Although the Herrscher of Finality was extremely powerful and invincible, Elias knew that he was still far from her level. Yet, he wasn't worried about whether he could pass this trial.
Because he had never intended to defeat Finality in the first place.
Elias had indeed thought about defeating the Herrscher of Finality. But even if he really had the strength to do so, he would still ultimately choose to let the Herrscher of Finality destroy the world and reset civilization.
After all, if he didn't do that—
The entire Current Era would cease to exist.
"Therefore, we only have four things left to do now!"
Elias crossed his arms and raised four fingers, his eyes brimming with excitement and fervor.
"First: deal with the second-to-last opponent—the Herrscher of Corruption."
"Second: before the Herrscher of Finality descends, migrate all people of this era into the bubble world I created~."
"Third: let Prometheus invade the [Cocoon of Finality] and become the Will of Honkai of my era."
"Fourth: use the Moonlight Throne fleet to give the Herrscher of Finality a good beating! Beat her up and run away immediately! Then, let her reset civilization and give birth to the next era."
As long as these four objectives were achieved, Elias' first round in the Previous Era would be nearly perfect—except for failing to find a way to restore the Herrschers' humanity.
"As for completely defeating the Honkai—that mission will be left to the people of the next era, my era. By then, with Prometheus as the Will of Honkai helping us from within, we'll be able to steal Finality's power!"
Elias looked toward the moon in the night sky. He raised his hands as if embracing it.
"And my body will be the best vessel. When I take away the powers of the gods, my era—no, our era—will finally be freed from the threat of the Honkai!"
"At that time, I can even reattach the bubble world of the Previous Era to the Imaginary Tree, allowing it to become another true world, indistinguishable from the main one."
"This is humanity's path to clearing the Honkai! Using the Previous Era as the foundation, then letting the Current Era master Finality."
Elias spoke with utmost confidence.
He was certain this method had a one hundred percent success rate.
After all, as long as the Current Era followed its destined story, even without Elias, it could still reach the point of mastering Finality—a happy ending he had no need to alter.
Though, he still made some minor edits...
For example, the one who would become the Herrscher of Finality would no longer be the unbelievably adorable Kiana, but Elias himself. At least Kevin wouldn't have to initiate the [Project STIGMA].
He could stay a bright and carefree man—a cheerful, silly husky of a human—living happily and slurping noodles every day.
The Flame-Chasers would no longer have to chase the fire.
Because he would become the sun that illuminated everything.
Moreover, with Elias as the bridge, the Previous Era and the Current Era could join hands to develop and explore the future together.
It could be said that everyone's future looked bright!
"That's... quite a grand plan."
Mei took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in her heart.
At this moment, they had finally found a path that could truly defeat the Honkai. Though the end of that path was still fifty thousand years away, to them, it didn't seem so long.
Because this was a relay race.
Their era was about to reach its halfway point. As long as they fought the last two battles, the Previous Era could finally rest.
As for controlling the Herrscher of Finality and defeating the Honkai—that would be the mission of the people of the next era.
"Elias, is there anything we can do?"
Kevin, his blood boiling with passion, stared at the white-haired boy with fiery eyes. As a man—and as a Flame-Chaser—he couldn't just stand by and watch!
If he left everything to Elias alone, he wouldn't have the face to call himself a Flame-Chaser.
"Yeah, we can't just leave everything to you."
"Elias, you're shouldering too much on your own."
"When you return to your own era, you'll have to start fighting again, won't you? You never think about yourself."
Eden and the others looked at Elias with heartache.
They could picture that scene—the white-haired boy who had saved their era, stepping back into his own time only to once again set foot upon the endless battlefield against the Honkai.
That young savior would shoulder the world once more, staggering forward despite the weight of everything, never letting go, never backing down.
Because that was who he was—someone who always carried the burden alone, rarely thinking about himself.
Now, Elias already bore the fate of an entire era.
And soon, he would carry the fate of another.
The Flame-Chasers couldn't comprehend just how heavy the destiny of two eras truly was. Even Kevin, a fellow fusion warrior, felt suffocated just imagining it.
But Elias could still smile while carrying it all.
