Adam only had one second to gaze upon a realm full of dim, asleep stars before he found himself in a pure white space of nothingness
In front of him stood….a white, colorless, featureless humanoid figure that had a rough shape and outline of his own body.
It was….god
Or rather, to uninformed Herrschers, this was God to them
"You know, I'm quite surprised that you pulled me here."
The silver-haired boy, with an unchanged expression, calmly extended his hand as he spoke up.
Despite his current situation, and despite facing what other people call God, he felt no fear whatsoever
-When one understands God, the divine ceases to be scary and 'miraculous'
{%)#(*@!(*%*&@%)!($#}
"Ahaha…."
His mouth twitched, an awkward smile faintly outlining his face
'Great sage, translation please?'
['Outsider, you're here']
'Thanks.'
Now, knowing what this being said to him, he didn't take his time to reply- his mouth had already opened to speak
"Yes, I'm here, PROMETHEUS." Adam stared right at the spot where this being's eyes should be. "Though I'm surprised you can even communicate with me right now. Did you somehow gain control of that honkai cluster of consciousness?"
He tilted his head as he looked straight at God in the eye and questioned THEM.
{*!(+%!@$^)%(@}
['Answer: You']
"Is it me?" His lips curled upwards, "Or…Great Sage?"
He was not a forgetful man. The fact that Great Sage had usurped this AI turned God and used it as a medium to speak to him had never left his mind
Ah….This cheeky Ex-AI made use of the connection between it and Great Sage, and used that Herrscher core as a catalyst to pull him into this space
How exciting, how unexpected!
-But heh, no.
He had already taken this into account. The moment he decided to become the Herrscher of Reason, he had already accounted for all possibilities!
"That's spectacular!" Adam spread his hand theatrically with a grin. "Now, please give all that knowledge you've been accumulating to my beloved partner~! From what I know, you're quite generous with that, right?"
{....}
The figure remained silent.
And yet, the next second-
The connection between it and Great Sage became thicker.
Can you handle omniscient knowledge?
[Answer: Affirmative. I was born and made for this.]
And then, it was as if a truck- no, a planet's worth of information slammed into his beloved skill violently.
Adam paled, his whole body- no, spirit trembling.
SLAP
[........]
Adam slapped his forehead violently, face grimacing in pain.
"I know I asked for this, but argh….!"
{...}
"No reaction, PROMETHEUS-chan? Well, it's not like I expected an actual answer."
The silver-haired exhaled, slowly stopping his trembling soul.
"I wonder, if I make you fall in love with me…." With a smirk, he looked up at the white figure. "Will you be able to permanently regain your individuality amongst the whole of this aggregation of consciousness?"
Slowly, a red, scarlet glow emerged in his eyes.
"What do you think?"
Right in front of him, a gigantic bird made of pure crimson light slowly took shape.
{...}
The Will of Honkai merely stared at the bird silently- it didn't say anything, and it didn't move
"Welp…." Adam shrugged, waving his hand "Let's find out!"
SHHHHIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG
With a loud screech, the crimson bird unfurled its wings and soared straight towards the featureless white 'god'-
As it made contact with it, the bird sank and dissolved into the aggregation, tainting it with a faint red hue-
But immediately after, Adam's vision went dark, and he felt a force pulling his body.
-Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see what happened after
…
..
.
~Adam~
Darkness, darkness, and all black consuming darkness.
It was very familiar to me.
Everytime I saw an empty void, it always brought up unpleasant memories. It was almost instinct- a sense of unease washed over me every single time.
Ah, but what can you do?
My soul experienced a rough trip to actually reach the Imaginary Tree.
Thinking back on it….Quite ridiculous, isn't it?
I didn't spontaneously teleport to the world of honkai impact after dying- after all, this fear of the void wouldn't make sense otherwise.
How did I manage to make a trip to the Imaginary Tree without my soul fading into nothingness? How did my soul manage to inhabit a vessel of a baby?
Very mysterious, very curious. But most of the time, I don't think about these things
Really, I don't. But right now….in this dark space devoid of anything, such thoughts unwittingly popped up.
