[You have brought an undeniable influence upon Izumo (World). Honkai Energy Concentration (World) permanently increased by 5%.]
[You have received a gift from the Honkai. Finality Progress permanently increased by 5%.]
[Finality Progress reached 10% (Permanent). Qualification to obtain a Stigmata unlocked.]
Name: Kiana
Faction: Honkai
Talent: Authority of Finality
Skill: Phase Shuttle (Void)
Finality Progress: 12.4% (↓)
Honkai Energy Concentration (Izumo): 20.8996% (↓)
Summary: Herrscher assimilation is no longer the sole factor affecting Honkai Energy Concentration (World). Please be aware of potential Honkai Eruption.
The unexpected notifications appeared.
Kiana glanced briefly at the messages before her gaze settled on her own drastically changed panel.
The most striking part was the Honkai Energy concentration.
Next was the warning in the summary.
She was no longer the only one influencing the Honkai Energy concentration. In other words—even if she managed to lock her Herrscher progression at 10%, the world's Honkai Energy would still continue to rise for various reasons!
What reasons?
Eruptions.
Any energy that could be eroded or assimilated by the Honkai would contribute to it. A concentration of 20% was already no small number. If it rose any higher, regions with elevated Honkai density might begin spawning Honkai creatures.
Her thoughts drifted to the Kami of Izumo.
Kiana realized that the Kami here were particularly susceptible to Honkai corruption. When the concentration was only around 10%, even a mighty being like Almighty Thunder had already shown clear signs of erosion.
In truth, Kiana suspected these Kami might have willingly embraced the Honkai.
A 10% concentration wasn't high—it wouldn't even be notable on a planetary scale.
Yet Almighty Thunder had fallen victim to it.
When she had first seen it, the signs of corruption were already obvious—it was halfway to becoming a Honkai creature.
If 10% had such an effect, then now—at nearly double that concentration…
Kiana frowned but quickly regained her composure. She had already decided not to keep playing small.
It was time to sell equipment and build momentum.
In her view, if ordinary Kami turned into Honkai creatures, she could still find ways to make slaying them no more difficult.
Almighty Thunder had been troublesome only because she had activated her system mere days ago—too soon for her to build any capital.
Once she overcame this early stage, the remaining Kami in Izumo would no longer be threats requiring desperate struggles. Even if all nine remaining Kami were corrupted into Honkai Beasts—stronger than Herrschers themselves—she wouldn't fear them.
Izumo's true enemy was IX.
The real concern was how to protect Izumo from his grasp.
As Kiana pondered what the rising Honkai Energy might bring to Izumo, the forging of Howl was complete.
The blade no longer resembled Yamato NS Katana—it now gleamed in shades of violet and crimson, with strange lightning patterns etched across both handle and edge.
Seeing the process complete, Mei approached Howl, examining the weapon that had once been the Yamato NS Katana.
It was different from Narukami.
Its hue wasn't violet-black but violet-red—reminiscent of the crimson lightning once wielded by Almighty Thunder, perhaps tainted by the influence of the Honkai.
She boldly reached out and grasped Howl, where faint traces of lightning still coursed along the edge.
The moment she held it, the blade's divine radiance faded. The violet-red hue dimmed, the glowing thunder patterns lost their luster, and the hilt returned to an ordinary appearance.
Holding the Edict Edge, Mei felt the immense power hidden within Howl. A glint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Sirin, retracting Sky, looked at her. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"…It's a fine weapon," Mei replied simply.
Kiana, equally intrigued, leaned closer. "Mei, can I take a look?"
"Here."
[Howl (Edict Edge): A sword forged through the slaying of Almighty Thunder. It grants the wielder immense power, but that power is also a curse—each use inflicts Honkai erosion upon the wielder.
Special Effects:
Kotodama – Unleash the blade's true form through the power of words, recreating Almighty Thunder's might.
Wound – Attacks have a chance to inflict grievous injury upon the enemy.
Narukami – All lightning-type damage is tripled.]
A sword with three attributes.
Its only drawback wasn't a Kami's curse—but instead, Honkai erosion.
Kiana thought about Almighty Thunder's transformation into a Honkai creature and found the effect quite reasonable.
She was tempted to test this so-called "Honkai erosion effect," curious to see how severe it truly was.
But then she remembered her own identity.
She was the Herrscher of Finality—though not yet in her complete form, still a Herrscher nonetheless.
If this blade could corrode her, that would truly be miraculous.
"It's a great blade!" Kiana exclaimed, returning it to Mei.
The Wound trait was likely an evolved version of the Bleed effect that had belonged to Yamato NS Katana.
It couldn't possibly mean Almighty Thunder's dying resentment had imbued the sword with such an effect, right?
That would be ridiculous.
"All Edict Edges share the same nature," Sirin said, sheathing the now-normal Sky. "As I said before—the vessel determines the degree of erosion."
Her gaze lingered on Howl in Mei's hand. "You can feel the cost of wielding it, can't you? Too late to regret it now. The sword you used wasn't Narukami itself."
"…The sword Kiana gave me wasn't a broken one."
Suddenly, she turned her gaze to the right—and under Sirin's startled look, she swung her blade toward a nearby rooftop.
A crescent-shaped arc of lightning surged forth. Blue electricity, streaked with crimson, shot across the air. In the blink of an eye, before any of them could react, it struck the rooftop, followed by a deafening boom.
"So that's Howl's power?"
Mei kept her eyes on the rooftop. From its shattered surface, wisps of black, ominous energy began to rise.
That simple opening strike carried power at least four or five times greater than her previous full-strength attack.
She nodded slightly.
Her strength was enhanced not only by the Stigmata but also by Howl. Calling it the blade's power wasn't wrong.
Then, tendrils of black miasma drifted toward Howl attempting to cling to it—but Mei repelled them with her Honkai energy.
The power of slain Kami often infused itself into weapons afterward—that was how they had endured throughout the invasion.
Even Kami slain by the Edict Edge would leave behind residual energy to merge with the blade, though such remnants were weak and served only as minor nourishment.
Sirin hadn't paid it much mind.
It was normal for lesser Kami to linger nearby.
But then something shocking occurred—the Kami energy of the one just slain failed to merge with the Edict Edge.
Without a vessel to contain it, the energy didn't disperse. Instead, it gathered together, condensing into a pitch-black crystal.
"What is that?!"
In over ten years of slaying Kami, this was the first time Sirin had ever seen such a phenomenon!