In the end, he couldn't use the Herrscher of the Ocean's core after all. Ryn didn't have the ability to travel between Bubble Universes, and fusing with the core required a vast amount of energy. He couldn't afford the cost of triggering a major Honkai eruption in the prime world.
Originally, Ryn had gone to ask Otto if there was a way for him to travel between Bubble Universes. When Otto asked what for, he said he wanted to use a cheat, and was promptly kicked out.
However, Otto did mention that he had a device for traversing Bubble Universes—Genius—but the cost was too great, and the uncertainties were too high. Otto refused to let Ryn use Genius and instead gave him a mission to find the Second Divine Key.
The Second Divine Key, the Key of Eternity—Thousand Worlds as One, was developed by the Previous Era using a Herrscher core. It was created to replicate the power of the Herrscher of the Void—to create a gate to the Imaginary Tree. Its zeroth power could open a passage to the Imaginary space, while its first power could open a passage to the Sea of Quanta. It also had the ability to observe parallel worlds, create Bubble Universes, and so on.
Ryn had Cortana search the entire globe for information on the Second Divine Key, but found nothing. It seemed that the Previous Era's Second Divine Key had either not been unearthed yet or was in the hands of another major organization like Schicksal.
After some thought, Ryn decided to procrastinate on Otto's mission. He couldn't find it at all; he didn't even know what the Second Divine Key looked like. He would just drag it out and scam some funds for now. In the future, when he became a complete Herrscher of Reason, he could just construct a Second Divine Key for him from scratch.
"I suddenly feel like you've played me again. In the end, I still can't fuse with it, can I?"
[It's because you're too weak. I've told you the conditions. It's not my fault if you can't meet them.]
"Then let's fuse with other Herrscher authorities first, and then fuse with the Herrscher of the Ocean's later."
[That's possible, but you'll still need to trigger a major Honkai eruption to get the energy for your ascension. However, you can piggyback on the major eruption caused by a normal Herrscher's descent, snatching the energy the newborn Herrscher needs. Without enough energy for a full awakening, she'll be a weakling, easy for you to handle.]
"Let's do that then. Let me know if a major Honkai eruption is imminent."
The Stigmata consciousness didn't answer, because it knew what was about to happen. A major Honkai eruption would break out in Nagazora City, and the Third Herrscher would descend.
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November 2013. Raiden Ryoma was having a drink with Siegfried when a group of police officers burst into his home and arrested him.
These were ordinary police officers, and they even presented a warrant. Neither Siegfried nor Raiden Ryoma could bring themselves to attack ordinary people. Siegfried's wine bottle was still raised in mid-air as Raiden Ryoma was taken away.
Siegfried was a bit stunned. He had been tailing Kiana and had quietly left after discovering that other Kaslana family members had arrived. He had come back these past few days to check on Kiana, only to find that this Ryn fellow was actually a man. Siegfried nearly gritted his teeth to dust when he found out. He had actually allowed Kiana to sleep with a man. But he couldn't just jump out now and stop Ryn and Kiana from being together, so he could only spend his days drinking with Raiden Ryoma at his house. And then, his buddy Ryoma was just... gone.
After a while, Siegfried was still drinking. He needed a moment to process recent events. But the police came in again and took Siegfried away as an accomplice, sealing Raiden Ryoma's house in the process.
Then the news began to report that Raiden Ryoma, the president of the renowned multinational electronics company ME Corp, had been arrested on charges of defrauding 3.4 billion US dollars under the pretext of financing the development of ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic field confinement.
Not only was Raiden Ryoma dismissed from his position as president by the board of directors, but he also faced imprisonment, and his reputation plummeted. This incident had a huge impact on Raiden Mei.
Raiden Mei, Raiden Ryoma's daughter, the young lady of ME Corp. She went from being an object of universal admiration and envy to a pariah that everyone shunned.
When Raiden Mei arrived at school the next day, her desk was covered in vicious curses and ugly drawings. Her classmates cast looks of disgust at her and insulted her relentlessly.
Those she thought were close friends also deliberately kept their distance from her. Mei invited them to have lunch together.
"Everyone... would you like to have lunch together? I made my own bento today..."
"Who would want to eat with you? You're the daughter of a criminal!" "That's because no one makes meals for you anymore, so you have to do it yourself!"
They hurled vicious words at Mei, like sharp knives piercing her heart.
"That's not true... Dad is not a criminal... he's not..." Mei didn't understand why things had become like this. She tearfully opened her bento and ate in silence.
"The food I made myself... tastes so bad... Dad..." In the end, Mei couldn't hold on any longer. She slumped over her desk and began to cry bitterly.
It was only then that Mei realized she wasn't some cheerful bird, but merely a crow with a piece of meat in its beak in the eyes of others. And those who praised her weren't little animals, but just a pack of drooling foxes. When they discovered the meat in the crow's beak was gone, they naturally went on their way, and no one spoke to the crow again.
To Mei's further despair, when she returned to the Homu Sword Saint's dojo after school, she never saw the Homu Sword Saint again. Raiden Mei had thought that the Homu Sword Saint, like everyone else, had come to hate her, but then she found the Homu Sword Saint's costume in a closet next to the dojo.
Raiden Mei once had a wonderful family. Her mother was very gentle and considerate, and she raised a daughter who was just as gentle and considerate. But a terrible illness took her mother's life, and until her mother passed away, her father was still working overtime. Mei was very angry with her father at the time, and Raiden Ryoma didn't know how to comfort his daughter.
Not long after her mother's death, the Homu Sword Saint appeared. The Homu Sword Saint taught Mei swordsmanship and the principles of being a good person. Mei once thought the Homu Sword Saint was heaven's compensation for losing her mother. But now, thinking about recent events, could it be that the Homu Sword Saint was her father in disguise...
Touching the thick costume of the Homu Sword Saint, she could smell the unpleasant odor from years of being soaked in sweat. Whether it was the freezing winter or the scorching summer, the Homu Sword Saint would always appear on time.
Mei began to cry out loud... Only then did the girl realize that her heart was not as strong as she had thought.