"Hey, hey, hey, the Herrscher is a valuable research subject. If possible, could you please go a bit easier on her?"
Outside the testing ground, a group of Research Division lolis waved enthusiastically toward the interior.
It was the first time they had successfully created a Herrscher through artificial means, a monumental breakthrough for Honkai energy research.
Nearby, Einstein, Edison, and others looked as though they had seen a ghost. If not for everyone else appearing calm, they would have bolted the moment they saw the Herrscher.
"Hiss... are we really doing this... for real?"
Cecilia, Kallen, and Cheng Lixue gripped their weapons nervously, watching from the spectator seats—they weren't even qualified to participate in the battle.
"..."
The Herrscher of the Void wore an expressionless face, her cold gaze sweeping across the area below.
It felt strange—these humans didn't seem afraid of her at all. In fact, they seemed more like they were watching a show.
Herrschers didn't usually have such thoughts. They were messengers of Honkai, existing solely to destroy civilizations.
"Tch, Herrscher of the Void, let me handle this."
"Everyone stay put and watch how I take her down."
Senti projected a long spear from Honkai energy and leapt into the air, charging straight toward the Herrscher of the Void.
Normally, she was suppressed by the Immortal, so today was the perfect chance to stretch her limbs.
"You're a Herrscher too?"
The Herrscher of the Void dodged in a flash, her frost-cold expression showing a hint of confusion—as if silently questioning why this one would side with humans.
"Times have changed!"
Senti didn't relent, projecting a storm of weapons and hurling them all at her opponent.
"Get down here!! Stop floating around up there!!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
With a casual wave, the Herrscher of the Void froze every flying weapon midair.
Snap—
A sharp finger snap echoed.
Instantly, all the weapons turned around and launched back toward Senti, forcing her to duck and scramble for cover.
"What kind of nonsense is this—ahhhh!!"
"Oh? Herrscher of the Void's authority, huh? Interesting."
Setsuna and the others watched the Herrscher of Sentience and the Herrscher of the Void fight with keen interest.
The Herrscher of the Void's power was truly fascinating—spatial manipulation.
She could create a layer of imaginary space over real space to attack or defend, and she commanded immense Honkai energy.
Her ability acted as a link between the imaginary and real numbers, projecting entities from the imaginary space into reality, converting them into tangible matter at will.
Spatial shifting, wormhole creation for redirecting attacks, entering imaginary space—all within her domain.
However, this Herrscher of the Void had only just been born. Her control over power was still unstable; she could only project weapons and perform short-range spatial transfers.
"Can't you just hand over your core and surrender already? Maybe we'll spare your life, huh?!"
Senti complained mid-fight, realizing her mental interference had almost no effect—their levels were too similar. Herrschers couldn't easily influence other Herrschers.
"..."
The Herrscher of the Void stayed silent, continuing her relentless assault.
Sometimes she projected countless subspace spears from above, raining them down like arrows. Other times, she summoned hordes of Honkai Beasts from the void.
Her original intent had been to annihilate everyone—and the entire station.
She wanted to destroy this place before moving on to cleanse humanity below.
However, after several tests, she realized her attacks couldn't even breach the outer shield of this aerial fortress.
So she decided to focus on dealing with the traitorous Herrscher before her.
Boom—Crash—
As the two clashed back and forth, trading over a dozen rounds without a victor, Fu Hua frowned and drew the Xuanyuan Sword.
"Can you handle this? If not, I'll go."
"!!!"
"You old fossil! Don't you dare look down on me!"
Senti flared up in anger, feeling completely underestimated by the Immortal.
Swish—
She leapt back to create distance, eyes locked on the cold, unfeeling Herrscher of the Void hovering above.
"Tch, troublesome."
"Herrscher versus Herrscher... can't even break through each other's powers..."
In terms of raw combat capability, the Herrscher of Sentience clearly couldn't match the Herrscher of the Void in a direct fight.
The only reason Senti managed to keep up was that her opponent had just been born—not fully aware yet, her mind still sluggish.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would get for her.
