The morning light lasted only a brief moment before the sky darkened again.
Ryn took Bronya and Penglaiji Ryn and leaped down from the zenith, sending them back to the Fire Moth base before running out again himself.
It was impossible not to care about the matter of that death spot. According to people's memories, that death spot should have been caused by Kiana's Honkai energy, but upon actually sensing it, it clearly wasn't.
Because that one was caused by Penglaiji Ryn...
——————————————
A point of light streaked across the sky. The explosive sonic boom scattered the pervading dust, leaving a long, transient line of sunlight in the sky.
Nagazora City's Academy City, unlike the ruins elsewhere, was shrouded in an opaque, dense fog. The closer one got to Senba Academy, the thicker the fog became.
But neither Senba Academy nor the fog was Ryn's destination.
In a small house not far from Senba Academy, Ryn landed silently.
With a crisp snap of his fingers, all Honkai creatures surrounding the house turned to dust and dissipated.
*Click—*
The door, unused for years, made a rickety creaking sound as Ryn pushed it open and walked into the house.
In the room, a long-haired girl was sitting on the sofa, waiting for his arrival.
"What, feeling nostalgic for the past?"
Tianqi picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it at Ryn.
Ryn didn't dodge or block, letting the tattered, dust-covered cushion hit him and fall at his feet.
He picked up the cushion, dusted it off, and threw it back to Tianqi. Then he walked over and sat down next to her.
"More than that, I'm curious why you've become so active in this world. What about Stigmata Kiana? Why can't I call out to her?"
Tianqi smiled and spread her hands, then drew two parallel lines in front of Ryn. Then, from a point on the top line, she drew another line connecting to a point on the bottom parallel line, slightly before the corresponding point on the top line.
"Isn't it simple? Because of time. In this time period, she hasn't been born yet. Since she doesn't exist, how can she answer you?"
"That shouldn't be. If she hasn't been born, then I shouldn't exist either."
Ryn shook his head; this didn't conform to the laws of time as he knew them. It was Stigmata Kiana who first brought him into that world, which is why his current self should exist.
If Stigmata Kiana hadn't been born yet, then he shouldn't still exist either.
Tianqi sat up straight proudly, with a "praise me" expression on her face.
"Isn't it obvious? It's because of the great me, of course~ You slipped out of the timeline. According to normal temporal anchors and rules, if you wanted to appear in this time period, you would have directly attached yourself to a node identical to you. So, theoretically, you should have directly replaced Penglaiji Ryn's consciousness and then acted in this world using her legitimate identity.
But I rewrote the rules, separating you from her, allowing you and Penglaiji Ryn to exist simultaneously in this world."
"Is her amnesia also because of this?"
"No, it was done by the counterpart of the Kiana you're so fond of. This world is a new world that she destroyed and then recreated using Penglaiji Ryn's Stigmata. If Penglaiji Ryn were to fully regain her memories, it would mean Penglaiji Ryn would reawaken, and this world would head towards destruction.
So, in order to see this world a little longer, to spend a little more tender time with that fake Raiden Mei, Kiana took away Penglaiji Ryn's memories."
"Tsk... So that 'fated death' they talked about back then, was it about choosing me or Penglaiji Ryn to end her life at the end of this world?"
"Probably. But she died early. She couldn't kill herself, so she went to attack Alaya, forcing Janna to kill her. Janna had no choice but to kill her, but before dying, Janna told God Kiana an incredibly cruel truth, causing God Kiana to completely break down."
"What truth...?"
Tianqi let out a cold laugh, leaned close to Ryn's ear, and said softly, "Those killed by the Honkai are not truly dead~"
After speaking, Tianqi ignored Ryn's questioning expression and vanished on her own.
"...?"
Before Ryn could think too much about what Tianqi's words meant, a golden spear came whistling through the air and landed in front of him.
Then, a girl appeared beside Ryn, holding a huge, battered cross with one hand. She pulled out Judah's Lance and aimed it at Ryn.
"Unknown Herrscher, leave this place."
The Theresa who appeared before Ryn had experienced five years of hardship. She no longer had the air of a child, but she also no longer smiled.
Although she was now seriously raising her spear at Ryn, all Ryn could see on her face was endless sorrow.
"Grand-aunt...?"
Ryn called out uncertainly, but Theresa didn't even blink, still watching him while holding the shattered, incomplete Oath of Judah.
"I'm warning you one last time. Leave this place, Herrscher."
Faced with Theresa's warning, what could Ryn do? Surrender with his hands up, of course. He couldn't possibly hit an elder, right?~
Although she wasn't the Theresa Ryn knew, the sorrow on her face was not fake.
Such a cute and cheerful child like Theresa was now so sad and in pain; it was hard for Ryn not to feel sorry for her.
"I'm curious, Grand-aunt, how did you find out I was a Herrscher, and when did you start following me?"
"I'm not your grand-aunt, and there's no one like you in my memory."
Hearing Ryn call her Grand-aunt again, Theresa's vigilance relaxed a tiny bit before she spoke sternly.
"A streak across the sky that stirred up a thunderous roar—it's hard not to notice you. So I started following you, and then I saw you annihilate all the surrounding Honkai creatures with a snap of your fingers. I knew then that you were definitely a Herrscher."
Ryn shrugged helplessly. It seemed that despite everything she'd been through, Theresa was still the same idiot. The logic of "I ask, you answer" was just...
Facing the Oath of Judah, Ryn snapped his fingers crisply again.
Then, the Oath of Judah in Theresa's hands retracted its extended chain lances, closing back into the shape of a cross.
"You bastard, what did you do to Judah!"
Although she had lost her weapon, Theresa was no mere Judah launcher.
Theresa clenched her fist and threw a punch at Ryn, and then... there was no 'and then'.
A punch with the force of dozens of tons was stopped by Ryn's single hand. Then, Ryn flicked Theresa on the forehead, knocking her to the ground.
"Theresa, we are not enemies. As for the proof... it's that I am the true master of Judah~"
Ryn placed his hand on the Oath of Judah, channeling his Honkai energy into it.
Then, under Theresa's disbelieving gaze, the shattered fragments of Judah began to regenerate and reassemble at a visible rate, glowing with a new light. In less than a minute, a fully restored Oath of Judah reappeared in the world.