69. Promise, We Shall Meet Again.
Sirin, the former Herrscher of the Void, once bestowed with four gems by the Will of Honkai, became a super-powered Herrscher driven by four cores.
Now, Gao Qi, who has grown accustomed to wielding the powers of the Herrscher of Death—whether through the Serenity Gem or the Herrscher of Death core—begins to experiment with a new power.
[Herrscher Transformation · Herrscher of Ice: You have achieved resonance with the Herrscher of Ice core. Though lacking a Blank Key as a medium, your mastery is exceptional—you can now manipulate forces at the atomic level, bringing all things to a complete standstill.]
Armor of bluish-white ice crystallized over his body as Gao Qi fully ascended into the Herrscher of Ice. Though he considered mimicking the attire of another Herrscher of Ice, the thought of Anna Schariac's feminine outfit made him reconsider.
While the Herrscher of Ice of the Previous Era was vanquished by Kalpas alone, the essence of her power remained formidable—not merely extreme cold, but stagnation, the halting of all that could be halted.
"Oh my, I wanted to chat a bit longer. Why so desperate all of a sudden, mortal? The power of a Herrscher is perilous. As you are now, returning to reality would mean certain death! Treasure what little time you have left!"
BOOM!!!
The Herrscher of Sentience tried to taunt, but in the next instant, her form was impaled by a lance of ice and frozen solid within the glacial prison.
Though Gao Qi's soul appeared diminutive, like Aponia's, it was no longer constrained by the physical vessel and had regained its inherent might. The Herrscher of Sentience had chosen the wrong battlefield—now she would face Gao Qi's soul, unafraid of death!
"Prepare for hell—explode!"
With two fingers pressed together like a blade, Gao Qi tapped the frozen forehead of the Herrscher of Sentience. Countless icy blades pierced through her form, shattering it instantly. In his previous simulations, Gao Qi had consulted Kevin on the nuances of ice control.
"This isn't enough, human! You're nothing special! Did you really think you could kill me here? In this place, I am immortal!"
But the next moment, the white figure reappeared—dozens, hundreds of Herrscher of Sentience copies now filled the space.
"This is my beautiful dream—and yours as well! To think you could kill the master of the dream within the dream itself? Wishful thinking! The longer you remain here, the more this beautiful dream will erode all of you, whether you wish it or not. I will reduce reality to nothingness. I shall—overturn all creation!"
As arrogantly as Little Sentience once had, the countless copies of the Herrscher of Sentience burst into laughter, seemingly mocking Gao Qi's powerlessness.
"Is that so? I'm glad you think that way. The Herrscher who commands human consciousness yet remains the dullest of all—perhaps that is humanity's fortune."
Gao Qi merely smiled faintly and snapped his fingers with a flair—the Herrscher of Sentience never was the brightest; after all, she fell for Little Hua's telecom scam.
"Thoughts, consciousness—since they truly exist, they are tangible matter. Whether composed of atoms or quanta, they can be frozen and shattered—isn't that right?"
Crack, crack-crack-crack— Around him, a corner of the consciousness space began to fracture with freezing fissures.
"Gao Qi!"
Simultaneously, Aponia—who had been standing motionless beside Gao Qi since the beginning, arms outstretched as if activating a support skill—suddenly opened her eyes and sent a fluttering butterfly to his side.
It was a location, a coordinate—one that should have been found by Su, but Aponia was capable of it as well.
"Beautiful dreams, Little Sentience… you must understand, not everyone enjoys beautiful dreams. At least one person's dreams are nothing but eternal ashes!"
Having obtained the coordinates, Gao Qi's smile brightened immeasurably. Then, a corner of the consciousness space shattered completely, and a figure engulfed in flames burst forth.
"GRAAAAAAAH—KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!"
That was—the purest wrath!
Kalpas, the man of neither blood nor tears, even in slumber, harbored boundless fury within. His rage would never cease; it would unleash the world's wrath upon the Honkai. And now, the barriers of his dreams had been utterly torn apart by Gao Qi!
So savage, so relentless—this pure fury was directed solely at the Honkai!
"Hold them off, Kalpas! I'll go kill her!"
