The Cocoon of Finality only had one expectations towards Earth… or rather, humanity:
To be able to successfully embrace it.
Its existence went beyond millions of years, far exceeding the age of most Aeons. Unfortunately, there was no room for its advancement, causing its progress to remain stuck at a certain level.
This long-standing solitude turned into a wish. A longing. It wanted to have someone who could understand it.
Due to a stroke of luck, it ended up in the solar system. It first visited the civilization on Venus, only for its embrace to completely fail. Nobody fitted its criteria. The civilization was destroyed thoroughly, with no way to recover.
Learning from its prior mistakes, the Cocoon of Finality set its sights on Earth. Its embrace came in the form of a rapidly evolving nemesis for humanity, namely the honkai.
This time, the Cocoon was not disappointed. Humanity managed to reach the Herrscher of the End in their first try. Only, humanity's remaining strength at that time could not do anything to the Herrscher of the End. It is the avatar chosen by the Cocoon to descend as humanity's final challenge. She embodied the embrace sought by the Cocoon, as shown when she gradually increased her power until humanity's finest warriors could no longer hold out.
Upon their failure, the Herrscher of the End used her overwhelming honkai energy reserves to wipe out every single life on Earth's surface, thus sparking the beginning of the next era.
The Herrscher of the End inside the Bubble World knew these details. From the fact it was replicated by the Sea itself down to her new challengers, she was aware of it. She tested them by using her sole loophole as someone replicated by the Sea of Quanta. She managed to bring out a full-powered blow—absolute time stop. They managed to repel it. Since then, she was left "powerless" to take care of the rest.
Being able to disable 40% of her reserves and force her to slumber for five days is an unprecedented feat. She looked forward to what they could do to her once she regained consciousness.
'...It is too early.'
The Herrscher of the End woke up ahead of time. She placed a lot of thought over it and came to one possibility.
The instant she opened her eyes, three terrifying auras surrounded her. She did not have any time to react. In her eyes, the world changed into a river with endless length. Its skies emitted nothing but dreariness. She crashed onto the river's raging tides, causing her mind to black out.
The legendary River of Oblivion struck her first.
It is said to be a mythical place capable of erasing one's memories. It allows one to enter reincarnation and have another life.
The Herrscher of the End was left with no chance to react.
The scenery changed. What came next was the vast expanse of nothingness. Reflected in the Herrscher's golden pupils are a single point of light. It split apart into countless other rays of light, turning into pillars that hold up the world. Each pillar contained a principle revolving around the world's governing laws.
All of it was seen by the vast expanse of void. From nothingness came everything else. The Grand Inception witnessed the laws holding the framework of the world itself.
Facing two such overwhelming forces, the Herrscher of the End was on the verge of true death.
That was when she witnessed the third and most influential phenomena.
Unlike the previous phenomena, she clearly saw the visage of a man. The world turned into a chessboard in his lap. His eyes, sporting the dual black and white, stared down. His eyes emitted an unparalleled sharpness. His finger picked up a white Go piece.
Tap-!
The carefully placed piece sat on the intersecting line.
To her eyes, the world was swept upside-down; with no directions, distinctions, and meaning.
There, she saw the same blank void. The pillars of light that supported the creation of the world became the main focus. The Grand Inception is the canvas as much as the pillars of light symbolized The Way (lit. Tao), Formlessness (lit. Without Limit), and Unitary (lit. Ultimate Limit).
These three aspects gave rise to the saying:
One gave birth to two;
Two gave birth to three;
Three gave birth to all things.
Tap-!
Each of the man's moves showed the secrets of creation itself!
The three-fold impact dealt with the Herrscher of the End completely. A mystical mark appeared on the depths of her soul. It was reflected back to her mind, and then her body.
She woke up and found four pale-faced individuals surrounding her.
"It's done."
Shi Tian's declaration made Kiana, Sirin, and Veliona feel at ease. Kiana, however, looked at him with grievance.
"She looks a lot like me… and her mark is there out of all places!"
Her complaint prompted the other two to check out using their spiritual consciousness. They peered through her blue dress and found what Kiana meant.
The mystical mark, which took the form of a runic tao pattern, existed right below the Herrscher's abdomen.
"It's a coincidence. I promise." He said in surrender. "The enslavement technique revolved around dual cultivation. This is the most suitable when it comes to my spirit roots."
The four of them carried out their plans of burning their lifespans.
The first two attacks came from Veliona and Sirin. The third one came from the combined efforts of Kiana and Shi Tian. Void complements Yin-Yang. Coupled with their intensive dual cultivation efforts, their cooperative abilities proved to be the best out of the four.
Due to the [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art], all of their attacks reached the Divine Transformation level. Their burnt lifespan varied from ten to fifteen thousand years. They did not show visible signs of aging, though they looked weaker than before. It is a drawback that needs months to a year to recover given the right resources.
"Do it to me."
"Huh..? But that's for slaves…"
"You can cancel it out, right?"
"Yes…"
Kiana's blatant words shook the other two, especially Sirin.
Seeing everything take a weird turn, Shi Tian turned their attention back to the Herrscher.
"You must understand everything."
The mark itself does not rewrite perception and the likes. It merely forces anyone under it to obey the caster. They cannot disobey or their very being gets obliterated by the mark.
The [Moon Picking Yin Manual] is the sole enslavement technique that works even if the caster regresses in cultivation. As long as the seal is strong enough, there won't be a problem controlling a Divine Transformation cultivator as a Qi Refining cultivator.
"Yes, master."
To his surprise, the Herrscher of the End did not look apprehensive. Her flat expression and cold tone remained as usual. A strange feeling swiftly came to him.
'Just what is she planning..?'