Oh, how troublesome. If there's a mystery and I don't even have the means to get the answer, the curiosity will definitely kill me!
Don't you think so too?
[Answer: A reffutal is justifiable]
….What does that even mean?
[...]
Oh, I get it. You're probably telling me to enjoy life rather than seek things that are destined to end in no result, right?
[Affirmative]
Ohh-
Like hell! That makes me want to do that even more!
[The spatial structure has changed]
I know, I know. Thanks for the reminder.
I really shouldn't let them wait any longer.
I grasped forward, and with a tug, I tried 'moving'
Metaphorically, I used my legs. Even though materially, I had none- I willed myself to move with what I preconceived as 'legs'
The darkness all around was permeating. The nervousness in me had faded to nothingness.
After all, there wasn't nothingness all around me. This wasn't a void. There was something here.
'.....'
I wanted to speak, but I had no mouth to do so. I wanted to celebrate, but I could not.
Because….I knew what was waiting for me.
That bitchy ex-AI didn't want to make things easy for me, not at all. It threw me into the final boss without any concern at all!
However, after what felt like an eternity of walking through this darkness that couldn't be seen through-
Finally, I arrived. And the darkness receded.
…
..
.
In the bleak darkness- something appeared.
All around Adam, a cosmic, outer-space environment dominated by blues, purples, and neon lights appeared.
The 'sky' is filled with stars, drifting rocks, and streaks of glowing particles. The 'floor' is similarly dark, with layers and layers of dotted stars in its surface
Everything seems weightless, as if gravity has no hold in this space
Right in the middle of everything, a cracked sphere lay in a fissure-like construct of abstract space.
At the center of the cracked sphere, a bright triangular symbol exuded a bright purplish pink glow with layered lines. Light poured out of the fractures, pulsing like a living, breathing being
-The Cocoon Of Finality
In front of this overwhelming presence, everything else seemed dim.
In front of this being that controlled the fate of an entire planet, everything else seemed lesser.
And yet-
In this space dominated by this higher-dimensional being, nothing should exist beside it.
At least, with the exception of the being it crowns as Finality.
-But today, an exception was made
An illusory figure-him- entered this closed space.
In front of the vastness of the Cocoon, he was small- yet he managed to light a small part of this dimension.
Step
Step
Step
The sound of boots stepping on solid ground echoed throughout the Imaginary Space.
And the visitor only stopped walking after he reached the front of the 'eye'
…..
How did it feel to face the final boss of a whole verse?
As he looked at the cracked sphere and the 'eye' in the center of it, Adam found the answer:
-Absolutely terrifying
In terms of the 'plot', he's still in the early game, yet at this moment, he is meeting the final antagonist!
How unfair! How ridiculous!
Suppressing the shiver coming from the bottom of his soul, the silver-haired boy clasped his hands, respectfully looking at the origin of Herrschers, and.....opened his 'mouth' to speak:
"Um….Hello?"
He gave a restrained smile-
His smile froze as he felt the Cocoon of Finality look at him.
It felt as if his entire self and being was seen through at a glance- as if the being before him saw through every secret of his.
Even without any hostility, the pressure of its gaze alone made his face pale and his soul tremble violently
Just then-
He felt a slight, stormy, dark blue light inside of him light up and help him resist the pressure.
"M-may I ask why I am here?" Adam stuttered out as he felt the pressure upon him lessen considerably. "I only tried to inherit Reason- I don't believe that makes me qualified to meet you…."
He hates it.
He hates how weak he feels, and hates how meek he sounds.
Yet, he can do nothing. Compared to a being who can easily toy with an entire planet and civilization, he was….weak.
In front of Prometheus, he dared act arrogantly and without a care in the world, yet now….Heh, how ironic.
