"Angelia!" Vita walked up to Angelia Schariac. "When you become a Herrscher, let's play together!"
"I… can I really?"
Angelia Schariac still lacked confidence.
After some time under Vita's steady stream of encouraging words, the girl's sense of inferiority had lessened considerably.
"Of course you can! Don't doubt yourself!" Vita clenched her fists, her face full of encouragement. "You have tremendous potential. Trust me! You'll definitely become an outstanding Herrscher. I believe in you."
"Mm…~"
Angelia Schariac responded shyly.
"Don't worry. We'll definitely meet again in the future."
Anticipation showed on Vita's face.
Back on the floating battleship, Angelia Schariac noticed everyone looking at her and instinctively hid behind her sister, Maria Schariac.
"Stop hiding behind me all the time."
Maria Schariac sounded irritated. She truly could not understand why that Venus Herrscher from another world believed her sister—who ranked at the bottom in nearly every aspect—would become a Herrscher.
Clearly, she was the more outstanding one in every regard.
"Sister!!"
Startled, Angelia Schariac stepped back, widening the distance between them.
"Angelia, come sit with us!" Herrscher of Fire Kiana stepped forward, took the golden-haired girl's hand, and led her back to where Raiden Mei, Wendy, Ana, and Seele—the small Herrscher group—were seated.
Above the floating battleship, they entered the passage Vita had opened.
They returned to the Honkai world.
Raven merely said, "Dismissed," before leaving.
The next day.
Classroom.
Einstein stood at the podium, her tone calm. "After this trip to another world, I believe you've all witnessed the strength of a Honkai civilization."
"In our universe, this solar system now belongs to the Honkai civilization collective under the Will of Ruler."
Herrscher of Fire Kiana looked puzzled. "Dr. Einstein, since we're also part of this Honkai collective, why can't Sister Vita help us?"
"That's exactly what I'm about to explain. Just as nations in human civilization cannot interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, they won't casually interfere in worlds ruled by other Herrschers." Einstein pressed her fingers to her temple and rubbed lightly. "Unfortunately, the ruler here is Sirin—the Herrscher of the Void who was once harmed by Schicksal. The fact that she allows us to live and fend for ourselves is already an act of great mercy."
"…Sister Sirin?" Herrscher of Fire Kiana lowered her gaze in thought. This really isn't easy to handle…
"Dr. Einstein, that device capable of restoring everything—it shouldn't belong to the human civilization of our world, right?"
Raiden Mei raised her hand to speak. When Bronya was revived, she had been awakened by the Herrscher of Thunder and regained control of her body.
Just as Bronya had said, the Herrscher of Thunder only wanted to protect her.
Raiden Mei no longer rejected the Herrscher of Thunder, instead treating her like an older sister.
The two of them took turns controlling the body.
"That brings us to another force on the same level as the Will of Ruler," Einstein continued without concern about information leaking.
"Another force?" Raiden Mei asked.
"The Finality Empire. From the name alone, you can probably guess—this is a faction formed by Herrschers of Finality from other parallel worlds. They too can cross the Imaginary Tree and traverse infinite worlds."
Einstein went on, "Therefore, it isn't difficult to deduce that in the parallel worlds connected to ours, there are many such forces established by Herrschers of Finality."
"That is also the objective of our God Creation Project—to cultivate a Herrscher into a Herrscher of Finality."
"Compared to other universes, our universe is an anomalous one. The laws and natural principles here differ from those of most universes."
"Beyond the solar system, numerous Aeons and their followers form factions that constantly wage war against one another."
Einstein did not conceal information about the Aeons.
Although this universe was also filled with all sorts of strange and powerful beings, compared to that universe with the four Chaos Gods of the Warp, this one was already considered relatively peaceful.
"As for the Aeons, you don't need to concern yourselves with them. They have nothing to do with us." Einstein looked at Herrscher of Fire Kiana. "We still need to deal with the Honkai first."
"Kiana, Raiden Mei, Ana, Wendy, Seele—you are Herrschers. You can try going to other worlds and integrating into their communities. That may help with your growth."
"If it were just a group of humans going, they would likely feel disgusted."
"Huh? Really?! But Sister Vita is really nice!" Herrscher of Fire Kiana exclaimed in surprise.
"That's because you were there. If it were Otto and me, she might not even bother acknowledging us," Einstein replied. It might have been slightly exaggerated, but not by much.