After thinking for a moment, she gritted her teeth.
"Fine, I didn't want to use this move, but you forced me!"
Swish—
She drew another Xuanyuan Sword, mimicking Fu Hua's stance from memory. Chanting the incantation, she channeled Honkai energy.
Since the two of them were essentially the same person, this imitation might not rival the original, but it was more than enough to deal with another Herrscher.
Boom—
Flames and crimson clouds covered the sky as a storm of Honkai energy swept through half the station.
Red and black energy coalesced into a massive sword above, descending with crushing force.
"Taixuan Eminence!!!"
The Herrscher of the Void instinctively raised her hand, forming an imaginary space to deflect and distort the oncoming power.
But no matter how she tried, it couldn't be blocked or avoided—the overwhelming Honkai energy filled every corner of the battlefield, omnipresent and unstoppable.
Even her consciousness trembled under the mental shock.
"!!!"
Her imaginary-space defense shattered instantly.
Swish—
She lifted her hand, trying to shift into the imaginary space to escape the incoming strike that filled heaven and earth.
"Ah—ha! Got you!"
Suddenly, a wild, mischievous voice rang out behind her.
The Herrscher of the Void turned her head—
Only to see the Herrscher of Sentience holding up a dark red brick.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
Before she could react, smack!—the brick struck her squarely on the head.
"Stay down!!!—"
...
Half a day later.
Inside Honkai Station -1.
"Reporting, Commander. We've extracted the Herrscher Core from the Herrscher of the Void."
Grey held up a transparent cylindrical container before Setsuna.
Inside, suspended by a containment field, was a crystalline core identical to the one taken from the Herrscher of Reason.
"Oh..."
Behind her, Einstein, Edison, and the others looked stunned.
"Fascinating."
Setsuna turned the container over in his hand, examining it with interest.
"Send it to the Life Sciences Division. Time to create K-423."
The Herrscher of the Void's authority was indeed tempting—he almost wanted to insert the crystal into the Herrscher Core Drive Module immediately.
But after some thought, he decided it was better to finish creating the person first.
As for Herrscher powers... once they dealt with the Cocoon of Finality, there would be plenty to go around. No rush.
"Alright. We've already gathered Sirin's and Durandal's DNA. I'll notify Kayo Senju to begin preparations immediately."
Grey nodded.
"What about the Herrscher of the Void herself?" Setsuna asked curiously.
In the original story, there were three generations of Herrscher of the Void—Sirin, the true Void Herrscher, and Kiana. Now, he had somehow gathered all three through... unconventional methods.
"Uh..." Grey scratched her head.
"The Herrscher Core is directly tied to a Herrscher's authority—like how the First Herrscher, Welt Joyce, became an ordinary man once his core was removed."
"But the Herrscher of the Void's case is a bit different. Her consciousness and self-awareness were both granted by the Honkai itself."
"That means she only has one thought in her mind—to destroy human civilization. Even without her core or powers, it's still the same."
"So right now, she's kind of like a powerless lunatic—though we've kept her secured for study. She's still quite valuable as a specimen."
"..."
Somewhere in the space station.
The Herrscher of the Void slowly sat up from her bed.
Honkai had given her awareness and identity, but since this vessel had no prior memories, she didn't suffer from the same mental overload that Senti once did after inheriting five millennia of the Immortal's memories.
Herrschers had no emotions.
In her mind, there was only one cold directive: destroy human civilization.
"Humans... must die."
She tried to summon Honkai energy, intending to warp space.
She clenched her fist—nothing happened.
"?"
The Herrscher of the Void froze.
She tried again to connect with the imaginary space, to teleport elsewhere.
She waved her hand through the air several times—still nothing.
"???"
She couldn't comprehend it.
After careful sensing, she realized that aside from faint residual Honkai energy, her connection to the imaginary space had been completely severed.
Bang—
The door suddenly swung open, and a grey-haired girl in black traditional attire stepped in.
"Yo, still pretty lively, huh? The Commander was worried I might've cracked your skull."
"Don't bother trying—you're not a Herrscher anymore."
