Location: Canghai City, Shenzhou.Time: Ten years before the outbreak of the Ninth Honkai.
A silver-haired man walked the streets of Canghai City, listening to the dense chatter of the Shenzhou dialect. Within his fractured memories, he still held a few impressions of the first time he had arrived here.
Raising his head to gaze at the Trade Tower standing in the distance, he remembered how he had encountered Hua there alongside a young girl. Soon after, the Third Honkai had followed closely at their heels, descending upon the world.
And...
He turned his head, looking toward another district.
.....
"Mom, I did really well on my exam today!"
"Good, good, my sweet child. Let's go out to eat in a bit..."
The man leaned against a wall. He could not feel the cold. He looked up at the sky filled with stars, listening to the harmonious conversation between mother and son inside the house.
"Phew..."
He exhaled a thin, cool breath and walked away from the apartment. Under the cover of night, he walked alone in the shadows.
Rustle... rustle...
The wind brought the late evening, making the leaves rustle. One fell upon Lin shoulder. He came to a halt, sinking into the silence of this city of neon lights and wine.
Lin felt as though he had lived through a very long dream.
In that dream, humanity faced a disaster known as the Honkai. It could erode human flesh, trigger catastrophes that destroyed continents and planets, and create unknown monsters...
He was a member of the force fighting against the Honkai. Fighting day after day for ten years, he had experienced pain, awakening, betrayal, collapse, and resurgence... Every detail in the dream was crystal clear. He was like a man built of blocks, constantly being pushed down and constantly being reassembled.
Was that a dream?
Lin came to the edge of a pond. He leaned over to look; his hair, the color of moonlight, was strikingly brilliant.
How could it be a dream?
The Pseudo-Herrscher Core within his chest was still thumping, reminding him in the most cruel way possible that even if he wanted to deceive himself, it was impossible.
This was another parallel world, or perhaps a Bubble Universe.
Back in Atra, he hadn't been swallowed by the Pseudo-Black Hole but had arrived here instead. It was highly likely that something had gone wrong with the Stargate in Atra, transporting him to a Bubble Universe within the Sea of Quanta.
This wasn't his first experience traveling through Bubble Universes, so Lin accepted the situation quickly. However, rather than his location, he was more concerned about his current physical condition.
At the end of the Ninth Honkai, his consciousness had nearly been swallowed by the Herrscher's will, leaving him only one step away from becoming a true Herrscher. Yet, his consciousness now was very clear, with no signs of being replaced or consumed. The Pseudo-Herrscher Core still existed within his body, and he did not understand what had happened.
Thinking back to that red sea, where golden chains had restrained the Rainbow Eyes and dragged him upward from the depths, he already had some guesses in his heart.
So, what should he do next?
"..."
Lin paused by the lonely pond. His hearing allowed him to clearly distinguish the chirping of insects, the sound of the wind, and the sweet whispers of lovers beneath the ambient noise. He looked in one direction, then shook his head and turned to leave.
How could he return to his own world?
The first thing Lin thought of was to find this world's Stargate.
What he needed to do was simple: contact the Fire Moth. However, he couldn't state his true intentions, otherwise...
As Lin contemplated his next move, he suddenly stopped and clutched his chest once more.
Did he... really want to go back?
Thump, thump, thump...
A powerful heartbeat, yet it did not come from a heart.
Lin knew all too well what kind of "thing" resided within his body. It was once his complex enemy, his accidental lover, and now, he was about to become "them."
Indeed, rather than going back—
Lin gaze became incredibly sharp. He decided on his next move in less than a second. He walked into a kitchenware store, picked up a kitchen knife, and walked toward the cashier.
"That will be 23 yuan, please."
"..."
Lin felt his empty pockets.
Normally, when he went out to spend money, he used a Fire Moth card. The balance was a nine followed by an unknown number of zeros. The Fire Moth did not allow members to disrupt market order, but they provided absolute material support. Thus, the card could be used for purchases, though every transaction was monitored.
But Lin wasn't wearing his combat suit or armor now, and there was no card in his clothes. He... didn't even have identification to prove his identity.
Was he now... a vagrant?
A drifter?
An illegal resident?
"Are you going to buy it or not?" Seeing Lin standing silently at the counter, the cashier eyed this suspiciously dressed person who wouldn't even show his face. Privately, the cashier's hand crept toward the emergency button, ready to call the police at any moment.
Lin naturally noticed the cashier's subtle movements. He simply placed the knife on the counter and raised both hands. "Can I negotiate with you?"
"About what?"
"I'll borrow this knife briefly. After I've cut off my own head, you can take it back. You can take my clothes to settle the debt. I'll just have to trouble you with the cleanup afterward."
"..."
The cashier knew he had encountered a "hard case."
Wasn't this just a robbery? Wasn't he threatening to cut him down if he didn't hand over the money? And "taking clothes to settle the debt"... did that mean he was going to strip his corpse bare?
This guy...
A bead of cold sweat rolled down the cashier's face. He inconspicuously pressed the emergency call button.
"You don't need to call the police. Someone should come to clean up after I'm dead."
Lin was referring to this world's Fire Moth. The Pseudo-Herrscher Core in his body would likely attract their attention.
But in the cashier's ears, it meant something else entirely.
This man actually noticed he wanted to call the police! And that sentence... did it mean he would dispose of his body so thoroughly that no one would ever find it?!
How sinister.
The cashier glanced nervously outside. It was late at night, and the streets were deserted. Forget passersby—there wasn't even a ghost in sight.
"Just, after I die, you should stay far away. My corpse will be very dangerous." Lin patiently explained to the cashier. He felt the person in front of him was easy to communicate with; they had listened to his explanation without a word, without impatience or doubt, and seemed to take his words very seriously and nervously.
The cashier, meanwhile...
What did he mean? The corpse is dangerous?
...This person wants to dismember him!
"I-I'm just a part-time worker." The cashier swallowed hard. He hoped the other party would let him go. The money didn't matter anymore; it was better to follow along to stay alive.
"I see." Lin nodded calmly. "Then could you call your boss to ask for permission?"
"That's probably not a good idea. He doesn't care about me at all." The cashier made a bitter face. This person actually wanted to extort his boss! If the boss didn't save him, what if the man got frustrated and "disposed of the hostage"?
"Phew... Alright then, thank you." Lin sighed with regret. Since he couldn't get permission, he decided to drop it.
He turned and walked out of the store, leaving the stunned cashier frozen in the wind.
"I am never working the night shift again."