"The status of humanity in our world within the Will of Ruler's system is that of stateless wanderers."
"What's a wanderer?"
"Someone with nothing at all."
The identity of a wanderer was like someone in a country without household registration or identification.
Without being granted the foundational system by the Will of Ruler, living in its world would make everything difficult.
The authority to issue the foundational system most likely rested with Sirin.
Without that system, one was not considered an internal member of the Will of Ruler. One couldn't even conduct transactions.
...
At Raiden Mei's home.
Bronya sat alone by the window, gazing at the sunset outside with the expression of someone who had suddenly attained enlightenment. She sighed. "Life is so boring."
"Bored again?" Vita lay on the bed, her calves swinging lazily in the air. "When you know too much and have played too much, life loses its excitement. Want me to help you reset a bit?"
"No."
Bronya refused without hesitation.
Memory therapy—packaging repetitive, meaningless memories away to restore a sense of freshness.
Then resetting the body's condition so that the ever-increasing threshold would return to what it once was.
"Oh, come on! Sister, we're family. You're not afraid I'd trick you, are you?"
"Yes. I am afraid you'd trick me."
Bronya spoke bluntly.
"How could that be? I'm always sincere with family!" Vita sat up on the edge of the bed. "I would never trick you. Relax."
"When I have time, I'll restore my state myself." Bronya slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping over Vita with a trace of amusement in her eyes. "That girl named Angelia—you've taken a liking to her?"
"Oh my, you really do know how to joke~" Vita covered her mouth and laughed softly. "But when it comes to matters of the heart… who can say for sure?"
"I can explain it clearly. She likes you. With your abilities, there's no way you didn't notice." Bronya's gray eyes narrowed slightly. "As for you, you're just someone who lives for amusement. Go play with Aha instead."
"The Aeon of Joy? I'll pass." Vita rested her chin on one hand and sighed. "I still think it's more fun being with you all."
She was merely someone who sought amusement from time to time—not as extreme as Aha.
"That child, Angelia—can she become a Herrscher?"
"Yes."
"She really will?"
"She'll become the Herrscher of Dominance. Most of the students at Chiba Academy in Nagazora become the Herrscher of Dominance."
"The one with a thousand cores and a thousand bodies?"
"Who else would it be?"
"Was that your arrangement?"
"No."
"What a pity. I thought she might become the Herrscher of Stars."
"There is no Herrscher of Stars. The Herrscher of Earth is with the Human Contract Alliance—one of their councilors, a man named Aztar."
"The Herrscher of Sentience is still Fu Hua, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll go play with her."
Vita's figure vanished from the room.
On the moon, a sense of discord quickly enveloped Fu Hua. As a MANTIS, her perception of danger was extremely sharp.
Her body instinctively sounded an alarm.
The other party made no attempt to conceal her intent—she wanted to pull Fu Hua into an illusion.
More precisely, the intensity of that pull felt more like an invitation.
After a moment of hesitation, Fu Hua released her mental defenses and accepted it.
Soon, when she opened her eyes again, she found herself back on Mount Taixuan.
At this moment, Mount Taixuan was decorated with lanterns and colorful silk ribbons.
Everything felt incomparably real. She could clearly sense touch, pain, even the breeze brushing past her skin and the scent of grass and trees.
Fu Hua knew this was an illusion, yet one so indistinguishable from reality was likely something only a Herrscher under the Will of Ruler could create.
What is this supposed to be?
"Hua, what are you standing there in a daze for? Today is your big day, and you're still spacing out like a block of wood."
"Y-You're… Dan Zhu?" Fu Hua looked at the girl before her—dressed in black feathered robes—momentarily distracted.
"Are you still half-asleep?" Dan Zhu grabbed Fu Hua by the shoulders and shook her. "If not me, then who? Hurry up! Ji Xuanyuan is still waiting for you!"
"Mm."
Fu Hua steadied herself, wondering what kind of play this illusion was trying to stage.
She decided to follow along and see what was really going on.
"You said today is my big day?" Fu Hua asked.
Dan Zhu smiled brightly. "Did you forget? Today is the day you're marrying Ji Xuanyuan."
Fu Hua's heart jolted. Marrying Ji Xuanyuan? This illusion had constructed something so absurd.
But her expression remained calm. "Why do I have no memory of it?"
"Don't tell me you burned your memories again with Fenghuang Down!"
