Narrowing her eyes, Cheng Lixue studied the "Fu Hua" before her, suspicion flickering in her gaze. Her tone hardened.
"You… you're not my master, are you?"
"What are you talking about?!"
The Herrscher of Sentience puffed out her flat chest, hands on her hips as she demanded in a girlish voice, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten what your master looks like?"
Nagami, watching her act all high-and-mighty like the immortal Fu Hua herself, could only put on his long-lost dead-fish eyes.
With a casual, almost lazy stride, he walked over.
Lixue frowned, ready to protest—but then something even stranger happened.
The "Fu Hua" before her, both familiar and unfamiliar, suddenly lit up when she saw Nagami.
She leapt toward him with unrestrained joy, throwing her arms around him so forcefully she nearly knocked him flat.
"Dad!"
The scene stunned Cheng Lixue into silence.
She stood there, dumbstruck, staring at the gray-haired girl rubbing her head affectionately against Nagami's chest.
'Th-th-that's my master?! Impossible!'
And that black-haired boy…
Back during the Second Eruption, Nagami hadn't shown his real face to her.
He'd used the appearance of a genderbent Diluc instead.
Of course she wouldn't recognize him.
'No, no! This personality—there's no way this is my master! But that face… it's identical…'
Her brow furrowed in thought.
Then, as if a light clicked on, her eyes widened in realization.
Of course! The only possible explanation—this must be Master's twin sister!
Her gaze drifted to Nagami, his features delicate, his age seemingly close to her own.
But she felt no doubt.
After all, her master had already looked eighteen when she herself was only five.
Now that she was eighteen, her master still looked the same.
That could only mean one thing: her master possessed the power of immortality.
So if her master was ageless, then her master's father being ageless too… made perfect sense.
Straightening her posture, Cheng Lixue walked up to Nagami and gave a flawless bow befitting a junior before an elder.
"Grandmaster!"
"…Huh?"
Nagami's expression froze in shock.
Now it was his turn to be dumbfounded.
He'd already gotten a taste of her bizarre logic before, but this… this was truly a one-in-a-million talent.
Sighing, he invoked the Herrscher of Sentience's authority to read her thoughts.
After a moment, he exhaled helplessly.
"Well, your reasoning isn't completely wrong… but I'm afraid I have to disappoint you—I'm not your grandmaster."
A shimmer of blue light wrapped around him, and his form shifted once more into the familiar, Lucina.
"What you see before was my real appearance."
Leaving a stunned Lixue behind, Nagami turned his gaze to the Herrscher of Sentience bouncing happily by his side.
"Time to give your mother her body back. She has things she needs to say to her resurrected disciple."
"Dad~ I haven't been out in so long!"
The girl's pouty face was tinged with sulkiness and a hint of grievance.
Honestly, seeing Fu Hua's face making that expression… Nagami almost couldn't handle it.
The gap was too adorable.
It made him want to tease her even more.
The Herrscher only ever acted like this around him.
Anyone else would've been met with a full-blown beatdown.
"Don't look like that. Dad would never let you suffer, right?"
Accepting the role of "father" for now, Nagami used the Herrscher of Reason's power to recreate a body identical to Fu Hua's, shaping it into real flesh with the power of Creation.
"Use this body for now."
For the Herrscher of Sentience, swapping bodies was no different from changing clothes.
"…Fine, but only because Dad asked."
Puffing out her cheeks, she closed her eyes.
In the next instant, two Fuhuas opened their eyes—one pair a radiant ruby red, the other a clear sky blue.
Nagami smiled at Fu Hua, giving her a nod before stepping away, leaving the space to the long-awaited reunion of master and disciple.
Watching his retreating figure, Fu Hua froze briefly, then the corners of her lips curved ever so slightly.
Turning back, her gaze softened as it fell on the familiar face.
"Lixue…"
As Nagami had said, there were things she wanted to tell her disciple.
But Fu Hua had never been good at expressing her emotions directly.
"Master!"
The familiar aura was enough—Cheng Lixue instantly knew this was truly her teacher.
"Tch. What's so great about that old timer?" The Herrscher of Sentience pouted, glaring at the suddenly respectful and formal Lixue, sulking like a child.
"You…" Fu Hua had only managed two words before being interrupted.
"There you go again! I'm not listening to any more lectures! You big idiot! You ancient relic!"
She spun around and bolted as if running from disaster.
"Master… who was that?"
Watching her vanish into the distance, Lixue couldn't hide her curiosity.
"She is this era's Herrscher of Sentience." Fu Hua's tone was gentle, almost kind.
"…Herrscher?!"
The revelation blindsided Lixue, her expression frozen in shock.
After a long silence, her confusion slowly returned.
'A Herrscher… like that?'
"Though she is a Herrscher, at her core she's still just a child. Everything she does is guided purely by her personality."
Fu Hua explained patiently, reading the unspoken questions in her disciple's eyes.
"So… what do you intend to do?"
Lixue raised her brows, still puzzled.
"She was born from the will of Honkai itself, yes. But due to certain… special reasons, she hasn't been corrupted by it. She holds no hatred toward humanity—but no affection either."
Fu Hua's voice was calm, but her words heavy.
"And so… what will you do, Master?"
Understanding only part of it, Lixue's eyes nevertheless shone with determination.
"Lixue…" Fu Hua walked toward the edge of the deck, her gaze stretching out over the vast, rolling ocean. "Though you always call me your master, there are many things I am not skilled at. There are many things I cannot do alone."
Her voice was quiet, almost wistful.
"Is there anything you need me to do?"
Lixue clenched her fists, eyes blazing with resolve.
Ever since childhood, her greatest dream had been to stand closer to her master—even if only a little.
Now, hearing those words was like a spark to her fighting spirit.
No matter how difficult the task, she would accomplish it.
Fu Hua glanced sideways, her gaze falling on the Herrscher of Sentience, who was busily poking at the Hyperion's auto-defense turrets with a long sword.
Or rather—she had already dismantled one.
Fu Hua's expression suddenly hardened.
"Lixue, let me ask you… do you know how to take care of children?"
"…Huh?"
Lixue froze mid-preparation, her battle-ready stance crumbling instantly.
She blinked blankly, a giant question mark practically floating above her head.