Crack
The cracked sphere shifted, its eye moving-
F̷̴͙̻͉̙̦̯͚̪̗̰̻͍͂̿ͤ̃͒̈̂͌͜͡_̫̀̄ͅi̓_̥͙̰͈̺̫̍ͫ̇̓̑̽ͯ̎̕͠ͅn͚͎̯a̸̴̢̨̡̧̛̦̪̞̺̬̪̳̼̝̭̥̦̜͇̎ͦ̈́͌͑͊̈̐̇̃́ͤͬͥͥ̄̑͆̚͜͡l̶̴̦͎̹̬̟͕͇̣͑̀̓ͨͭͫ̌̔̂̏ͤͯͨ̎ͥͦ͘͝ī̠̖̠͉̊̈̾͟ͅ_̷̵̨̧̞̭̪̝̩ͨ̎́̊ͬţ̷̵̨̛͉̗̜̫̮͕̮̩̫̜̟͕̙̏̽̌ͤ͊̋̌̓͑́̓ͭ̂̋̋̈́̑ͦ̂̊̉ͣ̊̉̒̅͡ỳ̵̴̷̶̷̢̢̧̤̼̙̝͉̱̮̝͐̈̐ͭ̅̀͒͒ͦͥ͑̋ͬ̂̐̃̏̕͜͝
An echo- a string of words and intentions sprang up in his mind
"....."
It was alien, utterly unfamiliar, and yet somehow, Adam could understand the intentions behind the words of this entity
"Y-you want me to become Finality?!"
His expression paused, eyes widening.
'Fuck!'
The silver-haired boy felt like the world had spun around and reversed completely
What do you fucking mean? I expected you to kill me, a Foreigner, not recruit me!
It was ridiculous. Out of every single prediction of how this meeting would go, he never once considered this possibility!
…..
Finality was the sole true Herrscher who wields the power of all the previous Herrschers, along with an additional authority over Time.
If the previous Herrschers were considered to be archbishops to the Cocoon of Finality, then the Herrscher of Finality could be considered the saint appointed by the Cocoon of Finality itself
The Cocoon of Finality wanted to embrace civilizations- it was a longing for companionship born from being the only being of its kind.
Of course, the difference between humanity and the Cocoon of Finality was like the difference between heaven and earth.
A higher-dimensional being can't understand the thoughts of mere mortals.
The Cocoon sets trials for intelligent civilizations to help them adapt and evolve so that they can be embraced
….And if humanity fails to be embraced by the Cocoon.... the world's time resets, and the trial begins anew.
Until, of course, the Cocoon is sure that there is no chance of a civilization passing its embrace- at which point, it will abandon them and move on to the next one.
…..
Ạ̧̢̢̼͚̭̻̞̼̳̗̤̘͙͉͆ͩ́͆̄̐̒́̌ͬ̑͂̌̅̄ͦ͑g̢̘͓͇̦̩͚̲͕̠̺̼̤̫͉͐ͣ̽ͭ̌̂̅̀ͭ̃͋̕r̸̨̡̛̜̙̗̣̼̻̹̄͛͢e̡̡̡̬̳͕̥̹͈̙͉̞̩̠͎̣ͬ̇ͬ̋̾̒͒̓̇͑ͧ̐͗ͧ̍ͦ͆̈́ͮ̓͆̅͝͞ͅe̷̛͙̺̣͎̜͙̝̘̳͚̮͙̣̗͍̞̳̦̖̞͕͕̙̯̹͗ͨ͒̈́ͮ̍̇̒̉ͯ̾ͬͩͩ̅̌̃͟͡m̬̹̕͡ȩ̴̡͚̱̩̍ͭ̎̄̑̎ͥ̾̅̚̚͞͡ņ̵̨̹̮̬̗͈̦̘͈̀̏̈̉̽̋̽ͣ̎͠t̫͙͎͕̘͈̱͍̏̽͆̊͑̕͠_̶̶͉̺ͯ̾̍ͩ̿̀̓͂
"…"
As this being's intentions echoed in his mind, the silver-haired boy paused to think, considering what to actually say
"Ahem."
Adam coughed awkwardly, not daring to show any dissatisfaction on his face, even though he was sure that the being in front of him wouldn't care.
"I'm an outsider, a complete foreigner. I don't think I'm suited for this role."
