This Herrscher of Thunder is definitely not right in the head.
It wasn't just Mobius and the others who thought so.
Even Kiana herself felt the same way.
That day, Kiana and Elysia had already made their way into Nagazora City together.
Looking at the silent city around them, even the Honkai beasts were few and far between, like pulling back a fist only to throw a stronger punch.
None of this was surprising, though.
A storm was brewing.
The sky was gloomy, thick with dark clouds.
But the torrential rain still hadn't fallen.
As Herrschers, after accepting their identities and gradually awakening, they could indeed sense the changes in Honkai energy in the air more keenly.
In fact, Elysia had suggested whether they should just intercept and absorb all that Honkai energy themselves.
But Kiana disagreed.
"If we intercept it, and the Third Honkai Eruption doesn't happen in Nagazora but somewhere else, wouldn't everyone's efforts be in vain?"
Not to mention, the Third Honkai Eruption was inevitable sooner or later.
Wouldn't that just be like drinking poison to quench thirst?
Might as well play along and take down the Third Herrscher instead—that's more practical.
Whether we can awaken her, recruit her, or just outright kill her, it'd all be settled.
Why bother~
So.
Elysia agreed with that.
Now.
The Honkai energy density had started to drop, but it didn't last long.
On the surface, it seemed like the roaming Honkai beasts and zombies were maintaining the concentration, but in reality, it was all a facade.
Exactly because they knew this, Kiana and Elysia paid those creatures no mind. They stood at the highest point in Nagazora, overlooking the entire city.
For the next few days.
They planned to stay here and keep watch.
Honestly…
With everything so quiet, the whole city felt like a ghost town. The Honkai beasts and zombies were all unusually still.
It really was… unfamiliar.
Elysia felt like she was on another date with Kiana again. Just the two of them, alone—it made her a little happy.
She asked Kiana, "Will this Herrscher still be the Herrscher of Thunder?"
"Not sure…"
Kiana shook her head slightly.
She couldn't see the future, and her system was better at seeing the bigger picture, but if nothing went wrong, it should still be the Herrscher of Thunder.
Even if the Cocoon of Finality wanted to change things, it'd probably happen later, right?
It wouldn't be this fast, surely.
Admittedly.
The Will of Honkai in the Current Era was the result of Prometheus No.17's hacking.
But the Previous Era had one too.
Though it wasn't technically the Will of Honkai.
More like… the will of the Cocoon.
Yeah.
The Cocoon of Finality had a will of its own.
Though vague, it still responded to events in the outside world.
Like in the original timeline, towards the end of the Previous Era, the emergence of Herrschers—their authorities seemed almost targeted.
That was one example.
And when Kiana arrived at the Sea of Quanta to face her final trial, it was the Cocoon of Finality that posed the questions, seeking her answers.
So, Kiana didn't want to speak in absolutes.
She could only be more certain that this soon-to-emerge Herrscher would be unlike any other, not just in the previous civilization, but probably even in the current one.
Other Herrschers, during their incubation period, the Honkai energy around them would be around three to five hundred HW at most. But this one? Nearly over a thousand during incubation.
It was like she was afraid nobody would know a Herrscher was about to be born here.
Unlike under normal circumstances.
Herrschers always arrived unexpectedly.
One moment, the Honkai energy concentration might be under 100 HW, and the next, it could skyrocket to two or three thousand.
That wasn't unheard of.
Why else would people say… a Honkai Eruption is like dropping a bomb.
It lands wherever it lands.
Always catching you off guard.
After all, Honkai energy fundamentally originates from Imaginary Space, also known as Imaginary Energy.
Imaginary Space is everywhere.
Gathering enough Honkai energy in a short time at a specific location for a Herrscher to descend?
Way too easy.
Even a Herrscher's core is like a key.
It connects to the Imaginary Space.
Allowing them to draw energy from it endlessly.
In other words, what limits a Herrscher's output is only their own power capacity.
Their actual mana pool is infinite.
It's like a water pipe—the flow rate depends on the size of the outlet, but what's behind it is an endless ocean, boundless and inexhaustible.
It's another form of infinite energy!
So!
Kiana also knew that when people talked about a Herrscher being a certain number of HW, they were referring to the Herrscher's power output.
Gotta say, right now, Miss Elysia's awakened Origin powers probably wouldn't be a match for this soon-to-be-born Herrscher.
The output just isn't on the same level.
No matter how strong your Authority is…
Can it compare to sheer overwhelming force?
If the gap is too wide, there's no contest.
So, after some thought, Kiana said to Elysia, "Elysia, maybe let me handle this one."
"I'll restrain the Herrscher first, and then you can try to see if she can regain consciousness. Or we can both strike together when the time comes…"
She paused. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Hmm… What's wrong?" Elysia didn't mind Kiana helping, of course.
The reason she'd stubbornly dragged Kiana along was to have a safety net.
She was mainly curious about what exactly Kiana's bad feeling referred to.
"Hard to say…"
"But I feel like if we don't take this seriously, we might not be able to take her down."
"…"
Kiana trusted her instincts quite a bit.
So did Elysia.
But since Kiana said that, Elysia was even more intrigued.
She casually raised her right hand, toying with a crystalline flower she'd conjured. The flower floating in the air seemed fragile, yet also indestructible.
With a flick of her wrist, the petals turned into blades, randomly obliterating a few unfortunate zombies and Honkai beasts. Then she glanced up at the sky.
"Let's hope this Herrscher… is a reasonable girl."
"Oh, right!"
Elysia suddenly thought of something.
"We've already evacuated all of Nagazora, even the entire Far East. There's no one left. If a Herrscher is going to emerge, who's it gonna be?"
"There isn't even a host body anymore!"
"…"
Hearing that, Kiana froze.
Could it be that Honkai was feinting, planning to cause trouble somewhere else?
She didn't care whether the future predicted by the system would come true or if she'd be criticized for it.
But all this time, she'd been so focused on various future worldlines, paying little attention to the present. If things had already diverged starting now, throwing her a curveball…
Well, what then?
Oh crap!
Did I accidentally screw things up?!
Kiana's expression turned complex.
Seeing her like that, Elysia knew—oops, problem.
But they were already here.
They couldn't just leave, right?!
Might as well wait…
See what happens!
Fortunately, the Cocoon of Finality still doted on Kiana.
After scanning around and failing to find a suitable host—not even after lowering its standards to the extreme—it decided to just create one from scratch.
Somewhat similar to how Elysia was born.
Something out of nothing.
Perhaps descending from the heavens.
Precisely because they were children with no parents, created entirely by Honkai, it was only natural that they left no traces in the real world.
--+--
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