Everyone present knew very well—
Though he was called a Flame-Chaser like them, in truth, Elias had long since surpassed them. This gentle savior had already changed the destiny of every single one of them.
Without realizing it, they had already been saved by him.
So...
"Let us help you share some of the burden."
Elysia spoke softly, her tone filled with concern.
Just as Elias deeply loved every Flame-Chaser, all of them loved him just as dearly.
Elias was willing to risk his life for each of them—and every one of the Flame-Chasers was certain that, for this overly gentle boy, they too would wager all their courage.
How could they possibly bear to watch him shoulder such a heavy mission, without even a moment of rest?
"Thank you, everyone. In that case, when my era arrives, please guide and protect the Current Era to some degree."
Elias gave Elysia a firm hug before turning to everyone else with a serious expression.
After the Herrscher of Finality resets the Previous Civilization, forty-five thousand years later, the Honkai will descend again at the dawn of the Current Era.
Even though the intensity of the Honkai by then wouldn't be too great, for a newborn civilization lacking sufficient technology, it would still be terrifying.
After all, while the Honkai grows stronger with civilization's progress, if Honkai Beasts were to appear in an ancient age incapable of even producing Honkai weapons, then even the weakest Chariot-class would cause unimaginable destruction.
"I hope you all can help the next era—my era—through its 'infant stage' of civilization. Just teach humanity the basic methods of dealing with Honkai Beasts and using Honkai energy."
Elias didn't say things like hoping the Flame-Chasers could save Kallen or get rid of Otto.
Because he knew those pivotal destinies could only be changed by himself—the one who had crossed time. Even warriors as powerful as the Flame-Chasers couldn't resist the corrective pull of fate.
Elias even suspected that, without his interference, Kevin would somehow end up imprisoned in the Sea of Quanta for a thousand years again, unable to eat a single bowl of noodles.
Hua, however, didn't have to worry.
Because her destiny had already been rewritten by Elias.
In the original timeline, Hua had become a mindless killing machine due to the [Project SWARA]—known as the [Edge of Taixuan] in the Current Era.
Although she gained immense strength and the ability to manipulate Honkai energy, she also lost her capacity for [Artificial Cascade], and during her time as the Immortal Phoenix, she was slain by her seven disciples.
But now, that so-called [Project SWARA] had been perfected by Elias. After all, [SWARA] was merely a weakened version of Aponia's [Discipline], a subconscious brain-conditioning method that guided the body to evolve in ways better suited for Honkai energy.
Ultimately, it was still just a form of psychological hypnosis.
After Elias embedded the Core of Sentience into the Key of Blankness, and perfected the technique using the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience, Hua would never again become a mindless killing machine.
Elias: (Immortal Phoenix—epic-level buff. SWARA + Artificial Cascade... in the future, she'll be able to wipe out anything, even the air itself! When the time comes, Hua might not even need help fighting Sa. She could probably pin Sa to the ground and grind her down all by herself.)
As for the whole "seven disciples killing their master" thing...
Elias thought for a moment and decided he could just give Hua a little advice—tell her not to take any disciples in the future. And even if she did, to only take thoughtful, kind girls like Cheng Lixue. Without the side effects of SWARA, that whole tragic event might never even happen.
In short, Elias had already arranged everything. He'd done just about everything that could possibly be done.
Therefore, even after helping the Previous Era survive Finality and returning to the Current Era, as long as the Flame-Chasers continued their natural development, nothing major should go wrong.
"Of course, there's also the matter of maintaining order in this era."
Elias tapped the table, indicating that the Previous Era would still need to handle some things.
"Although the bubble world will never collapse as long as it's within me and I remain alive, the social order of the Dusk Era will definitely have to be rebuilt."
"Uprisings and chaos will be inevitable, but with Fire Moth still around as an absolute force, nothing too disastrous should happen. It just won't be easy."
"As for the heavy task of rebuilding society—that's on you, Mei. Hehe, if it's you, I'm sure you can create a social system even better than the current one."
Elias patted Mei on the shoulder as he spoke.
With the pinnacle of human rationality herself overseeing things, he had no doubt that even without him, everything would turn out fine.
