But then again.
While the system was practically blind when it came to the immediate present timeline, Kiana could still anchor and alter the future further out, solidifying desired outcomes as fixed points. In a way, wasn't that another form of 'words becoming law'?
The world would bend to her will.
Therefore.
Even though the scattered information from the original storyline revealed little about the several Great Eruptions of the previous era—locations unknown, times unknown, even the corresponding Herrschers' identities and appearances remained a mystery—she wasn't entirely powerless to intervene.
Right?!
For example...
Starting now.
She could manually set the location, time, and even the specific identity of the Herrscher vessel for every subsequent Great Eruption.
Then, as the timeline advanced and reached those timestamps, they would simply... happen.
If she gave advance notice!
There'd be basically no room for error, right?
The closer to the present, the harder it was for changes to occur.
Moreover, as her own power grew, so would her capabilities.
With the Great Eruptions firmly set as immutable points like this, no matter what, many things would become much simpler.
In other words!
No matter what, a Great Eruption would definitely happen at that specific place, at that specific time, involving that specific girl.
The future would even influence the present, pushing events toward that destined outcome.
Across countless potential futures, the main worldline would inevitably converge towards those fixed points.
Perhaps these Eruptions wouldn't need to be sudden ambushes that caught everyone off guard.
They could become like the Third Great Eruption, following certain patterns, showing discernible signs. And if there happened to be no suitable vessel in the designated area? Well, if an Eruption was mandated for that zone, they could just... create a Herrscher from scratch. That was totally feasible too!
But.
Easier said than done...
How it would actually play out remained to be seen.
After all.
She had seen many possible future timelines. For each Great Eruption, there were choices to be made—different regions, different vessels.
Kiana had to pick.
Setting the location aside for a moment...
The main priority was to choose a pretty one.
"Speaking of Herrschers... hey, how's the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment doing lately?" Kiana looked towards Elysia.
After all, the prison visitation duties had always fallen to Elysia.
At the mention of this, Elysia let out a worried sigh, resting her cheek on her hand with a look of utter helplessness.
"She's completely given up... she really doesn't plan on coming out anymore. I even offered to let her out, and she still refused..."
She looked at Kiana as if searching her own soul.
"Did I accidentally ruin her?"
"Maybe you did?"
Kiana couldn't help but laugh.
I mean, think about it...
Before, the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment had wanted to come out with Sesha, had wanted to put up a fight.
But she had to go and be tsundere, didn't she? Had to be all tough.
Then Elysia went and 'tamed' her like she was training a hawk.
And now? Well, it clearly backfired.
Staying in her cell was like living in a presidential suite.
She could grow flowers, keep fish, happily play games, read comics, read novels...
She wasn't even lonely.
Even if Elysia didn't visit regularly, she still had Miss Sesha.
Not to mention Elysia still visited once every day or two, always bringing her some tasty treats.
With food, fun, and no need to work, who wouldn't want that life?
"Should I try to change my approach, then?"
"But can you actually change it?"
"I can't..."
"See?"
Kiana didn't really mind. It wasn't like they couldn't afford to support one Herrscher and one Honkai beast.
For now, they could just think of it as keeping a canary. And this particular birdie was perfectly content to stay in her cage.
She had excellent self-management skills.
What could you even say to that?
Although.
Kiana hadn't finalized the future convergence for this Fourth Great Eruption.
Which meant this one still held some uncertainty.
Even for the Eruptions she had fixed, if the Cocoon of Finality decided to cause trouble, the further into the future they went, the later the Eruption, the more unstable it might become. The more likely deviations would occur.
That was understandable.
Kiana had a vague feeling that the Cocoon of Finality, much like herself, wasn't planning any major disruptions and just intended to follow the script.
After all.
Humanity had always been quick to forget past hardships.
If you didn't give them a sense of crisis every now and then, they'd just start messing around on their own.
At this stage.
Each subsequent Great Eruption was the challenge Kiana set for them.
But from the Cocoon of Finality's perspective...
Perhaps it felt that Kiana already perfectly met its conditions for embrace, so it simply stopped considering others, even actively loosening its standards.
Was that it?
"System, I was wondering..."
"Does the Cocoon of Finality watch the Sky Screen too?"
[Host, didn't you already know?]
Alright, so the Cocoon of Finality had been thoroughly fooled too.
Anchoring the future, reversing cause and effect to influence the present, combined with the 'lies' of the Sky Screen, had made it a true believer.
That one-two punch combo.
Really.
Forget just humanity.
How could the Cocoon's vague consciousness possibly disbelieve it?
Kiana was in a great mood.
Every day she was either busy editing new videos, considering what other issues might exist in the virtual future timelines, or pondering what else could be revealed.
Elysia, of course, had obtained the Divine Key from Vill-V.
In fact, Kiana had specially crafted a gem embodying the Authority of Origin for Vill-V to use in creating a dedicated gift for Elysia.
Its design was based on the appearance of Whisper of the Past.
It was also a bow.
It was like Elysia had gotten her signature weapon straight away.
Elysia was overjoyed.
For days, she was practically inseparable from that bow, carrying it with her everywhere.
Anyway!
New Zealand had been identified as the location for the impending Fourth Great Eruption.
Regardless of whether the vessel had fled or not.
She, the members of Fire Moth, and elites from various countries and organizations would deploy to the surrounding areas.
They would monitor the fluctuations in Honkai energy concentration.
After the experience of the Third Great Eruption, they were somewhat familiar with the drill.
Even though Kiana wasn't going this time, she was keeping an eye on things. If any problems arose, it didn't matter; she would step in.
So the sense of security was practically overwhelming.
As for the rest, the Moth elites, along with Elysia, would serve as the advance team, aiming to find and decapitate the Herrscher as before.
Capture was also an option if possible.
Then!
The other soldiers would work to prevent the Eruption's effects from spreading, establishing defensive lines against the Honkai beasts and zombies. Afterwards, they'd also be responsible for cleaning up and sanitizing the residual aftermath.
The division of labor was clear and orderly.
So, in the past few days, once the time drew near, Elysia set off promptly.
She departed from Sapphire to rendezvous with the main force in New Zealand.
This time, she intended to truly wield her power, striving to awaken the humanity within the Herrscher.
Because she believed.
If she could tame the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment...
Then the others must be possible too!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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