Worry appeared in Dan Zhu's eyes.
"?" Just as Fu Hua was about to speak, her mind suddenly went blank.
She couldn't remember anything.
"Honestly, I told you not to mess around."
Dan Zhu pulled Fu Hua hurriedly toward the ceremonial hall.
Looking at the familiar yet strange surroundings, Fu Hua felt full of doubt.
Inside the hall, Ji Xuanyuan stood quietly in a magnificent red robe.
Cang Xuan stood beside her.
"Sister, Hua burned her memories again. She almost forgot about us," Dan Zhu complained to Cang Xuan.
"Hua, don't do this anymore." Cang Xuan walked up and gently took Fu Hua's hand. "Today is your special day. Don't hurt Ji Xuanyuan's heart again."
Fu Hua opened her mouth, unsure how to refute it, only feeling that some force in her mind was preventing her from recalling everything.
Ji Xuanyuan looked at her with gentle yet unwavering eyes, as if conveying boundless affection.
Fu Hua was led to Ji Xuanyuan's side. The ceremony began.
As it progressed, she gradually began to immerse herself in this world.
Outside, Su sensed something was wrong with Fu Hua and extended his consciousness to investigate.
But when his mind followed Fu Hua's awareness into the imagined world created by Vita—
He discovered that Fu Hua already had a child.
And the child was the Herrscher of Sentience.
Very quickly, Su realized that this world—both real and unreal—did not share the same flow of time as the outside world, and it was interfering with his consciousness.
Not good!
He swiftly withdrew from that world and awakened Fu Hua from the outside.
Vita did not stop Su from leaving. A mysterious smile rested on her face.
"Grandmaster…" Li Sushang gripped Fu Hua's arms and shook her vigorously. "Grandmaster, wake up! Stop sleeping. Senior Su told me to wake you up."
"…"
Fu Hua rubbed her head. Everything she had just experienced felt like a dream—both illusory and real.
Whose prank was this?
"That's great. Grandmaster, are you alright?"
Li Sushang had no idea what had happened. She had only heard Su's voice telling her to wake Fu Hua, so she came immediately.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Ah? I… I don't know!"
"Forget it. It was just a dream." Fu Hua sorted through the memories from that world.
Just as she thought that, a spatial rift appeared.
Four figures fell out of it—Herrscher of Sentience, Ji Xuanyuan, Cang Xuan, and Dan Zhu.
They looked around blankly at their surroundings.
Seeing the equally stunned Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience spoke first. "Mom, where are we?"
Ji Xuanyuan said softly, "Husband."
"Grandmaster, you…" Li Sushang was utterly shocked. She had never heard that her grandmaster had a wife and child!
Kevin and Su arrived, looking at the suddenly appeared Herrscher of Sentience, Ji Xuanyuan, Cang Xuan, and Dan Zhu.
"Hua…"
Their expressions turned complicated. Their lips parted as if to say something, but in the end, only a faint sigh escaped.
Fu Hua's gaze was complex. She looked at the Herrscher of Sentience who had thrown herself into her arms, then at Ji Xuanyuan, Dan Zhu, and Cang Xuan. "Am I still inside the illusion?"
"Hua, this is not an illusion." Kevin's calm gaze fell upon the Herrscher of Sentience—born from Fu Hua's body.
At the moment Fu Hua lost consciousness, he had sensed the birth of the Herrscher of Sentience. But as soon as she was born, she had vanished along with the illusion.
"Not an illusion?"
Fu Hua's eyes flickered as she looked at Ji Xuanyuan, Dan Zhu, and Cang Xuan.
Freed from the imagined world, Ji Xuanyuan began to recall everything from before. Her face flushed bright red as she lowered her head.
She secretly stole a glance at Fu Hua.
Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan also regained their memories. Dan Zhu's expression stiffened slightly. "Sister, what is this…?"
"Can you explain this to us?" Cang Xuan's gaze swept across those present, finally settling on Kevin and Su.
"Mm."
Su nodded.
He did not particularly care how Ji Xuanyuan, Cang Xuan, and Dan Zhu had been revived.
The entire solar system was within the coverage of the Will of Ruler.
With the Will of Ruler's abilities, resurrection was not a difficult matter.
"Mom, why is your chest flatter now?"
Still hugging Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience felt that the softness beneath her hands was different and couldn't help asking.
"…"
Fu Hua's face immediately darkened.