatched the Core of the Ruler of Reason from Walter Young. Xilin's power grew somewhat inflated, and poor luck led her to face Siegfei—who, under Kevin's guidance, eventually defeated her.
If given the chance, Daniel wished to save Xilin. This Xilin isn't the current Kiana; she is the void aspect residing within Xilin—the evil side of Xilin's consciousness—while Kiana embodies Xilin's good side. Essentially, they are two halves of the same whole, doomed to self-destruction. In that regard, her situation oddly mirrors that of Mebius.
"Come find me so quickly—you'd better have made up your mind."
Inside a dormitory at St. Freya Academy, after inviting Walter to take a seat, Daniel smiled and said, "This is the Core of the Ruler of Reason. I want to know one thing: where is Kiana Kaslana?"
Walter replied by placing a black, diamond-shaped crystal on the table between them. "Isn't Kiana in her dormitory?" Daniel glanced at the Core and laughed. "I'm speaking of the real Kiana Kaslana." Walter said this with a stern expression.
"Siegfried has found you—this time he was clever enough. You should know, if I may speak openly, that I already told Siegfried about this. There's really no need to hide it any longer—wouldn't it be better if I said nothing at all?"
Once Siegfried learns the truth about Youlandel's identity, he will surely seek her out. Given Youlandel's character, as long as Otto isn't bent on destroying the world, she will never fall out with him. Not to mention, Otto owes her a debt of gratitude for her nurturing—besides, her very survival depends on Otto's help with her world bubble.
"Just as Einstein predicted." Walter nodded knowingly.
"You understand best. Now, let's discuss this Ruler core—I have many questions," Daniel said.
"Fusing the Ruler core isn't an easy task. The ability of the Ruler of Reason to fight for humanity is built on countless sacrifices," Walter began, recounting his own personal experiences with fusing his Core.
Compared to Kiana, Thunder Valkyrie Mei, or even the Wind Ruler Wendy, it seemed that those individuals could easily resist the seductive influence of Honkai consciousness. In Walter Young's case, he was able to overcome it only with the aid of over 300,000 souls contained within his Ruler core—allowing him to stand with humanity. But, as fate would have it, he is male.
This illustrates how difficult survival is for men in a Honkai world. In general, women possess a far greater resistance to Honkai energy; at worst, they become mindless soldiers, while men often don't even qualify for that fate.
"Don't worry—I'm fine," Daniel said, reaching for the Ruler core on the table.
"Wait—you don't intend to fuse the Ruler core here, do you? Are you planning to attract Honkai Beasts?" Walter immediately tried to stop him.
"In that case, let's move it somewhere else." Daniel then traced a golden light circle on the table, stepped into it, and Walter followed without delay.
"This is the Imaginary Space—you are the Second Ruler." Once inside the mirror space, Walter's expression grew animated.
"Is this magic? You should have sensed earlier whether I am a Ruler."Daniel wasn't surprised by Walter's comment about him being the Second Ruler. In this world, only a Void Ruler can manipulate space, and mirror space is essentially equivalent to Imaginary Space—even virtually identical, one might say.
"Magic?"
"Exactly. In a sense, I'm actually a magician."
With that, Daniel began fusing the Core of the Ruler of Reason. With the experience Walter provided, the fusion went remarkably smoothly. As for the corrupting influence of Honkai consciousness, it required no special intervention—the 300,000 souls within the core shielded him effortlessly.
"Three hundred thousand souls… that number is staggering. There's simply no way to resurrect them. I wonder if the soul of Walter, the First Ruler of Reason, is still present here?"
Daniel was very curious about this. Walter Young could apparently continue doing sit-ups—even if Xilin had destroyed his body and absorbed his core, he still managed to run away. Yet Walter Joyce did not.
"Eden Star."
While Daniel was fusing the Ruler core, as Honkai energy gathered in the mirror space, numerous Honkai Beasts began to appear. However, before they could get close to Daniel, Walter Young used a mimicked Eden Star to obliterate them all.
"Rulers who do not side with Honkai are not true Rulers. Frankly, aside from Xilin, who even now bears a semblance of a true Ruler, the rest hardly appear as Rulers at all—they cannot control Honkai Beasts, nor do they have accompanying Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. Wait—didn't Thunder Valkyrie Mei somehow transform Benales into her own 'Kurigallo'?"
In the previous civilization, every Ruler possessed a personal Judgment-class Honkai Beast familiar. The Thirteen Flame-Chasers had all integrated Honkai Beast genes—essentially all derived from these creatures.
"It appears you've fused very well. You truly have what it takes to be a Ruler," Walter remarked in mild astonishment at how effortlessly Daniel had achieved the fusion without any noticeable side effects.
"This core belonged to Bronie—I have no intention of competing with her for the Ruler's core."Daniel wasn't surprised by how quickly he had fused the core. After all, his own strength was clearly established. In comparison, Walter and Bronie were the ones truly deserving of admiration—each having leapt from ordinary human status into Ruler status almost overnight.
"Alright then—explain the Eden Star to me."
The very essence of a Ruler of Reason is that one can only replicate something after fully understanding it. This suited Daniel perfectly; much like alchemy, one must comprehend a substance before one can harness its power. Coupled with the Surgical Fruit ability, he was confident he could quickly master the powers of the Ruler of Reason.
"One person can be an entire army"—that was the power of a Ruler of Reason. Daniel now had the capacity to do what Walter once did against Xilin: replicate a modern weapon.