"Why do I feel like I'm the only one under pressure here..."
Mei's eye twitched. The thought of reconstructing society's entire structure made her feel exhausted already.
She suddenly regretted putting all her skill points into Intelligence. Sometimes, Mei really envied those brainless brutes who only knew how to fight.
"That's because you're the smartest one, Mei."
Elias reached out and patted her head with a gentle smile.
"Eh~ Elias, when you say it like that, how am I supposed to argue back? Fine, fine, I'll do it. But you'd better reward me properly when the time comes!"
Mei sighed and rested her head lightly on Elias' shoulder.
Rebuilding society sounded absolutely exhausting.
But no matter how hard it was, could it really compare to the exhaustion of rebuilding an entire world?
If it were anyone else asking, Mei would've shot them down instantly—but if it was Elias, she couldn't say no.
"Sure. When the time comes, you can ask for any reward you want."
"...You said it. Don't you dare take it back."
Mei took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Anything. She could ask for anything.
With that one promise from Elias, she suddenly felt she could do anything. Rebuilding social order? Bring it on!
At worst, she could just borrow Mobius' Klein and have Prometheus join in too—they could all go into infinite overtime mode together!
"Alright~ I've said everything I needed to say. If anyone still has questions, speak up now."
Elias took the golden wine glass Eden handed him, took a sip to wet his throat, then looked around at the group.
"Nothing else. Let's follow your plan."
Mobius shook her head.
"Uh, to be honest, I didn't really understand all that stuff about bubble worlds."
"That's fine, Kevin. You don't need to understand complicated things like that. You just need to follow orders and unleash Shamash Assault at the enemy."
"Oh, that's great! I'm good at that!"
Kevin's eyes lit up as he proudly thumped his chest.
For this pure-blooded Kaslana husky, his brain practically shut off whenever he had an external processor nearby.
And in the Previous Era, there were plenty of people who could act as his external brain—Elias, Su, Mei, even Mobius.
Ever since joining Fire Moth, this white-haired husky had barely used his brain at all.
"I have a question—there's still one Herrscher before the Herrscher of Finality, right? I remember you mentioning her name before, Elias—the Herrscher of Corruption. How are we supposed to deal with her?"
Eden asked calmly.
Although there wasn't a trace of worry on her face, it was understandable. After all, aside from the Herrscher of Finality herself, there was no one in existence they truly feared anymore. Even if they pulled every previous Herrscher back for a rematch, the Flame-Chasers could easily win again.
Still, they couldn't afford to let their guard down completely.
Everyone could already tell that the Honkai had changed its approach. The Herrschers appearing lately were vastly different from the early ones. Both the Herrscher of Binding and the Herrscher of Dominance were designed with highly specialized and strengthened abilities.
This clearly meant that before Finality's descent, the Honkai no longer dared to face them head-on.
Therefore, it could be expected that the upcoming Herrscher of Corruption would also be a troublesome, hard-to-handle opponent—a being defined by pure, chaotic power. In that case, they needed a targeted strategy in place to prevent even the slightest chance of failure.
"Don't worry, Eden," Vill-V said confidently, hands on her hips. "Elias has already made preparations. I've even built a custom containment cage specifically for the Herrscher of Corruption. Once she shows up, it'll basically be a delivery straight into the trap."
Hearing that, everyone's last bit of concern disappeared. Once again, they couldn't help but admire how flawlessly Elias handled everything. There were never any loose ends.
However, Elias' expression suddenly turned serious.
He stepped forward, coming to stand before Sakura. Gently placing both hands on the fox-eared girl's shoulders, he spoke softly.
"Sakura, you need to be mentally prepared for this. What I'm about to say... don't let it scare or worry you too much, alright?"
"Uh, okay."
Sakura blinked in confusion. With you here, Elias, what could I possibly have to be afraid of?
However...
"Then I'll say it. The Twelfth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Corruption—will manifest through Rin."
"Y-you're saying... what?!"
Sakura's eyes widened in shock, her fox ears bristling instantly.
"Rin... will become a Herrscher? No... no! That can't happen! Elias, please, I'm begging you—save Rin!"