At this point, Kalpas was almost purely instinctual, roaring and howling like a beast. He seized a burning pillar and began cleaving through the infinite copies of the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Zero, don't you dare die! If you dare throw your life away for these Moth scum, if you dare meet such a meaningless end—I will unleash eternal vengeance upon you!"
Leaving behind words that were both exasperating and heartwarming, Kalpas held back the Herrscher of Sentience's assault.
"Then go ahead and hate me. Just don't rush headlong into certain death when facing a powerful enemy."
With a faint smile, Gao Qi nodded to Aponia. Amidst dazzling ice crystals, he charged suddenly toward a corner of the consciousness space.
Last time, the Herrscher of Sentience had been pinpointed by Su and slain in the real world. This time, Gao Qi would annihilate her will within her own domain!
"No! Stop him, you lunatic! Aren't you afraid I'll take you down with me?"
In his ears, the voice of the Herrscher of Sentience grew increasingly frenzied. Aponia had truly reverse-engineered her location—and at this point, she hadn't even become a MANTIS…
Was this her innate talent, or a "change" brought about by Gao Qi? No one knew.
Thus, Gao Qi's will clashed with the Herrscher's. The icy armor covering him began to crack and crumble, but he drew closer and closer to the Herrscher's hidden location.
Guided by the fluttering butterfly, as the last shard of ice shattered from his form, Gao Qi arrived before a small cottage and pushed the door open.
Inside, the true body of the Herrscher of Sentience waited quietly. There was no arrogant mockery, no furious shouting.
"Wahhh! N-no, don't come closer! You can't kill me! The Herrscher core's output has an upper limit! Your power is exhausted! I'll let you all go, okay? You're already dying!"
She wasn't arrogant at all. Instead, she was a young girl who bore some resemblance to Little Sentience, huddled in a corner of the chaotic dormitory, wrapped in a blanket.
"I… I don't want to die. I never asked for this power either. I'm so scared… I hate this power."
Like the Herrscher of Death Gao Qi had once encountered, she was filled with fear and despair. Even after launching her assault on Gao Qi, this girl still didn't fully grasp the situation—she was just an ordinary person.
She was an apostle chosen by the Honkai, but the Honkai itself had given her no choice.
"The power of the Herrscher of Ice is gone… but the Herrscher of Death remains."
Gao Qi stood before her impassively. Black mist began to manifest in his hand as he reached out and gripped the neck of the Herrscher of Sentience, slowly extinguishing her frail true form.
The power of the Authority of Death paled in comparison to the Herrscher of Ice core and was also corroding Gao Qi himself—but it was enough to kill the defenseless Herrscher of Sentience before him.
"Death… I'm going to die… I don't want to die… Sob…"
As if realizing the reality of her demise, the timid Herrscher began to weep. Yet outside the room, her power continued to rage, almost as if it were a separate entity entirely.
Gao Qi's hand did not stop—showing mercy now would undo all their efforts. Yet, his gaze couldn't help but grow solemn.
Kiana… after becoming a Herrscher, would she feel this same despair and fear? And Little Hua, when she became the Herrscher of Dominance—was she also waiting for her brother to save her?
Herrschers were enemies of the world, unforgivable sinners. But… if they could be reached in time… why couldn't they be saved?
The power of the Herrscher of Death continues to spread, but after hesitating for a moment, Gao Qi took a deep breath.
"Did the Will of the Honkai never tell you that I'm special? Next time, if I can see you again, Senti, I promise you—I will save you. But on one condition: you have to cooperate."
In that instant, a sudden inspiration struck Gao Qi, and he thought of something.
If the main reason Gao Qi dies prematurely in every simulation, leading to its end, is that the Herrschers appear ahead of time along with the Honkai…
Then… if Gao Qi wants to resist, wouldn't the best approach be—to turn the Herrschers themselves into allies?!
After all, in the modern era, every Herrscher seems to switch sides. So why not recreate that in the Previous Era?!
The power of the Herrscher of Death corroded the core of the Herrscher of Sentience, but the Herrscher of Sentience herself was momentarily stunned by Gao Qi's words.