"You?!"
The Herrscher of the Void instantly grew alert.
The memory of their fight was still vivid—especially how she had been knocked out by some bizarre weapon.
"What? That was my own custom Divine Key. Don't like it?"
Senti hefted the brick in her hand with a grin.
"Perfect for reasoning with others."
"..."
The Herrscher of the Void didn't know how to respond.
"Ahem, anyway... I think you'd better behave yourself, hmm?"
Senti raised one finger in front of the Herrscher of the Void.
Now that her opponent had been stripped of her powers, Senti's authority could finally influence her.
"Come on, look at my hand and repeat after me."
"One, two, three..."
"I am the Herrscher of Sentience's dog."
...
"Uh, Commander, are you sure this is okay?"
Inside the space station, Cecilia and the others looked at Senti in utter bewilderment.
She lounged lazily on the sofa, snapped her fingers, and said,
"Pour me some tea."
"Yes, ma'am."
The Herrscher of the Void stood beside her, obediently pouring a cup of tea.
"Massage my shoulders."
"Understood."
"Go fetch me something to eat."
"Right away."
"..."
Just a day ago, the Herrscher of the Void had descended arrogantly, boasting that she would annihilate humanity. Now, she had become Senti's personal maid.
Everyone's expressions were complicated.
The Herrscher of the Void's face remained emotionless. Even when greeted, she would only tilt her head slightly, giving a confused look.
"What's the big deal? This one was molded by Honkai energy—she's not too bright."
"Other than killing and breaking stuff, she can't do anything else. Now that she's just a normal person, let's call it penance, yeah?"
Senti said casually, chewing on a piece of sweet potato while crossing her legs.
Her powers were ridiculously overpowered, but Setsuna forbade her from using them freely within the capital—lest she get smacked.
Herrschers clearly weren't under the Starsea Empire's legal protection anyway.
"...Not too bright? Are you really in any position to say that?"
Fu Hua muttered under her breath, recalling the utter chaos when Senti herself had first awakened.
"Fair enough."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
Herrschers born from Honkai energy really had no thoughts beyond destruction. Letting Senti slowly retrain her might not be a bad idea.
Having her handle chores for now, and helping out the Research Division in her spare time, would also help the Starsea Empire study the biology of Herrschers.
"Jesus!"
Edison couldn't help but exclaim.
Her worldview had been repeatedly shattered during her time in the Starsea Empire.
The mighty Herrscher of the Void—reduced to serving tea and fetching snacks.
"Hmm... not surprising. Come on, let's check out the Life Sciences Division. The Herrscher Core is what really matters."
...
They arrived at the side wing of the station.
Inside the Life Sciences Division.
The massive laboratory was neatly arranged, filled with rows of equipment.
Groups of little lolis and Angeloids bustled back and forth between workstations.
After some study, Einstein, Planck, and the others—though not yet capable of conducting advanced research—could at least understand the reports and data displayed before them.
"Wait... are you mixing human DNA with the Herrscher Core of the Void to create an artificial human?!"
They stared in shock at the complex double-helix structure projected on the holographic screen.
"That's right."
"In fact, she'll be the true heroine of the Honkai world—though, well, her circumstances will differ quite a bit from the original story."
Kayo Senju's fingers flew rapidly over the console as she ran complex simulations.
In the original story, Otto had combined Durandal's and Sirin's DNA in pursuit of controlling the power of the Herrscher and the 'god.' But most of the resulting test subjects were vegetative.
After hundreds of failed attempts, only K-423 succeeded—thanks to the transplanted Herrscher Core of the Void, which brought Kiana to life.
But with the Starsea Empire's advanced technology, things were far simpler—success could be achieved on the first try.
"Oh, Commander, there's a minor issue."
The little girl turned her head toward him.
"The Herrscher Core of the Void will grant Kiana immense power—but it will also dwell within her."
"It may interfere with her personality and possibly attempt to seize control of her body."
"Wait, isn't the Herrscher of the Void still acting as Senti's servant?"
Gudako asked curiously.