As for modern weapons, Daniel had no need to study them under Walter; however, a Divine Key was still necessary. The Ninth Divine Key was the only one Anti-Entropy possessed, and it was also Walter Joyce's specialty.
"This is the power of the Eden Star—the very power that could defeat a certain 'Yellow Ape'."
The speed of the Yellow Ape's "Shining Fruit" was blindingly fast; escaping was trivial. But when faced with a black hole, even he wouldn't be able to escape.
"According to the previous civilization, Eden deemed her highly suitable for this Divine Key. I wonder what form she'd take wielding the Eden Star."
With Walter's guidance and the Surgical Fruit ability, Daniel quickly mastered the method to replicate the Eden Star. Yet to wield it with proficiency would require time.
"Once something is copied, it forms muscle memory—it's actually encoded in your genes. Walter thinks that's useless. Next, we have the other Divine Keys: the Oath of Judah is no problem, and the Heavenly Fire Judgment and Yuduchen, as well as the Earth Treasury Guardian Soul, are also manageable. The critical ones are Black Abyss White Flower, the Cleansing Thunder of Seven, and the One-Carriage of the Ten Realms. Unfortunately, we don't know where the others are."
Since it was possible to replicate other Divine Keys, theoretically the Second Divine Key—the One-Carriage of the Ten Realms—could be replicated as well.
"It's a pity we have no information whatsoever on the Thirteenth Ruler. Is it truly the Ruler of Time?"In the previous civilization, every confrontation with the End Ruler was resolved. But what exactly was the Thirteenth Ruler? Had they been defeated and turned into a Divine Key? There wasn't a shred of evidence.
"Dr. Davis, please come to me."
"Very well, Fu Hua, I have something to discuss with you. I want you to meet someone—don't worry."
Watching Fu Hua enter the room, Daniel expanded his mirror space and pulled her in. The sudden turn of events immediately put Fu Hua on guard as Yuduchen materialized in her palm.
Now, Fu Hua—severely injured and with her power greatly diminished—struggled even against Walter's clone without the aid of Yuduchen. However, with Yuduchen at her side, if she were willing to pay the price, she could easily unleash a blow surpassing that of an S-rank Valkyrie.
"Have you met the Crimson Kite Immortal?"Unperturbed by Fu Hua's wariness, Daniel curtly bowed to her.
"You know me."
"The guardian who has watched over China for a thousand years—I am well aware of you. There's no need for such suspicion. I mean you no harm. Today, I've come so that you may meet someone."
"Who?"
"Someone you'd be utterly surprised to see."
"Well… that's certainly surprising."
In the ancient Taixu Men's ancient city tower within the World Bubble, as two versions of Fu Hua stood facing one another in silent mutual scrutiny, Daniel couldn't help but laugh as he watched them.
"I mean, aren't you two at least a little surprised to see your other self?"
"I am who I am. There is no other me."Ultimately, it was the ever-straightforward Class Monitor Fu Hua who spoke first. As a fusion warrior well-versed in the ways of the World Bubble, she understood all too clearly.
"Then, Fu Hua, I've brought you here today because I have something to tell you. The reason I've done this is to prove that what I said was true."
Though Fu Hua was straightforward, she wasn't naïve. Despite her cooperation with Otto, she remained wary—certain things, like the "Cangxuan Book," she would never entrust to Otto. The depleted Cangxuan Book, if handed over, could easily be repaired by Otto. It was precisely that distrust that kept Fu Hua from giving it up.
"Otto is merely using you. After the Void Ruler appears, if you try to stop him, he'll strike you down with the Heavenly Fire Judgment. In the end, your consciousness was transferred to Kiana by Yuduchen."
Facing Fu Hua, Daniel recounted nearly everything—from her kidnapping of Kiana, to the Queen's arrival, to The Last Lesson, to the emergence of the Recognizer, and finally Kiana's rescue by her own blade.
"I need a moment to cool off."Even though Fu Hua was an ageless beauty with millennia of experience, being suddenly confronted with all this left her a bit overwhelmed—especially now that she had become a Ruler.
Sometimes, Daniel would think: what if the Recognizer were to enter the Promised Land of Yore and meet those old friends? That would be truly entertaining.
"After we return, I will immediately terminate my cooperation with Otto."After much deliberation, Fu Hua finally made her decision—a decision that left Daniel somewhat speechless.
"Fu Hua, you really are as honest as ever."
"Fu Hua, even if you do not cooperate with Otto, if he attempts to seize Kiana, he could simply dispatch Youlandel. At present, none of you can stand against him. What we need now is cooperation." Daniel slowly explained his suggestion.
"Did you mention this to the Headmistress?" Fu Hua asked.
"Not yet—I wanted to speak with you first. Once we're on the same page, I will inform her. Also, I'll see to your injuries. Once you recover, even if Otto acts, he'll think twice."
"Very well."After a moment's silence, Fu Hua nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure you've missed the Cangxuan Book. I can provide it with energy so that it may be reawakened."
The Cangxuan Book had, in fact, run out of power. Daniel was frankly exasperated—if the Cangxuan Book had not depleted its energy, Fu Hua would never have been betrayed by her seven wayward disciples. Cangxuan and Dan Zhu were clever, yet they failed to install a solar converter on the Book. At the previous civilization's technological level, that would have been a trivial matter.
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