"Save me… Hah, I don't know exactly what you are, but if it's you… you might actually be able to do it. I'll be waiting patiently. Remember, my name is—"
She softly spoke the name she once had as a human. The next second, the Herrscher of Sentience was completely corroded by the power of necrosis, turning into ashes and vanishing entirely. The entire dream space began to collapse.
And Gao Qi had finally reached his limit. His consciousness started to disintegrate, shattering into pieces of ice.
But this time, he felt no regret or sorrow. Unlike before, he could truly leave without any lingering regrets.
"Aponia."
A few seconds later, Aponia's exhausted figure appeared before Gao Qi, witnessing him dissipating into ice shards.
"You're leaving."
Her expression remained calm, yet tears streamed uncontrollably from her beautiful eyes. Her entire life had been marked by the sorrow of being unable to change fate, but today, she suffered because fate had been altered.
"Don't cry, Aponia. I told you, maybe we'll meet again."
Locking eyes with Aponia, Gao Qi wanted to reach out and touch her face, but feeling the uncontrollable low temperature, he could only retract his hand—Kevin really has it tough too.
"Aponia, wait for me. We'll meet again someday. Promise me, don't sacrifice yourself for just anything."
In the end, he could only maintain a smile and wave at Aponia.
"It's settled, Aponia. Next time we meet, I intend to turn this fake story into reality."
Hearing this, Aponia finally stopped her tears and helplessly waved at her dear child and future lover.
"Yes, we shall reunite eventually. Farewell, my love."
The next moment, accompanied by the sound of shattering ice, Gao Qi's consciousness vanished like ice crystals, and the Herrscher of Sentience's space completely collapsed and dissipated.
——————
Aponia opened her eyes to find herself lying beside the Moth Brainwave Device in Fire Moth, with Mei still nervously adjusting the equipment nearby.
"Brahman… It's Brahman's energy. No wonder the Brahman factors in the warehouse disappeared mysteriously."
Usually calm and composed, Mei now seemed unusually urgent, as if she had uncovered something dreadful.
"Dammit, I've definitely seen this MANTIS power waveform before! What was his name… What was his name?! Kevin! Kevin, are you awake? Get me Mobius and Hua immediately—call them over. I remember they're connected to him. My memory… I have a terrifying guess!"
Aponia glanced beside her. On the operating table, Gao Qi remained in his small form, a smile on his face as if he were peacefully asleep.
His vital signs had completely flatlined. He would never laugh in front of Aponia again, never embrace her gently, and there would be no future for him.
But Aponia did not cry. Her eyes saw the threads of fate on her body completely converge into the towering tree within Gao Qi. Then, that giant tree slowly grew toward the sky and vanished from her sight.
In her heart, Aponia still felt that connected fate.
Gao Qi hadn't lied to her. He truly was that special, that… unforgettable.
"Then, I'll look forward to our next meeting, my… beloved."
Aponia took a deep breath but did not fall asleep. Instead, she sat up.
Her mission was not yet over.
——————
Gao Qi opened his eyes. Before he could even gather his thoughts, he suddenly noticed more than a dozen pairs of eyes fixed directly on him—the Valkyries stationed at the Schicksal base.
"He's awake! He's awake!"
"Mr. Gao Qi is awake! Hurry up and cook!"
"It's already dark, and we've been starving for hours. We don't want instant noodles."
"We still have several days of vacation left! Do you want to go shopping with us, Mr. Gao Qi?"
"Vice Captain Rita returned to Schicksal for debriefing. She told us to let you know you should take good care of everyone these days—you'd better follow orders!"
"Quiet down, everyone! Let Gao Qi rest a bit… Gao Qi, it wasn't me who let them in. You just didn't close the door."
Looking at the chattering Valkyries and the somewhat helpless, slightly annoyed Alvitr beside them, Gao Qi smiled and shrugged.
"Alright, just tell me what you want to eat—I'll make it all. While Miss Rita is away these few days, everyone can relax!"
Gao Qi wasn't wrong. This simulation… really wasn't sad at all.
And besides…
"Wow, so pretty! It's a butterfly!"
"So tame! Look, it landed on Mr. Gao Qi's shoulder!"
Amid the girls' exclamations, a small, azure-blue butterfly landed on Gao Qi, quietly flapping its wings twice, seemingly unafraid of humans.
Aponia… was also with him.
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?