*Clang, clang—*
Amidst a crisp metallic sound, the slumbering Penglaiji Ryn awoke once again.
My head hurts so much, there's a strange swollen feeling. My head is so itchy... Oh no, has my brain been invaded by knowledge!
Seeing that Penglaiji Ryn had woken up, Ryn stopped his work of forging the Stars and poured a cup of hot water for Penglaiji Ryn, who had been knocked out by knowledge beyond her comprehension.
"Relax, the headache is normal. I was just as dizzy as you the first time old Welt explained things to me...
Back then, I thought creating a black hole by hand was simple. I didn't expect the power the Sea gave me to be so strong. For a normal Herrscher, creating a black hole would either exhaust them or burn their life force..."
(The Star of Eden can create pseudo black holes as long as it has energy, and Eden just happens to be a MANTIS with an overflowing amount of energy, one shot, one micro black hole, but the power of the black holes created that way isn't very strong.)
"Uh, I'll say what I said before: I can't create black holes, so why are we studying this? Also..." Penglaiji Ryn took a sip of water from the cup and then exclaimed in surprise.
"Brother, you're a Herrscher!"
"Shh!"
Ryn covered Penglaiji Ryn's mouth and looked around guiltily, making sure no one had heard.
"I'm not from this world. I came here by chance. Don't reveal my identity as a Herrscher. Herrschers destroyed this world, and the hatred the survivors have for them is incalculable. If I'm exposed, even if they can't kill me, I estimate we'll be sleeping on the streets the next night."
"Fine... But even so, I still can't create black holes!"
"It's fine, it's fine, you'll definitely be able to in the future."
"I see... Actually, after listening to your explanation, brother, I was thinking, since a black hole that's too big won't work, why can't we make a very small black hole?
Just like the sesame-sized one you made before. As long as it's small enough, the energy consumption to create it will also be small enough... and then we can make a weapon that can shoot black holes!"
Penglaiji Ryn looked at Ryn with an excited expression. Ryn rolled his eyes and took out a Star of Eden that he had casually created from his pocket and placed it in Penglaiji Ryn's hand.
"Someone already thought of your idea long ago. Here, this ball is called the Star of Eden. It's a Divine Key I created using my Authority. As long as it has enough energy, it can release a pseudo black hole, control gravity, and so on. It's yours, consider it a reward for proposing this useless hypothesis..."
"Hehe, it seems that guy is as smart as I am."
Penglaiji Ryn squeezed the watery-blue, illusory Star of Eden and then tried out its ability on the bed beneath her.
*Voom—*
*Thud—*
Under the crushing force of the Star of Eden's hundred-fold gravity, the bed board broke, and the now-suspended Penglaiji Ryn fell heavily onto the floor with a thud.
Penglaiji Ryn & Ryn: "..."
"But you're right. What happens when you shrink a black hole smaller and smaller? That's a topic worth researching."
"Right, right! If we shrink a black hole down to the molecular or even quantum level, and have enough of them... a flame made of black holes, that would be super cool!"
Ryn reached out and flicked Penglaiji Ryn on the forehead, shattering her excited and yearning fantasy.
"Creating a black hole is not difficult for us who can control gravity and gravitation, but to compress and control a black hole at the molecular or even quantum level...
With the Sea's blessing, I can do it, but for you, Penglaiji Ryn, that kind of precise control and energy release is equivalent to draining your life force."
"Brother, you say that, but such a cool move is only worthy of being used when one is burning their life away, right!"
Penglaiji Ryn turned around and flung her cape, then bent her right arm and raised it in front of her chest, revealing the Cross of Finality on the back of her hand, while extending her left hand forward in a half-clenched fist.
"Such a cool move has to have a cool pose to match~ I just haven't thought of a name for it yet..."
"You idiot, you just said you couldn't create black holes, and now you're already thinking of a move name..."
For Penglaiji Ryn, if there ever comes a time in the future when she actually uses this as-yet-unnamed move, her life will also come to an end, won't it?
Although it's a bit surreal and metaphysical, this is too unlucky... Ryn pushed down Penglaiji Ryn's outstretched left hand and pulled her to his side.
"If one day you can really compress black holes to the quantum level and use a flame made of countless black holes, then before you use that move, try calling my name... As your older brother, how could I choose to let you burn your own life away!"
"Hahaha, look how nervous you are. How could that be possible... I can't even create a black hole, how could such a day ever come~"
Penglaiji Ryn laughed dismissively and even reached out to lift the corners of Ryn's mouth again, so that his expression was no longer so worried.
"Besides, even if that day really comes, at worst I'll just create a stellar-mass black hole and blow myself up with the enemy. Hehe, creating a stellar-mass black hole must be easier than a flame made of countless quantum-level black holes, right~"
"Hmph, who knows."
At this time, Tianqi, who had been listening to their conversation in Ryn's Stigmata Space, curiously extended her left hand forward.
...
Ryn, who was talking with Penglaiji Ryn, suddenly felt as if his soul had been struck by something heavy, and then countless unknown things began to be torn apart and devoured...
His vision went black, and he fainted in front of Penglaiji Ryn.
...
"Oh crap, I've really messed up this time."
In the Stigmata Space, Tianqi's divine face was now filled with human-like panic.
For no other reason than that she had just casually tried out the flame made of countless quantum-level black holes that Penglaiji Ryn and Ryn had been talking about...
They were now burning and devouring wantonly in Ryn's Stigmata Space with swaggering arrogance. Tianqi waved her hand and annihilated them, but the damage they had caused was not so easy to clean up.
Ryn's Stigmata was different from the Stigmata of the "Honkai Impact 3rd" world; it belonged to the "Honkai Gakuen 2" Stigmata.
The Stigmata Space is not the soul world, but Stigmata can influence and manipulate the soul world. This means that if Ryn's Stigmata Space is attacked, his soul world will also be damaged.
Normally, the Stigmata Space cannot be destroyed, except for self-inflicted attacks by the Stigmata's owner...
Because the Stigmata Space was damaged, the administrator of the Stigmata Space was forced to be born (awakened).
After awakening and understanding the situation through the Stigmata, Stigmata Kiana gave Tianqi a rather helpless eye roll, then immediately began to repair Ryn's Stigmata Space.