𝐁⃥⃒̸𝐮⃥⃒̸𝐭⃥⃒̸ 𝐲⃥⃒̸𝐨⃥⃒̸𝐮⃥⃒̸ 𝐚⃥⃒̸𝐫⃥⃒̸𝐞⃥⃒̸,⃥⃒̸ 𝐎⃥⃒̸𝐮⃥⃒̸𝐭⃥⃒̸𝐞⃥⃒̸𝐫⃥⃒̸ 𝐆⃥⃒̸𝐨⃥⃒̸𝐝⃥⃒̸
"....."
What could he say now?
Refuse? The Cocoon probably wouldn't kill him…probably.
But he dared not!
His mind spun, thoughts accelerating at full force to aid him in coming up with the best response in the shortest real amount of time as possible
"....Since I'm an outsider, an 'Outer God' in your words…." Adam tilted his head, narrowing his eyes "...Then I'm not in the scope of the 'test', and I'm not one of those of whom you intend to 'embrace'."
Ċ̶̴̢̮̫̦̭̼̥̦̬͚̲̞̥ͭ̊͆͗͌̍̃́͆̋̏̋ͧ̐̽̾͆̍̅ͪ́̋͜͜͠͠ͅõ̢͓̱̰̺̘̾͛̔ͨ͛̇̔͑ͯ̇ŗ̻͙̺ͮ̕r͔ͥ_̶͔̟͚͎̥̙̟͙͍̥̬̰͔͆̒̀ͫ̇̑́͐ͮ̐ͦͩ̋̐͟͟͝͠͠ẽ̷̵͖̤̠̹̭̞̻̥͎̪̩͇̇̀̉́̌͆̇ͣ̄͒̐̌̇ͪͫ̎̏͘͘͘͘͟͠c̷̡̢̛͇͓̫̣̬͕̭͚̱͚̩̖̥͋̈ͫͯͩͫ̊ͫͨ̆̓̓̊̽́͛́̂̍̊͢͢͞t_
"In this case…How about I don't interfere with the 'test' of this era? I know a candidate suitable to don the crown of Finality…"
'I'm sorry, my good girlfriend'
With his hands clasped, Adam mentally apologized to Kiana in his mind
Though he felt guilty…He had no other choice. That was the Tuna's fate
Even though he recognizes this world as 'home', it's still not his most original home. He had no right to interfere with the final destiny of this world
Especially considering this story had a satisfying and happy ending- messing with that felt wrong to him
.̴̛̣̻̖͋͜.̵̤͖̦͎̕.̴̧͚̪̹͑̈̂͂̔.̸̦͓̹͇̝̙̋.̴̢̨͎̱̹̏
"...If by the time the final test comes… she fails…I'll take her place."
Of course, the fact that he'll help her was left unsaid, as it wasn't needed.
And….Hehe, if he gets strong enough, he'll certainly help Kiana give this Cocoon a 'suffocating' embrace.
S̴̻̰̈́̈́͝à̴̯̘͉͉͐͆̀̂̽͜t̵̨͇̫͊͋ͅĭ̵̛̟̭̭̙̥̘̈́͝s̸̭̯͖͗f̶͔̮̜̟͐͂̽̂̑ä̴̩̯́͛̽͠c̵̩̜̔͛̊͘ͅt̷͉̳̠̠̓̏o̶̥̱̺̾͊r̸͇͂̀͜ỷ̸̧̢̮̳̺͋̄̀͆ ̸̣̝̆a̷͆̆͆͜g̶̡̞̫͐̑͊ŕ̶̺͖̙̩̈́̌ê̵̥͇̳̏̇ẽ̴͍͍͙͆́́̌̚m̷̳̬͋́é̷͉͈̑̆̒̚̕n̶͓̫̬̙͚͒̅̔͑̿͘ţ̶̜̣̠̇̈́͛̀͜ͅ
"...."
'Phew….'
He breathed a sigh of relief as the Cocoon before him agreed.
Thankfully, it didn't insist, otherwise...
We'̴l̴l̸ ̵w̵a̵i̷t̷
Adam's body stiffened
'That brings me a lot of pressure. You didn't have to say that!'
...
..
.
-------
A/N:
Since today, it so coincidentally happens to be my birthday....I felt generous: So here's a long chapter with no cliffhangers