"It's different. The Herrscher Core still contains fragments of the Void Herrscher's consciousness. They are, in essence, one and the same."
"Combining a Herrscher Core with a human host inevitably leads to interference—it's unavoidable. Oh, except for the Commander. He's... special. Let's not talk about that."
Kayo Senju shrugged.
"We'll probably be able to separate the residual consciousness later—but only after Kiana grows older."
"A minor issue."
Setsuna cleared his throat.
Originally, Kiana would have had to endure painful trials and inner struggle to reconcile with herself and suppress the Herrscher of the Void.
Now?
If the Herrscher of the Void dared to show up again—
It'd be time for the Mommy Sunflower Classroom: when a Herrscher misbehaves, just give her a good beating.
"Alright then, begin the experiment."
With that order—
Vrrr—
The cultivation pod in the center of the chamber began to hum deeply.
[Body construction in progress... 5%... 17%... 46%]
[Integrating Herrscher Core: 55%, 76%...]
[Fusion successful. No signs of rejection.]
Beep—Beep—
The life-monitoring device emitted rhythmic tones.
On the holographic display, the subject's vitals appeared—heartbeat, pulse, and breathing.
Moments later, faint brainwave fluctuations emerged, growing stronger and more defined as the Herrscher Core fused completely, eventually stabilizing.
"It worked!"
Everyone crowded around.
Inside the pod, a white-haired, blue-eyed girl slowly opened her eyes. Her curious, slightly confused gaze wandered across the unfamiliar surroundings.
She looked a bit younger than the Research Division's lolis, her cheeks still round with baby fat—adorably cute.
"Huh? I thought she'd be in a fetal state?"
Edison leaned closer, intrigued.
"Uh... we figured raising a baby from scratch would be too troublesome, so we accelerated her growth. Don't worry—it's perfectly safe."
Kayo Senju twirled a strand of her hair casually.
"Of course, we couldn't just make her a teenager right away. That'd mess with her cognitive development. After testing, this childhood form was the optimal stage."
"So cute!!"
Cecilia's maternal instincts flared instantly. She noticed that Kiana's features resembled her own.
She scooped the girl into her arms, playfully tickling her cheek.
"Ma... mama..."
Kiana said softly, her childlike voice trembling adorably.
"Aww—"
Cecilia was instantly melted, rubbing her face affectionately against Kiana's.
"Yes, that's right~ I'm your mama~"
"..."
"Should I say... as expected of my future mother-in-law..."
Setsuna stepped forward and pinched Kiana's chubby cheek.
"Pa... papa!—"
Kiana grabbed his coat and rubbed against him affectionately.
"Hiss—"
Critical hit. HP bar empty.
"Eh? She called you papa right away? Doesn't that mean..."
Cecilia blinked, glancing shyly at Setsuna, a faint blush spreading across her face.
"Didn't you say you liked kids? Sirin and Kiana can both be your daughters, right? No problem there, is there?"
Setsuna grinned.
"Mm..."
Cecilia had wanted to protest—she was still young, far from motherhood.
But seeing Kiana's innocent, smiling face, she simply couldn't refuse.
"Fine then. From now on, Sirin is my eldest daughter, and Kiana's the second!"
She hugged Kiana tightly, unable to let go.
Cheng Lixue and Patricia exchanged glances, realizing for the first time that the holy maiden of the Schariac family had such a side to her.
"Hmm?"
"Wait... isn't this basically..."
Setsuna and the others from the Research Division were momentarily dazed.
This was the life that had only ever existed in Sirin's and Kiana's dreams and fantasies.
One had been a tortured experimental subject under Schicksal, and the other a clone born from the Herrscher of the Void—neither had ever known happiness.
But here, they could finally have a real chance to start over.
"So the Commander just got another daughter?"
Gudako blinked.
"Meh, doesn't matter. With all the little shipgirls and lolis running around the base, what's one more..."
"Tsk..."
Grey shook her head.
"Fast-forward to the part where the filial piety gets... complicated and it turns into a parent-daughter bowl."
—
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